Roossy: Birding has been a hobby of mine for better than 40 years. It is something that you can do everyday of your life without costing money with the exception of the travel you do, binoculars and your Peterson’s Field guid (which is the very best). The travel is really incidental as you get to do roadfood. You always find the strangest places that way.

As a matter of fact I see different birds almost every day from my deck which is only about 30 feet from the Tennessee River. This time of the year, all the migratory waterfowl and birds are moving through. The warblers are the most difficult for me to identify.

I have birded in all 50 states, all of Canada, Central America, South America and All of Europe. I have about 600 birds on my list which sounds like a lot but next to most folks who enjoy that, I am a amateur.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN