A few months ago I had some conversations with a journalist with Rhode Island Monthly who was doing a piece on birding - I got my copy yesterday.
Although I'm fairly new to the "sport" he was looking for multiple perspectives. Although he didn't tell me this at the time, he was thinking he might have an expose on his hands -- the cutthroat world of competitive birding. Not so much, birders are competitive but also really want to share their finds -- oh and it's a great way to find a bunch of smart, funny people or if you are like me a tribe.
I did get a few comments in.
When I posted this on Facebook, my friend Martha Wild made this comment which I had to share – it is so on-point and I did not even know she was a birder.
Birding is like gambling - intermittent reward. You never know what's around the next corner, a lifer, a rarity, a beautiful example of even a house finch in striking plumage, a pair of flickers with their feathers all spread out, facing off like Sumo wrestlers on the ground and fighting over a female, a talon grab between two red-tailed hawks above. Each day usually has at least one moment of sheer joy in it. That's the hook for me. And much cheaper than gambling - just a pair of binoculars and you've got all the chips you need.
– Martha Wild
That is my Zen birding lesson for today.
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