backyard beauties

Northern Cardinal.

It’s springtime in Texas and birds are on the move. People are taking notice and the Birding Facebook Groups are exploding with images from across the Lone Star State ranging from amateurs with their iPhones to professionals with their $15,000 camera setups. These extremes (and everyone in between) are bound together in the common interest of seeing and identifying birds. These sightings are a morphine drip of FOMO. I’ve got to see these birds before they’re gone for the summer.

8:30am. The kids are loaded in the car. Our Stanleys are filled with coffee. There’s mid-70 degree temperatures throughout the morning, partly cloudy skies, and no chance of rain. We visit W.G. Jones State Forest where E-bird shows there to be 180+ likely species with 75 observed in the last week. “Great odds” I think.

And then we arrive to a stream of whines.

Not birdsong, the kiddos. Our toddler won’t walk and needs to be pushed in the stroller which means the little guy has to be in arms or the carrier. We packed so many things for them, but somehow only the wrong things. They’re just kids after all. My attention splits and I’m neither a good birder or a pleasant partner. Defeated, we make our way home and although it wasn’t a good birding experience, it was a good learning experience for next time.

We make our way to my mother-in-law’s house for lunch. Birria tacos reenergize us and inspire optimism and so we head out after lunch for a family walk. With Abu helping with the kids, I’m able to capture images in a familiar habitat: our neighborhood. Hallelujah.