Perceiving, Conceiving, and Valuing “Nature”: Bird Identification as an Art of Noticing

Birds are very prominent parts of nature; if you pay attention, you can hear them in many places all year round. This article describes bird identification activities as arts of noticing, particular ways of seeing things - in this case, bird species - that remain invisible to others. Through qualitative research methods and audio-visual methods, this study explores how different practices of bird identification at the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen, the Netherlands, shape how bird identifiers perceive, conceive, and value local ecologies. Different bird identifiers have a different idea of what nature is or could be - especially within the Dutch context, where people often say that “real” nature does not exist. Therefore, studying how bird identifiers conceptualise local ecologies is essential for understanding how they see themselves concerning non-human entities and how they interact with and treat the nonhuman. By discussing how bird identification practices shape embodied...Show moreBirds are very prominent parts of nature; if you pay attention, you can hear them in many places all year round. This article describes bird identification activities as arts of noticing, particular ways of seeing things - in this case, bird species - that remain invisible to others. Through qualitative research methods and audio-visual methods, this study explores how different practices of bird identification at the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen, the Netherlands, shape how bird identifiers perceive, conceive, and value local ecologies. Different bird identifiers have a different idea of what nature is or could be - especially within the Dutch context, where people often say that “real” nature does not exist. Therefore, studying how bird identifiers conceptualise local ecologies is essential for understanding how they see themselves concerning non-human entities and how they interact with and treat the nonhuman. By discussing how bird identification practices shape embodied encounters with nature through skilled vision and listening, this study examines how particular conceptions of Dutch socio-ecological systems and subsequent pro-environmental behaviour arise from a specific art of noticing, i.e., bird identification. Apart from a written output, this study also consists of an audio-visual part. While in the written part of my thesis, I mainly focus on academic literature, applied research methods, and the results arising from those methods, my audio-visual output will focus on how bird identifiers are birding. I.e. in the audio-visual section of this thesis, I aim to show rather than write about how (professional) bird identifiers carry out bird identification and how their ways of seeing birds establish their conceptions and perceptions of local ecologiesShow less

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Perceiving, Conceiving, and Valuing “Nature”: Bird Identification as an Art of Noticing