For the better part of a week, I have been reading about a lot of turmoil. The kind of things that make your gut twist and your anger boil. Oiled birds along the Gulf Coast and the effectiveness of rehab efforts. News of declining populations around the globe. The intrigue and gossip column-like story of the ABA’s current upheaval. I began to feel this weight in my chest as one blog after another transferred the dim news across my screen.
Then came the news of the Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Wow, what a bird! And no sooner than I had a moment of elation, some naysayer starts debating the merits of this bird.
“Is it naturally arriving, and, therefore, countable?”
“Surely it must have been aided.”
My mood sinks once again with the thud of a turd in the toilet bowl. Then I though to myself, “Wait, I’ve forgotten something.” What was it? Then like a baseball bat to the back of the head the answer came to me. “I have forgotten to have fun.”
Birding should be, first and foremost, fun. We should rejoice in every bird because we have the opportunity to experience it and its environment. I don’t know you personally, but suspect that you would rather being having a good time while birding or dealing with conservation issues. I chase rarities, and I have noticed that attitude plays a big part in the experience. I have chased when I’m pissed or tired, and experience reflects these states. Even when I had located the bird, it was tempered by these negative emotions. However, I have one rarity chase that illustrates how having fun can make chases fun. A Curve-billed Thrasher has shown up in Central Montana. Sam and I jumped in the vehicle and barreled down the highway after work. The sun was quickly descended as we drove the 200 or so miles to the ranch where the thrasher was currently residing. Time was running short, but instead of, being tense about chase, we relax and drove faster. The challenge had become fun, and as the sun faded completely we finally got the shadow of the bird. We got to see it for less than 2 minutes, and it was all worth it. The chase was fun, and the celebratory beer afterward confirmed it. I bird better when I’m in a good mood. I learn more effectively when my heart can’t wait for the next page.
I will not discuss why the ABA is foundering, and play the blame game. It seems that any organization with more than 3 members slips into a political morass. Seems like the ABA was fun in the past, and I think Birding magazine is obscenely informative. The ABA should be fun. The ABA conventions should be fun, even they seem to be more about commerce (hell, commerce should be fun). The listing aspects of the organizations should fun, not some end-all, be-all competition for the coveted title of World Champ.
Our enjoyment of birds can be at the core of almost every conservation issue. With positive intentions and emotions, we can more deeply affect any conservation effort than with a doom and gloom attitude. I can’t even count the number of meeting and conversations I have been involved in where the participants, who truly love birds and nature, do not even crack a smile. It is nothing but “F*cking BP” this and “Goddamn Developers” that. This kind of saddled anger only creates enemies and tensions. It is the classic us and them syndrome that we seem to always find ourselves. I propose that we go into these battles with a smile, knowing that we are doing the right thing and have the right intentions.
I do not want to be a Polly Anna about these issues. There are serious matters and situations that need to be intended to, but let’s do this balance of knowledge and attitude. With a happy heart, mind full of knowledge, and having fun we can affect more change more than furrowed brows and harsh words would ever accomplish. Some folks have the attitude that you cannot have fun and be serious. I vehemently disagree. I know that you can have serious fun or be seriously funny. So, let’s go forward and have fun. Have fun when you discuss important issues. Have fun with your Audubon group.
Have fun when you bird.



