Becoming A Birder

And a Story about Big Frank

Back when I was much younger, I would have never guessed that I would become an avid birdwatcher, but ever since I was young lad, I was enthralled with nature, so maybe it’s not that much of a surprise.

One Christmas, I was about 8 years when I received a book, the Mammals of North America; I remember it well.

My favourite mammal was the Black-footed Ferret, an endangered animal of the Prairies. I learned that book from front to back and back to front and to this day my love of mammals is as strong as ever.

Cow Moose with Two Calves - Algonquin Park

I’ve been very fortunate to see many of those North American mammals over my lifetime, though the Black-footed Ferret is just a dream as they are extirpated in Canada. Small populations still exist in the United States, though sadly they are still endangered so many years later. My love of nature started early and continues to this day, it just expanded to include birds!

Eastern Bluebird - Southern Ontario

When you become a birdwatcher or a “birder” for short, it can often be a sudden unexpected spark moment. Most everyone has their own spark bird. It can be a truly life changing event. Suddenly you are looking at the world a little differently as a whole new world opens up to you.

Birding is easy, you don’t have to be an expert, as long as you are looking at birds and enjoying the experience, you are a birder. One of the great things about bird watching is that you can look out the window in the morning and you are birding. It’s that simple.

The Baltimore Oriole - Always a Welcome Visitor

We all start somewhere and learn as we go along, so don’t be intimidated. You will find that most birders are happy to share their knowledge. I knew what a Red-winged Blackbird was when I started to become a birdwatcher, well at least I thought I did. I saw this large striped brownish bird in the spring and thought I had found a giant sparrow. I quickly learned that it was a female Red-winged Blackbird. I can tell you after leading many birding walks over the years, this is still one of the most confusing birds for new birders.

Female Red-winged Blackbird

You have to admit, she does look a bit like a giant sparrow!

When I first started birding, there were plenty of question marks of what the heck am I looking at now? House Finch vs Purple Finch, that’s a tough one for a new birder. There were plenty of misidentifications along the way and there will be more in the future. Even the best birders can make mistakes and I’m not talking about myself!

Identification can be tricky at times, but that’s part of the fun!

Another great thing about bird watching is the constant learning. It keeps your mind sharp. You are always learning, and not just about the birds. There is so much natural history before our eyes. Everywhere you go will open up a whole new world to you, it could be butterflies, dragonflies, mushrooms or plants. There is always something new for the senses.

All birders have a story of how they got hooked on birding.

In my case the pivotal moment was seeing a Bald Eagle along the Lake Ontario shoreline on top of the bluffs at Rosetta McClain Gardens thanks to stumbling across a blog written by Frank Butson aka Big Frank about Birds of Prey migrating along the shores of Lake Ontario. I had no idea. Bald Eagles in Toronto. Are you kidding me!

Frank’s blog was the inspiration that drew me to Rosetta McClain Gardens, and I visited the park for the first time a few days after first reading his blog. After arriving at the park, I easily found Frank by the fence overlooking Lake Ontario. He was quite welcoming, and we started to chat about birds of prey that migrate past. This was my first birding lesson. Five minutes after I arrived at the park Frank pointed out a large bird of prey gliding past just above eye level out over the lake. It was a Bald Eagle, I couldn’t believe it, I was seeing a Bald Eagle in Toronto. Frank laughed and said I could just quit now. The hook was set hard!

Frank was an incredible guy who welcomed anyone who showed an interest in what he was doing standing by the fence. We had a lot of laughs standing around in-between hawks. He especially loved ribbing me about the Toronto Maple Leafs.

This was in the early days of the Rosetta McClain Hawkwatch. Frank had started the Hawkwatch a few years before after he noticed a lot of hawks migrating by when he visited his local park in the early fall. He was learning himself back then. It was an informal count, but Frank was there every day faithfully. In the early days, only a few people would be there, but it grew year after year where sometimes you have well over 20 people there in a morning to see the raptors pass by. I still think it’s the best Hawkwatch in the Toronto area as many of the birds are quite low as they migrate past along the shoreline of Lake Ontario.

Red-tailed Hawk Gliding By

The hawk watching was fantastic, but the company was even better. It’s where the intensive bird learning began. I was very fortunate to meet some truly wonderful and brilliant people at the Hawkwatch, some were expert birders, others were new and learning for themselves as I was. I’m grateful to this day to everyone who has helped me along the way since those first days. Everyone was so kind and so happy to educate us new birders, Thanks Frank, Ann, Lee, Ron, Jean, Carol, Walter, Bill, Terry, Betty and a whole bunch more. Not everyone is still here with us, but it can never take the fond memories away that we enjoyed at the Hawkwatch.

I miss the big guy, but I’m thankful for Frank being in my life and being such a major influence on where I am today. Frank turned a lot of people into birders which in turn created a lot of new friendships. Frank certainly left a lasting legacy that is remembered by many!

I hope you enjoyed this story about becoming a birder and the influence Big Frank had on not just me, but many people.

Frank’s Bench