LINDEN &8212; The sight of two male Mallard Ducks flying over Chickasaw State Park was an unexpected oracle to Don and Judy Self as they arrived to set up to conduct the Third Annual Birding Event. That is because there is no body of water at the park so they caught the birds in route.

Judy and Don, who are members of the Alabama Ornithological Society, provided binoculars, bird books, telescope, birds in life size with color and markings for the bird identification competition and their own expertise to help with the event. The two&8217;s experience in the bird identification has compiled a lot of knowledge and experience for explaining the key ways to learn to identify by sight and song which they used to enlighten those in attendance. They were also able to share recipes for food for feeders and humming birds.

The hits kept coming for the avid bird enthusiasts at the event when Don got excited about the male Carolina Wren landing on the arm of the telescope, a first of any bird at the event, and appeared to be trying to look through the lens.

Don checked out the nearby bird nest to see if the it might belonged to a new mother to be Carolina Wren. Upon inspection he found it did.

Friday afternoon the nest had only three eggs and Don was delighted to see it know had had four. He deduced that this explained the behavior of the male Carolina Wren on the lens, which was staying near by as the female was incubating.

As the couple led the festivities of learning the intricacies of bird watching and identification, the group recorded a total of 29 species of birds seen or heard at the event lasting from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.