Behind the scenes at America’s largest bird festival

Kenn Kaufman, author of the new book, The birds Audubon missed, had his big year at the age of 16, when he dropped out of school and moved across the country. But unlike the film, he downplays the idea that birdwatchers are primarily obsessed with bagging most species. “When you’re working on a list, it’s mostly competition with yourself,” says Kaufman, who lives in Oak Harbor. “I don’t know at the moment who holds the big annual record.”

Birding, he says, is mainly about experiences that bring people together. “I have friends who are extremely conservative and friends who are extremely liberal,” Kaufman points out, “and you will see them flying around next to each other.”

The festival’s keynote speaker, Christian Cooper, author of Better living through birdingand host of the National Geographic show, Extraordinary Bird Watcherwas about the need for more inclusivity, especially for people of color. And in a show of bipartisanship, representatives of both Ohio senators, Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican JD Vance, also spoke at the opening ceremony.

Lovebirds

Sometimes the camaraderie of birdwatchers becomes romantic.

At Maumee Bay Lodge and Conference Center, the festival’s social hub, I found Erro Lehnert giving Miller a welcome hug. Lehnert, a biologist and tour guide, met her fiancé, artist Christina Baal, during The Biggest Week in 2015 and they are now planning a bird-themed wedding.