A BIRD LOVERS’ PARADISE
Hundreds of bird enthusiasts will flock to San Diego for its annual bird festival this week. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, an estimated 45 million Americans are birders coast to coast. Below are essays from a teenage photographer, a visit
It was early 2020, and I was 11 years old. The world seemed to be shutting down around me in a storm of pandemic panic. In the safety of my backyard, I peered into my camera’s viewfinder and watched as a bright male hooded oriole alighted on my nectar feeder and dipped his bill into the sugary liquid. Nothing in this world is quite like the stunning yellow-orange plumage of the hooded oriole.
I watched as another male oriole landed on the feeder pole and bobbed its head indignantly at the nectar feeder’s occupant. The original oriole joined in the display. I snapped a few pictures as I watched the exchange with fascination and delight.
Eventually, the orioles flew away, but the moment left me with a lasting memory. There’s a term in birdwatching called a “spark bird”— which, according to the National Audubon Society, is “a species that triggers a lifelong passion for birding.” For me, that was the hooded oriole. Each year, I eagerly await the coming of spring when the oriole’s twittery “chet-et” joins the dawn chorus.
I have always loved observing all aspects of creation, but it was only at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that my passion for birds blossomed. In those early days of lockdowns, I put out a few bird feeders just for fun. Before I knew it, I was captivated by the orioles, grosbeaks, finches and hummingbirds that began frequenting my yard.
This fascination led me to discover a rich diversity of feathered friends throughout San Diego County’s parks and birding hot spots. Our area is blessed to be a part of the Pacific Flyway, a vital north-south migration path for more than 1 billion individual birds every year. San Diego County boasts sightings of over 500 of the world’s 10,000-plus recognized bird species! With stats like these, some might say we live in America’s ultimate birdtopia!
Birds aside, I have also found the local birding community to be very benevolent and inviting. I have been a part of a weekly birding group for over a year, and I have been welcomed with open arms. This community has increased my passion for birds as we share experiences and ideas while exploring the abundance of birds in various ecosystems throughout the county. We even enjoy a chuckle from time to time over sighting a southwestern red-tailed gas hawk. (It’s also known as an airplane.)
With my passion for birds, I love to educate others about creation’s wonders and consider it a privilege to “hatch” new birders. Last year, I started a faith-based birding group through my church called Early Birds. Once a month, with field guides in hand, we head to a new location in San Diego County to search for birds in their natural habitats. As we explore birds together, play bird bingo and talk about bird behavior, wonder and awareness for the avian world enlighten the eyes of both young and old.
And birders’ eyes are not only opened to the beauty of birds but also to the vital importance of ethical stewardship and conservation of wildlife’s natural habitats. Case in point, while leading a troop of Girl Scouts on an “Introduction to Birdwatching” outing a few weeks ago, we observed a boisterous group veering off the trail and heading to the muddy shoreline. The scouts were challenged to observe how the wildlife might respond to that intrusion. Very clearly, all of the shore and water birds feverishly moved away from the ruckus. I told the girls that it would be as terrifying as if a gigantic stranger would burst into your home, stand on your kitchen counter and start eating your snacks. It was a poignantly teachable moment that emphasized the importance of human impact on the natural world.
Along with educational trips, I actively practice and promote ethical wildlife photography. As award-winning wildlife photographer Melissa Groo says, “We must be guided by compassion and conservation and put the welfare of the subject first.”
It is my hope that capturing and sharing birds through my photography will promote a brighter future for our feathered friends so that upcoming generations can enjoy the same bounty of birds that we encounter every single day.
Some might say San Diegans live in America’s ultimate birdtopia.