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u/cutebucket 1d ago
What are some of you spending so much money on? I bought a couple of bird feeders and a pair of binoculars and I'm having a great time. This WAY cheaper than my other hobbies!
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u/ModdedMaul birder 1d ago
Gas, camp grounds, food (while out), etc
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u/cutebucket 23h ago
Ohhh, so it's the cost of travel! Yeah, that'd do it. I can't travel easily due to disability so... yeah, my birding hobby is mostly the cost of bird food and the feeders to put it in.
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u/DisastrousSir 23h ago
Mix birding and photography and you can talk some dollars on right quick haha
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u/thoughtsarefalse newest lifer: cave swallow 18h ago
Oh that can easily be expensive too. I dont have a feeder or spend any money on it, but i know several people who i do not envy when they tell me how much they spend on feeder food.
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u/cutebucket 18h ago
I could see if someone had a big yard and was trying to turn the place into a little wildlife sanctuary that could get really expensive. I just live in a townhouse with a fenced in patio area, so I don't have the room for anything too extravagant.
I do have a fountain that needs fixing though. Right now it's just a frozen hunk of algae and a broken pump, alas... I'm sure the birds will love it once it gets warm enough for me to deal with cleaning it and fixing it.
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u/ModdedMaul birder 22h ago
Yeah. I don't actually have a feeder, so I don't have that expense (I would but I live in a tiny apartment that overlooks a parking lot). Whenever I have the time or money, I'll join my serious birder friends on insane multi day birding trips
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u/Defiant-Fix2870 1d ago
Right? My other hobby right now is pottery. It’s thousands of dollars yearly. Even if someone bought a scope and Swarovski binos, they would still be able to use them for years and years.
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u/thoughtsarefalse newest lifer: cave swallow 1d ago
You do one pelagic trip and everything gets fucked
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u/Drudenkreusz 1d ago
(US-centric post alert) I was curious about this statistic and looked it up and can't seem to find a source, but more interesting was that there doesn't seem to be any definitive statistic on this because they all very likely have different definitions of "hobby". One by the US Bureau of Labor claims Americans spend around $3500 a year on "entertainment", but other surveys come up with anywhere from $400 to $2500 yearly. There's also the issue of averages being skewed by the ultra-wealthy, and a quick search for a median just gave the same results.
Which is all to say, I think anyone possessing the income to do so spends much more than this (and honestly, probably even if they don't have the income). I mean for goodness sake, a $15/month sub to a streaming service or MMO or content creator is already $180! That's just a passive expense for a single thing! Concert/movie/convention tickets, art supplies, plane tickets, gas money, merchandise, sports/active gear, tools/parts... I think to spend less than $300 yearly on hobbies one must either be destitute or simply have no hobbies.
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u/Bob-Zrunkle 8h ago
I just saw this meme on another sub and posted a similar reply. I don't know why people believe this number. Here's the BLS link for those interested.
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u/Phyrnosoma 1d ago
Like are we counting gas money? Cause if so probably
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u/ModdedMaul birder 1d ago
Absolutely. Gas money, McDonald's and Taco Bell in the middle of nowhere, park passes/camp grounds, new equipment, etc
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u/cmonster556 1d ago
I might have spent $100 on birding this year, counting seed and gas. Most of it I got to do on the clock. No chasing at all.
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u/Theoderic8586 1d ago
Got a 500 f4e Nikon lens among 4 other lenses and 1 camera body in 2024 alone so yeah. I got my feeders for free haha
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u/withoutadrought 1d ago
Seed for the feeders, dried mealworms for the roadrunners and ravens, peanuts for the jays, organic jelly for the orioles, sugar for the hummingbirds…💸 The joy it brings me, priceless
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u/hiscapness 1d ago
Don’t get this one, I’ve been a serious birder for 35+ years. I spent maybe 250$ this year when I left my good binocs at home pre-trip accidentally and needed emergency glass, stat, that wouldn’t break the bank. A couple of big purchases over the years perhaps but that balances out to be nothing over a lifetime: how many Swaros can you buy? Otherwise maybe gas money? And if you’re spending thousands on campgrounds and fast food where the heck are you camping/eating? Though I suppose the rise of photo snobs (high-res crystal-clear perfectly-composed eBird 600mm photo or your sighting is rejected) has crept into the hobby near me. Personally I don’t get carrying $10k+ of camera equipment into the field just to clear my head and get outside and prove to other noobs I’m a “serious birder.” Nothing worse than listening to nonstop camera noises when staked out on a bird. But YMMV and the pics help drive more into conservation/caring, so I get that.
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u/thoughtsarefalse newest lifer: cave swallow 18h ago
I like to upload terrible phone camera pics to ebird all the time. Mostly because i only have my phone and binos.
Getting digibin photos of flying swallows is less impossible than you might think.
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u/ModdedMaul birder 23h ago
For me, this was more of a joke too. I don't spend a ton on birding aside from gas and food when I'm out. I do have friends who regularly go on international birding trips though (I don't have that kind of money unfortunately)
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u/SnooWords3654 21h ago
Gas is $6-7 USD in my country so it adds up rather quickly. Planning to get a camera and lens this year so, whatever it is in USD we have to multiply it by two 🙂😭
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u/ModdedMaul birder 20h ago
Where are you that gas is so expensive? I'm so lucky to be in Colorado, USA where gas is typically around $2.60 a gallon which isn't bad at all compared to your situation or other parts of the US
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u/cigarhound66 23h ago
This is my cheapest hobby by far. I bet I didn’t spend $400 on it this year. I probably spent 40K on others. That’s why birding is appealing.
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u/esboardnewb 23h ago
I come at it from the photography angle... I have only spent REDACTED in the last year or so, you know, just enough to buy a decent used (maybe new) car, that's all!!
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u/ElectricSequoia Latest Lifer: Ruddy Duck 21h ago
I didn't even realize birding could be that expensive of a hobby. I'm a year and a half in and spent about $1000 on binoculars and camera equipment. I'm about to spend another thousand on a new pair of binoculars, but after that I don't know what I would spend on. I drive an electric car and pay less than 1 cent per mile to charge it so maybe that's the difference? I go birding on trips, but I have never gone on a trip specifically for birding. Maybe I'm being naive, but I think my $2000 is going to average out over 50 years and won't be bad at all.
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u/Common_Crow95 5h ago
On the one hand, this hobby is so much cheaper than my previous hobby (horseback riding), on the other hand, I really think this statistic must mean 95% of Americans have no hobbies and the rest of us spend, spend, spend. (Although it can be very cheap if you'd like. I didn't need new binocs or four new guide books this year, and I certainly didn't need to book a trip to the Rio Grande or a pelagic into the Atlantic, but I sure am looking forward to them!)
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u/TheEmuWar_ 23h ago
My other hobby is sports cards. Chat am I cooked?
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u/ModdedMaul birder 23h ago
Not as much as me. My other hobby is LEGO 💀
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u/TheEmuWar_ 23h ago
I’m so sorry man
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u/ModdedMaul birder 23h ago
Eh it's fine. If I'm ever in a bind, I can sell them and make back my money or even a profit.
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u/CrepuscularOpossum 1d ago
Admit it, you stole this meme from r/faceting
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u/ModdedMaul birder 1d ago
I stole it from r/lego actually
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u/BillyWeir 1d ago
I think i spend more on feeding than watching but money well spent regardless.