2.3.26 | The Birds and the Bean

Jellybean and I go for a walk every morning. Most of the time she allows me to get a couple of sips of coffee before she insists that I get my shoes on for our "walkabout.” But other mornings, if I haven't had a good night's sleep and wake up later than the routine time, she tells me to forget the coffee, and get the damn shoes on already.   

I love her for it. What would I do without this daily ritual that gets me outside before I am actually ready? Part of the ritual these days is getting the winter gear on, stepping outside and then seeing and hearing what birds are around. The other day I saw a Golden Crowned Kinglet, a Chickadee, and a Tufted Titmouse zipping around together. The Crows have been quite verbal as well. I watch them graze on the ground for Beech nuts and who knows what else. I watch as they flip moss up with their beaks for no apparent reason, although I am sure there is one. I can't help but think about my dad. Growing up he would see a group of animals grazing in a field and would say "they sure are working hard.” I think those exact words when I watch the birds searching for their next morsel.         

Matt and I recently watched a movie called The Listers about a couple of brothers that decide to do a “Big Year” even though they know very little about birds. For those of you that don't know, Google will tell you that a Big Year is “a 365-day competition where birders attempt to identify as many avian species as possible by sight or sound within a specific, predetermined geographic area.” The film was immensely entertaining and a great reminder of the fact that I have neglected to do much birding the last few months … Get on it, Becca!  

The thoughts that have been lingering with me since the viewing are twofold. One, what is the value in amassing a list of as many species of birds as possible? Is it to compete or is it to learn and open one's eyes to new environments and species? It turns out that there has been some criticism of the environmental impacts of Big Years, so I am not alone in wondering this.

And two, despite the fact that the birds I see every day are quite common, they are still worthwhile to me. Their wonderfulness isn't connected to their rarity, or lack thereof. It's connected to the fact that seeing them immediately transports me out of my head. I find that paying attention to the natural world and being able to name the creatures and plants that surround me is a necessary contrast to the realities of our current affairs. I find it encouraging to watch them survive in the extremes. It was 10 degrees this morning, and there they are, with their naked feet and tiny bodies, working hard to find sustenance. Pretty amazing. 

If they can adapt to our quickly changing world, maybe I can too.  Maybe.

—Becca