the art of noticing things

1)

an email i get all the time:

"i saw this huge bird flying outside today! it was REALLY big, and dark all over! do you think it was an eagle?"

there are so many questions i have to ask, and usually the querent cannot answer them: what shape was the bird, overall? were the wings narrow and pointy, or broad and flat? was it mostly gliding, or was it flapping its wings a lot? did it hold its wings flat or in a shallow v? what area were you in? was there a lake nearby?

and on and on. sometimes, they'll offhandedly mention some detail that singlehandedly IDs the bird, a detail that they didn't think was important at all until i pressed them.

more often, all they know is "a REALLY big bird," i have to tell them: there's no way to know for sure, based on that. here's what to look for next time.

learning to look for those details—how does the bird move? does that sparrow scratch the ground with one claw or two? is that swallow's flight dipping more like a violet-green's or more like a barn's?—is the whole process of becoming a birder. it is simple but not easy. go to the forest, find a bird, stare at it and just notice things. notice things until you think you've seen everything there is to see, then you notice more. leave the field guide at home; you'll get it out later. right now, just: look, look closer, closer than that.

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