((PKG)) BIRDING ((TRT: 03:34)) ((Banner: Birding)) ((Reporter: Faiza Elmasry)) ((Camera: Mike Burke)) ((Map: Alexandria, Virginia)) ((Main character: 1 male)) ((Sub character: 1 female)) ((NATS)) ((NATS: Larry Meade)) There is a Bluebird. ((Larry Meade, President, Northern Virginia Bird Club)) I am Larry Meade. I am President of the Northern Virginia Bird Club. ((Stills Courtesy: Northern Virginia Bird Club)) ((Larry Meade, President, Northern Virginia Bird Club)) I’ve always been interested in birding, but I’ve been seriously birding, keeping track since 2002. ((NATS)) ((Larry Meade, President, Northern Virginia Bird Club)) The connotation of bird watching is that all we do is watch the birds. But birding is more of an all-encompassing concept because not only do we look at them, we study them. We do scientific surveys. ((NATS: Jessica Bowser)) Looked like a juvenile to me because I saw an adult fly to the right. ((NATS: Larry Meade)) We study their behavior. The one behind me in the pine tree. We travel to see them. ((NATS)) ((Larry Meade, President, Northern Virginia Bird Club)) We are at Huntley Meadows Park. What is really unique about this is it is a freshwater wetland which is unusual. It’s got the nice boardwalk. It’s pretty unique in that way and that you can get really pretty close to the birds and other wildlife. ((NATS: Jessica Bowser)) Now, the Great Crested Flycatcher is back. ((Larry Meade, President, Northern Virginia Bird Club)) Jessica is a member of our club. ((NATS: Larry Meade)) Here’s another. Here’s a Tree Swallow right here. ((NATS: Jessica Bowser)) I hear him singing. ((Larry Meade, President, Northern Virginia Bird Club)) It’s nice to be able to share experiences. ((Stills Courtesy: Northern Virginia Bird Club)) If I'm by myself, I like to post my photos on Facebook and get reaction from people that way. But when we’re with a person, number one, it's another set of eyes, like she spotted some Cedar Waxwings I probably wouldn't have seen. And I spotted some stuff she probably wouldn’t have seen. So, you've got more chance to see the birds, but you can also discuss the birds and just catching up with friends too. It's just a social thing. ((Jessica Bowser, Conservation Advocate)) Being outside is always rewarding regardless of the weather, regardless of what it is that we get to see, because the outdoors is always a surprise. You never know what you're going to find. Back in 2013, I was playing around on the Internet and found an app that I could download on my phone that was a birding app. And so that kind of piqued my interest. And then I went and got a book about birding and realized just how intricate and detailed it really is. ((NATS)) ((Stills Courtesy: Northern Virginia Bird Club)) ((Jessica Bowser, Conservation Advocate)) Birding kind of became like a scavenger hunt. And Larry mentioned earlier that birders keep a life list, which is a list of all the birds that they've seen. And so, when you start out and everything feels new, you’re sort of, you know, adding to that life list and it's growing and it’s growing and it just becomes addictive. ((NATS: Bird Singing)) ((Jessica Bowser, Conservation Advocate)) It's good for your health to be outdoors. It's a very calming experience. But personally, as a former educator, I believe that everybody should be connected to nature because we have to conserve nature. The birds are diminishing. The research shows that we've lost over 3 million birds over the past few decades and that's really scary. And I think that people aren't going to be aware of that, if they're not connected to it. ((NATS: Nature Sounds)) ((Jessica Bowser, Conservation Advocate)) In many places, the only legitimate place to go other than the grocery store and the hospital, is the outdoors. And it's a safe place to be right now as long as you keep your distance from other people. And so, people are going outside in ways that they never have before. And they're noticing things that they hadn't noticed before. And they are making that connection. And they're finding that birdwatching or birding, as we like to call it, is very relaxing. ((Larry Meade, President, Northern Virginia Bird Club)) The basic tools for a birder are binoculars and some kind of field guide so you can figure out what the birds are. I really like the Red-headed Woodpecker. That's one of my favorites. ((NATS: Nature Sounds)) ((Larry Meade, President, Northern Virginia Bird Club)) I would encourage people to pay attention to birds. There is a whole worldwide community of birders. I mean it's not just here. It's everywhere. It’s just a lot of fun. ((NATS: Nature Sounds))