A broker we once knew told me that birdwatching was a good way to relieve stress. I think he read that in the Wall Street Journal. I believed him because, first, I agree, and second, he knew something about stress, having sold us a few forgettable shares.

He came to mind one morning as I sat at a window in a cabin in a woods, staring at some goldfinches coming and going from a feeder. It was a wonderfully mindless activity.

I just watched until I became aware of my idle mind and thought about thinking of nothing, and then the broker snuck in.

When I began birding it was a pretty tense deal. It remained that way for years. Roger Tory Peterson had painted hundreds and hundreds of birds into his books, and those were the carrots on my birding stick. I wanted to see them all.

His books gave me a general idea about where the birds were, like in the green portion of that teeny tiny North American range map. Yes, but WHERE in the southwest?

Then I discovered checklists. Checklists are site-specific. The birds are on the list because someone saw them in a precisely defined area, often as small as a park or a refuge.

Jim Williams
A bird book comes in handy.

The draw was irresistible. I drove. I flew. I hiked. I never stood still for more than a minute. I had a great time. Then, I needed a 12-step program.

Some many years later I can be content to stare out the window at common birds doing everyday things. If I think about them, the questions are how and why instead of what and where.

In addition to slowing down, I have become much more realistic in my expectations. I have stopped searching for the killer moment. It will come to me when it is good and ready.

Lists dismissed, I entered a state as close as I get to what might be successful meditation. My mind was not focused on a small point of bright light, true, but the rhythm of those birds was blissful.

Give me a window or a soft patch of grass on which to sit, and a handful of birds can easily move the rest of the world aside. I recommend it. The internet calls it mindfulness.

At North Carolina State University a study found "that students who have nature-based experiences described improved well-being and lower psychological distress than those who do not."

The next endorsement comes from the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, discussing what it calls mindful birding. I think that's what I was unknowingly doing at that cabin window.

Mindfulness is defined by the Oxford dictionary as the "mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations."

And so on.

You like birds, so you probably knew all of this already.

Last column

This is my goodbye. It's been a true pleasure. I began this column at an age near usual retirement. That was 22 years ago. You've been a loyal and rewarding audience. Thanks for your questions. Thanks for being readers. And, most of all, thanks for being interested in and caring about birds. That's most important. One last thank-you: to all who answered my questions and helped me better understand our birds.

Lifelong birder Jim Williams can be reached at woodduck38@gmail.com. You can see past columns from him at startribune.com/jim-williams/600336312