On Becoming a Bird Guy

I didn’t set out to become a bird watcher. I occasionally noticed one with particularly striking plumage or heard a distinctive call, but I wasn’t curious about identifying the species or learning anything about them. My favorite birds were chickens, preferably spicy and fried. So, becoming a bird guy was a bit of a surprise.

The first time I really paid attention was at Sweet Songs Jungle Lodge in Belize. That place is a bird lover’s paradise – hence the name. The dining area is built into the jungle canopy, and you share your meals with toucans, collared aracari, blue-crowned mot mots, parrots, and little wood thrushes. You can’t ignore the beautiful, brightly colored creatures inches from your table. I wanted to know what each one was called and as much about their habits and character as possible.

Then, this summer, I spent a couple of weeks in Telluride. I would typically spend that time hiking and backpacking in the mountains, but my broken foot kept me grounded, so I spent my days on the back porch. The house has three feeders on the patio and the birds ate me out of house and home. I think I spent $150 on birdseed. There were hundreds of birds and dozens of species. I was all in.

On the second day, I downloaded a bird identification app and started building a catalog. On the third day, I bought a fancy feeder with a camera I could access from anywhere in the world. By the end of the first week, I had chickadees eating out of my hand. The chickadees and the little pine siskins were my favorites. I felt the need to protect them from the neighborhood bully, the Steller’s Jay. The brown-capped rosy finches also showed up in force like a marauding youth gang, pillaging and plundering the feeders. I didn’t like them. They ran off the evening grosbeaks, the dark-eyed juncos, and the white-breasted nuthatches. I didn’t set out to become a bird guy, but here we are.

So, if you see me staring at my phone, I am probably not on Instagram or TikTok. I am likely on the app watching the birds in Telluride visit my fancy feeder with the motion-activated camera. Seeing a new species is a thrill like no other, but it's not like I am obsessed or anything. Promise. Chirp, chirp.