What type of bird person are you?

Hooded Mergansers, Boardman River. January 2011

Bird lovers come in two forms: the avid watchers who devote hours of time tramping through the woods in search of additions to their life lists and the rest who are fascinated by these creatures but prefer to observe them in concert with other interests in life. I lean towards the latter. I have plenty of bird guides and encyclopedias, but if you were to ask me to identify a bird flying across my vision, I would be hard pressed to correctly name it outside than the common species that frequent my yard.

I have often tried to learn more about birds: taken classes on bird behavior, participated in field trips, made attempts at self study. But my attention span is short and I quickly lose interest. Even as a wildlife rehabilitator, I avoided birds on my care list. Baby birds are high maintenance; their frequent feeding schedule never fit into my work and personal life.

This is not to say that I don’t find birds fascinating. Who doesn’t appreciate the graceful anatomy of the swan, the rainbow of colors found in the birds of paradise, the powerful overhead soaring of eagles, the melodic tunes of the chickadee or the amazing hovering capabilities of the hummingbird? I have numerous bird feeders and baths in my back yard and spend hundreds of dollars a year on sunflower seeds, millet and corn. I make my own hummingbird solution and suet cakes. And at least once or twice a year, I rescue a bird who strikes my window, treating it for shock and successfully releasing it an hour or two later.

So why can’t I take this obvious appreciation of birds to the next level? I struggle to come up with an answer, but can’t. Maybe my brain is subconsciously telling me that I’m spreading myself too thin and need to focus my efforts on those animals that hold special meaning to me.

Perhaps I can’t relate my life experiences to them. I can swim, run, climb trees, do most activities that mammals, reptiles and amphibians do; but no matter how much I try, I will never fly. I always marveled at their ability to take off, climbing higher into the sky, riding the air currents to places unknown.

Instead of fretting about my lack of avian knowledge, I need to be satisfied with the pure admiration I have for these beautiful creatures. Nature doesn’t have to be analyzed to be appreciated. I just need to sit back and enjoy.