Reflecting on the Presqu’ile adventure.

My interview with David Bree, Park Naturalist at Presqu’ile Provincial Park, was scheduled for noon on Saturday.
It was going to be my first visit to Presqu’ile, and a jump back into the world of journalism after a long break.
The outdoor event was titled “The Warblers and Wimbrels Weekend” and was to offer activities and attractions for bird enthusiasts of all levels.
This meant being outdoors, this meant animals and wildlife, this was going to be great.

It rained… And not a trickle of rain… It poured.

Wonderful.

That’s o.k,. we can still do this right? It will still be interesting?

As it turned out many of the scheduled events for the day had been canceled.
The tagging event had promised to be an interesting site, and offer some great photo opportunities, but was cancelled due to the rain.

But it wasn’t a total loss. David Bree was very informative and had a lot to say about birding and the tricks, tips, and history of the hobby.

There were also a few ambitious outdoorsmen and women that didn’t let the rain stop them. They ventured outside with their raincoats and binoculars to get a glimpse at some of the migrating birds.

Each person had their own personal history with bird watching, but all of them seemed to have a common beginning, almost all their interests blossomed from the bird feeder outside their homes.

That little fact stuck with me after the event. They all suggested everyone get a birdfeeder and watch all the birds that come by to feed.

Not being a bird watcher of any level, my personal experience with watching bird feeders involved watching a squirrel try to figure out how to get the nuts from inside.

As it turned out, the skies cleared for the evening, and it seemed like a decent time to sit outside and watch the feeder.

They were right! Within half an hour hummingbirds zipped by my face to feed, a pair of robins carried worms to their newly hatched young, and a pair of brightly coloured barn swallows swooped around each other.

It goes to show that you don’t have to go far to get a glimpse at nature.