Bird watching, also known as birding or avian observing, is a popular hobby around the world. People who participate in this activity are known as birders or bird watchers. The goal is to observe wild birds in their natural habitats and identify different species. But bird watching goes by many other names as well.
Ornithology
One of the most formal terms for studying birds is ornithology. This word comes from the Greek words for bird (ornis) and word/reason (logos). Ornithology is considered a branch of zoology focused specifically on the science of birds. Professional ornithologists study avian biology, behavior, origins, and more. Bird watching certainly contributes to our scientific understanding of birds. But ornithology also involves extensive research and experiments beyond casual birding activities.
Birding
Birding is essentially a synonym for bird watching. Both terms refer to the practice of observing live birds in the wild and attempting to identify them. Birding is slightly more casual and often used in connection with bird watching as a hobby, sport, or amateur pursuit. People may say they are going “bird watching” or going “birding” to mean the same basic thing.
Spotting
Bird spotting specifically refers to the visual act of finding a bird through sight. When a person spots a bird, they visually see and recognize the bird. Serious birders often keep detailed lists of all the species they have reliably spotted over time. Spotting rare species can be thrilling for avid bird watchers who travel widely in hopes of sighting unique birds.
Identifying
Identifying birds means accurately determining their species. This process follows spotting or visually locating birds. Using field guides, smartphone apps, and other resources, birders seek to properly identify each species. Identifying some birds can be quite tricky depending on the situation. Certain species appear very similar and can only be identified through very close inspection or hearing their unique calls.
Tracking
Tracking birds goes one step beyond identifying them in the moment. It involves gathering long-term data on bird movements, migration patterns, population changes, and other trends. eBird is a popular online database where bird watchers can log their observations and thus help track bird populations nationwide. Tracking is vital for studying avian populations over time.
Counting
Bird counting is a systematic approach to tracking where volunteers record the number of birds observed during a given time period or in a specific area. The annual Christmas Bird Count sponsored by the National Audubon Society is a famous example happening every December. Large-scale counts provide ornithologists long-term data to analyze bird populations and inform conservation efforts.
Listing
Listing simply refers to keeping a list of all the bird species you have spotted over time. Birders keep life lists (every species observed in their lifetime), year lists (species spotted this year), state lists (birds seen in one state), yard lists (from home), and many other variations. Listing tends to involve a bit of friendly competition as birders compare which species they have documented.
Twitching
Twitching refers to chasing after rare bird sightings. When a rare species is reported in an area, twitchers will rush to that location as fast as possible hoping to add that new bird to their list. Some twitchers are willing to travel huge distances immediately when they hear news of an unusual sighting.
Big Day
A Big Day is an organized effort to identify as many bird species as possible within a single calendar day. This activity originated with the New Jersey Audubon Society in the 1950s. Teams meticulously plan their route and strategy to maximize their sightings during a 24-hour period. The current North American Big Day record is 216 species observed in Texas in 2019.
Birdathon
A Birdathon is similar to a Big Day, but more focused on fundraising. Participants gather pledges per species spotted over one day. The money raised generally funds conservation organizations. A Birdathon can be competitive like a Big Day, but the fundraising aspect is more emphasized.
Sea Watching
Sea watching consists of observing seabirds from land near oceans, such as shorelines or piers. pelagic birds like albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, and gulls are the main attraction. Sea watching is especially popular in migration hotspots like Cape May, New Jersey and Point Reyes, California when millions of seabirds pass by the coast.
Seawatching
Seawatching is the same activity as sea watching. The words are interchangeable. Anywhere with an open ocean view can offer opportunities to observe pelagic birds, though prominent points or capes often provide ideal sea watching habitat.
Hawkwatching
As the name suggests, hawkwatching involves observing birds of prey like hawks, eagles, falcons, and vultures. Hawk watch sites feature open vistas where these raptors can be viewed during seasonal migrations. Well-known hawk watches include Chelan Ridge in Washington and Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania.
Shorebirding
Shorebirds represent a diverse bird family including sandpipers, plovers, oystercatchers, avocets, stilts, and other species. Shorebirding focuses on observing these shoreline-loving birds in their coastal habitats. Prime shorebird spots include beaches, marshes, wetlands, and mudflats.
Wader Watching
Wading birds like herons, egrets, and bitterns are the target of wader watching. Ponds, marshes, and shorelines are ideal habitats to look for these elegantly long-legged species. Seeing different waders often requires exploring diverse freshwater ecosystems.
Raptor Watching
Raptor watching centers on birds of prey: eagles, osprey, hawks, falcons, vultures, owls, and other hunting birds. Raptor migration hotspots allow you to see these powerful flyers passing in numbers. Raptor watching events may involve expert presentations, counting, banding, and more.
Pelagic Birding
To see oceanic birds, some birders embark on pelagic birding trips aboard boats that venture offshore. Guided pelagic trips appeal to serious birders eager to spot albatrosses, shearwaters, petrels, storm-petrels, jaegers, and other pelagic species.
Waterfowl Watching
As the name indicates, waterfowl watching targets ducks, geese, and swan species. This is especially popular during migration seasons when numerous waterfowl congregate in wetlands, lakes, and rivers on their migratory journeys.
Gull Watching
Gull watching focuses on the diversity of gull species worldwide. Photographing and identifying the different types of gulls poses an enjoyable challenge for birders. Good locations for gull watching include beaches, lakes, harbors, landfills, and fishing ports.
Warbler Watching
Warblers represent a large songbird family in North America. Warbler watching keeps birders busy as dozens of warbler species migrate through the continent each spring and fall. Spotting and identifying the different warblers provides endless entertainment for avid birders.
Flycatching
Flycatchers are insect-eating birds specialized at catching flying insects. Watching flycatchers like the Eastern Phoebe requires patience. But you can learn much about flycatcher behavior and habits observing their flycatching strategies.
Seabirding
Seabirding involves observing birds that spend most of their lives at sea and come to land only for breeding. Some seabirding hotspots include seabird colonies and breeding sites around the world. Popular species include albatrosses, gannets. penguins, petrels, shearwaters, and puffins.
Migration Monitoring
Monitoring migration involves observing and recording the movements of birds during their seasonal migrations. Data on migration timing, routes, and population numbers informs ornithology and conservation. Migration monitoring often utilizes bird banding and daily bird counts.
Winter Raptoring
In winter, birders in northern climates look for snowy owls, rough-legged hawks, snowy owls, and other raptors that come south for the cold months. Finding these far-flying winter raptors offers an exciting challenge.
Feeder Watching
This involves observing birds coming to feeders for an authentic experience right from home. Project FeederWatch is a citizen science activity that engages the public in counting birds at backyard feeding stations.
Big Year
A Big Year is the quest to identify as many bird species as possible within one calendar year. The current record for a Big Year in the continental North America is 749 species. Extreme Big Year attempts often involve extensive travel across the continent.
Bird Surveying
Many citizen science initiatives engage volunteers in surveying birds. Surveying generates valuable data on bird populations and trends over time on local, regional, and national scales. Christmas Bird Counts are a prime example of large-scale bird surveys.
Listing
Listing refers to the practice of keeping detailed lists of all the bird species observed over time. Birders keep life lists, year lists, state lists, county lists, yard lists, trip lists, day lists and more. Listing makes birding more goal-oriented and competitive.
Migration Counting
Counting migrating birds helps establish long-term data on migration patterns. Volunteers do migration counts at hotspots during peak passage periods. Hawk watches, raptor watches, and seabird counting events are examples of migration counting projects.
Competitive Birding
Some birders make games out of competing to see the most bird species. Big Days, Big Years, listing, twitching, Birdathons, and other activities add a competitive element. Seeing or photographing rare species offers bragging rights.
Citizen Science
Birders contribute enormously to citizen science databases like eBird by reporting their sightings. These amateur observations support ornithology research and conservation. Around the world, volunteers participate in large-scale bird surveys and counting events.
Avitourism
Some birders travel specifically to experience new birds and add to their life lists. Traveling to bird habitats across the globe to spot exotic species offers an adventurous birding challenge. This combination of birdwatching and tourism is referred to as avitourism.
Conclusion
In summary, bird watching goes by many other names that highlight more specific types of birding activities. But at its essence, all these different terms refer to observing and enjoying wild birds in nature. By any name, studying birds provides recreation, connection with nature, scientific data, and conservation support.
