Posted by:
wftright
at Tue Mar 28 23:04:40 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by wftright ]
I'm something of a bird watcher. I can remember being a little kid back in East Tennessee and watching birds when it snowed. We'd get a good snow, and Mom would sweep part of the patio to make room for sunflower seeds. I'd sit wrapped in a blanket by the sliding glass door and watch the birds eat. Someone had given me an old pair of binoculars, and I'd try to figure out how to use them to watch. We had blue jays, cardinals, chickadees, titmice, purple finches, and occasional sparrows. Like most kids, I found them fascinating.
I didn't do much with it for a long time, but the interest returned about five or six years ago. I'm not a hardcore bird watcher, but I like to putter around with binoculars and a guide book. I saw a warbler that isn't all that common around here a while back when I was kayaking, and I sent an e-mail to the local ornithological society. A guy e-mailed me back and asked if I'd like to join a ListServe for birding in Louisiana. To be honest, I'm not a very good fit with those people in terms of outlook on many things. When I've expressed opinions on some things, I've made some people angry. However, I still enjoy following news in the bird world sometimes.
My bat interest grew out of an interest in caving. The caving interest developed through my high school years and became serious when I was in college. Cavers encounter bats at closer range than most people do and become more interested in bat issues. Bats, like snakes, are a misunderstood species. Like snakes, they have a certain beauty and appeal to those who know them well enough to appreciate them. I never became an expert on them by any means, but I participated in the bat surveys because that's what our caving group did. The data was eventually fed to researchers who were studying bat hibernation and population trends. They are neat little critters.
There's no hurry on a response from my point of view.
Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.
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RE: Thanks and no problem - wftright, Tue Mar 28 23:04:40 2006