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Birds have inspired people since the dawn of time. They are the notes behind Mozart's genius, the colours behind Audubon's art and ballet's swansong. In The Birds They Sang, Stanisław Łubienski sheds light on some of history's most meaningful bird and human interactions, from historical bird watchers in a German POW camp, to Billy and Kes in A Kestrel for a Knave. He muses on what exactly Hitchcock's birds had in mind and reveals the true story behind the real James Bond. Undiscouraged by damp, discomfort and a reed bunting's curse, Łubienski bears witness to the difficulties birds face today, as people fail to accommodate them in rapidly changing times.

Birdwatching is considered one of the fastest growing nature-based tourism sectors in the world. Tourists who identify as birdwatchers tend to be well-educated and wealthy travellers with a specific interest in the places they visit. Birdwatchers can bring economic resources to remote communities diversifying their economies and contribute to biodiversity conservation in areas of bird habitat with global significance. Alaska plays a critical role in understanding the link between bird conservation and bird tourism as it supports the world’s largest concentration of shorebirds and is a global breeding hotspot for hundreds of migratory species, including many species of conservation concern for their decline across their ranges. Alaska is also a global destination for birders due to the large congregations of birds that occur during the spring, summer and fall seasons. Despite its global importance, relatively little information exists on the significance of bird tourism in Alaska or on opportunities for community development that align with conservation. This study used ebird data to look at trends in Alaska birdwatching and applied existing information from the Alaska Visitor Statistics Program to estimate visitor expenditures and the impact of that spending on Alaska’s regional economies. In 2016, nearly 300,000 birdwatchers visited Alaska and spent $378 million, supporting approximately 4,000 jobs. The study describes bird tourism’s contributions to local jobs and income in remote rural and urban economies and discusses opportunities for developing and expanding the nature-based tourism sector. The study points toward the importance of partnering with rural communities and landowners to advance both economic opportunities and biodiversity conservation actions. The need for new data collection addressing niche market development and economic diversification is also discussed.

Interacting with nature is widely recognised as providing many health and well-being benefits. As people live increasingly urbanised lifestyles, the provision of food for garden birds may create a vital link for connecting people to nature and enabling them to access these benefits. However, it is not clear which factors determine the pleasure that people receive from watching birds at their feeders. These may be dependent on the species that are present, the abundance of individuals and the species richness of birds around the feeders. We quantitatively surveyed urban households from towns in southern England to determine the factors that influence the likeability of 14 common garden bird species, and to assess whether people prefer to see a greater abundance of individuals or increased species richness at their feeders. There was substantial variation in likeability across species, with songbirds being preferred over non-songbirds. Species likeability increased for people who fed birds regularly and who could name the species. We found a strong correlation between the number of species that a person could correctly identify and how connected to nature they felt when they watched garden birds. Species richness was preferred over a greater number of individuals of the same species. Although we do not show causation this study suggests that it is possible to increase the well-being benefits that people gain from watching birds at their feeders. This could be done first through a human to bird approach by encouraging regular interactions between people and their garden birds, such as through learning the species names and providing food. Second, it could be achieved through a bird to human approach by increasing garden songbird diversity because the pleasure that a person receives from watching an individual bird at a feeder is dependent not only on its species but also on the diversity of birds at the feeder.

Birdwatching is one of the most sustainable types of nature-based tourism and, at the same time, a form of recreation that is developing very dynamically. Birdwatching is attracting more and more people, not only professionals, but also amateurs from many countries. Birdwatching research is still relatively embryonic, especially when compared to nature tourism or wildlife tourism. Our main aim was to determine preferences and opinions of birdwatchers visiting the largest national park in Poland, in relation to their different levels of involvement. The data were collected in 2018 from a survey of a sample of 357 Polish and foreign birdwatchers. Results showed that birdwatcher respondents were predominantly male, middle-aged, and living in a large city. An important tool described in this article is a new scale that assesses the level of involvement of individual people engaged in birdwatching activity. This scale corresponds well with the individual characteristics of birdwatchers. Most birdwatchers defined their birdwatching activity as a permanent rather than a temporary hobby and therefore considered it to be more of a lifestyle than a hobby. Engagement in birdwatching activity increased with age and frequency of trips. The two most important reasons for birding were ‘to be close to nature’ and ‘fascination with birds’. It has been proven that the development of birdwatching in the future will require a developed infrastructure enabling interaction with the objects of observation.

Social associations within mixed-species bird flocks can promote information flow about food availability and provide predator avoidance benefits. The relationship between flocking propensity, foraging habitat quality, and interspecific competition can be altered by human-induced habitat degradation. Here we take a close look at sociality within two ecologically important flock-leader (core) species, the Carolina chickadee ( Poecile carolinensis ) and tufted titmouse ( Baeolophus bicolor ), to better understand how degradation of foraging habitat quality affects mixed-species flocking dynamics. We compared interactions of free ranging wild birds across a gradient of foraging habitat quality in three managed forest remnants. Specifically, we examined aspects of the social network at each site, including network density, modularity, and species assortativity. Differences in the social networks between each end of our habitat gradient suggest that elevated levels of interspecific association are more valuable in the habitat with low quality foraging conditions. This conclusion is supported by two additional findings: First, foraging height for the subordinate Carolina chickadee relative to the tufted titmouse decreased with an increase in the number of satellite species in the most disturbed site but not in the other two sites. Second, the chickadee gargle call rate, an acoustic signal emitted during agonistic encounters between conspecifics, was relatively higher at the high-quality site. Collectively, these results suggest an increase in heterospecific associations increases the value of cross-species information flow in degraded habitats.

The global urbanization surge, with the majority of the global population expected to reside in urbanized places, raises concerns about children’s limited exposure to nature, which could lead to a lack of environmental knowledge, gradually causing a decline in pro-environmental behaviors. Here, a bird-watching activity aims to introduce 10–18 year old students to urban biodiversity, enhance their knowledge of the ecological significance of local bird species, and help them explore their roles in conserving bird diversity. In the lesson, students observe and document bird species in their urban localities, followed by collaboratively designing and constructing bird feeders using waste and reuse of materials. We observed that students displayed excitement during the outdoor bird-walk, and identifying birds by name generated enthusiasm and increased engagement. With little assistance, they generated creative ideas for making bird feeders and could rationalize their choice of materials. This holistic learning experience fosters students’ interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, promotes awareness of and responsibility towards their environmental surroundings, and empowers them to enjoy nature and act as environmental stewards. More broadly, students benefit through improved observational skills, creativity, scientific inquiry, teamwork and interdisciplinary learning. This lesson emphasizes the significance of providing more nature-based experiential learning activities in the curricula by encouraging educators to leverage school campuses and urban green spaces as valuable resources for learning about urban nature.

What is the contribution of pragmatism to the sociology of morality? I answer to the points raised by the essays in this symposium on Moral Entanglements: Conserving Birds in Britain and Germany by outlining what the work of John Dewey adds to recent discussions on the question how values change over time and how individuals develop moral commitments.

What draws us to the beauty of a peacock, the flight of an eagle, or the song of a nightingale? Why are birds so significant in our lives and our sense of the world? And what do our ways of thinking about and experiencing birds tell us about ourselves? Birdscapes is a unique meditation on the variety of human responses to birds, from antiquity to today, and from casual observers to the globe-trotting \"twitchers\" who sometimes risk life, limb, and marriages simply to add new species to their \"life lists.\" Drawing extensively on literature, history, philosophy, and science, Jeremy Mynott puts his own experiences as a birdwatcher in a rich cultural context. His sources range from the familiar--Thoreau, Keats, Darwin, and Audubon--to the unexpected--Benjamin Franklin, Giacomo Puccini, Oscar Wilde, and Monty Python. Just as unusual are the extensive illustrations, which explore our perceptions and representations of birds through images such as national emblems, women's hats, professional sports logos, and a Christmas biscuit tin, as well as classics of bird art. Each chapter takes up a new theme--from rarity, beauty, and sound to conservation, naming, and symbolism--and is set in a new place, as Mynott travels from his \"home patch\" in Suffolk, England, to his \"away patch\" in New York City's Central Park, as well as to Russia, Australia, and Greece. Conversational, playful, and witty, Birdscapes gently leads us to reflect on large questions about our relation to birds and the natural world. It encourages birders to see their pursuits in a broader human context--and it shows nonbirders what they may be missing.

This article explores to what extent existing environmental citizen science projects contribute to environmental citizenship. Specifically, we ask what kind of environmental citizenship does eBird-one of the world's largest environmental citizen science platforms-co-create with its users. By applying a discourse analysis to eBird's digital platform, we assess how it contributes to the formulation of specific social roles and environmental objects that shape an environmental citizenship unique to eBird. Using the analytical lens of collectiveness, situatedness, and connectedness, we show that eBird assumes responsibility for environmental citizenship over its users, that it promotes situated care for birds primarily through identification, and connects its users to some global environmental challenges. Through this analysis, we argue that environmental citizen science projects contribute to formulations of specific discursive environments (both material and social) where different forms of citizenship take form and take place.

Detecting rare bird species is an essential aspect of ornithological culture. The pursuit of observing rare bird species is not only a key facet of birdwatching tourism but also a fascinating intersection between ornithology and sociology. However, patterns in birdwatcher gatherings around rare birds and the factors affecting these patterns in situ are largely unexplored. We directly asked 50 birdwatchers and analysed available photos to obtain details on birdwatcher gatherings at the occasion of 103 observations of 71 rare species recorded in 1996–2022 in Poland. Our analysis revealed that the number of people participating in rare bird observations was influenced by the rarity status of the species (rarer species attracted larger groups), the year (with an increase in recent years) and the interaction between these factors (there was an increasing trend for birdwatchers to ‘twitch’, that is participate in sightings of very rare bird species, in recent years). Furthermore, distance to urban centres significantly negatively affected the size of birdwatcher groups. In addition, we found that the proportion of observers who successfully saw a birding rarity at each site decreased in recent years but increased during the weekend. We also found that the proportion of women in these crowds has grown in recent years and that female birdwatchers were more willing to participate in observations of more common rarities than male birdwatchers. Our results indicate that birdwatching gatherings around bird rarities can be impacted by several factors, including the general rarity of species, year and distance to cities. A dynamic increase in the proportion of females participating in birdwatching in Poland resembles trends reported in other countries. Increased female engagement in observations of more common rarities may be potentially influenced by distinct motivations. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Streszczenie Wykrywanie i obserwacje rzadkich gatunków ptaków to istotne aspekty kultury ornitologicznej. Dążenie do obejrzenia rzadkich gatunków awifauny (dalej ‐ rzadkości) jest nie tylko kluczowym aspektem turystyki obserwacyjnej, ale także fascynującym połączeniem ornitologii i socjologii. Jednak wzorce przyjazdu do miejsca występowania i gromadzenia się obserwatorów ptaków wokół rzadkich gatunków i czynniki wpływające na te wzorce in situ są w dużej mierze niezbadane. Do analizy wykorzystano dane z 50 wywiadów z obserwatorami oraz poddano analizie zdjęcia zgrupowań ludzi podczas obserwacji rzadkości. Łącznie analizie poddano 103 obserwacje dotyczące 71 rzadkich gatunków odnotowanych w Polsce w latach 1996–2022. Wykazaliśmy, że na liczbę osób uczestniczących w obserwacjach rzadkości wpływał status gatunku (rzadsze taksony przyciągały większe grupy osób), rok (wzrost w ostatnich latach) oraz interakcja między tymi czynnikami (w ostatnich latach więcej osób uczestniczy w obserwacjach bardzo rzadkich gatunków ptaków). Co więcej, odległość od ośrodków miejskich znacząco negatywnie wpłynęła na wielkość grup obserwatorów ptaków. Ponadto stwierdziliśmy, że odsetek obserwatorów, którzy z powodzeniem zaobserwowali rzadkie gatunki ptaków w każdym miejscu, zmniejszył się w ostatnich latach, ale wzrósł w weekendy. Stwierdziliśmy również, że odsetek kobiet w grupach obserwatorów wzrósł w ostatnich latach. Ponadto, „obserwatorki” ptaków częściej uczestniczyły w obserwacjach bardziej powszechnych rzadkości niż mężczyźni. Uzyskane przez nas wyniki wskazują, że na liczbę obserwatorów przyjeżdżających w miejsce wykrycia rzadkich gatunków ptaków mogą wpływać różne czynniki, w tym rzadkość gatunków, rok i odległość od miast. Dynamiczny wzrost udziału kobiet w obserwacjach ptaków w Polsce przypomina trendy odnotowane w innych krajach, a na zwiększone ich zaangażowanie w obserwacje częstszych rzadkości mogą potencjalnie wpływać odmienne motywacje. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.