Last September, I drove to a protected wetland near my home in Oakland, Calif., walked to the end of a pier and started looking at birds. On that pier, for the first time, I had gone somewhere solely to watch birds. In some birding circles, people say that anyone who looks at birds is a birder — a kind, inclusive sentiment that also overlooks the forces that create and shape subcultures. I keep abreast of eBird’s rare bird alerts and have spent many days — some glorious, others frustrating — looking for said rare birds. I went out with experienced birders to learn how they move through a landscape and what cues they attend to.

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Persons: I’ve, birders Organizations: Journalism Locations: Oakland, Calif, Sibley, United States, pish, owling