Birder Profile: Norm Saunders
Name: Norm Saunders
DC Location: Postal Square Building, between Union Station and North Capital St. at Mass Ave NE
Profession: Economist
Years Birding: 25
Organizations: MD Ornithological Society, American Birding Association
Lists: North American Life List-669; MD Life List-363; Worcester County, MD Life List-300, DC Life List-166 (gotta work on this one!)
Field Guide: prefer National Geographic Society for field use, Sibley and others for home references
Optics: Bausch & Lomb Elites, 8x42; Leica Televid 62mm w. 30x eyepiece (my wife uses the Leica Televid 77mm scope, but then she's stronger than I am); Canon 10D w. 100-400mm zoom for bird photography
Favorite Bird: Northern Mockingbird--this bird's antics first got me interested in birding, lo those many years ago.
Least Favorite Bird (C’mon we’ve all got one): Rock Pigeon
Bird You’d Most Like to See but Haven’t: any tropicbird species, anywhere
Wish You Were Better at Identifying: gull hybrids
Favorite DC-area birding location: Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens and the Arboretum, across the river from KAG
Favorite non-DC location: Assateague Island, Worcester County, MD
Best DC area Sighting: Peregrine Falcon at KAG, 20 years ago
Missed Opportunity: Long-billed Curlew in Southern Maryland, back in mid-1980s
Fondest Remembered Single Day: trudging through the boneyards on a brisk May morning in Gambell, AK
