What hobby seems boring to most people but is actually fascinating if you dive into it?
What hobby seems boring to most people but is actually fascinating if you dive into it?
Tell us why we should unexpectedly come to love your hobby.
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Birding, you’ll be truly surprised by the variety of just birds around you. Perks: it gets you out on trails, low cost of entry (binoculars), the data you produce of birds is used for research, and you’re just observing so you don’t need to worry about harming animals.
I remember when everyone was excited about playing Pokemon Go and wishing that there was a way to do something similar but in the wilderness rather than cities. I wanted to be able to wander around the wilds trying to encounter strange and rare creatures. Then I realised I had just invented birdwatching.
You’re John Birdman??
The Audubon app is great for tracking birds you've seen, and the observations are used for scientific studies!
Just don't try to take pictures. That's a money pit.
Not sure if you are into board games but Wingspan is pretty fun. Really got me fascinated with different birds.
Birding is pretty cool. I enjoy it.
Genuine question: when did birdwatching/ornithology become birding?
Birding sounds like a not so distant cousin to dogging.
Can you explain a bit more about producing data that helps researchers? That's intriguing to me.
Yeah man. So if you use the eBird app or website to track your birds you see (use Merlin bird id for id help) Cornell university actually maintains that and uses it. These sites and apps are highly highly recommended and almost mandatory if you find yourself doing birding often. Anyways, as you populate you list with sightings and areas you’ve found birds they can map out so much. Stuff like habitats, ranges, changes in these, population sizes, migration timings, and I’m sure there’s more I’m not thinking of. These are all important with human influenced climate change and habitat destruction.