Enchanted by birds

Nothing against listing, but the real joys in birding are simply watching birds

Pete Dunne

SO, READER, WHEN was the last time you went birdwatching? Not chasing some mega rarity. Not scanning flocks of shorebirds in search of some species that, according to conventional thinking, shouldn’t be there. Just watching birds for the delight it brings. It is my favorite brand of bird study, and increasingly, it is the only form of bird study I practice: just good old-fashioned birdwatching. Having survived my own avocational adolescence (my listing/chasing growth spurt), which was (I confess) arrested for many years, I find myself of late simply watching birds as I did in my youth, for pleasure and insight. Massed Purple Martins in August: mesmerizing. Hunting Short-eared Owls in January: fascinating. Feeding House Sparrows year-round: all grist for my bird-appreciating mill. Last May, I went to the Heislerville…

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BirdWatching (Digital) - 1 Issue, May/June 2023

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