If you’d told me I’d spend ninety minutes happily watching two people flirt over sparrows, I’d have asked what kind of herbal tea you were drinking. But Adventures in Love & Birding pulls off that rare Hallmark trick: it takes something wildly niche (competitive bird-watching) and turns it into a cozy, emotionally competent rom-com that feels like a hug from someone who owns seven cardigans.
Rachel Boston stars as Celeste, a recently divorced teacher whose life has stalled harder than a Windows 98 startup screen. Enter Andrew W. Walker as John, a former academic who traded lecture halls for wetlands and is now basically a walking REI catalog with feelings. The two are thrown together in a birding competition after Celeste accidentally tells everyone she’s John’s girlfriend, which is the kind of lie only someone panicking in cargo shorts could invent. Their chemistry is easy, natural, and refreshingly adult — no cartoon villains, no forced drama, just two kind people realizing maybe they’re allowed to be happy again.
The movie is set in a charming coastal town with sleepy streets, leafy parks, and that “Main Street with one bakery and one emotionally supportive coffee shop” vibe. Was it filmed in Canada? Almost certainly. Did I care? Absolutely not. Wherever it is, I wanted to move there immediately and start wearing chunky scarves year-round.
Director Michael Robison keeps the tone light and breezy, letting the forests and lakes do half the emotional heavy lifting, while writers Nicole Baxter and Sarah T. Dubb (adapting Dubb’s novel Birding With Benefits) resist the urge to turn this into a standard Hallmark conveyor-belt romance. The script actually trusts its characters to talk to each other, which in this genre is practically revolutionary. You get real conversations about second chances, parenthood, and fear of starting over — all without anyone being mysteriously engaged to a hedge-fund manager back in the city.
And yes, it’s still Hallmark, so there are soft sweaters, side characters who exist solely to give pep talks, and a soundtrack that sounds as comforting as you’d guess. But the birding angle adds just enough novelty that you don’t feel like you’re watching the same movie for the 400th time. It’s hard not to smile when the climactic tension revolves around whether someone spotted a rare warbler before sunset.
Also, can we appreciate how soothing this movie is? No billionaire boyfriends, no fake New York penthouses, no surprise royal bloodlines. Just two people walking through nature, learning bird names, and slowly realizing their lives aren’t over yet. The big emotional beats happen in parks, on docks, and during very serious discussions about feather patterns. I found myself relaxing in ways I didn’t know were possible outside of a spa.
All told, Adventures in Love & Birding comfortably earns high marks from me. It won’t change cinema, but it might change how you feel about your next nature walk — and it proves that love can, in fact, be found while whisper-shouting, “I think that’s a yellow-rumped warbler.”
MPAA Rating: TV-G.
Runtime: 84 mins
Director: Michael Robison
Writer: Nicole Baxter; Sarah T. Dubb
Cast: Rachel Boston; Andrew W. Walker; Talisa Mae Stewart
Genre: Drama | Romance
Tagline: Birds of a feather are better together
Memorable Movie Quote: "You just need to get out of the house, try something new and have some fun."
Distributor: Hallmark +
Official Site:
Release Date: September 27, 2025
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: Newly-divorced Celeste teams up with John for a bird-watching contest leading to unexpected romance.
