"tallying bird species is not the point of birding"
So says Mark Opincariu, an instructor at Colorado Mountain College who will be teaching a 3-day class on Rocky Mountain birds this spring. Although many top-notch birders may beg to differ, that’s a sentiment that I share. Read more about Opincariu’s philosophy of birding here (may require free registration).
posted by John L. Trapp at
2/24/2007 04:58:00 PM
3 Comments:
I agree with the sentiment completely. However, I will also say that in my exerience, many of the birders who boast the longest lists for a given State also are extremely knowledgeable about the distributions, habitats, habits, history, long-term trends, identification, and conservation needs of the birds in their State. I don't know so much about the rabid ABA listers, but most hard core State listers tend to excel at all areas of birding and be active in conservation, outreach, and education as well.
Listing is basically a fun game, but it starts getting boring once you have seen the bulk of bird species in your own area. Learning more about birds' habitats and natural history, participating in census projects, and volunteering for local conservation organizations keeps the activity interesting. So, on the whole, I would agree with Bill that the distinction between listing and holistic birding is overblown.
What are you guys? The bird police? Lighten up already.
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