Birds Guide for Beginners

Title: "Bird Watching: Perching on Imagination and Discoveries"

Just last night, as I wandered by my old porch, I heard the unmistakable chirping of my Blue-Cheeked Bee-eater perched on the patio railing. Curiosity piqued, I looked up and noticed the wings of a Rainbow Bee-eater flapping near the tree branches at the top of our tree. Naturally, I asked Sage if she had seen them and then I fished out my phone to look for an image of the color and shape . Sage nodded in agreement as she looked at the phone screen, and we both knew it was likely the same bird that perched in the tree shortly after we got home from work. Excitement bubbled through me, like a Punch-and-Judy act enjoying encore after encore.

Bird Watching is all about serendipity. It is about letting the cat out of the bag... and being keenly observant as to where and when it happens. Birds are masters of camouflage, so we need to be observant as to the smallest movement of skin and feathers to realize the feline play. As I recall the reaction of sage, I often find a needle in a haystack. Some of the more common birds, it is easy; a Blue-Cheeked Cockatoo or a Sumatran Bleeding-heart perched in the tree, snapped. But if an elusive bird wanders through your space, you know it's going to be exciting. Location and spotting of the sighting is a privilege.
It’s also about getting lost, but not quite. And not being stuck in traffic on the way to and from the local nature reserve. Sometimes, birds unexpectedly welcome us in as they choose a new vantage point for watching us... also antennas for watching all sorts of helpers... and harbingers of all sorts of things...

Until next time,
Sage

Photo by Mehdi Sepehri on Unsplash