Feeling stressed? Bird watching is good therapy.

A broker we once knew told me that bird watching was a good way to relieve stress. I think he read it in the Wall Street Journal. I believed him because, first, I agreed with it, and, second, he knew something about stress when he sold us some forgotten stocks.

It came to mind one morning as I sat by the window in a cabin in the woods, watching the goldfinches coming and going from the feeder. It was a wonderfully mindless activity.

I just watched until I realized I was idle and thought about not thinking about anything, and that’s when the broker crept in.

When I started birding, things were pretty tense. It stayed that way for years. Roger Tory Peterson painted hundreds of birds in his books and these were the carrots on my bird stick. I wanted to see them all.

His books gave me a general idea of ​​where the birds were, as in the green section of this tiny North American range map. Yes, but WHERE in the southwest?

Then I discovered checklists. Checklists are site specific. Birds are on the list because someone has seen them in a very specific area, often as small as a park or sanctuary.

The draw was irresistible. I went. I flew. I was wandering. I never stood still for more than a minute. I had a great time. Then I needed a 12-step program.

Many years later, I can contentedly look out the window at ordinary birds going about their daily activities. When I think about them, the question is how and why, not what and where.