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https://www.positive.news/environment/conservation/birdwatching-takes-off-among-gen-z/>
"For birdwatcher Ben Smith, the perfect day begins just before sunrise with a
flask of tea and his binoculars, walking one of his favourite local trails.
“I don’t necessarily have to see anything special,” he said. “I write down
everything I see, and maybe if I’m lucky I get a snap of a good bird on my
camera.”
Smith, 23, is one of almost 750,000 Gen Z Brits who regularly enjoy
birdwatching, according to research by Fifty5Blue and published by the Royal
Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
That marks a 1,088% increase since 2018, making birdwatching the
second-fastest-growing hobby among 16- to 29-year-olds – behind only jewellery
making – and proving that it’s no longer the niche preserve of waterproof-clad
retirees.
Smith spends much of his time around Loch Lomond and traces his love of birds
back to childhood trips with his father, a van driver who worked night shifts
across rural Scotland. “I’d wake up in the van and we’d look for raptors while
we drove – red kites, kestrels, peregrine falcons and eagles,” he recalls.
He later volunteered in his high school community garden, joined the RSPB youth
council and went on to study zoology and ecology at the University of Glasgow,
where he is currently studying for a master’s.
The RSPB’s findings show Smith is far from alone in his hobby. Across the UK,
more than four million people now birdwatch, up 47% in the last six years.
While Gen Z has seen the sharpest rise, interest has also grown strongly among
millennials, up 216%, and Gen X, up 66%."
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*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
