Chose your own birding adventure
Whitney birding for shorebirds in a flooded field in Lebanon, Indiana. 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘠𝘰𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳
On a recent BirdNote® podcast episode, I heard the aphorism “birding is often best in the least likely places.” The two-minute story was a reminder to look beyond the most well-known nature parks because, simply put, birds are where you find them. Birds are literally everywhere—in backyards, near parking lots, on the sides of highways, in and along manmade retention ponds. What’s more, unusual locations such as sewage treatment plants, landfills, and cemeteries often yield unusual finds. It doesn’t matter where birds temporarily land, so long as there are suitable habitats and food sources.
On the human side of things, our very deliberate urban planning efforts dictate where we should and shouldn’t go looking for birds. So, we tend to look for them in the expected places: wherever there’s remaining green space. But birds don’t care about man-made borders differentiating parks versus neighborhoods, public versus private property, cities versus counties, and so forth. They’ll cross our paths regardless. With that in mind, if birds are everywhere and birding is truly best in the least likely places, then why frequent the same celebrated destinations where everyone else goes birding?
Last year, I began wondering how many birds go undiscovered and unreported elsewhere. My hypothesis is that there are many. I don’t have extraordinary birding anecdotes (yet) about rarities found in nearby parks or my 6,055-square-foot yard. However, I can share three easy practices to help you “zen out” on birding experiences of your own making while enhancing your observational skills.
1. Explore everything your county has to offer birds.
The first recommended practice is to go birding within your county lines. Even though birds don’t see borders, county birding is a great way to gain insights on their movements within your particular geographical region. Rather than driving several hours to visit prime destinations, try investigating different places within your county for birding potential. Attempt a Big Day by starting at the farthest corner of the county and working backward. Do some Big Sits at various city and county parks. Deviate from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird hotspots altogether and find unmapped locations. Your approach to county birding can be big or small.
2. Get creative by limiting your birding to a five-mile radius.
When I need a break from county birding or have limited time, I go birding in and around downtown Zionsville—specifically, within five miles of home. Five-mile-radius (5MR) birding is a new craze; consider it birding for locavores. Similar to county birding, the key to 5MR birding is to discover and accumulate new patches. The only ruling principles are where “home” begins and your circle ends. You can include your yard, neighborhood parks, multi-use paths, the cemetery down the street, and so much more.
The challenge is to round out your 5MR list as best as you can, given the limitations. For instance, your 5MR might include great stopovers for waterfowl and wood warblers, but certain sandpipers and owls may be harder to find. The perpetual pursuit of new 5MR species will keep you searching. (While you’re at it, you could also keep a “green” list of species seen/heard without the use of fossil fuels.)
3. Learn the seasonal ebb and flow of birds by birding every day.
If you really want to find birds where no one else is looking, then get outside each and every day to look for them. It’s pretty straightforward: You can either choose to go birding on the weekends when you have spare time or spend anywhere from three minutes to three hours per day looking for birds. Birding doesn’t have to be a grand endeavor; you can do it any time, any place, and with as little or as many of life’s obligations.
Exploring my county, staying local, and birding every day have significantly changed the way I think and go about birding. As a result, my sense of place has deepened. I’m also relying more on my own instincts than on eBird alerts and Facebook groups. I’m slowing down, birding more thoughtfully, and tuning out all that’s unnatural. Most importantly, I’m taking written and mental notes on what I find throughout the seasons.
Narrowing your focus or range through one of these practices can actually broaden your birding horizons. Give one or all a try to see what works for you, then embrace the routine. Over time, the corollary to all three practices is that you will develop a greater awareness of bird distributions, their seasonal movements, and habitats.
This article was originally published in the May/June 2019 issue of LifeLines, a publication of Amos Butler Audubon Society.