There is an expression that "There is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothing". I always counter that with, "There may not be bad weather, but there is such a thing as good weather".  Well, while this month I saw good birds such as White-winged Scoter, Hepatic Tanager, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Clay-colored Sparrow, there are no bad birds. House Sparrows and Mourning Doves are abundant and frequent at my feeders, but when you look at them closely, you see their beauty. The male House Sparrows have a strong facial pattern with bold black and white. Their wings have a beautiful chestnut color in them. Mourning Doves have beautiful iridescence pinks around their necks and baby blue skin around their eyes. Even on rainy days I can sit with a cup of coffee and stare out my back door at my yard at these common birds. I am entertained for hours. 

And just as there are no bad birds, there are no bad birders. Birding is enjoying birds. That's it. Some people say I am a decent birder and some people would say good. Some tell me they are bad birders. However, it all depends on how you measure the judgement you impose. Yes I have gotten better at identifying some birds, but there is always more to learn. My mother, who recently moved in with my husband and me, is now taking up birding. She tells me she is a bad birder. But there is nothing wrong with not knowing birds that are all new to you. We just bought her better binoculars and she is having a good time. That, to me, is success.

For me, birding is just part of being a good naturalist. I was glad I was birding alone, and not with good birders, when I saw a small group of rats at Shoreline Aquatic Park. I enjoyed watching and photographing them. My birding buddies would have laughed and wanted to get back to birding.

Happy nature watching.
 

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