I dont do it but I can see the appeal of photographing a wild animal. Its like hunting, but instead of shooting a gun and killing the animal, you shoot a picture and you get a nice souvenir without hurting anything.

Birds are awesome. Loved them even as a kid when it was hopelessly uncool.

I don’t get it but they’re not hurting anything so meh.

Up until last Saturday I thought it was an old person’s thing I wouldn’t care much for.

Here I sit watching and feeding my flock of Grey catbirds and enjoying sounds of the cardinals and chick-a-dees. It’s nice.

I currently have the top post on !birding@lemmy.world

I got into birding late last year after I decided to start feeding the crows in my neighborhood. It started with feeding them peanuts. Then it turned into taking pictures of them when then visited. Soon enough, I was naming them and really studying their behavior. I wanted to see more birds, so I bought a bird feeder.

I started applying my other hobbies to bird watching and that is where things really took off. (Pun intended).

I designed and 3d printed a quarter pipe that fits on my bird feeder. I bolted a tech deck to the top and I have taken a lot of photos of birds that look like they are about to drop in on the quarter pipe.

As if that wasn’t enough, I draw the photos that I take and turn them into embroidered iron-on patches to leave on the pin board at my local coffee shop for strangers to take.

Birding forces me to slow down and pay attention. I find it relaxing and it is the polar opposite of my normal day to day. It also gives me a way share my excitment with others. If anything I have done results in someone deciding to feed a crow some peanuts, then its all worth it.