I have to agree with Rasemary. I went to the website and downloaded the 2006
report. It describes what they consider "wildlife watching" and it includes a
lot of things we wouldn't think of. It includes feeding, which is not
surprising, but it also includes people who manage their block of land in a
manner that encourages wildlife. It also includes people who plant particular
plants because of the value to wildlife. This brings in a huge number of
people. Those who say they lived here or there and didn't meet any "birders",
almost certainly did, they just didn't know it. I know that during the
cumulative 3+ plus years that I lived in Australia, I met many people who
planted "for the birds". And here in Canada where I live most of the time,
many do the same thing. Many people plant shrubs and trees that bear berries
in autumn; many plant flowers that are known to be favoured by hummingbirds;
many people maintain brush-piles on their
property because they provide shelter for birds and small mammals; and lots of
people put out bird baths. All of these people are considered to be "wildlife
watchers" in the survey. So before we are too quick to criticise the numbers,
we should at least understand the definitions.
(And by the way, in the 2008 Christmas Bird Counts in Hawaii, 113 people went
out into the field to count. In addition, there were many who just stayed home
and watched their feeders who were not included in this number.)
This is not the first survey to suggest that there are far more people
interested in wildlife than anyone realises. These figures relate to a survey
in Florida:
SUMMARY THE 2000 ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF FLORIDA’S WILDLIFE VIEWING ACTIVITIES
Number of Participants 3,938,918
Retail Sales $1,887,887,300
Sales Tax Generated $113,273,243
Jobs Created 52,140
This particular survey appears to include all wildlife, not just birds. But
it's always difficult to determine who has been counted in any particular
survey. But if we take the broadest possible definition, I don't think the
numbers are that far off.
Gary
--- On Mon, 7/20/09, Rosemary Royle <> wrote:
From: Rosemary Royle <>
Subject: FW: Birdwatchers No Featherweights in Contributionsto Economy
To: "Birding-Aus" <>
Received: Monday, July 20, 2009, 2:44 AM
I think some of you are being a bit hard on the figures from this report
because of your definition of a "birder".
In the UK there are relatively small numbers of "birders" (though large
compared with other countries) but much larger numbers of "birdwatchers". The
main difference being that a "birder" watches birds as his/her main hobby and
will go on birding-related holidays.. A "birdwatcher" may be anything from
someone who regularly goes to a nearby reserve to see what's about to someone
who simply watches birds on the feeder through the kitchen window. This latter
group will often be counted amongst your "general interest" tourists as they do
not generally go on birding-related holidays.
(My own personal way of distinguishing the two breeds is whether they can tell
the difference between a Willow Warbler and a Chiffchaff (or indeed have ever
heard of them)!).
I have recently given a "Garden Birds" talk to three local groups, a Women's
Institute, a Garden Club and a Pensioners Club, and have been surprised at the
amount of knowledge and experience amongst the attendees though most of them
would not have defined themselves as birdwatchers. So maybe there is even
another category one level further down - people who are interested but don't
consider their interest sufficiently great to deserve a name!.
Another point - this report did define a "birdwatcher" as someone who had
travelled specifically to see birds. In the UK this question would catch all
the many families who regularly to go to a local bird reserve as a "day out".
Bird reserves here are easily accessible, safe and interesting places to go and
many people who are not really birdwatchers will go there often in the hope of
seeing something colourful and exciting such as a Kingfisher. It could be the
same in the USA. (In fact, this generates its own problems - RSPB reserves in
the UK are very busy and many "serious birders" no longer go there).
One last point - any queries about the economics of birdwatching are put into
focus by the British Birdwatching Fair. This year there are 8 marquees with 392
stands (it seems an unreal number but I have just counted them on the plan!).
This includes 46 stands showing bird/wildlife art, 17 selling optics and 116
related to bird and wildlife tourism. Also two tents providing a continuous
program of talks plus workshops, quizzes, celebrity book signings etc (we do
have quite a lot of TV wildlife celebrities here). I am sure the organisers
could give you attendance and turnover figures if they would be useful.
Alas, the BirdFair is too far away for us to easily get to - maybe just as well
as we would only spend money - there go the economics again!
Rosemry Royle
Wales, UK
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