The crow’s wings flap intensely. The arc of its vertebrae steepens and then flattens out. Its target, a red-taild hawk, shifts its weight to avoid being mobbed. The crows partner cackles and then takes its turn. The three birds fly to the south to find another location for their game. It’s winter and the views […]
By the time you finish the Kamana program you will have done at least 52 Field Inventories. That’s quite a few. Field Inventories are a part of almost every single Field Exercise. What I’m trying to say is, they will become or already are a core routine for you if you are serious about doing […]
Feeding wild birds doesn’t have to be expensive but once you start you should not stop feeding during the winter, once the birds become used to your feeding stations. You can stop feeding in the spring once insects and other fruits become available. Once most people start feeding wild birds, they don’t want to stop […]
Going to your sit spot is one of the core routines that we teach at Wilderness Awareness School. It’s a simple, powerful experience that enables you to be more present and connected in your day-to-day life. It can be really fun to have permission to simply sit, observe, and be present. It doesn’t take much […]
I still remember very clearly the first 24 hours after my first daughter was born. All of the reality seemed lit by an incredible light, and I felt like a different person. I remember dropping my wife and our newborn Katie off at the house and then getting ready to rush to the grocery store. […]
I began this program with a relationship to fire similar to others who have grown up camping and enjoying the occasional winter night by the living room fire. I loved playing music with friends and family around a fire pit at the campsite. I loved making a fire in the fireplace on a chilly December […]
Imagine for a moment that first day of spring, when you wake up in the morning and the sun is rising in the east, the new green plants and shoots are emerging from the earth. The lovely songbirds have returned from their winter migration and are singing in the bushes outside your house. This is […]
Listening to birds and watching bird behavior allows us to become aware of animal activity, to sneak up on wildlife or unsuspecting friends, and to enhance our senses. In my year at Wilderness Awareness School’s The Immersion at Wilderness Awareness School, in Duvall, Washington, I explored the school’s teachings about birds, bird watching, and awareness. […]
Bird Language is a big passion of mine, so I’m always keeping my eyes and ears open for mysterious bird alarms on the landscape. It’s always really exciting on those occasions when I hear an alarm, especially when I can use that to predict exactly where an animal is, what that animal is likely to […]
A Redstart gleams glossy black and is gone. Kinglets trickle past me, their high calls scattering south. Bird migration is in full swing. The birds may be finding their way by seeing the magnetic fields of the earth by virtue of magnetite crystals in their brains, internal compasses that let them perceive magnetism as we […]