P2F - Old and Young Alike

Day 72 - Sat Jan 5: installment 3 of 4 on my P2F dept relief
I took a quick mid-afternoon jaunt to a park along the Delaware River to scan for wintering waterfowl. Visions of Canvasbacks, Buffleheads, and Mergansers dove in my head.

Scoping the river for a few minutes yielded all 3 expected gulls, Mallards, Canada Geese, and a few handfuls of Bufflehead. Then a gravely voice punctuated my search effort.

"Excuse me. Would you be able to tell me what kind of hawk I saw in my yard today?"

I welcomed the opportunity to talk birds with a stranger. With both of us eager to get down to business, gratuitous pleasantries were quickly exchanged. His description started "brown streaks here [rubbing his hands vertically along his sky blue coat] - brown on the back - with some white spots"

I cross-examined the witness regarding the overall scene in his backyard. With all the evidence collected, I pulled a field guide out of my pocket and turned to the accipiter page.

My inquisition continued, "did it look like one of these?"

"Almost exactly!"

"Were you able to get an idea of its size?"

"Oh yeah. It was sitting right on my fence. It was only about this big," as his wrinkled hands framed an NFL proportioned football.

"Are you including the tail in that?!"

"Uh-huh"

"Sounds like Sharp-shinned Hawk was looking for one of your feeder birds."

The conversation moved on to his growing interest in birds. We talked about some of the birds he should be on the lookout for near his house. When I mentioned Bald Eagles, his face lit up!

This genial gentleman is getting ready to hike into his seventies with his recently bought first field guide and binoculars!

Just as his bright coat disappeared into the distance, an immature Bald Eagle flew right over me.

Fledging Birders Tip: NEVER let an eagle go by without drawing someone's attention to it.

I noticed a guy coming down the path with two little kids.

"In case you're interested, there is a Bald Eagle flying right above me right now."

His 4 year old daughter came barreling down the little pier. "Where?! Where?!"

She was able to get on it naked eye but her first ever foray with binoculars was far from successful. By the time Dad and Little Brother joined us, the eagle was a just a dark dash over Philadelphia International Airport.

Captive audience at hand, I turned the conversation to wintering waterfowl. The scope wass dropped to toddler level. A male Bufflehead was framed in the circular field of view. After 3 attempts, the Big Sister finally caught a glimpse of the black-and-white duck floating in place.

Her interest, however, was more with the optics! I let her investigate my binoculars. Asking her to put the strap around her neck.

Dad launched into a series of questions about eagles. They were all soft-pitched lob balls. Each one hit with no effort. Yet each answer led to another question.

Reminding the active little girl to keep the strap around her neck.

Dad launched into questions about my birding activities at the park. He seemed intrigued that I was out there just to enjoy looking at the birds.

Praying that she'll keep the strap around her neck!!

Dad investigated some Mallards, Buffleheads, and gulls with the scope. We continued chatting about the birds. Little Brother was grateful for a turn with the bins.

What a relief to get them away from her!

Big Sister starts eyeing up the scope AND tripod.

Oh no! The tripod doesn't even have a strap!

"Your son looks pretty tired. Has it been a long day?"

"Yeah, we've been out for a while. He's ready for a nap. Thanks for everything!"

You're welcome.

Four potential new birders today = )