How It All Began

I can still hear the House Sparrows chirping, and watching them fly to and from the adobe tiles on the front of my Grandparent's roof.  This was long ago, in my early childhood.  The birds seemed happy and busy and content with each other.  I imagined they had nests inside those half-round tiles; that they were flying in to deliver food, and flying out to get more for their nestlings.  I loved spending time at my grandparent's place for many reasons, one of them was because of these birds.

House Sparrow - Photo from Wikipedia

At my childhood home we had several Pyracantha bushes in the backyard, and each winter the American Robins came and gorged themselves on them.  They're getting 'drunk' is what I was told.  They did seem to fly kinda fast and goofy to and from those bushes.  I remember sitting at the living room window watching this spectacle many, many times over the years.  Like watching the House Sparrows at my grandparents, I could watch the robins for as long as they'd stay.

American Robin © Brooke A Miller

Then, there was the bottlebrush bush we had in the backyard as well.  This attracted hummingbirds.  Watching them sip nectar from the flowers, zip here and there, and fly straight up and dive down, was heaven.  Again, I could lose all track of time when watching a hummingbird.

Anna's Hummingbird © Brooke A Miller

These early childhood experiences with garden birds must have been the beginning of my love for birds and nature.  As a Brownie and Girl Scout our troop spent many weekends doing outdoor activities, overnight camping trips, and the like.   The more I experienced the great outdoors, the more I wanted to experience!

Fast forward a few years and when I was choosing what to study in college, it had to be Ecology!  I was going to save the earth, save wildlife, and save birds from, well... humans, and their destructive ways.   So I went on to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and studied Natural Resources Management.   I learned about habitat management, ornithology, biology, botany, mammalogy, soil science, fisheries and wildlife management.  My first birding field trip was in 1977.  I still have my checklist.   That was the first time I had actually went out 'birding'.  ...and it was wonderful!  I bought my first pair of binoculars around that time and they kept with me for many, many years before they finally just disintegrated.

Those were simpler times:  binoculars for $39.95, the Birds of North America Golden field guide, and a coat; you were 'out there' looking for birds and learning their field marks.    In a lot of ways, birding can still be 'simple', as simple as looking out your window, or as simple as a walk down the block.  Birding became a major focus in my life because birds of one sort or another are everywhere, and you just never know what you'll see where, or when something different will pop up.

So, that's the how, where, and when of how it began for me -- House Sparrows, Anna's Hummingbirds, and American Robins in the yard.

Thank you to the backyard birds that caught my interest so long ago... and who still do!



Brooke A Miller

16-January-2013