Imagine sitting in the back of a truck with the sun beating down on you, and your only job is to be absolutely silent. Your phone doesn’t work and Africa’s vast savanna envelops you. The only reason you are here is to search the trees with your binoculars, scan the dry shrubs and spot small, elusive, winged animals that, to many people, look the same.
This is why I go birdwatching. It may not sound like the most exciting hobby for a high school student, but, trust me, once you start, you will never want to stop. There are always more birds to see. Over the summer, I put up my three bird feeders as usual, and soon enough I had counted 21 species of birds, with two being completely new sightings.
Birdwatching is something you can do anywhere — in a park, on vacation or even on your way to school in London. The U.K. has around 630 species of birds, and the world is home to more than 11,000, according to the British Trust for Ornithology and BirdLife International. From the striking keel-billed toucan, which lives in the Amazon jungle, to the malachite kingfisher, which zips around African woodlands, birds remain some of the most colorful, spectacular and fascinating animals on the planet.
Yet our generation fails to appreciate them. Birdwatching is a captivating and enriching hobby, and it is upsetting that it isn’t popular with younger generations.
For starters, birdwatching does wonders for mental health challenges that many young people face. According to a study conducted by Bioscience in 2017, birdwatching decreases anxiety, depression and stress. Specifically, spending time in natural environments and watching birds was reported to reduce depression by 95%. The study concluded that being around birds is proven to improve people’s mental well-being.
Another positive about birdwatching is that it is a great group activity. According to Care UK, a mental health organization, birdwatching is a great way to connect with family and friends and strengthen relationships and can be enjoyed by all ages and abilities.
I usually go bird-watching with my family and we work as a team. My brother and I do the spotting, scanning the bushes, and then we relay the information to my parents, who rapidly try to record all the different species we are naming into a list in a special notebook or the Notes app. Sometimes, they point out a mysterious bird to me and I quickly look it up in my bird book to identify the species, but most times it is some sort of pigeon or family lame bird. Even though it isn’t necessarily my brother’s, dad’s or mom’s favorite activity, the energy and excitement that runs through all of us has brought me so much closer with them. Even more, on many trips my family and I have bonded with strangers from all parts of the world and shared a common passion for birds.
Birding also connects to something even bigger — the environment. It is a quiet, low-impact and respectful way to interact with nature. It gets you outside, off your screen and into the real world. It reminds people of the importance of protecting vulnerable wildlife and the disappearing habitats these species call home.
Whenever I am looking for birds, whether it’s in the Borneo rainforests or along the marshy banks of the Hudson River, I am quiet and pay close attention to the ecosystem I am in.
One study by the University of Essex found that bird watchers are strong champions for the environment. The study said interactions with wild birds will encourage birdwatchers and naturalists to advocate for conservation, as well as maintaining urban green spaces.
But, sometimes, birdwatchers can get out of control and harm the environment. Some people race around in cars and even planes to get to as many different ecosystems as possible to spot new birds. This level of birdwatching is referred to as twitching, and twitchers are considered birdwatching extremists.
According to The Telegraph, birdwatching competitions often require participants — twitchers — to use heavy transport in order to increase their chances of seeing as many rare birds as possible. Such form of birdwatching is not environmentally friendly and detracts from the friendliness of birdwatching.
Birdwatching is meant to be a way to bond with nature, not destroy it. And, trust me, birdwatching shouldn’t be a race or a competition. It’s best enjoyed as a soothing, mindful activity you share with the people around you and the beauty of this world.
Even if you don’t see yourself as a birder, the next time you’re walking through a park and stumble upon a bird or hear a special call, don’t ignore it. Try to find the birds around you — they’re hidden gems of the natural world.
