Birding around Lake Geneva, WI
Cleon and I spent last weekend in Lake Geneva, WI, with his daughter and family. They live in the city of Chicago and although they like and occasionally use the wonderful parks in and around Chicago, they truly love living in the city. Cleon and I are small town/rural people. But we all enjoy visiting each other! Twice a year we also meet at Lake Geneva for the shops, restaurants, the lovely lake, and of course the large swimming pool in the hotel that is perfect for wearing out grandchildren!
This year we spent time at Big Foot Beach State Park, walked some of the trails, and spent time at the playground. Our youngest grandchild is 4 and he loves a good playground. As we walked, we showed Cleon’s daughter and our 11 year old granddaughter how to use the Merlin app* on our phone. There were not many birds calling – we walked in the afternoon, and it was unseasonably warm – but we did hear American Crows, Blue Jays, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. They were both amazed at how many different calls a Blue Jay has! If you have children and/or grandchildren, I am sure you will agree with Cleon and me that it is so wonderful to see their faces light up as they become acquainted with and connected to the outdoors. Nature. Real nature you can reach out, touch, smell, and observe. No games on cell phones!
As we drove back to the hotel, we looked at all the seagulls that were flying close to the shore of the lake. Some were landing on anchored boats, but many were landing on the shaded sides of the roofs of the marina. We all agreed the sunny side of the roof would be a very hot place to sit. We also watched one gull with a goodie in its beak being chased by a second gull with the idea of stealing it. The first gull kept its treat! We told them these gulls were all Ring-billed Gulls. Cleon’s daughter and both children looked through our binoculars so they could see the ring around the bill.
For dinner that night, we all drove outside of town to a hotel which has a golf course and there were Wild Turkeys. Our 11 year old granddaughter was thrilled and took a video of them running across the road.
Cleon and I had a wonderful weekend with all of them and it is so nice the grandchildren are 
both of the age where they can start to appreciate the wonders of everything outdoors. The fresh air, the sunshine, the calm of the lake, the lives of birds. Who knows? Maybe our two grandchildren will catch the ‘birding bug’ from their grandparents! At least, for that afternoon, they started to see the world through our eyes – to appreciate the trees, the late summer flowers, the butterflies, the small toad we saw hopping along – and as always – the birds!
If any of you have stories about sharing your love of the outdoors with children and grandchildren, please use the Public Forum. Click on Questions and Answers and you will see I started a New Topic. To comment, click on Reply. We are all competing with cell phones and ipads, so it is Cleon’s and my experience that sometimes this is not easy. I would love to hear about your successes, but also the frustrations. This can be hard – in our experience, children are not always receptive.
*If you do not have the Merlin app, please go to this website’s menu, click on Articles, and read the Merlin App and Its Sound ID. I highly recommend the app!