I have been interested in birds since my family moved to the Torresdale section of the city when I was 8 years old, into a house that sat in the middle of the woods (yes, at the time the northeastern-most part of the city was still undeveloped). I have feeders in my backyard in South Philly and always take a bird guide with me when I go to the Wissahickon or upstate - or anyplace I might see birds. But I don't think of myself as a birder and have absolutely no interest in joining crowds of people with binoculars following some know-it-all guide. For me, watching birds is ancillary to the deep pleasure of a solitary walk among woods and fields - or something to do while I make my coffee (I can spend quite a while staring out the window at the house sparrows).
Me, too, Frank. I recently put a feeder outside the dining room window and love to watch all the little brown nondescript birds take their turns at the seeds. (Some very miffed squirrels, however, as it's finally a truly squirrel-proof feeder. First they did gymnastics between the tree and the feeder before at last giving up on getting in. Now they're okay just eating all the seeds the birds knock down to the ground.)
ReplyDeleteSusan, what is this mythical squirrel-proof feeder of which you speak?
ReplyDeleteThis may be my favorite misreading ever. When my eyes fell on "nondescript birds" in Susan's comment, I at first read "manuscript birds." What sort of a creature would a manuscript bird be?
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, though "nondescript birds" is pretty good, too. The genus is rather widespread, I think.
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