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Today was a perfect November day in Georgia with temps in the low 60’s and clear blue skies. My parents are in town for the holiday and my Father has been a birdwatcher for 55 of his 75 years so he was more than ready to help me identify some new birds. So, I took the opportunity to spend some time walking around the yard with him to see what I could see.
Some Skill Involved
We spent about 45 minutes walking around the yard. All around us there was activity. The problem for me was actually seeing what the birds were. I’m finding that it takes some skill to be able to get the binoculars up to your eyes and be able to see what you thought you saw before you put the binoculars up. It definitely takes some practice.
We saw a lot of birds in a short time. My “Life List” is now up to 21 species. Here’s what I saw:
- Mourning Dove
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Phoebe
- Carolina Chickadee
- Tufted Titmouse
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Brown-headed Nuthatch
- Carolina Wren
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Eastern Bluebird
- Brown Thrasher
- Pine Warbler
- Eastern Towhee
- Chipping Sparrow
- Northern Cardinal
- House Finch
- American Goldfinch
It was an enjoyable time walking around the yard with my Father. He has a ton of experience and was quickly able to get me oriented as far as what birds were what and their songs, etc. I’m getting a little better at spotting the movement of the birds and being able to get the binoculars on them but I need a lot more work at it.
All in all It was a good time. Oh, I forgot to mention that near the end of the day we all spotted a large bird sitting on our dinner table. It looked so good that we just ate it up. I think it’s called Turkey or something like that. Can I add it to my Life List? 
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What a good idea — to start over. I birded a lot before I had kids, but slowed down quite a bit afterward. Now that they are in their teens, I’ve begun to think about getting back into the habit, but have doubts about some of the sitings on my life list. Like, was that really a fox sparrow I saw in the back yard on Tennessee Ave or was it something else? I sort of felt that my “life list” might have been a “lie list” in some ways. But starting over with a fresh list is a good way to start, well, fresh.
Hi Dona,
Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Yeah, it was so long ago that I last kept track of things I saw that there is no real way to quantify it anymore. Although my Father reminded me that I did have a pretty good list way back then. But, I figure by starting over I can really feel good about every new bird I see. And, now that my wife is involved we can share the pleasure of birding together.