Bird watching, or birding, is a rewarding experience that combines the enjoyment of the outdoors with the thrill of learning to identify birds by sight or by their calls. This avocation can be pursued anywhere from dense urban areas to remote islands to suburban backyards. All that’s needed is curiosity, a good guide to bird identification and patience. Birding can be a solitary experience or a group activity. In some cases, birding is even a competitive sport. Michigan provides a particularly rich selection of birds to observe because of its location in the middle of the Great Lakes and the diversity of habitats found across both peninsulas.
For those committed to protecting the planet, birding also helps document human activities' impacts on ecosystems. Birders provide critical information to scientists and agencies working to protect and restore biodiversity by increasing their understanding of the impact of climate change, habitat loss, pesticide use and much more on the sustainability of the planet’s web of life. With an estimated 45 million birdwatchers in the United States alone, understanding and appreciation of the amazing diversity of birds grows every year as birders are a potent force for advocating protection of nature. Below are some opportunities to combine the fun of birding with contributions to the scientific knowledge needed to ensure future generations can enjoy these wonderful creatures.
Anyone with a bird feeder in their backyard or a favorite place for birding anywhere can participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), scheduled for February 17 to 20, 2023. Each year people across the world are invited to spend just 15 minutes at least once over this period to identify the birds they see or hear in that area. Even those brand new to bird watching can contribute, making the CBBC a great occasion to learn to identify birds by using bird guides. The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology offers the Merlin Bird ID app for smartphones, making bird identification easy. Merlin includes ways to identify birds by description, photograph or song. The app also allows users to keep track of the birds they identify, beginning a life list that can be added to over time.
Identification using bird guidebooks is also a wonderful way to track the birds observed and provide the information to the GBBC. There are many guidebooks that range from detailed information about how to identify birds to simple pictures grouped by related types of birds. Check with local libraries to see if they have books to check out to get a feel for using these guides. Michigan-specific bird identification books are particularly useful because they narrow down the options to consider. Some well-loved books include Birds of Michigan by Black and Kennedy and Stan Tekiela’s Birds of Michigan Field Guide.
One of the world's most significant and longest-running citizen science programs is the Audubon Society's annual Christmas Bird Count. For 122 years, birders of all skill levels and ages in 20 western hemisphere countries have taken time to help document the kinds of birds found in a specified area during a three-week period from December 14 to January 5. As a rigorous scientific survey, the Christmas Bird Count has volunteer "compilers" who oversee the collection of information within a 15-mile radius. Interested participants need to be approved to have their data included in the area’s count. Plan to join next year's count, starting on December 15, 2023. In the meantime, read about the amazing amount of information gathered over the years and how it has contributed to protection efforts.
Michigan Audubon has compiled a list of several citizen science efforts around birds on a webpage devoted to Birding for Conservation. The list includes species-specific counts as well as the annual count of each spring’s migrating species. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has also compiled a catalog of different opportunities for birding statewide, including birding trails that provide details on places to go exploring for different kinds of birds.