Doing the Spider Dance

When you've got your eye on a bird and trying to identify it, you can get so focused, you're not paying attention to much of anything else--not a good thing. 

I took a bit of time on Thursday morning to take a walk in Lake Wichita Park and twice walked into a spider's web. In my rational mind, I know there is no harmful spider in our area that builds a web that I am going to walk into, but as soon as I feel that spider silk on my skin, the reptilian brain takes over and I'm doing the spider dance trying to get it off me and to reassure myself the web resident is NOT crawling on me.

Safety should be a big concern for every birder, especially those, like me, who most often are out by themselves. Spiders are not a huge safety concern, but in years past I have had other near misses. A few years ago I was peering intently through my binoculars and moving forward, nearly stepping on a rattlesnake. He was nice enough to rattle to let me know I was getting too close, and allowed me to back away. However, most commonly, I stop to watch bird and don't notice I am standing in or close to a fire ant bed. They are not nice enough to give a warning before biting.

Although other critters are a hazard, it is more likely for me to twist an ankle or fall because I stepped into a hole I didn't see or off the edge of the trail with a bigger level change that I expected. Fortunately, other than some bumps and bruises (mostly to my pride), I haven't had any serious injuries. But I carry a cell phone and a duress alarm, just in case.

My Mom used to say, "I shoulda named you Grace." Sarcasm was her strong suit.

Get out and enjoy your birding, and be safe.

Good birding!