Birding on Capitol Hill: An Audubon expert gathers a bipartisan flock
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Dwight A. Weingarten Staff writer
| Washington
Some people look at the Capitol dome and see an icon of democracy; others see an architectural wonder. But on this unusually warm December day, Tykee James looks up at the Statue of Freedom crowning the dome and sees something different 鈥� a hawk.
鈥淚t鈥檚 my first time ever seeing a bird up there,鈥� says the National Audubon Society 鈥渂ird lobbyist鈥� and new president of the local D.C. Audubon Society, looking through his binoculars from beside the Capitol Reflecting Pool. The hawk, perched at the base of the statue positioned in 1863 during the Civil War, peeks out from beneath the inscription 鈥�E pluribus unum.鈥� 聽
In a sense, Mr. James is on a mission to see that national motto, Latin for 鈥渙ut of many, one,鈥� fully realized. His aids in this effort are often robins, starlings, sparrows, and yellow-rumped warblers. He conducts a monthly 鈥淏irding on the Hill鈥� walk for legislators and their staff members, a program he鈥檚 led since 2019.
Why We Wrote This
An Audubon Society 鈥渂ird lobbyist鈥� levels partisan politics with Capitol Hill bird-watching walks. He brings legislators and staff together over a shared, calming activity.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying to make a birding community for [congressional] staff,鈥� he says. 鈥淏irds are a way to just bring us to a shared purpose, a shared history, a shared humanity so that some of these more difficult conversations ... can happen with that shared ground 鈥� humanity, history, and the joy of birds.鈥�
Early on his December walk, Mr. James pauses to point out a Cooper鈥檚 hawk in flight.
鈥淚 never thought I鈥檇 see a Cooper in downtown D.C.,鈥� one Hill staffer on her first walk says, discovering the surprisingly fruitful experience of urban birding.
So far, about three dozen members of Congress have been on a Tykee James-led walk. A typical outing has between two and 12 Hill staffers or legislators, Democrats and Republicans. The hourlong early-morning expeditions provide an opportunity to learn basic birding techniques, identify bird species, and just talk outside the halls of Congress, away from intense policy discussions.
The relaxed tenor of the gatherings is a 鈥渧ery rare thing鈥� on the Hill, says Shane Trimmer, a legislative director who has worked for Reps. Alan Lowenthal and Jared Huffman, both California Democrats.聽He adds that since COVID-19, this might be the only real bipartisan, in-person gathering he鈥檚 aware of.
Birding helps put politics aside
Jo Stiles, the legislative director for Rep. Joseph Morelle, a New York Democrat, is one of the regulars. She has been on nearly a dozen walks led by Mr. James, but this December walk is her first since the pandemic started.
鈥淐oming to these bird walks and the opportunity that [Mr. James] has created has shown that it is a great way to put politics aside,鈥� says Ms. Stiles, who has worked on the Hill for six years and notes that birding is a personal 鈥� not official 鈥� activity. On a January 2020 walk with Mr. James, she spotted 22 bird species, but she says the outings also have led to connections with other Hill staff and on legislation.
He is 鈥渃learly combining this passion for birding and bringing people together with a clear talent for educating,鈥� Ms. Stiles says. 鈥淭hat just makes it a very positive experience.鈥�
For Mr. James, bringing people together through birds and linking them to a sense of place is nothing new. He鈥檚 been doing it since high school when he worked as an environmental docent at a park near his home in Pennsylvania.聽 聽
Back then, birding was a way of connecting with his neighbors, and getting them to the park where he worked, he says. The difference now is that the people he brings together work in Congress, and the place he forms these links is around Capitol Hill. 聽 聽
鈥淗e鈥檚 out there doing the thing that he鈥檇 probably be doing on his off time anyway,鈥� says Mr. Trimmer, of the excitement that the Audubon鈥檚 government affairs coordinator brings to the walks. 鈥淲e鈥檙e experiencing him seeing birds that he鈥檚 excited to see. ... You鈥檙e kind of with him on this journey.鈥�
In October, Representative Lowenthal, and the majority of his Washington staff, went on a walk with Mr. James. The congressman, a co-sponsor of the Migratory Bird Protection Act, got hands-on education about some of the birds he鈥檚 legislating to protect. Despite the occasional connection of policy and birds, Mr. Trimmer says of the walks with Mr. James, 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not there to have an ask.鈥澛�
鈥淚t provides an opportunity for spontaneous situations,鈥� says Mr. James. 鈥淚鈥檝e had one [Republican] staffer say to [a Democratic staffer], 鈥楬ey, nice to meet you. I don鈥檛 think your boss is on my boss鈥檚 bill, and I think you would really like it.鈥�
Legislation aside, birds also can break the barriers of title, says Mr. James, recalling a conversation he had about purple martins with Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun: 鈥淭o have that shared human, shared empathy, shared purpose, it was really fun.鈥澛�
But the bridge-building, new president of the D.C. Audubon Society didn鈥檛 always imagine birds as part of his professional life.
An unexpected pursuit of birds
In college, Mr. James wanted to be a math teacher. An unexpected call from a state representative looking for a scheduler opened the door to the world of public policy. His background as an environmental educator led him to a position advising the representative on environmental policy instead of being a scheduler, and birds were a key tool in that work.
鈥淓very person I鈥檝e met has a story about a bird,鈥� says Mr. James, interviewed on a Botanic Garden bench near the Capitol. 鈥淪ome of their stories are, 鈥業 used to see this bird a lot; now I don鈥檛 anymore.鈥欌�� Connecting those stories to climate change or environmental degradation was a part of that job as an environmental policy adviser, and Mr. James brought those skills to Audubon a few years ago.
Mr. James is 鈥渢he perfect educator,鈥� Mr. Trimmer says. 鈥淟ike any good teacher [he鈥檚] able to have a lot of fun with [the walks] and his excitement is really contagious.鈥� 聽 聽
As the last walk of 2021 winds down, Mr. James stops to point out what he calls the most abundant bird in Washington. The group strains through binoculars, looking for the species, and he drops a trademark pun. 鈥淭he construction crane,鈥� he says, pointing out one of many across a capital city constantly under renovation.
The same year that Mr. James started 鈥淏irding on the Hill,鈥� the Audubon Society published 鈥淪urvival by Degrees,鈥� a study that showed nearly two-thirds (64%) of the 600-plus North American bird species are at risk of extinction from climate change. 聽
鈥淭o get people to that data,鈥� says Mr. James, 鈥測ou can鈥檛 lead with the data. You got to start with the bird.鈥澛�
For him, birding is an activity that 鈥渟lows things down鈥� and requires one to be
鈥渉umble-minded鈥� 鈥� that, and 鈥渉aving a beginner mind opens the way to problem-
solving,鈥� he says. Relationship-building also, he says, is critical to addressing climate challenges.
鈥淚鈥檓 not the only one who can be doing this,鈥� says Mr. James, 鈥淎 lot of people can and should be doing this on any level, doing it in their community with their environmental advisory council.鈥�
As for the credit of educating and bringing people together in Washington, Mr. James defers to his aides. 鈥淭he birds do all the work,鈥� he says, modestly. 鈥淭he birds do all the heavy lifting.鈥澛�
