This is great, thanks for sharing.
Funny thing was after our kids moved out and we we in late 40s, my wife said " we should join a bird watching group, they meet at 6 am Saturdays. We can grab a coffee on the way."
I laughed, a lot, and she asked why. I said, "We are going to get up - tired - and drive half hour, and get out of the car and it will be us and a bunch of 80 years olds with binoculars and bird books, and you will want to come home; because they don't want morning talking while we all drink coffee, they want it quiet to hear the birds' calls and not scare them off as we enter the woodland areas."
So I recognize that my statements were a generalizarion, but I also know my wife; she is highly social, loud, and has little patience for idle time.
Anyway, she said "they can't all be 80!". So I replied, " You're right, there's also going to be a guy around 40 that loved birds since he was 5, and only talks about birds and nothing else."
But I agreed to humour her in this planned activity, because she was trying to schedule couples time; and also I like birds, my dad was birder type. I think 3D spatial motion birds are allowed must be amazing.
So we wake up at 5am, groggy and get a coffee on our drive to this beautiful marsh bay area, we pull into the gravel lot slightly late, so everyone has already arrived and started to walk towards the brush as we pull in. And the hilarious part is: its all retired age, or older, wirey grey haired birders in Tilly hats and vests, and a long haired pony tail dude with socks and sandles wearing a satchel.
So there are two things my wife irrationally hates: vests and satchel bags. Which makes no sense to me. My wife seeing the scene of what she was joining made her do a fast uturn on the gravel and speed off. I laughed because I knew exactly how it would go down, but also my stereotypical embellishment of birders unfolded before her eyes like I was an amazing clairvoyant seer.
Anyway, we didn't join a birding group, but we have been back to that area and others. I saw a giant bald eagle land in the tree above me maybe 15 feet up, and walking through the path I almost came face to face with an owl, it was that close. In both situations when our eyes met the bird took flight.
And Ironically in both instances my wife missed seeing the birds because she was focused on walking and talking, and not really looking and taking in everything.
As a side note: if anyone has Steam on your PC, they have the game Wingspan. Its a fun PC version of the bird collecting card / board game. Build out your habitat, use the birds special power, collect points for eggs hatched, etc.
