{"id":10816,"date":"2011-11-19T11:59:16","date_gmt":"2011-11-19T19:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/?p=10816"},"modified":"2011-11-19T11:59:16","modified_gmt":"2011-11-19T19:59:16","slug":"im-not-a-birder-and-i-also-love-canada-geese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ingridtaylar.com\/?p=10816","title":{"rendered":"I&#8217;m Not a Birder &#8230; and I Also Love Canada Geese"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s the &#8216;condensed&#8217; chronology of how I became that <strong>someone who is not a birder<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>Age 0 to 4: My first (and only) nanny was a German Shepherd.<\/li>\n<li>Also, age 0 to 4, born into a family of animal lovers and mushroom foragers.<\/li>\n<li>Age 5 to 13: Living as an expat in Europe, left to my own imagination, I wandered the woods with my brother, and checked out every <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/How_and_Why_Wonder_Books\">How and Why Wonder Book<\/a> in the school library.<\/li>\n<li>Age 13 to 14: Pondered the injustices of life at the local stream, just waiting for a fish &#8212; something living &#8212; to show up in the current &#8212; something living that wasn&#8217;t my middle school bully, Denise.<\/li>\n<li>Age 15 to 20: Largely a blur. Learned to love beer. \ud83d\ude42<\/li>\n<li>Age 21+: Besides the beer, booze and general mayhem, got my first issue of <a href=\"https:\/\/motherjones.com\/\">Mother Jones<\/a> from a friend, and a copy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Animal-Factories-Jim-Mason\/dp\/0517577518\">Animal Factories<\/a> (Singer) and decided the world needed changing.<\/li>\n<li>Age 22-29: You don&#8217;t want to know.<\/li>\n<li><em>In fact, you may not want to know any of this, but you&#8217;re stuck with it now.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Age 30+: World still not changed, but lots of cat hair on my clothes from volunteer job as &#8220;cat socializer&#8221; at a local shelter.<\/li>\n<li>Also age 30+: Got a bird feeder from my cat sitter, an enthusiastic birder. Made kitty&#8217;s (and my) life from inside window much more interesting.<\/li>\n<li>Age 40+: World still not changed, but lots of scat on my clothes from volunteer job as wildlife rehabilitator.<\/li>\n<li>Also age 40+: Started bird-watching and photographing wildlife for real &#8230; and became especially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/2010\/11\/a-budding-amphipodologist\/\">fond of California Beach Hoppers<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/2009\/10\/shorebird-nation-rises-again\/\">Shorebird Nation<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div id=\"attachment_10843\" style=\"width: 760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/shorebirdnation750.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10843\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10843\" title=\"Shorebird Flock\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/shorebirdnation750.jpg\" alt=\"Mixed Shorebird Flock in Oakland California\" width=\"750\" height=\"518\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10843\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Section of Shorebird Nation &#8211; \u00a9ingridtaylar<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Why, It Seems, I Am Not a Birder<\/h3>\n<p>Which leads to the &#8220;I am not a birder&#8221; part. Somewhere between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/2010\/08\/so-long-lake-merritt\/\">identifying my first Great Egret as a &#8220;stork&#8221;<\/a> &#8230; and syringe-feeding antibiotics to a Cedar Waxwing, I became what I thought was a <em>birder.<\/em> I love birds, always have, even if I didn&#8217;t ID them correctly. I was spending every free moment photographing and learning about them in the Bay Area wilds.<\/p>\n<p>One day, however, I naively called myself a &#8220;birder&#8221; in the presence of a super-birder on a park trail. His response to me was: &#8220;You are not a birder. You are a bird watcher.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The second phase of this identity crisis came a few months later when I was out photographing raptors and woodpeckers in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/taylar\/3020975168\/\">East Bay park and watershed<\/a> and encountered another super-birder on another trail. We watched a raptor fly toward us over the reservoir with what I saw as the distinct rump patch of a Northern Harrier. I said, &#8220;hey, here comes a harrier,&#8221; to which he replied, &#8220;You called it too soon! Never call it too soon! What you think is a white rump patch could be a reflection from the sun.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Formative. Almost as formative as missing World History class because Dee Eilertson locked me in the girls&#8217; john.<\/p>\n<p>For the record, the raptor was a Northern Harrier. But what do you think? Do I now wait an extra minute before I call a bird in the presence of others who know better? Maybe, maybe not. As my mate Hugh is fond of saying, quoting Helen Keller, &#8220;life is a daring adventure or nothing at all.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Bird Watcher, Bird Photographer, and Lover of the Commons<\/h3>\n<p>I&#8217;m not troubled by the designation &#8220;bird watcher.&#8221; I watch birds, it&#8217;s true. And I watch birds through the lens which makes the experience of bird watching &#8212; and any wildlife watching &#8212; a quest for light, iridescence, texture and emotion. It explains (in part) my deep fondness for the common species, the ones you, I and we see almost everyday: <a href=\"&quot;https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/2010\/01\/videos-changing-our-cultural-views-of-pigeons\/'\">pigeons<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/2010\/12\/the-crow-who-changed-my-life\/\">crows<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/2011\/08\/teaching-the-kids-to-forage\/\">gulls<\/a>. Because I sit a lot and wait for my subjects &#8230; wait for the light, wait for seamlessness, the moment when the bird&#8217;s eye, her blink, her shake of the feathers connects with me through the viewfinder. A fellow <a href=\"https:\/\/richardsbirdblog.com\/\">Olympus shooter\/acquaintance<\/a> of mine writes:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;I sit and wait for them to come to me. (Some\u00adtime I sit and wait and they don\u2019t come.)&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>When someone like a pigeon does come, she flies into frame, lands &#8212; then bobs her head to the left, catching all visible light. And then, the plumage of her neck fills the lens like a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Starburst_galaxy\">starburst galaxy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Pigeon-Colors.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10863\" title=\"Pigeon Colors\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Pigeon-Colors.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"372\" height=\"500\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>And Now &#8230; the Geese!<\/h3>\n<p>And so it is with geese. A lot of people in this park walk or run by because they are, after all, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/Canada_goose\/id\">Canada Geese<\/a>. Well, there was the one woman yesterday who set her great dane loose on the flock, just for fun. The woman dashed off on a run while dog chased half the flock into Lake Union. Grrrr. I try to choose my wildlife battles wisely these days. And all geese were unharmed and accounted for. A serious call-and-answer, &#8220;are you okay&#8221; session ensued between the lake geese and the land geese (who could not see their flock members over the hump of the hill).<\/p>\n<p>Ducks and geese are such a significant part of any birder&#8217;s or bird watcher&#8217;s (or photographer&#8217;s) autumn &#8230; and I loved that these geese were framed in the rusty hues of the season.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, and &#8230; I love Canada Geese<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10854\" style=\"width: 760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Autumn-Geese-Flock.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10854\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10854\" title=\"Autumn Geese\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Autumn-Geese-Flock.jpg\" alt=\"Canada Geese in Seattle's Lake Union Park\" width=\"750\" height=\"534\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10854\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Autumn Geese at Lake Union in Seattle &#8211; \u00a9ingridtaylar<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_10849\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Autumn-Goose-RR.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10849\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10849\" title=\"Canada Goose Sitting\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Autumn-Goose-RR.jpg\" alt=\"Canada Goose at Lake Union in Seattle\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10849\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">R&amp;R &#8211; \u00a9ingridtaylar<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_10847\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Autumn-Goose-Dog.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10847\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10847\" title=\"Autumn Goose Dog\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Autumn-Goose-Dog.jpg\" alt=\"Canada Goose Watching for Dogs at Lake Union Seattle\" width=\"800\" height=\"563\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10847\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dog Alert &#8211; \u00a9ingridtaylar<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_10850\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Autumn-Goose-Trees.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10850\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10850\" title=\"Autumn Goose Trees\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Autumn-Goose-Trees.jpg\" alt=\"Branta canadensis at Lake Union in Seattle\" width=\"800\" height=\"627\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10850\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Call and Answer, After the Dog Chase &#8211; \u00a9ingridtaylar<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_10848\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Autumn-Goose-Girl.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10848\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10848\" title=\"Autumn Goose Girl\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Autumn-Goose-Girl.jpg\" alt=\"Canada Goose flock in Seattle\" width=\"800\" height=\"588\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10848\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sweet Girl Watching the Geese Cross the Path &#8211; \u00a9ingridtaylar<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_10853\" style=\"width: 760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Autumn-Goose21.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10853\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10853\" title=\"Autumn Goose2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Autumn-Goose21.jpg\" alt=\"Canada Geese Foraging in Seattle\" width=\"750\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10853\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Forage &#8211; \u00a9ingridtaylar<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_10851\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Autumn-Goose-Troop.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10851\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10851\" title=\"Autumn Goose Troop\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Autumn-Goose-Troop.jpg\" alt=\"Canada Geese at Lake Union Seattle\" width=\"800\" height=\"586\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10851\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nice to Know You &#8211; \u00a9ingridtaylar<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s the &#8216;condensed&#8217; chronology of how I became that someone who is not a birder: Age 0 to 4: My first (and only) nanny was a German Shepherd. Also, age 0 to 4, born into a family of animal lovers and mushroom foragers. Age 5 to 13: Living as an expat in Europe, left to my own imagination, I wandered the woods with my brother, and checked out every How and Why Wonder Book in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ingridtaylar.com\/?p=10816\"> [&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[85],"class_list":["post-10816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-geese"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ingridtaylar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ingridtaylar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ingridtaylar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ingridtaylar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ingridtaylar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ingridtaylar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10816\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ingridtaylar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ingridtaylar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ingridtaylar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}