Photo: Gadwall, Gary Robinette/Audubon Photography AWards
Andreas Seiter
I’ve asked myself on occasion what makes us birders? Are we introverts, struggling with occasional bouts of misanthropy? Seekers after a connection with our spiritual ancestors through the voices of birds? Outdoor enthusiasts giving our hours in the field a purpose by documenting what we hear and see during our explorations? Conservationists with a mission to leverage the appeal of birds for an urgent and noble cause? Or just stressed modern urbanites, who found a simple and only moderately addictive way to boost our mental health? In my case, I’d say it’s a little bit of each.
Young Andreas going birding
I started out birding early. Our parents took me and my sister on Sunday morning bird walks, organized by the community college in my German hometown. They wanted us to get fresh air and some exercise, and we quickly learned to make the walks a treasure hunt, seeking to impress by being the first who saw the rare bird. So, I got a good grounding in bird identification and appreciation, but as an adult that early interest was sidelined by other demands of work and family. Nevertheless, I kept birding in a "mental drawer" to be taken out again once there was more time, the kids were grown up, the job less demanding.
That “drawer” opened a bit after I moved to the United States in 2004. I couldn't stop wondering what birds were singing in the trees and bushes around me. It took a few more years until I discovered the local birder community and joined their walks at least occasionally. I was still busy with two young children and a job that required me to travel a lot. An advantage of my job was that I saw many countries that are not tourist destinations. I was able to squeeze in a day of birding here and there, helping me grow my life list, sometimes by just exploring the hotel grounds or a local botanical garden.
I loved my work, but most of the time it kept me indoors in the office, conference rooms, airports, and hotels. But my parents’ early training held, making me an outdoors person, so I told everyone who wanted to hear that, once I retired, I wanted to be something like a volunteer park ranger. Upon retirement in 2022, I started volunteering at the new Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Center Visitors’ Center and used my free time to attend as many bird walks in the region as possible.
Some birding friends suggested I sign up for the Fairfax Virginia Master Naturalist training as a way to broaden my appreciation of the outdoors. I attended the class in spring 2023 and can recommend the program wholeheartedly. It has been an eye-opener for me, making me realize how interconnected all the different aspects of life on our planet are. It also helped me grow a network of like-minded people working in different fields and institutions, so that I now have more than enough options to get outdoors and do something purposeful. Of course, I always carry my binoculars with me. You don't have to go birding to go birding!
So, how did I join the ASNV board? I was talking with Libby Lyons, ASNV’s current president, one day during a bird walk, and she asked me whether I would like to join the ASNV board. I accepted because I appreciated ASNV’s integrated approach to conservation, which focuses not just on birds but also on other wildlife and the habitat they all need to thrive. I also saw that it was a group that had good ideas and the resources to implement them. Even in urbanizing northern Virginia we have opportunities for growth by expanding our group of active volunteers and collaborating with partners. By spreading our love for birds, we can win more advocates for intelligent approaches to protecting our natural environment.