Bird Watching

 I decided to try a hobby that does not require much in terms of a financial investment, and one that would get me outside-bird watching. I went for a very long walk into an area of the city that they are developing, but where no one wants to live. There's a small lake where there used to be a mill.  I immediately realised that I was not prepared.  It is hard to see a lot of birds without binoculars, and I think a basic knowledge of bird calls also would help. I have a friend who jokes that she knows two kinds of birds-pigeons and not pigeons.  I laugh at that, but today made me come to understand that I know general categories of birds, i.e. ducks and maybe the most common species-Mallard, but I don't know any more than that. I saw a duck that I wasn't able to identify, it had a white face, reddish feathers, and it seemed it had some kind of crest.  I sat down on a bench and two mallards were sleeping in front of me about two meters away on the bank of the lake.  That was interesting, to observe animals closely on their own terms. I think I will do it again, but I may never be any good at it. 

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