A - Birding On A Bronco

I read this very old book about birding by Florence A. Merriam called A-Birding On A Bronco.  She writes about her bird observations in southern California and New Mexico while staying on ranches and riding a horse in the late 1800's.  She didn't have binoculars or a spotting scope or a camera.  She had opera glasses.  She liked to find the nest of breeding birds and watch the family closely until the birds fledged.  Sometimes she brings a chair and sits under the tree to watch while her horse sits in the shade.  Some birds get used to her presence eventually.  If only I had the time to watch birds like she does.  She takes notes on how often the female parent brings food to the young compared to the male parent.  Some birds are rare and hard to find.  She and her horse go running up and down the canyons looking for them only to come home and find one in the yard of her ranch.  I see now that a bird watcher in the 1800's had a much more difficult time of it than I do now, especially if like Florence Merriam, she didn't take a gun and shoot the bird to get a good look at it like others did in those times.  The Migratory Bird Act changed the hobby of watching birds quite a bit.