Disney World in frigid Florida. We’re here to celebrate the season with a family vacation.

I’m doing “naked bird watching,” which means birding without binoculars.

I get questions: “Hey, are those crows?” “No,” I say, “Turkey Vultures.”

Vultures are common as mouse ears at Disney.

As we move around, I notice Boat-tailed Grackles, Black Vultures, Little Blue Herons, and a Limpkin on a golf course.

I don’t say “Limpkin” to anyone. Stupid bird names make bird watchers sound stupid, themselves. Limpkin?

The kids in our clan ask about stork-like birds that walk around the place. ”They’re Ibises,” I say.

Soon, a five-year-old is shouting, “Can I give a potato chip to the Ibises?” This turns heads.

As days pass, I’m asked about other birds. I have all the answers, but don’t worry: I’m headed for a fall.

Meanwhile, I’m quick with names: “A Snowy Egret,” I say, “A Common Egret, Forster’s Terns, a Bufflehead, a Water Pipit, a Man o’ War.”

(I even spot an armadillo in the palmettos. Not all wildlife sightings involve wings.)

When somebody incorrectly points out a cormorant, I say, with great patience: “No, that’s an Anhinga.”

Hubris is raising its fat head in the land of the Ibis.

Then, one bright cold morning there’s a flock on Bay Lake that’s so unusual, even my most uninterested kin are interested. “What are those?”

And I just don’t know.

They look like ducks, but ride too low. They’re cormorant-like, but aren’t. Not Anhingas. Loons don’t congregate. I’m silent.

There are thirty of them, floating in tight formation, watched by Ring-billed Gulls. They have an upward tilt to their heads, grayish light and dark plumage.

I’m stumped.

Later, I check my field guide. Horned Grebe. This was a tricky identification for two reasons.

In winter, Horned Grebes change from bright colors to gray. Also in winter, they tend to flock. I didn’t know that.

This worked out okay. For a while there, I was becoming an authority figure, and didn’t much like the feeling.

I’d rather be a father figure. Fathers, as we know, don’t necessarily have all the answers.

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