My oldest son Andrew, who somehow is now a full-blown adult at age 21, recently took up shore fishing as a hobby. I was happy when he told me because any hobby that requires spending a lot of time in the great outdoors away from screens and technology is a good thing.

I was equally happy when he asked me to come along on a recent outing. I have fished on and off throughout my life, but the hobby never really grabbed me in the same way as some other outdoor pursuits. I have great memories of trout fishing with my brother when we were teens and teaching my boys to fish when they were youngsters, but other than that, my fishing experiences are rather few and far between. 

I purchased a few marine fishing licenses online, and Andrew and I headed to the Connecticut coast of Long Island Sound. I brought my camera just in case there happened to be birds there too. 

I let Andrew take the lead on the fishing front. He had just returned from a trip where two of his friends. who are experienced saltwater fishermen, showed him the ropes. I have zero saltwater fishing experience, so I mostly just watched and looked around for birds. 

When he had settled into a nice spot along the shore, I grabbed my camera and took a walk. The birds were plentiful and varied. I hadn’t been birdwatching along the coast in quite some time, but I recognized a lot of my old friends, such as piping plovers, semipalmated plovers, dunlin, sanderlings, osprey (often with fish in talons), snowy egrets, common terns and least terns.

A small flock of black-bellied plovers on the shore and a trio of common loons not far from shore were surprise guests. Common loons and red-throated loons are common sightings on Long Island Sound during the winter, but not so much during the summer. I was hoping they would sing or call at some point, but that never happened.

I returned to Andrew as the sun started its slow descent in the west. We fished and talked as the tide rose to its peak and then slowly began to go back out again. The water was as calm as a northern pond at daybreak, making the setting that much more serene. The shorebirds and terns picked up their activity level as the sun dipped lower. They were quiet yet still visible on the sand by the light of the moon a few moments later.

The bird photography was successful, with a few nice captures of the plovers and other shorebirds. The fishing proved to be slower, with a few sea robins and snappers (first-year bluefish) being the only catches. All the fish were released.

The lack of fish did not matter to me or Andrew. We both enjoyed the time outdoors doing something we love. As a father of boys who are getting older and wiser by the day, I’m thankful for any time we spend together and hopeful there are many similar days yet to come.