32 Nebraskaland • April 2025
or one Omaha couple, what began with hiking and a
birdsong book has led to two high-school-aged boys who
can hold their own with some of the top birdwatchers in
the state.
Corey and Andi Weber always enjoyed hiking. When their
son, Eli, was born in 2006, they received a membership to
Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue as a Christmas gift. That led to
more hikes with Eli and, two years later, Silas. "We took the
boys there ever since they were teeny tiny," Andi said.
The hikes were simply about being outdoors. Corey grew
up in Wisner and had learned to identify the ducks he saw
along the Elkhorn River but hadn't paid much attention to
songbirds.
While perusing the clearance rack at a local bookstore,
Andi ran across a copy of the Bird Songs Bible, a book with
an audio player containing photos and sounds of all 750
breeding birds in North America.
"Eli would just sit and go through it one song at a time,"
Andi said.
By Eric Fowler
F
A Birding
Family
The Webers were looking for, and found, a northern parula
that had been spotted at Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue
during its northward spring migration. Eli Weber was able
to capture this photo of the bird. ELI WEBER