Different types of Birders

This article is based only on our casual observations of several birders whom we saw or met during our bird searching. This is just a casual post on how varied a bunch of birders can be. I will leave it to the readers to take it light heartedly or motivate them to come up with a plan to bash our heads.

I was personally amazed about the fact that motivation behind birding was so different for each one of us. Different reasons are Ok as long as the birds are not harmed . Unfortunately the real world is not so innocent and our actions have real life consequences and in many cases it is the bird who pays the price. As you will soon see , you can place yourself in many groups at the same time and that is the case with us too. This post is just some honest and blunt inspection and introspection. So have a laugh and try to secretly categorize yourself. So let us start with the list !

Binocular birders

I have huge respect to the Binocular birders because they know their stuff. They can identify the birds just like that by seeing them in binoculars. In special birds cases, they note the details of birds carefully and later recount them. But these birders are now very rare as they all had started their birding during pre-camera & pre-social media era.

Camera birders

The camera birders are the most common birders in the current period. Either they started birding because they bought a SLR camera or they saw few birds and immediately bought a camera. Anyhow, their birding gets more distracted by their urge to click the camera. Most of the camera birders don’t enjoy when they get a lifer (A birding term that means to see the bird for the first time in their life) but they enjoy only when they get a photo lifer (I guess you know what I mean). And some of the camera birders need the perfect feather details shot or the perfect action shot, otherwise that moment doesn’t count.

Non-ethical birders

These desperate birders go to any extent to see a bird or get a perfect photo of the bird (Mostly for the second reason). So they feed the wild birds or play calls to bring the birds out of their cover or drive over their habitat. There are no ethics for these birders and hence they can disturb the birds to any length to get a perfect shot. Like photographing bird nests, chicks, eggs by scaring the birds.

Rare bird birders

These birders call themselves very experienced birders and they walk around with an attitude “I have seen it all”. So a pair of Brahminy starlings talking in high pitch voice or a flock of munias flying above their head doesn’t excite them. The only word they want to hear is “RARE”. They don’t care why the bird is rare, is it because of population decline or is it because the bird is shy. If the bird is rare, it is worth seeing that’s it, no questions asked.

Regional birders

The regional birders are very protective about the areas they do birding. These people usually don’t travel outside their regions for birding. So their target is to see all the birds that step into their region. Hence, they need first hand information of all the birds entering their territory. If a migratory bird like Amur falcon stopped for few days to rest in their territory , they get a field day.

E-birders

Now ebird is a popular platform amongst birders and there are clearly two groups who use e-bird and who hate e-bird. So e-birders who use the tool effectively are always into numbers and many of them behave like the First Rank holders in school. The core e-birders are very competitive and vehemently hold on to their e-bird positions or strive hard to move up in the ladder.

Raptor birders

The Raptor birders are like the wildlife people who see only Tiger in the jungle. Only the biggest predator in that area is worth their attention. A sunbird taking bath in rainwater on a small leaf doesn’t fascinate them but a large black silhoutte on the sky draws their interest. I am not sure whether they will be interested to see Collared Falconet ( Believe me that tiny one is a raptor) or they go only with the big size.

Birders with guides

I am not scornful of birding with guides as long as the guide comes from a local community in that region. Sadly now with the so called “eco-tourism” on the raise, that was not the case in many places. The budding birders and birders who travel to new places for birding find real use in the hands of a guide. But some of the bird guides often resort to unethical ways to show a bird. Also since a bird is given a monetary value, the system will only lead to exploitation in the longer run.

Social media birders

Majority birders fall under this category, so they have a compulsion to post their bird photos in Facebook or Instagram. They have to build their social media profile and make everyone recognize them as birders or rather wildlife photographers. They try to maintain exclusivity of the location of birds by not sharing the details . I love the “Chennai outskirts” expression ! Their ultimate aim is to get as many likes and followers as possible and become a camera ambassador.

Casual birders

The Casual birders are mostly middle-aged men/women who wants to escape their mid-life crisis. They had to get out of their house for a few hours of peace, so birding is a good reason for them to escape their chores. They are usually casual, weekend birders but sometimes they turn into serious birders which again brings them into more stress. They prefer to go in group as they enjoy the company of fellow birders more than seeing the birds. So they are not very particular to learn about the birds or watch bird behaviors very keenly. Not learning names does not mean they are not interested, they actually really enjoy the birds for what they are.

Gadget birders

This group is probably an extension of the camera birders as these people love their gadgets. They tend to buy everything that could be associated with the birding activity. Be it a tripod, multiple cameras, binoculars, scopes , monopod etc . name it, they will have it. They even come in the so called birding attire – the camouflage dress. The Camouflage routine covers bags, lenses, hats , water bottles ,overcoats etc. Even in the middle of a city and on the roadside you can find people in camouflage ! They assume that they can cheat the birds by wearing camouflage dresses and get closer to them. If they hide well in a dense forest without moving that might be possible to some extent. But can they escape a sharp eyed raptor who can find a small lizard while flying a kilometer high in the sky, I highly doubt it. Most birds also have a strong sense of smell , so can this hide and seek really work ? Questionable at the least.

Love bird birders

In this category, they do birding mostly to show-off to their opposite sex. They do birding during some field trips or surveys or when they get a new camera. They try to showcase themselves as brave and adventurous people. So they go inside jungle , try to catch a snake, jump around rocks, try to lead the group etc. I love the energy these souls bring to the group but sometimes it can be a tad irritating when they start talking about conservation. Once they settle down they often disappear from the birding scene.

Family birders

These are the birders much needed for the hour. They are the link to the next generation. Dad taking his kids or Mom taking her kids for birding is a very cool thing to do. Unfortunately, there are not many birders in this category. Even the core birders don’t take their kids to the field or teach them about the natural world.

Conservation birders

Along with family birders, this is another birder category that is most needed. The bird population has fallen at an alarming rate and the natural world itself is facing a total collapse. Sadly, all that the birders care about is photographing the birds or cataloging the name of the bird in their personal list. All birders should by default care about the welfare of the birds, so they have to work on the betterment of the birds but in real world this hardly happens. People who tend to spend lakhs on a camera are not willing to spend 100 Rs for planting a tree. This is the sad reality of birding today. I doubt whether there are any people left in this category.

So what category Vinod and myself fall into ? First of all, we don’t call ourselves birders but nature lovers. For us experiencing the natural world comes first, so it involves watching a jumping spider, caterpillar munching on a flower, wildflowers in bloom and the list goes on. When coming to birdwatching , we are in between Binocular and Camera birding (for the sake of Indian bird videos). We would love to be in the conservation birding category and engage ourselves in habitat restoration works but looking at how conservation activity has been twisted by money, it is very disheartening. I will write about that separately. Once again, please do have a light heart about the above categories.

Happy Birding