Lady Florida. Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Jane - Thank you for sharing your bird photo. I think when I grow up (well, when DS is out of the toddler stage and I can devote time to things like fun hobbies instead of my current hobby which is trying to keep my living room floor picked up) I'm going to take up birding. Any books to suggest for a gal that doesn't know much more than to identify a cardinal? I'm not Jane and I don't have a specific book suggestion but I do have advice. Start local. Buy a book (Audubon is a good choice) that shows birds common to your local area. Some books are specific to a state, some to a region. Get one of each. And look into apps if you have a smart phone. Begin in your backyard if you have one and if birds visit it. That's what got me started. Our very first homeschool project was a bird spotting activity at our feeder. I put a small chart with pictures of our three most common backyard birds on it, and broke it into breakfast, lunch, and dinner time. We can see the feeder from our kitchen table. Ds would put a sticker dot in the right grid section every time we saw a bird at the feeder. Anyway, once you get used to identifying birds in your backyard, branch out to a local wildlife refuge. Of course you can go straight to the refuge or other "bird hangout" but starting with backyard birds is really easy. I'm fortunate to live in an area where birds often spend the winter, and the ones that don't seem to stop here on their way farther south (and on their back north when winter is over). However, nearly every area (even cities) has cool birds to spot. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 If you want to get a head start on your wrap up post, the list is up on 52 Books! I'm trying really hard to finish War and Peace before the year ends, but I don't know if I'll make it. I was hoping to wait so I know where it will go in my best-of list. I do know it's going to be at or near the top, but I want to know how it ends before I decide. I could look up spoilers. I'm usually not bothered by spoilers, but this book is so long and I've put so much time into it that I want to find out on my own. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Amy, the Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up in February (12-15). Grab some books like Kathy suggested & join in! 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Amy, the Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up in February (12-15). Grab some books like Kathy suggested & join in! Yes, that's a fun way to get started. We all used to love participating, but sadly I'm the only one in the house still interested. Oh well, I enjoy it anyway. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) Amy, the Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up in February (12-15). Grab some books like Kathy suggested & join in! The first year we watched birds we went to the Backyard Bird Count event nearby and for us anyway, it was so much easier and more effective to have experienced birders point out which birds were which than trying to find them in the book. I still know those birds better than the ones I tried to find myself, plus sometimes I wasn't really sure and in the meantime the bird flew away. I definitely recommend going to an event where local birders can show you. We also like the Merlin bird app. That's come in very handy many times. Edited December 27, 2015 by idnib 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 I'm trying really hard to finish War and Peace before the year ends, but I don't know if I'll make it. I was hoping to wait so I know where it will go in my best-of list. I do know it's going to be at or near the top, but I want to know how it ends before I decide. I could look up spoilers. I'm usually not bothered by spoilers, but this book is so long and I've put so much time into it that I want to find out on my own. No, don't look up spoilers and don't rush it. Savor it and enjoy the journey. You can always make an addendum to your year end wrap up, if needed. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 link to week 52 - please continue conversation in new thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 oops! Sorry about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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