October 13, 1994
Sunny and beautiful

This was my first dedicated birding excursion in Florida, and I came closer to many birds than I’ve ever been before! Loxahatchee is a wonderful place to bird. It’s a series of everglade marsh areas surrounded by raised impoundments from which the marsh can be viewed. The impoundments are laid out in a grid, so you basically wander around squares of wetland.

September 14 through 18, 1994

This is a collection of species seen while driving to Royal Palm Beach, Florida.

July 24, 1994

Driving home from returning my stepson to his mother, I made a stop at this wonderful wildlife refuge. This is one of the first solo birding excursions I ever made, and definitely my first wildly successful trip. I ended up seeing more than 45 species, including several life birds.

May 14, 1994

I was part of the planning team for this event, and was also glad to participate. My team covered Notre Dame and St. Mary’s. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep detailed notes of this outing, but I do remember some of the birds I saw that day.

March 26, 1994

The focus of this Audubon field trip led by Ken Brock was to visit a hawk watch site at the Indiana Dunes. Our first birds of the day were several Redhead and Lesser Scaup swimming in the Portage Marina.

January 2, 1994

I participated in a South Bend Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count, in and near the Audubon Sanctuary in Mishawaka. My favorite birds of the day were several beautiful Cedar Waxwing in a berry-producing tree in one of the neighborhoods we birded. Gorgeous!

September 18 and 19, 1993
Early morning

As part of the Midwest Birding Symposium, I attended two early morning field trips. At Tiscornia Beach, I saw two Ruddy Turnstone and several ☆Sanderling☆ in winter plumage. The Sanderling were particularly bold, coming right up on the boardwalk just a few feet away from me.

The following morning in Benton Harbor, I saw a lone ☆Wilson’s Snipe☆ in a mudflat by the roadside, sitting posed between two clumps of pink flowers. A perfect look!

July 22, 1993

On the last day of my California trip, I went on a solo walk to the wetlands and lagoon.

July 21, 1993

I spent the day birding with my mom in the Malibu area. Our first stop was Malibu Lagoon State Beach, which is a fantastic place to watch birds! We walked along edge of the Lagoon and a bit on the beach, and saw loads of great things. Then we headed slightly north and inland to Solstice Canyon, where we saw a different array of wildlife.

July 20, 1993

Visited Descanso Gardens with my mom, Robin, Max, and Jessicca, and saw a handful of birds. A group of at least twelve tiny ☆American Bushtit☆ was hopping around in a bush about four feet away from me. They were too close for me to use the binoculars! Adorable, friendly little birds. A Black Phoebe came very close to me, allowing me to have a great look. I was also alerted to the presence of a ☆Spotted Towhee☆ by a great commotion of scratching in the dirt and leaves under some bushes. I was rewarded by being able to see this close relative to my local Towhee, and notice the differences between the two.

July 19, 1993

My mom and I went looking for birds in the Ballona Wetlands and along the creek (starting at Del Rey Lagoon; we were not in the current Ballona reserve area). Before the wetlands, we made a stop at Fisherman’s Village in nearby Marina del Rey, where I saw a ☆Least Tern☆ circling over the marina close to the boardwalk.

July 19, 1993

My mom and I went looking for birds in the Ballona Wetlands and along the creek (starting at Del Rey Lagoon; we were not in the current Ballona reserve area). Before the wetlands, we made a stop at Fisherman’s Village in nearby Marina del Rey, where I saw a Least Tern circling over the marina close to the boardwalk.

July 18, 1993

Along with my mom and Tom Wheaton, I took a harbor cruise out of San Pedro. I saw ☆Heermann’s Gull☆, ☆California Brown Pelican☆, and Herring Gull. The stars of the show were a ☆Gray Whale☆ mother and calf swimming together alongside our boat.

June 26, 1993

I spent the day working with the Peregrine Release Program Monitoring, to make observations of ☆Peregrine Falcon☆ that had been released in the downtown area of South Bend. It was marvelous! I watched a total of 5 or 6 birds on and off all morning and early afternoon. Not only was it wonderful being able to see these birds, but it was also good to be part of a human effort to conserve and promote the welfare of this species.

Summer, 1993

This is a collection of sightings from the Summer of 1993.

May, 1993

This is a collection of birds regularly seen in the backyard and neighborhood this summer.

May 15, 1993

I participated in the Berrien County Bird-a-Thon this year, as part of a team for Fernwood Botanical Gardens. There were four of us on the team – the Fernwood Flickers – including Fernwood naturalist Rob Venner.

May 8, 1993

On this day, I visited multiple sites in South Bend with a team of Audubon Society birders to participate in this year’s Bird-a-Thon.

April 16, 1993

As my interest in birding has grown, I thought I would see if there are any birding organizations in the local community. This led me to the South Bend Audubon Society, and this trip to Bonneville Mill is the first official birding trip I’ve ever gone on with this group. So exciting!

March 28 through April 22, 1993: Osceola, Indiana

We put up a nest box in the backyard specifically to attract ☆Eastern Bluebird☆, and to my great delight we were successful. My first sighting was of a male and female pair in my own backyard, and they soon moved into the nest box.

December 19, 1992
Niles, Michigan

I signed up to participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count for southern Michigan. We started out at Fernwood, and I was teamed with Fernwood naturalist Rob Venner. I arrived at the nature center before dawn, a little bit nervous and not really sure what to expect. But once we got started, I had a lot of fun, and learned a lot about the winter birds, as well. Rob is a great birder, and a nice guy, too. We drove around to various places and counted the species and individuals that we saw. Rob helped me to ID them and told me lots of interesting info, as well.

1991 and 1992 (various dates)

Very soon after we moved into our new home in Indiana, I put up some bird feeders in the backyard. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but almost immediately, birds began to arrive, along with squirrels and chipmunks. The first I remember seeing were a deep, gorgeous red with black markings on the face, whose whistled song. I discovered that I wasn’t satisfied to just watch them go about their business anonymously – I needed to know their names. Field guide in hand, I was easily able to identify the ☆Northern Cardinal☆, as well as a good variety of other birds in the yard. And, just like that, I’d started out with this glorious (and sometimes consuming) pass-time of birding.