November 4 - Bird Watching

I will never list bird watching as a pastime. Even though I can hear the twittering in the trees and bushes, I simply can’t see those tiny feathered creatures. I have learned to identify certain sounds – the call of a loon and the hoot of an owl, the drumming of a woodpecker, and the coo of the pigeons under the bridge where I walk – but I just can’t see the actual birds. Given this, I was totally amazed the other week when I saw a chickadee.

We were in Birds Hill Provincial Park just north of Winnipeg. It was a lovely fall day and we were out for a walk with our family. There are a number of walking trails in the park but we had chosen Prairie Winds. At one point I could hear the chattering of chickadees in the bushes. The sound was right beside the trail. I could see the movement of the branches and hear the fluttering of little wings.

Then our son directed me to hold out my hand and see if the birds would come closer. It was totally amazing! Several of the chickadees seemed to take turns to land on my hand. I could feel the scratching of their little claws and because it was as close as my outstretched hand, I could see the bird before it flew away.

I could have stayed in the same spot for ages. I’m not sure if the others in our group realized what a visual miracle this was for me. I do know that our two grandchildren sat themselves down in the middle of the trail waiting for the chickadees to come to them – an they did! Like me, I think that the children were fascinated and could have stayed in the same position for ages.

There are two pictures with this post. The first shows me holding my hand out with a tiny bird perched on my fingers. The second is of our two grandchildren with a cluster of little birds fluttering around them. I was told that one bird even landed on Lexi’s head.

It was a great day for bird watching! 

Sue with bird in hand

 

Grandchildren with birds