I have always been unusually interested in birds. It’s hard for me to have a conversation longer than a couple of minutes without the subject turning to birds, because both my work and how I spend my spare time tend to involve them in some capacity. My parents helped to encourage this passion, bringing me on hikes and naturalist club meetings from a young age. As a result, I was well connected with other bird-lovers through my childhood and teens, and my avian interest seemed normal. It wasn’t until well into my undergraduate years that I noticed that the way I spent my time and energy was quite unusual. I started thinking about what had attracted me to birds in particular and found it surprisingly challenging to pin down. 

Yes, there’s the flight, the colors, the feathers, but those don’t seem to get to the point.