Over the past half year, I’ve embarked on an exciting and fulfilling birdwatching journey. I visited 5 states in the US for birding; went on a trip to Dongzhai, China and Texas, US; and completed more than three hundred checklists. During birding, I take lots of pictures, which makes keeping fieldnotes for the program harder. But still, on some of the trips I took some notes and made the fieldnotes better and finished up the details back home.
Through the process of keeping a field notebook over the season, it made me learn to observe every tiny detail on every bird. On one of the trips, I went to Newport Pier on a Northern Fulmar stakeout. By thinking of the fieldnote book, I took note of the fulmars behavior and observed more details than usual. I observed carefully and discovered that the fulmar was hooked by a fishhook and had some fishing line striking out of its mouth. The observation really made me think and reflect on the negative impacts we humans have had on our beloved birds. I would have missed those small details if I wasn’t having the program in mind.
Another time, I was looking for a rare Greater Pewee at a nearby canyon park. After finally spotting it perched on a large snag, I took notes of how it always landed at either of the two locations on the bench. The process of keeping a field notebook really made me take note of this interesting behavior, and it made me think if there is anything special about these two locations. Does it have a better vantage point? Or are the insects flying around these locations? If it hadn’t been for the fieldnotes, I wouldn’t have thought of those interesting topics.
Taking fieldnotes this birding season has not only deepened my knowledge of birds but also made me think more on the behaviors of the birds and observe more for the tiny details on the birds. Looking ahead, I hope to continue exploring the wonders of nature, recording its beauty on fieldnote books. More importantly, I am eager to contribute to environmental protection efforts, fostering harmony between humans and nature and let what the fulmar experienced never happen again.
