Behind the Lens: A Birder Interview with Beth Noren

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!

Introducing Beth Noren, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Swans on the pond

Prothonotary Warbler

Killdeer mom & babies

Beginner's Mind for the Win

Eastern Wood-Pewee

Ever hear the term "beginner's mind?" It's that thing when you first start out on a pursuit, where everything is new, your mind is open, and your eyes are wide and fresh. There's a term for this in Zen Buddhism, too. It's called "shoshin," lacking preconceptions and studying with eagerness, as if the subject is brand new (even if it isn't). There's also a tarot card with this message, called The Fool, and fittingly, it's card zero, the first card in the deck.

I've always loved the concept of beginner's mind because I connect deeply to the importance of moving through the world with a wide perspective, open senses, and a default state of wonder and curiosity. This is what allows me to never be bored, to enjoy the simplest things with the deepest reverie, and to feel at least partly like a child. It lets me change my views, challenge what I think I know, and always be learning.

Growth

As I was birding tonight, I was reminded of the importance of beginner's mind. I was walking through the woods, and was suddenly struck by the sense that I was moving too quickly. I thought back to my first years of birding. When May would come around with spring migration, it was an explosion for the senses, an overload of birds. Walking through one small stretch of woods during spring migration took forever, because I was captivated by every tiny movement, every chip and chirp, and every glimpse I could get with the naked eye, my binos, or my camera. When I didn't know what birds I was seeing and hearing, it was imperative I look at every one and notice as much as I could. This let me go home later and do my research to try to identify what I'd seen. As I sat at home after a day of spring birding, I'd have audio hallucinations, a canopy of birds dwelling between my ears.

Raccoon on the Move

Mallard nest

These days, while I'm no birding expert, there are plenty of birds I can identify without deep study. I know them by a flash of movement, a partial song, or general clues based on habitat, time of year, and observed behaviors. I can move through that same patch of woods on a bustling May day much quicker, pulling out a good number of confident IDs. This was happening tonight, but my approach suddenly felt so wrong. I remembered about beginner's mind, about all that careful study.

So I purposely slowed down, stopped, even. I took a deep breath and blurred my vision a little, simply letting my eyes pan out wide. Sometimes, I'd pick up my binoculars and move my gaze slowly through brambles and underbrush, stopping frequently to observe what was there. This was the feeling I needed. Slow, receptive, curious, hyper-aware, and never taking a thing for granted.

Rain

The greatest birders don't claim to know it all. They don't go into a patch of woods expecting only the expected birds. They expect anything or nothing, but they watch everything.

This goes for life too. 

So here's your reminder to slow down, erase what you think you know and expect, and open yourself up to more. Sure, it's valuable to be an expert at something, but it's so much fun to stay a beginner.

Red-headed Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

Salute to Spring

Northern Parula

Happy spring, everyone!

Although I see beauty and purpose in every season, I have to admit, spring is my fav. It's the season I was born into, plus the season with the best bird migration, and, of course, home to those few magical weeks of the year where all those pink and white flowering trees bloom at once - like a parade of Victorian women walking down streetsides, holding frilly and fancy parasols.

Spring is energy and joy; cleaning, rinsing, and resetting; and the emergence of life which inundates the senses. While many Love summer, to me, it feels like it's "already here"... whereas spring is in itself a buildup and an ever-bubbling transformation.

So here's a few hand-picked spring tidbits for you: some photos, a poem, and a few journaling prompts to help you move into the season with awareness and intention.

Photos

Barred Owl

Red-winged Blackbird

Yellow Warbler

(Least?) Flycatcher

Double-crested Cormorant

Turkey Vultures

Canada Geese (goslings)

Northern Mockingbird

Blue-winged Teal (male, female)

Poem - "Hello Spring"

We sit still, but outside, the world is moving,

The seasons changing

Like strips of film before our eyes.

Over there!

It's winter's Cardinal,

A smudge of scarlet

In a skeleton tree.

Holly berry red,

Black-masked bandit,

Stealing away

Winter’s last sigh.

And here!

A Robin,

Round, brown belly,

Rust-colored breast,

Golden-beaked beacon of spring,

Pregnant with possibility,

The promise of beauty yet unhatched.

Soon, life will spill out

From spotted blue shells

And fill our ears with song.

What a priceless gift

To see this transformation,

To feel the fluttering hope of springtime

In our awakened hearts.

Journaling Prompts

1. What can I let go of, "spring clean", or rinse off from the winter season? Why do I want to let this thing go? How will I feel afterward?
2. What seeds am I planting / what am I nourishing / what is emerging in my life over the next few months? Imagine it's the first day of summer. Looking back now, how does it feel now that this new seed has sprouted?
3. Set a timer for 5, 10, or 15 minutes. Free write any words that come to mind when you think of spring. It can be adjectives, nouns, verbs, nature-related, colors - you name it! Optionally, you can turn this "brain dump" into a pinterest board or magazine cut-out vision board.
4. Imagine spring were the only season. How would you learn to find beauty in it and stay present?
5. What lessons does Nature teach you during the season of spring?
6. What rituals, healing practices, or celebrations can you incorporate into this season to make it more meaningful?

P.S. feel free to share your musings with me in the comments here, or on my Instagram @inbodiednature.

Common Grackle

Orchard Oriole

Nurturing Habitat

Short-eared Owl

The other day, I saw a Short-eared Owl (my fav bird of 2021 so far), and it got me thinking...

This is not a bird I see often, and when I do, it's usually in marsh and field areas that have been protected, preserved, or reclaimed for Nature to flourish.

Then I got to thinking about all the "specialist" birds out there - birds who require very specific habitats and ecosystems to thrive - like Common Redpolls, blustering around wintery farm fields and uncut brush; or delicate Henslow's Sparrows who whisper invisibly from fields of unmowed grass; or Eastern Bluebirds, who make their homes along avenues where meadows and woods are the neighbors.

Common Redpoll

Henslow's Sparrow

Eastern Bluebird

Finally, I thought of my yard, where more birds are drawn in by foundational elements like: native plants, bird feeders, water sources, places to hide, and corners where we keep things "untidy" and wild.

So many people ask questions like, "How do I get that bird in MY yard?" or "Where do you see all these birds?" And the answer SO often comes down to habitat. If you "build" it, or rather, if you nourish and protect it, they will come.

Ovenbird (in our yard!)

And finally, full circle here... It's like this with us too. If we want our lives to have more variety, more life, more change, more beauty, more JOY... we have to take care of our basics first. We have to till and protect our inner "Earth" with the foundations of uplifting daily habits. Take care of your habitat, protect your ecosystems, and watch your world bloom.

Pileated Woodpecker

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (one of my "spark birds")

Little Things. Big Meaning.

When I walked by this tree the other day, it seemed to say, fingers crossed. You know, like make a wish. I took it as a good omen - solidarity from the trees in the midst of a pandemic. 

Speaking of the word pandemic, it comes from pan, to mean all inclusive, and demos, to mean across the population. Perhaps instead of describing virus alone, this word makes other allusions - pertaining to a time of inclusion, connection across humanity, and union with Nature.

This wouldn't be the first time I've received messages from Mother Earth. She's the purest place to listen; her voice untouched by societal memes.

I'm comforted by that which remains undeterred by these global events - all the natural, lunar, and seasonal cycles which roll on and on and on with the wheel of the year, the turning of the cosmos. There are stories outside the human one. But in truth, they're our stories too. 

Follow me. 

Take a glimpse. 

Remember...

A male Cardinal still sits atop his lofty perch, boasting about his bright red coat, his singing abilities , his spacious territory. Like springtime after springtime after springtime, the birds sing on with gusto.

First butterflies of the season spiral like confetti. A pair of Eastern Commas swirls about, punctuating the air between wingbeats. One certain patch of sun draws them in, where they sit like open books, warming their pages on the leafy forest floor.

One lone chipmunk comes out of hiding, cheeks full, feet frozen, sizing me up. We have a little staring contest. My camera is the first one to blink which breaks the spell. He scurries off.

I walk past the most luxurious beaver lodge - a five star hotel for floating, furry ones. The beaver is a staunch reminder of determination, focus, resourcefulness and tenacity! May we all have just an ounce of that drive. As I marvel at the craftsmanship, one of the residents floats lazily by, as if to say, hey, I deserve a break too! Touché my friend, touché.

After reveling in one tree-based masterpiece, I discover yet another. A massive and mighty tree lays fallen from woods to water in a perfect, solid bridge. Of course, I veer off my path and follow a narrow one straight up to it. There might as well be a welcome mat. The exposed roots are shaped like steps for me to climb. There's not one wiggle or wobble as I trust the tree with my full weight. Out over the water I climb, until I'm nestled right inside the horizontal trunk. This is the perfect perch to watch the ducks and listen for the rattle of the royal Kingfisher. It's moments like these the phrase returns to me, there is no moment more important than this one. There's an unmatched peace that comes from sitting against, upon, or inside a tree. My face and muscles relax, disrobing. It's an unmasking of everything that's been placed upon me, and I am home.

When I finally decide to move, I kiss the tree and thank it. 

Around the next bend is a dancing crane, a preening crane, a stately Sandhill Crane. With a face adorned in carnelian and ruby, and wings tinted like marsh grasses, I know I'm witnessing divinity, right here in this moment.

There are so many stories circling. Stories of fear, boredom, hope, altruism, greed, power, sickness, panic, Love, connection, distance, uncertainty, possibility, and change. So many human stories. But there is one story that's constant, not so much apart form us as it is a part of us - the story told by Nature. Although new every day, in some ways, it never changes. 

And that, my friends, is worth embracing.

She Lives!

...yes, that's right, you read the title (you did, didn't you?)...

"She lives."

Little Bird Nerd, that is.



She's still kicking about, fluttering her wings, foraging through the woods, and noticing as much as she can.

You see, while it's been over a YEAR since I've posted last, it feels like no time at all. I've been OUT THERE, doing the thing. But I've been missing writing about it, so here I am!

Let's catch up. :)

It's true, so much has changed. Check this graph, which shows my bird species totals for Macomb County alone, going back to the first year I started birding.

In that first half-year, I was learning. I didn't know many other birders, and I was teaching myself, studying, and searching for birds in the field.

In 2015, I started to branch out, study more, take photos of birds, meet more birding people, and learn from all these things. That year, I saw 158 species of birds in the county.

As time went on, I kept growing, learning more, and listing more birds, "peaking" in 2017 with 226 species of birds in Macomb County alone.

Then life happened, and other things became just as important as birding, like taking yoga teacher training in 2018; and falling in Love and spending this past year with my Love, my yoga teaching, and a new rhythm of life. I'm not even sure if I'll hit 200 species in the county this year (which is the not-so-unspoken standard of dedication in the local birding community), and I'm not so sure I care! Sometimes I run into birding friends and get questions like, "Are you still birding?" And the answer is YES! I have never stopped.

Perhaps what I've stopped is attaching so much value to "the list". Let's be clear - I LOVE LISTS. I'm the girl who has daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly checklists; lists for work tasks; grocery lists; lists of things I want to study; you name it! Lists help me feel organized and fulfill my need to process things by writing them down (I especially Love when they're color-coded). I still list new birds for my yard, new birds for the year, and new birds for my life list. Beyond that though, there are many days where I'm birding and not listing, just enjoying the moment.

Part of it is my yogic mindset, being less competitive and more present. Another part of it is simply wanting to stick closer to home, preferring time with Frank to time on far-off chases. I still bird every day in our yard, every week at the local park I visit, and every time I'm outside or within sight or earshot of outside (even if that "outside" is in the background of something on tv). You see, a true birder is always birding, even if the subjects observed are common. It's just something your ears and eyes are forever attuned to. It's like how because I play the violin, I always hear that instrument first and clearest in any song it is played. I can't turn off the birder in me, and I wouldn't want to.

So whether or not I'm following along with every chase in the county, or posting numbers from every walk in the woods, I still find joy in this gift of being a birder. Perhaps rather than a science alone, it has become an art of being. A musical, colorful, dancing experience that is forever changing and new.

Perhaps as life moves through its changing seasons, I'll re-find that rhythm of heavy listing, but for now, I am happy with my own gentle pace.

And a final note, to close - as I was walking through the woods about a week ago, I was thinking about how beautiful it is that when you release expectation of finding anything specific, you never leave unsatisfied. If you stay open to whatever experience you have, you're always filled with wonder and awe.

This same idea applies to yoga, too, and to life as a whole. If you come to your mat without expectation of what type of practice you'll have, what you'll be able to do, or how your mind or breath will react, you'll sit with what is and leave satisfied every time. My new goal is to approach each day, each conversation, each interaction with a stranger, each breath, each adventure, each walk in the woods, with an attitude of exploration rather than expectation...

...and that's the magic right there.