Tag: magick

Birb journal

I have yet to find anyone who keeps bird notes beyond a list on ebird, so I setup my notebook my own way… Little bit log book, little bit nature journal, little bit grimoire.

Sharing because I love looking at other people’s notebooks so maybe you do too.

Photo of a bright blue notebook with a red elastic and pen loop and two ribbon bookmarks

Three sections: a big list, notes by species, and dated session notes… I am contemplating adding a section for omens 🔮

Photo of a handwritten notebook page. Contents Section 1: Life List Section 2: Bird Notes Section 3: Dated Notes

People have different rules for life lists… I have never been a serious birder but I have been a casual birder my whole life. Lot of girl guide badges and relatives who always bring binoculars. So I started my list from the beginning, from memory.

Photo of a handwritten notebook spread. Life List of Birds dedicated to Canada Geese, my first bird memories. A table spans both pages. Columns: #, Common Name, Latin Name, First Confirmed Encounter (Date, Place), Notes. Several birds are listed, starting with Canada Goose.

I thought about including birds I saw in zoos or rescue programs, but when I reflected on animals I have seen both caged and free I decided not too. It’s really different seeing flamingos on the loose.

Most of my notebooks are various grimoires so I am in the habit of dedicating them. Seemed apropos to dedicate each section of this one to a bird.

To make bird notes easy to look up I numbered them in the same order as the life list, but I feel no pressure to fill them all in. I don’t usually reserve sections in notebooks but this seemed worth it. Most commercial/pre-printed bird journals have a reserved section for each species.

Same as the bird list, I added old memories here.

Photo of an open notebook. Each page is divided in half by a horizontal line, and each block is numbered: 71, 72, 73, 74. 74 is filled out: Northern Saw-Whet Owl -- Aegolius acadicus. 24 Sep 2017-- Simon noticed a songbird ruckus out the bedroom window and spotted a lottle owl. Got to watch it all afternoon until it flew off after dark. Marion helped ID from a photo.

I like including notes by bird because it gives an easy way to figure out where to find them. I organize my urban foraging notebook this way too, by plant, so I can easily figure out options for gathering public fennel or plums or whatever.

Video from the day of that Northern Saw-whet bird note in 2017. Little owl sleeping in the city, directly outside my third floor bedroom window. Seems like sleeping in a windy tree might feel similar to sleeping on a boat.

I love this photo because you can see a chickadee perched above the owl, screaming, which is how I notice owls 90% of the time.

Photo taken through a window-- the frame and the slats of blinds are visible. Outside in a green leafy maple tree is a small owl and an even smaller chickadee

Dated notes section is the one part i did not add any retroactive info to. Just free pages to add notes from outings and classes if i want to. My goal is to include sketches even if they aren’t great.

Photo of a handwritten notebook page. Dated Notes - dedicated to Snow Owls and migration. 1 January 2026- Panama Flats (suburban wetland) Victoria BC with [redacted] There is a list of birds, a simple sketch of a turkey vulture wing, and a note that other birders explained turkey vultures have translucent wing feathers, unlike eagles or ravens

Other things I might eventually add to the bird journal: a checklist organized by bird family, space for goals like learning more local bird calls, and, for real, notes on bird omens because they are so dramatic sometimes.

Lol I just want to add that this is a photo of white paper that I took outdoors with southern exposure literally at noon. PNW winter gloom is no joke.

Grieve, ground, imagine, strategize

For anybody who needs support to stop spiralling these days, here is my current favourite active meditation practice for lefties. Kristianna Smith aka Mocha Einstein offers “Grieve, Ground, Imagine, Strategize”. Gently redirect that anxiety spiral into forward momentum.

I appreciate that you can do longer or shorter versions of this. I appreciate that it is oriented towards organizing and strategizing, without ignoring or bottling up the pain and grief. Organizing and strategizing are so good for mental and community health! But skipping over grief leads to bad organizing. The combo is much better.

I appreciate having a structured, somatic activity to move through a little bit of grief at a time. Keep things moving. I appreciate having directions for moving forward instead of spiraling. It is much easier to do “something else” rather than “stop”.

Not sure Kristianna would call themself a witch, but this is also some really solid time magic for any interested witches.