📖 doi.org/10.1007/s106...
@amcuervo.bsky.social
@cdanielcadena.bsky.social
@birdmapper.bsky.social
@mhcneateclegg.bsky.social
@julisoto.bsky.social
@UNALoficial
@MincienciasCo
@inst_humboldt

We highlight that birdwatching tourism, as any other type of development, needs to be led by and benefit local communities, ensuring that birds and their habitats are protected, and that its development is equitable and inclusive 💫

For an enjoyable read summarizing the paper results, see this @ucscscience.bsky.social press release: news.ucsc.edu/2025/08/bird...

We mapped birdwatching tourism activity in relation to concentration of relative small-range richness. Some countries have high bird capital and tourism (blue and purple), others have high bird capital and not a lot of tourism (pink), while others have high tourism despite low bird capital (blue).

When looking at the drivers of birdwatching tourism, we find that birders seek places with high species richness 🦜, high numbers of small-range birds 🪶, high human development 🙌, and low safety concerns 🕊️

Visitor to different tropical regions come mostly from the US and Canada, the UK, and Australia. Some countries have low tourism rates despite high bird capital (e.g. Bolivia, Venezuela, Papua New Guinea, DRC)

Using data from @teamebird.bsky.social for 155 countries, we show a growth in birding activity for some countries (e.g. Colombia and India), and growth of birdwatching tourism for others (e.g. Colombia and South Africa). Note a pandemic dip in tourism but not local birding 🐦

Thank you! And thanks for sharing your writing also 🙌🏽

A great place!