Rookie Birder

From left to right - Ruthie (Nature Knitter), Lance, Alice and Chris (Johns brother)
The rookie birder (me) got an invitation to join the Zumbro Valley Audobon Society's outing to Forestville State Park. Top Minnesota birder John Hockema led the tour. It was definitely an eye opener. Here is how it went.

We met at the Dairy Queen, where John introduced me to everyone. Then he asked the group what bird they most wanted to look for today. Henslow sparrow, Louisiana Waterthrush, Cerulean Warbler etc. were mentioned. Ok, I had never heard of any of them before. The best I could come up with was, "er, well, there are so many, I hardly know where to begin." The group smiled in a friendly manner and nodded knowingly. I guess they knew where I stood. At least no one offered that we would probably run across a robin or two.

Our destination was Canfield Creek. In Bluff Country there are many disappearing rivers, sinkholes, caves and springs. The origin of Canfield is a beautiful cave set at the base of a high bluff. The stream is inhabited by many wild (not stocked) trout. That I could vouch for. Birds, well, I knew there were some. What kind.... I didn't have a clue.

The first thing I noticed, as we began the hike down the trail into the valley below, was that none of the group had their handy Peterson Field Guides like I did. Thinking that rather odd, it was a minute before it dawned on me.... oh oh, THEY DON'T NEED ONE!

That's John in the red shirt. We had hardly walked for a minute, when he paused looked up briefly and said, " I hear a....." and quickly rattled off about 4 names, to which a member of the group added another. This set the pattern for the next couple of hours. At least fifty birds were identified by sound. With the aid of this kind and very supportive group, I was able to actually see about half of them. And yes, I had forgotten my hearing aids. Who coulda known?
The old fishing path along the stream, on which I had spent many many hours accessing my brown trout hotspots, had been upgraded to accomodate the horsey people. It definitely made walking a lot easier!


The stream itself, as you can see, is gorgeous. It must be, at least partially, the reason why there were so many birds along its woodsy corridor.

So where are the pictures of all the birds? Well , to tell the truth, both the photographer and the camera were inadequate to catch the little rascals flitting amongst all the heavy cover. Maybe next time! Canfield Creek, in Forestville Park - a great place to visit regardless of what your looking for!