I have been interested in birds since I was about 9 or 10 years old. Memories are still fresh in my mind of the very day my dad took me on my first birdwatching trip to Farmington Bay WMA, not long after the birding bug bit me.
He wasn’t interested in birds at all, but being the great father that he was, my dad took time out of his busy day to indulge me in my unquenchable passion for birds.
Fast forward to tonight, several decades since that unforgettable trip we took on a dusty dike that literally separated the Great Salt Lake on one side from a small piece of wetland on the other.
Tonight, as it were, I found myself reminiscing about that very trip as I walked around the neighborhood, listening to the snow geese fly overhead and watching bald eagles head back to their nightly roost.
I thought about why I like birds and birdwatching so much, and what propels me to leave the comforts of home, as I did tonight, and take a stroll on a frosty winter’s eve just to watch the miracle of migration unfold before my very eyes.
Birdwatching, for me, at least, is more than just about the birds. It’s about connecting with other people who share the same interests, the same passions as I do. It’s about rejuvenating the mind, body, and soul from watching some of nature’s most spectacular creations interact with the world around them.
In this modern, fast-paced world we live in, we oftentimes get swept up in the never-ending pressures of society seemingly speeding up each and every day. It seemed like just yesterday, in fact, I was a wide-eyed 10-year-old kid with a coop full of pigeons, facing an eternity ahead of me to enjoy my birds, or so it seemed.
Well, I am here to tell you, life can go by in an instant, especially if we don’t take the time, I mean, seriously take the time to slow down and enjoy it. That, in a nutshell, is why I like birdwatching.
It takes me out of the world for a moment and lets me enjoy a little peace, a slice of serenity if you will, each and every time I step out of the modern world and watch birds for a moment or two.
I am a firm believer we all need to get away once in a while from the steel, concrete, and asphalt world we live in, and take a breath of fresh air, smell the wildflowers, and enjoy the natural world around us. Every so often, we just need to power down the devices so we can power up our inner-self.
Now don’t get me wrong, however, I do like the conveniences our modern society has given us, but we shouldn’t let a man-made world of buildings, streets, and bridges try and fulfill all of our desires. Trust me, it can’t.
There is something about nature, especially about birds, that soothes the soul and refreshes the mind.
A case in point is each and every Sunday, me and my brother spend the afternoon, after a family dinner, watching the birds in his backyard. He has spent the past 2 years building up quite a backyard birding spot on his 1/4 acre slice of heaven.
It is literally a few hours where we get to put work aside for a bit and just sit and enjoy watching birds be birds.
Birdwatching is some of the best therapy we have at our disposal. I have known this for years, and it’s why I spend so much time on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour route each year.
It’s a way to clear the mind and think in a way not possible with stress and fatigue constantly knocking at the door.
I find when I am struggling with stress, or just need a boost of creativity, like I did tonight, in fact, birdwatching always clears my mind so it can think and process things again. It’s like rebooting your laptop or cell phone, in effect clearing out all the cached data, and starting over again.
On my walk tonight, as I watched snow geese scour the farms from above for a field to feed in, my mind was not only enjoying the show but also working on some new ideas for work as well.
Ideas were flowing, whereas an hour ago, I sat at this very computer, engaged in a staring contest with the screen, and I was losing by the way.
I find creativity is at its best when the mind can let go of some of the hectic day-to-day minutiae and think more clearly.
The benefits of birdwatching on the mind, body, and soul can’t be quantified, or even truly explained. Trust me, I’ve tried but to no avail.
To truly understand how birdwatching can benefit our lives, we can only go and experience it for ourselves. It doesn’t take a lot of time to feel the benefits of birding for ourselves. Today, as an example, my elderly mother and I spent an hour at Farmington Bay WMA looking at and photographing all the birds we came across.
My mom had just gotten her covid vaccination and was worried about it all. But as soon as we saw our first bird this morning, all her anxiety and worries were gone.
It took literally just 1 bird, a simple gull on a signpost, to pull her away from mounting stress and anxiety to an hour of enjoyment and peace that actually led to a more enjoyable day afterward.
Yes, a little bit of birdwatching did, in fact, give my mother a day of peace afterward, whereas it was starting out full of stress and anxiety.
(All of the images on this post, by the way, with the exception of the owl photo, came from today’s trip with my mother at Farmington Bay.)
You see, birdwatching can help all of us in some way, even those like my elderly mother, who isn’t a birder, per se, but enjoys spending time with me as I head out a few days each week in search of new pictures and topics to blog about.
I have seen the benefits of her getting out and spending time in nature, on each and every trip we take, in fact, even if it’s just a casual drive to a local bird refuge or over to Antelope Island.
Birdwatching doesn’t and shouldn’t be complicated. We just go somewhere and watch birds. It’s literally just that simple.
We don’t have to know anything about them to appreciate their antics. All that is required is a few moments of our time and, of course, a desire to get away from the crazy world we live in for a short while to rejuvenate our most inner-self.
Tonight was all of that and more for me, as I strolled for an hour or so around the neighborhood, listening to and watching birds all around me land in my neighbor’s fields.
As I returned to my humble abode, one of the two great horned owls that have been living in my trees over the winter, greeted me as I walked up the driveway. Please forgive the soft, grainy picture, but I had to capture even a poor image of what capped a most pleasant evening watching birds.
I hope tonight I have been able to convey, even just a little bit, just how much birdwatching can refresh ourselves, even in our very own neighborhoods and yards. It is the absolute best way I have personally found to rid myself of stress and anxiety and feel rejuvenated and ready for what the next day brings me.
For more about my birding and nature excursions, feel free to subscribe to my blog. Nature is where it is at, and I am truly blessed to be able to not only enjoy it for myself but to photo and write about it for others as well, hoping they will someday enjoy nature as much as I do.
And if you know someone that might need a way to unwind and relax, feel free to share this post that it might hopefully show them just how much birding can help all of us feel a bit more relaxed and rejuvenated.
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