The tales in this book are about two grand passions: medicine and birds. Through the eyes of a physician and birder, we witness the glory that is nature. From a remote Aleutian island to his own backyard, and from the research lab to the bedside, we see what makes birders tick and doctors marvel. From a childhood enriched by butterflies and Gothic cathedrals, to a medical career in hematology, and his work developing a lifesaving HIV-detection test, Fitchen has been an avid and good-humored observer of life. And while most would have been satisfied to retire after a career in academic medicine and biotechnology, Fitchen embarked on a second act, becoming a well-known Oregon birder and author of Birding Portland and Multnomah County.