Saturday is “Go Birding Day”. I make no secret that my preferred activity at this time of year would be chasing a trout or two, checking out birds is one of those things you can do no matter what other activities you may be doing at the time.
There are a number of birds I have spotted while fishing. Loons certainly. Maybe even a cormorant or two. Kingfishers, red wing blackbirds, and a few of the smaller birds like chickadees and finches can be spotted along the way. And gulls. Although I’m not good with gulls. There are a lot of different gulls.
It’s like sparrows. There are a lot of sparrows and they are fairly similar with little tiny differences. It might not be so bad if they would sit still so you could get a good look at them, or better yet, wear name tags. Just one of those sticky ones with “Hello, my species is…” written on it would be very helpful.
I like trying to figure out birds. But I will also admit I’m not really good at it. Quite often I’ll hear a bird and be searching a tree looking for it and will never see it until it flies away. Although sound can be a good hint. I can recognize a cardinal pretty easy, as well as a few others. And I’m starting to pick up on some of the ones I hear but don’t often see, like a hermit thrush.
I’ve tried to take pictures of them, but birds don’t pose very well. Or they will show up and sit right in front of me. As long as my camera is no where within easy reach.
That happened last year with a couple of nice looking warblers. A yellow warbler in particular. One came and sat within feet of me. All I could do was watch. No camera anywhere near. But at least I got to see it.
A couple years ago, during that time we were all staying home, I started checking out birds around my backyard. I easily had a dozen or more. There were likely a lot more, but again, they were not coming right up and introducing themselves, or making themselves visible enough for easy identification.
So my birding skills need some work. I have my spotting scope, my binoculars and my camera all ready to go. If we can just get them to put on those name tags…
