First Bird
The first bird I ID’ed as an official birder–I’m now considering myself an official birder–was a Carolina wren. I used Merlin to narrow it down to eight possible candidates for losing my bird identifying virginity, and cemented the name once it began warbling WHILE LOOKING DIRECTLY INTO MY SOUL. Through a window, yes, but also THROUGH MY SOUL.
I loved that little Carolina wren.
The book I bought to get me started on birding said that it was an activity that shared many similarities to sleuthing like Sherlock Holmes. I love Sherlock Holmes. Which means I now love birding. It is strangely addictive to punch all the facts into the app and have it spit out possibilities. Is it this? Or this? It has pictures. It has sound files. I can now go all around the world, IDing birds. I always have something to do, wherever I go.
I think I love it because it’s collection without clutter. I’m collecting birds, logging their names in my notebook (yes, I bought a notebook for this), and even if I get to thousands of names, it will only take up a tiny bit of space. Just a slim notebook that slips into my pocket and comes with me wherever I go in case I meet a bird friend along the way.
And I’m going to love all of them. Especially the birds who eat crickets and remove them from the world for me. Thank you, birds. You rock.
6 comments
I, too, love bird watching and have just started!
Maybe you should start watching frogs. They seems like a more reliable cricket remover. (It’s been a frog kind of weekend – I found one on my barbecue grill yesterday when I took the cover off.).
I may have to download the app – then I’d be able to figure out what kind of hawk was sitting on the telephone wire.
Congratulations on identifying your first bird! How exciting!! I also have a new hobby/interest (quilting) and share in your joy of learning something new and being excited about a whole new world.
Hahaha that the bird looked directly into your soul. I laughed out loud. I love this post. Thank you for sharing and congrats again. 🙂
I might need that app. I can identify the major, well-known NZ natives, but not the more nondescript little brown birds that are in our garden. I’m hoping that one day you’ll get to add kaka, tui and kereru to your list, and can do that whilst standing on my deck!
Congratulations! Funny, my DH mentioned getting a bird book the other day and I was like, is something in the air??
I have only a rudimentary knowledge of birds. I love seeing new ones when I go to a different environment. It’ll be fun to see where this takes you!