I am not a “real” birder – just someone who loves all of nature, and especially enjoys watching the birds at my feeders. I have heard of people making life lists of birds they have seen, which I assume include the date, time, and location of first sightings of every different bird they have ever seen. Sounds kind of like work to me! I have seen many different kinds of birds, and I remember them all, as well as the general area where I’ve seen them, and even the time period within months or years when I’ve seen the most unusual ones. That's close enough for me!

My husband and I always have to identify every bird we see, and our Golden Guide to Field Identification of Birds of North America is definitely the most-used book in the house – well, after our Bibles, that is, and some of Sister White’s books, and maybe the dictionary, but maybe not! My only regret is that we didn’t have it with us when we walked to the point of Point Pelee, so that we could identify that unusual bird we saw that day, singing on the top of an electrical pole. (Not out at the point, mind you!) We took a picture so we could check it out later, but having only an ordinary fixed-focus camera, it wasn’t good enough for the bird to be identified.

One of my cherished ambitions is to feed the birds out of my hands, someday when I have the time to be still for the long time periods required. And yes, in case any of the rest of you are readers of Birds and Blooms, I know all about “Bill Bird-in-Hand,” but he is too expensive for me at this time. When I do it, I’m going to have to do it the hard way. But that’s OK – perhaps the thrill will be that much greater for the effort it takes to accomplish.

I am looking forward to discussing these most beautiful of God’s creatures with all of you here. One warning: Misspelled words drive me crazy, and I will correct any I find in your posts. Be prepared! (So if you see “edited by Cathy Sears” at the bottom of one of your posts and can’t find any difference, you will know that “teacher” has struck again! No comments from you please, Jason P! )

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

[This message has been edited by Cathy Sears (edited June 04, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Cathy Sears (edited August 24, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Cathy Sears (edited August 24, 2001).]

Like you, I have only recently been working on building an interest in birding (stemming from working with Pathfinders). My stepmom and cousin are authorities on the subject.

While you have the desire to have birds feed from you hand, I think I'll just have to wait until the earth is made new.

A story to share. One Sabbath afternoon I went with my parents to a side country road in Central Florida. When we got out of the cars, we had a healthy supply of raw peanuts in pockets and in hand to feed her "pet wild critters." In Florida, we have a number of endangered or special concern creatures, among which is the Florida Scrub Jay. We had not been out of the vehicles for a full minute, when we were surrounded with a small flock of Scrub Jays awaiting the peanuts she had been treating them with over the past few weeks. One individual had a twisted beak, but was most trusting. Several came to feed from her hand and Dad's. They were too shy to come to me.
This encounter was simply awesome.

Last summer I had a mother build a nest in my washroom. Never did determine which bird it was. I took the bird guide out to attempt to identify it a number of times. I was so pleased that she raised her family successfully despite my cat rooming around.

Praise God from where all blessings flow.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.