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Show by TERRI LIKENS Photos by David Harvey Terrie Gates still gets a thrill from spotting rare birds. When Terrie Gates first began prowling around her yard with a pair of borrowed binoculars, some of her neighbors didnt understand. That was two decades ago, when bird watchers were often considered eccentric. could hear my neighbors children say, Mother, shes doing it again,"' says Terrie, who got hooked on birding in 1977 when she spotted a downy woodpecker in her yard. Times have changed. Today, Terrie, 57, an accomplished birder, is among millions of Americans who bird watch in one way or another. For most, birding is a backyard affair as simple as watching chickadees and finches raise a ruckus at the feeder. Others, however, are all but consumed by winged wildlife. One of the joys of birding, and perhaps a key 1 reason for its increasing popularity, is its flexibility: Each participant can decide how simple or involved it should be. Birding can be done from the kitchen window or in the midst' of a tropical rain forest; it can be done alone or in a group, in winter or summer. For Terrie and her husband, Larry, IN WUt Ht'- - CTtf - 59, birding began as an extension of their love of nature. Larrys birding interest was piqued during a 1969 visit to a bookstore when he picked up a field guide. Three years later, he moved to Hattiesburg, Miss., Terries home- town, to teach at the University of Southern Ter-ri- e Mississippi. The two eventually met there, where was a student, but their relationship grew off campus at Audubon Society events. people by anyone s Although they are definition, birding has become a passion that permeates much of what they do. Weve pretty well centered our lives around birds," well-round- Terrie says. Indeed, the couple has planned vacations, purchased property, and even made career decisions with birding in mind. One of their favorite vacation sites was southeastern Arizona, a birding hot spot where rarer '? species from Mexico regularly can be found. With an eye toward retirement, the Gateses bought property in the hamlet of Portal, 40 miles north of the Mexican border, where the Chiric-ahu- a streams Mountains and their sycamore-line- d Portal visited onto spill nearby grasslands. They the first summer after they married in 1982 and eventually would spend entire summer vacations there. The couple couldn't wait for retirement, however. For them, the call of the wild came in the form of a phone call a couple of years ago. A friend owner of a rustic but comfortable lodging facility that caters to |