Bird Watching

A small article in the Akron Beacon Journal the other day stated that bird watching is a burgeoning hobby.  Neat, huh?  It's great for aging boomers.

I've just got to tell you about my bird watching days at KSU so long ago.  Our teacher was an Easterner and he had the interesting accent to match.  He just loved birds and like most people who have a passion, they more or less assume that everyone else moves along the same road.  His particular passion was nighthawks, and he had set up some sort of nesting area on top of the science building at Kent where he could watch and film them.

At that time, I didn't give a owl's hoot about birds.  I had to take the Ornithology class in order to get my minor in Biology, that's all.  We had our loaned-out binoculars and young, strong legs as we followed our fearless leader to all sorts of parks and locales where various birds were likely to be found.  We saw some loons, as I remember.  Loons are interesting birds that partake in a crazy dance in the fall, I believe.  To see that would have been something.  Our loons were just cruising about on the water. 

We went in student-owned cars to these haunts, and I think somehow they got paid for gas.  Or I assume so.  It was usually quite warm and humid, and in order to see birds one had to endure a lot of hiking through unknown types of foliage in areas far removed from the picnic spots or swingsets.  One had to be very, very quiet as well.

The worst part were the quizzes and tests.  We didn't get tested on the dance of the loons.  I read about that in a book once.  We got tested on the birds, dead and stuffed ones that rested in glass-covered cases in the lab.  Numbers resting by the birds matched our quizzes and we had to identify each and every one in order to get a good grade.  Some were easy, birds we've all seen since we were little.  Others were much harder, like when you get into the different kinds of sparrows.  Yep, there are many different kinds of sparrows.  It's almost like the guy on Forest Gump when he talks about shrimp.  It goes on and on -- English sparrows, chipping sparrows, field sparrows, and that's all I can remember right at the moment.  My Petersen's Guide to the Birds is down the basement and I don't feel like going down there to retrieve it.

Okay -- so here's where I have to offer a confession.  I did take the Ornithology class to fulfill a requirement, but something happened to me.  I began to like birds a lot more, and noticed them a lot more.  I probably sold my old Petersen's Guide for some extra cash back then (always needed money), but some years ago I actually bought one.  And here's where it starts to get interesting because knowing about birds isn't a stagnant pursuit.

At Kent, we talked about woodpeckers, fascinating birds.  One type of woodpecker was already extinct -- the Ivory Billed woodpecker.  My Petersen's Guide was pretty clear on that.  However, about three or four years ago, someone found a whole group of them, alive and well and living somewhere that was not identified and probably won't be.  Bird watchers can be really nosy people, you know, and if everyone that wanted to see a woodpecker with around a 20+ inch wingspan showed up in this remote area, it would really ruin things.  So presumably, the Ivory Billed woodpeckers are still doing well and being willfully ignored.

About five years ago, a Pileated woodpecker showed up here to make her nest in an old, dead tree.  That's their preference.  We got to listen to her beat on that tree (sounded like a drum) for a long time and then once her eggs were hatched, to listen to her young screeching for food when mama or dad returned.  We also got to hear the mayhem on the day that they finally left for good.  Pileated woodpeckers don't return to the same place again, and so we haven't see one since.  If you aren't paying attention to the birds, you can miss some wondrous things!!  The Pileated woodpecker, by the way, is the one that Woody Woodpecker is modeled after.  Great markings.

Looking for an excuse to take to the woods?  Buy a new pair of binoculars and go at it.  And don't forget to buy a copy of Petersen's Guide, still the best way to learn about birds.  You'll get hooked.

Every single time I look at the hummingbirds that come to our feeders, I am humbled and awed at the beautiful creatures that God has created.  How great is our God!!