Now that my focus has, at least temporarily, shifted to wildlife, I have gained a whole new appreciation for nature - not only for the beauty of what I see, but also for the lessons it can teach us.  I don’t know yet how many articles I may write, or even what I will write about.  But over the next few articles, I will share my experiences of the last few months and how my current focus on wildlife photography has helped me have more patience and less anxiety about things in life that are out of my control (For those that know me, don't fret. I still have control issues, I'm just better than I was ;) 

When this virus first took over our lives and I could no longer shoot sports, I took to the trails. My driving ambition was to find as many *new-to-me* birds as I could (using iNaturalist to track them).  I set off each hike morning with my backpack containing snacks and my hot chocolate thermos, a small blanket, and my camera and harness.  I would walk the trails and occasionally take out my blanket and find a place to sit down for a while and just watch.  A typical hike/sit would last from 4 to 7 hrs depending on my other responsibilities for the day.  The mornings were cold and I spent a lot of time shivering, and then packing up and hiking to get the blood moving again.  But in early March, there were not a lot of birds around just yet.  The migration was in its early stages.  Initially, I was frustrated that I wasn't finding a lot of different birds.   Sometimes I could hear them, but with all the leafless branches and brown everywhere, finding them proved difficult.  Just as I felt like I couldn't stand it anymore, a bird would land on a nearby branch and give me a nice pose.  Then a few minutes later, I would see another one further along the path.  Each time I started to give up, something would catch my eye.  I started to see patterns for certain birds and I started learning the different calls of the common forest flyers.  I would go home and process what I shot and come away with at least 30-50 shots I was happy with, and at least 5 or more different birds.  

As spring aged and more birds began the migration through the area, I started to see more amazing birds I had never seen in my life (or even heard of actually).  And I saw more than just a few.  I think I have identified just under 50 bird species that I had either never seen before, or maybe only once before but didn't know what they were.  

There were other times when I just couldn't find a new bird or any bird at all.  Leafless trees in a wide open forest can be dull and boring as a hiker.  But I was constantly scanning the branches for any sign of movement or color.  When I finally did see a bird, it was fairly easy to get a shot if I was close enough.  The lack of leaves did provide that bonus.  But during those times of quiet, I would look for other photo opportunities.  Budding trees or bushes, spider webs, moss-covered tree trunks with the brilliant spring-green carpeting.  Bugs, snakes or toads sometimes filled the void.  At first it felt like I was just passing time and finding *anything* to shoot.  And maybe that was what I was doing.  But each time I got home and found some of those shots to be nice shots, I was glad I took them. It added variety and for many of those species, I had never been so close to them before and I could see them in a whole new light.  One pleasant surprise as I sat for hours on the bank of the river, I saw the cutest little mink.  He wasn’t cute at first as his water-slicked body squirted out of the water right beside me and rushed past and into the weeds.  Scared me actually.  But as he dried and fluffed up a bit, he became this cute little furry face with a long skinny body and tail.  He came out to stare at me a few times before eventually getting back into the water and swimming down the river to investigate more of the shoreline.

During the many hours I spent on the trails, I sometimes found myself daydreaming and not paying attention as I didn't see any easy shots right in front of me.   But I learned that nature doesn’t work on my schedule.  I see things when I see them; and if the birds I hope to see aren’t ready, then I need to be ready for other things that will pleasantly surprise me.  Now when I go out, I am never bored.  There is always something, if you look.  And I swear, nature will reward you for that effort.  Each time I pushed away boredom or impatience and found other happy creatures to shoot, it would not be long after that, I would be rewarded by a colorful bird or other interesting subject.  Like moving to get a shot of the bug or snake put me in a position to see something I would not have seen otherwise.

If I could do it, I would go on these hikes every single day.  Unfortunately, that isn’t possible.  I am very happy for the days I can, however, and I would encourage everyone to try to find a little time to go outside and enjoy nature.  Be it in your yard, or on neighborhood walks or longer nature hikes, you may find yourself breathing a little slower and feeling a little calmer.