11,000 Bird Species–11,000 Names for The Spirit of the Universe
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A global storytelling project exploring the beauty, mystery, and meaning of the world’s birds — through encounters, journeys, and reflections.
Our Spiritual Birding Journey
Birding has always been more than an outdoor hobby for me. It’s a way of paying attention to the world — a way of stepping out of the noise of daily life and into a deeper, quieter place where wonder, presence, and meaning live. This site is built around that journey: the outer adventure of finding birds, of being with other birders , and the inner journey of learning from them.
Stories
The stories on this site are not simply about birds — they’re about people. Birding is the setting, the backdrop, the landscape in which human lives unfold. These stories explore friendship, loss, discovery, humor, fear, joy, and the unexpected moments that shape who we are. Birds appear in them, but the heart of each story is human: the ways we connect, the ways we change, and the ways the natural world helps us see ourselves more clearly.
Zen Birding
Alongside the stories is the inner journey — what I call Zen Birding. These writings are not abstract reflections; they are practical guidance shaped by real experiences. They explore how attention, humility, and openness can deepen the birding experience and bring peace, clarity, and joy into everyday life. Zen Birding is simply the practice of meeting birds — and ourselves — with presence. It is the spiritual dimension of this site, offered one chapter at a time.
Trips, Families, and Global Birding
The rest of the site shares the broader world that birding has opened for me.
Bird Trips offer windows into the places where these stories were born — forests, deserts, mountains, coastlines, and the quiet corners of the world where birds reveal themselves.
Bird Families provide a way to understand the structure of the avian world, helping new and experienced birders see patterns and relationships that make birding richer.
Global Birding reflects a lifetime of travel and learning, shaped by encounters with birds across more than seventy countries.
Together, these pieces form a single journey — one that moves between outer adventure and inner stillness, between the birds we see and the meaning they carry. Whether you come for the stories, the guidance, the science, or the sense of wonder, you’re welcome here. This is our shared journey.
Seeking the Blue Duck in New Zealand
Being one with the world-Haleakala Sunrise
Harpy Eagle- Spirit of the Universe
Featured Story
Yes-We are Brothers
A moment of connection with the Spirit of the Universe
Some encounters stay with you forever. This one began in the stillness of early morning, when a single bird appeared on the edge of the world and held my attention with a presence that felt both ancient and intimate. Encounters like this are why I bird — not for rarity or record‑keeping, but for the moments when a bird seems to look back and acknowledge you.
This story is the beginning of the journey I’m sharing here: a reminder that every bird carries meaning, and every encounter has the potential to shift how we see ourselves and the world.
Great Gray Owl
Recent Blog Posts
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Sample Stories & Zen Birding
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The Latest Members Only Stories & Zen Birdings
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Read My Accounts of Seeing Specific Bird Families
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Read Accounts of My Birding Trips-One at at Time
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From Boy Scout to International Birder
My interest in birds began as a Boy Scout in the early 1950s and, after a long interruption, came back to life during a natural-history trip to Hawaii in 1984.
What followed became a decades-long journey of birding around the world, first independently with little more than binoculars and a field guide, and later with local guides, fellow independent birders, regional specialists, and birding organizations.
Along the way, I developed the methods, resources, and perspectives that shaped my approach to international birding. On this page, I tell that story and share many of the tools and resources I have relied on, including information about taxonomy, eBird, Merlin, bird sounds, mapping, birding software, worldwide reference sources, guides, and tour operators.