Who’s Your (Bird) Buddy?

How technology helped me find my Zen and learn about birds in my yard

By Sue Dunn

 Big Red, a male cardinal, often joins Cardi B for dinner out

Most of us have seen the crazy memes and joke videos about retirees getting into birding – cheering at their birdfeeders, journaling about their sightings, and driving friends crazy with a recent sighting. In fact, some of them are so obsessed they are buying bird feeders with cameras!  WOW – bird nerds.  Don’t knock it until you try it.  

Guess who is now one of those people? I fell into this by happenstance – a Christmas gift (2024) at the perfect time, one I didn’t ask for and didn’t know how badly I needed. Feeding birds has always been a passion, and I am familiar with many native species through bird walks and classes (shout out to James Reddoch), but this video feeder is so much different!

Cardi B, the female northern cardinal who frequents my feeder

Think emotional well-being, a moment of tranquility. While the world seems to spin out of control, I have my own little live movie theater in my back yard to create a calm moment for much less than a streaming service. Watching birds at the feeder can be mesmerizing, much like a deep, relaxing breath. While I am learning a lot about what is in my own backyard, I am also learning to relax differently. 

There are many types of camera feeders. Birdbuddy^® is the brand I have, so my experience is limited to those features and services. I can name birds and the camera remembers them. The cardinal pair are Big Red (male) and Cardi B (female). While I have no idea what Cardi B sings, I thought it was a fitting name. Others include Goldilocks, an American goldfinch, of course, Bossy Blue, an aggressive bluejay, Robby the Robin, Jimmy Durante the rose-breasted grosbeak, the list goes on and on. I can also view birds from all over the world through other like-minded birders who post their videos. In Germany, New Zealand, the UK, and all over the US, there are other people leaning into the calm that nature brings to us.

While the world seems to spin out of control, I have my own little live movie theater in my back yard to create a calm moment…

Spring is especially exciting. Hungry migrators are caught on the feeder announcing the arrival of warmer weather which serves as a great reminder to buy even more bird food. There are glimpses of especially shy and elusive birds of summer, thanks to their appetite. The most unusual sighting so far (for me) has been a red-breasted woodpecker, but I still love to catch an indigo bunting, bluebird, or grosbeak from time to time. 

Wintertime brings different bird species together at the feeder. They seem to understand the need to let everyone have a seat at the table when it is bitterly cold, and they respect each other.  It is aggravating to see the blue jay slinging food out of the feeder to find a certain nut or seed, but it seems to help the juncos, hares, squirrels, and other ground feeders. They pull together and live in harmony.

So, you may think that I am crazy or that I have gone to the birds – but really, I am just finding my Zen moment!

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