Bird by bird

The best part about bird photography is the hunt. It’s the perfect combination of predictability and pursuit. Most birds can be pinpointed to a general location (with intel from other birders, free bird apps, and general bird habits) but that doesn’t mean the birds are right there waiting in plain site. Once you arrive, it’s a game of being very still and attentive. You’re watching for a flutter, listening for a tweet, praying for a new bird even as you are simply hoping the one you hear singing decides to take flight. It’s an exercise that makes you more patient, more attentive to detail and, above all, appreciative of beauty and diversity. I tell my kids this is my Pokemon experience - gotta catch ‘em all, but it will never happen, so I take pleasure in the never-ending hunt for that new capture.

I love all of the birds, but the waxwing is my spirit bird. During a particularly difficult time in my life, I had a place I would go and nestle inside thickets and brush by the river and just wait. It was where I could practice those traits of patience and peace, never knowing what was coming or when. It was during one of those days that I saw my first cedar waxwing. I had been waiting for the usual - cardinals, blue jays, robins and bluebirds, when this bird I had never seen before landed right in front of me, its unique shape and color fascinating me. He turned to me with that little super hero face, bold but graceful, stayed and stared for some time, like he was trying to relay a message, so I focused and leaned into what I thought it might be. Beyond the peace and gratitude this bird brought me, I was reminded that the patience I give an unknown fate is worth shedding my need for control. This was the extra bit of faith that I needed at that time. And I’ve been looking to the birds for lessons ever since.

I can’t always be out hiding in trees on the riverside, so I do what I can to bring the birds to my backyard. I am always on the hunt for my next “new bird,” traveling to trails, parks, lakes or whatever random roadside mile marker my fellow birders discover and share.