You know I love slow hiking. There is nothing I love more than being in the outdoors and slowing waaay down to take in the details, use all my senses, and tap into the curiosity and wonder we were born with but abandoned as we grew into adults.
Birdwatching is one of the best slow activities. I don’t know much about birds. Well, I can identify the obvious ones like flamingos, ostriches, Tweety, and Big Bird. but if a bird catches my eye or my interest, I lean into it. I have what you might call a situational interest in birding.
That’s exactly what happened yesterday. While on a slow hike, three swans flying overhead happened to honk just loud enough to catch my attention. They were so stunningly beautiful that I needed to know more. I consulted my personal bird experts (my parents), but they were in disagreement about whether the swans were trumpeter or tundra swans. We’ll probably never really know the answer, but it’s fun going down the rabbit hole listening to recordings, checking records for Brown County, learning where they migrate, winter, and nest, and most of all, messaging each other throughout the day with new information and theories.
That was great fun, but most of the time, I just allow myself to enjoy the music of the birds calling. You do not have to be an expert to enjoy birdwatching or the outdoors. It doesn’t make their music any less beautiful when you don’t know what type of bird serenaded you on a hike. When birds swoop by or I pass birds in a pond, I’m not missing out because I don’t know where they spend their winters or what they’re called. Just appreciating how they move through the air or rest on the water isn’t any less valuable.
Get Geeky About Birds
Now, should you want to get geeky…well, there are endless possibilities. As a proud bird amateur, when I do want to dig a little deeper, these are the ways I add to the experience.
Today is the first day that Birdcast is back for the migratory season. You can see how many birds passed through your county or state overnight. Sounds nerdy? Oh, it is. Nerdy, wonderful…and addicting.
As I mentioned, I don’t know very many bird calls compared to experienced birders. Sometimes a call will catch my attention and I can’t see the bird very well, I’ll ask my mom, our family ornithologist. I’m pretty sure she is completely over me sending her recordings of hard-to-make-out bird calls and/or trying to imitate the calls myself. She *highly* recommended (demanded, pleaded) I download the Merlin Bird ID app. Direct from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, you can record a bird call as you hear it. The app will use the recording and other factors like your location to help you identify which bird is calling.
Where do I find great birds? I don’t usually set out looking for a location to watch birds. Instead, they are an added bonus to my slow hiking adventures, but here are a few of my favorite hiking spots where I usually see interesting birds.
- Osprey Point – specifically the pair of osprey that nest on the platform, herons, owls, hawks, and during the winter, the variety of birds at the giant bird feeder
- The trail loop at Sensiba – Highlights for me are the resident eagles and their nest, birds migrating through in spring, and the yellow-headed blackbirds.
- The Wildlife Viewing Pier at Voyageur Park – The pelicans are my favorite, but there are plenty of birds and waterfowl!
- The bird feeders at Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary – Not only is this a great location for birdwatching on the trails, but you can also observe them on the feeders from inside the NatureEducation Center, in animal exhibits on the Habirek Trail, and in the Rehabilitation Building.
- Any outdoor space where you can sit or stand for a while and just pay attention to what’s going on around you.
You don’t even need to go outdoors to be a birder. You can watch them from your recliner or kitchen table. My husband would never consider himself a birdwatcher, but he’s always checking on our birds, the birds in the woods directly behind us. He reports new arrivals, calls us to the window to check out interesting birds or their behavior, and once in a while, texts me photos of them while I’m at work. Yep, he’s a bird watcher.
Or watch them from your car.
Spring is a great time to get into birds. Thousands of birds move through Wisconsin on their migration. If you love going down the rabbit hole of investigation, then by all means, dive into birding to learn all the things. But please hear me, you do not need to know anything about birds to thoroughly enjoy birdwatching. There’s no wrong way to watch birds.
The world may tell you that you *need* fancy gear, identification guides, and apps. If those things bring you joy and you have the resources, that’s awesome, but you don’t need to spend money on gear. You don’t need to know what birds you’ve seen. You don’t need a birding life-list to track the birds you’ve seen. You don’t need to log the birds you see on a birding app. All you absolutely need is a beginner’s mind and willingness to fully immerse yourself in the experience.
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