The Home-birdy: Car-birding as a Hidden Hero
By Olivia Bautch

In my summer (blog) reading last month I came across an article from the inclusivity-based non-profit Birdability about a woman who led birding outings at an adaptive spots complex. [1] The woman attributed her initiative back to a time when her friend’s multiple sclerosis (MS) led her to investigate alternate of methods of birding, landing on car-birding. While this accommodation was born out of mobility needs, I couldn’t help but think of several additional barriers she probably skirted by observing birds from inside an automobile.

Birders have been utilizing car-birding for decades. Clearly, anyone with limited or loss of mobility can benefit from car-birding, whether it is a means to an end, or the outing itself. Similarly, those who cannot safely drive due to total loss of hearing or vision will appreciate getting a lift with a birding buddy.

Like a hawk with a clipped wing, the above scenarios are relatively plain to see- the US government refers to these kinds of conditions as “apparent” disabilities. [2] Yet a surprising majority of disabilities and chronic illnesses resemble the owl who looks able to fly, yet is troubled by pain and other hidden conditions internally. These are appropriately- titled “hidden” or “invisible”.

Home-birdies like the latter may be limited in our day-to-day activities (including travel and exercise) due to conditions that impair movement, mobility, mood or senses, just to a less tangible degree. These disabilities may be chronic- lifelong- but can fluctuate in intensity, requiring a handful of accommodations in our back pocket for “bad days” or even “bad moments”. So today I want to bring you a few hidden highlights of the unlikely hero that is car-birding.

1) A Temperate Mode of Transport
If you are reading this, there is a good chance you currently live or have lived in Indiana, and that means you know what summer sun and mugginess is. You also likely have at least a few days of experience each winter with a frigid half-hour or more of scanning through Lapland Longspurs for a Chestnut-collared.

The above Birdability article mentioned the physical aspects of MS, but heat and light intolerance from this autoimmune disorder also cause flares of fatigue, nerve pain, balance, vision, and cognitive distortion. [3,4] In movement disorders like Parkinson’s Disorder [5] and in autonomic nervous system conditions, similar symptoms may increase in part due to mixed-up temperature regulation in an altered nervous system. So while for many the winter heat and summer AC in a vehicle is simply comfort, these seasonal provisions might be the only option for others to watch birds in the field.

Something to consider: Temperatures inside and outside of the vehicle should not be too contrasting, so there is not a shock upon entrance or exit.

2) A Bird Blind Behind the Wheel
In similarly grouped neurological conditions including Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, or Tourette Syndrome, people may find their symptoms flare when there is “too much going on”. Noise, lights, smells, busy places, movement around them in addition to temperature struggles can lead to overload through abnormal sensory processing. [6] Migraine which at a chronic level is considered a disability as well as a range of vision impairments can also be  triggered by sensory stimuli and overload. [7]

In my experience, watching nearby birds from a parked car window allows me to focus solely on the patch in front of me, dulling factors like wind, adjacent traffic, other birds, and direct sunlight. Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance adds, “birding from your car can also help you get better views of certain species, since your car can function like a blind and birds are less likely to flush”. [8] As long as your surroundings are deemed safe and out of the way of traffic, this is a good option if surround sound dawn chorus is a bit overstimulating.

Something to consider: Those who experience PTSD and hypervigilance may be agitated by a minimized field of view. [9]

3) A Reliable Ride in Case of Restrictions
It’s not only complete loss of mobility that can have an effect on the terrain and duration of a hike. Degenerative muscle, joint, and gait conditions, severe involuntary movements such as tremors and tics, epilepsy, impairments with balance, and heart conditions that cause frequent fainting [10] are all reasons to take extra care in ‘watching your steps’.  Depending on the severity of symptoms,  you may find that birding shotgun can take you to more remote and off theqbeaten path locations. Audubon groups and nature centers often have caravan events that travel from sit spot to sit spot, or venture throughout a state or national park. Since stressful or uncertain situations tend to cause flares in motor symptoms, the confidence of birding as a passenger will allow you to simply enjoy the ride, and the birds!

Something to consider: Some people find that their motor symptoms come and go, and some conditions are not as limiting in their early stages. If you are questioning driving or hiking, you might want to catch a ride anyway.

Obviously parking on or near roadsides comes with its own set of precautions for anybody. Ideally, you might find designated parking, be it gravel, blacktop or grass. Some rural roads have wide shoulders or more preferably, turn-outs that distance you from drivers. Just make sure you are parking on the surface, not in it. You don’t need the muck of late winter to cause damage on your car, or to keep you out longer than intended. Lastly, take advantage of your automative outing to haul your gear, snacks, water, and any assistive devices. As National Audubon Society columnist Nick Lund describes, think of your car as “a giant backpack, or a pair of cargo pants”. [11]

– – –
Car-Birding For Any Occasion
I would be remiss if I didn’t share some car-birding locations. Some of these habitats are frequently birded, but I want to throw in some more creative possibilities, from my personal experience.

Roadsides serve as the starting point for car-birding in fields, fluddles, and prairies, although I have been able to use church and school parking lots on off-days and hours. Hancock County is always proliferous with spring shorebirds and grassland species, as well as western Boone, Hendricks near Brownsburg, and northern Hamilton county. These spots in the colder months can draw buntings, longspurs and winter raptors.

Many public parks- especially larger ones- have driveways or accessible paved paths that double as roads. Eagle Creek Park, Fort Harrison State Park, and Cool Creek Park are good examples of this. In addition to designated parking, look for gravel or paved turn-outs along the road, which many times are forested. One of my go-to’s in a prior state was an open woodland patch that gave me several different habitats in one, and proved to be quite productive.

Behind pretty much any shopping center or industrial complex you will find retention ponds. I like planting myself in the far end of businesses’ parking lots to look over into the ponds, where waders, shorebirds, swallows, geese, and ducks tend to show up. These same urbanized areas often build community parks and public garden patches, that while on the smaller side, can draw a lot of songbird species, especially during migration. And research universities sometimes have dedicated green spaces for their students’ studies within campus grounds, becoming hotspots for forest birds.

Now for the unconventional ones… in my hometown ballpark there was a beloved Osprey pair nesting for over a decade on stadium lights. Known urban nesting sites can be interesting visits not only for birding, but long-time observation- and baby birds, of course! While I have not tried it, plenty of birdwatchers swear by cemeteries, which you can walk or drive through. I’ve heard many a Bohemian Waxwing and Eurasian Collared-Dove report come out of a cemetery, so I would just urge birders who do try this to be mindful of visitors who need their own solemn space and quiet. And finally one of my favorites- the airport. The vast open space reminds owls and harriers of their tundra home, but geese and cranes overhead, grassland species, and winter sparrows are also a sure sight.

– – –
Regardless of ability, car-birding is a common method for traversing large areas and camping out in sneaky search of birds. But if like me, you identify with any of the above conditions or something similar, you might find automotive access another tool to pocket for flares or your gateway into the field. No matter what, it’s important for the birding and wildlife community to keep highlighting simple solutions and making hidden voices heard.

References
https://www.birdability.org/blog/birdability-captain-spotlight-diane-allison-pioneering-accessible-birding-with-pcas
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/hq5269.html
https://msfocus.org/Magazine/Magazine-Items/MS-and-Heat#:~:text=Whether%20it%20is%20your%20home,a%20longer%20period%20of%20time
https://multiplesclerosis.net/living-with-ms/some-things-wish-people-knew-temperature
https://www.apdaparkinson.org/article/temperature-dysregulation-and-parkinsons/
http://www.autism-help.org/comorbid-sensory-integration-dysfunction.htm
https://www.aao.org/eyenet/article/photophobia-looking-causes-solutions
https://swibirds.org/blog/2020/12/13/a-beginners-guide-to-birding-by-car

https://www.ptsduk.org/hypervigilance-and-ptsd/#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20many%20hyper,stressful%20and%20exhausting%20to%20maintain .
1. https://www.movementdisorders.org/MDS/About/Movement-Disorder-Overviews.htm
2. https://www.audubon.org/news/birdist-rule-35-learn-bird-car

  1. I keep my right turn-signal on when watching for mergansers and sandpipers just over the bank of this wide turn-off lane.
  2. Parking at Rick’s Boatyard Cafe gives direct views of  anything from terns to Tundra Swans at the Eagle Creek Beach, Reservoir, Dam, and a retention pond.
  3. A shaded spot at Cool Creek Park faces a treeline popular with migrating warblers.
  4. On the southwest side of the Indianapolis International Airport, a gravel lot hosts the Short-eared (and sometimes Snowy) Owl shows of January.