The Birding Series - Part 2

​I have been on several birding walks and no one had given instruction on how to spot birds, except the accidental one – flutter, flutter oh there’s a bird.  The technique I learned at the Chequamegon Birding and Nature Festival is straight forward and simple.  First listen.  Each species has a very distinct and unique call (no, it’s not a whistle).  With a trained ear many birders can tell you the bird just from the call.  Many of us can tell the call of a robin, a Baltimore oriel and a blue bird or even a phoebe.  A birder also uses the call to determine what direction the bird is in.  Often using sound to determine direction requires you to cup your ears, which makes you look funny walking in the woods with cupped ears.  Third look for distinctive color or markings.  A cardinal with bright red stands out as does an indigo bunting.  Other birds have distinctive markings like the red on a red wing black bird or the red headed woodpecker.  Many other birds have markings but are less distinct.  Finally you can look for certain bird behaviors or types of flight.  For example, a blue bird had a distinctive swooping flight pattern.  Many raptors, such as the eagle or turkey vulture appear to float in the sky as they ride the thermals.   The key is observation.
All writers are observers of both their environment and people.  We capture these moments and then re-create them in words to share with our readers.  We often translate the direct observation to showing the reader to help create a scene or a moment.  The most famous example is:  don’t say the moon was bright; say, moonlight bounced off the shimmering pavement. 
I will never forget the suggestion made by an editor of my first novel, Murphy’s Troubles.  I was told to “show me Ireland”.  I had not been successful in placing my characters in a physical place.  It was critical to my story that the reader be aware of the beauty and harshness of Ireland and how the geography has helped shape Irish history.  Showing Ireland required extensive re-writing but it improved the novel immensely.  I have actually had readers tell me that they feel like they have been in Ireland.
There is one aspect of birding that doesn’t affect writing – the stiff neck from constantly looking up and holding binoculars to your eyes.
Next week I’ll discuss birding by consensus.