The Zen Birdfeeder

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

Zen Nature Lessons

This monthly feature highlights 3 blog posts from the last 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
Aunt B's Backyard is a new blog for me - beautiful photography and wonderful things going on in her backyard. "Take the Time to Observe the Beauty that Surrounds You" is a great zen lesson in attention. She wraps it up perfectly: "Such beauty there is to behold in this world!"

Acceptance
The Zen acceptance lesson this month is not a blog post but rather a poem.  It was sent to the Wild Birds Unlimited store in Germantown, Maryland by one their customers and was written by a customer's son who is in first grade.  To me it demonstrates his understanding of nature and love of living things, all at a very young age. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Responsibility
The debate about drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge seems to never go away. DC Birding Blog discusses the issue in "Small Savings for a Big Loss". I was particularly taken with the US Fish & Wildlife map showing how widely the birds that nest in ANWR travel. Check out the post and make sure to enlarge and check out the map.

Namaste

Zen Nature Lessons

This monthly feature highlights 3 blog posts from the last 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
Kudos to both the Field Sparrow and to Corey of 10,000 Birds for demonstrating great zen attention.  What a great image in the "Field Sparrow and Prey" post!

Acceptance
I and the Bird is a great way to find new blogs, like finding this post in IATB #74.  In the post "A Bitter-Sweet Tale of an Owl Family", Pam of Tortoise Trail follows the progress of a Great Horned Owl nest and shares a hard lesson in zen acceptance in nature.

Responsibility
Here's an excerpt from the "No Child Left Inside" post on the Bill of the Birds blog:
"Furthermore, if today's young people don't know and love nature, whom can we rely upon to be interested in the protection of the natural world in the future? To know something is to value it. And if you value it, you are more likely to want to protect it."
Read the rest of this important post that supports zen responsibility to nature. 

  Namaste

Zen Nature Lessons

This monthly feature highlights 3 blog posts from the last 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
A fabulous post by Tom of Monarch's Nature Blog documents the activities of a Pileated Woodpecker.  It is a post with great information and wonderful pictures and video.

Acceptance
Carol & Pete of It's About the Journey share their observations of a One-legged Chickadee.  Nature is not always easy on creatures, but this chickadee seems to get along very nicely, thank you.

Responsibility
It's not hard to find a post that emphasizes responsibility on the Birdfreak blog.  The Birdfreak Team has issued another great piece entitled "Why We Need Bird Conservation" detailing the ecological, scientific, economic and social benefits that birds provide.  It clearly demonstrates why bird conservation is important to humans and the environment.  Nice job, team!

  Namaste

Zen Nature Lessons

This monthly feature highlights 3 blog posts from the last 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

The Owl Box blog is a new blog for me. The post called "Birding on the bolt" features the birds seen while just driving around.  Also check out "The Land of Ice and Snow" on The Feather and the Flower as he takes the road less travelled to work and sees birds he would ordinarily miss.
How about coining a new acronym: BWDA - "Birding While Driving Around"?

Acceptance

There are lessons to be learned for young and old alike when hawks visit our yard.  Read "I Will Survive" (another post from The Feather and the Flower) as an ornithologist and his 4-year old daughter witness both unsuccessful and successful hawk strikes at their feeders.      

Responsibility

Every Friday, A DC Birding Blog features a post entitled "Loose Feathers" that provides links to Bird News from around the world and to news about Climate change and the environment.  To care for birds, we must care for the environment in which they live.  Stay current by checking out Loose Feathers on a weekly basis.
      

  Namaste

Zen Nature Lessons

This monthly feature highlights 3 blog posts from the last 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

In Birding by Ear, Vern of Big Spring Birds learns that the best way to learn calls is to be out in the field on a foggy day.  What a great lesson in Zen attention.

Acceptance

A day off work means a whole day to watch busy feeders.  In Tradeoff, Chad of Chat Happens has his hopes dashed by a Coopers Hawk that visits his yard.   

Responsibility

Birding is a great way to get kids out in nature and The Birdfreak Team has created a guide to help adults do this.  Their "Guide to Taking Kids Birding" is a fantastic resource.  PLEASE take time to read this post and download their guide.  Thanks to the Birdfreak Team for sharing your experiences and expertise in this important area!

Namaste

Zen Nature Lessons

This monthly feature highlights 3 blog posts from the last 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

The "Cardinal fire" post on the Stokes Birding Blog is right on the mark with a message of Zen Attention.  Even veteran birders take time to appreciate "common birds".

Acceptance

When birds eat birds, it is a tough lesson in Zen Acceptance, but it is reality at a backyard birdfeeding station. In a frank yet poetic post entitled "When Death is on the Wing", Bill Thompson of Bill of the Birds shares information about a Sharp-shinned Hawk that regularly visits their farm.   

Responsibility

"'Tis the Season" on The Feather and the Flower reminded us to think about wildlife during the holiday season and all year long.    

  Namaste

Zen Nature Lessons

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

Attention

The Brownstone Birder shares how he has learned to pay more attention to notice drab-colored birds in his post "Watch out for Dirty Birds".

Acceptance

They're not cute. They're not called magnificent. But we must accept the Turkey Vulture for what it is - an interesting and beneficial bird with its own strengths.  Read Tails of Birding's post "Turkey Vultures - Avian Victims of Prejudice." 

Responsibility

Monarch reviews Richard Louv's book, "Last Child in the Woods - Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder."  (Coincidently, this book is currently on my nightstand as well.)  Monarch calls upon parents to take responsibility and try "kicking your children outside for a few hours instead of allowing them to continue playing on those computer games."  Read his review, then read the book.   

Namaste

Zen Nature Lessons

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

Attention

Even on a damp, overcast day, you can find striking colors in nature.  The DC Birding Blog found "Blue".

Acceptance

Laura of Somewhere in NJ speaks poetically of the changing of seasons in her post "Night Sounds".  Beautifully written! 

Responsibility

Fragments from Floyd reminds us of the benefits of getting kids out in nature.  In the post "The Gift of a Green Hour", the National Wildlife Federation Green Hour program is highlighted and we're encouraged to utilize the resources NWF provides to help reduce the consequences of “nature deficit disorder” in our kids. 
Namaste

Zen Nature Lessons

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

Attention

Monarch's attention to nature helped him discover a wonderful creature on the forest floor.  His post "Tiger Serpent of the forest" features the caterpillar of the Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. The pictures are delightful!

Acceptance

Mike (of the 10,000 Birds team) and his son encounter an injured Downy Woodpecker in this thoughtful post.  Birds become ill or injured for any number of reasons; this is a good lesson in acceptance. 

Responsibility

The Birdfreak team brings us another lesson in responsibility in their post "Duck Stamps - More Birds for your Buck". Bird lovers are encouraged to support conservation and the National Wildlife Refuge System through the Federal Duck Stamp program.
Namaste