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Parents' Guide to

Birders

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Docu about bird watchers at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Movie NR 2019 37 minutes
Birders Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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What's the Story?

BIRDERS visits various spots along the migratory corridor that birds use as they make their way south or north during migration across the Texas-Mexican border. Some volunteers place ID bands on birds to help count and identify them. One Mexican birder laments that they used to see far more American birders but now, "They don't come because of insecurity," and the movie offers no explanation as to what that means. Enthusiasts photograph the birds, watch them, or act as guides to those coming to visit the habitats. Several people note that it's important to maintain habitats that can sustain migrating birds in their travels. Others repeatedly observe that animals know no borders and that building a border wall, as the American administration has set as a goal, will destroy lots of wildlife habitats. Birds such as Northern Water Thrush, Northern Cardinal, Green Jay, and the Hooded Oriole are identified, as are many bird songs.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This documentary is peculiarly content-free, but kids will love the gorgeous visuals. With no narration, no narrative arc, no tension, no real warnings, or prescriptions for how to save birds or their habitats, Birders meanders. Different people say the same things over and over. At one point we find ourselves in a National Weather Service office looking at clouds of migrating birds on a weather map. No real point is made about this. Among the repeated messages: a wall wouldn't be good for migratory birds, that animals know no borders, that the migratory corridor along the south U.S.-Mexico border hosts millions of birds going both ways as they travel to good weather and sustaining food sources at different times of the year.

The nature photography is lovely -- closeups of owls hooting and long shots of hawks seeking prey. The music of birdsong is far more riveting than anything said by any of the humans in this movie.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the importance of natural habitats for animals. What can we do to make the earth a safer place for migrating birds?

  • Birders shows families watching and counting birds together. Do you think that's a good family activity for bringing attention to environmental issues? What else can families do together?

  • What is your favorite bird? What do you know about its migration pattern? How could you lean more?

Movie Details

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