Editor’s note:
We gathered up your story submissions, all one hundred or so, and headed to the Shenandoah National Park (two different days). Bethany read to us as we traveled, and as we looked over Big Meadows. That was a fun environment from which to hear your stories and to make winner decisions.
Like always, there are a lot of fun stories beyond what gets selected as a “winner.” Enjoy these excerpts with us.
“I scanned the ground, hoping for an antler too. All I saw was an old bone, half hidden in the dead leaves. No. Wait! It blinked!
I looked again carefully. ‘Lisa, Kathi, come quick!’ I whispered excitedly.
The woodcock crouched motionless, only her bright black eyes moving as she studied her admirers.”
—Stoltzfus Sisters, Knox City, MO
“My field guide verified that he was a Horned Grebe. I was fascinated as he dove under the water and came bobbing back up like an air capsule, obviously getting his own bacon and eggs.”
—Lloyd Dueck, Rosthern, SK
“Not long after that, I made homemade nectar for hummingbirds and set up a window hummingbird feeder for my great-grandmother. Now she can enjoy watching hummingbirds this season!”
—Micah Owens, Prospect, TN
“Then the procedure of pointing out the bird would take place, somewhat like this:
‘Look! A Rose-breasted Grosbeak!’
‘Where?’
‘Okay, so do you see those two big trees standing right there?’
‘Yes.’
‘Alrighty, now look between them at that skinny little maple.’
‘That one?’
‘Yeah. Now follow it up to where it forks. Then take the left fork up to the branch that is pointing right. Do you see it?’
‘Oh, yeaaaaaaaah!’”
—Caleb Gugala, Steubenville, OH
“Mom spotted something by a pond that looked really interesting. She pulled into a side road and turned around. She pulled up, and we all peered out. We couldn’t believe our eyes. It was…CHICKENS!”
—Maria Carver, Abbotsford, BC
“After this fantastic day of birding, our group joined several others who had been birding in different localities, and enjoyed an evening sharing stories of our separate adventures and unique finds over a pizza dinner.
—Hezekiah Swihart, Manhattan, KS
“Even my seven-year-old brother Wilder got involved, diligently keeping a list of the birds he saw. I had been a little worried that we wouldn’t end up sharing our birding with anybody. But, as I reflected back, I realized that we had told everyone we saw about our contest, and we even got to go on the bird walk with Scott!”
—August Floyd, Chicago, IL
“A little later I heard it again. I shivered and snuggled deeper in my sleeping bag. I also thought I heard a Barred Owl, but it was really quiet.
The next day we found out that those eerie noises were actually Daddy trying to scare us a little with a deer call. He was also the owl that we heard. Later in the night, I did hear some real Barred Owls.”
—Gracious Girod, Russell Springs, KY
“Warbles, whistles, trills, and twitters floated down from the treetops on the merry little breezes of morning. The path down which we traipsed was vibrantly green in the youngness of spring, and the song of spring reverberated through the woods. But the melodious singers of the orchestra remained veiled behind a dazzling curtain of green through which the yellow rays of the glad sun peeped. And we were off to go birding.
We had definitely shared the day—with two hundred fifty ticks (a general number), albeit unwillingly, and by far the best, with friends! It was a day not to be forgotten.”
—Estella See, Gleason, WI
“A little baby Barred Owl sat on a big tree limb above the creek. I just gaped at the owl, for he never moved and just stared and stared. He probably couldn’t figure out what those funny, loud things were, pointing their binoculars at him.”
—Ruth G. Renno, Thompsontown, PA
“Suddenly he exclaimed, ‘Here are three new baby fawns!’
We rushed over, and sure enough, there were triplets, still wet and brand-new! They tried to stand, but their legs wouldn’t hold them, and they toppled over. We soon left them in peace…”
—Kaityln D. Hoover, Danville, PA
“They even offered us a free dog! Unfortunately, Mom declined.”
—David Sheldon Wright, Tucson, AZ