Of A Feather

I've added another book to my fav list. Of A Feather, by Scott Weidensaul. It's a history of birding in America, and before you yawn and click off, stay with me. The history of birding actually followed our nation's frontier expansion and the fight for conservationism, as talked about recently in Ken Burns' National Parks special on PBS. In fact, at the turn of the 20th century, it was women fresh on the suffrage movement who saved the birds of our country through legislation, and relaunched the Audubon Society as we know it today.

While we were in Boise last weekend, we stopped at the Snake River Birds of Prey Refuge and saw some amazing raptors. The best part was sitting in the van, (with the Sound of Music blaring in the back seat for the kids) watching an enormous Bald Eagle perched in a tree eating a fish it had just pulled from the river, not 20 yards away. We had seen them at a distance in the Colombia River Gorge, but to see one this close was really something!

On the long car drive, I read the second half of the book outloud to Paul (now with Seven Brides For Seven Brothers blaring). Just as we were pulling into Salt Lake City, I was reading the end of the book. Weidensaul is telling about the saw-whet owl tagging program he runs each fall. They put huge nets through a forest and run the owl's song through speakers to catch them during migration and number them for biological research. He's been doing it for ten years. These owls are one of the cuter birds around, about fist-sized. The last few pages of his book, he's describing an elementary school class who has come in the middle of the night with their parents and teachers to see the owls. He pulls open the bags and the children get so excited. His writing really shines. He expounds on the future of birding, hoping these children will see birds for the gift they truly are.

After reading this entire book in a short period of time, and then seeing those amazing birds of prey that morning, my hoarse voice turned to tears and I melted with the end of the book. I could just see those children peppering him with questions about the owls as he pulled them out of each bag. What an amazing experience. I don't know why it struck me so hard, but it did. Birding is just beginning for me, but it can because others protected them and researched them and loved them before me. And to have my own children pour birdseed in our backyard and get excited when juncos, finches, sparrows and towhees come, priceless. Oh, and I hope they can hold an owl someday, too.