Backyard Birding

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.” James Dent

The last time my husband went to the wild bird store to get seed, he picked up a little surprise for me. Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. Through poetry, interviews and research citations, he presents a powerful argument for allowing children some time to simply explore nature on their own terms. He demonstrates the psychological, emotional and physical benefits of time spent outdoors in unstructured play.

As a child, I owned our neighborhood. I knew everyone in the neighborhood, knew all the pets by name and had several “secret” hideouts. The other children in the neighborhood and I filled our lazy days of summer building forts, exploring the creek that ran through the neighboring edition and riding our bikes. One year, we startled a bird on her nest. She took off running, faking an injury. We went to the tuft of grass she had been hiding in and 13 little ones sprinted after her. They were quite comical to watch, but we backed away, not wanting to stress the mother and her babies anymore. I had never heard of birds nesting on the ground before and was fascinated. I had never seen that kind of bird before and wondered how I’d missed it when they were nesting so close to my home.

It took me several trips to our library to finally find out what kind of bird we had seen: a northern bobwhite quail.

It never occurred to me that these experiences had any value of their own. I was just a kid enjoying summer vacation.

It was interesting to me to read about the different studies which, although inconclusive on their own, seem to indicate the importance of this kind of activity for children. Green spaces have a positive impact on people, even when it is just a window in their office overlooking a park. Nature is at once relaxing and invigorating. You may hear a bit more about this book after I am finished reading it, but in the meantime, I definitely recommend taking a look at it. Especially if you have children.

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