Presidents’ Day was off to a great start early this morning. I asked my daughter if she wanted to go look at a Great Horned Owl nest. To my delight, she eagerly pounced on the opportunity, “Yeah! Let’s do it!!”
Before long, this impromptu trip grew exponentially into a full family birding excursion. Everyone jumped into the van and we started our adventure. The first highlight was a flock of 12 Wild Turkeys just off the sie of the road. The kids giggled at the gobblers as we drove by them.
When we finally Abbotts Meadow WMA, the nest immediately popped into view. Of course, the owl itself was not so easily seen. My wife peered through her bins and audibly sighed as she found the bird. Jean has a particular fondness for owls but has not had a good look at one in a few years.
Once the scope was set up at a comfortable distance, the kids took their turns checking out the bird. Our daughter has had some experience with the scope and found the hunkered down owl with relative ease. Her smile gave away the precise instant she laid eyes on bird.
My son was a different situation. He is only 2 years old and has a real hard time looking through the scope. After several adjustments to the tripod, it was time for him to see a life bird.
We tried several times with different angles but success kept eluding us. After some more tweaking, I bring him up to the scope with a hand over his left eye. I look for the light coming through eyepiece and patiently work to get it right into his pupil.
He suddenly blurts out, “OW! Dada Ow!” He finally saw his first Great Horned Owl. What a proud day for all of us!
(originally posted Feb. 2007)
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