Start em young! That's what my dad did with me, and it is what the two of us are doing with my daughter. She doesn't fully know it yet, but she is a member of a fairly serious birding family. One thing that has always puzzled me, however, is how it started. I honestly don't know when my dad became interested in birding. I was about 10 years old when we started the hobby, but I'm at a loss as to what the catalyst was for what appears to be a seemingly life long passion.
Perhaps my father and I got the birding bug because neither of us have any other discernible talents. I'm not saying we're completely useless, but there are very few things that keep either one of us content for very long. I think both of us are restless by nature. Birding, however, is something that we could do for the rest of our lives. It's relaxing, enjoyable, and low and behold...we're really good at it. Being good at something is always a plus.
Having a passion like birding is nice, but sharing that passion with those you care about most is so much more rewarding. I always loved going out with my mom and dad and my aunts and uncles when I was younger. When I got married (4 years ago yesterday) I was down right jubilant when my wife Elissa picked up the hobby. At first I thought she was just humoring me, but soon I realized that she truly enjoyed birding as well. She even started her own life list. Her list is shorter than mine, but she never hesitates to point out the handful of birds that she saw out west in Arizona when she traveled there for a pharmacy rotation. I've never been west of Missouri so I've never had the opportunity to see a roadrunner or the plethora of hummingbirds Elissa got to spot during her trip. My competitive nature can't exactly let this fact go.
Speaking of competition, that brings me to the purpose of my blog. A couple weeks ago I finally got around to watching The Big Year with Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson. For those of you who don't know what a big year is, it is when a birder decides to try and see as many species of bird in one calendar year as he or she can. In the movie, Owen Wilson spots 755 different species. I will come nowhere close to this number. In fact, in my entire life I have seen a grand total of 213 different kinds of birds. My motivation for doing a big year is not to beat some record. I don't have the time or resources to even think about doing such a thing. I'm just curious to see if: 1) I can see this through to the end of the year and 2)if blogging about my experience will perhaps encourage others to pick up the hobby.
Although I spotted birds earlier than January 11th, I did not start recording the sightings until that date. As of this posting I currently have 32 different species of birds recorded. Highlights from my list include two new life birds: A Great Black-Backed Gull and a Rufus Hummingbird. Yes...I did say hummingbird. The Rufus Hummingbird shouldn't even be in our area let alone be here in January. One female was at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory building at Magee Marsh. She comes about every 15 minutes to a feeder that has a heat lamp constantly running. As of January 15th she was still there. Tomorrow, if all goes well, I will be on my way to Belle Isle, located in the middle of the Detroit River. I hope to see some wintering waterfowl there and to check out the historic aquarium located on the island.
In the coming year I hope that you find the information in this blog useful, entertaining, and interesting. If you see something cool out there please share it. Happy Birding!
Cool project! I will live vicariously.
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