Birdwatching Still In Vogue and Drawing In a New Generation

By Mark Hoerrner

Birdwatching, once ranked with exciting hobbies like stamp and bug collecting is seeing a new generation of hobbyists take to the activity.

Sixteen year-old Robert Reichfeldt of Oregon is just one of a group of teens getting into birdwatching. Though he and friends Oliver Sanger and James McFlynn used to think that simply peering at wildlife through binoculars was about as unhip as a Lawrence Welk rerun, they’ve found a new respect for the animals they track.

Using field guides and field glasses, the trio peer through the coastal scrub in search of a variety of early morning visitors. Shorebirds, primarily, but you never know what you will find, James says.

"Sometimes, you can catch crabs feeding or you run into animals prowling the beach," McFlynn says.

It’s likely cyclical, but the rebirth among youth in the hobby is likely due to a move toward greater interest in wildlife stewardship motivated by the current presidential administration, some enthusiasts say, but not because the administration is actively promoting the hobby. Recent decimations of environmental laws have led to a renewed movement to protect natural resources.

In fact, birdwatchers have had a significant effect on wildlife on the eastern coast of the U.S. Near Delaware, watchers noticed a decline in shorebirds. Looking into the disappearing numbers, birdwatchers discovered that a decline in the population of horseshoe crabs was affecting the birds’ feeding patterns since many northeastern shorebirds spend seasonal migrations in the extreme north and then fly south.

On their way south, the birds stop and gorge themselves on horseshoe crab eggs. But the eggs were less plentiful because local conch and eel fishermen had started taking the crabs to use as bait. Motivated by care for the birds, local watchers sparked a conservation effort for the crabs that in turn benefited the birds. State legislatures in the area have now passed legislation governing the crab harvest.

Chris Stenson, a birdwatcher in Chicago, Ill., started the hobby when he was 12 by traveling to wild areas with his parents. Now 24 and a recent college graduate, he’s seeking work as a wildlife biologist.

"At first, I thought it was going to be a pretty lame experience," Stenson says. "But my mom kept harping on me to go with them and when I did, I found that I really had a good time. So much so that I started studying about all kinds of animals, not just the birds. Now, I plan to make wildlife conservation my career."