Who Said Birds Aren't Cool?

Mar 2

Written By JT

A few years ago, if you'd asked me whether I was interested in birds, I probably would've laughed. I wasn't. A bird was a bird. They flew through the yard while I was doing something else. I noticed them about as much as I noticed the clouds.

Then I started repairing the fence.

One afternoon I happened to notice a little bird carrying nesting material back and forth. I don't know why that caught my attention, but it did. I stopped working for a minute and watched it. Then I watched it again the next day.

That little bird is probably the reason you're reading this today.

If I hadn't happened to notice it that afternoon, I probably never would've built my first birdhouse. And if I hadn't built that first birdhouse, I probably wouldn't spend much time watching birds now either.

Funny how things work out.

I never set out to become interested in birds. It just happened a little at a time. I built another birdhouse. Then another. Before long I started noticing the chickadees, the bluebirds, the wrens that seem convinced they own everything, and the hummingbirds that appear out of nowhere and disappear just as fast.

The funny thing is, none of them changed. They'd been doing all those same things for years. The only thing that changed was me.

I still wouldn't call myself a bird watcher. I don't spend hours watching birds or travel somewhere hoping to see a rare one. But I have caught myself thinking about buying a pair of binoculars or a camera with a little more zoom. Not to go looking for birds somewhere else. Just to get a better look at the ones that already stop by my yard.

Now I find myself standing outside a little longer than I used to, watching them go about a day they've probably lived a thousand times before.