{"id":11059,"date":"2022-07-06t16:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-06t16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dpetrov.2create.studio\/planet\/wordpress\/how-one-trip-to-a-birding-hotspot-helped-me-overcome-my-fear\/"},"modified":"2023-03-21t19:42:17","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21t19:42:17","slug":"how-an-environmental-reporting-trip-to-one-of-the-nations-birding-capitals-helped-me-overcome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/how-an-environmental-reporting-trip-to-one-of-the-nations-birding-capitals-helped-me-overcome\/","title":{"rendered":"how one trip to a birding hotspot helped me overcome my fear"},"content":{"rendered":"
by sarah anderson<\/strong><\/p>\n
when i left chicago to embark on a month-long environmental reporting trip to sanibel island, florida, the fact that it is one of the nation\u2019s premier birding destinations wasn\u2019t one of its many appeals. in fact, i knew it would force me to confront my only tangible fear.<\/p>\n
it\u2019s a textbook case of childhood trauma. when i was 10, i was sitting on the toilet at home when i felt something rustle against my leg. i looked down to find a mourning dove that had entered the house through the chimney fluttering at my feet. i screamed, slammed the toilet lid closed and jumped on top. i was trapped at the end of my parents\u2019 long and narrow bathroom, the bird flapping in my face every time i tried to step down. after continued wailing, my dad rescued me, scooping me up and carrying me horizontally out of the bathroom like a human battering ram.<\/p>\n
needless to say, i wasn\u2019t the biggest fan of birds after that. <\/p>\n
but it seemed like most everyone else on sanibel was. on my first day there, i faced down a gauntlet of squawking parrots lining the entrance to the jerry\u2019s foods shopping center. later, a roseate spoonbill sighting on the side of the road stopped traffic. and at the sanibel-captiva conservation foundation (sccf) and j.n. \u201cding\u201d darling national wildlife refuge, the organizations whose research i was covering, surveys of bird species shed light on population trends and habitat use to inform conservation efforts. alas, it seemed i had no choice but to face my fear.<\/p>\n