For me it is a big hobby! I can Identify all the birds that live in the Mediterranean area of Israel by their call. ISRAEL is a land bridge like Gibraltar that connect Euroesia to Africa so we have million of birds migrating especially in Oatohm and spring.
That must be beautiful! We are on the Pacific flyway, from S. America to the arctic, but California is quite large, and some birds hug the coast while others use the central valley, so I don't get to see many new species without traveling a couple of hours. Anytime we travel out of the county, I take my field guides and binoculars, but still working out most of the resident species, and only know the calls of the birds that live in my yard! Right now I hear a Eurasian Collared Dove hooting (cooing?). They are relatively new here in their continuing quest to take over the world!! Do you plant in your garden to attract birds?