Diverse habitats attract birds and birders alike

By Danielle Rexrode
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

According to Richard Louv, author of critically acclaimed Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, nature enthusiasts are fading in today’s fast-paced, hightech society, especially among children.

In fact, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife- Associated Recreation, the number of Americans who participate in traditional forms of recreational outdoor activities decreased by ten million from 1991 to 2001.

Yet, Louv sees hope in one well-known outdoor pastime— birding.

He sites reports in World Watch and Birding magazines, which say that while birding has always been a traditional outdoor hobby, it is now the fastest-growing branch of outdoor wildlife watching.

Outdoor classroom
Here in Texas, the vast variety of habitats makes for excellent bird watching. “The great thing about Highland Springs is we are in a setting with a big field to attract field birds, lakes to attract lake birds and we’re working on making the campus a bird sanctuary,” says long-time birder Allene Barber who lives at this local retirement community in Dallas.

Barber enjoys watching the colorful array of birds that visit Highland Springs where she organizes a group of birders, the Highland Springs Birdwatchers. “We have quite a variety of habitats right here on campus, so birding is really fun here,” she says.

With lakes, fields, and trails, Barber sees everything from meadowlarks, mockingbirds, and morning doves to mallard ducks, swallows, martins, and bluebirds, among others. “We even have the scissortail flycatcher, a beautiful bird with pink under the breast that are great for eating bugs,” she says.