 |
Nikon and The Brevard Nature Alliance present the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival Brevard Community College, Titusville Campus 1311 North U.S. Highway 1, Titusville January 23 - 28, 2008 -- Titusville, Florida A celebration of birds and wildlife. |
 |
| Birding is a way of learning about nature, but it can also be a way of learning about yourself. |
Do you keep field notes? Life lists, local lists, year lists, winter lists, or yard lists? My own records date back to 1974, but I've never been one for listing. I prefer a sort of detailed personal journal. Recently, while reading through my 2000-plus pages of field notes, and reconstructing my life lists in the process, I discovered some wonderful things. First, I now know how many species of birds I have seen. I'm going to keep the number to myself-it is large enough to qualify me as a serious birding addict, but not so big as to set any records.
A good bird is worth a photo, but also worth recording in your notes! Second, I have documented a few interesting things along the way. The decline of the Greater Sage Grouse in southern Alberta is clear from my own records, as is the increase in American White Pelicans in our part of the world. A few rare bird sightings pop up here and there in my notes as well. For example, how could I forget the Pacific Loon I saw with my television crew, off the coast of Maui in Hawaii?
But third, and most importantly, I also know some things about the way my own mind works. For example, I have always assumed that I have a pretty good memory. But I don't. This is both good and bad, as you might imagine. As I reviewed my birding history, I came to realize that a large part of my own motivation in birding has to do with managing my own experience, and avoiding the pitfalls that come with letting the lists, and the birds I "need" control my time in the field. By keeping detailed field notes, I seem to have achieved my objective. Mind you, I also considered some species "lifers" multiple times (I'll be honest, I celebrate the Nuttall's Woodpecker not twice but three times!), having forgotten my earlier encounters. But I have also kept the experience of being a naturalist "fresh" and intentionally free from disappointment, as it should be.
www.acornthenaturenut.net
Sponsored by
Working to preserve earth's diversityYou will document interesting things like my own observation of the increase in American White Pelicans in southern Alberta.
2008 Festival Articles
2008 Keynote Speakers
Back to Festival HomePage
Click here to send eMail inquiries about the Festival
