-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Rise of the hipster Birdwatcher. (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter NDhunter
- Start date
Hi,
and here's the link ;-)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/rise-hipster-bird-watcher/
Joachim
and here's the link ;-)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/rise-hipster-bird-watcher/
Joachim
coopershawk
Well-known member
If this is true, then this is good news for us all! Millenials will start taking office in the not too far future, and having people in positions of power that value nature can only be a good thing IMO.
And hopefully they'll stop blasting music on trails :-@
And hopefully they'll stop blasting music on trails :-@
james holdsworth
Consulting Biologist
The millenials I know don't seem to ever go outside.....
It's a funny thing, the discussion about birding popularity, I just don't see it or buy it and this is based on observations around the globe, although Britain might just be completely different now. For example, I have been to tropical resorts that are known for great birding -Gamboa for one - and often never see another birder for the whole week. At a resort on the Yucatan, with probably over 3000 people present, not another pair of binocs to be seen. Surely the percentages would indicate at least a few dozen birders in groups of this size, regardless of location / season etc. People would say that travelers are not likely to bird in such a setting but if you have an interest in birds, don't you at least bring some compacts to see Yucatan Jays or whatever lifer passes by?
On top of that, things like the ABA are at near all-time low for memberships. My local reservoir, that I bird probably 100 times a year, for over 40 years now, has NEVER produced an encounter with a ''new'' birder [there are three of us, serious birders, in a city of 35,000......]
It's a funny thing, the discussion about birding popularity, I just don't see it or buy it and this is based on observations around the globe, although Britain might just be completely different now. For example, I have been to tropical resorts that are known for great birding -Gamboa for one - and often never see another birder for the whole week. At a resort on the Yucatan, with probably over 3000 people present, not another pair of binocs to be seen. Surely the percentages would indicate at least a few dozen birders in groups of this size, regardless of location / season etc. People would say that travelers are not likely to bird in such a setting but if you have an interest in birds, don't you at least bring some compacts to see Yucatan Jays or whatever lifer passes by?
On top of that, things like the ABA are at near all-time low for memberships. My local reservoir, that I bird probably 100 times a year, for over 40 years now, has NEVER produced an encounter with a ''new'' birder [there are three of us, serious birders, in a city of 35,000......]
Last edited:
PeterPS
Well-Known Member
I am with James on this one: I have spent 6 hours today at the Bird Sanctuary in Burlingame by the San Francisco airport---thousands of birds, literally, but not a single person with binoculars besides the undersigned; many millennials with cameras, none with binos.///Peter.
joe101
Well-known member
I am not sure if i am a Millennial but i was born in the late 80s, I carry both binoculars and cameras maybe not always on the same day. I think that Birding is something that generally comes in a later stage of life, akin to collecting of any sort. I think nature observation is quite popular with the younger generation but not birding. Too fiddly for now and it takes to certain type of person maybe towards the pedantic/fastidious sort. I mean i am that sort and i see this pattern in most birding circles.
Last edited:
Hi,
over here one sees twenty-somethings too at bird excursions of the local nature clubs. But I would not call those hipsters - I think that moniker implies a bit more than a certain age...
But anyways, those of them that will stay with the hobby when the hip factor wears away in a few years will adapt and be indistinguishable from other birders ;-)
Joachim
over here one sees twenty-somethings too at bird excursions of the local nature clubs. But I would not call those hipsters - I think that moniker implies a bit more than a certain age...
But anyways, those of them that will stay with the hobby when the hip factor wears away in a few years will adapt and be indistinguishable from other birders ;-)
Joachim
FrankD
Well-known member
I lead a few bird walks each year at one of the local hotspots. I will say that though the group is typically dominated by those over 60 there does seem to be an influx of 20-somethings over the last year or so. Furthermore, some of the most hardcore birders in the state fall into the mid-late twenties category with some just a few years older.
Not sure either about the 'hipster' aspect, but here in NYC Central Park there is a good number of active birders aged from the teens to the late twenties.
They are enthusiastic and splendidly capable.
The combination of young eyes, good glass and full command of all the tools technology now offers makes them formidably effective.
They are enthusiastic and splendidly capable.
The combination of young eyes, good glass and full command of all the tools technology now offers makes them formidably effective.
dantheman
Bah humbug
This was being discussed elsewhere (eg on twitter, whatever that is, some of you may ask).
There has to be some doubt over their sampling techniques, surely. Also I reckon the number of hipsters visiting a local park with loving partner/and or small children <insert suitable modern names for children> to feed the ducks or visit a nice cafe who would then respond on a survey to say they'd been birdwatching must be quite high.
There has to be some doubt over their sampling techniques, surely. Also I reckon the number of hipsters visiting a local park with loving partner/and or small children <insert suitable modern names for children> to feed the ducks or visit a nice cafe who would then respond on a survey to say they'd been birdwatching must be quite high.
james holdsworth
Consulting Biologist
This is it. Many ''watch birds'' a bit, few are ''bird-watchers.''
Implying birding popularity by going to where birders congregate is invalid. If birding numbers were anywhere near what some surveys suggest, we should encounter them frequently, everywhere. Birding festivals are always going to be full of birders, but it's the visits to regular parks and vacation spots where the lack of birders is telling.
I've brought this up before - if birding really did enjoy this level of popularity, there would be shelves full of birding-related magazines and bird-related TV programming. At best, we get generic fluff like ''Birds and Blooms'' and the odd doc. on Discovery or the BBC. Sure there are specialist mags. through subscription only [Birding, NA Birds etc.] but I mean commercially available. When I look at a shelf full of mags, and see twenty publications for Horse fanciers and two for Birders, either the market is misreading things or the numbers are inaccurate.
Last edited:
Hgalbraith1
Member
Numbers of birders in US
There have been estimates of birders in the US that range as high as 70 million. IMHO these numbers do not come close to passing the laugh test. The main problem with them is how to define a "birder", and most use a very lax definition. My own preference would be to say that a birder is someone who can ID by sight or sound at least a hundred species, and for whom birding is a frequent recreational activity. If I apply that (fairly generous) criterion to my own state (Vermont), I think that I can say that there are approximately 50-100 birders in the state. Same with New Hampshire and Maine.
Like others, I am out birding 3-4 times a week in VT, NH, and Massachusetts and rarely see any others. So, where are they all? There may be lots of other folks who occasionally carry bins and look at birds on their feeders, but are they "birders"? My feeling is that if everyone is a birder then no one is a birder. If we scale up from my estimates of New England to the entire country we arrive at a total number about 20,000 to 30,000, certainly not anywhere close to 70m. Last I heard, ABA had about 9,000 members, which might fit better with my estimate.
Of course it all hinges on your definition of a birder and I am aware that the definitions of others might differ from mine, but I cannot see how it may be possible to get over 50,000 in the US.
There have been estimates of birders in the US that range as high as 70 million. IMHO these numbers do not come close to passing the laugh test. The main problem with them is how to define a "birder", and most use a very lax definition. My own preference would be to say that a birder is someone who can ID by sight or sound at least a hundred species, and for whom birding is a frequent recreational activity. If I apply that (fairly generous) criterion to my own state (Vermont), I think that I can say that there are approximately 50-100 birders in the state. Same with New Hampshire and Maine.
Like others, I am out birding 3-4 times a week in VT, NH, and Massachusetts and rarely see any others. So, where are they all? There may be lots of other folks who occasionally carry bins and look at birds on their feeders, but are they "birders"? My feeling is that if everyone is a birder then no one is a birder. If we scale up from my estimates of New England to the entire country we arrive at a total number about 20,000 to 30,000, certainly not anywhere close to 70m. Last I heard, ABA had about 9,000 members, which might fit better with my estimate.
Of course it all hinges on your definition of a birder and I am aware that the definitions of others might differ from mine, but I cannot see how it may be possible to get over 50,000 in the US.
NDhunter
Experienced observer
What surprises me most is the apparent lack of analysis on the bins carried by the dude in the original pic on here ...
...
Good catch, I like his strap placement. Very effective, must be
an expert birder...........
Can anyone identify the binocular ? I can't, very thin body, not
something I have seen.
Jerry
dwatsonbirder
Well-known member
Being in my late 20's (I can say that for another 3 months anyways) with a beard, funny looking bobble hat and oversized thick rimmed black glasses, I really hope I'm not mistaken for a hipster. I was (and always have been) uncool, long before being uncool was ironically cool - I think that's how the hipster thing works isn't it?
I'd hardly call the torygraph a cutting edge, on the pulse, down with the kids media outlet though, but fake news seems to be all the range these days. Those bins look very cheap and nasty.
I'd hardly call the torygraph a cutting edge, on the pulse, down with the kids media outlet though, but fake news seems to be all the range these days. Those bins look very cheap and nasty.
Last edited:
