Photo: Canada Jay Pair, Mount Rainier National Park. Courtesy of Jaya Ramanathan.

Birding and hiking both offer opportunities to explore and enjoy nature. Hiking typically involves time-oriented goals whereas birding is usually a relaxed activity. Day hikers challenge themselves to complete a hike within a specific time. Backpacking hikers need to reach their overnight camping spot and pitch tents before dusk. Birders on the other hand take time to pause and listen for bird calls, look for bird movements, and track their behavior using binoculars. Both hobbies offer ample opportunities for photographers, with birds best captured using relatively heavy weight zoom cameras, hard to lug along on strenuous trails. I constantly experience this tug between birding and hiking, so I have thoughts on how to enjoy both when out in nature.

Just being attuned to birds helps in spotting them. A friendly Canada Jay pair (photo above) perches near us during lunch on a hike in Mount Rainier National Park. Black-headed Grosbeak, Dark-eyed Junco, and Anna’s Hummingbird visit feeders, and Song Sparrow visits the garden at Lake Quinault Lodge. Red-breasted Nuthatch greets us at our sunset spot near Lake McDonald, and White-crowned Sparrow arrives at Hidden Lake overlook, both in Glacier National Park. Mexican Jay, Cactus Wren, and Canyon Towhee appear near Chisos Lodge in Big Bend National Park.

Cactus Wren, Big Bend National Park. Courtesy of Jaya Ramanathan.

While hiking on quiet trails, frequented by birds unique to a park, using the right technology yields birding sights. Birds fly away when many humans are close by, so crowded trails are not the best option. One can catch rare sights such as Colima Warbler in Big Bend, and White-tailed Ptarmigan in Rocky Mountain National Park, by hiking on trails where they can be spotted. Technologies that help include binoculars, lightweight zoom cameras, and Merlin BirdID. We saw Canyon Towhee using binoculars, and photographed Mexican Jay, both in Big Bend National Park. Merlin BirdID helped us identify Pacific Wren on a hike in Alaska Inside Passage.

Canyon Towhee, Big Bend National Park. Courtesy of Jaya Ramanathan.

Hiking on trails near bird habitats such as wooded forests and wetlands increases the chance of spotting birds. Herons thrive in the wetlands of Brazos Bend State Park, and Great Egrets along the San Gabriel river. During migration season, wooded trails in Lockhart and Colorado Bend parks teem with birds such as Painted Bunting and Vermillion Flycatcher. Local parks with such habitats afford the luxury of repeat visits, such as our neighborhood Freeman Park where we enjoy seasonal variations in foliage, as well as Brushy Creek, with birding sights such as hooting Barred Owl, nesting Downy Woodpecker, and fluttering Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.

Dark-eyed Junco. Courtesy of Jaya Ramanathan.

Birds are wildlife just like Brown Bear, Hoary Marmot, or Carmen Mountain White-tailed Deer. By being attuned to them, we can experience their migratory journey firsthand, such as seeing Red-breasted Nuthatch and Dark-eyed Junco in our backyard in winter, after also spotting them in summer in northern national parks. A hike to find and photograph an unique bird can be as challenging and rewarding as one to feel the spray of a waterfall, or see a glacier-clad mountain up close. Birding and hiking, when blended together, can create a wholesome nature experience.

By Jaya Ramanthan. Review and photo editing by Sarita Yeola.