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