Sept. 23, 2020 – Birds that migrate south for the winter (called migratory birds) are now leaving their northern summer habitats. Some species of birds, such as the Northern Cardinal, stay in northern climates all winter. It’s a spectacular sight when a red cardinal lands on a perch covered in sparkling white snow.

Birders are people who like to watch birds. They are already planning for spring migration in May 2021 when migratory birds will be flying north for the summer from their winter habitats. Birding festivals were canceled in May 2020 due to the pandemic. In years without a virulent virus, tens of thousands of people attend spring birding festivals.

An area on the southwestern shores of Lake Erie is known as the Warbler Capital of the World. Up to 100,000 people flock to the area each spring for The Biggest Week in American Birding. Birders come to hear chirps and tweets from beautiful little warblers (songbirds). And if a rare species is spotted, thousands of tweets then fly through cyberspace! Next year’s festival is scheduled for May 7-16, 2021.

According to a 2011 study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), more than 45 million people in the United States are birders. They defined a birder as someone who purposely watches birds either at home or at another location. Their economic impact is significant. They spend about $41 billion per year on trips and equipment. And they add about $14.9 billion to local economies through purchases of food, lodging and transportation.

In Titusville, Florida, the annual Space Coast Birding Festival adds an estimated $1.3 million to the local economy. It’s held each year in January but has already been canceled for 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic. With an upbeat attitude though, they have scheduled the next festival for Jan. 26-30, 2022. Since watching birds is an outdoor activity, social distancing is easy to achieve for small groups, just not for thousands of birders at one time. Birders and birding festivals are being creative in planning so they can carry on their hobby and passion for watching birds.

To capture the essence of how passionate birders are about their hobby (avocation), watch The Big Year, a fun movie (2011 – PG) starring Owen Wilson, Steve Martin, and Jack Black. They are vying to set the record for the most birds seen or heard in one calendar year. It’s based on a 1998 book, a true story of three birders who crisscross North America seeking the birding title. The competition is held under the auspices of the American Birding Association (ABA), which was founded in 1968. In the movie, Owen Wilson plays Sandy Komito who won the 1998 Big Year title by logging 748 bird species.

Enjoy the following photos of warblers, woodpeckers and bald eagles:

Downy Woodpecker
Although not a migratory bird, woodpeckers are fun to watch if one can catch the bird in action. Hunting for insects by pecking dead wood, woodpeckers are beneficial to humans because the birds will eat wood-boring beetle larvae and other insects human consider pests, according to information from the Animal Diversity Web.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. What is a “birder?”

2. What is a migratory bird?

3. Why were spring birding festivals canceled in 2020?

4. Name two birding festivals held in the United States each year.

INQUIRY QUESTIONS

1. What is the economic impact of birding, an avocation practiced by millions of people, on cities and states? 

2. Watch The Big Year movie. Write a review. Cite reasons why you liked or did not like the movie.

3. Why do you think Twitter’s logo is a bird?

4. Read the headline again. Discuss its literal and figurative meanings.