A few years ago, if you'd asked me whether I was interested in birds, I probably would've said I hadn’t really thought about it. They flew through the yard while I was doing something else. I knew they were there, but I didn’t really watch them.
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. It’s probably the reason you're reading this today.
I would have never thought I’d be so interested.
Before long, I started noticing the chickadees and bluebirds, the wrens who 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. Not yet, anyway. 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.
So 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.
Who said birds aren't cool?
Apparently, I did.
At least until one little bird changed my mind.