July 18, 1993

Along with my mom and Tom Wheaton, I took a harbor cruise out of San Pedro. I saw ☆Heermann’s Gull☆, ☆California Brown Pelican☆, and Herring Gull. The stars of the show were a ☆Gray Whale☆ mother and calf swimming together alongside our boat.

June 26, 1993

I spent the day working with the Peregrine Release Program Monitoring, to make observations of ☆Peregrine Falcon☆ that had been released in the downtown area of South Bend. It was marvelous! I watched a total of 5 or 6 birds on and off all morning and early afternoon. Not only was it wonderful being able to see these birds, but it was also good to be part of a human effort to conserve and promote the welfare of this species.

Summer, 1993

This is a collection of sightings from the Summer of 1993.

May, 1993

This is a collection of birds regularly seen in the backyard and neighborhood this summer.

May 15, 1993

I participated in the Berrien County Bird-a-Thon this year, as part of a team for Fernwood Botanical Gardens. There were four of us on the team – the Fernwood Flickers – including Fernwood naturalist Rob Venner.

May 8, 1993

On this day, I visited multiple sites in South Bend with a team of Audubon Society birders to participate in this year’s Bird-a-Thon.

April 16, 1993

As my interest in birding has grown, I thought I would see if there are any birding organizations in the local community. This led me to the South Bend Audubon Society, and this trip to Bonneville Mill is the first official birding trip I’ve ever gone on with this group. So exciting!

March 28 through April 22, 1993: Osceola, Indiana

We put up a nest box in the backyard specifically to attract ☆Eastern Bluebird☆, and to my great delight we were successful. My first sighting was of a male and female pair in my own backyard, and they soon moved into the nest box.

December 19, 1992
Niles, Michigan

I signed up to participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count for southern Michigan. We started out at Fernwood, and I was teamed with Fernwood naturalist Rob Venner. I arrived at the nature center before dawn, a little bit nervous and not really sure what to expect. But once we got started, I had a lot of fun, and learned a lot about the winter birds, as well. Rob is a great birder, and a nice guy, too. We drove around to various places and counted the species and individuals that we saw. Rob helped me to ID them and told me lots of interesting info, as well.

1991 and 1992 (various dates)

Very soon after we moved into our new home in Indiana, I put up some bird feeders in the backyard. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but almost immediately, birds began to arrive, along with squirrels and chipmunks. The first I remember seeing were a deep, gorgeous red with black markings on the face, whose whistled song. I discovered that I wasn’t satisfied to just watch them go about their business anonymously – I needed to know their names. Field guide in hand, I was easily able to identify the ☆Northern Cardinal☆, as well as a good variety of other birds in the yard. And, just like that, I’d started out with this glorious (and sometimes consuming) pass-time of birding.

December 23, 1986

This was my first ever trip out of state, when my grandparents took my sister and I to visit our Aunt Andi and Uncle Larry in Florida. I wasn’t really keeping track of wildlife back then, but I saw a few things that made an impression. We visited Kennedy Space Center, and while on a bus tour of the facility, the bus driver pointed out a number of ☆Bald Eagle☆ nests. Although they weren’t all that close to the road, we were able to see both adults and juveniles. Even from a distance, these birds are so impressive! We also saw many ☆Atlantic Brown Pelicans☆, which are plentiful in Florida. Even though I’d seen the California subspecies regularly as a child, this is my first documented sighting.

1970s (various dates)

These are all wildlife sightings that I remember happening at or very near my childhood home in Los Angeles. I don’t have dates for these sightings, as they are all from memory, but I have noted anywhere I have a doubt about the species identify.