Birdwatching

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"Birdwatchers" redirects here. For the indigenous movie on the Guaraní tribe, see BirdWatchers (film). For the garage rock band, see The Birdwatchers.

People birdwatching on Orchid Island in Indian River County, Florida.

Birdwatching or birding is the observation and study of birds with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars, or by listening for bird calls. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are more readily detected and identified by ear than by eye. Most birdwatchers pursue this activity mainly for recreational or social reasons, unlike ornithologists, who engage in the study of birds using more formal scientific methods.^[1][2]

Contents [hide] 1 Birding, birdwatching and twitching 2 The history of birdwatching 3 Growth and economics 4 Activities 4.1 Monitoring 4.2 Environmental Education 4.3 Competition 5 Networking and organization 6 Equipment and technology 6.1 Sound equipment 6.2 Photography 6.3 Videography 6.4 Portable media players 6.5 Remote birdwatching 6.6 Communication 6.7 Code of conduct 7 Socio-psychology 8 Famous birdwatchers 9 See also 10 References 11 Books 12 External links

[edit] Birding, birdwatching and twitching

The term birdwatching was first used in 1901; bird was introduced as a verb in 1918.^[3] The term birding was also used for the practice of fowling or hunting with firearms as in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor (1602): "She laments sir... her husband goes this morning a-birding."^[4] The terms birding and birdwatching are today used interchangeably, although many participants prefer birding, both because it does not exclude the auditory aspects of enjoying birds, and because it does not have some associated negative connotations.
The term twitcher, sometimes misapplied as a synonym for birder, is reserved for those who travel long distances to see a rare bird that would then be ticked, or checked off, on a list. The term originated in the 1950s, when it was used to describe the nervous behaviour of Howard Medhurst, a British birdwatcher. Prior terms for those who chased rarities were pot-hunter, tally-hunter, or tick-hunter. The main goal of twitching is often to accumulate species on one's lists. Some birders engage in competition to accumulate the longest species list. The act of the pursuit itself is referred to as a twitch or a chase. A rare bird that stays put long enough for people to see it is twitchable or chaseable.^[2][5]
Twitching is highly developed in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Finland and Sweden. The size of these countries makes it possible to travel throughout them quickly and with relative ease. The most popular twitches in the UK have drawn large crowds; for example, a group of approximately 5,000 people travelled to Kent, England, to view a Golden-winged Warbler. Twitchers have developed their own vocabulary. For example, a twitcher who fails to see a rare bird has dipped out; if other twitchers do see the bird, he may feel gripped off. Suppression is the act of concealing news of a rare bird from other twitchers.^[2]