Birding, Writing, and Hanging Out With Passionate People

Sometimes I need to hang out with people who are passionate about things of which I am clueless. I find it's a healthy practice to be a lifetime learner. Learning the names of local birds is one of my current growing edges.

Roadrunner. Quail. Red-tailed Hawk. White-winged dove.

I don't recognize very many birds in the Sonoran Desert where I live in Chandler, Arizona--a lack I want to rectify, so on an early morning in June, I show up to the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix wearing proper birding attire: khakis, a long-sleeve cotton shirt and a broad-rimmed hat. Around my neck are binoculars that I scavenged from the bottom of a camping bin underneath first aid supplies, water bottles, a hot pink fanny pack, and mosquito netting. The thin strap is already cutting into the skin of my neck.

As a newbie, I am welcomed and handed a tri-fold official birding checklist with the names of 102 birds commonly found on these weekly jaunts in the gardens.

"All the brown birds confuse me," I admit to Annie, a talkative regular who comes to the gardens at least three times a week.

"LBJ's," she says, "Little Brown Jobs." Annie sports a harness-type strap for her binoculars so the weight is removed from her neck. I make a mental note.

New lingo. New equipment. I have more to learn than just bird names.

A man joins the group who just returned from a quick tour of one of the garden loops.

"Mallard with six babies," he proclaims, "over on the pond."

"Whoaaaaa!" the entire group exclaims in unison. If this was a vote for homecoming king, I am convinced he would be awarded the crown."

Also saw a bullfrog nearby," he admits.

Heads shake. Tongues click.  Eyes lower.

"Maybe there will still be four or five babies when we get over there," says a heavy-set woman in a droopy hat. People nod hopefully.

Bullfrogs eat baby ducklings? Who knew?

The rest of this post is over at the WordServe Water Cooler where I am talking about the craft of writing.

I met some passionate birdwatchers at the botanical gardens that day.

What passionate people are in your life? What do they teach you?