In the language of birders, a “spark bird” is the species that first stirs a deep and lasting fascination with birds and the natural world. It is often a quietly transformative encounter, a moment when something previously unnoticed takes on extraordinary significance. For many, this first spark leads to a lifelong pursuit—sometimes a career, sometimes a calling—and opens a doorway to seeing the world differently.
Our guides at Reefs to Rockies each recall their spark birds with a mixture of wonder and gratitude. Carly Crow’s spark came unexpectedly during a college internship in the remote Appalachian Mountains. Tasked with banding birds at dawn, she found herself holding a male hooded warbler—a small, vibrant bird whose delicate beauty made her breath catch. Surrounded by moss-covered trees and the haunting song of a wood thrush, she glimpsed a new life unfolding. It was a moment that shaped her future in ways she could never have predicted.
Chip Clouse’s early interests lay in predators—wolves, bears, the great carnivores of the wild. Yet it was a western tanager, bright and vivid, that captured his attention just before he began fieldwork with peregrine falcons in Oregon. This unassuming encounter redirected his focus to the smaller birds, revealing the hidden world of color and life surrounding the raptors he admired.
For Kyle Carlsen, the spark bird was a bald eagle glimpsed through a cabin window on Thanksgiving morning when he was six years old. Until that day, eagles were creatures of story and imagination—icons in books and on nature shows. But seeing one in the wild, so close and real, planted a seed of curiosity that grew into a lifetime’s devotion. It was a reminder that the wild is never far from home, if only we take the time to look.
Sheridan Samano’s spark came in three acts during a single semester of ornithology. The awe of watching a bald eagle take flight, the wonder of holding a cedar waxwing and seeing its glossy, waxy wing tips, and the fascination with the loggerhead shrike’s brutal and brilliant hunting technique—all combined to draw her into the world of birds with an irresistible pull. Each bird revealed a different facet of avian life, from power and grace to mystery and survival.
What emerges from these stories is a pattern. Often, the spark bird is colorful or commanding, a creature whose presence is impossible to ignore. Sometimes it is the thrill of a distinctive behavior or an extraordinary feature that awakens curiosity. The spark bird can appear in a mist net, along a forest service road, or outside a cabin window—and sometimes it arrives thanks to a teacher, a parent, or a book that opens a new way of seeing.
More than anything, these first encounters with birds offer a path into the broader natural world. Birds are everywhere—glimmering in light, singing in trees, and filling the skies. Their diversity and vibrancy invite us to pay attention, to listen, and to care. And in doing so, they connect us to something larger than ourselves.
So, what is your spark bird?