Birding. A new hobby for older souls. The much-used phrase that "Everything old is New Again" is apparently true. In this age of turmoil, folks are looking for the days of comfort they used to know and much to my surprise being a bird watcher is one of those comforting activities.
I am not into birding although I learned a thing or two about birds. The first I heard of the birding comeback was in Los Angeles. A long-time friend and successful producer told me he was a birder. Shock set in! I did not laugh but I came oh, so close. I turned my head away so as not to hurt his feelings. The man I knew was way too sophisticated to hunt down, record and photograph birds. But this was LA where activities like birding could well, indeed flourish. It's an avant garde population.
The experience started me thinking. Where did my uh, strong dislike of birds come from. And then it came to me. When I was growing up in New England, an angry Blue Jay thomped me on the head. Twice. I was only about ten years old and it hurt. Things like bird thomping did not happen in Disney movies. Perhaps inadvertently I was too near her nest of baby Blue Jays. Lesson learned, stay away from angry Blue Jays. They are protective.
And then when in college, one of my professors went out of town and left his small pretty parrot in my care. Neither my mother nor father enjoyed birds. But they did forgive me. I wanted to make a good impression and agreed to keep an eye on the bird. Until one morning a week into my pet care, I found him feet up in the bottom of the cage. I cried. What happened? I don't know. I will never get over the death of that bird. They can surprise you.
We have a professional birder in our community. I understand at one time he was a high-powered advertising executive. (Let this be a professional warning. Be careful what you choose.) Now he wanders the neighborhood, binoculars around his neck. Noticing a lack of bird song recently I asked him where all the neighborhood birds had gone. He told me they'd gone south.
But this is the south. I live in Florida.
Puerto Vallarta maybe?
Still, I understand why birding is a popular adventure among the aging population. It's relatively an inexpensive hobby. Watching for birds can be done from an easy chair on the porch. And since there are more than 2000 species in Florida alone, the chances of spotting and recording birds from a Pileated Woodpecker to a Double-crested Cormorant is really good. Anyone can be a bird watching winner!
