The Story of This Odyssey
My name is Evan Clark.
It all started the year I retired, 2023. That summer, just like the summer before, our daughter and I went to London. It was the most miserable summer of my life because I couldn’t answer a very simple question, “What do you want?” I had no clue. I’d walk the streets of London just wondering, what do I want?
One thing I did was buy a pair of binoculars before I came to London. I’d visited a place called Walthamstow Wetlands the summer before and saw lots of birds. But I wanted to get a closer look.
In 2023 with binoculars in hand I headed to Walthamstow again. As I climbed the bank of one of the reservoirs a birder yelled out, “Look up, look up, you’ll miss a sparrowhawk.” I did indeed miss the sparrowhawk but little did I know, it would be my spark bird.
I asked the birder if I could bird with him that day. He was very friendly and incredibly knowledgeable. That birder was David and I birded with him once a week that summer and we became good friends.
My experience at Walthamstow made me wonder if birding was transferable to Washington, DC. There is a spot not too far from where I live called Kenilworth. It’s a park and an aquatic gardens.
The first time I birded there I was so, so clueless but everyone was talking about two roseate spoonbills that were apparently very rare and a really big deal in DC. Among the birds I found that day were the two spoonbills. I also noticed there was a bird walk every Tuesday morning.
The next Tuesday I showed up and was warmly greeted by Molly, the leader of the bird walks. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and learned a ton about the birds of Kenilworth. (When I’m in DC I never miss Molly’s Tuesday bird walk. It's fantastic and Molly is a dear friend.) And that’s how it all began.
I started birding Kenilworth every day. I was so confused by all the birds and their sounds and which species was which. It was a place I really enjoy being, totally clueless.
Birding fulfills three needs for me. I get great exercise, typically walking six to ten miles a day. I meet all sorts of interesting people. And I’m learning about something that I know very little about.
And now birding has become an obsession. So much so that I want to have 7000 lifers by my 70th birthday. This website is the story of that odyssey.
my spark bird