- It's a warm summer morning.

The water's running, a gentle breeze is blowing.

But what tends to top off the natural soundscape when you're going for a nature walk?

A lot of times, it's the sound of birds.

Now I'm someone who loves to hike and spend time outdoors, but for some reason I've never paid super close attention to our flying friends.

But that is about to change, because I am nearing the age of 30.

And if friends and family are any indicator, you are legally required to start identifying every bird you ever see once you hit that age.

Yellow bellied sap sucker.

So with this video, I'm looking to get a deeper understanding of our relationship with birds, both in how they bring us enjoyment, but also how we are impacting their lives via climate change.

To begin my bird journey, I met up with Sharon Bruce from the Audubon Society to talk about the hobby of birdwatching.

- Okay.

So we are at the Norman Skill Farm and Preserve, and it's a great habitat area for birding, because it's got water, it's got open field areas, it's got big forested tree areas, so you can get quite a variety of birds at this park.

- [Interviewer] In your words, what is birding?

- So birding for me is just a fun adventure.

I think it's, there's like a thrill of the chase.

And also it's an opportunity to get out and explore new places.

It's just a fun and adventurous hobby for me.

- But birdwatching is not a hobby solely enjoyed by Sharon.

In fact, it's an immensely popular activity for New Yorkers throughout the state.

- During the pandemic, we saw a huge influx of people at nature centers, at sanctuaries, on trails, just wanting to be outdoors where they felt safe, and found solace in nature.

And that just sort of hasn't stopped.

A lot of bird clubs full of younger people are popping up, especially in New York City, and places where, you know, people can gather together like at one of the big parks, and go birding together.

And it's sort of a social experience.

It's something that a lot of people can participate in in different ways, which is great.

- Whether they have undulating neck meats, or a bulbous build, it's no wonder people like spotting these varied and fun creatures.

But spotting birds can be tricky.

So sometimes just hearing their song is enough.

- So right now we're hearing a song Sparrow in that tree.

It's brown, and its got kind of like black streaking and spotting, and a white chest.

And, (birds chirping) yeah, it has that, that cool song, right?

- I was unable to convince the Song Sparrow to appear on camera, but I immensely enjoyed the meditative zen that came with standing outside and listening to all of the birds.

And the challenge this hobby brings, makes it that much more satisfying anytime you do manage to spot something or even capture it on camera.

- Oh, it's so satisfying.

A lot of birders keep a life list, where they write down every single bird they see, and then they seek out the ones that they haven't gotten yet.

And you could spend your whole life collecting birds on your life list.

- [Interviewer] Connecting with nature this way, made me realize how important it is that we take care of our avian friends.

And I thought about how climate change could impact birds that call our state, home.

Sharon recommended that I reach out to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center.

There, I was able to speak with environmental educator, Drew Hopkins about how a change in climate can impact birds in our state.

- Climate change is having a significant impact on birds.

The rate at which it's happening, is causing what's called habitat dissonance.

A lot of what becomes available in nature is based on current temperatures, and as the temperatures are warming, things are becoming available earlier and earlier in the year.

- [Interviewer] So the foods birds in enjoy, are becoming available to them sooner.

But why is that a big deal?

- Many of the birds that come here migrate thousands of miles.

They're called neotropical migrants, because they come from the tropics.

Genetically, it's ingrained in them that when there's a certain amount of daylight, they migrate.

So when they get to a spot, the daylight may be appropriate for what they've done over the last thousand years, but now it's already warmer.

Those plants have bloomed, or the insects have hatched and gone away, and now they don't have the available food that they were expecting when they get there.

Some of those windows in terms of the food, or the plants blooming, or insects coming out, is really only one to two weeks.

So if they miss that by a couple of days, they can miss a significant food source.

- Even resident birds that stay in New York year round, are expanding their ranges further north.

And shifting further north comes with challenges as well.

- The birds that would typically be in certain spots in New York, are getting pushed out of their habitat by the southern birds.

And they are, they are going north to find their preferred temperature.

So as the temperatures increase very rapidly, that pushes the bird ranges north very quickly.

Plants can't move except every generation.

What the birds are finding when they find the appropriate temperature, the plants and the insects that they used to rely on for food are still down south compared to where they are.

- A lot needs to happen for us to get climate change under control, but one of the best things we can do for birds, is to conserve land and preserve habitats.

As large preserved spaces can better weather the effects of climate change.

- Lots of animals need space to roam.

Things change in areas.

There are small micro changes across habitats, and whether that means there's a fire or some other disturbance, it allows those populations, those birds to move to a nearby area.

If there isn't a ne nearby area, then those disturbances become real problems.

Whereas if we have large areas, then with those disturbances, which absolutely occur, they can just move.

- With that in mind, New York has set a goal to protect 30% of the state's land and water by the year 2030.

This is a response to a national effort set by the Biden administration to protect 30% of the nation's land and water space by 2030.

The DEC has determined that currently about 22% of New York's land is protected.

A space is considered protected if there are established enduring measures that support biodiversity, support climate resiliency, maintain or enhance the natural character of the space and more.

The DEC just released a draft of strategies to achieve the 30 by 30 goal, and we've included a link to that in the description.

That's about all we have to cover for today, but before we go, I wanted to ask both Sharon and Drew, why should we care about this?

Why birds?

- Birds are absolutely an indicator species of the health of the world around us.

So if a bird population is in decline, that tells us that we have a greater habitat issue.

Trying to protect and restore different types of habitat isn't just for birds, it's for people too, to ensure that, you know, if and when things change, we've gotten a head start on protecting our natural resources.

- Birds are really, really important to humans.

There are about 7 million people in the eastern United States that are, that are active birders.

They travel, and they buy birding equipment, and they stay places, and they bring in eastern US, about a billion dollars a year.

And we know that connections with nature, bring great mental health benefits, they increase ones sense of wellness and happiness.

- Even if birds aren't your favorite part of nature, maybe something else is.

It could be the fresh air, or the trees, or even running water, which we'll be taking a look at in our next video.

So make sure to tune in.

And until next time, I'll see you outside.

(upbeat music)