Day Scott on Recovering with Help from Birds

BirdNote®
Day Scott on Recovering with Help from Birds
Written by Conor Gearin

Jonese Franklin: This is BirdNote. When she was working as an environmental educator, Day Scott says she was more excited about reptiles and plants than birds. But that changed for her after a car accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury.

[Mountain Chickadees and other birds calling]

Day Scott: After my accident, I wasn't able to talk clearly. I wasn't able to walk without assistance, and one of the things I used to do is go sit in my kitchen-dining room area. It had a really big picture window, and every morning I would have tea and just look out the window.

Jonese Franklin: The birds at Day’s feeder put on a show through the window.

[Red-breasted Nuthatch calls]

Day Scott: I started noticing bird behavior. And it made me laugh, because I would see birds basically swatting each other with their wings. And fighting over the feeder and being possessive of who could be at the feeder, even if it was, like, the same species.

[Dark-eyed Junco calls]

Day Scott: And as the seasons changed, I got more feeders. And I ended up with probably about 15 different species in my yard that I could observe.

Jonese Franklin: Day eventually began writing stories about the birds. She shared them with people along with her photos on Instagram.

Day Scott: It was the thing that took me away from basically the hurt and the heartbreak I was experiencing through all the therapies that didn't seem to be working at the time for me. And they were just my source of joy — and I just went with it.

[Red-breasted Nuthatch calls]

Jonese Franklin: Learn more about Day’s writing, photography, and bird research on our website, BirdNote dot org. I’m Jonese Franklin.