PHOTO // BIRDING

Observe. Identify. Photograph. List. Birding is becoming more and more common among people young and old. Visit any state park, nature area or park. Odds are, you might find a birder. I’m one. I am right there with the rest of them. Scoping, looking through binoculars, photographing, listing, sketching. Identifying what I see and observing its behavior. I try and take it all in. Not in a goofy or deep sort of way, just finding a few moments of peace and quiet and capturing it with my own eyes or through a lens. Even a small notebook helps in these few quiet moments. I have found that jotting down or sketching these observations is helpful. It free’s your mind and offers joy at the same time. I am not talking about making museum worthy art, I am talking about doodles and sketches, and scribbles. Something to simply come back to and say, “Ah, I remember that moment.” It’s not just the birds. It’s the bend in the trail around the trees, it’s the sound of fresh fallen leaves beneath your feet. It’s the wind blowing through the tall grasses. The sound of a rushing river flowing by. Or the babble of a small stream hitting the rocks. It’s all nature. Just you and the habitat. The birds know you’re there. Now you just have to find them. Darting in and out of the tall cottonwood trees. Flying in and out of the rabbit brush. They’re there…. and so are you.