Bird Watching

When Terrie Gates first began prowling around her yard with a pair of borrowed binoculars, some of her neighbors didn’t understand. That was two decades ago, when bird watchers were often considered eccentric.

“I could hear my neighbor’s children say, ‘Mother, she’s doing it again,’” says Terrie, who got hooked on birding in 1977 when she spotted a downy woodpecker in her yard.

Times have changed.

Today, Terrie, 57, an accomplished birder, is among millions of Americans who bird watch in one way or another. For most, birding is a backyard affair as simple as watching chickadees and finches raise a ruckus at the feeder. Others, however, are all but consumed by winged wildlife.

One of the joys of birding, and perhaps a key reason for its increasing popularity, is its flexibility: Each participant can decide how simple or involved it should be. Birding can be done from the kitchen window or in the midst of a tropical rain forest; it can be done alone or in a group, in winter or summer.

For Terrie and her husband, Larry, 59, birding began as an extension of their love of nature. Larry’s birding interest was piqued during a 1969 visit to a bookstore when he picked up a field guide. Three years later, he moved to Hattiesburg, Miss., Terrie’s hometown, to teach at the University of Southern Mississippi. The two eventually met there, where Terrie was a student, but their relationship grew off campus—at Audubon Society events.

Although they are well-rounded people by anyone’s definition, birding has become a passion that permeates much of what they do.

“We’ve pretty well centered our lives around birds,” Terrie says.

Indeed, the couple has planned vacations, purchased property, and even made career decisions with birding in mind.

One of their favorite vacation sites was southeastern Arizona, a birding hot spot where rarer species from Mexico regularly can be found.

With an eye toward retirement, the Gateses bought property in the hamlet of Portal, 40 miles north of the Mexican border, where the Chiricahua Mountains and their sycamore-lined streams spill onto nearby grasslands. They visited Portal the first summer after they married in 1982 and eventually would spend entire summer vacations there.

The couple couldn’t wait for retirement, however. For them, the call of the wild came in the form of a phone call a couple of years ago. A friend—owner of a rustic but comfortable lodging facility that caters to birders and other naturalists in Portal—asked if they would like to manage his business.

So in August 1999, the Gateses gave up education jobs in southern Mississippi and moved to Portal to operate the Cave Creek Ranch.

“It was a way to get here a few years earlier,” Larry says.

‘Always something different’

It’s clear these two have made the right choice.

Outside their quarters, the trees are dizzyingly alive with an array of birds. The sassy acorn woodpecker, with his bold red, black, and white coloring, dominates the scene. Hummingbirds whir through even in winter, and the Gateses seem as contented as the coveys of quail strolling the grounds.

Rare birds are almost commonplace here, and many serious birders have sighted the species of their dreams at the ranch’s well-stocked feeders.

Rare birds once held a strong attraction for the Gateses. They recall a time they sped from Mississippi to Louisiana just for a glimpse of an albino hummingbird.

“It looked like a little angel,” Larry says.

These days, their focus has changed.

“Seeing rare birds is still a thrill, but it’s not as big a thrill,” Larry says.

Instead, he and Terrie are more interested in learning about the behavior of the birds at hand rather than in chasing down an exotic species.

Some of their behavioral observations have come surprisingly easily, such as when a female canyon wren moved in with them at the bird ranch. It nested and raised its young in their cellar one year, then came back and raised that season’s brood in a bat house the next year.

“There’s always something different,” Terrie says.

Birds aren’t the only interesting part of the couple’s job. They also meet a steady flow of people, and whether the visitors are amateurs or advanced-level birders, most are easily won over by the hospitality at Cave Creek Ranch. The Gateses stay in touch with many of the people who have come to visit.

That’s another aspect of birding that runs counter to the old stereotypes of loners and misfits; birding can be surprisingly sociable.

Tagging along with Larry and Terrie on a birding jaunt is a comfortable experience. They move fluidly over the rugged landscape while carrying on an easy conversation. Sparrows, hawks, and herons seem to appear from nowhere, and a javelina, a wild relative of the pig, saunters by.

Many birders keep lists of their sightings: monthly lists, annual lists, local lists, county lists, and state lists. The most competitive birders are likely to keep lists of their lists. These days, Terrie and Larry Gates keep only a life list to remind them of where and when they first came across a particular species.

“It’s okay to have lists. It’s even okay to be good-naturedly competitive about it, as long as you’re having fun,” Terrie says.

Fun is important. But birding also is good exercise and good for your mental health, says Larry, a former professor of psychology.

“Birds capture your imagination,” he says. “They can fly. They’re sort of a symbol for the human spirit. They rise above.”

Terrie agrees.

“You look through a pair of binoculars,” she says, “and everything else fades out.”

Birding Basics

For a satisfying journey into the world of birds, you need a good field guide, such as Peterson’s, and a pair of binoculars—usually 7x35 or 8x35 for backyard birding. The first number refers to magnifying power; the second to the diameter in millimeters of the objective, or outer, lens. This determines how much light is admitted. Your local Audubon Society can offer further guidance.

The easiest way to attract birds to your yard is with one or more feeders. Hang these where you can readily watch them and refill them and where cracked hulls on the ground won’t be a bother. The best all-around feed is black-oil sunflower seed. It is high in fat and easy for small birds to crack open. Suet can be used to attract insect-eating birds such as nuthatches and woodpeckers. Orioles like oranges and grapes.

Keep in mind that some birds, such as barn swallows, dine only on flying insects and won’t be attracted to feeders.

Birds are also attracted to water, both for bathing and drinking. A ground-level pan works fine unless cats are a problem. The sound of dripping water is a good lure for migrating warblers. Black-eyed Susans and sunflowers attract seedeaters. To learn what birds are most apt to show up at a feeder or in the wild in your area, log onto www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/.

Those who want to go beyond their own land to explore the bird world should join a group, says John Higgins, who leads field trips for the Tucson (Ariz.) Audubon Society.

“Lots of new birders get frustrated that they won’t be able to learn it. But when they go out with a group of people, they learn it a lot faster,” Higgins says. “It’s fun to go birding with others.”

Check with your local Audubon Society, museums, and nature centers to find a group. Higgins guarantees a positive experience for those who stick with it.

“When you go birding, it’s like fishing without a pole,” he says. “Stuff happens to you. Birds go by; flowers bloom.”

Terri Likens is a Cottonwood, Ariz., freelance writer whose work often focuses on nature.

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