I'm not really much of a "birder"

Lots of bird watchers in the world keep what is called a "life list", or a list of every bird they have ever seen. Some birders even keep track of when they first saw the bird, where it was, but especially what number it is on their list. The goal, of course, is to see as many birds as possible in a lifetime. Lots of people get joy and satisfaction out of doing this, but I see it more as a hassle. I do admit to putting a check next to a bird if I've seen it, but I couldn't tell you how many I've seen, or when I saw them (unless it was for a job that I was seeing them). I also don't go out to look for birds like most Birders do, I instead most enjoy going out to watch the birds I already know, like the bobolinks at home. I do, however, want to see some of the more spectacular birds while here in Kenya (like the rare Sokoke Scops owl).

So I am not a birder in that traditional sense. However, I do really enjoy birds, and almost every time I see a bird I haven't seen before or hear about one that I could have seen if I had been in the right place, I tend to say "ooooh, those are my favorite!" I've caught myself saying it a number of times here in Kenya. I said that about the plovers, I did spend 2 summers watching piping plovers after all. The crab plovers are what I was really excited to see, and they are stunning. And then I heard there might be African Skimmers, oooh, those are my favorite! I do love watching Black Skimmers on the East Coast of North America and remember the first time seeing them in Connecticut, and being amazed they didn't catch their bill on something just under the surface of the water.

For me, birding is a way to learn about birds, how they live, what they eat, how things in their ecosystem affect them (like grazing). I have been keeping a list while here in Kenya, although not religiously, and many on the list were brief sightings that I couldn't point out again if I saw them. I would rather hold a bird in my hand, or study it in the field to really get a feel for it. It's hard to forget a species when one of them bites through your finger while retrieving it from the net.

When people see my resume and all the work I've done with birds, they assume I'm a keen birder. Colin, another volunteer, and I were out at Mida Creek again today to check how well we could ID the shorebirds, and Colin was quite surprised when I didn't really have a clue! I know generally what a plover looks like, and a curlew, and can tell an egret from an ibis, but I must be taught to get to a species level. Roger, on the other hand, who is from Britain, just knows the birds; Roger is a keen birder. I just love birds.

The nest of an African Golden Weaver, which nests colonially with other weavers. This particular colony was right on the main road between Gede and Watamu, and had probably 50 or more birds making a racket. I wonder how the eggs don't fall out of the nest...