Marin Plank truly had no interest in birds when she gave her husband a camera-equipped bird feeder for his birthday. But by Christmas, she had become so obsessed with it that most of the gifts she received this year — books, stickers, notecards — were bird-related.“This is who I am now,” she said.Acquaintances have stopped Plank on the street to discuss the bird photos she shares on Facebook. From copious amounts of research, she now knows the best birdseed blend and has a premium membership to a store that delivers giant bags of it to her Delaware home.It all started when she got her first postcard from the Bird Buddy app, which provides photos and video clips that can be downloaded or shared.“You’ve just got to click, and then the bird is in your face looking at you and mugging for you, and it’s like your own little private show,” she said. “Something about their little eyes and their goofy little faces just drew me in, and now I’m a bird enthusiast.”While North American bird populations decline dramatically…

At a time when North American bird populations are declining dramatically, the number of people watching them is increasing.