There are quite a few excellent birding areas within the city. We go out of town to visit half a dozen sites. One of them is the Ellis bird Farm.
When I started the only thing people brought with them were binoculars. I carried a bird book in my backpack. We had fun but didn't find a lot of birds.
Tony is checking on his bird app.
As time went on a few people showed up with some high end cameras. They also turned out to be excellent photographers. Now we usually got a few excellent photos of the bird that was hard to see and just a quickly flew away. So there we were with a photo. We could look at the bird as long as we wanted. We had evidence and took as much time as needed to make an identification.
Then people started showing up with an app on their phone which was better than a bird book. One could see several photos, watch the bird fly and listen to a call.
So in ten years bird watching changed a great deal. Bird watching is still fun, maybe more fun, as we get to identify more birds.
Now covid -19 has prevented us from going out as a group. Birders are bad for getting in a close group to look at pictures in order to identify what was seen. So what to do about bird watching. Well, one of our birders suggested that people go out on their own and report their sightings and photos to our facebook page. It was a roaring success. People went to different areas and reported many sightings. It's a good way to watch birds but since birders are such a social group we are just waiting to go back out as a group.
Notice Ariane in the middle looking at photos . Then there's someone behind ariane with a humungous lens.
This is one of my favorites. some wise guy said there's a bird. I wonder what it is. In about a minute Gary told us it's flight # and its going from Germany to LA.
Just this spring when I spotted a few unusual (to me) ducks, I began to realize how birding could be appealing. Also, there are a few avid nature photographers in our town's FB group. It is not an official town group.
ReplyDeleteEvery birding trip gives us something new and interesting.
DeleteOne of my favourite activities is birdwatching. I don’t belong to a group however. I don’t know of a group here. I must check it out after this pandemic is over.
ReplyDeleteOkay, if there isn't a group , start one!
DeleteYour group sounds like a fun bunch. I'm glad new technology added to the fun of bird watching and I hope you can get out again soon as a group.
ReplyDeleteThey are a very fun bunch and they know a lot about birds too!
DeleteThat's great that you started your own and stuck with it until others started to join!
ReplyDeleteIt didn't take long and more people showed up. A little publicity helped. We have a good web site(Red Deer River Naturalists) Check it out.
DeleteI'm so happy to hear your group has found a way to continue by using Facebook. Since you are all looking in different places it will probably increase the number of birds you see and it will be fun to compare notes.
ReplyDeleteI use an app called Merlin to help identify birds. It really helps as I am not an experienced birder. Isn't this coming Saturday International Bird Counting Day?
It could be Bird counting day but we do ours the end of May.
DeleteOh good for you! Once a teacher, always a teacher. If we lived in Canada, I’d love to go out with you.
ReplyDeleteThe interesting teaching part is that we have a college biology instructor anh he loves to teach. We are lucky to have him in our group.
DeleteNice story how quick things can change thanks to technology. That last photo has become rare here. We live rather close to Amsterdam Schiphol airport, but we haven't heard any airplane coming over in weeks now. The airport is closed and the airplanes are all parked there in long rows now. It is much more quiet in the air now for us and I sleep a lot better in the morning.
ReplyDeleteI only see a couple of flights a day where it used to be that flights went by all the time.
DeleteI have mixed feelings about all the technology, but it is here to stay.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how technology leads to much better birding. There is so much to learn.
DeleteHello, it is fun in a group, so many eyes are looking for and finding the birds. But, I also like the new technology. Have a happy day!
ReplyDeleteThe birds have to be found first and then comes the identity. We know most birds. Sometimes we se something a little different and that's when we have to look at details.
DeleteI have enjoyed stories about your birding group over the years. And let's hope that it won't be too long before we can start gathering in groups again.
ReplyDeleteAs I said birders get there heads together many times and that doesn't go well with the virus.
DeleteIt's wonderful that you started a bird watching group. When Roger and I retired it was the first time I turned my attention to birds. Life has been filled with song ever since!
ReplyDeleteYou meet some very inteesting people along the way.
DeleteIt's pretty impressive that someone could identify the specific flight! I've never bird-watched with an app. I still use an old-fashioned book, when I use anything at all. (And my camera.)
ReplyDeleteYou just take a photo of the airplane and the app tells you what flight it is. Look at some apps. I think you'll be surprised.
DeleteThat is a nice story you shared. Now you have to wait awhile until the virus is under control and then you can get the group together again. That will be a great day!
ReplyDeleteYes, it will be good to get back together.
DeleteHa, ha ... never knew birders had a sense of humor!
ReplyDeleteMy guys are a bunch of jokers. The penguin joke is always out there.
DeleteBirding is such a wonderful hobby! You've done great work.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Birders are a great bunch of people.
DeleteIt's nice that your group can continue to socialize, even if not face-to-face. When you finally can get out together it will surely make for a happy outing. technology does have its benefits that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteSo when we encounter challenges, we have to try something new.
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ReplyDeleteThis is all too charming. The last picture reminds me of my BFF and her brother. Their father taught them to identify any airplane they saw overhead, and it could be a raucous discussion between them, then and now, about what plane it is.
I can well imagine those discussions.
DeleteCOVID-19 is sure changing a lot of things. I am curious ... could you have gone out with your group together if you all wore masks and kept a bit of distance between yourselves?
ReplyDeleteSometimes I have 18-20 people. It's hard to keep them apart. We are chatterboxes. About 25 % are seniors so that's an issue. I'm 80 and I don't like the way the virus treats seniors.
DeleteThat's a great use of technology to keep up with the joys of the birding group. We have to adapt as best we can to this new reality and you folks have done a good job.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your reply to John, just above. This pandemic is very hard on seniors. For some of them -- maybe for a great many of them -- they will spend their last months or years doing this social distancing, and that is very sad.
This beast isn't over so it's hard to say what might happen.
DeletePicking up the bird watching group and getting it going has really paid off. Technology has its pro and cons;in the case of your group it opens up a whole new and immediate world.
ReplyDeleteJoanne Noragan at Cup on the Bus wrote about an interesting bird book today.
Maybe you saw the post?
Alphie
There are still many good bird books being published, When your in the field the app is a better option. We still have a few bird books with us,
DeleteStarting the birding group was a wonderful thing to do in your retirement and it was great that from the initial seed of an idea, a viable group developed. What birds do you especially remember from your time in the far north of Canada?
ReplyDeleteThe old teacher can ask questions that makes one think. I was not too much into birds at that time and I'm sorry I missed out on something. In some areas there were many, many sparrows on the ground.I did not know the species then. Others: ptarmigan, common raven, Canada geese, snow geese.
DeleteI’ve belonged to bird watching groups since I was in high school and it was not considered a “cool” thing to be a birdwatcher (now birder). Now it’s not nerdy anymore! Everyone is doing it. I had no idea you could take a photo of a plane and an app would tell you where it was going. i know someone who is going to love that.
ReplyDeleteI've been a very disorganized birder all my life. I've had to learn some new things at this age.
DeleteAn innovative way to enjoy birding. Technology has really been a huge help during these times!
ReplyDeleteYes. it keeps people involved.
DeleteThat is a good way to share your love of birding not the same but better than not getting out at all:)
ReplyDeleteThese groups sound like a lot of fun. I often saw them at Huntley Meadows, one of our favorite bird places.
ReplyDeletei enjoyed your story about bird watching dear Red
ReplyDeleteso true that if there is will there is a way ,you formed new group and enjoying your bird watch with new friends and new technology :)
these are lovely images which strengthen my faith that "life is beautiful" when one has skill to see it with insight and find how numerous treasures she hold for us and at what cost ,only a curious eye :)
more blessings!