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Home Birding Birding Basics


A DOSE OF NATURE: WHY BIRDING WILL BOOST YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

Heather RayUpdated: Nov. 08, 2022
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BIRD WATCHING IS MORE THAN AN ENJOYABLE HOBBY—FIND OUT HOW IT’S ALSO GOOD FOR
YOUR PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH.

You know the old saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”? Well, you could
say that about birds. Sure, birdwatching, photographing and feeding birds is a
fun hobby, but there’s much more to it than that. This simple activity can
provide major health benefits and add to the quality of life for just about
anyone.

Take a look at how a little dose of feathered friends and Mother Nature can have
a big impact on your well-being.


HEALTH BENEFITS OF BIRDING

Ron NewhouseBirding activities like identifying a new bird at your feeder help
keep your brain strong.

When you think about the benefits of birding, a few points may immediately come
to mind, such as taking walks and getting fresh air. And you’d be right about
both. But now researchers say there’s even more good news for anyone who doesn’t
leave the house without binoculars, and even for those who prefer to watch from
the backyard or a park bench. Bird-watching and exposure to nature have profound
positive effects on not only physical health but also mental well-being.

Bird-watching tips for beginners: how to start birding.


BIRD THERAPY IN ACTION

GummyBone/Getty ImagesStart a list of birds you hope to see, such as a palm
warbler, for motivation to head outdoors.

Tina Toth of Sheridan, Wyoming, can attest to the benefits of birding. For more
than a decade, she was afflicted by migraines and spent countless hours with
neurologists. Then, in 2013, a spinal tap revealed that her spinal fluid
pressure was three times the normal level. “I was diagnosed with idiopathic
intracranial hypertension. The pressure pushes against your brain in a similar
way as a tumor,” she says. In the 10 months following her diagnosis, several
attempts to drain cerebrospinal fluid were made, ultimately leading to a
surgically implanted shunt—a system that continues to give her relief.

Here’s why gardening is good for your health. Plus, these are the best indoor
plants for mental health, according to experts.

“Over those months, there were many times I was determined to walk or sit on my
porch and try to be ‘normal,’” she says. “Then I started to notice birds. They
gave me something to focus on besides my own pain.” With the help of a simple
field guide, she started identifying western kingbirds, Say’s phoebes,
yellow-headed blackbirds and northern harriers. “It served as a first step into
a larger world of birding,” she says. “It’s really an ongoing outcome for me,
but specifically, after a long day, a stressful event or a change in life, just
stepping out the front door for a walk around the neighborhood to look for birds
brings me peace.”

Check out the top 10 dos and don’ts of birding in the field.


WHAT SCIENCE HAS TO SAY

Roy Morsch/Getty Images

Researchers in Oregon recently looked at evidence from five studies and found
that outdoor recreational activities (such as hiking, canoeing or cross-country
skiing) are associated with feelings of wellbeing, including life satisfaction.

And these findings held true regardless of age, gender, income, education level,
physical fitness or knowledge of nature. In other words, people could answer yes
if asked, “Are you a happy person?” If those types of activities are not
accessible, you can rest assured— literally. Researchers in Kentucky found that
people who rested outdoors versus inside showed an increase in positive feelings
and a decrease in tiredness. This means that simply watching a bird feeder for
even as little as 10 minutes can be beneficial to your psychological health.

It’s no surprise then that researchers in the U.K. recently concluded that
people who live in neighborhoods with more afternoon bird populations report
less stress, anxiety and feelings of depression. Perhaps this information could
be useful to teenagers, as 20% of them will experience depression before
adulthood. In fact, one study found that when bird-watching was introduced as a
means of high school physical education, students reported decreased confusion,
fatigue and tension.

For 18-year-old Klee Bruce of Springfield, Missouri, watching birds brings bliss
from teenage challenges. “You just see the bird in front of you, and everything
else—all your problems, worries, stresses, all of it—just vanishes,” she says.
“Having that kind of focus and clarity can be very soothing.”



Learn how to identify mystery birds.


WHY BIRDING HELPS YOUR HEALTH

Marc Romanelli/Getty Images

Ashley Dayer is a conservation social scientist and researcher at Virginia Tech,
where she studies influences and behaviors that relate to conservation,
including bird conservation. She says there are a variety of opinions for why
nature promotes mental well-being. “Theories about people’s attraction to
viewing and to being in nature often tie to humans’ long evolutionary history of
connection to natural environments,” she says. “In other words, people are
attracted to places that were essential to our survival as a species.”

This may sound familiar to Klee, who remembers a particularly rough winter
mentally for her. She was sitting on her dock one evening when she spotted a
pair of horned grebes in full breeding plumage. “I felt like my own thought
patterns and experiences aligned with the changing of the seasons and the
molting of the grebes,” she says. “I drew a lot of peace and clarity from that
moment.”

Check out the ultimate guide to watching birds in every season.


ADJUSTING TO THE NEW NORMAL

Courtesy Linda LesperanceSet out birdhouses and feeders and look for unexpected
moments of joy from nature.

The spread of COVID-19 has disrupted the way people live. Change brings
uncertainty but, as readers write in, this experience has helped many rediscover
the soothing qualities of their backyards. Amy Imperato of Michigan City,
Indiana, writes, “Like many, I worked a 40- to 60-hour workweek. Then quarantine
hit. It gave me the time to enjoy my backyard and introduced me to birding. I’ve
counted 51 species in my backyard alone!”

The slowdown has set an example for longtime birders, too. Being able to observe
a pair of eastern bluebirds raising their young inspired Susanne Miller of
Manassas, Virginia, to stay patient. She writes, “The birds shared the chores,
carrying materials and guarding the nest. It was a lesson in cooperation I hoped
my husband and I would learn while being confined.”

Costa’s hummingbirds helped me survive the pandemic.


FIND YOUR PLACE

Many organizations offer opportunities for new and veteran birders.

 * Young Birder Clubs offer exciting adventures for kids and teens. Find a list
   of clubs across the country at aba.org or ebird.org.
 * Join an Audubon chapter. Find a group near you at audubon.org.
 * Check out a local nature center. Many offer a variety of bird walks
   throughout the year.
 * Ready to set up a feeder or add to your collection? Your local Wild Birds
   Unlimited store can help.

Check out the best botanical gardens for bird-watching.


MORE REASONS TO GO BIRDING


BIRDING MAKES YOU HAPPY

Courtesy Erin CalamussoGo on a bird walk to clear your head

Although it’s possible to do a lot of birding just by looking out the window,
sooner or later birds will lure us outdoors. While this alone can lift your
spirits, there really is a scientific tie between your mood and being outside.
When we’re outdoors moving around and breathing fresh air, we tend to take
deeper breaths. With more oxygen transported to all the cells of our bodies,
including our brains, we become more alert, and our mood is likely to be
elevated. Also, during half an hour in the sun, we can soak up almost a whole
day’s requirement of vitamin D. Vitamin D is important for our physical health
in a variety of ways, and it also helps to alleviate anxiety and depression.

Make your month-by-month birding resolutions.


BIRDWATCHING MAKES FRIENDS

Studies have shown repeatedly that a strong network of friends will help you to
stay happy and healthy. And if you take up bird-watching, you’ll probably
discover many new friendships. An interest in birds brings together people from
all walks of life and of all ages and backgrounds. Birding crosses all social
and economic barriers and creates a sense of camaraderie that can help forge
lasting friendships. Sharing our love of birds with new friends—and with those
who have never tried birding—is beneficial for the birds, too! The more people
we can get interested in birds and nature, the more support we build for
conservation.

Go birding in the city: How to be an urban birder.


BIRDING KEEPS YOU PHYSICALLY ACTIVE

A birding experience can be as low-key and relaxing as sitting in a comfy chair
and watching the birds at your feeders. But it can also qualify as wonderful
exercise. Simply going for a walk might be boring, but going for a walk to look
for birds gives you a focus and a reason to keep going. And if you get serious
about seeking new and different birds, you may find yourself hiking long
distances and carrying all kinds of birding gear. Even if you stay close to
home, bird feeding also requires some physical activity. This is especially true
if, like us, you live in an area where you’ve got to shovel several inches of
snow (or sometimes several feet!) from around your feeding station in winter.
Use the birds in your backyard as inspiration to keep moving.



Learn how to help birds in cold winter weather.


BIRDWATCHING TAKES YOU PLACES

Courtesy Bill CaldwellValley of Fire state park in Nevada

Pursuing birds in their natural habitats is bound to shake us out of our normal
routines and haunts. Watching the sun rise over a meadow, going out into the
woods at night to look for owls, even going to the landfill to see a rare
gull—all of these take us beyond ordinary experiences. For many birders, once
they’ve gotten to know the birds in their area, there’s an insatiable curiosity
about species elsewhere in the world. Birding can be the motivation to travel
far and wide. For instance, birding expert Kenn Kaufman has watched birds on
every continent. We’re not suggesting that everyone should go to that extreme,
but visiting new and different places and exploring the bird life there is an
exciting way to expand your knowledge of the world at large.

Discover coast to coast birding hotspots for every season.


BIRDING FEEDS THE BRAIN

Keeping our minds active and healthy is essential for our overall sense of
well-being. The Alzheimer’s Association suggests that if we want to keep our
brains healthy we need to keep learning new things. What better way to do that
than by continuing to learn about birds? If you are new to bird-watching, just
identifying the birds you see can be a challenging mental puzzle. If you are an
experienced birder, you can still learn new things every day about the behavior
of your local birds. Studies have shown that these kinds of mental exercises can
help form new neural paths that can help fight back against diseases like
Alzheimer’s, other forms of dementia and Parkinson’s.


BIRDWATCHING LEADS TO NEW EXPERIENCES

Courtesy Paul Marto A pair of Anna’s hummingbird chicks greet their mom as she
flies back to the nest.

Variety is the spice of life. This is an old saying, but it’s true. Lack of
variety in our lives can lead to boredom and a general sense of fatigue. Adding
variety can make us more energized and positive, giving us more to look forward
to. And of course, in terms of variety, birds offer a dizzying array of colors,
calls and behaviors. You can’t predict all the birds you’ll see while going out
birding. On any given day, some of the expected birds will be nowhere to be seen
while totally unexpected ones may pop up at any moment. So birding offers both a
reassuring sense of the predictable and an exciting sense of the unpredictable,
keeping us on our toes and alive to the possibilities.

An interest in birds can be the gateway to a world of discovery. Once you go
outdoors and start looking around, it’s almost impossible to just see the birds.
Before long, a beautiful butterfly, an intriguing mushroom or some unfamiliar
turtle will distract you. It’s OK to be distracted—the birds won’t mind. As
we’re fond of saying, when you learn more about nature, your view of the world
becomes more three-dimensional. Some of our best friends are humans, but there
are about a million other species of living things out there that are also worth
knowing. And new experiences make life worth living!

Check out 7 amazing nature photos you won’t want to miss.

Originally Published: October 05, 2021




Heather Ray
Heather Ray is a registered dietitian and an award-winning journalist and editor
currently residing in Des Moines, Iowa. She earned a master of science degree in
nutrition and dietetics. In her leisure time, she enjoys baking, archery,
kayaking, and hiking—hoping to someday trek all 2,175 miles of the Appalachian
Trail.


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