Mindful Birding

Why mindful birding, or birding at all? Birds are everywhere, meaning so is nature. Birds, birdsong, and nature more broadly have proven to have positive benefits on human mental health in both the short and long term, helping us regulate emotions and improving anxiety and depression symptoms. It encourages us to tune into the world around us and our senses rather than focusing on our chaotic world or ruminating inside our head. Mindful birding also offers a bridge between our own well-being and the outdoor world, often inspiring greater care for and connection with the ecosystems that support us. Read more about the benefits of birding here.

Included here are some mindful birding exercises I have developed. Choose whichever exercise resonates the next time you are looking to spend some time outside. All of these exercises can be done stationary at a “sit spot”, or done walking along a sidewalk, path, or trail. The recommended duration is at least 30 minutes in order to give you enough time to encounter some birds and for your nervous system to respond and regulate, but any time spent mindful birding is valuable.

Feel free to incorporate deep breathing during these exercises if this is helpful for you. You can do an inhale-exhale pattern or an inhale-hold-exhale pattern depending on what feels natural to you, but generally it is recommended that you inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth, keeping the exhale longer than the inhale. This helps to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which encourages a state of calm and turns off our “fight or flight” response.

At the bottom of this page, you will find more information about bird species commonly found in California. Many of the species I have highlighted can be found in residential neighborhoods or urban areas; birds truly are everywhere! If mindful birding resonates with you, you may want to learn more about the species that live near you, or find ways to give back to the birds. Merlin and eBird by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, as well as iNaturalist, are fantastic resources to learn more about birds and participate in citizen science, where your recorded observations can help scientists advance knowledge about birds and bird conservation. You may also want to look up Audubon Societies or nature conservancies near you -- these organizations are made up of people who know where to look to find lots of birds, and they can also guide you in playing a more active role in bird conservation in your community.

Exercise 1 - Birding with Parts

Once you’ve found your sit spot or started along your path, take a moment to check in with the sensations in your body — perhaps you’re coming in with some tension in your chest and are noticing your heart beating faster than usual. Take a moment to feel whatever is coming up, and perhaps offer it a label. Maybe it’s feeling like worry or frustration, maybe it’s sadness or grief.

Once you’re connected with this feeling or part, see if you can offer it some compassion or understanding (e.g. It makes sense I'm worried, I've got a lot going on). If this feels challenging, perhaps envision that a friend is bringing this feeling to you, and think about what you might say to them. Let this part know that you’re going to take some time to be in nature, but reassure it that you’ll check back in with it at the end of your time with the birds. You might even ask the feeling if it’d like to pull up a seat and sit next to you as you watch the birds, or join you on your walk.

Now, go ahead and bring your attention to the birds. Begin to observe and notice their behaviors, their coloration and patterns, and their sounds. Let your curiosity lead — perhaps the bird you’re watching has a thick, short bill. What might that be for? If you notice your thoughts attention drifting away from your present task of watching the birds, notice it, and without adding guilt, bring yourself back to the birds.

At the end of the time you’ve allotted for your mindful birding, check back in with the emotion you identified at the beginning and with your body. Has anything changed? What still remains? Take some time to reflect on those questions, and perhaps reassure this feeling / part you’ll continue to check in with it and offer it opportunities to watch the birds.

Exercise 2 - Birding with Senses

Find your sit spot or start along your path. Begin with a scan of your whole body, and examine each part of your body for tension and heaviness. See if you might encourage any parts of your body holding on to tension and heaviness to relax — release your shoulders from up by your ears, and unclench your jaw.

Once you’ve done this, begin to shift your attention outward toward the birds. Engage your senses —

What do you see the birds doing? What colors are they, and whereabouts on their body are those colors?

What kind of sounds do you hear? Can you replicate any of those sounds?
Are there any smells around? Perhaps the scent of still water or flowering plants.
What can you feel? Perhaps there was a bird that was just on that low branch, what does the branch feel like? If your mind drifts, continue to bring it back to your senses.

At the close of your time spent birding, check in again with your body. Are the sensations of tension and heaviness residing in the same places? Do they hold the same weight? Consider how your time spent engaged in the present with the birds may have impacted the tension in your body.

Exercise 3 - Birding with Art

For this exercise, you will need something to draw with and something to draw on — a pencil and paper, a crayon and a napkin, whatever is available. Get comfortable in your sit spot or start along your path, though note if you are walking you may need to take breaks at points to do some sketching. Begin taking note of any feelings, emotions, thoughts, or physical sensations that may arise at the thought of drawing some of the birds you see today. Are you feeling excited, or maybe nervous? Are you thinking, “this will be a fun challenge” or “I’m awful at drawing; hopefully no one sees me”? Whatever comes up is perfectly okay. You can see if you can offer any thoughts and feelings that arise some compassionate understanding. For example, for nervous thoughts and feelings you might share that while it makes sense to be nervous, the goal of today is simply to strengthen your observational skills through art. There will be no art critic reviewing your work today, save perhaps for your own inner critic, and if improving technically at art is a personal goal, practice will only help.

Once you’ve done this, go ahead and bring your attention to the birds. Pay particular attention to colors, values, shapes, and textures.

Is the bird black or brown or yellow? Are the colors on the bird all the same shade? Is the light casting shadows anywhere on the bird?
Is the bill triangular, or sort of long and pencil-like? Is the head perfectly round, or does it come to a gentle point in a certain place?
Are the feathers distinct, or do they all appear to almost blend in with one another?

Begin to sketch. You might find it helpful to say some of what you notice out loud, as it can help you remember your observations before the bird flies away and you’ve lost your subject.

At the end of your time spent birding, reflect on your work and check in again with the feelings, thoughts, and emotions you identified at the beginning. Note if anything has shifted — perhaps your nerves eased and the nervousness subsided. Maybe that excitement turned into feeling proud of your drawings, or maybe not so much. Perhaps your inner critic is surfacing, attempting to get ahead of the disappointment or embarrassment you might feel if you received critique from someone else. You can thank your inner critic for trying to help in that way, and remind it that no one will be coming in to judge your work. If this felt relaxing or calming, you might think about incorporating drawing into your own mindful birding practice.

Black Phoebe

(Sayornis nigricans)

These little birds are types of flycatcher, and you will often see them flying in odd patterns attempting to catch flies and other flying insects. They can be found throughout much of California west of the Sierras, and are a native species to the area. They don't mind spending time in human neighborhoods, but they do also can reliably be found near water sources.

Cooper's Hawk

(Astur cooperii)

These small hawks in their adult form are gray on the back with a rust colored breast and reddish eyes, while juveniles are brown and streaky with yellow eyes. They are common in much of the United States, and have been increasingly seen nesting in residential neighborhoods. They eat rodents as well as smaller songbirds, and thus, are frequently not welcome by their bird neighbors.

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Mourning Dove

(Zenaida macroura)

This bird exists throughout most of the United States and can be found in fields, lightly wooded areas, and suburban areas that have modest tree cover. Look to telephone wires in human inhabited areas to find them. Their iconic call can often be mistaken for an owl's call, and their call resembles a mourner's wail, hence their name. You will often find these birds in pairs or small flocks.

House Sparrow

(Passer domesticus)

These birds are not a native species to the Americas, but they are now found throughout the United States. They often prefer to nest in or around buildings, so you will find them in suburban and urban areas. They are quite comfortable in the presence of humans, and can be seen foraging on the ground for insects, seeds, and food scraps. You are likely to see them in groups or pairs, and probably will not see them in more remote areas.

Common Raven

(Corvus corax)

A relatively large, solid black bird not to be confused with its smaller relative, the American crow. Ravens often make croaking sounds and fly smoothly, with less wing flapping than their crow counterparts. These birds can be found through much of the western U.S. in many environments including urban, suburban, coastal, scrub, woodland, and more. They are highly intelligent, able to problem solve and identify cause and effect.

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Anna's Hummingbird

(Calypte anna)

A native hummingbird species residing throughout much of California and the west coast, these little birds are mostly green and gray, with the males having a bright magenta head. They can be frequent visitors to flowering gardens and hummingbird feeders in suburban areas, and they prefer chaparral and coastal scrub habitats. Their diet consists mostly of nectar, and they drink it almost constantly!