WHY WATCH BIRDS?

Birds have long delighted people all over the world because of their beauty and their power of flight.  Birds are everywhere, and everywhere they are different. Birds are mysterious, beautiful, and sometimes wonderfully elusive.
Historically, they used to be considered omens. The ancient Romans believed that the flights and calls of birds could foretell the future.

Today, modern science still uses birds as a kind of oracle. Changes in bird populations can reflect the health of the environment. 
Birding also fulfills another basic instinct—the quest for knowledge. Birding is about acquiring knowledge. Not just about birds' names, but also about their songs, their behavior, and how they relate to the rest of nature. It's a perfect opportunity to enjoy a unique human pleasure—the successful exercise of lore.
In fact, amateur birders often get to make real contributions to scientific knowledge. Today, much of what ornithology knows about birds has come from the observations of ordinary but dedicated birders.
Some birds are indicator species, like the USA's national bird, the bald eagle. They forecast environmental conditions. The knowledge of birds can help us plan a better, more sustainable relationship with nature.
Maybe we watch birds because they are accessible: wherever we go, birds are there, usually active while we are active, sleeping while we sleep. In our own backyards, we lure them with birdfeeders and birdhouses, and by placing shrubs, water, and appropriate plants in the landscape. More than any creature except perhaps insects, birds visibly share our outdoor space, and if we have to travel miles and sit quietly for patient hours in order to see a rare or elusive bird, that makes it a treasure hunt.