I've been in the Chicago area suburbs going on five years, now, and I still find it hard to believe that so few people I encounter understand why I typically wear a
binocular around my neck. When I explain that I am a
birder (birdwatcher) some of them still don't understand. They've never heard of anyone who does something like that. Truly makes me feel like a
stranger in a strange land at times. Now, if I was down in the city, things might actually be different - there is an active
birding community in the Chicago parks near the lake, largely centered on those great birding hotspots along the lake shore. Up here, in the suburbs, though, birders are spread much thinner. I pretty much know every birder in the surrounding communities and that is but a handful of people. If birds of a feather, flock together, be nice to find a bigger flock. Birding, for me, is always more fun when I can share it. Grab your
binocular and join me.