Life in the Bird Nuts Nest
By Katy Manley, 2006
Here's one that I pulled out of the newsletter archives. I wrote this a couple of years ago, but it still of course holds true. While this is a personal story, I think that reading it gives a good perspective of the importance and benefit of sharing the wonders of nature with kids.
~~~~~~When I was young, it seemed a perfectly normal thing to frantically find
a way to turn around while driving on a country road when one passed a bird
that they were unfamiliar with or rarely saw. The numerous nature guides, many
of them birding field guides, seemed the perfectly natural thing to fill all
shelves of our bookshelf with. Tromping around in a stinky, muddy, and bug
filled, but yet very wonderful wetland seemed the perfectly normal thing a
blue-eyed, blonde haired five year old girl should be doing. Everything in my
childhood seemed perfectly normal. I know better now.
~~~~~~It was always my mom, Jan (the owner of the Waite Park Wild Bird Center),
that would be driving that car that turned around just to see a bird, taking
those field guides off the shelf and showing me how to look up the most recent
woodpecker I saw, and getting out the microscope after a long day of exploring
the pond to show me the invisible creatures that lived in the pond water I
brought up to the house. No matter where we were, be it in our backyard, in
the local park, or up north, my mom always knew everything about nature-
especially the birds. We could be walking in the woods and hear a bird
completely different from those that showed up at our feeder, and just by
hearing a call or song, my mom could tell me the name, coloring, and some
quirky behavior of the mysterious bird that fluttered above us in the tree
tops. Her mind was, and still is, an encyclopedia of nature, with a rather
large section dedicated to our fluttery friends.
~~~~~~Nowdays, I awake to the sounds of the noisy wren that nests outside my
room or to woodpeckers picking through the seed at the feeder mounted to my
window. Sometimes I'm awoken by my mother's excited call across the house
that there's a bald eagle flying overhead or a Sand hill crane noisily passing
by. Sometimes, instead of a loud shout, my mom will sneak by and whisper that
there's a rare bird at the feeder, like a red headed woodpecker. She'll tell
me to be quiet and to not make sudden movements, so as not to scare the shy
bird away. At that point, we all stay low to the floor while slowly, silently,
and eagerly creeping to the window to peer out and gaze in wonder at the
natural treasure before us. Once the bird has left, I'll grab my life list and
write down the sighting. Once the morning has started the day, I'll often
drive to our store when I don't have school, sometimes with my mom, and
sometimes by myself. On my way to work, I'll always turn around just to get
another glimpse at the Belted Kingfisher that sits on the line or the Northern
Shrike that dwells near a creek. I've picked up a lot of habits from my mom,
and learned more from her about natural sciences than I ever have in school.
~~~~~~Our family's owning of the Wild Bird Center for the past two years has
taught me even more about birds- their habitats, behaviors, and diet. That's
just what happens when you have a bird nut in the family (though, now, counting
me and my sister it's two or three bird nuts). At the store, whenever a
customer comes in with a question about birds, my mom almost always knows the
answer. She's taught me well enough that I can usually give useful
information, too. She's an expert Bird Nut, plain and simple, and most
importantly, she's doing what she loves. She understands her fellow bird
lovers, and truly wants to help spread a greater understanding of our backyard
feathered friends. Though I now realize my childhood wasn't as 'perfectly
normal' as I used to think it was, I wouldn't trade it for any other.
Throughout my years of living in this Bird Nut's Nest, my mom gave me a unique
childhood and an appreciation for nature that will follow me my entire life.
For that, I'm very thankful.
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