Birding In Forgotten Places

  I walked along some old places like unused railroad tracks and abandoned bridges to nowhere.

 There were some birds around like this flicker in a tree.

 I watched this hawk chase a Belted Kingfisher 3 times. Each time the Kingfisher skimmed the river and left water in its face.

Then there was a Chipping Sparrow just sitting on an old patch of tar. Visiting places I used to walk as a kid in the 70's seemed like the perfect way to get in some end of summer birding.

A Quiet Walk Through An Isolated Field

 We had a nice break from the humidity this weekend. Sunday morning. I took a long walk through the woods that leads to some fields along the Connecticut River. I encountered 44 species of birds along the way including a Black-billed Cuckoo and a Scarlet Tanager feeding its fledglings. 

This time of the year there are lots of birds in Connecticut but are tougher to see with everything being overgrown. I caught a glimpse of some Bobolinks in the field.

There were also Green Herons keeping a lookout from trees that bordered the edge of the field in the swampy areas. 

Some paces are so out of the way that it can seem like more walking than its worth to look for birds but sometimes the journey is the best part. There is something special about having an entire slice of nature pie all to yourself.

Do You Really Need To Get Back To Sleep?

Over the years I've heard many changing theories when it comes to health and science. Everything from the number of eggs that is safe to consume to ozone holes that appear and then disappear. One of  thing that hasn't changed much is the standard recommendation to get 8 hours of sleep. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to get a solid eight hours of sleep for a variety of reasons.

Some people have a problem falling asleep and others wake up in the middle of the night and have a tough time getting back to sleep. If you've ever woken up at 2am in the morning and found yourself  watching the clock as the hours pass by you know it can be frustrating. Trying to will yourself back to sleep is very difficult, especially if you have a busy mind.

A few years ago I read something that was bit of an eye opener to me. If you look back in history you would find that people used to sleep in 2 shifts. They would go to sleep sometime after dusk and sleep for a few hours. They would wake up after a few hours to do some chores, read, or whatever else they desired before going back to sleep.

So now if I have a hard time getting back to sleep within a half hour I just get up and do something constructive before going back to sleep. This way you rid yourself of the pressure of trying to get back to sleep and at least you've accomplished something.

I Chose Responsibilities Over Birding

There are always things that I could be doing or should be doing when I'm stomping around fields watching birds. 90% of the time  getting my weekend dose of nature takes priority. I'll squeeze in taking care of responsibilities with whatever time is left. 

Occasionally there comes a time when I become too distracted thinking about what I should be doing to enjoy birding. That is the time to put the binoculars and camera back in the drawer and get to work knowing

the only way I'll have piece of mind is to get the work done first.

That has been the case so far in the month of July. It feels good to get things done so I can get back out in the field with a clear conscience.