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birds
I don't know when you are hiking, but when I thru-hiked, I saw and
heard a lot of birds. There are warblers galore, thrushes, finches,
goldfinches, turkeys, woodpeckers, juncos, sparrows (the white
throated sparrow is especially distinctive), vireos, etc. There were
times I would stop walking to listen to an especially beautiful song,
and others were just unusual (like the one that sounded like a
submarine whistle). I didn't see all that many birds except the
bright ones (tanagers, goldfinches and the like), but their song was
all around. Of course, I hiked alone a lot so there were no voices
to scare them off, and I often hiked early.
Hikers who use headphones are very unlikely to see much game. (ie. in 1988 I saw
four bears and a moose on the AT, my friend, hiking within a day of me, saw
none). The difference is, I heard the noise they made running away,
and looked up. He was immersed in his music. I would rather hear the
sounds of the woods than a DJ from the city, anytime. So I don't
bother with a radio. The result is, nature is much closer.
Ginny Frost