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Report shows Montana is tops in birdwatching – a $32 billion industry
Montana leads the nation in percentage of residents who are birdwatchers, a multibillion-dollar pastime and one of America’s most popular outdoor activities, according to a report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
By CLAIR JOHNSON
Of The Gazette Staff
The report found that 46 million birdwatchers across the country spent $32 billion in 2001 and supported more than 863,000 jobs.
"Nearly one in five Americans is a birdwatcher," said FWS Director Steve Williams on Tuesday. "Birdwatching is very popular and contributes greatly to our economy, so it is important that we continue to work with our partners to restore and protect habitat to ensure healthy bird populations."
The report, "Birding in the United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis," is the first of its kind analyzing information from the 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation.
Nicholas Throckmorton, FWS spokesman, said the agency, through the U.S. Census Bureau, conducts the national survey every five years but that this was the first time it has had funding to do an analysis of birding.
To be considered a birdwatcher by FWS, a person must take a trip a mile or more from home for the primary purpose of observing birds or must closely observe or try to identify birds around the home. Noticing a robin while mowing the lawn doesn’t count. Nor do trips to the zoo to see captive birds.
The information found that in 2001, the states with the largest percentage of birders were Montana, with 44 percent, Vermont with 43 percent and Wisconsin with 41 percent.
"Montana has such a strong outdoor tradition and that’s obvious through the numbers leading the nation in birding participation," Throckmorton said.
On average, 22 percent of the nation’s population watch birds, the report said. Only 9 percent of people in Hawaii, which has bird species not found on the continental United States, are birders.
Kathy Haigh, president of the Yellowstone Valley Audubon Chapter and owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in Billings, wasn’t too surprised to learn that Montana leads the nation. "We are a rural state, so maybe we’re more in tune to habitat and wildlife than others," she said.
Montana has 10 Audubon chapters; the Yellowstone Valley chapter is the biggest with about 400 members. The group draws birders from as far away as Fort Peck and northern Wyoming.
"A lot of our members do travel and travel great distances," Haigh said. "Just from being around these folks, they go to Nova Scotia. They go to Alaska, wherever, to see birds."
They also go to Westby, a tiny community in the far northeastern corner of the state for the fall migration. "The group here make an annual trek to sit in the city park and watch warblers," Haigh said.
Montana Audubon in Helena is sponsoring a birding trip to Gambia in January, she said.
onthenet
birding in the US
What do out-of-state birders want to see when they visit Montana? Haigh said visitors like to see Lewis’ woodpeckers and Clark’s nutcrackers, both birds named after the explorers of the Corps of Discovery.
"I get a lot of questions about the black-billed magpie. They get so disappointed when I tell them they eat roadkill," she said.
Haigh, who opened a Wild Birds Unlimited franchise at 1313 Grand Ave. two years ago, said most of her customers are backyard birdwatchers and business has been growing. "We’ve seen a growth each year we’ve been open, which is great," she said. "We have exceeded our predicted growth rate for the second year."
Birders spend money in the billions. The report found that birdwatchers spent $32 billion in 2001, which generated $85 billion in overall economic benefit and $13 billion in federal and state income taxes. Included in the $32 billion was $7.4 billion spent on travel and $24.3 billion spent on equipment including binoculars, scopes, film, seed, feeders, food and clothing. Another $11.1 billion went for expensive items like off-road vehicles, campers and motor homes.
The report said watching birds around the home is the most common form of the pastime. Trips away from home were made by 40 percent of birders –18 million people.
The report also looked at the contrast between the casual and the hard-core birder. The results showed that 74 percent of all birders could identify one to 20 birds by sight or sound; 13 percent could identify 21 to 40 species; and 8 percent could identify 41 or more species. Five percent of all birders kept a life list of all species they had observed.
The most popular ages for bird watching were between 55 years to 64 years, the report said. In addition, 72 percent of birders were married, 54 percent were female and 33 percent had five years or more of college.
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
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