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Diana Doyle doesn’t log high-speed miles on her bi- cycle. Biking with Julian Sellers would also disappoint seri- ous speedsters. If you bike with these members of the Audubon Society, crank your bike seat down to allow many stops, bring your binoculars and don’t talk too much because they will be listening to bird songs. Biking along bike trails and through parks has be- come their preferred meth- od of birding transportation. Driving a car to birding spots uses too much fuel, pollutes the atmosphere and separates you from the sights and sounds of birding. Walking is too slow. Bik- ing provides the right pace for listening for bird songs. Doyle felt guilty every time she took the family SUV chasing off to add a rare bird to her bird list. Her guilt motivated her to do a Big Green Birding Year (BGBY) list, where par- ticipants build a bird list from non-motorized birding. By the end of the year, she counted 210 species, add- ing the long-eared owl seen at Roberts Bird Sanctuary to her life list. Doyle believes her BGBY made her a better birder. Sellers believes bike trails offer good birding op- portunities as well. “Many of the long bike trails across Minnesota are off the beaten path and of- fer a variety of habitat,” says by Dave Simpkins Trails Publisher BIRDING BY BIKE Sellers. “You can see and hear birds as you go along; you’re right out there in the air and so close to vegetation and the birds.” Sellers tells of an Audubon biking trip on the Sakatah Singing Hills Trail in southern Minneso- ta, where a rare and beautiful swallow- tailed kite far from its Florida habitat did an aerial display. He also likes the safety of bik- ing in small groups on the wide bike trails. Birding on a bike makes it easier to carry more gear, lunch and ex- tra clothing. Doyle and Sellers don’t recommend carrying a scope or tripod on a bike rack because of jarring and dust. They sug- gest carrying unlikely ex- tras such as gloves, fleece and a windbreaker. A binocular harness is essential for birding on a bike. Doyle wears her backpack over her har- ness straps. Her pack has several pockets for her to reach for bug spray or her iPhone to photograph a unique plant or insect to identify later. Getting started: If you want to get started birding on bikes, most state parks loan out free birding kits of binoculars, a birding book and a list of birds common to the park. They will even point you in the right direction. Minnesota Trails Summer 2015 15 1505Summer.indd 15 5/5/15 1:26 PM