Do You See What I See?

Sunday morning, after walking the dog, I crawled back into bed to read for a while. It was only 7:30 in the morning and Boys in the Boat is a fascinating read. After about 45 minutes I heard continuing conversation drifting up from the bike path and into the open bedroom window. The voices prompted me to get out of bed and open the shade. Down below was a group of people….all peering up into the trees with their binoculars. Bird watchers who obviously knew what they were doing.

They slowly moved on down the path, and I went back to my book. Later in the morning, on Fenway's second walk, I met the group as they came back to town. We chatted for a few minutes and I explained that I wasn't very good at bird watching…..trying to determine the kind of bird, if it was male or female, or a youngster with slightly different plumage…..or winter coloring compared to summer finery as they flitted through the trees. This group, from Milwaukee, was searching for warblers, moving through Wisconsin on their migration north, and counted a number of them.  Just before I walked away, one woman told me they'd also spotted an adult owl with two fledglings being harrassed by crows. All I had to do was walk up the path to the second bench and look toward the pine trees across the stream. The owls were big and easy to spot.

Well….not so much for me. All I saw was a tangle of trees and limbs and no crows harrassing anything.

Later in the day Dave and I decided to walk down the path again. This time carrying the binoculars and  his camera. We looked and looked. Nothing. So I began to walk back home, glancing from the path and then back into the confusion of trees. Suddenly I noticed a brown "thing" sort of jump from one branch to another and move up the trunk of a tree. Then I saw another brown" thing" spread it's wings and sort of fly/jump from one branch down to another ten feet below.

Dave snapped the shot and we stood and watched through the binoculars. Two fledgling great horned owl babies practicing their flying technique. They have a way to go yet and we never did see their mom. But we'll go look again in the next day or so and see if they are still around.

What fun! Maybe I can become a bird watcher…..untamed nature right outside my condo door.