Birds, what I consider are the luckiest creatures on the earth. They have wings, and they are free. And watching them makes me luckier.

1. STORIES ABOUT NATURE AND
BIRDING
Birds, what I consider are the luckiest creatures on the earth. They have wings, and they
are free. And watching them makes me luckier. We used to live in Tucson city of Arizona; I
was 14 years old when I started watching birds because of my grandfather. Sometimes, he
used to wake me up early morning and take me with him to the historic sentinel peak. All
dressed up and excited, on the way to the peak, he used to talk about each and every bird
he has seen, grey hawk, Roadrunners, elegant trogon and many others that I don’t even
remember. I used to get irritated by listening to the same things, twice, thrice or
sometimes four times a month.
He used to say,” You know Edmund, this nature is our actual home, and we belong here…I
belong here. Last time I came here I saw…” and what followed was a long recitation of the
stories from his previous visits to the Sentinel.
Though at that age I found his talks and those trips annoying as I grew up those words of
my grandfather became more than just boring words.
I was 25 when my grandfather died and left behind a backyard full of birds. It seemed
strange but as he aged and stopped going to the mountain or lakes to see birds, we saw an
increase in the number of birds coming to our backyard. He told me to fill the storeroom
with all sorts of bird supplies and treatments so that he could feed them and take care of
their health.
After his death, I didn't know what to do with the birds that came to the backyard. Never
wanted to take care of birds, I knew it was a good thing but who would take out time.

2. Hence, I continued my life as an employee of a company got married at 30 and was
planning to move to New York.
While I had my plans, my destiny was busy making other plans for me. My cousins from
Santa Fe visited me and forced me to take them to the Sentinel peak. I agreed and as we
approached the peak all the memories of my grandfather and his stories began to flash in
front of my eyes. We went to the ‘A’ and had a lot of fun but the memories of me and my
grandfather started encircling my mind. I didn’t even realize when my eyes started
searching for birds because that was what I did all the time whenever I stood on that
peak. The smell in the air, the view and the overall environment made me nostalgic.
Within a few minutes, I became disconnected with my cousins and their talks and got
connected with the environs. I started looking for birds and even saw some hawks and to
my surprise those moments delighted me.
I went with my cousins but came back with grandfather and moist eyes. I decided that I
can at least feed a few birds at my backyard as long as I am here.
However, I didn’t stop there and became a bird watcher like my grandfather. Now, of
course for the living, my weekdays are spent in the city but my weekends are “lived” in
nature with birds.
And recently, when my niece accompanied me while I was spending a weekend birding in
the Agua Caliente Park, watching hummingbirds and songbirds like Orange-crowned
Warblers, and Lazuli Buntings, she asked,” why do you love watching birds, what joy do
you get?”
I replied, “You know Alma, this nature is our actual home, and we belong here… I belong
here.”
Just felt like sharing my story with you guys hope this will be a good read. I want to urge
people to become birdwatchers in their free time because it not only makes us aware of
the wildlife conditions but also acts as a therapy that calms our brain and gets us
connected to ourselves.
Reference:-
http://budgetpetworld.weebly.com/home/how-i-started-birding