Itasca County and Chippewa National Forest Birding

I am actually relatively new to birding, in fact, I really only knew how to identify a handful of birds until about 5 years ago when something life-changing happened. That major event was my realization that I was very nearsighted! I got an eye exam and purchased glasses (since upgraded to contacts) to correct my 20/70 vision. Suddenly there were interesting birds everywhere! Now that I could see them clearly, I wanted to identify them all. I had always been a nature-boy, but I mostly knew trees and fish and things that I could get close to. So I purchased the Peterson’s Guide and $40 (16x50, of course!) binoculars and started trying to figure out every bird I saw...and loved it!

Shortly after, I mentioned my new hobby to an instructor who told me about the Christmas Bird Count. This is where I learned that there were other people in the area that went birding, there were online networks they used to share sightings, and that there were field trips in Minnesota…much unlike the mental image I had of a Sunday afternoon cadre of blue-haired cat-ladies watching robins somewhere in New England. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Anyway, I have been enthusiastically birding ever since. I spend most of my time near home exploring the relatively unknown Itasca County and Chippewa National Forest. Fortunately for me, there is still plenty left to cover. I have found many great birds here and I feel there are probably many more to be seen…they just need someone to look for them.

I have been described as an “opportunistic birder”. I often slightly annoy coworkers by wandering off, obliviously pishing away, during lunch breaks or calling out identifications as birds fly over while we’re working. Fortunately I have been involved in some bird survey projects where finding birds is the point of the work, which makes me look a little less obsessed. My family has been reasonably understanding, though they’re not crazy about it when we stop at a restaurant and I just want to sit in the vehicle and watch the gulls in the parking lot.