We ardent birders share not only a skill and craft but also a state of — Birdwatching

"... Remember, if you happen to find a during the , leave the nest as undisturbed as possible. Back away, and do not touch the nest, eggs, or young birds. Often squirrels, s, several other mammals, s, s, s, and s are more than happy to have you "point out" a nest and will raid it if you disrupt the site or call attention to it. Many people find juvenile birds that have just left the nest and may appear to be alone. Usually they are not lost but are under the watchful eye of a parent bird and are best left in place rather than scooped up and taken to a foreign environment. In the winter, nest hunting can be great fun and has little impact, as most nests will never be used again. They are easy to see once the foliage is gone, and it can be a challenge to attempt to identify the maker."

"But since it was birders he was dealing with, there wasn’t any harm just letting us in on the honor system. There was no question in his mind (or ours) that we would ante up when departing. That’s just the way birders are."

"Birds become more and more fascinating, not less, the more you watch them."

"It is a fun exercise among s to try to pinpoint a childhood moment when they deviated from the path of “ordinary” people and set out on their tangent towards the other parts of life. American birders use a nice shorthand expression for such an epiphany: “the spark bird” – the encounter that switched on the nature-loving light."

"If you enjoy watching birds, you stand in good company. There are, in the estimate of the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (), 70 million bird watchers in the United States (and an equally representative number in Canada) — people who in the course of their lives make time to see and enjoy birds."

"Anyone who is interested in birds eventually reaches the point when he or she joins the , or loses enthusiasm. The Trust has after its first 50 years involved itself in every aspect of ornithology, simply because as the supreme shepherd of this pervasive occupation it has enabled the birdwatcher to expand his or her enjoyment. It has done this by supplying him or her with the motivation and methodology to keep records, and by applying those records in enlightened ways to reveal trends and changes in the status of birds in Britain."