List of birdwatchers

This is a list of notable birdwatchers and of people who are notable in their own right but also happen to be birdwatchers.

First are listed birdwatchers with large life lists, which is based on the number of species of birds each of them has/had seen. Depending on the taxonomic viewpoint, there are 10,858 (Clements V2023) or 11,032 (IOC ver. 14.1) living bird species recognised.

Large life lists
As of March 2024 according to the iGoTerra website, there are 13 birders who have added 9,000 or more species of birds to their life lists. An additional 15 birders have added at least 8,000 species of life birds. Note: all known sources of bird species life list data are self-reported.

Birders with over 8,000 species include:


 * Peter Kaestner: 10,002 / 10,013  / 9,851  (#1 on Surfbirds / #1 on iGoTerra / #1 on eBird).  Discovered the Cundinamarca antpitta (Grallaria kaestneri), which was subsequently named after him. First birder to see a representative of each of the world's (currently 249 [2021 eBird/Clements list] or 253 [2024 IOC list]) bird families.
 * Philip Rostron: 9,763 (#2 on Surfbirds)
 * Claes-Göran Cederlund: 9,761/ 9,829  (#3 on Surfbirds, #2 on iGoTerra). Deceased 2020)
 * Sue Williamson: 9,306 (#14 on Surfbirds—#1 female birder)
 * Phoebe Snetsinger: 8,398 (deceased 1999). First person ever to see 8,000 species. At time of her death in Madagascar she was World #1.
 * Bernard Master: 8,346 The Chocó vireo (Vireo masteri) is named after him.

Other notable birdwatchers

 * Ramana Athreya: birdwatcher and astronomer
 * John James Audubon, ornithologist and painter
 * Mindy Baha El Din: ornithologist and environmentalist
 * Florence Merriam Bailey: ornithologist and author of several early field guides
 * Jim Clements: author of The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World; 7,200 (deceased in 2005)
 * Christian Cooper: host of National Geographic's Extraordinary Birder
 * Dominic Couzens: ornithologist and author
 * Lee G R Evans: British twitcher and ornithologist
 * Kenn Kaufman: American field guide author and writer
 * Richard Koeppel: subject of To See Every Bird on Earth; a life list of over 7,000
 * Starr Saphir: led bird walks in New York City's Central Park for nearly four decades
 * David Allen Sibley: American artist and field guide author

Birdwatchers famous for achievements in other fields

 * Margaret Atwood, Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist
 * Sean Bean, English actor of stage and screen
 * Stephen Breyer, United States Supreme Court Justice
 * Laura Bush, former First Lady of the United States
 * Jarvis Cocker, English musician and frontman for the band Pulp
 * George Crook, 19th century U.S. Army General
 * Keith Flint, English singer and vocalist of the Prodigy
 * Anna Ford, journalist and television presenter
 * Jonathan Franzen, American novelist and essayist
 * Graeme Gibson, Canadian novelist
 * Trudie Goodwin, English actress
 * Daryl Hannah, American actress
 * Mick Jagger, English musician, singer, songwriter and actor, best known as lead vocalist and founding member of the Rolling Stones
 * Joanna Lumley, English actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author
 * Paul McCartney, English musician, best known as member of the Beatles.
 * Rory McGrath, British comedian and writer
 * Eric Morecambe, English comedian
 * Tig Notaro, American Stand-up comic and actor
 * Bill Oddie, Actor, author, comedian, television presenter
 * Vic Reeves, English comedian
 * Debby Reynolds, British veterinary surgeon
 * Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States
 * Alison Steadman, English actress
 * Lili Taylor, American actress, American Birding Association board member
 * Laura Wade, British playwright
 * Samuel West, British actor and director
 * Brian Briggs, singer-songwriter with Stornoway and The Glass Aisle