"We had so much fun and good work was done! Thank you!"

Join us. You will be glad you did!

Simple Steps to reduce birds from flying into windows.

It was Sunday afternoon, the NBA final was about to start, and I made a quick decision:

"I am going to Slavin, I want to see where the Keeney fire burned. I will be back in about an hour. Maybe two."

If my partner Ben was hoping to have company while he watched the basketball game, he didn't say so. He knew I was more interested in birds and trees than basketball, so he wished me luck.

I have been working hard at taking action, but with all that is happening in the world, it often feels like I am throwing pebbles into the ocean trying to make the water rise.

I am reminding myself that I can throw pebbles, laugh, sing, and play -- all at the same time.

Please enjoy reading about some of my funny adventures that led to mini-lessons on a recent trip to Arizona.

Notes from a Beginning Birder: Chasing False Idols through the Woods

I was looking and listening for birds as I walked on a trail through a small patch of woods near my parents' assisted living facility. But every time I heard a bird call, their song would be drowned out by the thunderous rumbling of an overhead plane, the whirling, and whooshing of a car, or the banging of a hammer and grinding of a saw from a nearby construction site. While I knew there were birds in these trees, I was unlikely to hear them.

Then, much to my delight, perhaps only thirty feet in front of me, I spotted a pileated woodpecker perched on an old cedar tree. I couldn't believe my luck -- I was in a noisy city and seeing this beautiful woodpecker for the first time.

This is the first blog of Liz Melville’s “Notes from a Beginning Birder” series. She invites your thoughts and comments.

A Door has Opened

My new Merlin Bird Application that I downloaded onto my phone has opened a door to a whole new world for me. Birding, which before Merlin seemed too hard, is now exciting and accessible.