Gerry and I attend a presentation sponsored by the Moose Jaw Nature Club about birdwatching. The club itself has been on hiatus since you-know-when, but are regrouping and the new president has plans. We’re intrigued and look forward to hearing more.
We learn the basics of how to identify birds (size, color, behavior, migration patterns, song) and take note of useful guidebooks and apps. On the way out, at the end of the evening, I snag a checklist of birds found here in the Wakamow Valley and am surprised to find over two hundred!
I think I could enjoy birdwatching as a quiet, contemplative practice and ponder making it a goal over the next few years to identify as many as possible here in Saskatchewan, the Wakamow Valley especially, photographing some as opportunity presents. Gerry jokes that many aging hikers take up birdwatching and/or photography because it gives them a reason to rest. It’s a hobby that can work for both of us!
I wish we had seen the presentation in the spring, but there are some birds on the list listed as winter visitors or permanent residents. Perhaps fall and winter’s smaller population presents a good time to get started.
We arrive home and I’m ready for bed and a book, but we switch the television from dog TV left on for Molly while we were away to an episode of David Attenborough’s Wild Isles and settle in to watch and play with the pup first. It’s a pleasant way to spend an evening.
That sounds like a wonderful new pastime. As I think of it, it seems like it would be good training for the brain, all the attentiveness and concentration that are required if one is going to be successful at noticing all the details. I have never been very good at seeing birds, unless they are hanging out at the feeder for a few minutes!
Birds, ducks and geese, are my breakfast companions, squawking as they land on the lake outside my lanai.
Ah that sounds like a wonderful way to greet the day, Marian.
Your photos are beautiful, Linda! I took up birdwatching just a few years ago and enjoy it immensely. I joined our local club and help organize walks. Surprisingly, we have a lot of new members who are of the younger generation, particularly women in their 20s and 30s. It’s a great way to spend time outdoors, alone or with a group, and I find it helps me be intentional about paying attention to details. Very meditative in a way!