To See Every Bird on Earth

Not long ago, there were only thought to be six thousand bird species on earth. Ten years from now, most ornithologists believe, there will be three times that many. It isn’t that new species are evolving; rather, scientists are arriving at new definitions of what species are. This advanced thinking – and birds are on the cutting edge of it – has profound implications for human understanding. Speciation is evolution. Evolution is at the heart of who we are, what life is on this planet.

As Fisher told me his story, I found myself wondering how much of what we end up doing – or being – is inevitable, and how much is choice? Dad told me that he had to accept responsibility. Most of us have met that moment where we suddenly realize the things that we once sought are now falling into a different order of priorities. Sometimes, we have to find a way to change our lives, to re-embrace that which seems to be vanishing.

Other times, we simply abandon our dreams.