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| The crowd was looking at a pair of bluebirds in a tree. |
I am thankful for new discoveries.
Ward and I are now proud owners of only one house. So for the first weekend in a long time, we don't have to do house stuff. There is plenty to do, but none of it is time sensitive like the chores of the last six months have been.
We decided it was time to do a little more exploring in our new neighborhood. While doing this, we found an Audubon bird sanctuary only ten minutes from our house and we went on a bird walk there
Saturday morning.
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| I never found the bluebirds, but the sky was nice. |
Ward had to encourage me to go because the thermometer read 29F and I had no desire to go out in the cold for two hours. Have I mentioned I don't like cold? After a couple of prods, I started layering up and stayed quite warm during the walk. Actually, too warm. In only a couple of hours, the temperature rose 30 degrees. But that's what layers are good for--peeling off and cooling down.
I learned a lot of new things about birds, but I didn't see many. It was a low bird count day, but that was not the main problem. It's my untrained eye. I can see the birds when they perch on our feeder, but spotting them in a distant tree? By the time I figured out which tree they were talking about, the bird had flown away. I knew I was in real trouble when the leader said to look at that flock of cedar waxwings and I couldn't even find the flock. However, I did spot a small plane that was flying over. And no one even pointed it out to me. I consider that my great find for the day.
Despite the lack of bird sightings, it was quite an enjoyable morning. It is definitely someplace we will go back to and explore the various trails there.
So for this first of many discoveries we are going to make in our new neighborhood, I am thankful.
I'm so glad you were able to relax and let your husband convince you to go on the bird walk... even if you didn't spot any birds! How lovely that you have such a place just 10 minutes away! As Greg and I are driving all over our county and neighboring ones to visit new-to-us state parks, I'm also discovering the location of a lot of (free) nature preserves and trails that I wasn't even aware of, and I'm taking notes for future outings.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I always seem to have trouble finding the birds through my viewer. It's maddening when I can spot them in the tree with bare eyes, but then can't even figure out where to point my camera lens when I zoom in to take a picture. I have missed so many birds this way, it's frustrating. This weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count, by the way, and I've just now remembered it. I shall sit in my backyard this afternoon and see if I can spot any of them and report on it.
Good job for spotting the plane! lol. And I'm laughing at your peeling off layers at 30F. I don't think you'd find me outside at 30F! I'd be in the car with the heater on, trying to spot birds through the windshield. So I'm impressed :)
We were keeping count of the birds on our walk yesterday for the count this weekend. I have a simple point and shoot camera that doesn't have a view finder. All I could see was a reflection of myself on the screen, so I had not idea what I was taking a picture of on the walk. My camera is failing is several ways. I think it's time to look into another one.
DeleteOh, that sounds like a fun outing, although maybe in slightly warmer weather for me! Well done in spotting the plane that no one else pointed out! :D I'm glad the sale of the other house has concluded and you are having time to explore your new neighborhood. Hope you have a lovely week ahead of you.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the other house is sold also. This is the first weekend in a long time that I've felt relaxed.
DeleteSo happy for you! Yikes that's too cold for a walk unless its needed. I used to be a good birder but not anymore.
ReplyDeleteI've never been a birder, but I am slowly learning about them through our feeder. You could tell the birders in the group during our walk. They were the ones that were spotting and naming them from what seemed like little dots to me. Maybe you could find a birding group in your area and give it a try again. It might be a nice break from the cat drama you have in your life.
DeleteI am glad you are fining a new group to do some things with. I have never been on a legitimate bird watching event but I like to watch birds and get to see a pretty diverse group just sitting at my kitchen table, but when we go to the lake i see birds everywhere from great blue herons, ospreys, golden eagles, bluebirds, martins and every other bird I see at home. I am now keeping a list and did buy a bird book to keep at the lake
ReplyDeleteI don't live close enough to water that I see water birds but I love great blue herons. Keeping a list is a fun idea. I would just do it for our house. It's too involved to keep a life list like real birders do.
DeleteYay! Sounds like a wonderful outing. I like looking for birds even if I never catch them. It's quite a challenge for me to try and learn which sounds go to which birds... I've got hummingbirds down for sure though!
ReplyDeleteI know very little about bird calls. That's a whole other area that I'd like to learn about. My sister sings them for me, but I can't seem to remember them.
DeleteSounds like a fun day! I'm terrible at spying birds ... but I'm chuckling because we took the kids up north for a mini-getaway (midwinter break) Sunday to Monday. We hiked about 4 miles and were getting close to our car when my husband told us, "Look at the buffleheads!" (some sort of duck ... ). I didn't see the birds right away because ... close to them were two young deer drinking water from the lake where the buffleheads were. Guess I'm better at locating bigger targets. :)
ReplyDeleteSpotting birds is definitely a skill that takes practice. On this walk they were also talking about a tiny butterfly that was flying in some tall grass. Because of the unusually warm weather we've been having this winter, it may have emerged early. I never saw that either.
DeleteMy dad was an amazing bird watcher/tracker but like you I can't find them either.
ReplyDeleteMy sister is very good at it also. When I go for a walk with her, the only things I can find are really big birds like herons or crows. Bird watching is definitely something that takes a lot of skill.
DeleteIt seems like this new location is perfect for you. I'm glad you braved the cold to enjoy the morning, me I would have stayed indoors where it was warm. :-)
ReplyDeleteI am glad I went but without the encouragement, I would have stayed home. So far, we like our new location. We are closer to grocery stores and everyday conveniences than we were before. It's fun discovering new places.
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