690. Go birdwatching

I don't even know why go bird-watching is even on the list. I like nature. I like going for hikes but I'm not one to sit and watch for nature. Maybe I thought everyone should go bird-watching at least once. Who knows.

Luckily Heckrodt Wetland Reserve is teeming with wildlife and has a bird club. The even better part is they have bird hikes periodically throughout the year so novice bird enthusiasts can learn the names of the birds and learn how to identify different birds in their yard. Since I figured there is no way, I'm going to do the whole bird-watching thing by myself with a pair of binoculars and a guidebook, I decided to participate in one of these hikes.. even if it was at 8 am on a Saturday.

Dragging Danielle and Gavin along, I joined the bird watching hike and even got my very own pair of binoculars to use. We didn't go more than 10 feet from the Nature Center before we saw our first birds. Okay so it helped there were feeders there. We saw cardinals, blue jays, robins, red-breasted blackbirds, among others. I've seen (and could identify) all of those birds. I swear we spent a good thirty minutes oohing and aahing over the birds at the feeders. Danielle and I hoped we would actually get to walk because so far I wasn't impressed.

After everyone got there fill of cardinals and robins, we headed down the boardwalk. Soon we stopped to find an board owl hanging out in top of a tree. After scanning the whole area, I finally was able to discover the owl. Even with all the pointing, I was having difficulties spotting him with my binoculars. I have to admit he was pretty cool to see and wished I brought the good camera.

There's an owl in those trees somewhere

Then we headed over to the pond. The pond had small ducks. I've seen those around the complex before. However, we also saw white herons and blue herons. The white heron was a bi tricky to pick out since he was hanging out along the edge of the marsh. A seagull was having fun trying to pull something out of the water. Danielle and I were disappointed we saw no turtles. I know I know this is a bird hike but still the turtles would have been cool.

Danielle suggested we head over the bridge. There we found a hawk and some other birds. By this time I was losing interest in the birds and wanted to get on with my day. However, since I borrowed the binoculars I needed to stay with the group.

Eventually we headed back to the nature center and I could head home. I don't mind bird watching per se but I definitely have about an hour attention span and we better be moving a lot. Maybe that's my problem, I can't stay in one place long enough to look for birds.

Will I ever bird watch again? Maybe. The right opportunity will have to present itself. Until then I will just keep wandering through the wetlands hoping to see a woodpecker or owl.