By Olivia Bautch
If we were brutally honest, we’d admit that we see the majority of humankind as passerby or movie extras in our personal “main character” moments. It’s a lot easier to be honest about how we see birds; we’re far more familiar with the birder-versus-birdwatcher stereotypes proliferated through podcasts and magazines.
One group considers each winged thing a tick-mark on an app. Another prefers to “just be” with the creatures, no identification needed. Several months ago, pop culture blog, PopSugar, framed birding as the latest “hot-girl” fad—whatever that means.
We can look at this through a more uncomfortable lens as well. Your neighbors and colleagues might discard a keystone species you fight for like the Whooping Crane or Kirtland’s Warbler as gimmicky representatives of more bad news to tune out or another woke agenda. We’re anti-progress or anti-patriot because we want to preserve remnants of our primitive garden. We’re simultaneously anti-minority or anti-diversity because the demographic makeup of our birding club remains uniform.
Nothing good comes from this. No matter where you stand on those statements, I can bet we all can agree just how well division is working on a large scale. In reality, a bird does not know what its name is. But somehow instinctually, it does know what its role is.
Introducing Three Champions of Local Birds
Remember 2020? (Do you even want to?) Back then, Amos Butler Audubon’s newsletter publication LifeLines featured a project by the now inactive group, Rogue Birders, photographing an array of faces of the hobby.
The new year feels like a good time to revisit this. Several past, present, and new contributors to Amos Butler Audubon Society were gracious enough to lend me their unique perspectives on birds, environmentalism, and humanity. It is my—our—hope that a peek into their lives can bring our community of bird-lovers closer.
Chuck Anderson was ABAS’ fearless President for six years until this past February. He says he feels duty to protect birds as “an Eagle Scout with merit badges in Conservation, Forestry, Nature, Camping, and Hiking.” I wanted to hear which animal species might represent the writers’ socio-cultural backgrounds. Chuck answers with “The American Bald Eagle. As a young adult in the early 60s, I used to drive from the Chicagoland area to the quad cities to view and photograph bald eagles. I am greatly thankful that they have made an epic recovery and now flourish in most areas of the US.”
Chuck is old enough to remember this recovery; however Pat Stutz, the new Conservation Chair for ABAS, is not. “I feel like I’ve always had a “sense of duty” towards not just towards the environment, but people as well. I’ve always been an incredibly empathetic person; I hate to see suffering. So, I make it my mission in life to reduce the amount of suffering that not only I experience, but others as well.”
Which animal represents this? “Definitely toads!” Pat elaborates, “They are generally a disliked and underrated animal in comparison with their much beloved family member, the frog. There is a story in Yaqui culture where the toad works together with other animals and shows bravery in the face of adversity in order to bring rain to the desert. In this, the toad is supposed to teach us perseverance, collective responsibility, and to be grateful for the gifts the earth gives us.”
Donna McCarty, longtime champion of ABAS currently serving on the Birdathon Committee shares, “Whenever I would learn about an animal becoming extinct or near extinction I would feel a deep sense of loss.” She didn’t choose an animal to represent her, but you can find her teaching with Freyja the Peregrine Falcon every week at Eagle Creek Park. Fierce and respected, Freyja is a lady representing the park, just like Donna.
Sense of Duty: Where Does It Come From?
In the field of environmental interpretation, students are introduced to Freeman Tilden’s rule of “relating” topics to universal concepts. Life. Justice. Love. Belonging. Pain. Beauty. The National Park Service describes these as “relevant to almost everybody.” How they are relevant to you depends on your experiences and worldviews.
Similarly, everyone has a different reason for supporting or even spearheading bird conservation initiatives. For example, Chuck grew up in Chicago with family camping trips in western states. “As a past member of the ABAS Board, I worked hand in hand with the Hoosier Environmental Council, Indiana Forestry Alliance, and Central Indiana Land Trust to name a few,” he says of recent years.
Pat was raised in the extreme climate of rural Texas, much of which “was brought on by consistently bad land management practices in the area, since it was settled. Even when I lived in Germany, where there are more comprehensive environmental protections, there were still issues with habitat detriment!”
“In my youth I spent time both in the city and in the country in the Indianapolis area. However, in both locations I had access to ‘natural areas’ and was allowed to spend my days exploring them,” Donna recalls. Her heart was first for endangered species, but she “soon became aware that their fate also ultimately affected ours.”
Like avian energy stores, our human time, treasures, talents, and thoughts are expended by priority. For Chuck, Donna, and Pat, that meant putting their concerns to work. Donna and Chuck found organizations like the Audubon Society, the latter noting, “We advocated for less intrusive development of property that affects birds and other wildlife… [and] supported bird related studies and preservation in our service area as well as foreign winter nesting areas.”
Before ABAS and IndyParks, Pat turned to climate research. “Even though dust storms do happen in Texas, it was still terrifying to see a wall of dust rolling towards you. And if I was terrified, I could only imagine how terrified the birds that we saw taking shelter were.”
Our Shared Mission
The terror of a weather event. Places to call home. Heartache and determination. Universal concepts at play.
Chuck, Pat, and Donna differ in age, gender, background, political stances, and more. So many of us do. Still at the core, their mission remains united. I asked all three what discouraged them most when in the field; each of their responses again echoed the others’.
“The lack of political will to address the very real problems of habitat loss and climate change” were Donna’s primary qualms.
“The sound of increased traffic and dogs being walked off leash” remarks Chuck. Pat agrees about dogs, adding, “I hate watching birders and photographers destroy and tamper with habitat, or not allowing a bird to have its space (for example, bothering owls during nesting season).”
How many of these concerns do you hold within? Flourishing and protected habitats, dedicated space for wildlife, park ethics and regulations adhered to, and action on a larger scale—these are our universal concepts. That’s why we’re drawn to our favorite nature centers, Audubon Societies, parks, and conservation organizations as participants and leaders. This is your sign to keep it up.
Flocks of Knowledge and Belonging
In 2025, Amos Butler hosted 285 bird walks or field trips enjoyed by over 1,150 participants. We take pride in our longstanding walks as spaces to disconnect from consumption and screen time. Donna McCarty volunteers at Eagle Creek Park where our staple Sunday Morning Bird Hikes take place. How does she decompress? As you’d expect— “[Going] for a walk, even better a bird hike.”
Chuck attends the Cool Creek Park walks noting the “great camaraderie.” Our bird walks, and others throughout the region, state, and world, are safe spaces for encouragement, exchanging knowledge, making each other better humans, and feeling less alone.
Donna tells me her idea of community is “validation that my beliefs are shared by others.” Pat echoes her sentiment. “[it’s] having the ability to share my values, interests, and experiences with likeminded individuals with similar goals. We can laugh, cry, sing, and confide in one another through the best of times, but also through the worst of times.”
In Other Words…
Speaking of well-known quotes, I asked Chuck, Pat, and Donna to share one that has inspired them in their mission. Their responses follow.
Donna: “We are the earth’s only bad habit.” – Unknown
Pat: “Action on behalf of life transforms. Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it is not a question of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.” – Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
Chuck: “Keep close to nature’s heart.” – John Muir
Perhaps something completely different speaks to you—a song, a work of art, a Bible verse. That’s okay! Still, I wondered what our writers would want nature enthusiasts on opposing political or social spectrums to know about them at a chance run-in?
Donna offers, “That I have come to my position [on a topic] through believing in fact-based research and a sincere desire to make a difference.”
“I want people to see me as I am, because I try to approach every argument as a rational, good-faith actor,” Pat asserts, promoting “respect, earnesty, and patience.”
Chuck rounds out the three, adding “I would want them to realize that we can agree to disagree but that we both probably have some common grounds to which we both agree.”
More to Us, Bigger than Birds
“When things get tough, I love to go for a hike.”
Pat continues, “I love looking at nature flourishing and a landscape that has been alive longer than I have.” Caring for the environment is innate; it’s wired into humanity. From the farmer to the zoologist to the activist, humans have been enjoying and working to sustain the earth’s flora and fauna since the first of us could observe it. Caring for each other, despite our differences, is even more vital. If we aren’t doing this together, we’ll just be wasting time as another data center drains our waterways.
As Amos Butler Audubon Society’s recently-appointed President, Jessica Helmbold also has a message for our community. She describes her personal mission as the organization’s new leader, “Whatever we do, the birds must be first! Birds have beautiful voices, but still need human voices to speak on their behalf. And of course, they are the canary in the coal mine. If we don’t listen to what the birds are telling us, our future will not be as bright, either! I hope that we can all come together over a shared concern for bird conservation and put our differences, behind us. The birds need us!”
Through times that are tumultuous, we can learn from the harmonies of birds and strangers placed around us that our own local ecosystem works best as a unified front.
Our Indianapolis-area Audubon chapter is beyond proud of our contributors and partners throughout the years and those to come. Though it is impossible for our entire community to agree on every decision ever made, I know we can all agree on this much: loving birds and loving people.
Photo by Ryan Sanderson