At home a handy bird book sits on the breakfast room table along with a small pair of binoculars. When time permits, which seems scare, or when the occasional rare bird visits the yard, I’ll pick up the field guide to try and identify the new species.

This week however, unexpected travels took me to a hospital that sits across the street from the bay in South Jersey. On one of many breaks from the Intensive care Room, I walked down to the bay to watch the birds-mostly sea gulls. Living in Georgia for the past 25 years or so, I don’t get to see the shore birds anymore, except for the annual beach vacation after Labor Day. Bird Field Guides would have allowed me to identify the different species of shore birds I was witnessing this sunny day. It would have likely taken my mind off of the sad situation at hand as well.