This morning, I got up at the crack of dawn to attend my first Sierra Club field trip. I met some others at the carpool location in Plano at 7:00am, and managed to get a ride with some people in a mini-van to our destination, the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area. This is an area behind the dam at Lewisville Lake which is closed to the public, and good birds were promised. I've been interested in birds for over a year now, but this was my first guided excursion, so I was looking forward to having an expert there to point things out. I did end up seeing a few new birds for my list, but I didn't learn very much about them. And I think maybe I missed the excitement of figuring things out for myself. It seems to kinda lose something when someone else is solving the mystery for me. Anyway, here is what I saw today:
- Red-tail hawk
- American Kestrel
- Yellow-bellied sapsucker*
- Song sparrow*
- Turkey Vulture
- Ruby-crowned kinglet
- American goldfinch*
- Rock Wren*
- Savannah Sparrow*
- Shrike*
- LeConte's sparrow*
- Downy woodpecker
- Cedar waxwing
- Harrier hawk*
*indicates new bird for list.
I also saw coyote tracks (pictured above), and a family of bobcats, which was really the best part of the trip. And it was my first time to be in the official prairie I think. So that was cool.
Anyway, I was hoping that I might make some new friends, but I don't think it's going to be easy. For one thing, I am shy. And I don't really know if these are the friends I am looking for. They are all very nice, but all much older than me. And they are all VERY serious about birds. These are people who use the word "bird" as a verb without the slightest hint of self-consciousness. "First, we'll bird by the beaver pond, and later we'll be birding in the prairie." They all have high-powered binoculars and some even have telescopes that they carry around. I think they think I am a bird poser. That's OK though. I will still go on field trips sometimes. And I will still go to meetings. And I will still try to make some new friends. I think today my heart just wasn't in it. I am cranky. 
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