With the naked eye, I guessed it was a great blue heron, but my binoculars told me that it was a bald eagle, with pure white head and tail. These sightings made my trip much more enjoyable. It's too bad that I was the only one at the rest stop who saw and identified these beautiful birds. Many people feel a sense of accomplishment and joy in doing this, especially when seeing a bird species for the first time. You might want to start keeping a list of all the kinds of birds you've seen.
Most birders keep a life list, which is a list of all species ever seen.
Some people also keep a backyard list, a state list, a county list, or a year list. Birdwatching, however, is much more than making lists of birds. Birds are so beautiful and graceful. And watching bird behavior is fascinating. Not too long ago, I was surprised by the antics of the American Dipper, a gray, stocky bird that actually wades and swims in mountain streams to find aquatic insect larvae to eat.