Find pleasure in birding

Written by Kate B. Doran

Photos by John Richard

On a warm, breezy morning in early May the bright sun shimmers across the surface of the Iowa River, and warms the lush grass. Birds chirp melodiously, flitting through the trees and bushes before stopping for a bite of peanut or sunflower seed at one of the numerous feeders placed among the foliage.

This picturesque scene is what Jim and Karole Fuller see every day (weather permitting, of course) from the large living room windows of their rural Iowa City home — it is their backyard. The setting of their home along the Iowa River provides the Fullers the opportunity to interact with nature in the ways they love most. One of these ways, particularly for Jim, is bird watching.

Bird watching, or birding as many call it, is among the fastest growing hobbies in the United States. The Iowa City Bird Club currently has about 80 registered members, and there are many more who are not in the club but also enjoy the activity.

Each person has his or her own reasons for enjoying the hobby, but Rick Hollis, former president and current member of the Iowa City Bird Club, said he believes that one reason seniors enjoy birding is because it caters to the physical abilities and scheduling needs of the individual. A person can devote as much or as little time as they would like to bird watching, and they do not have to be physically active to do so.

“Of all the hobbies one can have, this is one that will keep with you. So long as your vision holds out, you can keep doing it,” Hollis says. “We’ve had wheelchair-bound members in the club.”

Karole Fuller said that birding also is beneficial for seniors because learning about the different species, including all their songs, habits, and appearances, “challenges the brain.”

“It’s like a crossword puzzle,” she says. “It keeps you thinking.”

Another appeal of birding is the lack of expensive and burdensome equipment that the hobby requires. According to Hollis, all a birder really needs is a pair of binoculars, a field guide (a small book to help birders identify species), and a notebook if they want to take notes or record their findings.

Many birders, like Jim Fuller, like to record and make lists of the species they have seen in particular places. Fuller keeps feeder lists (for birds seen at specific feeders), a yard list (for birds he has spotted in his own yard – totaling 208 species), a state list (383 species), and list of birds he’s seen anywhere north of the Mexican border (759 species).

Birding can be as simple as watching out the window from a living room sofa, the passenger seat of a car, and even from bed.

“When I walk the dog, I bird watch,” Hollis says.

Or it can be as elaborate as traveling around the world in search of specific species.

Jim and Karole have traveled to the Allusion Islands in Alaska, South America, Antarctica, and all over the globe to enjoy nature and see the world. For Jim especially, birding along the way is integral part of the trip.

“I enjoy seeing different birds where I go and counting how many I’ve seen,” Fuller says. Even though the Fullers have traveled to some of the most remote places in the world, Jim and Karole contend that even cities can provide a great environment for bird watching. “You can see fantastic birds in cities,” Karole says. “They fly above and between the buildings -- it’s wonderful to watch.”

Despite their extensive traveling, the Fullers and Hollis agree that some of the best bird watching can be done very close to home. “One year I put 35,000 miles on my car, birding around Iowa,” Fuller says, smiling.

Hollis contends, “We are really very fortunate here (in eastern Iowa) because there is so much public area. It is easy to go birding in many different areas with different kinds of habitats.”

Some of these habitats include forests, river bottoms, marshes, and prairies. And with the multitude of bird-watching field trips offered through the Iowa City Bird Club, there are plenty of opportunities available to explore these local environments. According to Hollis, the Iowa City Bird Club organizes field trips several times per month, which range in terms of time commitment and location. Typically, the field trips remain within one or two counties of Johnson County.

Of course, some birders prefer to remain even closer to home. Some prefer not to leave their own backyards. But no matter where, how often, or who one chooses to bird-watch with, patience, Karole Fuller says, is one of the keys to enjoying the hobby. While Jim has committed most of the bird species to memory, the Fullers agree that doing so can take quite a long time and is not a necessary ingredient for enjoyment. “Just enjoy seeing the birds,” Karole says. “That’s what it’s about – the pleasure.”

Local Areas to Bird-Watch: Hickory Hill Park, Roosevelt Ravine, Clear Creek Trail, Finkbine Prairie, Peninsula Park, South Sycamore Bottoms, Waterworks Prairie Park

Birds to Look Out for: Indigo Buntings, Orioles, Warblers, Cardinals, Chickadees, Woodpeckers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks