[EBB Sightings] eyes vs optics

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I do a lot of solitary birding. I prefer being one on one with nature,
and I find that I see a lot more that way. I will often not even bring
my binocs along, since I am looking at lots of different things in the
woods, and the binocs can actually slow me down. But yesterday, weight
be damned, I decided to bring them along; I am off to Aransas at the end
of this month, to commune with the wild whooping cranes, and as a
mushroomer, and with my focus concentrated so much on the ground, I
figured that I needed to get back my birding chops. As if. Ironically,
the birds were so close, that the binocs were actually a handicap. I was
once again privileged to be in the midst of a mixed sp. flock of birds,
composed of c.b. chickadees, r.c. kinglets and a lone Townsend's
warbler; these mixed flocks are common at Huckleberry Preserve. I heard
the buzzing of a hummer, so I stopped, and waited to glass it. Lo and
behold, it came up to me, not a foot away, and fed from the manzanita
blossoms. Then it perched beside me. What a treat. A solitary Band
tailed pigeon flew thru the canyon, on its way to a secret destination,
and I had good looks at a handsomely plumaged, juvenile red-tailed hawk,
its heavily barred underparts a feast for my eyes. And finally, in the
depths of the Bay forest, I observed a fat Swainson's thrush, who kindly
flashed me its buffy eye-ring. Interestingly, as soon as I slowly raised
my glasses to look more closely, the bird disappeared. Putting yourself
in the role of the bird being watched, you can hardly blame them. How
off-putting it must be to have these lenses staring at you. When I am
just using my eyes, the birds will actually accept my presence, and even
make eye contact with me (hell, I've had kinglets get right up in my
face and flash their red crowns at me!) so they do know that I'm there.
This is especially true of Huckleberry Preserve, where I hike so
frequently the birds probably know me. And if you don't believe that
birds are capable of higher intelligence, you haven't been keeping up
with the latest neurological research. Nice when science backs up one's
own observations.
 
Happy birding,
Debbie Viess
 
 

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id=3D"role_document">I do a lot of =
solitary
birding. I prefer being one on one with nature, and I find that I see a =
lot
more that way. I will often not even bring my binocs
along, since I am looking at lots of different things in the woods, and =
the binocs can actually slow me down. But yesterday, =
weight be damned, I decided to bring them along; I am off =
to Aransas
at the end of this month, to commune with the wild whooping cranes, and =
as a mushroomer, and with my focus concentrated so much =
on the
ground, I figured that I needed to get back my birding chops. As if. =
the birds were so close, that the binocs =
were
actually a handicap. I was once again privileged to be in the midst of a =
mixed
sp. flock of birds, composed of c.b. =
chickadees, r.c. kinglets and a lone Townsend’s warbler; =
these
mixed flocks are common at Huckleberry Preserve. I heard the buzzing of =
a
hummer, so I stopped, and waited to glass it. Lo and behold, it came up =
to me,
not a foot away, and fed from the manzanita =
blossoms.
Then it perched beside me. What a treat. A solitary Band tailed pigeon =
flew
thru the canyon, on its way to a secret destination, and I had good =
looks at a
handsomely plumaged, juvenile red-tailed hawk, its heavily barred underparts a feast for my eyes. And finally, in =
the depths
of the Bay forest, I observed a fat Swainson’s
thrush, who kindly flashed me its buffy =
eye-ring. Interestingly,
as soon as I slowly raised my glasses to look more closely, the bird
disappeared. Putting yourself in the role of the bird being watched, you =
can
hardly blame them. How off-putting it must be to have these lenses =
staring at
you. When I am just using my eyes, the birds will actually accept my =
presence,
and even make eye contact with me (hell, I’ve had kinglets get =
right up
in my face and flash their red crowns at me!) so they do know that =
I’m
there.  This is especially =
true of
Huckleberry Preserve, where I hike so frequently the birds probably know =
me. And
if you don’t believe that birds are capable of higher =
intelligence, you
haven’t been keeping up with the latest neurological research. =
Nice when
science backs up one’s own observations.


style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt'> 


style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt'>Happy birding,


Roman">Debbie =
Viess


style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> 


style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> 





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