4 the Birds, cont...

Birds have always been a big part of my life, even now they continue to play some part. I was interested n nature from a young age, mostly rocks and minerals. When I was a kid birds were something you shot off the high wire with a BB gun. It wasn’t ‘til I was older that I developed a better appreciation for them, though I still consider pigeons fair game. That is one reason my wife won’t let me have that pellet gun I have had my eye on.

I was fortunate to meet a fellow student who was all about birds. I helped with a bird count along the Mississippi, and sat in a blind to trap, weigh, and band raptors. My friend eventually took up falconry and that was very interesting. It is one thing to see the bird perched in a tree, or flying along, but quite another to be up close and personal with the birds. .I even had a Kestrel perch on my noggin – very uncomfortable for me as they have very sharp talons, but it would be tough to get any closer than that. My kids were lucky enough to be a long for a visit later in life and got to pet a Great Horned owl my friend was nursing back to health and see his Goshawk in flight. It took my wife a while longer to get over the dead rabbit parts along side the food in their freezer when she helped make lunch. Hawks have to eat too.

I learned a lot and really fell in love with the wide world of birds. Now I only have humming birds for the most part. I did put out a regular bird feeder, but the pigs pushed all the seeds out and chased the hummingbirds off – all I was getting wee the flying rats that seem to dominate the city landscape. I have managed to get out a bit and see some local birds and hope to do more of that as soon as things cool off a bit. At least a trip tot eh Sonoran Desert Museum would be fun; they have a nice group of desert birds on display as well as a hummingbird enclosure. I’d like to get back to Montezuma’s Castle again as well, Beaver creek runs through the area with some nice cotton woods so there should be a lot of birds. I will wait until we can take huskies without worrying about hot paws!!