Birding a Better World by Gabby Loomis-Amrhein

Gabby Loomis Amrhein is the Sustainable Land Manager and a resident of Agraria. This letter first appeared in The Yellow Springs News.

“I am currently self-isolating, sitting at home while killdeer careen about the pooling snow melt in the field out my window. These seasonal ponds are colloquially called skypools by some birders. Every year for the last several, greater yellowlegs, a kind of sandpiper, have returned on my birthday, always to these fleeting spots. Their legs breaking the surface mirror the effect of their calls against the silence. Tew tew tew! Spring is here!

Weeks ago it was the red-winged blackbirds exercising their scarlet epaulets against winter grays and browns, and before them, barred owls caterwauling across the river to each other. Bird populations are shifting, geographically, seasonally, and in number from climate change and habitat loss. Despite the oncoming swing into spring migration, seasoned birders often describe a lack of oomph in the dawn chorus compared to decades past- less predictable movement, fewer individuals.

The current global health crisis slowing us down is alarming, and is a symptom itself of larger, structural issues. It is easy for me to fall into a panic, and while I remind myself that such feelings are valid, I know there is something I can turn to both in times of need and in times of joy. When I need just a moment, a breath, I pull out my binoculars, or crack the window and listen. Witnessing the phenology of birds is a tool often used by scientists to document change, but the practice can also serve as a constant when change is foreboding, even when it is necessary. We are all feeling a lot right now and chances are, we have a moment more to sit with these feelings. It may sound contrived, but give the birds a moment to help you give a moment to yourself. If you’re feeling panic, talk to them, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, let them do the talking. If they say nothing else, they are quite good at getting one point across- we’re here together.”