Bird Spot Fever - Immovable birding

Bird Spot Fever
Bernie Paquette


Look,

Quiet now listen
Hear
Observe

Don't go
Yet
Stop, Look, Listen
for a little longer

Linger 

Be the tree

that sways
but does not walk away

Stay rooted

like the grass, ferns, flowers

Let yourself be one of nature's elements
no longer an intruder
soon you will have visitors
otherwise missed.

Get a sense of this place
you occupy now.

Take in what you see, hear, smell, touch

without judgement
Move from your inner self
to the outer world

Then observe actively

beyond an ID

what is unique about the bird you see,
its behavior and plumage.
Singling out individual differences
unusual features
can be more challenging and fun than
simply ID'g a species.

Ask why.

Why does this bird...
How is this Robin...different
then those your mind knows?

Record enough

that you can tell the story
of your experience.

The birth and burst of active observation
will make even a common seen bird
a new experience.

Bird Spot Fever
gets hotter
as you observe and concentrate 

on the smallest details
in one spot

-for an extended period

allowing them to stimulate your senses.

When birds and other of nature's creatures

behave around you as if

you do not exist -

a greater depth of birding

will offer itself.