The benefits of befriending a birder
My daughter became a birder, and it's had some surprisingly positive effects on my life.

A couple years ago, my daughter, Sadie, began a gradual transformation that eventually led to her being able to honestly describe herself as "bird obsessed". Everywhere we go, I notice her staring up at trees, rooftops, and sometimes vaguely up and into the distance. When she was younger, she used to get lost in daydreams, and I thought this was just a remnant of that, but I've come to understand this is actually a product of intense focus and fascination- with our feathered neighbors.
I'm not sure exactly where this all started, but it was most likely rooted in her interest in photography. I'm told this is common: photographers become birders, and birders become photographers- it's a pretty natural progression.