Standing in the field at the organic farm where I work part-time in Northern Alabama, about 20 miles south of the Tennessee River along the I-65 corridor, I am always aware of the train schedule. The tracks are across the road from the field.
This season the chickens are running free range and covering a much wider territory closer to the fields where we grow produce. But not in them. On this day they were very active close to the barn and house.
I looked up. There was my reward. Soaring above was a solitary bald eagle just a little north of our field. As it soared on the thermal current spiraling upwards I observed its white head with each return until the Bald Eagle soared above the clouds and out of sight. I had no binoculars on me and my spotting scope was in the trunk of my car. So the entire magical moment was a naked eye sighting. My favorite kind. Perhaps my most common viewing of wildlife is without assistance. It is often just noticing something different and focusing my attention on it. This is what birding and birdwatching is about for me. Taking moments from each day and appreciating the aerial escapades of whatever birds I happen upon.
Of course when I have my binoculars (Bushnell compact) or my spotting scope (also Bushnell) I can spend a little more time exploring the details of the scene and the bird. Those are the times when I wish I had a Swarovski spotting scope and Leupold Katmai Compact binoculars with me. That day shall come my way but it must wait until some household essentials are purchased first. In the meantime I share the joy of birding with you today, another magnificent sunny (that is unusual) spring day in April.