You have binoculars but haven’t been using them recently when looking at birds. This is known among birders as “naked birding.”
It’s widely practiced by the confident, complacent and otherwise preoccupied. You could look it up. And it’s not advisable behavior in the bird-busy season of spring.
Example: in a freshly greened-up suburban neighborhood, you see a flock of birds crowding and fussing around somebody’s backyard feeder.
As far as stopping to observe all this, a part of you feels: “Been there, done that.” You know there will be some late-leaving juncos, downy woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, the usual gang.
Besides, you’re not on a quest in the woods, but merely on a neighborhood dog walk. Still, you stop.
A slightly different bird in that crowd catches your eye. You linger. You send a mental message to that interesting bird saying, “Don’t move.” And make a quick trip home to get your binoculars.
Minutes later you return, not naked. Old habits don’t go away easily. You take a look, focus in…
Whoa. What? A Northern Waterthrush? Ovenbird? Swainson’s Thrush? Veery? It’s on the ground, this oddly reddish bird. Got interesting markings—maybe a Wood Thrush?
Focus, man. That’s no thrush; it’s a late-migrating Fox Sparrow. An old-time personal favorite, with its streaked front, rusty plumage and long tail. Been a while since you’ve seen one. The thought hits: maybe you’re the one who’s rusty, m’friend.
But now you’re feeling like your old self. Binoculars in hand, you’re not doing the “naked birding” thing. You’re a little energized. The way you like to feel, especially in spring around here. There’s a lot going on.
Yeah, every once in a while, you gotta bring the world into sharper view, close in on it, make it part of your day. You gotta get back to being the two-fisted birdwatcher you always were and still are.
Forget naked. Hell, you just saw a Fox Sparrow.
You had me at “naked.” Although I suspected wordplay. And yes, I’ve heard of naked birding but not for a while. And the Fox Sparrow is also a favorite of mine although I’ve only seen one in a long birding lifetime. An enjoyable read.