The Birder Who Learned to Listen at Daybreak

Marcus Chen had walked the trails of Cuyahoga Valley National Park dozens of times with his headphones in. When his retired neighbor, Dorothy, invited him on a dawn bird walk, he agreed mostly out of politeness. Standing in the gray light at 5:47 a. m. , he heard nothing but a wall of noise — chirps, trills, and rustling leaves blurring together like radio static.…