How bird watching can help with mental health: One couple’s journey

By Jennifer Ketchmark

Click here for updates on this story

    MASON, Ohio (WCPO) — Birdwatching: It’s a hobby often reserved for the retirement age group.

But there’s a renewed focus on watching our feathered friends and the payoff is improved mental health and connection with others.

Landon and Megan Miller started a slew of social media accounts dedicated to birdwatching, called Old Bird Vibes.

It all started because Landon was looking for a connection with nature.

“I was going through a tough time, and I just found peace coming out here and watching the birds,” said Miller.

At first he noticed the positive impacts it made on his life.

“It distracts my brain from whatever else is going on in the world and life that might be making me feel that way and helps me focus on the positive and something beautiful like a blue jay,” said Miller.

Landon and his wife Megan decided to share that positivity with others. The thinking was, if it worked for them, maybe it will work for others, too.

“The end goal is to help people with mental health and give them some inspiration and hopefully that they can get the help they need,” said Miller.

Now they share their journey with mental health and all the wildlife they are capturing in their own backyard in Mason. They’ve captured your typical visitors, such as cardinals, blue jays, and finches. But they’ve also enjoyed sightings of chipmunks, squirrels and opossums!

The big thing I wanted to know was why they decided to share it all.

“It feels good to do good. It really does and honestly, the people that I’ve heard from since I shared my story makes it worth it,” said Miller. “You know I’m on the right path to doing this, whatever it is and we’re doing good and I think there’s gonna be some great things to come.”

Landon also suggested an app to help identify the birds around you, based on their songs. It’s called the Merlin ID app, powered by Cornell.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.