A SCHOOL BUS DRIVER? ME? Chapter 6

By way of explanation-- I had the chance to play around with a different camera recently and these shots are made with it. The camera was. Sony RX10 Mark iv. It's a pretty sweet, easy to use camera and it may be in my future, but not right now.

Now to the on-going story of being a bus driver.

School Bus Birding

The long winter is nearly past and for the bus driver the change of seasons means a change in driving conditions, hopefully for the better. An end to the snow and icy road conditions is very welcome. 

The drivers cover many miles each day and therefore have the opportunity to see a variety of things. Spring brings the arrival of birds from the south. When one driver spots that first Meadowlark of the season he/she of course shares it with the others, by announcing it on the two-way radio.Not to be out done, the other drivers soon get in on the act, and each one tries to be the first to see and report some new bird as it comes into the area. 

This casual competition makes the daily drive very interesting, and before long one of the drivers starts keeping a record of the bird sightings as they are reported. The competition is on and when two drivers report seeing that first Robin on the same day,  a decision needs to be made as to whose name will go on the list. It is quickly determined that one driver saw his bird in the morning, while the other one saw it in the afternoon. The morning sighting will be recorded. 

When a year has passed and another winter has come and gone, bird sightings are once again reported. It is interesting to see that many birds are reported by the same driver at much the same time of year.. because of all this interest, to some drivers, bird watching takes on new meaning. At least one of the drivers who was at first a very casual bird watcher is now an active birder. The name would be Ruth Hiebert. 

  Unfortunately, the school division didn't share the enthusiasm of the drivers regarding birds, therefore we were asked to limit radio use to business only. We did understand the reason for this, but also missed the birding reports and would have loved to be able to share a sighting with the rest of the gang. Occasionally the rules are broken and a rare or unusual sighting is still reported. 

 Records are not being kept for the drivers any longer but for at least the one driver, the bug has bitten and much time is spent in bird watching. Some of this can be done while driving and this makes the job of school bus driving more enjoyable.