A new generation flocks to birding: Five young birders and their favourite spots in Canada | Canada Voices

With BirdTok, annual events like Black Birders Week and hashtags such as #HotBirderSummer surging in popularity, it’s never been cooler to be birdbrained.

According to a 2026 study by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, birding is Britain’s fastest growing outdoor hobby for Gen Z. Similarly, a 2024 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service report found that more than 30 per cent of Americans aged 16 to 34 bird. Meanwhile in Canada, growing numbers are taking up wildlife viewing and birdwatching – with those activities outpacing even camping, spectator sports, paddling and golfing.

The Globe and Mail talked with five young birders across Canada, who all mentioned the appeal of so-called “analog” activities – such as exploring outdoors, peering into trees and listening for birdsong – which require mindfulness and attention.

Other motivations include contributing to citizen science, advocating for environmental and social change, tapping into creativity (birding is a common segue to nature photography) and connecting with peers. Not to mention the dopamine hit of posting new lists to eBird.

Raspberry Yow-Fairs

Noticing the finer details

Raspberry Yow-Fairs took up the hobby in 2020, inspired by the fierce loyalty she observed in magpies, her favourite birds.

During COVID-19 lockdowns, the now-18-year-old Toronto student began to paint a watercolour print entitled Female Birds of Ontario after she noticed a gap in bird study.

“Honestly, no one looks at them! But female birds have different ecologies and often use different wintering grounds, so it’s important for conservation to look at them and to focus on protecting those habitats too.”

My favourite local birding spot

“Tommy Thompson Park. It has a wide variety of habitat and sticks out into Lake Ontario, so it’s easy to watch gulls going by. It’s almost unparalleled in Toronto. It depends on the season, but I aim to get out there every couple of weeks. It’s big, so it’s a full-day endeavour.”

My birding must-have

“I rarely leave the house without my binoculars. It’s just something I like to keep in my bag. I never really know if I’ll come across something. I once found a canary hopping around with house sparrows.”

Trentön Schulz-Franco

Access and opportunity make it #BiggerThanBirding

Trentön Schulz-Franco was hooked the moment a friend introduced him to birding in 2020.

“It feels similar to the Pokedex in Pokemon for me, where I’m checking off the different species I’ve seen,” says the 30-year-old Victoria resident. The gamification aspect appealed to the protected lands co-ordinator, who works in land trust, but he felt the birding community was not fully inclusive toward racialized and LGBTQ+ people.

To rectify that, he co-founded Special Bird Service, which takes an “anti-discriminatory centred approach.” The organization holds monthly outdoor education and stewardship events across Victoria and Vancouver under the ethos #BiggerThanBirding.

My favourite local birding spot

“Mount Tolmie. It’s a camas meadow and Garry oak ecosystem. Camas is a keystone species that attracts over 1,400 co-adapted organisms that have adapted over thousands of years to be the best habitat and food for birds, bugs, pollinators, everything in-between.

“Because of spring migration, it’s been good for lazuli buntings, exquisitely beautiful birds. What we see normally is hummingbirds – like our native rufous hummingbirds – chickadees, juncos, any type of insectivore.”

My birding must-have

“My Nikon cameras. There’s something about being able to always see, cherish and share that moment with a bird, or wildlife in general. I’m going more places for birding, and I want to memorialize those experiences and birds.”

Jude Szabo

Compelled to count

Jude Szabo, 24, kicked off his “big year” on January 1, 2025.

“I was drawn to the challenge of a big year – a whole year dedicated to one goal: seeing as many birds as you can,” says the Hamilton-based account manager.

His final count was 351 species across Ontario – plus prized memories, like “going to James Bay and seeing a black guillemot with two good friends and my dad, or waking at 4 in the morning to listen for a chuck-will’s-widow with friends at Point Pelee National Park.”

My favourite local birding spot

“Confederation Beach Park, on the west end of Lake Ontario in Hamilton. I’m there five times or more a week. It’s got everything I like. In fall, it’s phenomenal for lake watching. I’ve seen all three jaegers, Sabine’s gulls and black-legged kittiwake all in one day, which is awesome.

“There’s also wooded areas for warblers in migration and other songbirds, marshy habitats and open spaces that flycatchers catch bugs in.”

My birding must-have

“Shoe options – which some people might think is a bit much, but I have my reasons. Breathable walking shoes as my default; waterproof hiking boots for serious walks or morning dew; rubber boots for water crossings and marshes; waders for deeper water; and sandals for camp. Not having sore feet is super important.”

Lauren Pitre

Birding is for everyone

Lauren Pitre, 27, caught the birding bug from ornithophile colleagues. The biologist has been birding for three years and is a co-leader of Feminist Bird Club YYT in St. John’s.

Feminist Bird Club got its start in New York in 2016 and now has 43 international chapters. Events are free, typically wheelchair-accessible and reachable by public transit.

“It can be intimidating to enter a group where you don’t feel represented,” Pitre says. “This bird club is trying to create an intersectional space for people of different gender identities, sexualities, racial identities and people with different accessibility needs.”

My favourite local birding spot

“Bidgood Park in the Goulds. It’s got a beautiful forest trail that leads into a wetland boardwalk, a very authentic Newfoundland habitat. It also has an accessible walking trail and is a 20-ish minute drive from downtown.”

My birding must-have

“Merlin is such a great app. It’s free, you can download it with any kind of device, you can use it all over the world and it’s really easy to use. There’s so much bird identification information it provides, and it gives a good screenshot of each bird.”

Joel Weatherly

Finding wonder in the science of birds

Joel Weatherly, 30, a birder since 2011, says birds such as wood ducks and yellow-rumped warblers, are “easy favourites for their beauty.” But he loves others for their migration habits.

“Swainson’s hawks travel to the pampas of Argentina and Brazil, and I look forward to their return after they’ve made that spectacular journey,” says the Edmonton-based science presenter and wildlife photographer.

“The Arctic tern migrates from one pole to the other: the Arctic to the Antarctic. It’s an incredible feat of biology.”

My favourite local birding spot

“I enjoy a few local stormwater ponds for a quick outing around the neighbourhood and, for a favourite place to get out, the Beaver Hills region to the east of Edmonton, which includes the Beaver Hills Biosphere with spectacular lakes, like Cooking Lake, where you can see shorebirds, warblers and a nice variety of species.”

My birding must-have

Weatherly is another big fan of eBird. “I use their hotspots to bird when I travel, submit checklists to participate in citizen science and projects like shorebird counts and Garden for Birds.

“If you see a cool bird, you can share it: I upload a lot of photos to eBird and wildlife media archive Macaulay Library.”

These interviews have been edited and condensed.