Typically, when I download an app, I'm tip hunting from Bon Appétit on how best to blacken catfish or how to master chicken roasting. But a month ago, I was out sitting on Galveston Island, an hour south of Houston in the Gulf of Mexico, downloading something called eBird. And then I was downloading its companion app, Merlin. eBird tracks your bird watching route, where you check off what you’ve seen, and Merlin helps identify what’s local to your area. Apparently, I’m more dedicated to finding where the white ibis nests than I am to embracing a stranger I met off Hinge.
This wasn’t always the case. But at my house I have a hummingbird feeder, and I love to watch them dip their long beaks into the sugary nectar substitute hanging off the ledge near the kitchen table window. When one approaches, it’s a silent meditation, watching their wings move at Mach 5 while they take a sip. I started sitting in my backyard, leaving my phone in the house, just watching the grackles on the power lines, chattering away in their particular language. There are also roadrunners cruising around town, and every once in a while, you’ll see one dart across the neighborhood. Say what you want about birds, but no one can deny roadrunners are so cool they modeled a car and an iconic cartoon character after them. Can’t say the same about Wile E. Coyote.
