Bird Watching 101

Ron and I decided to go bird LISTENING.  Yes, most people go bird WATCHING and we did that too but we took along our devices and tuned in on the Merlin App

We headed into Prince Edward County and went on roads that we have never been on before and found a National Wildlife Area.  They do lots of research on our feather friends by capturing, examining, tagging and releasing them.  They had two little birds there to show us and explain the process and then off they went back to their little flock.

We walked along the paths with our apps turned on, picking up a few new sounds to save to our life lists.  It was a beautiful area to walk.

We walked down one lane and were treated to beautiful butterflies gracefully swooping around us and landing on the flowers.  

Pictures don’t do them justice.  How did God think to create these amazing creatures and to know that they came from ugly caterpillars.  I was so hoping that one would land on me but I was not as enticing as the fragrant aromas along the way.

At the end of one of our little jaunts, a lighthouse stood bravely where it has been since 1881.  Although not in use anymore, it was surrounded by spectacular views.

Another path led us through a majestic looking forest.  Grass covered the path and the trees provided a canopy.  It was so peaceful as we strolled listening and looking.

We were careful to stay on the paths in order to avoid contact with poison ivy…we have had enough of that in our house over the past month.  

Anyone see a problem with this picture?

We left the sanctuary and drove through the Sandbanks Provincial Park.  It looked like summer was over with all of the empty parking lots.

After a couple of hours of exploring we decided it was lunch time.  One of our favourite places to go in the County is the  Waring House Restaurant. There are a few businesses on the property and one of them includes a Cookery School. You know that they want a good reputation for their school and the food has never disappointed us.

After a few more stops, we grabbed a coffee and headed for home.  Bird watching was something that I never really thought I would be doing.  My thoughts of this activity went back to the old show The Beverley Hillbillies. (You can watch the video by pressing the link.)  This morning I did not have the bird sight seeing uniform.  I only had my cell phone with the Merlin App.   Just like Miss Jane was always looking for Jethro…

I had my Ron.

So what do we do in retirement….just about everything!

I added a few new birds to my list so the day was productive.