Saturday, March 25, 2006

Birdies in the Bushies

I'm on a strict schedule this morning. Gotta get out of here fairly early. Coffee cult will be abbreviated, cuz I'm going on a birding tour to Denton Slough. Sandpoint's Pied Piper of Birders, Earl Chapin, and his wife Bev will be leading the troops. Bring binoculars, a bird book and a sack lunch, we've been told.

It's all part of the local Native Plant Society's March meeting. Last month, Bill talked to them about the Humbird Lumber dynasty here in Bonner County. Today, a lady from the Coeur d'Alene Fish and Game is coming to Community Hall to talk to the group about bluebird houses. Then, we'll all drive out to Denton Slough near Clark Fork and follow Earl through the bushes and along the shoreline.

I'm not a member of the Native Plant Society, and I'm hardly a card-carrying birder, but I am writing an article for Sandpoint Magazine about the pastime, which, as babyboomers retire, is fast becoming the most popular of all leisure-time activities. I've learned a lot about birding since starting this story and have enjoyed every minute of it---especially the daily discussions with my mother about the bird behavior outside our respective windows.

Actually, I didn't realize, until doing this story, that I could join the ranks of the card carriers pretty easily. Just have to pick up a little more lingo and some better binoculars. I feed my ducks and geese cracked corn every spring. And, when I feed them, the blackbirds, seagulls, robins and crows all join in. Our lawn across the driveway is littered with goose poop, but I don't care.

There's nothing more exhilarating than to look out the kitchen window in the morning or late afternoon and see the menagerie (sometimes nearly 40 ducks and geese and hundreds of blackbirds) making their way, like an invading army, over the mounds near the pond and slowly coming closer to the house while pecking away at the day's supply of corn. Many of the geese spend most of the day lounging on the lawn after their tummies are full.

I especially love watching when some problem child among the ranks commits an infraction of the eating rules and someone else chases after the culprit, snapping that bill and chewing them out, just like an old school teacher. Once the moment of intense discipline ends, all goes back to normal and corn-pecking resumes.

Yesterday, Bill, Kiwi and I went to my most favorite bird-watching place on earth---the Kootenai Wildlife Refuge near Bonners Ferry. It was pouring rain here, and the common rule is that if it's pouring rain in Sandpoint, it may not be pouring rain in Bonners. Well, it was, but, almost miraculously, when we rounded the corner on the road leading across the massive Kootenai Valley to the refuge, a large patch of blue sky was making its way over the mountain.

We pulled into a parking lot at the edge of the refuge and took off down the road to the north. A bald eagle watched us from its cottonwood nest. A younger eagle kept swooping over us, and the invisible pheasant roosters on either side of us just wouldn't shut up. We saw not one rooster in that three-mile walk, but we heard a couple dozen. Of course, the geese, ducks and white swans were visible and audible virtually everywhere.

Two miles of our walk was dry. One mile was wet, very wet. My pants were soaked by the time we returned to the pickup, but I didn't care. Any trip to that place is a treat as far as I'm concerned. It is so vast, so open, and humans seem so minuscule in the grand scheme of the place. It's also one of the more peaceful escapes from the modern, crazy world that I've ever visited. Plus, ya see one heckuva lot of birds.

I'm looking forward to learning more about birding from Earl today. Hope it doesn't rain, but I'm not holding my breath. So, in addition to binoculars, birdbook, camera and lunch, I'll take along some extra clothes.

May the bird of paradise fly up your nose on this spring Saturday.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Marianne,
I am a sometimes sort of birder and look forward to discovering all the new varieties around Sandpoint when we finally make the big move north. I highly recommend THE BIG YEAR, a true book of fanatical birders. It is very entertaining and often hilarious. Have fun today, wish I was there to enjoy!