Thursday, May 21, 2009

Birding 101



One of my goals this year is to learn more about our shore birds. I know gulls from terns most of the time, and plovers from sanderlings, but I would like to be able to identify them more specifically. I'm not sure when it became so important for me to distinguish a Wilson's Plover from a Semipalmated Plover, but at some point my love of the island kept growing to include all the things I see around me on my walks.

I didn't think identifying shore birds would be such a difficult task, but the darn little things keep changing plumage throughout the season! Oh the irony, I'm becoming a bird lady. Justice for old Mr. Shaver and his birding lectures I giggled through in Vacation Bible School as a little girl when he tried to teach us bird whistles. Serves me right.

No comments: