Demographics, behaviours, and preferences of birdwatchers and their implications for avitourism and avian conservation: A case study of birding in Nonggang, Southern China

Abstract

Birding, a sustainable ecotourism, capitalizes on the community's rich bird resources to attract an increasing number of birdwatchers. However, the influence of the preferences and behaviour of birdwatchers during birding is unclear. Here, we explore the demographics, behaviours, and preferences of birdwatchers using a case study of birding in Nonggang, southern China. The data was collected from a survey of 201 birdwatchers between April 2017 and April 2018. Results demonstrated that respondents were mainly male, middle-aged, middle-to-high income, and higher-educated. When birding, 96.0% of respondents would photograph birds, and 45.3% prefer photography at fixed-points (i.e., bird-pond photography). Respondents' primary photographic subjects were more likely to be birds with narrower distribution ranges, lower encounter rates, or more feather colors. The majority of the respondents had a strong sense of protection, although the level of awareness against injuring birds was average. Our findings suggest that bird-pond photography has become the dominant form of birding. Solving the relationship between bird photographers' preferences and the conservation of unique species requires an understanding of the rare species and the value of wildlife viewing recreation by humans.

Keywords

• Birding
• Bird-pond photography
• Birdwatchers’ preferences
• Sustainable tourism
• Bird conservation