Ice Watching

Have you heard about ice watching? It is not a kind of hobby. I am volunteering for Ice Watch USA. It is a simple job to collect basic water and wildlife data once or twice a week. In particular, I observe how much the water is frozen. Here are list of observations: (1) Date and time of observation, (2) ice coverage (ice-on, ice-off or partial ice w/percentage), (3) air temperature, (4) snow depth, and (5) wildlife seen or heard (including tracks).

To be honest, taking records of ice and temperature is quick and easy (and boring). I found observing wildlife is rewarding. It is fun to look for waterfowls and tracks of deer. Today, I saw a pair of Peregrine Falcon. They looked gorgeous at sunset. Sorry, not a good pic with my everyday digital camera.

This picture is much better. A couple years ago, I found this falcon perched down near my fishing spot. So cool!

If you live close to any water body or go fishing year-round, this must be a good volunteering opportunity. You can feel that you do something meaningful. Or, you can use it as a good excuse to go fishing. ;-)