I couldn’t pinpoint the moment when I descended into a state of melancholy, a state where I felt discouraged, tired, hopeless, annoyed, even sad.  As usual it was some litany of little things that added up; a misunderstanding with a friend, no clear way forward on a task that needed to be done, an appliance breaking down, persistent bad weather, an aching knee. And maybe there were bigger things lurking in the background; a worrisome health problem, a family member struggling, an argument at home.

No solutions emerged for the problems at hand, and I had no energy or enthusiasm to implement them even if I had solutions.  I knew I needed to push an inner reset button.  And then it came to me, get out of the house, get out in nature, go for an eBird walk.

After a brief struggle to overcome inertia I laced up my hiking shoes, slipped into my binocular harness, opened up the eBird app on my IPhone, clicked the box for Start Checklist, and walked out through my backyard.  I told myself, just walk, just open up your senses.

A tap, tap, tap sound drifted down from the top of a big maple.  I looked up, scanned, and spotted a male downy woodpecker, using his specialized back toe and tail to hold vertical on the trunk while he picked at the bark for insects and caterpillars.

From high in an ash tree came the nasal ank, ank, ank of a white-breasted nuthatch. I followed the sound and saw it descending head first down the trunk, nuthatch style.  At the edge of the yard a gray plumaged catbird ducked from branch to branch in a thick shrub.  Soon I heard its plaintive, mew, mew, mew call. 

Three birds before I even left my yard.  Not bad, I thought. I stopped to enter a tally for each on the eBird app.  I reflected on how each bird was in its natural niche behaving in its natural way, a thought that granted me a scintilla of comfort.

Along the grassy path heading downhill to the beaver pond I slowed my pace and inhaled the earthy, lush, fertile smell of a late summer meadow.  I paused to gaze at the wildflowers; butter yellow sprays of goldenrod, vibrant purple New England astesr, creamy white boneset, and dusky pink Joe Pye weed.

I continued along the path feeling my feet press down on the freshly mowed grass and on to the faintly yielding earth below.   A soft breeze touched my face. Above, in a Delft blue sky, a row of cotton puff clouds floated above a distant line of dark green forested hills.  Two turkey vultures, called the golden cleansers of nature by Native Americans, rocked on their V angled wings and looped effortlessly high in the sky.  I added them to my eBird tally.

Above me I heard high-pitched, trilled zeee, zeee, zeee calls.  I stopped, scanned, and spotted a cedar waxwing perched at the top of a tree.  I brought up my binoculars and saw its crested head, dainty black eye mask, tan plumage and yellow tipped tail all outlined against a blue sky. Two more waxwings flew into the tree.  I gazed as they sallied out into the air, snatched insects, and flew back to perch. 

Walking further I heard and then saw a goldfinch looping in front of me calling its cheerful per-chik-o-ree, per-chik-o-ree.  At the beaver pond where the mirror still water reflected the trees and sky and clouds a stately blue heron spotted me and flew up voicing a loud hoarse squawk.  Two wood ducks jumped up from the water, took flight calling a plaintive jeeee, jeeee, jeeee.  A chattering kingfisher flew along the stream   I added four more birds to my tally.

Continuing down the path I began to notice patterns around me; stands of poplars their leaves fluttering in the breeze, a patch of lilac colored purplestem asters, and clusters of butter yellow golden rods covered with honey bees harvesting late summer pollen.  The burgundy red leaves of the red osier dogwood announced the approaching shift in the seasons.

I watched a monarch butterfly fluttering gently above the goldenrod.  Something caught my eye.  A chunk was missing from its left wing yet it flew on, doing its life duty, searching for nectar, looking for a milkweed on which to lay its eggs, to give birth to the next generation, to continue the migration of the species.  If it could move ahead fulfill its duties with a damaged wing I could certainly move ahead as well in spite the chunks that were missing from my wings.

I realized that I was beginning to feel better, refreshed, restored.  Nothing had changed with any of the life problems and difficulties I faced, but my internal state had begun to shift away from pessimism and negativity toward hopefulness.  All I had done was just notice nature around me, a process some might call nature mindfulness.

Definitions

eBird is an online data base of observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. The data, collected from more a 100 million individual sightings annually is used to power new, data driven, approaches to science, conservation and education.

Using eBird data the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, the hosting organization, has been able to create real time “heat maps” that show the week by week spring and fall movement of migrating birds across North America.  In another application The Nature Conservancy, informed by eBird data on the timing of shorebird migration into and out of the Central Valley in California, has been able to time the flooding of rice fields to support thousands of birds on their annual journey.

On an operational level a bird watcher equipped with a smart phone simply opens the eBird app and enters a tally for each bird seen.  The app notes the birders location, has a spot to indicate if it is a moving versus sitting session, tracks the distance and duration of the birder’s session and at the end when the user pushes “submit” the tally goes straight to the eBird data base.  eBird lists are tailored for those birds most commonly seen in the area and if rare or unexpected birds are entered regional managers follow up in order maintain data quality.

eBird has steadily incorporated more and more features that make data submission rewarding and instructive.  Each eBirder accumulates a life list, a list for their local county, and a list of possible local birds not yet seen.  eBird also promotes a sense of community by noting local hot spots, recent submissions of other birders, and a list of the top birders for each region and notifications of any rare bird sighting.  eBird is an incredibly user friendly program that is simultaneously great fun and hard science.

Mindfulness is described as purposely bringing one’s awareness fully to the present moment without evaluation.  It is thought to be a skill that can be developed through practice.  The term originally comes from Buddhism where the emphasis was on the ability to let thoughts and impression of past, present and future arise and fade without reaction.  Its core value may come in that it simultaneously reduces avoidance of emotions and emotional over-engagement.

Mindfulness has been found to ease mental health problems such as anxiety and depression by reducing rumination and worry. There is also growing evidence that the practice of mindfulness can improve physical health by reducing the internal stress response, inflammation, and overall excessive brain activation.  In addition, practicing mindfulness seems to open the door to the emergence of positive and healing emotional states of gratitude, joy, happiness and contentment and to the overall development of personal insight, self-awareness and even wisdom.  In other words, many good things seem to accompany the practice of mindfulness.

There are a variety of methods for practicing mindfulness.  Some tend toward more formal meditation such as sitting cross-legged and focusing on the breath, either the flow of in the inhalation and exhalation through the nostrils or simple awareness of the physical rhythm of breathing.  When thoughts and feelings arise the meditator simply notes the distractions without judgement and reaction and returns to the focus on the breath.

Other approaches focus more on sensory awareness or the process of simply noticing all of the sounds, sights, thoughts, feelings and sensory sensations occurring in the present moment and not judging or reacting.  This type of full-in-the-moment sensory awareness allows the practitioner to let go of worries from the past and concerns about the future, to relax into the richness of the present moment, and to open the door to all of the therapeutic benefits described above. 

When practiced in nature sensory awareness creates what might be called “nature mindfulness.”  It is this type of mindfulness that you may experience when eBirding.

Noticing

A good thing about an eBird walk is that you have to slow down and notice things around you.   Experienced birders notice sounds.   Birds are often more readily heard than seen especially in the summer months when the trees and shrubs are in full leaf and the grasses stand tall and thick.  Birds seek cover, shelter, safety, and food amidst the branches and leaves.

In the spring birds sing their territorial songs, for example the familiar cheerily, cheer up of a robin or the distinctive drink your tea of an eastern towhee.  Many birds also communicate throughout the year with flock calls, usually brief notes that allow them to maintain connection.  Good examples of this are the almost constant chirps and squeaks of black-capped chickadees punctuated by an occasional chick-a dee, dee, dee or the metallic tink, tink, tink duet of a pair of cardinals staying in touch. Some birds sing all year around as well like the Carolina wren with its spirited tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle chant

Birds also voice alarm calls which are often louder, shriller versions of their flock call or sometimes distinct calls like the skeeeh-skeeeh-skeeeh of a mockingbird or the wheezy whine of a tufted titmouse.  Alarm calls warn all birds in the area of the presence of danger, a hawk on patrol, a snake on the prowl, or a cat on the hunt.  Sometimes the flap of wings in a bush, the explosive wing-whirr of a grouse taking flight, or the whistling wings of ducks flying overhead are the first notice of a bird’s presence.

Over time, through repetition and with the use of the sound identification tool on Merlin Bird ID—another free app from the Cornell Lab—birders will obtain many of their tallies by hearing and identifying bird songs and calls.

Listening to birds can also open one of the gateways to sensory awareness.  Bird songs are one element of what might be called the golden trifecta of nature sounds.  Most bird songs and calls are inherently tuneful, musical, appealing and enjoyable to the human psyche.  Native Americans saw bird songs as reminders of the spiritual and mystical that surrounds us.

The other two elements of the auditory trifecta are the sounds of the wind and water.  Once you begin to tune into bird songs you may also notice the sounds created by the wind, the rustling of the grasses, the fluttering of poplar leaves, and the rattling of oak leaves.  You may begin to tune into the rush of water of down a stream bed or the lap of waves on a shoreline. 

Tuning into the trifecta of sound produces immediate physical and emotional effects.  All the elements of the fight or flight response decrease; blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate and the level of stress hormones in the blood stream all decrease.  Worries, discouragement and sadness fade away and are replaced by more positive emotions.  Consciousness shifts away from preoccupation with the “little I” and embraces the “big I”.

Seeing is another crucial tool for the eBirder many of whom will be equipped with binoculars to see at a distance and a camera to capture sightings for later identification or sharing.  The adept birder learns to employ a kind of open, loose scanning, to detect birds perching, flitting, flying, hovering, or soaring. 

This kind of attentive seeing opens another gateway to sensory awareness.  There are certain visual patterns that reliably and immediately and reliably produce restful and rejuvenating, physical and emotional effects.  Vistas of water, of lakes, rivers and oceans, of hills and mountains, of forests and fields decrease the stress response and induce the relaxation response.

Certain colors such as blues and greens and purples augment this response.  And the human visual system seems to like seeing what are called fractals, visual patterns that repeat themselves over and over from large to small such as the branches of trees that repeat the same form from large to small to tiny.  Such fractals abound in nature, not only in the forms of trees but in shrubs and ferns and wildflowers.

Scanning for birds lets us take in these vistas, colors and fractals that almost automatically support a shift in consciousness; a calming, a letting go, an openness, a shift toward nature mindfulness.

Even our sense of smell is involved in this process.  Think of inhaling the fragrance of pine or cedar boughs, of taking in the rich fertile smell of a summer meadow in full growth, or the earthy, mushroomy smell of a forest floor.  While we may recognize these smells and enjoy them they also work unconsciously and immediately to reduce stress, boost the immune system, and create feelings of well-being.

Our sense of touch may be involved as well.  The sensations of sunshine warming our shoulders, of a soft breeze caressing our skin, and of the yielding earth beneath our feet further add to the ways in which sensory awareness creates nature mindfulness.

All of these effects will occur to some degree for any for anyone taking a hike, a paddle or a bike ride and will help to create that wonderful sense of well-being that comes after an outside adventure. But eBirding with its emphasis on listening and seeing may particularly support merging into nature mindfulness which in turn opens one up to experience moments like the following that occurred for me on an eBird walk with my friend Chris.

Moments

As we stepped carefully down the steep muddy trail, through the shrubs and weeds and second growth trees and into a vail of morning mist, Chris paused and murmured, “I think the light is still a little dim for the birds.”

And then, as if the ascending sun had gathered enough strength to penetrate and dissipate the mist we both could sense the morning light increasing.  At that moment we began to see and hear birds in the branches; a warbler flitting from twig to twig, a catbird mewing, a wren chattering.

Chris hung his Bluetooth speaker from a twig of an autumn olive tree. We stepped back about twenty feet.  He found the owl mashup on his phone and pushed play.  The tremulous, descending whinnying of an eastern screech-owl filled the air accompanied by an assortment of strident calls, buzzes and squeaks, a medley of alarm and attention calls.  We stood silently, waiting and watching expectantly. 

A catbird flew down, perched on a nearby branch and cocked its head in curiosity.  Two chestnut-sided warblers flitted into the tree above the speaker.  I could see their yellow caps and the beautiful stripe of auburn colored plumage running beneath their wings. A common yellowthroat with its jaunty black face mask appeared.  A slate gray tufted titmouse arrived. Four more kinds of warblers materialized in the tree and flitted nervously from branch to branch.  A pair of chickadees, the gossips of the forests flew in, always present for any social event.

We stood still, jaws dropping, eyes growing wide, taking in the view as more and more birds appeared; an ovenbird and a veery, and a Cape May warbler all edging closer and closer to the speaker.  We tried to identify and count all of the species that had materialized out of the mist; fall migrants needing a morning meal and local birds looking for food.  It was a cornucopia of wild birds, a vision of plenty.

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The owl mashup came to an end. Quiet returned.  Little by little, the birds flew off, fading back into the mist, back into the trees and shrubs.  We stood spellbound, silent and still, not wanting to break the magic of the moment.  Finally, Chris spoke softly, almost reverentially, “These are the moments you live for.”

Yes, I thought, moments of beauty, moments that on a literal level flood the body with endorphins and positive hormones, moments that on a figurative level fill the heart and nourish the soul.

Generosity

I remember another recent solo eBird walk that started out with a bang.  I tallied seven birds before I even left my yard.  Another ten minutes along the trail and I had six more.  A good day with easy finds.  I had hopes or reaching 20 or more which would be good for late summer.

And then it all dried up. I walked and walked, but there was nothing to be seen or heard.  I took a detour down a brush lined road, a spot that is usually birdy, but all I saw was an occasional bird butt; all I heard were distant squeaks.  I couldn’t see or hear enough to make an identification. 

Frustrated, I shifted my attention to the trees and wildflowers. Using my Picture This app I identified a tall, stately American Linden.  Alongside the trail I spotted a cluster of deep blue bottle gentians in bloom, a rare wild flower that blooms just for a week in late August and early September. 

Walking further I looked up at the sky, took in the patterns and shapes of the puffy white clouds, and listened to the wind sighing through the branches of a white pine.  I let go of the need to see birds.

A moment later a small bird landed on a limb in front of me.  Binoculars up, I saw a black head, gray back, yellowish breast, and a long tail flicking up and down.  It was an eastern phoebe, a nice find. Two more flew in and perched in the tree, another landed on a street sign.  The phoebes were moving south.

I heard a sweet down and up slurred pee-a-wee, the namesake call of an eastern wood-peewee.  Small brown birds fluttered out of the thick field grass, landed on the road, and began to pick through the mowed grass along the shoulder.  They were chipping sparrows; rufous cap, white eyebrow, black eye line, delicately mottled brown and black back, grayish breast, softly calling, tseet, tseet, tseet, as they hopped along the road right in front of me.

Another bird flew into another tree. It was an eastern bluebird; bluish back, orange breast, singing a single sweet musical chur-wi.  I heard a chattering in a bush. Peering in with my binoculars I spotted a dusky brown house wren.  Two mourning doves whistle-winged overhead.  In the distance a bright white-headed eagle flew majestically above the trees

Suddenly, so much seen, so much learned.  All I had done was offer time, attention, and presence.  Then nature generously provided instruction.  I thought of the old saying, “The teacher comes when the student is ready.”

Resonance

An important goal of psychotherapy is achieving insight, clear knowledge of self, awareness of the path ahead, understanding and transcending self-imposed doubts, and overcoming worries and limitations.  For the psychotherapist the trick is timing and readiness.  When is the client ready and open to receive the insight?

On an eBird walk, in a state of nature mindfulness, just right insights often seem to come.  If I feel tired and worn out I notice the vigorous new growth on a wild rose.  If I feel stuck and can’t see a path forward I see tree roots growing around a rock, finding a way around an obstacle, showing me the meaning of resilience.  If I doubt my abilities I notice how a flock of wood ducks used their natural abilities to find their perfect habitat on a newly formed beaver pond.

All of this seems very individual.  I have viewed a salt marsh mud flat at low tide and watched the various shorebirds, the herring gulls, laughing gulls, willets, grackles and sanderlings each a different size, with different length legs and different length and shape of bill. I saw each bird find its precise spot on the mud flat to feed, and in that moment understood the importance of adaptability. 

Another person viewing the mud flat might have looked up, watched the terns flying high and thought that when you take the high road, when you follow your true nature, you glide with the wind.

In mindfulness one may perceive that nature is not random, but instead filled with patterns and meaning. One may feel a sense of resonance with what Mark Nepo calls the mysterious circulation of the healing life force through us and in us.

The interested reader can learn more about the scientific research into the physical and psychological benefits of nature in The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams. 

The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative: Williams, Florence: 9780393355574: Amazon.com: Books

The thoughts from Mark Nepo come from the August 10 entry “At Random” in his Book of Awakening.

The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have (20th Anniversary Edition): Nepo, Mark, Curtis, Jamie Lee: 9781590035009: Amazon.com: Books

To read about more experiences of birding and nature mindfulness I invite you to look through other posts on this blog and to read my book, The Stillness of the Living Forest: A Year of Listening and Learning available through Shanti Arts Publishers and on Amazon.com.

The Stillness of the Living Forest: A Year of Listening and Learning: Harvey, John: 9781947067592: Amazon.com: Books

The use of audio playbackcan be stressful for birds and should only be used judiciously, never during breeding season. As stated in the ABA Code of Ethics, “Limit the use of recordings and other audio methods of attracting birds, particularly in heavily birded areas, for species that are rare in the area, and for species that are threatened or endangered.”

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