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Birders (and even more so bird photographers) are used to being asked questions. Here are four of the most common ones.
1. “Why don’t you just use your phone camera?”
This question usually comes with a tone of gentle practicality, as if the birder has simply overlooked a very obvious solution. The assumption is that birds are static subjects, conveniently posed at eye level, waiting politely for a 12-megapixel solution. In reality, most birding situations involve a small, moving object at a distance, often partially hidden by leaves, backlit, and actively reconsidering its willingness to be seen.
Yes, phones take excellent photos. They are also excellent at confirming that a small brown shape was, indeed, a small brown shape—just not which one.
2. “Can’t you just watch birds in a zoo or park?”
This one makes sense if birds are assumed to be like exhibits: standardized, predictable, and ideally located within walking distance of a café.
Yes, parks and zoos do contain birds. Sometimes even excellent birds. But birding, as a practice, tends to focus on wild birds and their behavior—migration, habitat choice, feeding strategies, unexpected appearances, and the general refusal of birds to remain conveniently in one place for human observation.
Many birders are also not trying to minimize effort, but to maximize encounters. A remote wetland at dawn often offers something quite different from a duck pond next to a playground.
3. “Do you actually know all their names?”
This question often arrives with a mixture of admiration and suspicion. Are birders really just walking encyclopedias who casually memorize thousands of names for fun?
No. For most birders, part of the skill is accepting uncertainty—sometimes arriving at the conclusion: “I’m not entirely sure, but it’s probably a leaf warbler,” and then living with that possibility until someone more experienced (or more confident) weighs in.
4. “Isn’t it just… looking at birds?”
Now we are getting a bit philosophical, or at least pretending to.
Yes—but so is reading a novel “just looking at words,” and listening to music “just hearing sounds.”
To a non-birder, it can look like standing still and staring into trees. To a birder, it is still looking at birds—just not the effortless kind.
Written by Kai Pflug
Kai has lived in Shanghai for 22 years. He only started birding after moving to China, so he is far more familiar with Chinese birds than the ones back in his native Germany. As a birder, he considers himself strictly average and tries to make up for it with photography, which he shares on a separate website. Alas, most of the photos are pretty average as well. He hopes that few clients of his consulting firm—focused on China’s chemical industry—ever find this blog, as it might raise questions about his professional priorities. Much of his time is spent either editing posts for 10,000 Birds or cleaning the litter boxes of his numerous indoor cats. He occasionally considers writing a piece comparing the two activities.
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French (CA) ·