The Joy of Birding

Posted by Scott Simmons

Common Yellowthroat I found when birding with my son

Since this is my first post for Birding is Fun, I thought I'd use this first post to introduce myself and my passion for birding and bird photography.  I've been fascinated with birds as long as I can remember.  I remember distinctly, when I was only about 5 years old, seeing a roadrunner from our car in Arizona.  It was mesmerizing to see.  A few years later when we lived in Virginia, I learned about Pileated Woodpeckers, and I just had to see one.  I remember walking through the woods near where we lived determined not to finish my hike until I saw one, and I remember the joy I felt when I did.  At that time, I went birding simply for the joy of it. I had no goals, no hopes of seeing a certain number of species in a year, and no plan to find birds that weren't yet on my list.  I just enjoyed birds, their beauty and their behavior, and I went birding with my father simply to enjoy nature.

Pileated Woodpeckers are still one of my favorite birds

Over the last 3 years or so, all that has changed.  I have devoted myself to learning about birds and birding; I now read books on the subject, both to allow me identify birds more reliably and to help me find more them.  I now have goals to see a certain number of species before the end of the calendar year.  I log every species I see on eBird so that my hobby can benefit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  I'm dedicated to birding, and most of my non-birding friends think I'm a little weird because of it.

Reddish Egret, a near threatened species

I believe strongly that these are valuable practices that can improve your joy of birding by allowing you to have a better experience of more birds and also contribute to science and conservation.  But I often have to remind myself of that day when was mesmerized by the roadrunner in Arizona--my hands and nose pressed against the window glass determined to soak up the sight of the roadrunner running near our car, wondering if there might be a coyote near by.  At that moment, birding was not about numbers--it was about the beauty of nature and the opportunity I had to soak it all in.

Osprey,  They may be common, but they're still beautiful, and a joy to watch

This past Saturday I went birding with my son.  We went to Orlando Wetlands Park near where I live.  My son isn't a birder like me--at least not yet.  He was more interested in looking for alligators and throwing rocks into fire ant mounds to watch the ants swarm around the rocks.  He walked ahead of me and scared off a couple good photo opportunities. I didn't see one bird I hadn't seen a hundred times before, but it was a great day.  I was out in nature with my son like my dad had taken me out into nature when I was his age.  And it wasn't about the numbers; it was about experiencing nature simply for the joy of it.