First, I agree with Jim Elder's analysis: there never were 60 or 70
million birders; those figures are probably derived from hobby surveys,
and include everyone with a bird feeder. (The starlings and crows eat the
dog food my neighber leaves sitting in the yard. Does she count as a
birder?)

However, I suspect birding truly is declining for the same reason hunting,
fishing, and taking one's dog for an unleashed walk in the woods are
steadily declining: all require a high ratio of unfenced, uncrowded,
undeveloped land to population number. The increasing expenditures on
these hobbies should probably be cause for cause for concern, as they
indicate that the core participants are reaching the age at which they
have no kids at home and lots of free time due to retirement.

Kelly Cassidy -- Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Box 357980, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195
kelly at u.washington.edu --- 206-685-4195 --- 206-368-8076