[wisb] Re: RFI: Birding with a toddler...can it be done?
- From: Rockne Knuth <rockneknuth@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: WISBIRDN <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:25:34 -0700 (PDT)
I have two boys who were ten years apart. I took both of them with me when I'd
go birding. Jerry's response to this was perfect. There are sacrifices to be
made. But sharing the wonders that your little ones experience is like
discovering the world all over again. My oldest, Kevin, became a physicist
while continuing to be an avid birder. The summer before last, he took me with
him to a conference in Brazil so that we could bird the Atlantic Rain Forest
for 10 days together. The ultimate rewards are great!
My youngest, Joshua, preferred fish and fishing, so I went fishing, with some
birding on the side. It wasn't long and he was teaching me. He has become
an painter, sculpture and taxidermist and the best fisherman I know.
Rockne Knuth
Fond du Lac
"Perhaps it is always the destined role of the compassionate to be strangers
among men. To fail and pass, to fail and come again."
Loren Eiseley
Unexpected Universe
--- On Sat, 10/24/09, jerry937975@xxxxxxx <jerry937975@xxxxxxx> wrote:
From: jerry937975@xxxxxxx <jerry937975@xxxxxxx>
Subject: [wisb] Re: RFI: Birding with a toddler...can it be done?
To: agstutz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Saturday, October 24, 2009, 5:23 PM
Hey Aaron... I have two kids within 19 months of each other and used to bird
with both of them. For a time, I had one on my back and one on my chest. As
they grew, eventually they both just walked along with me. I used to be proud
of the fact that my 2 year old could easily walk 4 or 5 miles. So I believe I
can give some pretty sound advice. Change your definition of "quality
birding". Yeah, the days of 150 species is behind you (unless of course you
leave the kids behind), but the enjoyment of watching a 3 year old smell a
dandelion or watch the ants going in and out of an ant hill is ahead of you
(and of course the infinite number of awesome questions that come along with a
child exploring the world). You might even get lucky and see a few birds.
Though in foresight it seems like kids might hinder us from doing the things we
want to do, in hind sight, regardless of the quality of birding, kids, whether
you're out birding with them
or missing the birds to watch th
eir soccer games, are the greatest blessing God can give us. Look forward to
a new definition of quality time.
Jerry DeBoer
Central Racine County
-----Original Message-----
From: Aaron Stutz <agstutz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sat, Oct 24, 2009 4:04 pm
Subject: [wisb] RFI: Birding with a toddler...can it be done?
Hi all,
As some of you know I have a 15 month old son that frequently
ccompanies me on birding excursions. When my son was an infant,
irding with him was pretty easy. I could put him in a backpack and
ike for 5+ hours while he napped. Now my son is larger, heavier, naps
ess and wants to explore areas on his own two feet. His increasing
eight makes carrying him in the backpack and hiking trails less
njoyable for me. He wrecks my posture and his movements make focusing
inoculars a challenge. Clearly the easiest option is to just go
irding without him, but if I only went birding when someone else could
atch Jonas then my birding opportunities would be severely limited.
So my question is....
Do any of you have suggestions on how to get some quality birding in
hile accompanied by a toddler?
Thanks in advance for your advice,
Aaron Stutz
adison, WI
ane County
P.S. There was a relatively late Turkey Vulture flying over my house
oday and a good assortment of sparrows at the feeders.
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