I used to think birds made life worth living only for those of us obsessed with them. Now I know the truth

It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I realised birds could have a powerful significance even for people who weren't bird-nerds like meVote now in the 2025 Australian bird of the year pollSee more bird of the year contentGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFor a long time, I thought that I and my fellow obsessive twitchers were the only ones for whom birds made life worth living. The sheer delight birds brought to my life was both the remedy for - and perhaps instigator of - the social awkwardness of my teen years. But then in my tumultuous 20s, when everyone I knew seemed to be going through some sort of painful, emotional turmoil, it dawned on me that birds could have powerful significance beyond the bird-nerds.One day I got a lift with a friend who was really struggling. As she sped through inner city streets sobbing uncontrollably, things started resembling that scene from Vanilla Sky when Cameron Diaz drives Tom Cruise off a bridge. I persuaded her to pull over, and we parked beneath some trees. As I sat, clueless about how to ease her distress, a white-plumed honeyeater flitted down and started hopping around in front of us, searching for insects. Continue reading...