What could be more natural, and pleasing in nature, than standing outside your door listening to birds, especially this time of year when robin bellies swell with eggs, and nests materialize under eaves and in lean-tos? Really, let’s face it, if we take the time, birds and their sounds can be as compelling as a mystery to solve. What is that species with the neat trill, the brilliant swatch of orange around the neck? Who are the ones who swoop in droves and disappear at the instant they land? Curiosity got the best of me this year, and I finally signed up for a bird watch, trying to dispel my own limited belief that I’d be part of an aged crowd. You know the image, corny Bermuda shorts, wide brim hats, brandishing oversized camera lenses and pricey binoculars while rattling off erudite observations honed over years of bird-gazing with their retiree side-kicks.
In Provincetown, an area of spectacular spring migration, the Beech Forest at Race Point is the meeting spot for a weekly bird tour around the grounds. Led by an Audubon expert, a group of eight of us (of varied backgrounds and ages, by the way!) took off on foot for a two hour adventure, seeking out the gorgeous sounding warblers, the flirty fly catchers, the territorial kingfishers. As we circled a large fresh water pond at the center of Beech Forest, we caught glimpses of the native spotted sandpiper, a snapping turtle laying eggs, and winding, decorative sand tracks sculpted by painted turtles, also on their baby-making missions. A few birds of note gave us glimpses into their habitat and song, namely a red-winged blackbird happily lording over a marsh, and a lone northern oriole, which made me feel proud as I’d already identified an oriole that performs in branches outside my Cape house. Our barefoot instructor carried with him the “Peterson Bird Field Guide” and said this, along with many others, is a good one for beginners. Whistling, chirping, and hooting, he mimicked birds so that we could appreciate a distant sound even though the bird in question opted for elusiveness. Making their presence known while hiding out in trees, bushes, and sand dunes were towhees, Carolina wrens, chipping sparrows, and phoebes. Except for occasional swarms of mosquitoes, our early morning jaunt gave me a new slant on sounds that we often take for granted, and embellished my day with a larger, more generous perspective of the outdoors. All this and more for $7! Oh and by the way, the retiree crowd on hand could easily outmaneuver me on the trail! Check out the Wellfleet site and reserve. You won’t be disappointed.
