I'm a dork, but it's OK

Having reached the age of 30, I find myself enjoying things that sound sort of old and farty, like birdwatching and gardening (I'd like to call it landscaping, since that sounds more manly, but I mostly like the planting and nurturing part of it - what a sensitive nerd). It's like all my interests are maturing - I still enjoy a good rock 'n roll song, but from a more thoughtful and academic perspective. I never much cared for some music that had a history of popularity, from Guns n' Roses and Nirvana to Elton John and Billy Joel, but now I pretty well appreciate their greatness.

On the "birding" front: we have multiple bird feeders on our deck, each serving a particular purpose, and it has made our backyard a busy place. Here's the birds we've seen just in the last month or so:

Goldfinch
House Finch
White-Breasted Nuthatch
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Cardinal
Mourning Dove
Baltimore Oriole
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Grackle
European Starling (dirty, pesty invasive species)
Chickadee
Tree Swallow
Canada Goose
Sandhill Crane (not at the feeders)
Robin
Cowbird
Chipping Sparrow
House Sparrow
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
Red-Winged Blackbird (or as Annika used to say, the Bling-Bling Blackbird)
Killdeer
White-Crowned Sparrow
Tufted Titmouse
Eastern Bluebird

There's probably a Wood Duck that lives across the street from us in a marshy area, and in our general area I've seen Blue Jays, Wild Turkeys, Great Blue Herons, Turkey Vultures, a small raptor that I think is a Northern Harrier, and Pheasants, along with common Mallard Ducks, Crows, and Seagulls (by the landfill). I thought I saw a Pileated Woodpecker across the street too, and my neighbor said he saw a Bald Eagle sitting in a tree in the same marshy area. The Dark-Eyed Juncos and the Tree Sparrows are only around during the winter.

So, not only do I enjoy it, but I document some of it like a junior ornithologist. Nerds 4evah!