Michelle,
My benchmark bird was a killdeer. I used to board my horse, Cinder, on top
of a hill in Redmond where the pastures were, for the most part, dry and
rocky. I loved to sit out there with her and just be with her. One day this
skittery bird with a black-and-white collar starting running around. I
thought,"hmm, what the hell is that?" I thought I knew almost all the birds
of the Puget Sound region (oh, naive soul that I was then). I kept seeing
him day after day. Finally, driven out of my mind, I started asking people.
No one knew. I went home and, as it happened, my landlord was having a used
book sale. I found a 1960's Peterson's guide, my eyes lit up with a glow
that has not been extinguished since, and I bought it. I discovered my bird
and the rest is history!
Rahne Kirkham
Federal Way, Washington
rahne at mindspring.com
"Summoned or not summoned, God is present"
Carl Jung
----- Original Message -----
From: <MBlanchrd at aol.com>
To: <TWEETERS at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Friday, March 17, 2000 8:17 PM
Subject: Benchmark birds


> Good evening, Tweeters,
>
> What was your benchmark bird? Do you remember? A benchmark bird is the
bird
> that awakened your desire to be a birder. It is the first bird that was
out
> of the ordinary, that aroused your curiosity, the bird that made you say,
> "What bird was that?"...and made you into what you are today, a birder.
>
> My benchmark bird was the Northern Flicker. I was just a kid, living in
> Detroit, and my dad had begun feeding the birds during the winter. No one
fed
> the birds then, so dad was a pioneer, in his way. We didn't even have a
bird
> book! We had chickadees coming to the feeder then, not much else. One day
a
> large bird landed atop the feeder, yelled "clear!" , and promptly flew
away.
> We were all astounded, and of course had no idea what this bird was..it
> wasn't a robin, blue jay, sparrow, rock dove, starling, chickadee or
> cardinal, which was the sum total of my birding list at that time.
>
> A couple weeks later, we saw it again. Same scenario, except this time he
> ratcheted up and down the apple tree in the backyard. We got a much better
> look at the bird, but still had no clue what it was. (my baby brother, at
the
> age of three, insisted it was an eagle.)
> Mom found some extra money and bought a bird identification book. Talk
about
> a whole new world...I think I memorized every single page (it wasn't a
> Peterson's guide, I think it was a Golden Books?? publication.). That's
when
> we learned that this large bird was a Flicker.
> The rest is history.
>
> Michelle
> MBlanchrd at aol.com
> Oly, WA
>