Welcome back to my "Behind the Lens" series, where I interview local birders about their birding perspectives and experiences. I Love these interviews because they help shine light on the lesser-publicized part of what makes birding special - the peeps!
This edition is extra-special because it's my first interview of a female birder, of which there are growing numbers. While many of the birders who first guided me and took me "under their wing" were male, more and more, I see female birders coming through, excelling, and bringing a fresh edge to the birding scene.
Introducing Beth Murphy, my fellow birder and friend, pet bird owner, yoga enthusiast, native plant proponent, and cancer survivor, among other things. Let's dive into the interview where she'll tell you more.
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| Beth (right) with her friend Judy (left) |
LBN: Hi Beth! So glad to have you on the blog. Let's start with the basics - how long have you been birding?
BM: I found eBird and signed up in 2013, but didn't really start birding until 2015.
If you're unfamiliar with eBird, go here. It's basically like the social media, online reference database, and GPS of the birding world, all wrapped into one. Also, I've inserted links throughout this article because Beth brings up a bunch of very cool stuff you should check out.
LBN: Yes, that's right! I remember you coming onto the scene just a few months or so after I did. Do you remember what it was that sparked your interest?
BM: I guess I had a few "spark birds" before the flame was fully lit. I remember the first time I saw a Northern Flicker in my yard. Polka dots, a crescent moon, and red splotch all on one bird!?! Had to buy a book and look that one up!
LBN: Oh my gosh, I Love how you describe that. Sounds like a work of art, but really, it is.
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| One of my photos of a Northern Flicker (for reference) |
BM: After the flicker, my husband Gary and I were at the Detroit Zoo and saw these strange, hunched-up wild birds that didn't look like they belonged in Michigan. We found out they were called Black-crowned Night Herons. I started wondering how many other wild birds were out there that I had never seen.
LBN: Gosh, I know that feeling. My spark bird situation was similar, like, "What else am I missing!?"
BM: Exactly! Two years later, we met another local birder, Brandon, and were amazed when he ID'd an Eastern Bluebird by a distant chip call, and then we actually saw it! That was what really got us going.
LBN: We've talked about your spark birds. How about favorite birds? Do you have any and why?
BM: Favorite pet bird is the African Grey Parrot, followed by any other parrot. Favorite bird I've never had? Monk (Quaker) Parakeet. Favorite non-pet bird? Brown Thrasher. First one that Gary and I found gave us one brief glimpse, then followed us down a hedgerow, keeping completely out of sight, but mimicking me each time I made kiss noises in its direction. I Love how smart they are, and how they look kind of mean, like they're sizing you up.
LBN: Brown Thrashers... YES! They are so beautiful, and talented little songsters. On the pet bird topic, I actually don't know many birders who have pet birds. Does keeping birds help you learn more about wild birds, or vice versa? Do the two hobbies intersect at all?
BM: I've had pet birds most of my adult life. My Grey Parrot, Max, was the love of my life. I lost her to a virus after 21 years together (she was about 31). Living with pet birds, I often wonder if other birders understand the depth of bird intelligence and emotions, or if they just seem like pretty automatons to them. Parrots are known for this, but even my little Zebra Finches had personalities. Conversely, seeing the interesting, challenging lives of wild birds has made me realize how much our pets have lost in the deal for a safe life with humans, and the importance of enriching their lives as much as possible, through toys, foraging, etc.
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| African Grey Parrot |
LBN: Wow, those are amazing insights. I Love that. I've never had pet birds myself, but personally, I don't see birds as automatons. I like to assume everything in this world might have more intelligence than what meets our limited eye/perception. On a semi-related note, if you were a bird, which one would you be and why?
BM: First thought is a warbler that winters in the Caribbean, but those islands are goners when the oceans rise, so maybe something that spends winters in Central or South America, and summers in Northern Canada. And lives a long time. Which makes me an American White Pelican, lol! Nah, I'll just say Brown Thrasher.
LBN: Hahaha. I Love that your first thought was to choose based on migration and climate. Not a bad way to go. Do you have any dream bird sightings?
BM: I would Love to see wild Grey Parrots one day.
LBN: Nice. Well, we've covered the basics and talked about some fun stuff, but let's switch gears a bit. What are your thoughts on birding throughout a global pandemic?
BM: Birding during the pandemic was great! Gary had three months off from work, during spring warbler season no less! Crowds were down at the parks, and as always, birding provided a great distraction from worry. So glad that our hobby was a relatively safe outdoor one.
LBN: Truly. It was a blessing to be able to continue our hobby in full force. You mention your husband Gary, who I know of course. How is it being part of a birding couple? There really aren't too many out there.
BM: It's good and bad, but mostly good. We enjoy sharing the excitement of a good find. Gary is better than me at spotting birds, and I'm better at hearing them. It helps to have two sets of eyes and ears. I get some extra motivation and competitiveness from Gary. He gets me moving when I'd rather sit on the couch. I am less nervous birding isolated parks alone now than I was at first, but I also appreciate feeling safer when he's with me. And if I am birding alone in an iffy spot, I usually text him when I start, and let him know when I'm done. One hard part is our different birding styles. I'm sometimes more of a "take time to smell the roses" type of birder, while he's sometimes more of a "get it done" type (although we both appreciate a nice bench). Most of the time, birding together makes IDing easier but it can also go the other way. Bad IDs feel validated when either of us just trusts the other and doesn't look closely enough and protest. And good IDs can get squashed by disagreement. In the end, if we don't agree on a bird, we leave it out.
LBN: So, double the senses, double the safety, and double the opinions on things. Hahaha. Sounds like a mostly-good combo. How about time of year? What's your favorite time of year to bird?
BM: Early spring and late fall, when it's cooler and no mosquitoes. Also I Love the November rarities.
LBN: Those are great times. I Love how birding helps us appreciate those transition seasons, I think even more than the "destination" ones like summer. Let's get deep now, with one of my favorite questions to ask. What's the biggest lesson or lessons you've learned from birds or from Nature?
BM: Be where you're at. Drink it all in, appreciate it, and then, go one more step and do something to help it. Read Doug Tallamy. Plant native flora. Reduce or eliminate the lawn. Ditch the lawn chemicals. The birds we all love need insects to survive, and they aren't getting them from non-native, sprayed yards. Bird populations have declined so much just in my own lifetime. If all I do is post lists and take pics, I am just a rubber-necker at a train wreck. Help them. It's not just the Amazon that's in trouble, it's Macomb County. So many of our go-to birding spots have been bulldozed just since we started looking in 2015. I may not be able to stop that, but I am trying to help mitigate those losses by making changes on my own property. I'm eliminating invasive species. I've reduced the amount of lawn. I still have a few hostas and a peony, but I've added lots of native flowers, and more importantly, shrubs. It was so satisfying this year to watch the robins enjoy the bumper crop of fruit on my Dogwoods. My yard is tiny, but if you have the room to add one big tree to your property, make it a native oak. Hosts way more pollinators than any other plant! If you can, add some native plants underneath it that get mulched by the leaves. Many caterpillars cocoon in the fallen leaves and will then be able to hatch without getting chopped up by a lawn mower or raked up and sent to a compost pile. I have gone through the U of M Herbarium website and made a list of plants that are native to Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties. I'm no expert, but I'm happy to share what I've learned so far with anyone who wants to get started on their own yard! My email is maxgoodbird@gmail.com.
LBN: Wow. That's... an amazing answer.
If you're reading this, you should go back and read that answer again. It's important.
LBN: I Love the idea of doing what you can to make your yard less pristine, less controlled, and cater more to wildlife. We take so much from them, and I've seen it too. Giving back on our own properties really is something we can control. So many people feel pain when they think about habitat loss and mass extinctions and all of that stuff, but they feel helpless to change it. I really appreciate this perspective you have, that we are not helpless. Change starts right outside our windows. I think there's poignant truth and beauty in that.
Just a little aside here, before I get into the last topic. Since discovering birding, it's been more than just a hobby. I've used it to gain clarity, to slow down, to connect back to things that feel real and true and important, and to move through some difficult times, including my mom's breast cancer, and my own battles with anorexia and Adderall addiction. The way I see it, you can go through anything difficult in life and you'll feel a whole lot better processing it out in the woods surrounded by fresh air, the sounds and sights of wildlife, and the comfort of the trees, rather than sitting cooped up inside four walls and dealing with those same things. I know Beth has used birding and Nature to move through her own struggles with cancer and depression, so I wanted to open up the floor for her to share anything she wanted to about that. I hope it inspires you if you're going through something difficult.
LBN: You've come to some of my yoga/birding/journaling workshops, and we've talked about how birding and Nature means more to us than meets the eye. I know we have many similar thoughts when it comes to the power of Nature, movement, gratitude, and awareness. So at this point, why don't you share what birding has done for you in the context of making it through some of life's darker moments.
BM: I was diagnosed with breast cancer back in 2016, near the start of my birding journey. Deep down, I had a sense that my overall depression, inactivity, and mental health slump had contributed to this diagnosis, manifesting in physical ways. With encouragement from my husband Gary, excitement from the start of my birding journey (as you've already heard), and regular practice, I really did start to welcome the idea of getting up, getting outside, and using birding to stay active, find distraction from that scary diagnosis, and keep my spirits positive. Every time we went birding, we saw something different. Swans on the pond, beautiful sunsets, snakes, deer, turtles, muskrats, even mink! It was such an interesting soap opera of wildlife. I didn't want to miss anything. I decided that I wouldn't let this stupid cancer thing ruin warbler season, or the rest of my birding year. I walked and birded while waiting for chemo to start. Gary took my chemo days off and we birded after each treatment. My memories of my summer of chemo are of Macomb County's second recorded Kirtland's Warbler, of an elusive Prothonotary Warbler landing in the bush next to me when I sat down and stopped searching for it, of an enthusiastic new friend, Wayne Hoch (check my interview of Wayne here), dragging me by the arm to make sure I didn't miss seeing the Yellow-breasted Chat. My memories of surgery are of birding Metro for four hours the next day, and three days post-surgery doing a faceplant while running to get the newly refound Nelson's Sparrow. Gary told me not to run! Each milestone in my treatment seems to have been marked by a special bird. Birding helped me through my cancer chapter, and helped lift me out of depression by making me care about the world again. Fast forward five years, my health is good, I'm at a crossroads, and my life now needs my attention. To keep birding at that pace would be avoiding what needs to get done now. But I really don't want to slide back into the inactivity that helped me get sick in the first place, so now I'm trying to find a healthy balance.
LBN: That's beautiful, Beth! I won't add too much to that because I think you've shared so much of value already. However, I will leave people with a poem that I know has meant a lot to you.
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| Looking at that Nelson's Sparrow |
Hope Is the Thing with Feathers
By Emily Dickinson
"Hope" is the the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -
I've heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
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| Swans on the pond |
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| Prothonotary Warbler |
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| Killdeer mom & babies |
