Self-Care Spotlight: Birdwatching

If you subscribe to any number of mental health influencers online, you’ve probably seen plenty of self-care recommendations in your feed. Maintain a regular sleep schedule, meditate, journal, exercise…resist doomscrolling. You’ve heard it all before. And these things can be great! But maybe you’re looking for something a bit different—something a little less…ordinary. Something with many of the qualities of a good self-care activity, but that we often overlook.

Introducing birdwatching, or birding, as the pros call it. Birdwatching is simply the act of going outside and paying mindful attention to the birds around you, and learning to identify them by their appearance or the sounds they make. 

At first, it might seem boring. The sounds of birds are something we naturally become accustomed to, as their songs are nearly always present, serenading our subconscious level of awareness. And yet, when we start to notice them, it opens up an entire world of sensory experience that we’ve been tuning out. In that sense, birding is an excellent form of mindfulness. (To learn more about mindfulness and why it’s beneficial, read my blog “What’s the Point of Mindfulness?”)

What are the Benefits?

Birdwatching makes a good self-care activity for a variety of reasons:

• It keeps us present.
• It engages our senses.
• It moves our bodies.
• It gets us out in nature (which is particularly beneficial for our mental health).
• It can foster shared social experiences if you go birding with friends or members of local Audubon chapters. 
• It’s an activity that’s easy to participate in, but tests skills with plenty of depth (once you start learning to recognize the unique songs/calls and field markings of different birds).
• It doesn’t require any financial investment to get started!

How Do I Get Started?

So, if you’re interested in trying it out, here are a few things to get you on your way:

• Start paying attention to the birds around you in your neighborhood. Download a free app like Merlin ID, by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which can identify birds by sight and sound using your smartphone. It’s a great tool that will eventually help you learn to identify birds on your own!
• Start exploring! Visit parks, hiking trails, and any ecosystem around you, provided it’s a safe environment. See what you can find. If you want an easy way to document/record your findings, the eBird app is another great, free companion app to Merlin (also by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology). 
• If you’re struggling to see birds that are far away or high up in trees, consider a pair of binoculars. These are by no means necessary, but they can help you get closer to birds. A thrifted pair works just fine! Something with 8×42 magnification will do very nicely.

Closing Thoughts

That’s all you need to get started! Birdwatching is an incredibly accessible hobby that provides ample room for growth. Whether you choose to become familiar with the birds already around you, or you become interested in questing after uncommon or rare birds, there’s a space in the hobby for you! It can be an excellent form of self-care that engages the brain and body.