More people are watching birds, fewer are hunting them.

Those anticipating the long awaited results of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey "2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation" were no doubt pleased to learn that last month the preliminary findings were released.

For bird watchers (the largest portion of the survey's category "Wildlife Watchers") the trends appear to be positive:

Nearly all 71 million who participated in wildlife watching participated around-the-home.

Among the 67.8 million around-the-home participants, feeding wildlife was the most popular activity. It was enjoyed by nearly 56 million individuals, 78% of all wildlife watchers.

Nearly 45 million people (63%) enjoyed observing wildlife, while 18.8 million (26%) enjoyed photographing wildlife. Another 13.3 million (19%) visited public parks or natural areas to enjoy wildlife, and 14.5 million recreationists (20%) maintained plantings or natural areas for the benefit of wildlife.

Comparing the 2006 Survey with the two previous surveys shows an 8% increase from 2001 to 2006 and a 13% increase from 1996 to 2006 in overall wildlife watching.

From 2001 to 2006 the increase in both around-the-home and away-from-home wildlife watching were comparable at 8% and 5% respectively. However, from 1996 to 2006 there was a downturn in away-from-home wildlife watching of 3%.

The trends for both fishing and hunting were not recorded as favorably; they were mostly either flat or declining. This is problematic as hunters, through license fees and tags, still provide much of the funding for the development and maintenance of the areas in which birders in the U.S. practice their birding skills. The drop of 22% among migratory bird hunters is particularly troubling. Ducks Unlimited and the sales of duck stamps contribute millions each year to the conservation of wetland habitat. In one of the great cosmic ironies and as troubling as the idea may be to some in the birding community, fewer duck hunters could well mean less money for wetland preservation, which could well in turn mean less bird habitat for a far larger number of species than those pursued by the folks in the snappy camo outfits.

These findings are still preliminary; the full report won't be published until November 2007. However the initial news is a rebuffing to those previously disputing the results of the 2001 report that found that birders / wildlife watchers comprised such a large portion of the U.S. population. Now, as it seems well established that there are so many birders in the U.S., it is up to all of them to take up the responsibility for the funding of the conservation areas, refuges, and habitat restoration projects that will be left wanting funds following the continuing decline of sales of hunting licenses.