Cabin fever, winter blues, Seasonal Affective Disorder, and
temporary insanity are terms that describe the blahs most of us experience this
time of year. Symptoms include paleness,
sluggishness, restlessness, and downright irritability. Fortunately, a cure exists, and it doesn’t
require a Caribbean or Aegean Cruise (although those sound enchanting as I strain
my brain to write.)
The good news is Kansans
don’t have to travel to experience the exotic.
It comes to our backyard. We only have to know where to find it in order
to spice up dreary January and February days.
Google Kansas eagle migrations to start your exploration. On a lake near you, a few of the approximately 1000 eagles that migrate
here each winter have taken up temporary residence. After
arriving sometime in October, they spend their days soaring over open water or
perching on ice floes or in high trees to search for dinner prior to returning
to summer residences in March.
Once you’ve identified a locale that hosts visiting eagles,
prepare yourself to spend hours spying
on them. A good pair of binoculars or
spotting scope will increase your viewing pleasure. It’s more fun to see distinctive features
rather than huge, dark blobs cruising over blue-white water or ice. A camera with a telescopic lens isn’t
essential. However, looking at photos
you took of birds perching and in flight allows you to discover details you
didn’t spot during your initial investigation.
Anyone who’s spent much time out of doors in Kansas knows
you need to keep warm while you scan sky and horizon. Heavy parka, gloves, a hat or facemask, and
insulated boots make this a more enjoyable experience. If you’re warm, you can spend your time
counting eagles, geese, and ducks as well as identifying species. If you’re cold, well, it’s hard to keep
binoculars still when you’re shivering.
A thermos of hot cocoa, coffee, or tea provides a nice break
in this mini-vacation. Add a sandwich or
bag of cookies, and you can add an hour or two to your get-away. While the goal is to watch eagles, you’ll see
other birds as well, so take an identification guide to help you recognize
other travelers to wintry Kansas water holes.
Bird watching, especially cold weather bird watching is one
of those Zen things. Being still enough
to watch eagles congregate either in a stark, towering cottonwood, or far out
on a lake near an open pool of water without disturbing them requires
intentional tranquility. Those moments
of purposeful attention are part of the rejuvenation you’ll experience on this
little break from winter boredom.
Ironically, your pulse will race upon seeing
these majestic national icons snag a fish swimming too close to the surface or using
knife-sharp talons to capture a slow duck.
It’s a thrill you’ll never forget.
Because it takes effort to enjoy winter eagle watching, it’s
essentially a solitary endeavor. Since you
don’t have much human or mechanical sound competing with nature, the honking or
quacking of a flock of geese or ducks rising from the lake or a nearby field
drowns out all other noises. It’s so
loud you become part of the racket.
Very few places in Kansas are more than couple hours from a
lake accommodating winter eagles. Put
your coat on, grab your binocs, and head for a few hours of winter blues
blasting bird watching.
You’ll find
yourself smiling all the way home and at odd times for the next week or
two. Let folks wonder what you did to
conquer the blahs.
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