Bird Watching, Revised
The hobby of bird watching can be a lot of fun, and, on occasions get a little sticky.
Alice and I have been watching birds for a long time. When we first started the kids were small and did not “get” our new hobby. We would find a new bird and get all excited about finding a different one to add to our list and the kids would sigh, roll their eyes back into their heads and say, “Here we go again.” However they soon learned to live with two “old” folks acting strange. We have marked bird sightings in our little book of about 200 different kinds of birds. From the high west Texas mountains to the swampy bays of southeast Texas there are a multitude of feathered friends. Texas is a great area for spotting birds for we have over 500 kinds of birds all year, or migrate to or from our state during the seasons.
Equipment for the hobby of bird watching is inexpensive and the list is short. “Petersons Field Guide to Birds of Texas” is my favorite book for identifying birds found in the field. There are newer books available and some feel they are better. I am used to “Petersons” and think I will stick with it. The only other “tool” needed is a lightweight pair of binoculars. They don’t need to be fancy or expensive; just light weight. A new item that is fast becoming a necessity is a digital camera. I don’t have one yet, but perhaps some day in the future. Our friend, Wes Griffin, has some neat pictures of birds photographed in his yard posted on the Internet. He has many local ones, but my favorite is the picture of a male painted bunting. This fellow has a bright blue head, a chartreuse back, and a flaming red breast. This must be the brightest bird around the state. I don’t know the kind of camera Wes has, but the pictures are great. Check with him. He will be glad to share that information with you. http://papawes.blogspot.com
As you can see, this hobby is a rather staid, uneventful, safe but interesting one. However L.V. Staton who lives off county road 3405 had a rather sticky “bird watching” encounter recently. I don’t think L.V. was out bird watching. but it sure got his attention. A buzzard made an error in landing on a high voltage line and shorted out the electricity in the that community . They said it fried the buzzard to a crisp. A neighbor called P.E.C. and they promised to repair the problem promptly. She replied, “You better hurry, because I am in the middle of a Ophra show.” Staton told me he called the lady and asked her to save him a leg and thigh for supper. She replied, “You better hurry over; all the white meat is already gone.”
So, you see, the hobby is packed with high adventure, and fun, but little profit. Well, two out of three isn’t bad.