Welcome to my Enderis Park Bird Watching Club - "President's Page."  My personal philosophy towards the hobby, sport, life-style of watching birds is one of continual wonder at God's most colorful and interesting creations.  I never tire of looking at them or for them, wherever I may find myself.  The quest itself is most entertaining and pure fun part of birding!

    Bird watching (for me) is better than fishing.  Like fishing, I get to go out in nature and pursue a quarry that is often very elusive and specific to a particular habitat.  Also like fishing; weather, time of day and persistence effects the sightings one comes away with.  But unlike fishing, I do not need a license, or very much equipment to be successful.  Countless varieties of species can be seen and/or "listed" without any harm whatsoever to the animal. And when was the last time a fish sang you a riveting song as you sat in the boat bobbing up and down, waiting for action.  Don't get me wrong, I like fishing too, but my passion is for the birds!

    I currently live in the City of Milwaukee, WI. but grew up in the beauty of the "Northwoods" near Rhinelander, WI.  The small town of "Sugar Camp" saw me spending time in the woods doing other things boys like to do; hunting, hiking and just hanging out with the "neighborhood" kids.  I fished, biked and played at camping as many did, but I always "noticed" birds.  Surrounded by Blue Jays, Evening Grosbeaks and Piliated Woodpeckers, I almost took them for granted.  Now when I look back on opportunities missed due to my age and maturity, I long for the numbers and quantity of species available then, but much depleted now.

    My current fascination with sightings, listing, and birds in general began in 2003 on a spring family camping trip to the Rocky Mountains.  I was awed by the variety of the high elevation species.  While watching a "Dipper" in the RMNP (Rocky Mountain National Park) I turned a mental corner and decided that "birding" was going to be my "thing."  Over the years on various other family camping trips (did I mention that camping is another thing I enjoy?) to Florida, Arkansas, Texas, Michigan, etc. I have been fortunate to see (and list) many, many birds.  Plus, one of my favorite ways to see birds is to get on my bicycle and ride away from the campsite early in the morning, when the air is still cool and the day has just begun.  Try it sometime, I know you'll enjoy it as I do.

    The Enderis Park Bird Watching Club was started in June of 2006 as a way to (even more) immerse myself (and hopefully others, with an emphasis on families) into the sport, hobby, passion I so enjoyed.  The club's membership numbers have fluctuated but grown over the past 2-years to a nice size and a "core" group of dedicated enthusiastic officers and members who enjoy each other's company almost as much as they do birding.  The family activities we continually plan are at the forefront of our club's mission.

    Join us for our next program or field trip!  - Joe

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