April 20, 2008

• Why I Bird

  Isn't the English language - for all its difficulties - a wonderful thing?  I can use a word normally a noun as a verb and still be understood.  English is very versatile, if not THE most versatile language on the planet.

  But I'm not just fascinated with the English language - oh no.  After all, that's just one thing.  I'm a woman of many interests.  I've been called a Renaissance women, just recently, by someone who had no coaching at all to say so.

  Perhaps to those of you who don't birdwatch, sitting for hours observing birds, or trekking through miles of wooded trails, just for the chance to see something you haven't seen before.... maybe you don't get why someone would do that.  So I thought I'd take a few minutes to give you an idea of why it's so fun.

  Put aside for the moment the tree-hugging delights of simple being outdoors, in nature, among trees and other living things, in fresh air, or near a lake or river or stream.  That's a big part of why I enjoy birding, but it's not all of it.

  And put aside for the moment that birds are beautiful creatures, often colorful, and with pretty songs that can identify the bird before you ever see it.

  And put aside for the moment that just having something new to learn is fun in and of itself.  Each species of bird (and there are over 10,000 of them in the world; about 1000 in North America alone) is a new combination of colors, song, physical attributes, feeding, habitat and habits to learn about.

  But here's the clincher:  Birding is like a treasure hunt.  I can have a nice long hike, with my binoculars and/or camera, and I never know if, when, or what I may see.  Oh, I may have an idea that I'll see many of the usual suspects - sparrows, grackles, cardinals, blue jays.  And sometimes I'll not see any new birds at all.

  But often, there will be one new and unexpected surprise that just pops up in front of my lens.  In Iowa last summer, it was the red-winged blackbird and cliff swallows.  Two weeks ago it was the tree swallow.  Last week, it was the yellow-rumped warbler (and me without my camera!).  This weekend, it was the ruby-crowned kinglet.

  Yes, I took this photo.

  It's a treasure hunt.  And the treasure I get out of it are all those things I mentioned above.  As souvenirs, I take photos when I can and I get to see and learn new things.

  Then I get to play with the photos on the computer, add them to my websites, or use them to make other art.  And that's all goodness, too.

  Today, I've added Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, White-Throated Sparrows, and Dark-Eyed Juncos to my Bird Compendium.

  • 1:56 pm
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