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By KRISTEN WYATT
Associated Press According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which tracks wildlife recreation, birdwatching is now a hobby of 47.8 million Americans, with "wildlife watching" up 8 percent from 2000 to 2006. The birdwatching trend comes as both hunting and fishing declined in popularity, by 4 percent and 12 percent, respectively, over the same period.
Good news: wildlife watching up 8% - hunting down 4%, fishing down 12% in six years. 50 million Americans say birdwatching is their hobby
Jim Rapp has one hand on the wheel and the other holding a pair of binoculars as he drives his truck slowly down a gravel drive on the banks of a Chesapeake Bay marsh. "Do you see that? Right there?" he whispers, excitedly pointing to a black-and-white bird dabbing its beak in the mud. "That's a black-necked stilt. Wow. Oh, wow!"
Not since the days of John James Audubon have birds gotten so much attention from naturalists. While hunting and fishing are declining in popularity, the old-fashioned act of birdwatching is hot again as people look for outdoor activities that don't require a lot of equipment or training.
According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which tracks wildlife recreation, birdwatching is now a hobby of 47.8 million Americans, with "wildlife watching" up 8 percent from 2000 to 2006. The birdwatching trend comes as both hunting and fishing declined in popularity, by 4 percent and 12 percent, respectively, over the same period.
More than 20 states have created "birding trails" since 2000 to guide newcomers to good spots to watch fowl. Outfitters that once specialized in hunting expeditions or horseback riding are branching out to offer trips focusing on feathery critters, too.
Rapp wants to help the Chesapeake region cash in on the trend. A former zookeeper, Rapp heads Delmarva Low-Impact Tourism Experiences, a nonprofit that aims to boost ecotourism in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
Rapp is beginning work on a "Cape to Cape Trail" from Cape May, N.J., to Cape Charles, Va., to show off the region's bountiful bird population, including one of the nation's highest concentrations of bald eagles. Peregrine falcons roam the skies around the Chesapeake Bay, and the marshes along the Atlantic coast attract migrating waterfowl in the fall and spring.
Standing on the bed of his truck in the Deal Island Wildlife Management Area, Rapp spies plenty of birds despite the hot weather.
"I see one, two, three, four, five different species of birds right now," he says, pointing his binoculars toward a marshy copse of trees in the distance. Herons and egrets seem not to mind the attention, but rarer black ducks fly away in groups when Rapp's truck rumbles down the gravel.
Tourism officials attribute the rise in birdwatching in part to a graying population. Some baby boomers want to get outside and see wildlife in their retirement years but don't want to take up a new, strenuous hobby.
Several counties in Maryland have birdwatching brochures, and Rapp helped create a book guide of the Eastern Shore several years ago. But he says a Chesapeake region birding trail, complete with roadside markers and multistate promotion, would get even more people interested. And then, they might be more interested in environmental protection.
"My hope is that if we can elevate this as a way to explore nature, then people would see what we have right here and the importance of this habitat," Rapp said.
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