Yes, you have read it right. Bird-watching can be your next sport of choice.

While some may argue that bird-watching or birding may be more of a hobby than a sport, it is no denying that bird-watching is a test of physical strength and endurance.

What is Bird-Watching

Obviously, bird-watching is an activity involving watching birds. However, birds in captivity of any form don’t count. It has to be watching birds in the wild.

How Do You Do Bird-Watching

Bird-watching does not literally mean just watching the birds. You have to learn how to identify them and to observe them in their natural habitat – what they are doing, where they nest, what they eat, among other things.

You don’t necessarily have to go to wildlife preservation to observe birds. You can observe birds from your backyard or your local park because those places can be considered as natural habitats, too, as long as the birds are not pets or captives somehow.

If you’re really interested, there are a lot of places you can go to see birds living in certain environments, like the snowy egrets in Bird City, Louisiana or the Andrée Clark Bird Refuge in Santa Barbara County, California.

Why Bird Watching

For one, bird watching is inexpensive. You only really need your own binoculars to view the birds from afar so as not to disturb them. You can probably also have a notebook and pen to document your adventures and a hat to shield from the sun.

This activity also increases your environmental awareness. You can observe firsthand the effect of pollution and global warming to the birds such as the shift in their migration tendencies, the decrease in their population, and more.

There is also the deep satisfaction and fun in being able to connect with nature. Plus, you get to act on your hunting instincts except that the prey can go safe and sound. Because when you bird watch, you don’t think of anything else other than being able to spot and observe the birds, the activity can help you relieve stress and earn the ultimate wealth called happiness.

You can also build and deepen relationships with your family, friends, and even newly-made acquaintances because of how the activity unites people. At the same time, there is also the pleasure in solitude when you go alone and nature is your companion.

World Series of Birding

The largest birding competition in the country, the World Series of Birding (WSB) is when birders look and listen for as many birds as possible in 24 hours in New Jersey and other states on the Atlantic Flyway.

More importantly, WSB is a conservation event. Participants and sponsors join the interactive effort to raise money for critically-needed conservation priorities. Over the 38 years the event has run, it has brought birding and bird conservation to the attention of global media and raised close to $10 million for bird conservation.

All in all, bird-watching satisfies both your quest for knowledge (Imagine being able to name hundreds of bird species!) and your quest for physical activity. With bird-watching, you can walk around and enjoy nature.