Feather Brained: My Bumbling Quest to Become a Birder and Find a Rare Bird on My Own by Bob Tarte

Author:Bob Tarte [Tarte, Bob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, General, Personal Memoirs, nature, Birdwatching Guides, Animals, birds
ISBN: 9780472119868
Google: AwsXDAAAQBAJ
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Published: 2016-04-13T20:41:10+00:00

While Stacey wowed me with the science of owl abilities, Scott made me think about the meaning of birds. He made me realize that in my teeth-gritting efforts to become a birder, I risked losing the sense of wonder that had once wrapped me around the little toe of a rose-breasted grosbeak. I had gone from gazing awestruck at the wildness of a pair of red-headed woodpeckers to wondering if it would be cheating to report the owl as my own find—I was the first member of the group to find it, after all—instead of enjoying a gorgeous owl for its own sake. Linda didn’t keep a species list, and her delight in seeing her fourth, fifth, and sixth eastern towhee was every bit as profound as her first. Then there was Bill Holm, who just wanted to have fun. He had the right idea with his bottle of special bird-attracting fluid. The spirit of the thing was what really counted.

I could do better than trying to make birding into a contest pitting me against the birds and against other birders. But I didn’t have to mend my ways immediately. Nobody but Linda, Brian Drake, and I knew that Brian had found the long-eared owl, and neither Brian nor Linda subscribed to the birding group. After wrestling with my conscience, I decided to grab some glory and report the owl to [email protected] after all—giving Brian Drake full credit for the discovery, of course.

Although I hadn’t moved an inch closer to finding my own “good bird,” I took heart that even in winter one was nearby waiting to be seen. In fact, it was even closer than I suspected. Within a year, my dreams of a finding a rarity in my very own backyard would come to pass, but with a bittersweet twist.

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