And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."
Birding is the longest-lived passion in my life. I started when I was somewhere around 10 years old, and have never once turned away from it.
What is "birding," you ask? Well, some mistakenly call it birdwatching. It's so much more than just watching birds! It's' knowing what they're called, where they're found, what they look like, what their songs and calls are, how they fly, what time of the year one can see them, what their mating rituals and other idiosyncracies are, and so on. If you ever want to know more about the subject, just ask me sometime when you have an hour or two available to listen. Just kidding. :O)
Seriously, the passion for birding has taken me all over this country and God has blessed me by putting me in a position to see some very rare and unusual species, like the Crane Hawk that I, and others, saw in its first-ever appearance in North America. This occurred at the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge near Brownsville, Texas, circa 1989.
Or the Hawk-Owl in upstate Pennsylvania: only the second time ever spotted in that state! Or the Acorn and Lewis' Woodpeckers in central California, or the Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers and Painted Buntings right here in the Charleston area. Or the Snowy Owl at Bombay Hook, Delaware, or the Snow Buntings at Liberty State Park in New Jersey, or the Great Gray Owl in Yosemite National Park in California, or the Green-Tailed Towhee in Bodi, Nevada, or the Swallow-Tailed Kites around Fort Myers, Florida, and so on, and so on. The list goes on and on.
If there were a more-interested population of birding enthusiasts, I would consider leading a small group for it. I've prayed about it, so it's in God's hands...and His will be done.
More to come... |
• Nov. 11, 2006 - Untitled Comment
its crazy how nervous i am just posting a comment for you. serously, my palms are drenched. but hello. how are you? you seem to be extremly blessed these days as am i. ya know,now that i'm an adult,saved by the grace of God,i feel the time is right to contact you. i hope you dont mind but i miss you.i have always missed you. i figured that its appropriate to contact you under your birding blog as i bird constantly to this day. for me it is a true,life-long passion as well. we visit hawk mt. a few times every migration. i cant help but think of you when i'm there. james still enjoys birding too,but not like me. he only looks for raptors...i love 'em all. last night i wrote josie in her "my-space". it was late and i had worked hard that day so the letter might come across as strange but theres more about what ive been doing with my self. i did get married. i'm pretty sure that your aware of that. i'm a chef at the yardley inn and i love it. cooking comes in third place as far my top four passions. the first being Christ. the last,music. i love them all and work hard on a daily basis to progress with each. jake and geordan seem like cool kids...they are sauppes after all. but i would really like to hear from you all. i want to get to know you and josie again. the same goes for my little bros. and i want you all to meet the love of life,sarah. i left my adress on josies "space". i you feel the time is right,please write. if you dont, i understand. but you are my father and i your son. i can think of no good reason for us to be strangers any longer. i truly hope to hear from you soon. until then you will be on my thoughts and in my prayers.
blessings through Christ in Zion,
anthony r. sauppe