I love watching the birds in our garden, but have been slow to learn anything about them. So I was thrilled to learn that bird walks are held every month at Cantigny, a beautiful estate near Wheaton. I joined the group at the visitors center at 7:30 am for the August walk. As we set off, the group paused at a coneflower patch. There was a ripple of excitement when someone spotted a pine siskin, not often seen this time of year.
Over the next two hours, 47 different birds were identified. I have to admit I did not see all these birds. However, the turkey and green heron were hard to miss and we were all excited to see a large brown bird that turned out to be a true rarity, an olive sided flycatcher.
But even if I missed many, I still learned a lot. A bluebird is only blue on top, reddish brown on the bottom. Hummingbirds are very territorial and will occasionally go after people. Our walk took us by a tower built for chimney swifts three years ago – our group leader noticed it had been used for the first time recently by nesting birds.
It was fascinating to listen to the more experienced birders distinguish calls and features and swap stories. Birders learn to walk softly and slowly, and to really look at the world. Not glance, not eyeball, not skim - really look. What a great lesson. I'll be back.
I'm Deborah Booth and that's my perspective.
