Guest Blogging Day 6: Holly 8
NBB here. Hope you all had a good weekend! We’re back today with an entry from a young birder named Holly, who documents a familiar feeling to all birders: getting nooged, as Sharon puts it.
Hi! My name is Holly, I am 9 years old. Me and my dad, and my brother went looking for the Great Horned Owl of Dakota County. I was so excited; I hurried and grabbed my binoculars, my birding book, put on my coat and I was outta there!!
It took a long time to get there because we missed the exit; my dad got frustrated.
As we got back on track we found the spot, we parked and got outta the car. We had to climb a wall and step on a lamp post, then my dad helped me up.
I looked at the nest through my binoculars while my dad took three pictures.
He tried to take a picture of the nest with his cellphone using the binoculars; it was cool!!
We then crossed the street and went in the tall grass that went crunch, crunch. We went in until we were in front of the tree. I saw that the tree used to be an old treehouse. The nest was very high up.
We went back across the street and went in the car and left.
It was fun, but we did not find the Great Horned Owl, and that was fine with me!
Thanks for sharing your adventure with us, Holly. Learning to enjoy birding even when you don’t see the bird is a big part of becoming a birder. Enjoying warmth and sleeping in, however, can lead to raging sanity. FYI.
Okay, we’ll be back tomorrow!
Thanks for sharing your story! My mother used to take me birding when I was your age, Holly, and it didn’t always matter to me if I saw the birds or not. I liked the anticipation, I liked hanging out with my mom, and I loved the idea that there were these marvelous creatures living so close that I might see them if we stopped and got out of the car. Now I see the birds because my mom taught me how to look.
One of the most remarkable things about birding is that the magic is always there, even when the birds are not.
Thank you for reminding me of that, you did light up my day!
@ Sharon:
Do Cinnamon bellied flower piercers pierce Cinnamon’s belly with flowers?
Good post Holly! Keep birding!
Great post Holly. Even though you did not see the owl I am sure that she was up in the nest. She is sitting on her eggs right now and she can not leave them or they will get too cold. It is just really hard to see her because the nest is very deep. The dad was probably also around but he is not usually at the nest unless he is bringing mom some food. Most of the times he is hiding in the woods near by but he is hard to see because his feathers look like tree bark. Keep trying and I am sure that some day you will see them.
By the way I hope that you remembered to thank your dad for taking you out to see the owls. He sounds like a great dad.
Holly, not only are you a 9-year-old birder, you’re also a great writer. Not many kids can say that. Good post!
You may not have seen the owl, but you did have fun, and sometimes that is the most important thing.
Lots of times I don’t see what I am looking for, but still manage to have fun.
That was a wonderful story. Glad Dad was able to take you out. You are a great birder and story teller. Of course I am prejudice. This is from Kitty Gramma! The cranes are coming in to North Platte now and we are going out to look again for them. Wish you were here!