By GENE BULLOCK

Kitsap Audubon

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service published a 2011 report on the demographics and economic impact of bird watching.

Surveys in the report found that one in five Americans has an active interest in bird watching. Some 47 million bird watchers, ages 16 and older, spend nearly $107 billion on travel and equipment related to bird watching.

As an industry, bird watching provides 666,600 jobs and generates $31 billion in income. In Washington State, wildlife viewing and photography adds more than $5 billion each year to the state and local economy.

About 88 percent focus mainly on backyard birding. But some extreme listers travel extensively in search of rare birds for their life lists. The legendary birder Phoebe Snetsinger became obsessed with bird watching when she learned she had only one year to live — she was diagnosed with  terminal melanoma in 1981. She lived another 18 years instead, fervently observing birds across the globe, and set a world record of 8,398 bird species before her death in a 1999 car accident in Madagascar.

Others, like Connie Sidles, find endless joy in daily visits to a single favorite place. She has filled three books with her luminous prose describing the natural beauty and wonder she finds at the Montlake Fill, an oasis of nature inside the City of Seattle.

People give different answers when asked what drew them to bird watching. For most, it starts with the simple aesthetic pleasure of enjoying the grace and beauty of birds and sharing the experience with family and friends. Wildlife viewing is among the most popular forms of outdoor recreation, and birds are the most visible and accessible form of wildlife, especially in urban and residential settings. You can even enjoy them from the comfort of your own kitchen window.

Birds also symbolize freedom for many because they fly with such ease. For some, it has spiritual qualities and evokes feelings of peace and tranquility. It’s healthful and restful and no doubt good for your blood pressure. Their exquisite plumage and vivacious songs enliven our sense of the magnificence and beauty of the world we share. Our love affair with birds and wildlife connects us at a visceral level with the simple bliss of being alive and feeling at home in the natural world.

Like most pursuits, bird watching embraces a whole subculture, with many levels of expertise and intensity. For some, it is highly competitive. For others, it involves serious study of physiology, behavior and the role of birds in the ecosystem that sustains life. For many, it’s about collecting memories and sharing stories about memorable moments and exploits.

Bird watching is a wonderful pathway into nature. The annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count and Great Backyard Bird Count are becoming valuable tools for monitoring the health and distribution of our bird population.

Birds are a telling indicator of environmental health too, and they are increasingly threatened by habitat loss and shifts in climate. Human activity is making it harder and harder for them to survive. Dramatic declines are a warning us that our welfare is just as threatened as theirs.

Organizations like Kitsap Audubon avidly promote responsible bird watching, not just for enjoyment but also because our birds and wildlife need friends who care enough to protect them.

We want to swell the ranks of their devoted friends and advocates. We want families and future generations to understand how intertwined we are with the fate of our birds and wildlife. What happens to them and their environment happens to us as well.

— Contact Gene Bullock at genebullock@comcast.net