Beach or mountains? Which do you prefer? Why?
I grew up near beaches and I like them okay, though I prefer marshy land near beaches, which have more interesting birds.
But I really love mountains and always have. I looked forward to visiting Chattanooga, where my paternal grandmother lived, each summer so we could look at streams, go through tunnels, and drive along the Blue Ridge Mountains.
As an adult, I’ve treasured my visits to other mountains in all weather. There are really good birds, too, and each area is so different! if I were rich, I’d head right over to Breckenridge and hike and snowshoe and be just fine. Or maybe Ruidoso, since it’s in another state I love.
Just dreaming. I’m here in Texas looking at a small hill. At least I have all these birds!
Off topic, but I enjoyed watching a huge flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds roosting and then departing en masse this morning. I had the good camera (Cameron EOSR5 Mark II) and telephoto lens in the birding area. Distance shots are from the phone camera.
I also dragged the camera to the Wild Wings Bird Sanctuary to practice close-ups. I got lots of chickadees and titmice at the feeders and a few others. I think a couple are pretty good. At least you can see details on them. I’m gonna practice this week so my camera muscles will be all strong for next weekend. Anyway, here are cute titmice.
And here are just a few Carolina Chickadees. They pose well.
I also got a couple of nice shots of water dripping into the birdbath. Look carefully and you will see many honeybees from the nearby hives.
I took lots of photos of new Wildscape plants, but that will be in a Master Naturalist blog. But here are a couple of insects!
So, whee. Mountains are great, but no matter where you are, there are birds, insects, and plants to explore.
The Hermits' Rest 