What is a “professional” birdwatcher?
Plus, attend a class that gets Up Close and Personal with Birds
As this newsletter has lingered on a tiny corner of the internet, occasionally it has caught the attention of a purveyor of the public relations arts. The most recent pitch had to do with the tale of a “professional birder” appearing on a non-birding reality television show. No offense to the human who sent the pitch: I’ve been there. Cold calls, mass emails, in-person solicitation. We’ve all done it one time or another.
This got me thinking, though, what is a “professional” birder? Does the term fall into the same category as self-employed model or freelance bartender? If there is a way to make a living by birding, sign me up. I’ll be the first to get paid to wander around looking for birds all day.
The term “professional birder” implies that there’s some entity out there paying someone to go birding. If we think of it in professional sports terms, maybe it’s like a golfer or tennis player: a tournament puts up big money winnings for the best professionals out there. The thing is, does this type of racket exist? I know there’s a World Series of Birding. But last I checked, the winnings weren’t monetary. It was more about bragging rights, the satisfaction of being the best, and maybe getting a trophy.
One then wonders what the measures are for success. Is it based on number of species? The pro birder in Ecuador, say, would then have many advantages over someone who may live in the Midwest. There would need to be geographical divisions or something like a golf handicap to make things fair.
Some of us may long for the day when birding becomes the professional equivalent of bass fishing. It once would have been laughable to think people could make a living competing in tournaments put on by the BASS organization (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society).1 Now it’s a sport that at one time aired regularly on cable TV and drew scores of fans to its nationwide tour (indeed it looks like Bassmasters is still going strong).
If “professional birder” can be a title alongside architect, doctor, lawyer, or teacher the world would be a better place—or at least somewhere that lazy birders could still earn a buck beyond dog walking, donating plasma, or window washing. Judging by the parsimony of many bird folk—we could all appreciate a chance to turn a dollar or two.
If birding graduates to a profession, we could expect it will be regulated to death and eventually lose its charm. The governing bodies will keep us from going off-trail or pishing in a bird from a tangle of scrub. We’ll lose the grassroots charm as corporate sponsorship grows and birders issue vanilla answers to questions from the media. The birding commissioners will sanction us for excessive twerking or gyrating when celebrating the location of a rarity.
What next? Professional stamp collecting? Gardening? Scrapbooking? The list goes on.
The more I think about it, though, we already live in a world where people compete in professional video games, hot dog eating, and bean bag toss. Adding birding to the sporting oeuvre isn’t so far-fetched. Many of us have been waiting for this moment for a long time.
TWiB leading a new class
Early 2026 finds me developing content for a new Adult Education class that focuses on birds as they eat, sleep, sing, and dance. “Up Close and Personal with Birds” is the name of a class that will take place for four weeks starting on April 1. Registration for the class opens on January 14 for Newberry Associates and on January 21 to the general public. Learn more about the class here.
One of my favorite sportswriting experiences was interviewing superstar bass angler Woo Daves (yes, that’s his real name). He promptly came up to Chicago for the Bassmasters Classic and won the whole darn thing.
FanDuel here we come! ;)