Kate Kampner and Camryn Woods are reporters with the Community News Service, part of the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.
ENOSBURG — The percentage of Vermont residents who make an outing out of observing birds is greater than any other state in the nation, according to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. It’s no wonder — the state’s diverse ecosystems, from lakeside wetlands to hardwood forests, make it a hotspot for a variety of birds.
For Enosburg resident Bridget Butler, these outings have defined both a lifestyle and a business. Self-monikered the “Bird Diva,” Butler has been practicing and teaching a new form of birding for the last 11 years called “Slow Birding.”
The act of birding gained traction in the 1800s when individuals would go out and physically collect specimens. Nowadays, traditional birding typically consists of collecting the names of unique or interesting birds that one has observed. In some cases, it has taken a competitive form where birders try to be the first one to spot a species.
Butler’s Slow Birding is the most recent evolution in the activity’s lifespan. Butler said her form of birding is more “intentional,” and invites birders to slow down and be present with the birds while also connecting with the landscape.
“In traditional birding, we don’t talk about how birds make us feel or what they remind us of or where birds can take us in our own life experience,” she said.
Her business, Butler said, stemmed from her move to Vermont and from smaller birding gigs she operated while working for the Vermont Audubon Society. After eight years of traditional birding experience, she realized that she had been yearning for a more contemplative practice.
“I followed what felt good and what helped me feel like my most authentic self,” she said. “So, that was sitting in place. That was watching birds for longer periods of time on a regular basis in the same spot over and over again. I wanted to linger.”
Butler hosts Friday morning coffee sessions, Slow Birding retreats, and birding events throughout the year.
During her outings, Butler follows a three-part framework. The first part allows her participants to become aware of the birds on the landscape by encouraging them to describe what they see as a group, rather than asking them to immediately identify a bird.
During the second part of her outings, Butler asks participants to sit alone in nature for 45 minutes and journal about what they notice. She gives them prompts but lets them decide what they want to do with the time.
The third part brings them back as a group to discuss their observations. Butler said that this framework lets members of all birding skills participate equally.
“I’m constantly surprised by how it moves people,” Butler said.
Erin Creley, a St. Albans resident, has been attending Butler’s bird walks, weekend retreats and coffee talks for the last five years. She found Slow Birding during the 2020 pandemic when her work in healthcare felt overwhelming.
“Slow Birding has given me a language to describe the feelings I’m having when I’m in nature; the joy that I have, the awe,” Creley said.
This practice isn’t without its difficulties though. Any outdoor activity is subject to the unpredictability of nature.
This July, for example, Butler cancelled her second Slow Birding outing after air quality levels reached above 160, which is considered “unhealthy” by the U.S. Air Quality Index.
“Climate has its way,” Butler said. “When you lead people, their care and safety is in your hands.”
As a result of these weather events, Butler now has thresholds for air quality, rain, snow and extreme heat and cold.
Fortunately, Butler said that she hasn’t had to cancel an event due to flooding simply due to the timing and location of her outings. If she does encounter a conflict in the future, though, she always has a backup date planned.
Despite the unpredictability of the weather, Butler said her membership is strong. Along with connecting with the landscape, participants have also voiced an appreciation for the community-building aspect of the birding outings.
“It was great to breathe and talk birds with people around me,” said Diane Brown, a frequent birder and participant of Butler’s sessions. “They were all there for the same reason.”
Brown said the sessions take her back to an old-school mindset that prompted her love for birding. Brown’s been birding for almost 40 years and has seen firsthand how birding culture has changed over time.
“It’s no longer about the birds,” she said in regards to traditional birding culture which she felt has been overtaken by competition and technology. “I like how (Butler) encouraged our own experience rather than the experience of computer technology,” Brown said.
With Butler, Brown said “It’s about where I stand, what I’m looking at, what I’m hearing. Who I’m with.”
Despite having her outings and retreats in Vermont, Butler doesn’t limit her teachings to just the one state. She also offers online Slow Birding courses, which has allowed birders from across the country to access her methodologies.
Joy Rochester, a North Carolina resident, is one of them. She took her first course with Butler a year and a half ago, which consisted of six two-hour-long classes — one of which she participated in during a trip to Arizona.
“It was really neat to observe what was around me in Arizona, because I’m not used to those birds and those sounds. Even the air around me [was] different,” Rochester said. “I realized then I could transfer what I was learning to a lot of different places and be better at sensing things around me.”
