Why did we start a bird club?

Nature + Nurture is a fast track to the hobbies we often don’t discover until the end of life. Gardening. Watching the light shift through trees. Listening for birds. Maybe we should learn from those who’ve lived a lifetime and mimic how they spend their time.

Naturally we started a Bird Club.

Birdwatching is simple at first. You recognize an American Robin. Then one day, you’re gathering the whole family to catch a glimpse of a Scarlet Tanager or a Wood Thrush. You start to notice birds and birds start to notice you.

You become neighbors, sharing the same patch of land. Birdwatching asks us to slow down, to listen, to really look. It sharpens the senses we’ve dulled with noise and speed. Soon, there are birdhouses hanging from trees.

You spend a ridiculous amount of money on seed blends.

You find yourself reading migration maps at midnight.

And then you start to wonder:

Why are there places where no birds sing?

And that’s when you notice…

The silence isn’t natural. It’s a signal. The population of birds is declining. Quietly.

And unless we keep listening, we might not even hear them go.