The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that there are 96 million birders in the United States. That’s one in three adults in this country. And even if you aren’t one of them, you may just be bird-watching by default.
President of the Tampa Audubon Society and the Florida Ornithological Society Ann Paul believes everyone is a bird-watcher to some extent — even if you've never really thought about it.
“But there are some of us who are super interested in watching birds because of the joy that it gives us. You have people who watch birds in their backyard, at their feeders," Paul said. "And then you have others who go on field trips to find birds. And then you have some of the real enthusiasts who travel literally around the world to see the different species of birds.”
Paul said the simple fact that we can watch birds is what brings her so much joy in bird-watching.
“With binoculars, you can watch birds do all of their behaviors without disturbing them. So, you can watch birds feeding. You can watch them preening. You can watch them flying. You can watch them mating. You can watch them taking care of their young," she said.
Birding is a growing activity that people of all ages are starting to do.
Recently, WUSF’s Kerry Sheridan joined the Florida Young Birders Club on a bird walk, where she spoke to 15-year-old Sophia Haackman about her love of birding.
“I think she was just drawn to them naturally. But then when the pandemic hit about five years ago, she found herself at home quite a bit,” Sheridan said. “And there was a lake near where they lived, and there were a lot of wading birds there, herons and egrets and roseate spoonbills. And she just started watching them and was very captivated by them. And her mom said, ‘Well, why don't you make this a research project, take more pictures, write down what you see.’ And that's how it all got started for her.”
Sheridan said in her reporting on the young birders, she found that people are really drawn to the joy that comes with walking in nature.
“Since between 2016 and 2022, when [the Fish and Wildlife Service] last measured it, the number of people who report watching wildlife near their homes or out on walks has really, really risen in all age groups,” she said. “In children, it's gone up three to four times what it was just five years ago. But even older people, who have historically and continue to make up the bulk of bird-watchers, their numbers are growing too.”
Florida is very tropical. It’s home to so many birds, some of which nest on rooftops across the state.
Kara Cook is the Suncoast rooftop biologist with Audubon Florida. She monitors bird activity on roofs in the Tampa Bay area. Cook said that because of increased development and activity on Florida beaches, many of the Sunshine State's beach-nesting birds have lost suitable nesting habitats.
She said that in order to "survive in this human-dominated landscape," they've taken to nesting on tar and gravel rooftops.
She added that the gravel on rooftops is similar to what beach-nesting birds are used to.
“The beaches are shelly and sandy, so they have found this alternative substrate to nest on,” she said. “There's pretty much very low human disturbance on rooftops, and you're not going to get the same predators that we would get on the beach, like raccoons, dogs, cats. They have other [predators] on rooftops, but they've kind of found this little niche, and they have been very successful using that over the years.”
If you’re interested in protecting birds, Cook said Audubon Florida has lots of volunteer opportunities available on its website. You can also visit the Tampa Audubon Society’s website to find out about local volunteering and field trip opportunities.
You can listen to the conversation in the audio player above.
