The location … Gold Creek Pond
The memory … National Geographic Songbirds of North America
The bird … the American Dipper
When I was a boy, the first bird book which my parents bought me was “National Geographic Songbirds of North America”. This book moved with me to prep school (Exeter), college (Dartmouth), my job in the Twin Cities (Honeywell), and finally back to Duluth! Some books are worth keeping. I think the combination of this book and our two bird feeders near the “8th Street Woods” at my house while growing up drove my interest in birds. How did all of you become interested in birds?
My specific memory … I spent many hours perusing the birds in the book. Some photographs mesmerized me more than others, including the American Dipper. I was fascinated by the idea of a small bird which walked under water in mountain streams searching for bugs. Please realize I had never seen a mountain in my life at that point (about age 10). In addition the book came with a small record inside the front cover which had the songs of various birds, including the American Dipper. The sweet song of this bird with gurgling water in the background was a winner for me! My video of yesterday’s dipper has all those elements (video link for email subscribers). You may wish to read my full post about this super book, National Geographic Songbirds of North America.
A few more American Dipper images, and a Dark Eyed Oregon Junco (also from yesterday but no childhood memories)
Initial interest on birds? Fifty years ago, I visited my grandfather on the old family farm in Finland. He was deaf. He told me that he looked toward to sleep at night in the hopes he might dream of sitting in the farmyard and listening to the European cuckoo. The next morning I heard the cuckoo’s call from deep in the nearby pine forest. I was hooked on birding!
That is a totally cool story! Thanks for sharing. While taking a self-supported cycle tour through Scotland about seven years ago, I kept hearing cuckoos, but I could never find them!
Often wonder why this bird is not found in the cold streams of the Appalachians.