Local Critters

As a young man attending college for commercial art, part of my curriculum included a course in photography. And as it often does for many people, life took a different road than the one I wanted, and my camera became a thing to take on vacation, or take pictures of the kids growing up. As time marched on, my camera was replaced with a thing called a smartphone; film being replaced by pixels.

At some point in my life I became a licensed master falconer in New York State, and relished spending time in the open fields with fellow falconers and our birds of prey. When I wasn't training birds, or teaching others about the art of falconry, I used my artistic talents to draw and paint these majestic creatures. I never made a penny doing what I loved in those days, but found rewards in other ways that people who spend time in their hobbies so often do.

I have many interests, and have done many things in my life, but art and animals have always seemed to be somehow specially connected for me. So it is no wonder that when many of us found ourselves restricted with our movements in the recent months, birding became a source of getting out there and enjoying nature, and feeling alive.

For me it began one day sitting on my deck during a warm summer day, enjoying a glass of Cabernet Franc with my wife, and noticing a very colorful dragonfly land on a nearby plant. I grabbed my smartphone and walked towards the winged beast, pointed the camera lens in the general direction it was sitting, and snapped away. I was surprised at how nice it looked at such a close distance, and thought, I should dig out my real camera and try to get an even better picture.

Well, one thing led to another, and cameras and pixels and lenses began taking over. And then one day a friend asked me to come to his house to help with some sort of chore, and having completed it, we sat in his gazebo with a cold beer where I marveled at the number of birds he had amassed in his yard by a feeder. He told me he loved taking pictures of them and brought out his camera gear. Suddenly I had a conspirator to share photography with.

I could go on, but here's my point. Even if you don't have an interest in photography, birds, or art, you can still enjoy our living environment by simply getting out there and looking for it. It's everywhere! And it's free! There are many places you can walk through the woods and see things that will take your breath away.

The Bald Eagle pictured here is only one example of what we have on Long Island. It's not easy to find, but if I found it, so can you. There are osprey, hawks, geese, ducks, kingfishers, nuthatches, jays, woodpeckers, swans, cardinals... to name a few.

So get out there Long Island! Grab those dusty binoculars and take a peek. I know you'll enjoy it.