Got Binoculars for Christmas - Watch Out Bird, Here I Come!

Watching for Wild Animals/Birds

I love just happening along a nature experience.  This doesn't mean I have to run to a book and identify what we just saw.  Even my kids recognized the thrill of spotting a rare bird or newly returning migratory bird, and pointed out what they see.

When my oldest son was 5-6 years old, he came running to me breathlessly, "Mom, there's an animal near the lake."  I begged him to describe it as I followed him running.  Breathlessly he replied, "It's got a long neck."  I started to laugh; "You spotted a wild giraffe?"

He shook his head expressionless.  As we rounded the corner of the house we saw a Great Blue Heron take flight.  Speechless beauty.

Here's some pictures I did catch.

A fox behind the dog's pen.

Assisting a turtle crossing the street.

Looking over the pumpkin harvest.

There's a boulder under this tree's root system.

The root performed a loop-de-loop.

A grove of lady slippers a very short walk from my house.

Can you see a deer?

The very rare Peregrine falcon, which we watched chase a pair of red-tail hawks out of their nest, mate, lay eggs and raise their clutch.  All this happened from our office window in downtown Cambridge, MA near MIT.

These are just random pictures of animal and plants.