The Zen Birdfeeder

Midwest Birding Symposium: Words to Remember

Many speakers, many conversations. 
Here are some of the words I'll remember most from the 2011 Midwest Birding Symposium:

 

Marie Read
"It's not trespassing to go outside your own boundaries."

 

Pete Dunne
A bird festival "is only as good as the people it attracts."

 

Kim Kaufman
Birds are "feathered angels".

 

Bridget Stutchbury
  "Accept a little bit of homework: order some Bird-Friendly® coffee and help me save the Wood Thrush."

 

Ken Keffer
"I'm smitten with this little guy," as he held a recently-banded Magnolia Warbler in his hand.

 

Louise Zemaitis
"I've been the coldest in my life, the hottest in my life, the wettest in my life, and the happiest in my life when I've been birding."

 

Greg Miller of "The Big Year"
About experiencing a fantastic bird fallout in Alaska's Aleutian Islands, "Being good is good.  Being lucky is better."

 

Greg Miller again
Quoting "The Big Year" author Mark Obmascik, "I was writing a book about human obsessions and decided to research birders."

 

Liz Deluna Gordon
Just some kind, private words, surprising and unexpected from someone I had just met.
Words that were appreciated and will be remembered for a very long time.

Zen Nature Lessons

This monthly feature highlights blog posts from the past month that exemplify the Zen nature lessons of Attention, Acceptance, and Responsibility. Take a moment to enjoy these interesting posts from a diverse group of nature bloggers.

Attention
I subscribe to updates on A DC Birding Blog to get the latest news on birding and environmental issues.  But it was John's insomiac-induced post "Sleepless Birding" that caught my eye for the zen attention category. Read up on what dawn chorus songs he heard before sleep finally set in.

And you can't start a post saying "It is amazing what you see in your own yard if you take the time to sit and watch what is going on" and NOT get a zen attention mention! John Briggs authors the Birding in Maine blog and is a wonderful photographer.  Read his "BPW: Yard Birds" post; it will enrich YOUR heart and spirit as the birds in his post enriched his.

Acceptance
Chris Petrak of the Tails of Birding blog addresses the controversial issue of "Why You Should Love Blue Jays at Your Feeders".  It could serve as both a zen attention and acceptance mention.  Chris suggests, "Love the Blue Jays. Welcome them! They are gorgeous birds. They are intelligent birds! They are sentinels for danger." Read on...

Responsibility
AKA Bird Nerd is another new blog for me. Check out the beautiful images in Shawn's post "Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus" and how he accepts zen responsibility to keep a wide berth around the Killdeer nest.  

Namaste

Zen Nature Lessons

This monthly feature highlights 3 blog posts from the past month that exemplify the Zen nature lessons of Attention, Acceptance, and Responsibility. Take a moment to enjoy these interesting posts from a diverse group of nature bloggers.

Attention
Alan of Birds 'n Such blog had a great series of images in his post "Birdcam Adventures 4".  His Birdcam helps Alan pay zen attention to the birds even when Alan can't.  Check out this cute series of photos.
And for you CSI fans, "Birding CSI" is a fun post on The Nightjar.  Talk about zen attention in solving a crime!  And make sure you read the first comment too.

Acceptance
A new blog for me, Nature Geek Northwest has discovered "Why my yard is littered with pigeon feathers."

Responsibility
Cool Green Science is the Conservation Blog of The Nature Conservancy.  Their "Cool Green Morning" post of April 24 called on us to plant a tree in honor of the oft-forgotten Arbor Day.  They then provide some links to articles, including L'Oreal's plans to use methane from cow manure to power one of its factories.

Namaste

Zen Nature Lesson

This monthly feature highlights 3 blog posts from the past month that exemplify the Zen nature lessons of Attention, Acceptance, and Responsibility. Take a moment to enjoy these thoughtful posts.

Attention
"Waxwing Eloquent" is a wonderful post over at Two Birders to Go.  They pay all kinds of zen attention to the wonderful features and behaviors of the Cedar Waxwing.  "Whether gorging its favorite berry or sipping the freshness of the morning dew, it is always svelte, forever well-groomed. Nothing in the avian world exemplifies “coolness” like the Cedar Waxwing."  Read on!  Great title too!

Acceptance
Rich Guthrie shares some great images of a sharpie-jay encounter in his post "High Drama at the Feeder".  This time, the jay wins.

Responsibility
Birdfreak, the Bird Conservation Blog, hosts a regular feature called Bird Photography Weekly.  Here's a link to Week #31.  Each week, bloggers submit images of a particular bird, sharing their passion and commitment to protecting birds.  There's some great work out there - check it out!

Namaste

Zen Nature Lesson

This occasional feature highlights 3 blog posts from the past month (February) that exemplify the Zen nature lessons of Attention, Acceptance, and Responsibility. I encourage you to take a moment to enjoy these thoughtful posts.

Attention
In "An Acre Saved Is An Acre Earned", Larry of The Brownstone Birding Blog tells of his visit to a park that he almost passed by.  "When I came upon the location of the park, I realized that it was nothing more than an insignificant little mud hole of a pond that I had passed by so many times over the years. I almost turned around and left the minute I saw it."  Read on about his lesson in zen attention, concluding with "It's amazing what you can see when you slow down long enough to look."

Because I didn't find a zen acceptance post, I'll highlight another Attention post.  "Not all Red Birds are Cardinals" at Behind the Bins provides a good lesson in paying closer attention to that red streak!

Responsibility
Amber over at Birder's Lounge wants to know what conservation-minded things you've done lately in her "Do Something! Campaign" post.  She's made it easy for us too!

 Namaste

Zen Nature Lessons

This monthly feature highlights 3 blog posts from the past month that exemplify the Zen nature lessons of Attention, Acceptance, and Responsibility. I encourage you to take a moment to enjoy these thoughtful posts.

Attention
Vickie of Vickie Henderson Art gave us a two-for-one lesson in zen attention. In "A Robin's Cap", photos taken of a robin allowed her to learn more about this common bird, its features and its behaviors.  And in "Just a Robin", by really paying attention to a robin, she moved toward never using that phrase again.

People often mistake the "hummingbird moth" for a real hummingbird.  Check out "The Sphinx Moth" on the Birds 'n Such blog to read more about this imposter.  Make sure to take time to view the video.

Acceptance
Well I haven't done this before but I'm going to highlight a recent post from my own blog to reinforce a lesson in zen acceptance.  My post "Birds I Don't Have in My Yard" talks about cardinals and wrens and woodpeckers that I don't have in my yard, even though I feel I do "all the right things".

But we can't MAKE nature happen and although we try as hard as we can, "there are no guarantees" in nature.  I enjoy what I do see - and I see plenty - and I am grateful for every bird that graces my yard.

Responsibility
Part of our zen responsibility (at least as far as I define it) includes "a responsibility to share these natural wonders with the next generation".  Don & Lillian Stokes' post "Birding for Kids" provides tips and resouces about birding with kids. 

Remember, our children need to learn to appreciate nature now in order to want to protect it in the future. 

Namaste

Zen Nature Lessons

 
This monthly feature highlights 3 blog posts from the past month that exemplify the Zen nature lessons of Attention, Acceptance, and Responsibility. I encourage you to take a moment to enjoy these thoughtful posts.

Attention
When a long walk on a new trail yields "Only a Chickadee", Amber of Birder's Lounge later discovers something really interesting and unexpected when looking through her pictures.  Read what she learns in this great lesson of zen attention.

Acceptance
Chad and Brandy of Our Backyard Life blog had enjoyed watching the progress of the second brood of doves in their yard.  They share their lesson in zen acceptance in their post "The Circle of Life".

Responsibility
Birdfreak is one of the top bird conservation blogs out there.  A number of months ago, they published their "Birdfreak Guide to Taking Kids Birding". They have now updated the guide and split it into two separate guides for kids 6-12 and teenagers.
Thanks to the Birdfreak Team for the work you continue to do.  Check out these guides and get YOUR kids out in nature!

Namaste

Zen Nature Lessons

  This monthly feature highlights 3 blog posts from the past month that exemplify the Zen nature lessons of Attention, Acceptance, and Responsibility. I encourage you to take a moment to enjoy these thoughtful posts.

Attention
Chris Petrak of Tails of Birding writes his blog from southeastern Vermont. His post "Delighting in the Common Goldfinch" shares the joy he experiences when observing this "common bird".  As Chris states, "Yes, the goldfinch is a common bird. But it is also a bird which delights the eye and ear during every season of the year."
 
Acceptance
"Osprey Pushed Off Nest!" is a fantastic photo-blogumentary posted on the Nature Tales and Camera Trails blog out of New Brunswick, Canada. 
Nature is not always easy.  Nature is not always nice.  Things happen in nature because they work and this series of photos proves that.

Responsibility
Wind power is an attractive energy alternative to fossil fuels. But as wind turbines go up, we know birds, especially raptors, come down, killed as they try to pass the massive structures.  Cornell's blog Round Robin shares some of the ongoing research to minimize bird mortality in their post called "...Can We have Wind Power and Birds, Too?"

  Namaste

Zen Nature Lessons

This monthly feature highlights 3 blog posts from the past month that exemplify the Zen nature lessons of Attention, Acceptance, and Responsibility. I encourage you to take a moment to enjoy these thoughtful posts.

Attention
Patrick of Hawk Owl's Nest shows us that if we pay attention to the birds, we just might find out they look like someone we know.  Check out this fun little post then smile.
 
Acceptance
How can what's left over after a pest visits your garden end up looking beautiful? Nina of Nature Remains lost a coneflower but gained an interesting image in her post "Hmmm".

Responsibility
Take a tour of Don & Lillian Stokes' beautiful gardens and read their tips to make your garden bird-friendly. 

Namaste

Zen Nature Lessons

This monthly feature highlights 3 blog posts from the past month that exemplify the Zen nature lessons of Attention, Acceptance, and Responsibility. I encourage you to take a moment to enjoy these thoughtful posts.

Attention
My friend Tom of the Monarch blog spotted some hard-to-see Killdeer young and shares his observations of their and mom's behavior in his post "Killfawns". Baby Killdeer are the absolute cutest babies - check out this post with great pictures and fun narrative.

Acceptance
Toni of The Spattering blog tells the sad tale of the loss of an baby oriole, which is always a good lesson in zen acceptance. She then concludes with a good message of zen attention.
I enjoy reading The Feather and the Flower blog, another upstate New York blog.  In "There Goes the Neighborhood", Mike questions our dislike of the Brown Cowbird. "Is it fair to hate the native cowbird for an ingrained behavior, coded in its genes, that's evolved over thousands of generations?... Cowbirds do what cowbirds do". Take a read and let me know if Mike changes your thinking about cowbirds.

Responsibility
Zen responsibility challenges us to share the birds and nature with the next generation.  Mike of 10,000 Birds shares their readers' ideas on "How to Get Kids Excited About Birds". Commit to get a child interested in the birds and nature; here's some ideas to get started.

Namaste