How I started relating to birds in my yard (Part 3)

My interest in birds comes from wanting to understand and relate to these seemingly alien creatures. This impetus among humans has likely existed since we started to roam the planet. Humans have observed, drawn, bred, trained birds for millenia.

Ornithology as a field of scientific study appeared in the 18th century. Early ornithology divided the study of birds into systematic and popular. The scientific classification and technical descriptions of birds was in the former category and the latter, lesser form was the examination of birds’ habits, life and behaviours.

The act of understanding living birds was seen as recreation. No paper on the ecology of birds appeared in ornithology journals until 1943. This means studying birds in their habitat, living their lives wasn’t seen as a serious activity.

Today things are a little different. The field of ornithology is supported by millions of amateur bird watchers. Birders contribute through funding as well as through the large amounts of data they inadvertently collect as they observe these lovely creatures.

Not everyone loves birds though. Pigeons and other feral species are seen as a nuisance in cities and many birds are seen as pests in agricultural contexts. The application of ornithology is often focussed on solving the problems birds create or finding ways to use them for economic benefit.

I can’t help but feel uncomfortable with the formal approach. To my untrained nature loving mind the treatment meted out in quest for knowledge even by the seemingly more benign approaches seems cruel. For example our understanding of birds’ migration patterns and as a consequence of the natural world has improved substantially through tagging birds and tracking them. But I worry about how the chips and tags inconvenience the birds or get in the way of successfully mating.