My sister-in-law is a relatively new birder, having put up bird feeders in her back yard and becoming aware of the species coming to visit. We have talked on the phone and exchanged emails about what kinds of birds she should expect to see, what to look for in the way of identification and more. So, I thought I would do two things to help fan the flame if you will. I brought her my copy of the Sibley guide to birds, and my old spotting scope that I rarely use anymore. As it turns out she can sit on her patio and look over a couple acres of open grassland that is bordered by tall trees on two sides. It is very comfortable to sit on her patio and scan the flocks of Red-Wing Blackbirds, Sparrows, Cardinals, and Dickcissels.
While we visited I picked up a couple lifers just watching her back yard feeders. One was a Brown Thrasher(Toxostoma rufum), who was a regular visitor each morning I was there.
My in-laws were so very gracious and hospitable, they made sure there were birding locations nearby that we went to nearly every day we were there. They live near the "Tri-State" area of Indiana, so they literally can be in Kentucky, Indiana, or Illinois within an hour. So we hiked and birded John James Audubon Park in Kentucky, Weselman Park in Indiana and Hovely Lake. I added the Indigo Bunting(Passerina cyanea), and Carolina Chickadee(Poecile carolinensis) at the Audubon park. My wife picked up a Kentucky Woods Bourbon Barrel Cake, which satisfied our sweet tooth.
My sister-in-law buys her feed from Tim and Margi Griffith who are owner/operators of the Wildbirds Unlimited Nature Shop in Evansville, Indiana, (email; wbuevansville@gmail.com or website of www.wbu.com/evansville). She really wanted me to meet Tim as he is knowledgeable about birds in the area. One day we drove to the store and found Tim. We talked for a little while about birds, birding locations, and he wrote down a couple locations for us to visit. Then he asked us to wait a minute, went to the back of the store and returned a short time later. He asked me what I was doing at 5:30 the next morning. When I answered in my very articulate, "Uhhh..." He said if I would meet him in the parking lot at 5:30 the next morning he would take me to a place to see the Blue Grosbeak, and other potential "lifers".
I cannot say enough about this as I am a born and bred California boy, who wouldn't take a complete stranger out in the woods to do anything, much less "bird". However, he offered, I accepted, and by golly we were somewhere deep in the corner of Indiana where there were open farmlands, riparian areas along a riverbank, marshland. It took a little work, but we did find the Blue Grosbeak,(Passerina coerulea), several egrets, Blue Herons, and many Dickcissels. We saw a couple coyotes as well that seemed very healthy. People were driving up and down the dirt roads and to my amazement several stopped to talk to us. It was as if I was in my home city where I met several people I knew and caught up on what they are doing, only these were complete strangers. An odd experience for me.
It was along one of these dirt roads that I saw one my most exciting lifers, the Prothonatory Warbler (Protonotaria citrea). A beautiful little bird with a yellow body, and gray-blue wings. There were Wood ducks, Black Terns, Eastern Kingbirds, Eastern Meadowlarks, Henslow's Sparrow(which I would not have gotten without Tim's help)and more at this magical place. I wish I could tell you where it was, but we drove on dirt farm roads without markings for so long I can't hazard a guess. So I would suggest that if you find yourself in or near Evansville, Indiana, you contact Tim or Margi Griffith at the above websites or at (812)476-BIRD, and they will help you out.
(Tim birding early in the morning.)
(This was where we saw the Prothonotary Warbler. Tough to find in this stuff.)
As we were leaving, we flushed a Northern Bobwhite to run along the road for a good look. We had heard them all morning calling their name, "Bob White!" but hadn't seen one until we were leaving.
Tim was telling me how much trouble he gets into when he is birding and is late for opening the store as we returned to the parking lot. We weren't too late, and he immediately set about the opening process as the car barely came to a stop. He took time to shake hands and wish me luck, then off to work he went. I hope Margi and the others working in the store went easy on him as he performed a work of kindness to a fellow birder. I was so surprised by his offer, and appreciative of his knowledge and enthusiasm. Saying Thank you is not enough.
Weselman Park and John James Audubon Parks are old growth forest that has been protected for many years. As such they are beautiful, and full of life. At the Audubon Park my sister-in-law and I hiked a couple of the trails, and found toads, turtles, skinks as well as Chickadees and Blue Jays and more.
(Marcie, my sister-in-law hiking in John James Audubon Park, Kentucky. Note the Grapevine and Poison Ivy growing on the tree.)
This is where I learned Eastern Birders have many more challenges than Western Birders. Western Birders have heat and dust to contend with, and sometimes wind, but Eastern Birders had the oppressive heat and humidity combination that sucks the breath from you by 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning. We hiked several places in deep forest with a thick canopy of trees overhead that did nothing but hold in the thick humidity. I was dripping sweat and fogging my glasses. Add the most annoying millions of mosquitoes and ticks and there are a lot of distractions for the average birder in that part of the country.
Also, the old growth forest houses a ton of great wildlife, but makes the birding very difficult as it affords a lot of places for birds to hide. There were several times that I could see leaves moving, catch glimpses of a bird in the branches, but they were so hidden I couldn't make the id. This is why birders from these parts are so good at birding by ear. You can't see to make an id!
This brings up an old story that I love. A birder friend of mine was brushing up on bird calls by using a CD in his car stereo while driving along a long stretch of road in Utah. He was stopped by the local gendarme because apparently he was weaving over the broken white line. When the officer asked if he had been drinking, he answered no he hadn't. When he asked if he were tired, the birder said no, he was listening to bird calls on his stereo and got distracted. He turned up the stereo so the officer could hear. The officer laughed, "That's a first for me, you can go. Have a nice day!" He walked all the way back to his car laughing.
You might be a birdnerd if...you use bird calls to get out of a ticket.
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