Even before I was a birder I had my roots dug in deep. I have an outdoor loving family to thank for that. My dad an avid outdoorsmen was always hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, photographing, etc. He made sure to include my older brother and I from the very get go. Although the birder in me didin't emerge till I was about 12, my dad sent me an email this morning with a picture he found while scanning old 35mm negatives--that shows even as a little kid I had birds on my mind:

I'm the goofy one on the left with the Donald Duck Shirt.

Disney shirt with a feathered creature aside, the puzzle in the background is a serious piece of work. 500 pieces of various colored warblers, sparrows, buntings, robins, wrens, woodpeckers, cardinals, blackbirds, nuthatches, flycatchers, etc, etc etc.

It's a humbling experience to look back and see where I came from to where I've gone. What are some of your pre-birding birding memories, and/or stories?

Ironically I still have that puzzle in a box in storage somewhere!