Good to hear from you again Al. Thanks for sharing this. I got into birding as photography is my main hobby, and nothing more challenging is there than a bird. Flowers don't move, and people are much bigger. On top of that, there are so many birds, and so many are striking that you never get tired of looking at them. There are also different backgrounds that make for interesting photos, so as a photographer is my main interest in birding - being able to find a bird, capture it in a photograph, and be able to enjoy that photo for many years to come.
I also bird as an escape from the daily grind of life. As a priest I work with people all the time, but as a human being I'm very much an introvert. I get so fed up with meetings, cell phones going off, running around all the time, so after I'm done at the parish or on my day off or on a trip, I can just be in the field, away. Take Sax-Zim; often you can't even hear a motorized vehicle, and there's just something peaceful about the quiet as you listen for the gentle pecking of a black-backed woodpecker. Even on days where it's a bust, and you go out trying to find a bird that was reported or just any photographically nice bird and it's hard to find much to photograph, the escape is nice. Finally, I would say birding is helpful in my own spirituality. As a Catholic priest, my faith holds in what we call "natural knowledge of God," meaning I hold one can find natural proofs of God in created world; these signs of God in creation then lead to deeper faith. Being out in nature, seeing the birds and how far they journey to get to where I am, or how they care for one another also does something for me spiritually. I've seriously never had something in my life that I've fallen in such love with. I'm already thinking about next May and going to Ohio for the Biggest Week Festival, and going out next week on a trip to the North Shore. Seeing a Kentucky Warbler was a thrill a few weeks ago, but so is seeing the new red- bellied woodpecker who comes to my feeder and the blue jays who shows up for peanuts daily. Birding is such a great chance to get a picture, to escape from life for a while, and just enjoy the beauty of the natural world. I'm also thankful for people who have helped me understand the hobby more on this group, and for the great guides we have such as Sparky, Mike, and Erik who have helped others appreciate the hobby more. Good philosophical post Al and all the best to you. Take good care of the Meadowlarks! Fr. Paul ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
