birdwatching and aiming your focus
For as long as I can remember, my attention has been divided. Between different pieces of media, books, hobbies, my school life, then my work life. All of these lives were lived both separately from each other and as part of one big, foggy, terrible distraction.
I remember last summer more than every summer before it, because that was the summer I started watching birds. Birdwatching is one of those hobbies you donāt seek out; it tends to find you before you find it. In my experience, birdwatchers typically go from being neutral on the topic of birding to borderline obsessed within a matter of weeks. Itās totally natural.
At the time, I was transitioning between jobs, starting another year of college, and stressing about anything and everything that was happening, going to happen, and had happened. That is to say, I was frazzled. My life knew no moments of silence. My brain was all noise.
That was, until I was standing in my backyard one morning as my dog did her business in the grass, and a perfectly plump Northern Mockingbird (unbeknownst to me at the time) landed on the fence a few feet away. The bird was cute, and I didnāt think much else of it, but for some reason, I felt inclined to know what the bird was. From that point forward, there was never another bird I didnāt Google if I couldnāt identify it.
I donāt know why my curiosity got the best of me that day, but I can identify nearly every bird I see on my commute, while biking, or going out these days. At first, it felt like a kind of competition. Life was one big game of Pokemon, and dammit, I was gonna catch āem all!
After that initial high, I started cycling to the park and back on long expeditions that only got longer. I carved out new paths in the Everglades beside my house I hadnāt thought to explore before in the hopes Iād see a Great Blue Heron (my favorite bird for the one time I made eye contact with one I was watching and I nearly shit myself. Theyāre very intimidating in-person).
Despite how hectic my life had become, I made time for this, I focused on this. I had to. Froggy puts it best in ābirdwatching saved my lifeā as āWhen I was birding, I couldnāt do anything else. The birds would literally fly away.ā Suddenly, my attention could not be divided. I had to focus here, on this, right now, or I might never get the chance.
The stressful transitions I was going through that year were subdued by the voluntary simplicity of this new hobby. Every week, I made time to go biking and birding. The challenges life threw at me then were handled with coping mechanisms I only learned after reflecting upon them in nature. Nature teaches me things every day, and will probably continue to do so for the rest of my life. It kept me stable that summer, and I thank every bird I see on my commute all this time later for keeping me sane.
Iāve always been a creative person. If a hobby exists, Iāve probably tried it. A great many of them stick, some donāt, but I never cried over spilled milk. After all, if I was bored, I had twelve other hobbies to fill the void! Having passion is great, and having extensive creative outlets is very helpful, but they didn't do much to aid my scatterbrain. My creativity was everywhere, and it was making more of a (metaphorical and physical) mess than it was helping me express myself. Birding changed that. Itās a hobby that requires all the senses, your undivided attention, and your willingness to be simple, and your patience to just be. It is letting yourself be bored so you can stumble into something spectacular.
After discovering birdwatching, I felt my creativity gain a newfound focus. It was a noticeable quieting of my brain that allowed me to sit down and write for hours, play my instrument without getting frustrated or giving up, and to find local birding societies and nature centers to explore. The Great Blue Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, Great Egrets, and even the Muscovy Ducks I see every day have become a concrete, comforting presence in my life. The childlike excitement I first stumbled into birding with has morphed into a deep appreciation for the focused and passionate life I have led since. Birding has taught me to stop, breathe, and admire the world around me. The Earth has become a more beautiful, bountiful, and breathtaking place since I started filling my Pokedex.
And thus concludes my advertisement to any potential birders out there! But, really, if there is anything to be gained from my experience with birding that has nothing to do with the birds themselves, itās this: no matter how hectic your life, how creative you think you are, or what you choose to do with what Iāve told you, give yourself the space to exist. You might be surprised by what you find.