I just read an interesting article in the National Geographic News by Robert Winkler. It spouts some interesting facts about where we are spending some of our money.
In a 2001 survey, 1/3 of Americans 16 years and older(that’s 66 million people) fed and photographed wildlife and spent 40 million dollars doing it!!!
Over the past 5 years wildlife watchers (aka birders) grew by 5% and spending on binoculars and birdhouses(ha I knew it) went up by 33%.
Vermont had the highest wildlife participation rate at 60%, Minnesota was 2nd at 54% and Alaska and Wisconsin tied for 3rd place with 53%
Among the 60+ million people who enjoy watching wildlife around their homes, bird feeding was the most popular activity. Americans spent $2.6 billion dollars on bird food and $730 million dollars on birdhouses, feeders and baths. WOW!
So why do we like birds so much? Paul Green the executive director of the American Birding Association says “birds are by far the easiest wild animals to find and watch. They’re also the most appealing, with colors and behavior that make them aesthetically pleasing and fascinating.”
This survey is conducted every 5 years by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and was based on telephone interviews given by the Census Bureau. I can’t wait for the newest stats! If you don’t want to build a birdhouse you can buy one =) Happy Birding!
This past weekend I went to Eustace, Texas and stayed with my mom at a friend’s lakehouse. It was absolutely beautiful and completly peaceful. I wanted to do only one thing- REST. So for 2 days we watched movies, slept, and my mom and I spent a great amount of time looking through these awesome Nikon Binoculars Action EX Extreme 10×50.
Both of us could use them soooo well. I’m 5′6” and my mom is barely 5′ so that’s saying alot =) The eye distance was easy to set and the diopter was already in focus. They were super comfortable in my hands and could be held for relatively long period of time. The birds we saw were all bright images and the focus was easy to adjust. I looked through them so often I think at the end of the day I looked a bit like a racoon =) We had fun birding without kids running around scaring them away =)
These are the birds we spied with our little eyes(and binoculars =)): Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Mallard Ducks, Cooper’s Hawk, Forster’s Tern, Killdeer, Turkey Vulture, lots of Bluejays and Ravens, Black-capped Chickadees, Eastern Bluebirds, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Double Crested Cormorants and last but not least on our way home without the aid of binoculars lots and lots of Cattle Egrets. We used the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition 
