John - You're complaining about 8-10 year olds? Try leading a trip at a Junior High...

I was volunteered to do a half-day birding class at a local Junior High in Kirkland. The kids slept through my slide show, totally unimpressed by both the birds of Marymoor, and especially by my banter.

And then it was time to get out into the field. Only the promised transportation to Juanita Bay fell through, so we tried birding along the edges of the school grounds. I trailed twenty kids behind me over the recently mowed grass, peering into the trees behind the chain-link fencing. The boys were pissed that I'd interrupted their naps, and that I'd asked everyone to be quiet so we could hear the birds (over the roar of I-405). The girls looked like they were concerned about whether their sandals would survive walking on the - gasp! - lawn. Arms folded protectively across their frontsides, they were doing that eye-rolling show of disdain that thirteen-year-old girls first perfected around the time of Cleopatra.

And we saw... NOTHING. Okay, okay. There were a couple of Barn Swallows flying past, and distantly a Song Sparrow was singing. Maybe even a White-crown.

At one point I did manage to get an American Crow in the scope. "Come take a look," I cajolled. I got blank stares, one or two shaking heads, and an "I'll pass". I'm not sure the boys even noticed my statement. Finally, I all-but-dragged one girl over. I think she was taking pity on me. She looked in the scope, and actually said, "That's pretty cool!" Then she tried to get one of her friends to look. "No, really, you should take a look. It's better than on TV." If I remember correctly, one or two other girls did step up and look at the crow. Then the crow flew away.

I didn't even point out the starlings that flew overhead. Admitting defeat, I led them back to the classroom.

I'll take the boy scouts any day.

== Michael Hobbs
== Kirkland, WA
== http://www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
== http://www.marymoor.org/BirdBlog.htm
== birdmarymoor at verizon.net