"Love begins by taking care of the closest ones- the ones at home." Mother Teresa
I take care of the closest ones and then some. It is my G.O.D. chosen profession and I must say honestly - I love medicine and people. I might not always like the day to day aspecta of business, insurance and medication prescriptions, but helping people is great.
I sometimes forget to check on those who are at home. I feel it is because I have to take so many other people home in my mind. But over the years I have definitely gotten better at this. If not for the people at home in my case, I would never be able to do what I do. For one there is love, respect and major support from home- namely Rick. I couldn't do this without him.
Birding is a nature loving, animal loving. meditative hobby that is done outdoors. The question is - Do you love nature? Do you appreciate life around you? The trees, plants, flowers, sky... all the animals, and especially the birds. When you think of birding, what do you think of? I think of John James Audubon. He is probably the most well known man associated with bird watching. It started when he moved from Haiti to Philadelphia and started to watch the nesting and habitat patterns of the birds of that area. His first bird book was called Birds of America. I am fascinated with nature.
For those who do not know me - I love birds. I have an Amazon Green Parrot. It all started when I was about 9 years old. I loved watching the activities of the robins in our backyard. I had my first bird feeder on the back porch. I would watch for hours the different birds that came to feed. The sparrows, the blue jays and the cardinals to name a few. One Sunday dinner, the usual 15 plus people were at the dinner table. The food was endless and the laughter was contagious. My cousin, Dr Jim came by. His parents my great Uncle Jim and Aunt Sadie were there. He carried in a cage with a black bird squawking. It was a Mynah Bird. I named him Charlie. From that point on I have had talking birds and non talking birds. At one point Rick and I had 16 birds, as our love birds hatched eggs every 3-4 months.
Birding is a quiet and serene hobby. Rick bought me binoculars about 8 years ago. I get to bird watch in Fire Island and in Roosevelt Island. Of course there are more interesting birds in Fire Island. More than 330 species of birds have been recorded on Fire Island, more than 1/3 of all species found in North America. Fire Island is without a doubt one of the best birding locations in the New York area, particularly during the spring and fall migrations. The piping plover is an endangered species that nests on Fire Island. (see 2 photographs above) The third photograph is that of a Snowy Owl on Fire Island (courtesy of 7song).
During this nice warm weather, you should get started early as dawn to mid -morning is the best time to see different bird species. The wetlands, the edges of streams, woods and lakes make for grand birding adventures.
These are the aspects I was taught to watch for:
1. Look for color and different markings. Try to identify the bird.
2. Note how big the bird is
3. Watch the bird's actions such as where it flys to and notice the types of trees it visits.
4. Bring a small Bird Guide for the Region you are in. Try to find the bird in the book and then begin some basic researching about the bird.
You can buy a beginner's Bird Watching Guide and look up different resources at http://www.americanbirding.org/ or http://www.audubon.org/
Have lots of fun
Until tomorrow...
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