We had a large fir by the side of our house, the boughs of which
extended to right in front of our kitchen window. One day, when
I was five years old, a blue jay alit directly in front of the
window, and I was enthralled.

A couple of years later, my father bought me what I believe was a
Junior Golden Guide, edited by Herbert Zim, if I remember correctly.

By the time my parents drove me up to Cornell University's
Sapsucker Woods, I was officially a "birdwatcher." I was crushed
that I missed the pileated woodpecker that everybody else saw, but
I did record my first wood duck and first ovenbird.

Jim McCoy
jfmccoy at earthlink.net
Redmond, WA



-----Original Message-----
From: MBlanchrd at aol.com [mailto:MBlanchrd at aol.com]
Sent: Friday, March 17, 2000 8:17 PM
To: TWEETERS at u.washington.edu
Subject: Benchmark birds