The Mindful Birding Podcast

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In this episode we welcome Dr. Barbara Patterson from Fort Collins Colorado. Barb’s work of creating and contributing to the Mindful Birding programs in her community is tremendous. Her latest endeavor is called The Mindful Birding Project, and she shares the details with us here.

Barb authored the booklet A Mindful Birding Journey which was first distributed to cancer patients in her local community, and can be found as a free download on the mindful birding network’s resources page. 

 Holly Thomas shares a reading from writing of Ed Yong, and how this so beautifully intertwines with mindful birding.

 Chris Benesh returns in this episode's Joy of Birdsong segment, sharing some special moments he had with a Brown-backed Solitaire in Oaxaca Mexico. 

Intro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Intro Birdsong & Clips throughout : Western Meadowlark
Outro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Outro Birdsong: Eastern Meadowlark
Mindful Birding Network Website
Instagram: @mindfulbirdingnetwork
Produced by Co-hosts Holly Merker and Holly Thomas

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In this episode, Holly and Holly discuss locations and sites we consider optimal for Mindful Birding group outings, and highlight why sitting in one spot, or Sit Spots, can offer rewards and unexpected surprises.

We discuss why we feel Mindful Birding is gaining more traction, and how Mindful Birding experiences can intersect other interests, such as poetry, fine arts, yoga, nature journaling, mothing, and forest bathing. 

Check out artist Debra Ramsay and her show Flying Colors at the Hunterdon Art Museum in New Jersey, and our collaborative event pairing Debra’s work with Mindful Birding 

 Other links from this episode:

 Southeastern Arizona Birding Festival

Wings Over Water NW Birding Festival

Whitehawk Birding's Ornitherapy Retreats

Acadia Birding Festival

Bird Diva

Tammah Watts

Red Rock Audubon’s Mindful Birding Poetry Walk

Three Wattled Bellbird

Talamanca Hummingbird

Check out upcoming Mindful Birding Retreats and Slow Birding Weekends 

The Art of Mindful Birdwatching

The Bison Range

Lazuli Bunting 

Intro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Intro Birdsong & Clips throughout : Western Meadowlark
Outro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Outro Birdsong: Eastern Meadowlark
Mindful Birding Network Website
Instagram: @mindfulbirdingnetwork
Produced by Co-hosts Holly Merker and Holly Thomas

Send us a text

In this episode Holly & Holly continue to answer questions we’ve received about Mindful Birding in part II of Mindful Birding – Your Questions Answered.

We also continue our chat with therapist Pamela Lowell, who turns the tables on us, and asks us some questions about how we met and started this podcast. 

 In our Mindful Birding Nerding segment, Holly Thomas explores why birds might be the perfect gateway to mindfulness practice, and explores open monitoring and focused attention, and how they may improve wellbeing.  

Holly Thomas reads a quote from Carl Safina's newest book Alfie and Me

 We’re happy to have Chris Benesh sharing an encounter he had along the Sabinal River in the Hill Country of central Texas in late April for this installment of the Joy of Birdsong. Within the soundscape, you can hear up to 10 species, 

 If you are enjoying our podcast, please consider giving us a rating on your podcasting platform! Also, if there’s something you want to hear more about, please let us know by contacting us 

Intro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Intro Birdsong & Clips throughout : Western Meadowlark
Outro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Outro Birdsong: Eastern Meadowlark
Mindful Birding Network Website
Instagram: @mindfulbirdingnetwork
Produced by Co-hosts Holly Merker and Holly Thomas

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In this episode, Holly and Holly spend time talking with trauma therapist, artist, and author Pamela Lowell, and how Mindful Birding and time spent connecting with birds and nature can be an effective therapeutic vehicle not only for human wellbeing, but also for the wellbeing of our planet.
Find Pamela's book My Summer with Ospreys here

Holly Merker offers a quote by the Tao te Ching
 
Holly Thomas shares how a pause can bring us into the present moment, and how this can help guide us in Mindful Birding and in life.  In this segment, Holly quotes Tara Brach's - The Sacred Pause, and reads the poem called "The Clearing" by by Martha Postlethwaite, from her book  Addiction and Recovery: A spiritual pilgrimage

In our Joy of Birdsong segment, Holly Thomas shares the song of the  Black-chinned Sparrow she encounters in New Mexico. 

Intro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Intro Birdsong & Clips throughout : Western Meadowlark
Outro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Outro Birdsong: Eastern Meadowlark
Mindful Birding Network Website
Instagram: @mindfulbirdingnetwork
Produced by Co-hosts Holly Merker and Holly Thomas

Send us a text

In this episode of the Mindful Birding Podcast, Holly & Holly answer some of the questions received surrounding Mindful Birding. This episode is part one of our discussion, and we hope you enjoy.
If you have questions or comments, please contact us at [email protected]  or through the Mindful Birding Network

Holly Merker shares a segment from Dr. Alexander Skutch's writing on companionship and connections of the birds we encounter from the book The Life of the Hummingbird
In this segment, we hear an audio recording of Skutch's beloved Bicolored Antbird created by birder and naturalist Jonathan Irons

In the Mindful Birding Nerding segment, Holly Thomas explores two studies surrounding the impact of nature on healing, including Dr. Roger Ulrich's landmark study looking at how a view through a window impacts recovery for hospitalized patients recovering from surgery, and the psycho-evolutionary theory, which demonstrates how the natural world impacts our feelings of wellbeing.

For the Joy of Birdsong segment, we Hollys share some audio postcards from our recent travels around the US.
Here you will hear songs and sounds from the following birds:
Pacific Wren, Cassin's Sparrow,  Black-capped Vireo,  and Golden-cheeked Warbler.
Locations of recordings  include:
Birch Bay State Park,  South Llano River State Park,  Pedernales Falls State Park

Intro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Intro Birdsong & Clips throughout : Western Meadowlark
Outro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Outro Birdsong: Eastern Meadowlark
Mindful Birding Network Website
Instagram: @mindfulbirdingnetwork
Produced by Co-hosts Holly Merker and Holly Thomas

Send us a text

In this episode,  Holly & Holly gather with their friends Brian Cunningham and John Shaust of the Nature Centered Podcast, a podcast from Wild Birds Unlimited. 

Brian and John share some perspectives on why bringing birds in closer benefits us, experiences and connections with birds from their own backyards, and why birds can be companions wherever we go.  We touch on why the interest in bird feeding took off during the pandemic, how bird feed & supply stores act as "wellness centers" in their communities.

Holly Thomas reads an excerpt on Woodcocks from Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac,  and throughout the podcast we hear the voices of several of the birds who are talked about, including: Carolina Chickadee,  Canada Warbler,  White-throated Sparrow,  Hermit Thrush,  and Wood Thrush (sound recordings in this episode by Holly Merker). 

Intro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Intro Birdsong & Clips throughout : Western Meadowlark
Outro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Outro Birdsong: Eastern Meadowlark
Mindful Birding Network Website
Instagram: @mindfulbirdingnetwork
Produced by Co-hosts Holly Merker and Holly Thomas

Send us a text

In this episode of the Mindful Birding Podcast, Holly & Holly share why birds are truly heart healthy, both in the way they fill our hearts with joy and love, but also with cardiac fitness in mind. 
How can wild birds help make our hearts stronger?  Our connections to other people and animals can sometimes synch our biorhythms, and even our heartbeats, and we wonder if this also happens when we connect with the wild birds around us.  

 We spotlight the bird with the biggest heart, and Holly Merker shares a guided hummingbird visualization adapted from the book Ornitherapy 

The poet Julia Travers generously shared some of her writing with us, and she’ll read a beautiful piece of her work honoring birds in this episode.

 In the Mindful Birding Nerding Science Segment, Holly Thomas delves into some of the research surrounding green spaces and cardiac health and specifically the effect of nature prescriptions on cardiometabolic health in particular 

In the Joy of Birdsong, Holly Thomas brings us with her as she enjoys the beautiful song of the Crissal Thrasher in her backyard in New Mexico

Other references mentioned:
Joseph Campbell
Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg
Music and Heartbeat
Two Hearts Beat as One - Dogs and their Humans

Intro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Intro Birdsong & Clips throughout : Western Meadowlark
Outro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Outro Birdsong: Eastern Meadowlark
Mindful Birding Network Website
Instagram: @mindfulbirdingnetwork
Produced by Co-hosts Holly Merker and Holly Thomas

Send us a text

In this episode of the Mindful Birding Podcast, Holly & Holly invite you into a conversation  surrounding the idea of wild birds as companions, and specifically how birds may offer the opportunity to ease feelings of loneliness and boost our feelings of connectedness. 

We discuss the US Surgeon General’s 2023 Advisory on the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation and lack of social connection in the United States  and wonder if birds might be an antidote?  

 In the Mindful Birding Nerding Segment, Holly Thomas explores the connection between mindfulness and loneliness, and dives into a study that examines how mindfulness training may offset feelings of loneliness and cultivate acceptance and equanimity. Holly carries the study's outcomes a step further and into Mindful Birding, and explains how Mindful Birding garners some of these same benefits. 

Holly Thomas shares an inspiring excerpt from the Stephen Batchelor book The Art of Solitude 

 In the Joy of Birdsong, Holly Merker shares a winter soundscape from her backyard in Pennsylvania, and wonders if birdsong can alleviate not just winter doldrums, but also seasonal affective disorder. 

Intro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Intro Birdsong & Clips throughout : Western Meadowlark
Outro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Outro Birdsong: Eastern Meadowlark
Mindful Birding Network Website
Instagram: @mindfulbirdingnetwork
Produced by Co-hosts Holly Merker and Holly Thomas

Send us a text

In this episode of the mindful birding podcast, we are exploring gratitude and how practicing gratitude for birds can deepen our relationships with them and the world around us. 

 We asked our listeners and Mindful Birding Network members to share their own gratitude for birds, and why they were thankful for birds in their lives. 

We thank the following people for sharing their gratitude for birds with us: 

Jo from California, Marta from Panama, Amanda, Holly from Las Cruces, NM, Marge from Las Cruces, NM, Melissa from British Columbia, Candi Lynn, Joan from Seattle, Barb from NC, Alex from Las Vegas, NV, Jenn from Panama, Whitney from Indiana, Seth from Maine.

 In our Mindful Birding Nerding, Holly Thomas covers the science of Gratitude and features the work of Robert Emmons  which demonstrates why practicing gratitude is beneficial to our wellbeing. A powerul a quote from an article by Scott Weidensaul illustrates the magic that birds hold for us. 

 Holly Merker shares the poem “Daily Thanksgiving” inspired by the “Great Thanksgiving Address”, or the Daily Thanksgiving of the Onondaga Nation and Haudenosunee Confederacy, indigenous peoples of New York state. To learn more about the Great Thanksgiving watch this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uDMS-5JeEo&t=6s

 In the Joy of Birdsong, Chris Benesh shares gratitude for his dad, who inspired his passion for nature and birds. Chris invites us to experience an audio souvenir of a very special trip to Belize he took with his dad prior to his death. You’ll hear sounds from Melodious Blackbird, Short-billed Pigeon, House Wren, Masked Tityra, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Mayan Antthrush, and Rose-throated Becard. 

Intro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Intro Birdsong & Clips throughout : Western Meadowlark
Outro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Outro Birdsong: Eastern Meadowlark
Mindful Birding Network Website
Instagram: @mindfulbirdingnetwork
Produced by Co-hosts Holly Merker and Holly Thomas

Send us a text

In this episode, we explore the concept of Prescriptive Nature, and gain a better understanding of how and where these prescriptions are being used today in preventative medicine across the globe. 

 Special guest Dr. Joe Blanda MD discusses the ParkRX program and shares how he prescribed nature to his own patients while a practicing orthopedic surgeon, and continues this initiative through projects in his local community in Akron Ohio. 

 Holly Thomas shares the poem The Cure For It All by Julia Fehrenbacher

In the Mindful Birding Nerding Science Segment, Holly Thomas explores why Prescriptive Nature might face hurdles in traditional medical settings, and highlights some of the work going on in Poland, specifically that of two pioneers in the area of the therapeutic benefits of birding  Dr. Piotr Tryjanowski  Dr. Slawomir Murawiec, and Dr. Katarzyna Simonienko - specifically her article on Therapeutic Ornithology

 For our Joy of Birdsong segment, Holly & Holly bring you with them on a slow walk through an autumn landscape in southeastern Pennsylvania, sharing a few moments of their wondrous encounter with a pair of dueting Great Horned Owls 

 We invite you, our listeners, to share moments of gratitude you have with or for birds in our upcoming episode centering around Gratitude. Please email us before Nov.20. 2023 your recordings of gratitude, one minute or less, to:  [email protected] 

 Other Links:
Japanese results of prescriptive nature: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/13/8/781
WHO Paper: https://www.un.org/en/un-chronicle/state-mental-health-globally-wake-covid-19-pandemic-and-progress-who-special-initiative
Dr. Katarzyna Simonienko  https://www.forest-therapy.pl/en/forest-therapy/
Slawomir Murawiec
https://naturallybalanced.org/en/author/slawomirmurawiec/
Birding during COVID - http://www.psychiatria.com.pl/artykul.php?a=941
Nature and Mental Health: Birding is a Proven Solution https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9623220/

Intro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Intro Birdsong & Clips throughout : Western Meadowlark
Outro music: “Inspired by Nature” by PlayAgain
Outro Birdsong: Eastern Meadowlark
Mindful Birding Network Website
Instagram: @mindfulbirdingnetwork
Produced by Co-hosts Holly Merker and Holly Thomas