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Hubby and I started birding together when we were dating and it has developed into an all-out hobby for us. Everywhere we go, we take binoculars and birdguides and, when we can, we search for birds. Before kids, we went every single weekend somewhere within driving distance of home, but we also took yearly trips to see birds (SE Arizona, SF bay area, Maritime Canada, Florida, etc.) Now that the kids are here, it's a lot more difficult, but we still try to do a 3-6 day yearly trip just the two of us. And of course, we have a bunch of bird feeders here at our house so we can watch at home.
I'm curious if there are others out there on CD who are as bird-happy as me .
PS The kids, ages 4 and 5, can identify some birds and they still like going birding with mom and dad (we try to make it into a really really fun activity for them so they'll keep wanting to do it.)
I'm not a true bird-watcher (going on bird counts, learning the calls), but I am always in tune with our feathered friends.
I find something spiritual about it, and it's nice knowing that our degraded human world has room for birds alongside (whereas most mammals, reptiles, etc., have been pushed to the margins, or worse).
And in trips abroad, I've planned time for some stunning bird encounters: Caroni Swamp in Trinidad, Pantanal in Brazil.
I see you are in Maryland (I'm nearby in DC). Lately I'm noticing some trends:
1. Mockingbirds everywhere! Got to love these guys (though their main call is quite shrill), they've got white racing stripes, adjustable tail flap, and obvious intelligence. I understand they do well in urban areas (or almost anywhere) because they nest well in bushes. What I wonder is what species have suffered due to their increase?
2. Crows making a comeback! 2-5 years ago, after West Nile hit and wiped these big guys out... I could go months without seeing them. Lately I'm seeing them regularly (though not in the huge numbers like the mid 90s).
3. Fewer Pigeons! Maybe the urban efforts to limit them have worked, I rarely see the big flocks like before.
4. Rock Creek Park - Living at the southern foot of it, the creek's water level is getting so low (I blame global warming). I used to see alot of Night Herons and occasional Blue Herons and Piliated Peckers and more. Sadly, lately the life seems to be fading from the creek.
5. Dykes Marsh (just below Old Town on the Potomac) - Maybe this little sanctuary has been discovered too much because the bird life is also diminishing (to my eyes and ears).
But, birds will ebb and flow, I'm confident there will always be good news along with the bad.
Yup, I'm a Marylander, but I did live in DC for a while (Takoma Park, Friendship Heights where I housesat in a GORGEOUS house for a year, and Capitol Hill NE for most of my time there. I loved living in DC!)
I also have noticed that there are lots of Mockingbirds around. Not in my back yard much, but elsewhere. Around here, we didn't seem to have any dip in crow numbers, but I haven't seen as many pigeons around. I wonder where they went???
We've been to Huntley Meadows (in NOVA) a lot and love it there, but haven't been in a while.
In our backyard, lots of hummingbirds flying through lately, and the usual assortment of titmice, carolina chickadees, downy woodpeckers, lots of cardinals, and the occasional hawk. We have had pileated woodpeckers here, northern flickers, rose-breasted grosbeaks, a great blue heron (actually at my neighbor's fish pond,) spotted towhees, Carolina and house wrens, and lots and lots of robins (one pair nested right outside our back door and gave us great views of their growing brood, plus a nice case of bird mites!) We live right on the edge of Patapsco state park, so we get lots of birds and other creatures passing through.
Must be nice to see so many hummingbirds, they are amazing animals! Sounds real nice where you live, near a state park (near BWI), would like to live on the outskirts of a wildlife refuge myself one day.
Did you notice how few views this thread has gotten? I guess birdwatching doesn't do it for the younger masses bleery eyed from the various screens that dominate their lives.
However, when I meet birdwatchers (particularly abroad), they are some of the most sophisticated, enlightened, and informed people you'd ever want to meet.
Birdwatching isn't just Aunt Martha on a field trip away from the assisted living home, it is fit people with a thirst for experience and knowledge, who use it as an opportunity to see the world.
One of the absolute highlites of my life was the morning in the center of South America I spent trailing a Jabiru Stork.
All the while flocks of Blue Macaws taunted me with their calls meant to warn away my 'prey.' That is living...
Next I want to see the Danube Delta in Romania on the Black Sea.
Did you notice how few views this thread has gotten? I guess birdwatching doesn't do it for the younger masses bleery eyed from the various screens that dominate their lives.
Hey guys, there are plenty of birdwatchers on CD. We all end up talking about the birds in the Garden Forum. It just sort of worked out that way. Lots of incredible bird photos in the Photography forum, as well.
That Jabiru is AMAZING!!! There are some great bird photos on the photography thread. When hubby and I first started birding, we were among the younger people on the walks we went on. We feel very happy and lucky that we got into it on the younger side of life so we have more time to enjoy it. We like to think of it as natural gambling: we go out birdwatching and we never know what, if anything, we'll see. Sometimes we get really lucky and hit the jackpot (like when we saw a kirtland's warbler in Michigan or the Elegant trogon in SE Arizona or the Bicknell's Thrush in Nova Scotia) and that makes us want to just keep on birding and birding and birding until we're totally broke (from traveling, buying more optics, and investing in numerous bird books.) We've never had a bad day birding, though, so we always want to go back and bird some more .
I posted this photo on the photography board, but here is my hubby with our two girls on a trip to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge on the Delaware coast:
The girls were 2 and 4 years old at the time.
I meant to mention what got me into birding. The seed was planted many years ago when I went to Costa Rica to participate in a training session for Latin American Peace Corps employees. One day we all went on a field trip to Palo Verde National Park and we went on launches up the river. In just about every tree were roseate spoonbills. I knew absolutely nothign about birds at that point, but I was totally intrigued by these birds. I met hubby 10 years later and on one of our first dates, I told him about that trip up the river. He also said he was intrigued by birdwatching, so we joined the Baltimore Bird Club and started going on guided walks. That led to our bird obsession!
I'm glad to see there are other birding folk here on CD!
Did you notice how few views this thread has gotten? I guess birdwatching doesn't do it for the younger masses bleery eyed from the various screens that dominate their lives.
I noticed that the "what kind of gun should I buy" thread has 5000+ hits. I'd far rather be looking through my binocular sights than any gun sights (though I do know how to shoot a rifle - only for paper targets, though.)
I noticed that the "what kind of gun should I buy" thread has 5000+ hits. I'd far rather be looking through my binocular sights than any gun sights (though I do know how to shoot a rifle - only for paper targets, though.)
Eeesh, gun love, I'll never understand it.
Enjoyed the pic of your hubby and kids. I bet your girls will grow up with open minds and hearts.
PS- Look at how rapt your 2 year old (?) is! Love it
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I appreciate birds
. I'd far rather be looking through my binocular sights than any gun sights (though I do know how to shoot a rifle - only for paper targets, though.)
