Having a Bird Brain Might Be Good

Aside from the exercise, sunshine and an appreciation of nature one gets from bird watching, there may be a significant bonus for those who “bird”. The results of a recent study published this year in late February in the Journal of Neuroscience, shared positive news for bird watchers.
Using MRI technology, researchers compared the brains of twenty-nine expert birders with those of twenty-nine beginner birders. Fascinating outcomes highlighted key benefits for the expert bird watching group. Essentially, the parts of the brain related to perception, memory, as well as attention, were denser and better able to process information. These expert brains were determined to be structurally more efficient, allowing the experts to retain details and absorb new information better than the non-experts extra neural connections would come in handy.
Additional related research released in previous years supports the common sense notion that spending time in nature is good for our brains. A 2022 American Medical Association research document explored data from sixty-two million Medicare recipients. A key finding was that those who lived among more green spaces were much less likely to be hospitalized for Alzheimer’s, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease. A more recent study release this past February by McGill University researchers published in the journal “Neuroscience & Behavioral Reviews”, found that even with just three minutes spent in nature can trigger measurable changes in the brain.
Over our seven years of active birding, we “work” to acquire a deeper knowledge of each bird species that we see. Physical appearance, bird calls, and the active behavior habits, including how a bird flies or forages for food, all provide clues to its identity. As ones’ memory bank grows, essentially one can identify a bird more quickly. Although the popularity of the Merlin AI application to help anyone identify bird calls using a cellphone is increasing, we have resisted the use of the cellphone, preferring to rely on our memory to remember the call and the name of the bird. Additionally, rather than just identifying the bird is only one detail about a species. Watching any species move, make calls, seduce a mate, compete with other males of the species for a mate or evade a predator, cannot be captured by Merlin. The brain is truly in action, recalling past experiences with species and providing a mental database to compare any new species on a birding adventure.
So, if you are an expert birder, you have much to look forward to over the coming years. It’s never to late to start a new hobby and begin bird watching, knowing you will benefit in so many ways. Consider it a compliment if you are ever called a “bird brain”/ You have something to crow about.