A Stop For the Birds!

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This discussion is for the birds. Let’s talk Audubon. Have you ever heard of Alexander Wilson, the late 18th/early 19th century Scottish ornithologist who did work in America? You probably haven’t, and the reason for that is John James Audubon. Him, you have heard of. After all, we have the National Audubon Society named after him. His Birds of America was the first work to show life-size paintings of birds, and in their natural habitat (Wilson did not depict his drawings in a life sized manner). Among Audubon’s many stops in life to investigate the birds of a region was Kentucky. He lived here in Louisville for a time, then ventured down the river to Henderson, Kentucky for a few years. Henderson is right across the river from Evansville, Indiana, and where you will find John James Audubon State Park. Since I was in the neighborhood (I had lunch at the Chuy’s in Evansville) and had never been there before, I stopped. Ooh, am I glad I did! It’s not a large park, compared to many of the other state parks Kentucky offers. That’s okay. What it does offer is serenity. You can see the lake in my photo. There are also numerous hiking trails, none either long nor all that strenuous, that take you along paths where you can admire the birds, as well as other wildlife. Audubon’s family donated voluminous amounts of personal belongings of his to the museum in the park, and they have one of the 100 or so surviving complete sets of Birds of America (which was, you have to understand, very expansive and expensive for its time, given that the book had to accommodate pages the size of a pelican!). There’s also a little bit of history of the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC was responsible for building the beautiful structure that serves as the museum building. You’ll find a statue celebrating the hard work of the CCC on the property as well. There’s an observation room inside, where people can sit and enjoy birds and other wildlife (I saw a squirrel scampering merrily about near a feeder) in addition to the hiking trails. (Those inside observation rooms are really cool. I enjoyed one, watching squirrels and birds at the Tippecanoe State Park in Indiana last year.) Even though it was a little too cool to venture deeply into shaded areas (bet I won’t be saying that in a couple of months!), it was a lovely stop along the way…definitely for the birds, and the other natural things that Audubon cared for in his lifetime.