Over my time at Olin, I have loved the honest, community-focused criticisms, praises, ideas, jokes, and everything else that Frankly Speaking has contained. I also enjoy writing and reflecting, and through my four years, I have made it a practice to use the Frankly format to write out my reflections specifically pertinent to Olin. My Google Drive is littered with documents named “Potential Frankly:…” followed by titles of almost a dozen half-finished thoughts. Some I wrote in one-night rages and never revisited, others were thoroughly edited and peer-reviewed only to not be submitted at the last moment.
I knew I wanted to write one more Frankly Speaking, but I didn’t know what would be actually valuable to focus upon in this “last shot.” I considered revisiting my reflections on creating change at Olin, maybe one about our approach to community building and buy-in. Finally, I thought I was honing into writing about the many reflections I have on the tensions created by Olin’s apoliticalness.
But in looking through all of my reflections, it became clear that only one was actually important: where the best spots on campus are to birdwatch.
Okay, so it obviously depends what you’re trying to see and when you’re trying to see it, but just gonna go over a generalist tour:
- Right out the gates, I’m going to lead with a hot take: the maintenance area right inside Parcel B by the soccer fields. You wouldn’t think it, but honestly, great-ass spot to see birds. Not only do you got the open area, a mix of coniferous and deciduous and dead and live trees, BUT you also are sat up on a bit of a hill so you get a better view of the whole tree.
- Going off this idea, a good climbing tree…Get up there and sit a bit! You’ll see so much cool stuff around ya! Best climbing tree in Parcel B is yours to find, but as a hint, if you walk in a straight line from East Hall to the pond, you’ll walk right by it.
- Shoot, I didn’t mean to put the cart before the horse here, ‘cause I know some of y’all don’t have a pair of binoculars/bird identification stuff. That’s a-okay! You can check out binoculars from the library (common Olin Library W), and Merlin Bird ID is a great free app for bird identification! If you don’t want all the hassle of identification, I respect though.
- The whole pond area is just the absolute best. Y’all, I have seen Solitary Sandpipers out there cozy-as-can-be once the native wildflowers grow up over the summer. Isn’t that crazy at Olin?? Also, it’s just great seeing the swallows there along with larger water birds like ducks and herons!
- For rarer finds, deeper in the woods is always a good bet. There’s a roughly-beaten path back past the prairie and, for a special treat right now, there’s a pair of nesting Pileated Woodpeckers right along the path!
- Lastly, the marsh area you pass when driving in is just a classic. There are always Red Tailed Hawks hanging around and the Red Winged Blackbirds make for an amazing sunset experience!
Reach out to me if you got any questions, but otherwise, happy birding and happy time at Olin! Make sure to reflect on the important things. And write your own Franklys too—the more we share as a community, the more we understand each other and grow together, and most importantly, the more birds we see.
My total Olin bird count (as of 4/30): 65 unique species. (Absolutely ROOKIE numbers by the way, other past Olin students have cracked 100 on campus before. Could be you!)
