Ahh, two of my favorite hobbies combined.  Kayaking is a fantastic way to
see birds up close in their environment, in places they rarely expect to
see humans.  I'm an officer in the largest sea kayaking club in the mid-
Atlantic, the Chesapeake Paddlers Association (www.cpakayaker.com), and
lead trips for friends and club members all over the Bay.  A good number
of our members combine kayaking with nature-watching, and some trip
leaders - myself included - often take the time to call out interesting
birds seen on club trips.  Although by no means an expert birder, I can ID
most of what I see, and even while respecting nesting areas the closeness
that can be gained when birding in a slow-moving, silent kayak is hard to
beat by my landlubbing birding bretheren.  Ever drift through spatterdock
to within 20' of a juvenile Bald Eagle sitting on a log?  Watch a mother
Belted Kingfisher training the kids to fish - while hidden in the reeds
less than a paddle-length away?  See an Osprey pluck a fish from the water
so close alongside that you get splashed?  Sneak up on a Sora or a Yellow-
crowned Night Heron hidden in the phragmities?  Only by kayaking.

Barry

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Barry D. Marsh
Baltimore, MD