Why birders have it easy

The other day I met a birder in the field who was complaining about how some elusive bird had escaped him. So I remarked that birders have it easy compared to us butterfly enthusiasts. He looked at me incredulously.

So let me give you nine reasons why birders have it easy:

1. Birds are simply bigger than butterflies and therefore easier to spot
2. Birds are active at night. You can do birding 24/7. Try that with butterflies!
3. Birds make sounds. Songs, alarm calls, they draw the observer in as bees to the honey…
4. Birds are on the move. They migrate. They fly overhead. They travel great distances which increases the chances of an observation, whereas most butterflies are relatively stationary (with the Monarch as a brilliant exception)
5. Bird field guides are readily available for sometimes even the remotest of places. Try finding a decent butterfly guide outside Europe and the US.
6. Bird guides (I mean people, not books) can be found and hired in almost all countries in the world. Most ecolodges and tours are aimed at birders. The whole infrastructure for birders is better than for butterfly geeks
7. Birds are much easier when it comes to determining the species. There is hardly a bird to be found that can only be separated from its siblings by DNA. On the other hand many, many butterflies cannot be identified to the species level without a DNA sample. Which, matter of fact, I always carry in my backpack 🙂
8. Birds have been described almost to the very last species. It is very unlikely to see a bird that is new to science, whereas finding a new butterfly species in Latin America is quite possible.
9. Birders are more abundant. There are simply more pairs of eyes in the field making observations and improving our knowledge of the locations of birds. Citizen science for butterflies is very much in its infancy.

Do not despair though and become a birder yourself. Instead, be brave and venture out there. Relish the fact that we butterfly lovers are the underdogs. We try harder. We do not take the easy path to glory. They should put us all up for a medal, y’know.

To finish this post, something no bird can match compared to a butterfly: pearl-coloured spots such as on this Queen of Spain fritillary (Issoria lathonia):

Canon RF 100-500mm f4.5-7.1L IS USM f/7.1 1/500 ISO 125

Let me know what you think in the comments. Exaggeration or right on the mark? Whatever your opinion is: merry X-mas!