Birding is an eclectic term for an eclectic group of people. Birders who go birding, were in the past known as birdwatchers.
Today, birdwatchers are those people who enjoy birds from their front porch or in their own backyard….Real birders get out a bit more.
Whether birding or simple bird watching, the arrival of spring makes it all that much enjoyable. Migratory birds are returning, and the auditory pleasures of birding can be more fully enjoyed with the warmer weather.
The New Jersey Bird Records Committee lists 465 species of natural origin that have been recorded in New Jersey. You can download the PDF list here, and you can find a great gallery of bird photographs at New-Jersey-Birds.com.
The FLOW area offers a wealth of opportunities for leaving the backyard and venturing out for some birding. The McFaul Environmental Center in Wyckoff, and the Lorrimer Sanctuary in Franklin Lakes offer not only birding opportunities, but events to help build those birding skills.
In Oakland, areas along the Ramapo, Pleasureland, and off Skyline Drive provide trails of varying ease or difficulty for casual birders.
Neighboring Mahwah offers easy walking trails at the Ramapo Reservation off of Route 202, and the lesser known Baldwin Sanctuary also off of Ramapo Valley Road (Rt 202).
Outside of the FLOW area, the Audubon Society offers a list of great birding locations in New Jersey; and, MeadowBlog.net offers events and information on exploring in the nearby meadowlands.
While there is a phone number for those who site rare birds in New Jersey, most casual birders will just be out to enjoy nature and indulge our predatory impulses in a non-violent and friendly manner — shooting birds with a camera rather than a gun.
There are various books specific to New Jersey birds, and some extra knowledge adds to the interest, but nothing can add to the beauty.
For those not so interested in birds, here’s a video to justify the disinterest…
The video above was from Mel Brook’s movie High Anxiety, which was a spoof of various Alfred Hitchcock movies. Below is an academic comparison of the spoof and the original.