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About a month ago, I saw an exotic looking bird in my neighborhood.

It was a big, gangly thing with a long beak and a bright orange patch, two feather plumes sticking out of its head and HUGE feet.

I was sure I had spotted an escapee from the zoo.

Or some kind of mutant peacock. 

But when I looked it up in one of the library’s bird identification books, I discovered it was a double-crested cormorant, a river dwelling bird that’s actually common in our area.

I’ve always found birds interesting in an abstract sort of way, but after my recent cormorant spotting – and increasing sightings of falcons, hawks, and even a brown eagle perched on a traffic light – I think it might be fun to join the particular tribe of people known as birdwatchers, or birders, as they are commonly called.

There are an estimated forty-eight million Americans who self-identify as birders; how many there are worldwide is anyone’s guess.

Becoming a birder puts you in good company.

Chance the Rapper, former First lady of the United States Laura Bush, Steve Martin, Mick Jagger, Daryl Hannah, Fidel Castro, Paul McCartney and Game of Thrones actor Sean Bean are just a few among the list of famous birders; a list almost as diverse as birds themselves.

There are hard-core birders that travel around the world, even competitive birders that try to identify as many birds as they can in one year.

For those of us without the time or resources to travel the world trying to spot new birds, we can simply step outside.

A surprising number of species live in urban areas, neighboring parks, forest preserves, and even our own back yards.

In many ways, birding is one of the easiest and least expensive hobbies to pursue.

Birding gets you outside into the fresh air, and can do it year round. It’s a great way to take a break from staring into the ever-present screens that have taken over our lives.

Birding is also a great social activity to take up with friends and family.

And if you are a more solitary type, birding is a pursuit easily done alone.

As hobbies go, the equipment is minimal: a decent pair of binoculars and a bird-identification book is really all you need to get started.

A strong indication of how popular birding has become is the sheer amount and variety of high quality, entertaining books about birds and birding published every year.

Here’ a list of some of my favorite new birding books that are sure to get you into birding, too: