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Beverly's Birding BasicsBirdingFeatured

Why good binoculars can change your (birding) life

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

First of three parts: Over three weeks, our posts will focus on the specifics of birding binoculars. Next installment: How to go about buying your first pair, followed by Beverly’s insights on how to use them effectively.

If you’ve never seen a bird through binoculars, you have my envy. Your future holds one of nature’s great wow moments – and one of its greatest ah-ha moments as well.

Remember the first time you saw something under a microscope? Or stars through a telescope? Seeing a bird with binoculars for the first time is just as magical.

Binoculars make even the most muted colors, patterns and textures pop. You can zoom in on facial details and head positions — or what I choose to experience a bird’s personality or even emotions, despite the fact that science doesn’t confirm if birds have them. But the mystery itself gives me goose bumps sometimes.

Binoculars let you see the fabric of a Song Sparrow. Photos by Anders Gyllenhaal

Of course you get some of this with the naked eye, but binoculars intensify the experience. Have you enjoyed Anders’s photos here on Flying Lessons? He’s able to capture these incredible details thanks to the magnification of telephoto lenses – binoculars of a different sort.

And the wisp of red around the Red-bellied Woodpecker’s beak.

Going from the awe of that first glance to a sustained state of bliss takes practice, and a bit of instruction can help.

Why can’t you just pick this thing up and immediately have nature unfold in all its glorious minutia? There’s a disorientation that comes in the instant your eyes go from a wide, faraway view to such a close-up view. It scrambles your brain. The bird has lighted on a branch, but you’re focused on a nearby pine cone. By the time you figure it out, that bird is gone.

A good pair of beginner’s birding binoculars costs between $250 and $300.

You can tune in on the daily chores of birds, such as this Tufted Titmouse scarfing up breakfast.

Are you surprised? Many people are. Before you settle for those dinged-up binoculars your grandpa used in the war or the $50 ones from your kid’s field trip, hear me out.

Birding is not something you do once, like going to a gourmet restaurant for the best meal of your life. For that same $275 dinner, binoculars can serve up an exquisite plateful every single day.

For thousands of people, birding is a sport like golf or swimming. For thousands more, it’s a hobby like photography, playing an instrument or sewing.

This Barred Owl’s whiskers are visible.

You aren’t surprised when an aspiring golfer spends $275 on a first set of clubs. Did you know that a beginner sewing machine costs $275, too? You’d be lucky to find an entry-level violin or decent guitar for $275.

To make matters worse, as skills improve and dedication to the sport / hobby of birding deepens, many seasoned practitioners prioritize their way to buying optics that cost 10 times this much. If you’re merely surprised at the idea of spending $275 on binoculars, you’re likely horrified at $2,750.

Or the fluffed plumage of an Indigo Bunting

I am acquainted with many amateur musicians, cyclists, photographers, gourmet cooks and seamstresses who have gradually upgraded their equipment over the lifespan of a leisure pursuit. And to be fair, the first time I heard a friend spent $3,000 on a bicycle, $2,000 for a digital sewing machine or $5,000 on a guitar, what do you suppose my reaction was? Disbelief and horror, of course.

In defense of a hobby’s economic investment, you could earn money from it. Let’s say you play tunes for tips, win a contest, sell your custom-made clothing or hire yourself out as a birding tour guide. Your equipment could pay for itself.

Or you could help others by donating such income to charity.

The tiny tongue of a Yellow-throated Warbler in mid-song

But you might just need to accept the fact that if you’re lucky enough to have disposable income, the ability and the time to pursue a leisure activity, it’s rarely going to be free of charge. And relatively speaking, $275 isn’t excessive  and shouldn’t be shocking.

Okay. Now that we’ve established that binoculars are to birding what cameras are to photography, my hope is that you’ll find your way to fairly decent ones and practice using them.

With patience and a bit of luck, God’s most glorious creatures will appear right before your eyes. You’ll never look back.

Next week: How to buy your first binoculars

Even from a distance, you can see the water droplets around an Osprey’s fishing expedition.

July 14, 2020 0 comment
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BirdingFeatured

The magic of birds in motion

by Liza Gyllenhaal June 1, 2020
written by Liza Gyllenhaal

We’ve been watching the birds return to their summer homes these past few weeks.  One morning, an explosion of bright orange hit the living room window as a pair of claws scrabbled at the iron mullions, trying to gain a foothold. 

An American Robin collects construction materials

It was a Baltimore Oriole, come back to the place that had offered free orange halves the year before.  I quickly nailed fresh oranges to the porch post and soon both a male and female (not to mention a sapsucker and red squirrel) were pecking at the fruit.

The orioles are nesting high up in the trees facing the house now.  An American Robin has built her nest in the eaves of our barn.  It’s a large, somewhat messy affair with straw, which I use to cover the vegetable beds in the winter, spilling down through the rafters.  

American Robin

A clan of quarrelsome Blue Jays has commandeered the towering hemlocks by the garage where, last year, the hummingbirds nested.  I’m not sure where they’ve moved to now; they seem to be coming from all directions as they swoop down to hover at the feeders. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

The other evening at dusk I was standing in the dining room, looking out at the back garden, when a hummingbird stopped in mid-flight, wings beating 80 times a second, and stared back at me for what seemed like a long time.  Who are you?  it seemed to be asking.  What are you doing inside when there are so many wonderful places out here to nest?

Blue Jay

Part of the joy of bird-watching is seeing them in flight.  The hawk circling high above a field. An owl flapping silently into the woods at dusk. A crow pumping through the air on some purposeful errand.

Recently, I came upon a poem that I think captures the magic of birds in motion — far better than ordinary prose.  It’s written by the American poet Li-Young Lee who was born in Djakarta, Indonesia, to parents who were political exiles from China.  His father had been the personal physician to Mao Zedong. 

I think it’s Lee’s innate understanding of these different cultures and languages that gives his poetry such spiritual grace and resonance.

One Heart

Look at the birds. Even flying
is born

out of nothing. The first sky
is inside you, open

at either end of day.
The work of wings
was always freedom, fastening
one heart to every falling thing.

Li-Young Lee began writing as a student at the University of Pittsburgh.  He is the author of five books of poetry and a memoir and has been recipient of almost all the major poetry awards. 
 
 
 

This post is republished from Liza Gyllenhaal’s “Writer in the Garden,” an exquisite website devoted to the intersection of gardening, nature and poetry. Liza, who is Anders’ sister, is a novelist and avid gardener, who writes about life and nature in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. We love it when she takes up the topic of birds, or goes close enough that we can publish her pieces on Flying Lessons. 

 

June 1, 2020 0 comment
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BirdingFeaturedHow we're birding now

Flocks of new birders are turning out, which should be good news for birds

by Anders Gyllenhaal May 6, 2020
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

In the weeks leading up to Saturday’s Global Big Day, the eBird team at the Cornell Lab noticed something they’d never seen before.

The eBird smartphone app that has become the standard for filing bird sightings was flooded with new users. That was followed by tens of thousands of fresh checklists and thousands of reports from back yards across North America. In parts of the world, eBird observations jumped as much as 2,000 percent between this April and last.

Jenna Curtis

With much of the world at a near standstill from the coronavirus, it wasn’t surprising that people trapped at home would try birding to pass the time. But the dimensions of surge were so big, scientists guiding the project are hard at work to make sense of what they they’re seeing.

“We’re waiting kind of cautiously before we decide what we can really do with this,’’ said Jenna Curtis, eBird project co-leader at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “But it’s very exciting.’’

Pages from the eBird mobile app / Cornell Lab of Ornithology

The statistics tell one part of the story: eBird checklists, which birders file to Cornell based on the species they identify (by either seeing or hearing the bird), increased nearly 50 percent over a year ago. Some of the specific elements birders send in, such as bird audios and photos, saw similar or even greater increases.

As a result, sometime this month, Cornell says eBird will reach a whopping 800 million total observations on birds – for a sudden boomlet at the world’s largest citizen science effort.

The other part of the story is how the surge plays out for birds. It’s almost certain to be a good thing, but it will take some time to know exactly how.

Is the quarantine giving birth to a new wave of birders, or will interest fade when schools and stores reopen? Will the avalanche of data lead to new discoveries about species, particularly those closest to where people live? Will the jump in birders strengthen conservation and raise public support for protections?

Flying Lessons: One of the intriguing elements of the eBird surge is what it tells us about the relationship between birds and people. While we travel in separate orbits, we react to each other in a number of ways, such as how our activities influence bird songs, and the way people are turning to birds in a troubling time.

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May 6, 2020 0 comment
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Birding researchConservationFeatured

What the Grasshopper Sparrow is teaching us as it skirts extinction

by Anders Gyllenhaal May 2, 2020
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

For the next month or so, biologists from a coalition of wildlife agencies will be standing on the sidelines of a grassy prairie in Central Florida, pacing like worried relatives in a hospital waiting room.

A captive-bred sparrow steps from its cage.

They’ll be peering through binoculars and listening for bird calls for signs of the revival of the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow, whose total population has fallen to a just 30 breeding pairs.

Our article on the campaign to save the sparrow runs this week in the Washington Post. It’s a story about the mysterious decline of one of Florida endemic species and how a consortium of state, federal and non-profit agencies is staging a biological intervention sparrows bred in research centers to hold off extinction.

Sarah Biesemier (left) and Juan Oteyza, state biologists who oversee the project, arrive at the prairie with a carrying case full of sparrows.

It’s also a story about what’s happening on the front lines of the world of birds in a time of extraordinary change. On the one hand, researchers have built more tools, they’ve developed better research practices and they know more about birds like this sparrow than ever before. On the other hand, the threats to many species are unprecedented. A study in the journal Science a few months ago found that a third of North America’s breeding bird population has vanished in the last 50 years.

We came home from weeks in Central Florida, after visiting the research centers and talking to dozens of scientists, with a question nobody could answer very well: Do we have the collective wherewithal, and the financial and political capital, to put this kind of rescue mission together for the growing number of species certain to need it in the future?

Every grasshopper sparrow on the prairie is identified and tracked by four bands on its legs to follow their progress.

The Florida Grasshopper Sparrow is not the most likely candidate to win the kind of scientific full-court press it’s getting. It’s a small, brown, nondescript bird that’s never seen by most people. It’s found only on the Florida prairie, a unique environment slowly evaporating as the state grows. As a brand, this sparrow is on the far end of the appeal spectrum from such conservation successes as the Bald Eagle, the California Condor and the Osprey.

And yet, an ambitious plan has come together on behalf of this bird. It’s powered by state and federal researchers, some of whom have devoted their careers to studying Florida’s birds, and it’s supported by such non-profits as Florida Audubon and the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida (which just announced a grant for this project.)  It is all the more impressive given the anti-environmental streak now running through modern politics.

The consortium makes a persuasive case that the grasshopper sparrow should be saved: It is one of the symbols of the Florida environment. With its haunting song and its place on nature’s ground floor, it’s a key piece of the puzzle of the biosphere we rely on. “The grasshopper sparrow is one of Florida’s flagship birds,” said John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Flying Lesson: The Florida Grasshopper Sparrow is a harbinger of a future in which many species are threatened with extinction. Researchers have built an ambitious rescue plan to save this bird, but is there enough public and political support to undertake missions like this for dozens of birds at the same time?

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May 2, 2020 1 comment
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BirdingFeatured

Here are 5 top-flight gift ideas for your favorite birder

by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal December 3, 2019
written by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal

Finding holiday gifts for birders is relatively easy since birders tend to love all things birdy. And there are a lot of birdy gifts out there. The challenge is targeting the type of birder you’re dealing with, and then homing in on just the right choice for them.

Here are my five personal favorites for 2019:

1) If your spouse or someone else in your immediate family is an enthusiastic, shout-it-from-the-rooftops type birder, visit your local motor vehicles office for a personalized license plate.

Nicolas Lund, a.k.a. The Birdist, who writes about birding for the Audubon website, has this to say about spotting personalized plates: “I knew immediately that these people were my people. I didn’t even need to meet them. Personalized plates could be a great way to let everyone know how much you love birds without having to say a word.”  Click here for Lund’s entertaining essay. 

2) If your birders love to be in fields and forests, they really need tick protection.

Specially treated socks

Ticks are nasty creatures and cause a host of diseases in addition to Lyme. The best way to stay safe is to wear clothing treated with permethrin, a synthetic version of a chemical produced naturally by the chrysanthemum flower. Permethrin is EPA-approved for clothing, and it kills or disables ticks, mosquitoes, ants, flies, chiggers and midges on contact.

Although you can spray your own clothes with permethrin, there are factory-treated items containing the industry standard 0.52 percent permethrin that will last for 70 washes as opposed to four or so with the spray. So my favorite stocking stuffer this year will be these Insect Shield Sport Crew Socks for $10.95. You can find them for sale here. 

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December 3, 2019 0 comment
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BirdingBirding researchConservationFeatured

New research finds 30 percent of the bird population lost over 50 years

by Anders Gyllenhaal September 19, 2019
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

Every birder will want to tune into a study published today in the journal Science that reaches a startling conclusion:  Three billion birds — or 29 percent of the total population across all species — have been lost in North America since 1970.

The research is much more than a traditional study. All of the major bird organizations pooled resources to collect data from the last half century, track what has happened to every species and analyze the modern state of the avian landscape with a precision never before possible.

What this study means is that a sharp and widespread drop in the bird population is taking place. It includes not just the endangered species that get the most attention, but familiar, common birds like orioles, blue jays,  sparrows, blackbirds that seemed to be thriving.

Grassland birds (down 53 percent) are losing habitat with the spread of farms, while coastal birds (down 37 percent) are affected by development and climate change. Populations of forest birds are down by about 30 percent from 50 years ago, and arctic birds are down 23 percent.

Go to the end of this piece for links to the many stories, opinion pieces, graphics and videos on this research. To read the Science paper itself, go to the website developed as part of this project, click “findings” at the top right and you’ll find a link.

One of the posters the Cornell Lab released with the study

The findings are so stark and surprising, the authors say, that they have reason to hope this might lead to the kind of public response that followed Rachel Carson’s 1962 book, “Silent Spring,”  that helped forge strong new conservation laws.

The research is delivered in the form of a dispassionate scientific study. But the authors –- a Who’s Who in ornithology — do not mince their words when describing the conclusions.

“This data suggests that we are facing the beginning of the end for nature as we know it,” said Mike Parr, president of American Bird Conservancy (ABC). “If we continue to put economic benefits first at all costs, that’s where we are headed.”

Declines among birds have been well studied in recent years, usually focused on those most threatened. Drawing on all the previous data, decades of bird counts and 10 years of weather radar, this study stands out for its breadth of data and sweep of focus.

“Multiple, independent lines of evidence show a massive reduction in the abundance of birds,”  Ken Rosenberg, the study’s lead author and a senior scientist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and American Bird Conservancy, said in a release this afternoon. “We expected to see continuing declines of threatened species. But for the first time, the results also showed pervasive losses among common birds across all habitats, including backyard birds.”

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September 19, 2019 1 comment
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Bird of the WeekBirdingFeatured

Listen up: This Bird of the Week is the Life of the Party

by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal May 26, 2019
written by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal

A birder walks into a clearing, and there’s a Song Sparrow singing its heart out. In chimes a Robin, followed by a Grosbeak and a Tanager, a Wood Thrush and a Warbler, all chirping at the same time.

Sounds like a bunch of songbirds out having a party. But it’s only the Northern Mockingbird. He is the party.

This could be the start of a great joke, but it’s just too infuriating. So many times it sounds like you’ve hit the birding jackpot only to be fooled by one wily, nondescript, gray-and-white bird.

It’s awful having your dopamine high dashed like that, and it’s happened more times than I care to count. Over the years I’ve come to seriously resent this bird.

So. The Mockingbird is a “mimic” – a type of bird who’s remarkable for his ability to imitate the songs of other birds. The male can have a repertoire of more than 150 songs, and he continues to learn new ones throughout his life. He even mimics the sounds of insects, animals and things that aren’t alive. Machinery for example. Researchers have identified Mockingbirds with 203 imitations.

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May 26, 2019 0 comment
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BirdingBreeding and NestingFeaturedMigration

Love is in the Air: As the migration slows, the woods are heating up

by Anders Gyllenhaal May 23, 2019
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

When I was in the fifth grade in my little hometown in Pennsylvania, the school put on dancing lessons. At the start of each session, the boys and girls would line up on either side of the auditorium and then race toward each other in a chaotic rush to find partners for that day.

I’m reminded of that frantic and frightening pairing as the spring migration comes to a close across the U.S. and billions of birds are searching for mates. Instead of a few weeks of dancing lessons, they will commit to building homes, starting families and raising their young.

A pair of Great Blue Herons meet up in Viera, Florida.

It’s no wonder that the woods, fields and marshes are filled with birds howling at the top of their lungs. They have a lot riding on a song.

A few species, including Bald Eagles, Atlantic Puffins, Black Vultures and Blue Jays, mate for life. But most of North America’s 1,000 or so species have to find new mates every spring.

Romance is very much in the air in the birding world.

Click for our gallery of two amorous Barn  Swallows — offered for biology’s sake only. 

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May 23, 2019 3 comments
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BirdingFeaturedMigration

It’s World Migratory Bird Day — and there’s a lot we can do

by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal May 10, 2019
written by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal

As photos of migrating birds popped up on a big screen last night, a couple dozen birders from the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia sat in a conference room at the National Wildlife Federation headquarters taking careful notes. Saturday is World Migratory Bird Day, and these folks were getting their marching orders.

Starting at dawn they’ll form teams and scour nearby “Important Bird Areas,” counting species to help evaluate how this year’s migrating birds have fared on the flight across thousands of miles to their breeding grounds. Here are some of what they’re likely to see in a gallery of photos Anders has taken from our recent migration trip (run your cursor over the pictures for their species).

DSC_9131DSC_9131

Blue Grosbeak

DSC_1863DSC_1863

Baltimore Oriole

DSC_1774DSC_1774

Cape May Warbler

DSC_1523DSC_1523

Scarlet Tanager

DSC_8435DSC_8435

Eastern Meadowlark

DSC_9644DSC_9644

Male Orchard Oriole

DSC_8034DSC_8034

Female Orchard Oriole

DSC_1682DSC_1682

Blackburnian Warbler

 

Bird counts are mostly for the hardcore. But if you’re at all interested in birds, if you’re tuning into this spring’s tweet-and-twitter symphony as you move through your day, if you wonder what it’s all about, tomorrow is a great time to learn more.

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May 10, 2019 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.

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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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