Praise the birding gods! I have a new bird on my life list!
It had been one of those achingly ordinary days, one filled with hanging laundry, picking up the house and sitting around pretending to be retired, the joy of all with a teaching contract this time of year. Then the phone rang.
"Hi, Gwyn, this is Dan Jackson." It took me a moment to realize who was calling. Dan is another avid birder from the area, one who had commiserated with me on the lack of birding outings due to parenting teenagers.
"There's an American Avocet on the Black River Beach, on Fisherman's Road."
He didn't have to say anymore. I was out the door with my gear, leaving my husband in the dust. Well, lest you think I totally ignored him, I did not. I asked if he wanted to come along, but he had just started changing the oil on the van. So off I went, heading off on the interstate in hopes of not only a year bird, but a lifer.
I pulled up to the small, unguarded beach, where there were a couple boats and a few families with kids enjoying the day. Dan had left by the time I arrived, but I recognized another avid birder, Fred Lesher, lining something up in his camera lens. Knowing he would prefer not to be distracted, I waited, looking across the channel for the bird. When he was finished, I walked over, and he pointed it out for me. It was right in front of us, wading along with the kids and the boats!
Oh boy! I spent the next hour watching it. It took flight a couple times when a dog came running out, but then came back to the shore, wading once more. I snapped away, finally culling my images down to around 30. Don't worry, I'll cull even more. Although the only thing that might have made it better would have been breeding plumage instead of eclipsed, it was still pretty darn cool.
Oh, and while talking with Fred before he packed up and left, we had an Osprey fly over. So, two birds in one day, and one a lifer. It doesn't get any better than this!
"Hi, Gwyn, this is Dan Jackson." It took me a moment to realize who was calling. Dan is another avid birder from the area, one who had commiserated with me on the lack of birding outings due to parenting teenagers.
"There's an American Avocet on the Black River Beach, on Fisherman's Road."
He didn't have to say anymore. I was out the door with my gear, leaving my husband in the dust. Well, lest you think I totally ignored him, I did not. I asked if he wanted to come along, but he had just started changing the oil on the van. So off I went, heading off on the interstate in hopes of not only a year bird, but a lifer.
I pulled up to the small, unguarded beach, where there were a couple boats and a few families with kids enjoying the day. Dan had left by the time I arrived, but I recognized another avid birder, Fred Lesher, lining something up in his camera lens. Knowing he would prefer not to be distracted, I waited, looking across the channel for the bird. When he was finished, I walked over, and he pointed it out for me. It was right in front of us, wading along with the kids and the boats!
Oh boy! I spent the next hour watching it. It took flight a couple times when a dog came running out, but then came back to the shore, wading once more. I snapped away, finally culling my images down to around 30. Don't worry, I'll cull even more. Although the only thing that might have made it better would have been breeding plumage instead of eclipsed, it was still pretty darn cool.
Oh, and while talking with Fred before he packed up and left, we had an Osprey fly over. So, two birds in one day, and one a lifer. It doesn't get any better than this!
posted by Gwyn Calvetti at
8:21 PM
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