Editing Birdwatching (section)

==Economic and environmental impact==
[[File:Antioquia Brushfinch imported from iNaturalist photo 53700275 on 1 October 2021.jpg|thumb|Spotting rare birds, such as the [[Antioquia brushfinch]], is a goal for some birdwatchers.]]
In the 20th century, most of the birding activity in North America was done on the east coast.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The History of Audubon and Bird Conservation {{!}} Audubon |url=https://www.audubon.org/about/history |access-date=2024-04-02 |website=www.audubon.org |language=en}}</ref> The publication of Roger Tory Peterson's field guide in 1934 led to the initial increase in birding. Binoculars, an essential piece of birding equipment, became more easily available after World War II, making the hobby more accessible. The practice of travelling long distances to see rare bird species was aided by the availability of cars and their associated infrastructure.<ref>Moss 2004:265</ref> Nevertheless, distance to urban centres may still affect number of birdwatchers participating in observations of rare bird species.<ref name=":2" /> About 4% of North Americans were interested in birding in the 1970s, and in the mid-1980s at least 11% were found to watch birds at least 20 days of the year. The number of birders was estimated at 61 million in the late 1980s. The income level of birders has been found to be well above average.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kerlinger |first=P.|year=1993|title=Birding economics and birder demographics studies as conservation tools in ''Proc. Status and Managem. of Neotrop. Migr. Birds. eds. D. Finch and P. Stangel''|publisher=Rocky Mntn For. and Range Exper. Station, Fort Collins, CO. USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rept. RM-229|pages=32–38|url=http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_rm/rm_gtr229/rm_gtr229_032_038.pdf}}</ref>

''The Sibley Guide to Birds'', published in 2000, had sold 500,000 copies by 2002.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cordell |first1=H. Ken|last2=Herbert |first2=Nancy G.|title=The Popularity of Birding is Still Growing|year=2002|journal=Birding|pages=54–61|url=http://www.fs.fed.us/outdoors/naturewatch/resources/Growing-Popularity-Birding.PDF|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028055225/http://www.fs.fed.us/outdoors/naturewatch/resources/Growing-Popularity-Birding.PDF|archive-date=28 October 2008}}</ref> It was found that the number of birdwatchers rose, but there appeared to be a drop in birdwatching in the backyard.<ref name=usfws>{{cite book|last=Pullis La Rouche |first=G.|year=2003|title=Birding in the United States: a demographic and economic analysis. Addendum to the 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. Report 2001-1.|publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arlington, Virginia|url=http://www.fs.fed.us/outdoors/naturewatch/start/economics/Economic-Analysis-for-Birding.pdf}}</ref>

According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study, birders contributed $36 billion to the US economy in 2006, and one fifth (20%) of all Americans are identified as birdwatchers.<ref name=sof>{{cite web|year=2009|title=Fågelskådare bidrar med 36 miljarder dollar till USA:s ekonomi|publisher=Swedish Ornithologic Society|url=http://www.sofnet.org/apps/nyheter/arkiv_period.asp?NewsStart=2009-07-01&NewsEnd=2009-07-31&lev=1|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325212124/http://www.sofnet.org/apps/nyheter/arkiv_period.asp?NewsStart=2009-07-01&NewsEnd=2009-07-31&lev=1|archive-date=25 March 2010}}</ref> According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2016, over 45 million Americans consider themselves birders.<ref name=":0" />

North American birders were estimated to have spent as much as US$32 billion in 2001.<ref name=usfws/> The spending is on the rise around the world. Kuşcenneti National Park (KNP) at Lake Manyas, a [[Ramsar site]] in Turkey, was estimated to attract birders who spent as much as US$103,320,074 annually.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gürlük |first1=S. |last2=Rehber |first2=E. |year=2008|title=A travel cost study to estimate recreational value for a bird refuge at Lake Manyas, Turkey|journal=Journal of Environmental Management|volume=88|issue=4|pages=1350–1360|doi=10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.07.017|pmid=17766033|bibcode=2008JEnvM..88.1350G }}</ref> Guided bird tours have become a major business, with at least 127 companies offering tours worldwide. An average trip to a less-developed country costs $4,000 per person and includes about 12 participants for each of 150 trips a year. It has been suggested that this economic potential needs to be tapped for conservation.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Sekercioglu |first=Cagan H.|year=2003|title=Conservation through commodification|journal=Birding|volume=35|issue=4|pages=394–402 |url=http://www.stanford.edu/~cagan/SekerciogluBirding8-03.pdf}}</ref>

Birdwatching tourism is considered to be one of the fastest-growing nature-based tourism sectors in the world, often involving well-educated or wealthy travelers with specific interests in the places they visit.<ref name="Small sight—Big might: Economic imp">{{cite journal |last1=Schwoerer |first1=Tobias |last2=Dawson |first2=Natalie G. |title=Small sight—Big might: Economic impact of bird tourism shows opportunities for rural communities and biodiversity conservation |journal=PLOS ONE |pages=e0268594 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0268594 |date=6 July 2022|volume=17 |issue=7 |pmid=35793337 |pmc=9258859 |bibcode=2022PLoSO..1768594S |doi-access=free }}</ref> In addition to this, birdwatching tourism is considered a niche market of nature-based tourism. Birdwatching and other niche tourism markets are good for market diversification and mitigating the impacts of seasonality in a tourism market as well as bringing economic resources to remote communities, thus diversifying their economies and contributing to biodiversity conservation.<ref name="Small sight—Big might: Economic imp"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Market Analysis of Bird-Based Tourism: A Focus on the U.S. Market to Latin America and the Caribbean Including Fact Sheets on The Bahamas, Belize, Guatemala, Paraguay|url=https://www.responsibletravel.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/213/2021/03/market-analysis-bird-based-tourism.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=29 November 2021|website=responsibletravel.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129143250/https://www.responsibletravel.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/213/2021/03/market-analysis-bird-based-tourism.pdf |archive-date=29 November 2021}}</ref> It is estimated that birdwatching ecotourism contributes $41 billion per year to the U.S. economy.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|date=2 September 2021|title=Could a birding boom in the U.S. help conservation take flight?|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/could-a-boom-in-us-birding-help-fund-conservation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902153524/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/could-a-boom-in-us-birding-help-fund-conservation|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 September 2021|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Travel}}</ref> The large funds generated by birdwatching ecotourism have been suggested as a replacement for tax revenue generated by bird hunting which has dropped to its lowest levels in decades.<ref name=":0" />

Birding ecotourism companies are also making contributions to conservation. Birding Ecotours, which runs both international and domestic trips, donates a minimum of 10% of its net profits to bird conservation and communities it operates in.<ref name=":0" /> Another tour operator, Hardy Boat, has donated $200,000 to Project Puffin to conserve puffin populations off the Atlantic Coast.<ref name=":0" />

One of the expectations of [[ecotourism]] is that the travels of birders to a place will contribute to the improvement of the local economy, ensuring that the environment is valued and protected. Birdwatchers contribute to conservation, helping build and disseminate environmental knowledge by participating in citizen science. However, birding can bring about an increased penetration of [[ecosystem service]]s that are perceived as birdwatchers' indispensable attributes. By their presence and obstinacy, birdwatchers affect the attractiveness of the breeding migration or roosting sites for birds, flush birds, and otherwise increase the pressure on birds and their habitats (e.g., luring birds out of their hideouts and stressing them by playing their calls or exposing birds and their nests to predators).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kronenberg |first1=Jakub |title=Environmental Impacts of the Use of Ecosystem Services: Case Study of Birdwatching |journal=Environmental Management |pages=617–630  |doi=10.1007/s00267-014-0317-8 |date=1 September 2014|volume=54 |issue=3 |pmid=24993794 |pmc=4129236 |bibcode=2014EnMan..54..617K |s2cid=7657835 }}</ref> Furthermore, other impacts include disturbance to birds, the environment, local cultures<ref name="ALN2019"/> and the economy. Methods to reduce negative impact and improve the value of conservation are the subject of research.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sekercioglu |first=Cagan H.|year=2002|title=Impacts of birdwatching on human and avian communities|journal=Environmental Conservation|volume=29|issue=3|pages=282–289|doi=10.1017/S0376892902000206|bibcode=2002EnvCo..29..282S |s2cid=86375465 |url=https://web.stanford.edu/~cagan/SekerciogluOrniTourismEnvCons2002.pdf}}</ref>