Morning walk though Berkeley’s Aquatic Park counts bird species

There’s a routine to counting birds. In Berkeley, a group of birdwatchers would be in the middle of a conversation and suddenly scopes, binoculars and cameras would all point in the same direction. Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

It was always a bird.

Sharon Alkire wore binoculars around her neck and had a bird identification book in her backpack.

Joining fellow birdwatchers, or “birders,” as they call themselves, at Berkeley Aquatic Park on Saturday was a way to get back into her childhood pastime.

“Birding is like watching baseball. Very slow, very slow, very slow,” she said. Then, “Something happens! It’s a lot of waiting and looking, then being excited.