Birding is not just for the sighted alone. Birding doesn’t only involve watching birds. Many sighted persons lean heavily on their hearing to help them locate and identify specific bird species by their songs or calls.

Today, bird song recordings are readily available for bird identification. Examples from North America include Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs and the Peterson Field Guides bird song audio series.

Birding can be done almost anywhere and can be done singly or in groups. Birding events range from the competitive (birding classics) to the collaborative (Christmas bird counts). The effort of blind birders who pressed for a division of the Great Texas Birding Classic, led to the first blind division competition in 2004. (See stories below.)

Here are a few stories about blind birders and birding. 

Birder South
"Blind Birding Takes Flight"
http://www.grady.uga.edu/birdersouth/blindbirding.html

New York Times:
"For a Few Birders in Texas, The Victory Is in the Trill" http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A04E6DE1F38F930A25757C0A9629C8B63&fta=y

Winging It (the American Birding Association’s newsletter)
"Outta Sight Birdwatchers of South Texas"
"Blind Birders’ Tip Sheet" (prepared by blind and visually impaired birders)
http://www.aba.org/pubs/wingingit/archives/vol17no6p1and4to5.pdf

Audubon Magazine
"A Sight for Sensitive Ears"
http://audubonmagazine.org/birds/birds0201.html