West county couple leads birding excursions for beginners
West county couple leads birding excursions for beginners
Miles and Teresa Tuffli spread their love of birding to the community through hikes at Laguna de Santa Rosa, Armstrong Woods and other beloved spots in the area
This past Saturday I met up with Miles and Teresa Tuffli and a handful of other birdwatchers at the head of West County Regional Trail in Forestville. The Tufflis run these sorts of birdwatching hikes all around west county. Their “bread and butter,” they say, is to lead people (like me) who have never been birding before.
The Tufflis begin by instructing the participants on how to best use the binoculars. The most crucial tip, they say, is not to look down when you go to grab the binoculars but rather to keep your eyes on the bird as you bring the binoculars up to your face—that way you don’t lose track of the bird.
Right when the lesson is ending someone spots an American robin with worms in its mouth, and the birding helplessly and joyfully begins. For the next two hours, we slowly make our way no more than a mile into the trail, stopping often to point out a bird, discover it through our binoculars, and discuss the nature of the species.
Birding, I learn early on, is quite simple. While Miles and Teresa have the necessary experience and sensitivity to recognize the exact species of a bird just by their sound or appearance, the process of actually finding the bird is akin to a game of “iSpy.” I felt like a little kid again: accomplished just for finding something “red.”
Birding, I also learn, is a great equalizer. With the exception of improved binocular technology and understanding of bird species, the activity, like walking or running, is timeless. It does not require a fancy bike or a temperate windbreaker—all it requires is attention and curiosity.
Q&A with the Tufflis
After the excursion I reached out to the Tufflis to ask a few questions. Here are their responses:
Q: How did you get into birding and why do you love it?
A: Birds themselves are obviously very beautiful, awe-inspiring, and wonderful to look at and listen to, but what really hooked us with birding is how it slowed us down and tuned our senses into the natural world around us. There's a well-being and connective aspect to birding that really resonated with us. When you're paying attention to birds, you're not thinking about the past or worrying about the future. Instead, you're completely present with what's here right now. The very first time we went out with the intention of looking for and identifying birds, we spent a couple hours with our hand-me-down binoculars and an old field guide. When we returned home, we realized how good we both felt after those couple hours. So we went birding again the next day! One day led to another and another, and here we are!
Q: Why do you want to share it with other people?
A: We stumbled into guiding when a friend of ours asked us to fill in for him and give a beginners birding walk for the 2019 Point Reyes Birding and Nature Festival. Although we'd only been birding for a few years at that point, we hesitantly agreed. We had an absolute blast and felt energized after the event, and the positive feedback we received gave us confidence to do it again. We receive so much joy sharing our passion with people who are interested in birding but don't quite know how to get started or simply want some help with spotting and identifying birds. Hearing someone exclaim in delight when they see their first bird through binoculars is a heartwarming moment for us and really helps keep our own sense of wonder alive. Watching someone's connection to nature deepen in front of our eyes is truly awe-inspiring!
Q: And then what is so special about birding specifically in West County?
A: West County is special because it's where we live and spend most of our days. If we lived elsewhere, that place would feel special too ☺️. That said, we're truly lucky to live in Sonoma County where there are so many regional parks and public open spaces, along with great birding year-round, even in the dead of winter. The four seasons each offer a different mix of bird species, and we have a wide variety of habitats to explore, from old-growth redwoods, to oak woodlands, to wetlands, to our beautiful coastline.
Birds we saw along the trail
Here’s a list of all 28 of the birds we saw or heard from 5-7:30 p.m. this past Saturday along West County Regional Trail (click the link on the name of the bird for a description):
Number observed: 2
Number observed: 4
Number observed: 1
Number observed: 2
Number observed: 1
Number observed: 2
Number observed: 2
Number observed: 1
Number observed: 6
Number observed: 1
Number observed: 3
Number observed: 2
Number observed: 4
Number observed: 4
Number observed: 8
Number observed: 1
Number observed: 1
Number observed: 2
Number observed: 2
Number observed: 1
Number observed: 4
Number observed: 1
Number observed: 4
Number observed: 4
Number observed: 6
Number observed: 1
Number observed: 1
Number observed: 2
Links and more photos
The Tufflis are guiding a couple of birding tours this weekend. Here’s a link to those trips and future ones that each cost $25: imbirdingrightnow.com/bird-walks. That website, imbirdingrightnow.com, also contains a number of blog posts and general tips for birding.
Below is a selfie along with a few more pictures from our afternoon/evening!
