It's nice to just birdwatch around home; the birds keep changing with the seasons so there's always something you haven't seen in awhile. And there's always the possibility of seeing something totally new to you. But wouldn't it be nice to see a totally different set of birds? You can. Just travel some distance from home; it can be just a moderate number of miles if you travel to a different habitat, cross over a mountain range, go to a lake or ocean shore, or travel to a different country or even continent.

You can travel independently, stay at a lodge, or sign up for a birding tour. Is this "Ecobirding?" Yes, in a sense all birding activities are ecobirding because birdwatching has so little effect on the environment except for the travel portion - takes fuel to get there.

But what I really mean by ecobirding is the fact that you are encouraging the people who make money on your travel and activities to preserve their resource - the habitat and the birds in it. Whether it's the birding trails of Mobile, Alabama or the wilds of Gambia, the local populace earns a living from providing food, lodging, local travel, bird tours and guides, and souveniers. So the locals make a living off the local avifauna, encouraging conservation. If you google the term "ecobirding" you will find lots of resources such as tours and lodges. A whole bunch of them call themselves Ecobirding SomeLocation. I'll be posting some detailed information about those in the future.