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Birding is exactly what it used to be
A hummingbird spotted near the Audubon Center at Debs Park in Los Angeles, Calif.
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Veteran birder Garry George scans the sky for birds.
The entrance to the Audubon Center at Debs Park in Los Angeles, Calif.
Celeste Prince prepares for birding with her iPad and birding apps.
Kai Ryssdal: According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 48 million Americans consider themselves "birders." People for whom a good walk outdoors isn't complete without a pair of binoculars and guidebook in hand. Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's one of them, for what it's worth.
All in all, birding's a multi-billion-dollar industry. But as you may have noticed, Henry Paulson's no spring chicken. In fact, the folks at the Audubon Society are scratching their heads and asking themselves: Why are our members so -- not young?
From the Marketplace Sustainability Desk, Adriene Hill has the story.
Adriene Hill: It's a crisp winter morning in Los Angeles. I'm out searching -- not for the noisy Goldfinch or the Soaring Red-Tailed Hawk, but for something much rarer. Wait! Hush! There she is, a young birder.
Celeste Prince: Celeste Prince.
OK. My apologies to all your David Attenborough fans out there, but Celeste Prince is exactly the sort of birder the Audubon Society is hoping to find. She's in her 30s and is a musician here in L.A. She looks the part, with long red hair and dressed for our hike in a stylish coat and boots. Prince seems really, truly into bird watching.
Prince: Sometimes I get made fun of a lot by my brothers for it. There are times I'm chasing a Mountain Quail through the backyard and they're looking at each other like, "Oh my gosh, what is happening right now?"
Prince has her iPad with her, with an application that helps her ID birds and makes bird sounds. Something that can be a bit problematic, especially when she demonstrates by playing the call of a Cooper's Hawk.
Loud hawk sound.
Hill: Now are thousands of birds freaked out that they've just heard a hawk.
Garry George: Yes.
Garry George has been birding for 20-plus years.
George: You'll see that it gets very quiet because Cooper's Hawks actually eat birds.
Prince: Sorry, probably not the right bird to choose for this particular moment.
George is with California Audubon. He says Cooper's Hawk-style mistakes aside, new birders and their technology are welcome. Organizations need to keep appealing to new generations to stay relevant.
David Yarnold: This isn't your grandmother's Audubon anymore.
David Yarnold is the president of the National Audubon Society. He says they're trying out the new image in California -- using social media to attract new people.
Yarnold: A younger, more diverse audience to help us create the Audubon of the future and it's already paying off enormously in California.
Over 300 people RSVP'd to an Audubon sponsored party at an art gallery in Venice Beach. Most the partiers aren't members.
And, says Graham Chisholm, executive director of California Audubon, that's not what this event, or even this rebrand, is about.
Graham Chisholm: For Audubon it's not so much about building membership, per se. For us, it's really about finding ways to connect people with the work we do, but also connecting people with each other.
He's hoping people will connect over an interest in nature -- and maybe even get out and do something about it. His timing seems good. If you think about it, there are already a whole lot of younger people who are trying out other older-generation pastimes. Once fuddy-duddy hobbies like knitting and canning are cool. Why not birding?
USC Marketing professor Ira Kalb says the pull to simple, especially for young adults, makes sense.
Ira Kalb: Yeah, we've all gone crazy by doing too many things. You know the computer is going, the e-mails are coming in...
Kalb thinks that need for calm could work in Audubon's favor as it tries make birding and the outdoors appealing to a younger crowd. But there's a bit of a risk.
Kalb: You don't want to alienate your most loyal customers, and that might be the grandmas or the grandpas.
The trick is finding the right message that'll bring everyone in. So what do the birds think of all the fuss? I tried to ask: But they were too freaked out by the Cooper's Hawk sound to make a peep.
Maybe next time.
I'm Adriene Hill for Marketplace.
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I would rather birding go extinct than sell itself out to youth who have to be courted. Why does the birding community feel it needs people who can't turn off their etoys, or who find it amusing to use technology to frighten wildlife by imitating predators.Why not let them discover & love nature, unadorned. Otherwise, best to let it all go. Stop birdcalling, for god's sake--don't birds & other wildlife have enough to deal with without interference from those who suposedluy appreciate them?
Check out programs and activities of the Los Angeles Area Audubon Chapters. There are available to families and individuals, Members and Non-members: field trips, bird walks, pelagic rips, habitat restoration and conservation projects, educational classes and public lectures and monthly presentation.
Not only has backyard birdfeeding increased, gardening with birds in mind is on the rise. Habitat loss is the biggest reason for the decline of migratory bird species, (followed by predation by cats and collisions with glass). Planting native species that provide food and shelter are among the ways to maitain migratory bird populations and interest children at home and at schools.
Attracting younger birders isn't importnat just for the hobby aspect. Birds now suffer from an increasing number of threats, many are declining, and increasing numbers are endangered. It isn't all bad news though, since we can overcome many of the problems and recover populations, but we need the next generation of conservationists to come along to support organizations such as my own: American Bird Conservancy.
I am a board member of our local audubon chapter. We are trying to reach younger birders, and I think new technologies like the iPod is one of the ways to do it. Just make sure you talk about responsible use of the bird calls. I have an iPod and LOVE the birding apps.
I'm 65 and just purchased my first smart phone--a droid. Same day I purchased Audubon's Birds as my first app. I am delighted with it and used it on a field trip I led the 2nd day I had it to let others hear a song of a target bird. Delia is certainly correct in pointing out that any device that can playback bird calls must be used responsibly, never for T&E species or during nesting. It is unfortunate that many birding organizations do not teach or promote responsible birding.
I am a young birder, at 24, and I've been doing it for around 6 years now. I am a member of the Beckham Bird Club and it is safe to say I am the youngest member. The great thing about being young and new to birding is that there is so much great information to learn from the people who have been doing it for decades now. We need young people to become interested in birding so that knowledge base doesn't disappear and so we do not become isolated from our environment. New technology is a great way to do that. I carry my ipod into the field with me to play back bird songs when I don't immediately know them. I know the "grandma's and grandpa's" are interested in new birding technology as well. Many of them have fancier gadgets than I do.
I'm the new president of the American Birding Association. We, like National Audubon, are trying to reach new birders of several generations while honoring the achievements and traditions of those who made our community what it is.
In my mind, it's not only the birds that make birding great, it's also the people you meet, the discoveries you share, and the wonderful (and sometimes not-so-wonderfu) places you get to explore.
I think some of the newer digital media offer us simply amazing opportunities to introduce ourselves to each other and to the incredible birds and other wildlife with which we share this planet.
Thumbs up to Marketplace for giving birding (and birders) some nice coverage!
I'd love to see Marketplace --or Audubon, though M'place seems more number-oriented-- provide actual stats/percents/numbers on birders by age (and other demographics).
If not here, have you a source of such? How do you know the young birder is rare?
Aside(?): I love that we now have iPad and smartphone apps for birders and naturalists and more.
Thanks!
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