Re: [cobirds] Sharing the Joy of Birds

[Caleb A]

Hi David and Larry!
This reminds me of a little thesis I did for an essay I wrote in German, 
where I argued that the most effective form of conserving and stewarding 
the environment is showing more and more people *what* they are protecting. 
People might pass you off if you attempt a lecture on recycling, reducing 
developing more land, or ambiguously "going green," but show those same 
people a nest full of baby Goldfinches or Kingbirds, and it begins a chain 
reaction of practices that end up being more environmentally-aware than 
before.
Perhaps this may be an unpopular opinion, but I think people feel like they 
need to speak for nature so much so, instead of allowing nature to speak 
for itself. Birds tend to be better communicators (and convincers) that 
encourage ecofriendly behavior for that matter as well...
Great birding ahead of us yet this fall!
*The birds are happy, and so am I*
*~Caleb Alons, Larimer County*

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Re: [cobirds] Sharing the Joy of Birds

['Larry Modesitt' via Colorado Birds]

Well said, Caleb and David,

While we birders love to see the rarities, it’s good to remember that the 
commonness of birds also is special. Birds are ubiquitous, eking out a living 
from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and everywhere in between. Everyone can 
notice birds—plumage, nest-building, young-tending, how and what they eat. As 
we enjoy the birds, we can’t help but notice how difficult their lives 
are—finding food and shelter, escaping predators, attracting mates, making epic 
migrations. The more we learn about birds, the more we appreciate each bundle 
of feathers. That leads us to wanting to protect those fragile creatures—and 
that’s what leads us to conservation of all the habitat those bundles of energy 
depend on. Thank you., Caleb, for helping to lead other folks, not just to 
birds, but to a recognition of how life works, and what we can do to conserve 
it.

Larry Modesitt

Arvada

> On Aug 26, 2020, at 11:18 AM, David Tønnessen  
> wrote:
> 
> Nice work, Caleb. Engaging others in nature and encouraging new birders is 
> one of the best things we can do if we truly care about birds and the future 
> of our environment.
> 
> 
> Sincerely,
> David Tonnessen
> Colorado Springs
> 
> On Sun, Aug 23, 2020, 4:14 PM Caleb A  > wrote:
> Hello CObirds!
> 
> Regretfully, I do not have a rare bird to report today, but I do want to take 
> a moment to talk about one of my growing favorite parts of birding: making 
> newer birders.
> I love to teach, especially when I'm sharing something I love, and birds are 
> no exception. I'm a teenager, so there are always the occasional awkward side 
> glances when I tell my peers about my hobby, but I've discovered (through 
> many conversations) that the majority of people in all age groups are 
> interested in birds to an extent. Not just that, but I was pleasantly 
> surprised to find that a lot of these people would be interested in birding, 
> but they just don't know how to start or how any of it works.
> 
> I am currently guiding several classmates through the beginning phases of 
> birding (who are already catching on pretty quickly) and I've noticed that my 
> family is recognizing the birds around them more often (my Grandma has a 
> wonderful pair of feeders that sported some great activity this past month). 
> For those of you who know what Nextdoor is, I've found that there is a whole 
> community of nonbirders who want to learn more about birds, whether it's 
> identification tips or just how to attract birds to their yards to watch. I 
> had the opportunity to show a neighborhood resident a beautiful, cooperative 
> Townsend's Warbler on their walk, and yesterday I led a bird walk for some 
> local girl scouts (unexpectedly picking up a FOY Prairie Falcon along the 
> way).
> 
> I'm finding that sharing birds with our friends, peers, and communities is 
> just one more fun aspect of birding for me and thought I'd encourage this 
> wonderful Colorado birding community to keep making birders! We live in a 
> great state for the hobby, after all...
> 
> The birds are happy, and so am I
> ~Caleb Alons, Larimer County
> 
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>  
> .
> 
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>  
> .

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Re: [cobirds] Sharing the Joy of Birds

[David Tønnessen]

Nice work, Caleb. Engaging others in nature and encouraging new birders is
one of the best things we can do if we truly care about birds and the
future of our environment.


Sincerely,
David Tonnessen
Colorado Springs

On Sun, Aug 23, 2020, 4:14 PM Caleb A  wrote:

> Hello CObirds!
>
> Regretfully, I do not have a rare bird to report today, but I do want to
> take a moment to talk about one of my growing favorite parts of birding:
> making newer birders.
> I love to teach, especially when I'm sharing something I love, and birds
> are no exception. I'm a teenager, so there are always the occasional
> awkward side glances when I tell my peers about my hobby, but I've
> discovered (through many conversations) that the majority of people in
> *all* age groups are interested in birds to an extent. Not just that, but
> I was pleasantly surprised to find that a lot of these people would be
> interested in birding, but they just don't know how to start or how any of
> it works.
>
> I am currently guiding several classmates through the beginning phases of
> birding (who are already catching on pretty quickly) and I've noticed that
> my family is recognizing the birds around them more often (my Grandma has a
> wonderful pair of feeders that sported some great activity this past
> month). For those of you who know what Nextdoor is, I've found that there
> is a whole community of nonbirders who want to learn more about birds,
> whether it's identification tips or just how to attract birds to their
> yards to watch. I had the opportunity to show a neighborhood resident a
> beautiful, cooperative Townsend's Warbler on their walk, and yesterday I
> led a bird walk for some local girl scouts (unexpectedly picking up a FOY
> Prairie Falcon along the way).
>
> I'm finding that sharing birds with our friends, peers, and communities is
> just one more fun aspect of birding for me and thought I'd encourage this
> wonderful Colorado birding community to keep making birders! We live in a
> great state for the hobby, after all...
>
> *The birds are happy, and so am I*
> *~Caleb Alons, Larimer County*
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "Colorado Birds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/46621812-b853-448b-b2b7-cdafb6a9ddd1n%40googlegroups.com
> 
> .
>

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[cobirds] Sharing the Joy of Birds

[Caleb A]

Hello CObirds!

Regretfully, I do not have a rare bird to report today, but I do want to 
take a moment to talk about one of my growing favorite parts of birding: 
making newer birders.
I love to teach, especially when I'm sharing something I love, and birds 
are no exception. I'm a teenager, so there are always the occasional 
awkward side glances when I tell my peers about my hobby, but I've 
discovered (through many conversations) that the majority of people in *all* 
age 
groups are interested in birds to an extent. Not just that, but I was 
pleasantly surprised to find that a lot of these people would be interested 
in birding, but they just don't know how to start or how any of it works.

I am currently guiding several classmates through the beginning phases of 
birding (who are already catching on pretty quickly) and I've noticed that 
my family is recognizing the birds around them more often (my Grandma has a 
wonderful pair of feeders that sported some great activity this past 
month). For those of you who know what Nextdoor is, I've found that there 
is a whole community of nonbirders who want to learn more about birds, 
whether it's identification tips or just how to attract birds to their 
yards to watch. I had the opportunity to show a neighborhood resident a 
beautiful, cooperative Townsend's Warbler on their walk, and yesterday I 
led a bird walk for some local girl scouts (unexpectedly picking up a FOY 
Prairie Falcon along the way).

I'm finding that sharing birds with our friends, peers, and communities is 
just one more fun aspect of birding for me and thought I'd encourage this 
wonderful Colorado birding community to keep making birders! We live in a 
great state for the hobby, after all...

*The birds are happy, and so am I*
*~Caleb Alons, Larimer County*

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