In the World of Beautiful Native Birds — Reasons for Birdwatching

When You See Exciting, Fascinating Birds, You Will Love Them

Introduction

I would love to thank Sahil Patel for his writing prompt, “Breathtaking Experiences of Birdwatching.” He offered this prompt in his article titled: https://readmedium.com/finding-serenity-and-joy-the-delightful-emotions-of-birdwatching-25c79e9ec365. I have lived in several locations where I have experienced this.

Defining the Terms

Let’s start this article by examining definitions of the “birder” and the “birdwatcher.” Many people may not know the difference, so we want to clarify this. In North America, there are birders and birdwatchers.

Birders believe they are more well-versed in minutiae, such as bird identification, molt, distribution, migration timing, and habitat usage. Birdwatching. (2023, August 5). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdwatching

The term birder describes a person who pursues the hobby of birding. They travel in search of birds. This person can be either a professional or a novice. Birdwatching. (2023, August 5). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdwatching

Birding is a hobby that individuals enjoy by meeting the challenge of bird study, listing, or other general activities that involve birds. Birdwatching. (2023, August 5). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdwatching

The term birdwatcher describes a person who watches birds for any reason. A serious birder is not called a birdwatcher. Birdwatchers have a more limited scope; many do not go far from their backyards or local parks to view birds. Birdwatching. (2023, August 5). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdwatching

Equipment

Observing birds using the naked eye or a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope are standard methods of seeing the birds. Other methods include listening to bird sounds such as chirping, singing, or the clatter of birds chasing each other. People sometimes watch birds closely by using public webcams. Birdwatching. (2023, August 5). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdwatching

Equipment used for birding includes binoculars, a spotting scope with a tripod, a smartphone, a notepad, and at least one field guide. The National Audubon Society book The Sibley Guide to Birds is good if you live in North America. If you live in Europe or Great Britain, look for the guide titled Bird Guide, The Most Complete Field Guide to The Birds of Britain and Europe.

Vocalizations

Recognition of bird vocalizations is important to a birder. Sound information assists in locating, watching, identifying, and sexing birds. Birdwatching. (2023, August 5). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdwatching

Life List

Many birders maintain a “life list.” This list is a record of the species that they have seen in their life. The list contains details of the sighting, such as date and location.

The American Birding Association has specific rules about how a bird species gets documented and recorded. These documented and recorded lists are important when sent to the Association. Birdwatching. (2023, August 5). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdwatching

Reasons to Birdwatch

Why would someone want to sit in a peaceful spot outdoors and watch colorful birds appear, hopping and fluttering about in their natural habitat? There are many reasons that someone would do birdwatching. Birdwatching can reduce stress and the risk of heart disease, obesity, and high blood pressure.

Another reason to sit in a peaceful spot outdoors and watch the birds in their natural habitat is that you don’t have to be concerned with all the details and the competition that a “birder” does. You also don’t have to be too concerned with the strain that looking for and watching the birds puts on the natural environment.

Personal Experiences of Birdwatching

Okay, so you get the idea about birders and birdwatchers. Let’s now look at some other related information. We will do this by sharing the experiences of birdwatching that my wife and I have had.

We are lucky; we live in northwest Florida in a lovely home with trees and bushes in the backyard. We hang bird feeders from posts in the middle of the yard. We also have large bushes that make great hiding places for the birds.

We have a large patio at the back of the house with comfortable seating that we often sit in to enjoy watching the birds. They fly around the yard, to and from the feeders, and they go into and out of the trees and bushes. Our backyard resembles a park, and the birds are very comfortable there.

Morning Doves

We have seen as many as about three dozen doves at one time. It is great to hear the doves cooing, but they are clumsy compared to other birds. They also have a voracious appetite and can clean the feeders out quickly.

It is not unusual to fill the feeders on Friday morning, and by Saturday afternoon, the doves have attacked the feeders and emptied them.

Bluebirds

We also have bluebirds visit at the right time of the year. They use a birdhouse we provided. For many years, they have used the birdhouse to have their babies. Bluebirds are a bit skittish, so we must watch them from the patio, but they are beautiful, and we love having them visit.

Bluebirds appear in April or May. They stay long enough to have their babies, give the youngsters their flying lessons, and then disappear until the following year. During the life of the new birds, the parents take turns watching the nest while the other parent goes and finds suitable food for the babies.

Daddy bird stands sentry watching the nest when he is not foraging for food for the babies. Daddy birds will chase off other birds if they get too close to the birdhouse. We have seen this happen, and Daddy Bluebird is not intimidated.

One year, we watched in disbelief while the bluebirds visited us in spring and then again in the fall. I’m unsure if the same couple always used the birdhouse, but I suspect so since they knew where to go and did not hesitate to do what they needed.

Cardinals

We also have seen many sets of cardinals. They use our backyard to have their babies and give flying lessons, but they stay longer than the bluebirds. It is interesting to watch the parents fly to and from the bird feeders to get the seeds to feed their babies.

Watching them is so much fun, and when the babies come out for their flying lessons, the real fun begins. At first, they can fly about 2 to 4 feet, and the parents stay with them to ensure they can fly without harming themselves. After a few weeks, the babies have mastered flying and will fly into the bird feeders to get the food.

Red-shouldered Hawks

Northwest Florida is also known for red-shouldered hawks. We often see them flying around our neighborhood, scouting rodents or other smaller birds. It would be awesome to have wings and fly over the land and sea.

How could anyone not think about how freeing this could be? In our backyard, we have had hawks land on the posts from which the bird feeders hang. They are exciting to watch while in the yard and when they soar above.

We have seen parents give flying lessons to their babies. The hawk travels alone, but, in this period, we saw several hawks, and then a bit later, we saw up to ten. Very exciting!

Woodpeckers

We have woodpeckers visit from time to time. This bird lands on our large river birch and pecks on it for a while. Then, when the tree does not provide what the bird is looking for, the bird flies to our bird feeders.

We watch as the bird takes sunflower seeds, opens the shell, eats the seed, and discards the shell onto the ground. The woodpecker stays until it is no longer hungry and then flies away. We think, well, that was cool, but we might not ever see that bird again.

To our surprise, the bird returned the next day to try its luck. Once again, the bird ate its fill and left. This woodpecker does not appear in the heat of the summer but in the spring and fall.

Mockingbirds

Blue Jays

We have other songbirds that show up occasionally but only stay briefly. We have had blue jays remain for a while but have never seen any babies. We have had mockingbirds stay for a bit, too.

The mockingbird is very aggressive. We have seen it attack the hawk and chase it off the yard and feeders. No other bird has the intestinal fortitude to get that close to the hawk.

It was bizarre to watch the mockingbird attack the hawk. When it happened, we thought the hawk would swipe the mockingbird out of the sky and have lunch, but that did not happen.

Hummingbirds

We have had hummingbirds visit us, too. We used to hang sugar water feeders for them until we discovered that bees also love the sugar water. If they could coexist, it would not be a problem to continue to feed the hummingbirds like this.

We read an article about hummingbirds and their mortal enemies, the bees. The bees will sting the hummingbird and could cause its death. After we found this out, we decided not to hang hummingbird feeders any longer.

You know, sitting and watching the birds in our backyard is fun. We love to hear them sing their songs and watch them fly across our backyard. That said, having these creatures available to watch is not automatic. Habitat loss and fragmentation are critical reasons for the decline in plant and animal populations.

It requires effort to maintain the habitat that they live in. The Florida Wildlife Corridor is an example where people try hard to ensure the habitat is unaffected. This corridor is a statewide network of about 18 million acres of connected lands and waters that support wildlife and people. The Florida Wildlife Corridor — Wikipedia

Of these acres of land, over one-third are ranchlands and timberlands, which are not protected and are vital to Florida’s plants and animals. Some species of animals require this connection between greenspace to hunt, breed, and maintain genetic diversity. This corridor provides the habitat and connectivity for these populations. The Florida Wildlife Corridor — Wikipedia

Some of the birds protected because of their dwindling numbers include the Crested Caracara, Snail Kite, Florida grasshopper Sparrow, Florida Scrub Jay, Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, Whooping Crane, and Wood Stork. The Florida Wildlife Corridor — Wikipedia

Granted, these are not birds you would see in your backyard per se, but if these birds decline or become extinct, it won’t be long until nature is no longer balanced, and those birds we enjoy watching are also affected. We think the corridor is a great thing for both the wildlife and the people.

Conclusion

In this article, we looked at “birders” and “birdwatchers” and provided some of the differences between these distinct groups. We also looked at the equipment used by birders. We saw many different types of birds that are available for backyard watching in Florida. We also introduced the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

We hope we have presented some convincing information for why someone would want to sit and watch birds where birds feel comfortable and live their lives for all to see and appreciate.

This is the end of this article. We hope you enjoyed reading it and learned something new by reading. We’d love to hear from anyone who wishes to share their constructive criticism or praise for this article.

We hope you have enjoyed reading this article and that it has enlightened you. We enjoyed researching the information and writing the article for you. We have provided good reasons for you to enjoy the “Breathtaking Experiences of Birdwatching.”

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I would love to give a Big Shout-Out to Caroline de Braganza for her article https://readmedium.com/each-day-i-wake-excited-for-the-birds-to-break-into-song-8b9d8e54e7ad. She spoke about the birds she watches and shared that she even had a visitor that she had not seen before. She also shared how the birds she watches leave her with an orchestral concerto each time. What an appropriate way to describe her connection with them. I loved the guitar and the gentleman who sang about birds. Great job on this article, Caroline!

I would love to give a Big Shout Out to Akemi Sagawa for her article titled https://readmedium.com/how-salmon-navigate-back-home-58af50afa82f. She tells us about the Ballard Locks and the story of how the King Salmon go through their life cycle. She also shares that her husband is an engineer who enjoys taking people to the locks and explaining how they work. I found the article very interesting. Great job on this article, Akemi!