A while back, you were in a Chicago bar. Through an alley window you saw a fairly uncommon Eastern Towhee.
There were some city weeds among the cracked pavement there. Still, you wouldn’t go in that alley to see birds. Maybe you’d go to see rats.
But when it comes to birds, you gotta expect the unexpected. Birds are found where you find them.
Same thing goes for finding two-fisted birdwatchers.
You know a guy, six-one, two-twenty, mostly muscle. Played starting center years ago in high school. He’s been known to scare bouncers in night clubs.
These days he’s into the wife and kids, pizza, workouts, real estate deals. Not exactly the old-school image of a birder.
(We don’t like the old-school image of birders. That’s what this website is all about).
Today you got an email from this guy with some excitement in it. He wrote: “Hey, just saw a Ruby-throated Hummingbird out my bedroom window!”
Little bird. Big guy. Is it surprising that he cared? Hell, no. Two-fisted birdwatchers, like birds themselves, are found where you find them.
Since I was little I’ve enjoyed watching the birds come to the feeders although I really thought the people with the binoculars on the side of the road were nerdy geeks. Now I’m one—a very cool two-fisted bird watcher!
Hummingbird feeders are a mess. Sugar + water = hummingbirds + ants + anything else that can stick to it.
Plant an apple tree or quince and watch them (and orioles and any other bird that loves the blossoms) come annually without the mess.
Jus’ sayin’.
The surprising birdwatchers that excite me the most are the diminutive ones: the twelve-year old boys, the toddlers that don’t say “Bird!” but say “Robin!”
Love this. I have birds in my back yard…hung a bird feeder…but I can’t identify them. I guess I’ll just listen to them sing!
So often it happens (but not always) The bigger the guy, the gentler the soul.
I see Ruby Throated Hummingbirds all summer outside my living room window. So what’s my secret? OK. Since you’re all two fisted bird watchers (assuming you’ve got both arms) I’ll let you in on it. You ready? Here it comes. HUMMING BIRD FEEDERS!
So true. It’s funny where you can find the most beautiful birds.
I love this blog and stories because these are the type of events that I experience in my life. But, I have not yet sighted the elusive TwoFistious-BirdWatcherous species in Louisville. I havent seen a Pileated Woodpecker either.
You would think both would be an easy spot? Not so for me, apparently.
Heres to hope in spotting either one!