Episode 4: The Power of Birdwatching with Dr. Angelika Nelson

05/17/23 • 36 min

In this episode, Holly & Holly wing their way across the Atlantic to visit with Dr. Angelika Nelson an acoustic ornithologist who works for the LBV (Landesbundfür Vogel- und Naturschutz ) in Germany, and the lead author of the new book “The Power of Birdwatching” (Freya, 2023). Angelika shares how birds can teach us life-lessons and be a positive distraction in our daily lives, along with insight into why birdsong makes us feel so good.

Recordist Beatrix Saadi-Varchmin’s Blue Tit and Common Nightingale songs are featured in accompaniment of Angelika’s interview. Learn more about Beatrix here: https://vogelgetwitter.de/

Our Mindful Birding Nerding Science Segment Dr. Holly Thomas explores a European study that measures life satisfaction and analyzes the correlation between life satisfaction and living around bird diversity. This study found a correlation of life satisfaction and bird diversity that were on the same scale as life satisfaction and income. Listen to learn more!

Holly Thomas quotes Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring for words of inspiration.

Listen to the bird heard singing which prompted recordist Chris Benesh drop everything he was working on, to give the song his full attention in our Joy of Birdsong segment.

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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Recordist Beatrix Saadi-Varchmin’s Blue Tit and Common Nightingale songs are featured in accompaniment of Angelika’s interview. Learn more about Beatrix here: https://vogelgetwitter.de/

Holly Thomas quotes Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring for words of inspiration.

Listen to the bird heard singing which prompted recordist Chris Benesh drop everything he was working on, to give the song his full attention in our Joy of Birdsong segment.

Previous Episode

Episode 3: Mindful Birding - Perspectives and Practices

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In this episode, Mindful Birding Network members Aaric Eisenstein, Roniq Bartanen and Matthew Young, along with co-hosts Holly Thomas and Holly Merker, all provide tips, insights, and perspectives, that demonstrate how individualized the practice of Mindful Birding can be.
Let your mind escape while listening to Wendell Berry’s “The Peace of Wild Things” and reflect on how nature and birds bring you to a calmer headspace.

In our Mindful Birding Nerding science segment, Dr. Holly Thomas summarizes a recent study that suggests that Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) can have the same effect as a well-known pharmaceutical in the SSRI class, posing the question of whether or not Mindful Birding might have those same beneficial effects.
Recordist Chris Benesh transports us to Australia for our Joy of Birdsong spotlight, as he shares the echoing and ethereal sounds of a Pied Butcherbird singing at dawn.

Next Episode

Episode 5: Mindful Birding is for Everyone

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In this episode, we share why Mindful Birding is truly for everyone, and how Mindful Birding is gaining a wider awareness as a style of birding within the birding community, as larger birding festivals give a nod by featuring programming and offering Keynotes surrounding this style of birding.

Holly Thomas explores the wide welcome Mindful Birding offers for all people, and how to bring mindfulness into any birding style that you love, or bring mindfulness to a new style of birding that you would like to explore.

Holly Merker chats with Bridget Butler, AKA the BirdDiva, about their recent experiences at The Biggest Week in American Birding festival, and how Mindful Birding played a role in both the programming and in birding styles at this enormously popular event.

In our Mindful Birding Nerding science segment, Holly Thomas explains “Doc Log” as a form of medicine and covers the “Doses of Neighborhood Nature: The Benefits of Health of Living with Nature” and what health benefits we are receiving from time in nature, and what we miss when we don’t have that time.

Is Winnie the Pooh a Mindful Birder? Holly Merker reads an excerpt from the book “The Tao of Pooh: The principles of Taoism demonstrated by Winnie-the Pooh” by Benjamin Hoff, that gives you the answer.

Chris Benesh takes us to Ulva Island, New Zealand to experience the sounds of the New Zealand Bellbird as it transports you back in time.
Other links from this episode:
The Art of Mindful Birdwatching by Claire Thompson
Southeast Arizona Birding Festival
Freya McGregor
Article: Why Birds and Their Songs are Good for Our Mental Health by R. Sima