If there’s anything else on this earth I’d rather be doing other than watching, photographing, and writing about birds, I certainly haven’t crossed paths with it yet.
Truth is, I’ve been a lifelong birdwatcher for, umm, let’s see now, I’d say a good stone’s throw past the four-decade mark and I am happy to report I’m still going strong.
Well, I hope I’m considered “still going strong”, at least regarding birding that is.
I won’t get into the exact math here to detail just how aged this old birder really is, those records are tucked away somewhere safe and sound, but suffice it to say I’ve watched and photographed a lot of birds over the years, and let’s just leave it at that.
It all started on the very day my dad took me birdwatching as a young boy at the Farmington Bay Wildlife Management Area here in northern Utah.
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That was a morning when we, in fact, walked from what is known as Goose Egg Island to the 4-way parking lot a couple miles to the south and I’ve literally been hooked on birds ever since.
So what exactly is so darn compelling about birdwatching that immediately captures a young boy’s heart and for decades thereafter not only refuses to let it go but instead fosters that vessel to grow more and more in love with wild birds with each turn of the calendar?
That’s a great question but, honestly, it’s one I have no real answer for, none that can be fully satisfying with just an image or two married to a few simple words on the blogosphere that is.
Having someone try and explain why they like birdwatching is like closing your eyes just before a grand sunset appears and asking the stranger next to you to try and describe the color of the sky, it’s virtually impossible.
Much like that great sunset you’d miss with your eyes closed, don’t do that by the way as sunsets are awesome, birding just has to be felt to fully appreciate it.
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All I know is birdwatching is an extremely relaxing as well as a most enjoyable form of entertainment, for lack of a better term I suppose.
Birding, like any other activity we humans do for enjoyment, can’t be explained with words or images alone but rather it just needs to be experienced firsthand to fully understand the compelling attraction it has on us birdwatchers.
Some people are happy when they ride motorcycles, while others are content watching a football game.
Folks from all walks of life find enjoyment from jigsaw puzzles while others gain pleasure curling up with a good book.
There are some people that paint pictures for their happiness and there are others that give growing a garden a shot to put a smile on their face.
And so forth and so on as the list goes on and on but you see where I am going with this, don’t you?
There are lots of different things that are enjoyable in this world that different types of people find enjoyment from and birding should definitely be numbered as one of them.
As for me, personally, well, I do none of those things listed above but rather I find my particular brand of happiness from birdwatching.
(Birdwatching Goldfinches Eating Seeds. For short nature clips like this one and interesting stories about the natural world around us, check out our Bear River Blogger channel on YouTube for videos and updates from our travels while out in nature, both on and off of the famed Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.)
Alright, I tried the gardening gig a few times but, honestly, ending up with a yard full of nothing but morning glory and crabgrass isn’t exactly the Webster’s Dictionary definition of happiness so, reluctantly, I gave it up.
Regardless if I’m relaxing in my own backyard for a few minutes while casually locked into a staring match with a great horned owl or I’m parked for hours on end somewhere on the remote Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour route photographing rough-legged hawks for this website, I garner a lot of my daily happiness by watching, identifying, photographing, and learning about birds as they interact with one another and their surroundings.
Birdwatching is a form of entertainment, plain and simple, and it’s just like all the other activities people partake in to quench their particular thirst for entertainment in this modern world we live in.
None of those activities I’ve mentioned above, or any others that people might enjoy for that matter, are superior or inferior to any other.
And regardless of our own preferred outlet, we humans do occasionally need to release the stress and headaches that life can and certainly will throw at us at times through relaxing entertainment and enriching activities we personally find enjoyable.
Birdwatching is a very peaceful form of entertainment, to say the least, and a great way to de-clutter the mind while recharging the soul, as it were.
I have found there’s nothing so calming as watching a bird, well, be a bird for a few minutes or more to take a much-needed mental and emotional break from all of the day’s woes.
Birding is also a great way to stimulate the brain by learning to identify and enhance one’s own knowledge about the hundreds of species of birds we may have in our particular locale.
Learning how to photograph birds is also a great way to gain a new skill while exercising the mind at the same time,.
And trust me from years of experience, trying to photograph birds does exercise the mind as well as our patience but that’s another post for another day.
Lastly, and from what I’ve learned over a long period of time encountering birds in one form or another, birdwatching is a great way to meet like-minded people if you’re looking to share a few hours with somebody else who enjoys and appreciates a form of beauty that only comes from nature.
Simply put, I have met a few of you on some of my bird photography excursions, including some on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, a few others at Farmington Bay, and strangely enough, even one or two in the frozen food aisle at Walmart.
Either way, it is always a pleasure to stop and talk to a fellow birder for a bit.
And none of that happiness from meeting you would have happened without, yep, you guessed it, birdwatching.
What it all boils down to is birdwatching is an activity, just like any other activity people pursue for entertainment to unwind and relax for a spell or two, that can bring a lot of enjoyment and happiness to our lives whether we go it alone or spend it with a few fellow birders.
Truthfully, I wish I could put all of this into words far better than what this simple blog post will portray about why birdwatching is so darn fascinating, so enjoyable, and so entertaining, at least for me that is.
I just hope at the very least this website does show you my sense of love for birdwatching as well as all the aspects associated with it, including photographing birds on the famed Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, my literal home away from home during certain parts of the year.
If you love birdwatching or you’re just trying to figure out if birding is for you or not, I offer you to head on over to our subscribe page and sign up for email notifications for future blog posts about both birds and nature in general.
I try to both entertain and enlighten you as much as I can through photography and the written word about just how fascinating birdwatching and nature as a whole really is.
