Jean Hackamack
Past President Stanislaus Audubon

1. Hooked on birding:
Please describe:

a. How you became interested in bird watching. In 1961, Bob and I moved to Modesto and bought a "fixer upper" on Dry Creek. Our yard was full of birds we had not seen before. I asked our Sierra Club friend, Norma Lowry, to come out and identify these birds for us. She told me that I should join Audubon and learn to identify them myself. So, I did. Some time after that, Dr. Ed Channing, chairman of the County Wildlife Committee, installed five Wood Duck boxes and a blind in our yard. Bob tended those boxes until we moved to Twain Harte in 1998. A movie was made from the blind and several photographers came to use it. One year, 102 baby Wood Ducks hatched out of those boxes. One morning when I woke up and looked out the window, I counted 40 Wood Ducks perched in a large Cottonwood tree.

b. What you did to increase your bird identification skills. I went on field trips with knowledgeable birders. Later, I took classes from Jim Gain

c. Why you continue to enjoy bird watching. I continue to enjoy bird watching from my home and go on local field trips. I enjoy attending birding symposiums such as the Central Valley Symposium and the Mono Lake Chautauqua. The excitement of finding a life bird is gratifying.

2. Field of Dreams:

a. Share one of your memorable birding experiences in Stanislaus or Merced County. One of my most memorable birding experiences was when Bill Lyons took Eric Caine and myself to Christman Island before it became part of the Wildlife Refuge. We sat in the back of a pickup truck on bales of hay and were driven along a rarely used private road with giant overhanging trees. The air was full of ducks, geese and other birds swirling around us. Except for the truck, it was like a prehistoric experience.

b. Identify a birding location in Stanislaus or Merced County that you enjoy going to and explain why you like to bird there. I enjoy the Joe Domecq Wilderness Area because it is a quiet place and there is such a variety of birds there.

c. Identify a birding spot outside of Stanislaus or Merced County that you enjoy going to and explain why you like to bird there. I enjoy the Mono Lake area because I have always picked up a life bird there.

3. A Few of My Favorite Things:

a. Pick 2 or 3 Stanislaus or Merced County bird species and explain why you look forward to seeing them. I never tire of seeing Wood Ducks and also enjoy the Aleutian Canada Goose because of our history with their recovery.

b. What bird species that you have not already seen in Stanislaus or Merced County would you would like to find next? I would like to see the Least Bittern and maybe someday a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

c. What is your favorite bird field guide that you take with you in the field (or have in your car)? Although I have a bookcase full of birding field guides and carry several in the car on field trips, the one I carry is Peterson's Western Birds because it fits in my pocket and is easy to use.

d. What kind of equipment (binoculars, telescopes, cameras, etc.) do you take along with you while birding? I have Nikon 8 x 30 binoculars, a Kowa Scope and I carry a Nikon digital camera to photograph birders in specific locations. I do not photograph birds.

4. Dear Abby:

a. What advice would you give to a new bird watcher? Study the birds around you so that you can recognize something different when it appears. Try to learn the bird's songs and calls. Go on field trips with knowledgeable birders and then study your field guide so that you reinforce what you learned.

b. What suggestions would you give to a parent to help them encourage their children to become bird watchers? That's a hard one. When my son was young, he took great delight in spooking the birds I was trying to identify. Now that he is 40 and comes to help with yard work, he calls me out when he sees a hawk or hears an owl and participates on our Tuolumne County Christmas Bird Count as well as our Eagle Counts.