There is more than one way to look at a bird. So many people see birds as part of the scenery, if they look at them at all. Others might perceive a meal, a mystery, a passing fancy, or perhaps even a talisman of truth. While one would think that bird watchers all look at birds the same way, it doesn’t take long to abandon that myth. Sometimes a bird looks like a tick on an unfurling life list but, in a different light, it may be a window into a cherished memory or an anchor for a new one. When a new avian enters the frame, some of us see science, others travel, and still others ineffable freedom. No wonder we keep looking!

There’s more than one way to look at a bird and sometimes the fresh eye is needed. Photographers have a gift for capturing new angles of familiar subjects. That perspective can be a splendid asset in birding or even blogging about birds. In fact, the newest host of I and the Bird happens to be a photographer. Con Daily may sound like the passphrase to get into the Charlatan’s Club, but Con is a real person, the pride of Pine, Colorado. At Consworld, her passion for photography, nature, and wildlife is evident not just in her images but her writing as well. Check it out starting with her most melodious edition of I and the Bird #74!

What do you see when you look at a bird? If I may offer a suggestion, why don’t you go look at a few (not hard to do since birds are migrating pretty much all over the world) and then write a brilliant blog post about it? Would you do that? Then, why don’t you send a link to that post to me or our next remarkable host, Amila of Gallicissa. This will be our first edition hosted in Sri Lanka, so get psyched and send links and summaries to me or Amila (gallicissa AT gmail DOT com) by May 13 for the mid-May spectacular.

…and if you want to learn about different ways of looking at a tree, come back later for my own turn as host of Festival of the Trees!

Written by Mike
Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.