ENJOYING THE OUTDOORS: BIRD WATCHING BUSINESS BOOMS, BUT FLOCKS ON THE FADE

Birds are big business.

Most people enjoy some visual link to the wild, and birds are the logical medium. Aesthetically pleasing and at least moderately compatible with human senses and avail themselves to observation.

We'd enjoy the sights of larger, "wilder" critters traipsing around in the back yard, but that's less likely for most people. Those who dwell in developed, highly civilized areas don't have much opportunity for gazing upon the spookier mammals.

A wide variety of birds, however, will fulfill that appetite for wild things by plopping right down on the window sill or the back deck -- especially if there are food offerings for them.

A huge number of people do provide that food, mostly for the benefits of attracting birds for observation. A new study from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service puts the number of adult American birdwatchers at 65 million, about one out of every three.

They spend about $5.2 billion (that's with a B, mind you) each year on birdwatching, according to the most conservative calculation by the study's authors, Southwick Associates. On the other end of the scale, the study researchers say birdwatching spending could run as high as $9 billion each year.

How much is that? In comparison, Americans spend about $5.8 billion annual on movie tickets and about $5.9 billion on tickets to sporting events like major league baseball. So birdwatching economically ranks right up there -- in the ballpark, so to speak -- with the national pastime.

For birdseed alone, Americans spend $2 billion a year, a huge welfare program for the feathered flocks.

Research shows that birdwatching feeds people, too. The number of jobs supported by spending for attracting and observing birds is conservatively estimated at 200,000. One franchise chain of speciality stores that sell birdseed, feeders and related items has grown to include more than 200 outlets.

It all adds up to show that birds are important to people. They might not be able to have elk or bobcats or mink scurrying round on the lawn, but they can have birds, and they evidently want them there based on their spending patterns.

It's ironic, though, that as birdwatching grows, the birds are in decline. Populations of many species are dropping, according to USFWS biologists.

Many species are dwindling due to habitat loss and fragmentation, say biologists. Development, encroachment and usages of bird habitat by people are whittling away at the numbers of the wild's most popular ambassadors.

~Steve Vantreese is outdoors editor of The Paducah Sun.