In this Coronavirus world, the simple pleasures in life are the most important … including Birding with Grampa. Yesterday I took my two oldest Grandchildren (ages 10 and 8) birding. Their world has been turned upside down. In mid March these young children suddenly found themselves at home, not being allowed to visit friends or playgrounds, and elementary school was now conducted via distance learning. I know this Pandemic has been hard on everyone, but we adults are better equipped to deal with the stress. For young children their world has been turned upside down.

Thus, it was supremely important for me to be Grampa! Outings with Grampa are fun, and he always makes certain their are plenty of cake doughnuts with NO LIMITS on how many of these sweets one may eat (after all … I turn the children back over to my daughter … she has to deal with the sugar high … not me!). Ben and Mya were still half asleep when Grampa (i.e. me) insisted we leave for birding at 6:15 am. Karen, my daughter, had managed to get the kids up and ready. While some folks might think it would be better to wait for a later hour … they would be wrong! I wanted us to see birds … and we did!

Our birding excursion took us to the Fish Lake Nature Trails (extreme northern Twin Cities suburbs). The University of Minnesota owns hundreds of acres of oak savanna and prairie which is managed as a very cool nature preserve. Obviously habitat like an oak savanna is unheard of in northern Minnesota, and it is even quite rare down south in Minnesota. I knew from prior hikes that the trails were made for easy walking, and in early June the birds should not disappoint. Except for Saturdays, only the main trail is open to help wildlife not be bothered by us pesky humans. However, the main trails is fantastic, and we had it all to ourselves.

The birds did not let us down! In an hour of hiking, we saw close up (i.e. not requiring binoculars):

• Bald Eagle
• Baltimore Oriole
• Blue Jays
• Brown Thrasher
• Common Yellowthroats
• Eastern Kingbirds
• Eastern Meadowlarks
• Great Blue Herons
• Red-Headed Woodpeckers
• Rufous-Sided Towhees
• Sandhill Cranes
• Scarlet Tanager
• Trumpeter Swans and chicks (cygnets)

The kids favorites birds were the Eastern Meadowlarks and Red-Headed Woodpeckers, closely followed by the Trumpeter Swan family. We all ate way to many cake doughnuts, including me!

Ben and Mya both asked for framed photographs of the birds we saw. Two weeks from today they will each get images that include the words: Birding with Grampa … and the bird’s name! I am happy to oblige.

Remember, if you have young children, or know families with young children … I am giving away full PDF copies of my children’s bird books. I want to help more than just my own family. Follow this link to learn more and download your copies.

Red-Headed Woodpecker

Eastern Towhee

Trumpeter Swan Family

Scarlet Tanager

Eastern Meadowlark