Andrea Willingham

I’ve had a really crazy summer, and I’m looking forward to starting my sophomore year at Eckerd in a couple weeks. I have to say though, it was possibly one of the most unforgettable summers of my life.

Just a couple weeks after I got home from school in May, I set off across the state to go find a rare bird that had been reported in Jacksonville. I never would have done anything like this before, but I guess college has changed me in some significant ways. I find myself taking more risks and just spontaneously going off to try new things and see new sights.

Long story short, I ended up hitching ride with 3 birders who I didn’t previously know. As it turned out though -- and lucky for me! -- two of them were the top birders in the state of Florida, and took me under their wing (no pun intended!) on a whirlwind day of birding in Jacksonville.

An interesting coincidence: one of the birders I was traveling with turned out to be an Eckerd alumnus! He was a history major in the 1970s, and now works as a history teacher at a bay area middle school. And an even crazier twist – he lived in the exact same dorm I’m living in now. Talk about weird!

Well, the rare bird (called a Greater Sand-plover, native to the middle-east and only seen in the Western hemisphere once before) was easy to find. Sitting in the middle of a vast mudflat, there was a crowd of birders, naturalists, photographers, and journalists stationed a few hundred yards away with their cameras, binoculars and spotting scopes trained on the bird.

The Sand-plover was rather unremarkable for all the excitement surrounding it – a little orange, grey and white shorebird darting around catching crabs in the sand. Still, it was great fun and an amazing experience.

The rest of the summer was pretty low-key until my big trip in the beginning of August. I volunteered at a nature preserve, worked on some new piano music, and spent most afternoons biking and swimming.

So now I have about 10 days until I return to Eckerd, reunite with my friends, and start classes all over again. I get the feeling it’s going to be a really tough year – new responsibilities, a difficult schedule, new people – but it gives me all the more reason to stay positive and enjoy the experience to the fullest.

Until next time,

Peace out.