Photo by Pat Christman
Merrill Frydendall, the founder and longtime executive director of the Mankato Bird Club, knows that the future of the club lies in finding new members. "We feed the birds because we want to see the birds," Frydendall says. Here he fills a feeder at his North Mankato home.
NORTH MANKATO — Merrill Frydendall always says his favorite bird is the last one he saw. On a recent morning, he made his favorites crows and starlings.
The retired Minnesota State University biology professor is an avid birder who is trying to keep alive the bird club he founded 25 years ago.
The Mankato Bird Club took flight in 1980 with the help of Free Press editor Ken Berg. Frydendall had tried a few years earlier to find others interested in birding, but when Berg published Frydendall's phone number and instructed any interested birders to call, the Mankato Bird Club was created.
The club has been meeting monthly ever since. But the most recent edition of the club newsletter sent a dire message to members: Step up and get involved, or step back and let the club go.
Frydendall, still executive director and president of the club, has been slowed by recent health problems. He recognizes that new members and some younger members need to join and become active to keep the club going. He encourages novice and veteran birders alike to join.
The allure of birding for many, Frydendall says, is that "it's a type of outdoor activity that doesn't cost a tremendous amount." He laughs, and adds, "it can, but it doesn't have to."
In fact, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that in 2001, the most recent year statistics available, 46 million birders spent $32 billion in the United States. It designates birding as the fastest-growing single hobby across the country, and across all ages.
Vickie Lickiss has seen birding activities take wing, judging by sales at Pet Expo, where she manages the Wild Bird Department. Lickiss says not just bird seed, but feeders and houses are also in growing demand.
Though many people feed birds during the winter, Lickiss says sales tend to even out a bit in the fall. Most likely, she says, it's because many birds migrate south. With only a few exceptions, the birds that remain are not as colorful in the winter.
"We feed the birds because we want to see the birds," Frydendall says, "not because we want to help the birds." Still, with changes in the environment and in habitat, feeding may help some birds survive, especially in the winter, he says.
The Mankato Bird Club welcomes anyone who likes to watch birds at feeders, as well as those who roam the earth in search of birds. At club meetings and at birding tours, the experienced birders take new birders under their wings and show them where to find birds, and how to see them, Frydendall says.
Both educational and social, he says the club is not exclusive but welcomes people with all levels of birding experience. Now as in 1980, anyone interested in the Mankato Bird Club can call Frydendall at (507) 388-7249.
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