The dawn chorus is calling

What is an outdoor adventure in which you experience nature without imposing, without controlling, invading, displacing or manipulating, taking any piece of it, requiring anything from it? Causing harm to any part?

What is a way to be in nature and stretch your limbs, moving both slowly and quickly over terrain of your choosing, breathing deeply, absorbing the energy and texture of the living environment, utterly present without an agenda, competition or goals?

And what is a way to drop in, engage all your senses, and find a portal to another world?

You stop making noise and listen: Can you hear those songs, chips and calls, the rustle of foliage, the movement of feathers?

You soften your gaze and broadly search for movement. Once detected, you zoom in and discover shapes, colors, behaviors, gestalt.

This world is both immense and microscopic, and you are fully immersed. Your mind finds it calming and intriguing at the same time, otherworldly. Looking through binoculars is like arriving on an entirely different planet. It verges on psychedelic. You’ve never seen such variety, glimpsing high definition into the private life of birds.

Believing that animals are not ours to use in any way, simply watching birds without feeding them, keeping them, petting them or needing them to acknowledge us at all is a joyous freedom.

Summer birding in the Mojave Desert where I live requires waking early to catch the dawn chorus – a collective burst of birdsong and activity that happens just before and after sunrise – because once the sun takes over, birds seek stillness in the deepest shade they can find, and humans are relegated to inside endeavours. In cooler climates, your dawn chorus may extend into the morning, and if you live near water, birdlife will have a different flow entirely.

The only tool you need to get started is a good pair of binoculars. You can observe from your backyard, a neighborhood park, a preserve. It can be a solo experience, or you can join a group. Most communities have regular guided walks, which is a great way to learn and also make new friends.

There are spinoffs, too. While watching birds, you may become interested in the other animals you see. You might get excited about the native plants or enjoy taking photos. You might like to challenge yourself physically, seeking out long trails for endurance, or steep or technical ones that require skill and strength.

Pack water and bring enough food to sustain you. Try making a trail mix with your favorite raw nuts, seeds and dried fruits. If melting won’t be an issue, add dark chocolate chips. It’s cruelty-free and easy to eat one-handed while keeping your binos on the birds.

As an outdoor activity, birding can check the boxes of health, fitness, nutrition, adventure and mental well-being – and it does no harm. It’s a beautiful way to be with animals without possessing or controlling them.

And if you miss the dawn chorus, there’s another opportunity for summer birding: evensong. The birds reappear, gathering to sing and claim their nighttime territories before dark. As the heat dissipates and the air softens, it feels wonderful to stretch and venture out into the golden hour to join their sunset symphony.

The photos are of my birding friends at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve near Joshua Tree, California. Have you ever gone birding? Where do you live and what birds are you seeing? Connect at allie.irwin@gmail.com.