Sunday, February 15, 2009

The Birds Brighten a Sad Weekend.

Wild Turkey... Salamonie Reservoir, IN.  My two sons and I went on a brief birding trip since we were back home for a few days to the Salamonie Reservoir.  This was the ONE bird they wanted to see and that we did.  While visiting and old friend (Marvin) at the nature center we were privileged to see 5 male Turkey's!

Unfortunately, this was one of those weekends that we all have to deal with periodically - a death in the family.  My Uncle Donnie passed away last week and his memorial service was yesterday.  Sadly, adulthood prevented me from spending much time with my uncle these past few years but it was hard to hear that he had passed nonetheless.  Death, if anything, allows family and friends to reconnect - for this part, I was grateful.  

When all else fails, Birding helps!  Whether I am stressed or depressed, taking the time to go birding is almost always a cure.  Today was no exception.  Although we didn't see many species of birds, we did see some and some is always great!

Tufted Titmouse... Salamonie Reservoir, IN.  No matter how many times I see this bird I can never get enough.  When I first started watching birds this was one that I wanted to see the most!  Since I lived in the city, it took a while but I remember the first time I did!  I was the happiest fella on the planet!

My two sons... Salamonie Reservoir, IN.  It typically doesn't take long when birding with my kids that they will become involved with something else.  In this case, they were identifying all of the dead fish they could find.  Victims of winter.

Pine Siskin... Salamonie Reservoir, IN.  Another bird that I can't get enough of since I never see them in my backyard.  Very cute bird.

2 comments:

Kim said...

Love the closeup of the wild turkey. I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your beloved uncle. I agree with you whole heartedly that birding helps to ease the pain of day to day stresses including death.

Your sons will surprise you someday. Allthough they appear to not be interested in birding, they are soaking the information you teach them right up. My kids appear bored with birds, but they can identify every species of bird that comes to my feeder.

Take care.

Anonymous said...

eeeewwwww! That turkey is scary looking! Your little kiddies are cute lol!

Indiana State Bird

Indiana State Bird
Northern Cardinal