The trip to Texas was everything I had hoped it would be. We saw beautiful birds, laughed our asses off and had a great time. Anyone who has ever travelled with me knows that I forget about simple things like lunch and dinner when birding. I can't help it. I'm so "in the zone" and always looking at every bird that I lose all track of time. And I assume that is why Pringles were invented.
My companions definitely held their own though. From sunrise to sunset and lots of miles driven in between we all managed to walk away from this trip with lifers and a few photos. Oddly enough I didn't take many myself. I figured that there would be plenty and maybe one of these guys would share.
Highlights of this adventure for me were of course the birds I'd never seen before but there is something else that stands out for me. I don't consider myself a "teacher" or a very patient man by any means, but when I travel with someone to a place I've been before I feel a bit responsible for making sure that everyone has a good time as well as sees all of the birds that they possibly can. My buddies and I managed to only miss seeing a few birds in the area that we had hoped for and I feel good about where we ended up. And seriously, the last few birds that we chased are just stupid luck. New birds for
me include: Groove-billed Ani, white-collared seedeater, Brown booby and of all things an Ivory Gull. Not a bad way to start the year.
I'm home feeling rejuvenated and ready for more. I birded today and added 9 new birds to the year including Glaucous and Iceland gulls among other "trash" birds for Ohio. Currently I am looking at options for a quick trip to Northern California by the end of the week. I'll consider it a birthday presant to myself. lol
Nice Recap!
ReplyDelete