Less Birding And More Birdwatching

I never plan to stop watching birds but my level of interest in it changes along with the ebb and flow of life. This year I plan to break all of my self-imposed rules. I will go outside of my county to chase a bird if I feel like it, and pay less attention to eBird. No rules, just spontaneity.

   In the beginning, watching birds was easy and relaxing. As the years go on you start to see more and more species. You become more aware of what you have or haven't seen and then start to become more serious about things like proper identification and documentation, particularly using eBird-(Snow Bunting above photo).I want to get back to that feeling just watching birds just for the simple joy of it, without making a list or having any particular plan-(Dunlin above).It will just be a natural part of taking a walk or a hike. Overthinking it has taken away taken away some of the joy of simplicity-(Common Eider).