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Gucci discovers birding, and it’s never been more...
This small wooden box may hold the future...
Looking for resolutions? Here are 10 ways to...
What a show: Battle of the Hummingbirds reaches...
A Pileated Woodpecker in holiday mode
Which is the best birdsong ID app? We...
A Prothonotary Warbler comes calling on a visit...
A Summer Tanager shows off its yuletide plumage
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Birds stories

BirdingBirds stories

Looking for resolutions? Here are 10 ways to sharpen your birding skills

by Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal December 31, 2020
written by Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal

It’s not the best time to go birding in many places, but it is the perfect time to plan how we can become betters birders in the year ahead.

Over the last year, as thousands of newcomers found their way to birding amid the pandemic, we developed a series of posts in a Flying Lesson’s section called Beverly’s Birding Basics. We’ve collected them all on this page,  along with links, suggestions and tools. 

Beverly with her binoculars and birding bag, both topics in these posts.

Here are the 10 best of these posts. They cover everything from how to get started as a birder to how to find the right binoculars, from which birding apps are most effective to what you might want to take on the birding trail. 

You might even find a self-improvement goal or two if you’re still looking for resolutions. 

A good place to start is with the basic equipment of birding. Beverly’s three pieces on binoculars were among the most popular post of the year — and continue to draw constant traffic.

  1. Experts say a good place to start as a birder is to learn the common birds, such as this Eastern Bluebird.

    Enhance your birding life: The first to mention is her story on how a good pair of binoculars can change your birding life, a post that explores the power and beauty of seeing birds up close.

  2. Get the right first pair: The logical next post on how to buy your first pair of binoculars, which is a lot more complicated than you’d think. 
  3. Make the most of those binoculars: The last of this series is her story on how to make the most of your binoculars. It’s tempting to think that binoculars are a snap to use, but there are important things to understand as you get serious about birding.
  4. Advice on getting started: Our next recommendation is a post that gathers advice from some of the best birders around on how, where and when you’ll have the best success as you get started.
  5. Learning to bird by ear: As you get deeper into birding, identifying birds by their calls and songs is key skill. This post makes the case that while it’s not easy, putting in the time will deliver years of rewards. 

    Birding apps can be a big help on the trail. We look at which apps are the best, and which can help in what ways.

  6. Find the best birdsong apps: And if birding by ear doesn’t come easily, there are now more than a half dozen smartphone apps that will help do the work for you. Here’s our analysis on which of these works best. 
  7. Back-yard birding: Particularly during the pandemic, many birders have rediscovered the pleasure of birding in their yards and neighborhoods. This post looks at the apps that can help with that. 
  8. Follow birding etiquette: We all need to learn the obvious and subtle rules of birding, and Beverly’s post on how she learned them the hard way is a nice read full of advice.
  9. Take the next steps: Beverly’s post on how to elevate your birding skills has been one of the most popular.
  10. Be a generous birder: And lastly, we’ll offer up our essay on the importance and returns of helping others in their birding journey. Here’s to a great year of birding ahead!
December 31, 2020 0 comment
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Bird of the WeekBirds storiesMigrationPhotography

A Prothonotary Warbler comes calling on a visit like no other

by Anders Gyllenhaal December 20, 2020
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

We’re winding up the year sharing the most popular  — and we hope most compelling — Flying Lesson stories from 2020.  Most of the posts are profiles of bird encounters, including this story of a Prothonotary Warbler we crossed paths with for a visit we still treasure.  We’re posting one of the highlight pieces each Sunday this month.

All warblers are wonderful to watch, particularly males in the spring. Nature gives them fresh feathers, all the better to snare a mate. For some warblers, spring markings and colors intensify to the point that they look nothing like their normal selves.

My favorite is the Prothonotary Warbler.

Of the 37 species in the Eastern U.S., the male Prothonotary is the only one that glows. His head is a saturated yellow-orange, earning him the nickname “Golden Swamp Warbler.”

Finding a Prothonotary feels like finding that last, hopelessly hidden Easter egg. You have to see it to fully appreciate it, and every time, he takes my breath away.

Yesterday we got lucky. A male in its full spring splendor shot out from under the bridge where Anders and I were standing and headed straight for a bush not 10 feet away and directly in front of us. In the past four years, we’ve seen this bird four times in four states without the lengthy encounter that this little bird gave us.

The visit was a photographer’s delight – perfect late afternoon light and a bird so hungry he foraged out in the open for a good 15 minutes.

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December 20, 2020 0 comment
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Bird of the WeekBirds storiesPhotography

How on earth? Great White Pelican shows up on the other side of the world

by Anders Gyllenhaal December 13, 2020
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

We’re winding up the year sharing the most popular  — and we hope most compelling — Flying Lesson stories from 2020.  Most of the posts are profiles of bird encounters, including this story of a Great White Pelican that transfixed north Florida birders early this year when the species usually found in Africa and Europe showed up in the U.S.  We’re posting one of the highlight pieces each Sunday this month. 

It wasn’t a Great White Shark, but for Florida’s best birders, it may as well have been. When the first reports hit that a Great White Pelican – usually found in Africa or India – had been spotted in a wildlife refuge near Titusville, well, you can imagine what happened next.

This is one of the largest birds in the world with a wingspan that can reach 12 feet. And even though it has the strength to cross an ocean without stopping, people couldn’t quite believe it had somehow landed in Florida.

We’re getting ahead of ourselves, but here’s a close-up of our Great White Pelican.

The first photo in early February  showed a distant bird that looked like the American White Pelican, only much bigger with a striking orange and pinkish tint. There’s also a diamond-shaped patch of day-glow orange over its eyes.

Then came several sporadic sightings around the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, a vast wilderness spanning 140,000 acres with one 7-mile road winding through. More often than not, the reports were of dashed hopes and a flock of regular pelicans seen from afar.

But the sightings persisted, and Florida Facebook birding sites lit up with speculation about the pelican’s whereabouts. So without much to go on, we drove up from our camping spot an hour south of Titusville to see if we could find this guy.

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December 13, 2020 0 comment
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Birds storiesBreeding and NestingPhotography

Two tanagers talk up a storm: So what are they saying?

by Anders Gyllenhaal October 15, 2020
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

The male Summer Tanager. Photos by Anders Gyllenhaal

It takes some time and luck to spot the Summer Tanager, since these birds spend much of their time hidden away from view, at the very top of the canopy.

But when you do get to see one, even if it’s just a glimpse, the sight stays with you like artwork.

The male tanager is the only completely red bird in North America, which makes it a striking sight against the green of the trees where it hangs out. And the female is a pale yellow with greenish tints that creates a sharp contrast when the two are side by side.

The female tanager chattered almost nonstop this morning.

We had the great fortune of camping just beneath a pair of Summer Tanagers not long ago in central Tennessee outside Nashville. Once we figured out their favorite spots, and they got used to us, we were treated to a full study of how these two birds relate, communicate, sometimes seem to argue and take care of one another.

Here’s a video that gets almost all of that across, as the two Summer Tanagers chatter back and forth across the canopy:

We can’t know exactly what they’re going on about in this video, but new research says birds have a far wider range of exchanges than once thought. They could be discussing their nesting needs, or letting each other know where the other is, or she could be asking for something more to eat as she guards the nest. They could even be in the midst of an argument. 

A fascinating new book by Jennifer Ackerman, The Bird Way, A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent and Think, says birds have a rich social life. She says the language of birds can be complicated, emotional, and has its own syntax. This book suggests that birds will even lie at times, implying a level of sophistication far beyond what we always thought.

In the encounters we watched, the female was the more vocal, delivering long complicated songs that had her jumping around her perch and raising and lowering her head. The male answered mostly in single chirps that surely looked like he was going along with what he was hearing.

Birdsongs are primarily about mating and defending territory, but exchanges like this one that seem more like household conversations are part of the repertoire as well. The Cornell Lab’s Handbook of Bird Biology, the bible of bird life, says bird pairs of all kinds are constantly seen singing duets, chatting back and forth and sometimes simply working on their relationships by staying in close touch.

The handbook points out that until recently, researchers studying birdsongs had only their ears to rely on. Now, a whole set of sophisticated listening and digital recording tools are helping to analyze bird communication. We may soon know a lot more about what birds like the tanagers are up to.

Our two tanagers also spent a lot of their day looking for food.

They feed on all manner of insects — bees, wasps, flies, grasshoppers, spiders, ants and termites – along with fruit, citrus and weeds. They’ll catch insects in midair and bring them back to a branch to consume. The female builds the nest up in the canopy, but the two work together, with the male accompanying her as she goes.

The male tanager has just snagged a dragonfly and is working on finishing it off.

The tanager has a series of whistling songs, not unlike the American Robin. Here are some samples.

Tanager pairs are monogamous during their mating, but only for one season. So these two will go separate ways when they migrate south sometime this month.

The female collects materials for their nest.

The Summer Tanager is found all across the southern half of the U.S. and spends the winter in Central America and northern parts of South America. Here’s an animation of their travels through the year from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, showing them headed out in October to go south:

 

 

October 15, 2020 0 comment
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Bird of the WeekBirds storiesMigrationPhotography

A holy rite of spring: A Prothonotary Warbler’s visit like no other

by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal May 14, 2020
written by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal

All warblers are wonderful to watch, particularly males in the spring. Nature gives them fresh feathers, all the better to snare a mate. For some warblers, spring markings and colors intensify to the point that they look nothing like their normal selves.

My favorite is the Prothonotary Warbler.

Of the 37 species in the Eastern U.S., the male Prothonotary is the only one that glows. His head is a saturated yellow-orange, earning him the nickname “Golden Swamp Warbler.”

Finding a Prothonotary feels like finding that last, hopelessly hidden Easter egg. You have to see it to fully appreciate it, and every time, he takes my breath away.

Yesterday we got lucky. A male in its full spring splendor shot out from under the bridge where Anders and I were standing and headed straight for a bush not 10 feet away and directly in front of us. In the past four years, we’ve seen this bird four times in four states without the lengthy encounter that this little bird gave us.

The visit was a photographer’s delight – perfect late afternoon light and a bird so hungry he foraged out in the open for a good 15 minutes.

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May 14, 2020 1 comment
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Bird of the WeekBirds storiesMigrationPhotography

Cedar Waxwings are dining their way north: Don’t miss the show

by Anders Gyllenhaal April 17, 2020
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

 

 

Here’s a delicious fact about Cedar Waxwings: They can strip a tree of its berries in such a rush the juice turns to wine and they get too buzzed to fly.

Robert Rice, a veteran bird scientist who spent his career with the Smithsonian’s Migratory Bird Center, explained what happens: “They can eat so much fruit, it ferments in their gut and they go wobbly for a while,” Rice said.

Few other birds feast in such a mass frenzy, and the phenomenon is on display this time of year as bands of waxwings dine their way north from the lower U.S. and Central America and as far up as Canada.

It’s a magnificent sight, one I assumed I’d miss this year with our limited mobility. But the other day, wandering through the trees not 50 feet from our home, I noticed what looked like a new arrival. It was the first of a flock of Cedar Waxwings that gradually became an avalanche, all collecting insects as if their lives depended on it.

They began high in the trees, then gradually worked their way down to the lower branches. Today insects were on the menu, and one bird after another took a turn working the branches, all the while ignoring our presence as only the migration enables. It’s a gift to birders, and photographers, enabling closeup views you rarely are granted.

Flying Lesson: The Cedar Waxwing is a study in nature’s design, with touches of yellow, red and brown slashed across a form that is almost always in motion. A good bit of that motion is spent on its frantic feeding. They go overboard on that front as well.

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April 17, 2020 4 comments
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BirdingBirds storiesMigrationPhotography

In a world turned upside-down, birds can help restore some sanity

by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal April 2, 2020
written by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal

Second of two parts

There’s not a lot to be optimistic about during the virus meltdown, but here’s something bird enthusiasts can celebrate: The news is full of suggestions that people take up birdwatching to battle stay-at-home boredom and anxiety.

As birders all know, the more people get interested in birds, the more likely they are to want our state and federal government agencies to protect them.

A Carolina Chickadee among the buds outside our window / Photos by Anders Gyllenhaal

I’m still giddy over the Slate magazine article a few days ago with the headline: “You Have No Choice But to Become a Backyard Birder.”

Slate’s article is a terrific, step-by-step guide on how to morph from a person who sort of likes birds into one who could possibly become a serious birder one day. Click here for the story.

This isn’t the only “Bird Now” headline landing in my Google feed. I’ve seen similar stories from local radio and television stations, newspapers and news websites.

“Riotous Explosion of Life Awaits Birding Newbies in This Stay-at-home Era” proclaims the March 28 headline from NPR station WHYY in Philadelphia.

 “[Birding] is a time-tested way of putting things back in perspective and realizing that life does go on and will go on,” said Jeffrey Gordon, president of the American Birding Association, in the WHYY interview. “It feels like a perfect fit.” Here’s that story. 

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April 2, 2020 0 comment
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Bird of the WeekBirds storiesPhotography

A Tricolored Heron worthy of the Olympics

by Anders Gyllenhaal March 6, 2020
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

It’s a move that seems to defy physics: The Tricolored Heron hovers in midair just above the surface when it dips its neck down and snags its prey from near the surface of the water.

This medium-sized heron is named for its striking collage of blue, purple and white plumage and known for its frenetic feeding dance in shallow water that helps to scare up prey. But if there’s one acrobatic maneuver that tops them all, it’s how the Tricolor will sometimes feed while flying  — a move worthy of the Olympics.

I watched just such a gravity-defying maneuver the other day at a central Florida marsh near Melbourne, where a heavier-than-usual rainfall drew a large flocks to the wetlands. The competition was fierce among hundreds of herons, ducks, gallinules, pelicans and spoonbills.

This young Tricolored Heron was trying out all his tricks.

First it zigged and zagged along the edge of the shore, lunging for prospects as it followed its own obstacle course though the water. Then, apparently unhappy with the results, it lifted off and headed to a new spot. That’s when the heron spotted something near the surface of the water.

It dropped down a few inches until its feet were almost touching the surface. As if walking on the water, the Tricolored reached its long neck down and into the pond and snapped up something for lunch. The show didn’t stop there: The bird never landed, and instead recovered its equilibrium and flew on.

Herons are great fun to watch, particularly the more active Great Blue, Little Blue Heron and Tricolored Heron. As common wading birds that generally don’t mind people, you can study them for hours working the waterways, marshes and sometimes on the beach. The Great Blue can be found all across the U.S. and Central America, and the Little Blue in the Southeast, parts of the Midwest, California and Mexico.

Little Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tricolored is the hardest of the three to find, more limited to Florida, the Gulf Coast and Central America. But when you do come across one in the midst of its search for food, you may get a performance. This is one bird that deserved a place on the podium.

Here’s a gallery of some of our favorite heron photos, followed by two of Cornell’s range maps of where they can be found. The first shows their range through the year, and the second is an animated version.

Little Blue Heron

Great Blue Herons in mating season

Black-crowned Night Heron fledgling

American Bittern, in the Heron family

Little Blue Heron

Lurking Great Blue Heron

Green Heron

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Green Heron

Little Blue Heron

Green Heron

Least Bittern

Tricolored Heron

Great Blue Heron in breeding plumage

 

 

March 6, 2020 2 comments
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BirdingBirds storiesMigrationPhotography

How did a Great White Pelican fly around the world? Here are some answers.

by Anders Gyllenhaal February 14, 2020
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

How does a huge, lumbering bird like the Great White Pelican fly halfway around the world to reach a place like Florida?

Great White Pelican lands on Merritt Island Refuge/Photos by Anders Gyllenhaal

It’s a question birders and experts alike have been asking in the weeks since one of these striking, exotic pelicans from Africa and Asia arrived on the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge south of Jacksonville. Although birds are always turning up in unexpected places, this visit set off a true kerfuffle as word got around.

Our Flying Lessons post on the Great White Pelican drew thousands of views and 600 shares on our Facebook page. With those came an avalanche of questions:

Did this bird fly all the way – or perhaps escape from a zoo in this hemisphere? Will it stay in the area, or find its way back home? Will it upset the balance of nature the way certain non-native plants and animals do? How does a bird get so far off course in the first place?

“I would love to know what his story is,’’ Linda Boccuti wrote on our Flying Lessons Facebook page.

Most of the answers are guesses, since the bird wasn’t tagged and certainly isn’t talking. But Andrew Farnsworth, a research associate with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology who specializes in migration, said the likely drivers are genetic migration instincts that go off track, lack of food back home and changing weather patterns that are becoming more frequent around the globe.

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February 14, 2020 0 comment
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Welcome to Flying Lessons, a website devoted to what we’re learning from the birds. You can sign up here for our weekly newsletter, visit our Facebook page here, spend time in our pages devoted to photos, birding advice, videos and special projects. We hope you enjoy your visit — and make this a regular stop.

FLYING LESSONS VIDEOS

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In-depth stories

Grasshopper Sparrow

Here are links to some of the deeper stories we’ve written for publications from the Washington Post to The Miami Herald exploring the frontiers of birding and avian research. This story for the Post was about the role of every-day birders in creating the largest citizen science project in the world. This piece for The Herald looked at the surprising strength of the Roseate Spoonbill in the midst of climate change. And this article and video for The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer is about how some adventurous hummingbirds are abandoning their migration and staying the winter in the U.S. Our latest story in the Washington Post is about a rescue mission for the imperiled Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. 

Miami Herald’s Spoonbill package

Some favorite birds

Barred Owl Orlando, Florida
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Ruby-throated Hummingbird West Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Hairy Woodpecker Prime Hook Refuge, Delaware
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Prairie Warbler Cape May, New Jersey
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Red-bellied Woodpecker St. Joe Overstreet Landing, Florida
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Eastern Wood-Peewee Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Eastern Meadowlark Kissimmee, Florida
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Black-throated Blue Warbler Raleigh, North Carolina
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal
Northern Flicker Alexandria, Virginia
Copyright by Anders and Beverly Gyllehhaal

Birds in Flight

Roseate Spoonbill BIRDS IN FLIGHT FELLSMERE, FLORIDA OSPREY BIRDS IN FLIGHT Orlando, Florida American Flamingo BIRDS IN FLIGHT Rio Largartos, Mexico COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL EASTERN MEADOWLARK BIRDS IN FLIGHT KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA Red-shouldered Hawk BIRDS IN FLIGHT Orlando, Florida COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL PALM WARBLER BIRDS IN FLIGHT ORLANDO, FLORIDA BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER BIRDS IN FLIGHT LORTON, VIRGINIA BROWN PELICAN BIRDS IN FLIGHT ASSATEAGUE, MARYLAND COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL WOOD STORK BIRDS IN FLIGHT MELBOURNE, FLORIDA COPYRIGHT BY ANDERS AND BEVERLY GYLLENHAAL

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Quotes for the birds

“It’s a short path from the joy and wonder of birds to the recognition of what they’re telling us about the environment, and what that compels us to do.”

— David Ringer, chief network officer for The National Audubon Society

Comments, Suggestions & Quips:

On How Birds Teach Humility:

–“NOB. Love it! Great little truths in this post.” – Chara Daum

— “Appreciate your insights, Beverly.” -Ruth Harrell

— “Loving your Flying Lessons blog.” -Susan May, San Francisco

On our offbeat video of a Tufted Titmouse singing along with a banjo:

“That is totally cool,” Tony Mas, Dahlonega, Ga.

“This brought a smile to us. Thanks.” John Deen, St. Paul, MN.

“Really amazing.” Florence Strickland, Sunset Beach, N.C.

On the Mandarin duck’s arrival in Central Park:

— “I think he gets his own Saturday morning now.” -Stephen Colby, Raleigh, N.C.

— “What a beautiful bird. Its colors look painted on. Magnificent.” -Christine DiMattei

On the falling numbers of Wild Turkeys:

“I was just mentioning this to a friend, how I used to see Wild Turkeys every time I hit a dirt road, and now it’s almost rare.” -Jeff Brooks.

“There are a hundred times more turkeys than when I was a kid. Fake BS to shake down donations and public funding.” -Vance Shearer

 

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About us

About us

We’re two journalists who’ve traded in our work in publishing and syndicated writing for following and photographing the birds. We live in Raleigh, NC, but are traveling the country every chance we get -- and are sharing the lessons birds are teaching us and the photos we take along the way.

Popular Posts

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    How on earth? Great White Pelican shows up on the other side of the world

    February 6, 2020
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    How on earth? Great White Pelican shows up on the other side of the world

    December 13, 2020
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    What a show: Battle of the Hummingbirds reaches its peak

    December 30, 2020
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    What a show: Battle of the Hummingbirds reaches its peak

    August 20, 2020
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    Cedar Waxwings are dining their way north: Don’t miss the show

    April 17, 2020
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    We used to snicker at Snowbirds — until we discovered this Airstream getaway

    April 9, 2019

Why Flying Lessons

This website is about what we can learn from the birds around us. Some of the lessons are obvious, such as the way birds can be a barometer of environmental changes. Others are subtle, like the way you, as an observer, have to adapt to navigate the world in which birds operate. We ourselves still have much to learn about birding, a late-in-life pursuit that has captivated us in retirement. But we decided to start writing about the lessons and teachings as we’re finding our way, in hopes that our storytelling and photography will help to celebrate a captivating element of nature.

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