TikTokers Are In Their Birdwatching Era

One minute you’re young, carefree, and hanging out at the bar with friends. The next, you’re crouched in the woods with a pair of binoculars and trying to spot the elusive scrub jay. While the bar-to-birdwatching pipeline usually takes decades to develop, millennials and Gen Z are getting into it early. The hobby has over 181 million views on TikTok — but why is it so popular?

If birdwatching has yet to come up on your FYP, here’s what it looks like: A 20-something installs a bird feeder in their window and watches for hours. A 30-something covers themselves in seeds and sits in a lawn chair for an up-close view of chickadees. Another is kitted out with field guides and bird-call apps so that they can tell the difference between cardinals and robins.

Birdwatching may have big retiree energy, but the relaxing pace is a big part of the draw. TikTok creator Zach Miko, who bought a bird feeder on a whim, says he appreciates how birdwatching has forced him to slow down. “I’ll sit and watch for an hour,” he tells Bustle. “The birds are so funny and fascinating and full of life — but it’s also so fleeting.”

The only way to see anything extraordinary, he says, is to wait quietly and patiently. “When you sit still just staring at birds you can’t doom scroll or do work emails or else you might miss the three seconds that one cool bird pops by,” he says. “It breaks my heart how many birds I couldn’t get my phone out in time to take a picture.”

Alana, 26, is also obsessed with birdwatching. After moving into a new apartment, she noticed that she could hear more birds chirping in the nearby trees. “Eventually, that led to me sitting outside with my dog to look for them,” she tells Bustle. “Then I downloaded the Merlin Bird ID app so that I could track and identify which birds I was hearing.”

Now, Alana spends each morning peacefully scanning the trees for birds, which led to her starting a local meet-up for other bird lovers. “Some of them bring binoculars while others just bring coffee. We sit and chat with the app open and get all giddy when we hear a new bird call,” she says. “It’s since expanded from the little stoop outside my apartment to now going to the local park with binoculars and a friend or two to spot other birds.”

Like many people on TikTok, Alana is well aware that birdwatching is usually reserved for the grandparents of the world. “I only ever knew of older people having this hobby, but I quickly learned why they do,” she says. “It brings me outside in nature and gets me thinking about the world around me a bit more. Now, if I’m out and about and I hear a blue jay it brings me joy — even though they are obnoxiously loud.”

According to Miko, as you get deeper into the hobby of birdwatching, it’s common to become obsessed with spotting certain birds. And that adds a whole new level of excitement — and commitment — to the hobby.

“It’s like trying to catch Pokémon in real life,” he says. “I live on the East Coast and every time I have a job on the West Coast all I want is to see a Steller’s Jay. I have heard one and seen one’s butt fly away, but have still never seen one fully. It’s like a game.”

For some folks, birdwatching is about relaxation. For others, it’s about finding a new hobby or connecting with friends. As Allison Soss, a psychotherapist with New York City Psychotherapy Collective, says, it all counts as self-care, and that’s something every burnt-out millennial needs.

“It’s a great way to get outside, relax, watch nature, and stay grounded,” Soss tells Bustle. “Using birdwatching as self-care can help you reset your mind and body and give you the ability to take a step away from the stressful situations in your life.”

Nothing will drown out daily worries quite like watching an active bird feeder, especially if you get philosophical about it. “Their lives are just so simple: eat, survive, rest, have babies, rinse, and repeat,” Miko says. “When you spend your whole life worrying about work and the future and the stresses of life, it’s nice to watch something that’s happy with a few seeds — and not getting eaten.”

Studies referenced:

Tryjanowski, P. (2022) Nature and Mental Health-Birding is a Proven Solution. Alpha Psychiatry. doi: 10.5152/alphapsychiatry.2022.22916.

Source:

Allison Soss, LMHC, psychotherapist with New York City Psychotherapy Collective