Mindful Birdwatching with the CHPL Bird Nerds

Join the CHPL Bird Nerds at Hauck Botanic Garden for some Saturday morning mindful birdwatching--it's free!

What is Mindful Birdwatching? It’s birdwatching quietly, intentionally, and calmly while engaging with the natural world around you! Traditional bird watching is often associated with bird checklists, field guides, and carrying binoculars or cameras, which can all be fun, but we’re inviting you to come to enjoy a more meditative approach.

Even in the heart of urban areas, birds abound. They can be found in the tiniest of neighborhood parks, in the tree outside your window, or even on your fire escape. Our 10-acre Hauck Botanic Garden home has plenty--even though it's minutes from downtown Cincinnati.

Birdwatching is also the ideal activity to combine with the practice of mindfulness. Due to the amazing diversity in the avian world, there are infinite numbers of things to appreciate about birds. They are beautiful, funny, fascinating, surprising, mysterious and awe- inspiring. They also have a great deal to teach us about mindfulness, happiness and life itself. Being mindful of birds will only invite more beauty, fun and wisdom into our lives.

- “The Art of Mindful Birdwatching” by Claire Thompson

We hope to inspire you to be more mindful of the beauty of nature that is here for everyone to enjoy!