Whimbrel
Seaside Sparrow
Black Skimmer
Green Heron
Greater Yellowlegs
BB Plover
Wilson's Plover
Earlier this week a report of Olive-sided Flycatcher got me up at 3am for a drive to Reynolda. I had a full day of telecons but somehow I made it happen.
This banded Hairy WP was super noisy and I hope didn't give me away on my first teleconference of the day.
The OSFL did not show by 9am so I went over to the nearby Bethabara Historic site to see if maybe he flew over there.
Acadian Flycatchers were so thick I had to beat them back with a stick.
Again birds were calling in full force which forced me to use mute judiciously on my TCs. This Wood Thrush was turned up all the way to 11.
This flycatcher at Bethabara almost had me hanging up on my TC but turns out it was a Pewee.
Then I got a text from Jesse A that the OSFL was back at Reynolda. So I hightailed it out of there and made it to Reynolda in record time. Of course the bird was gone... However, I was patient and eventually the bird came back. Hooray!
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Olive-sided Beecatcher!
A NC lifer!
It was worth the 7 hours of driving round trip!
Dude, you were teleconferencing while birding!? Fucking hardcore!
ReplyDeleteAdding in 7 hours of driving, gotta love the commitment!
Also, beach living seems the best. Seems like you still get out to plenty of warblers!
Yeah, ideally being independently wealthy would be nice but until then my job is pretty darn good. As long as I can talk on a phone, I am good to go. Thank the gods for cell phones and head phones. I have found some pretty good birds over the years while taking telecons and also oddly while urinating. In fact I have a strategy that if I am having trouble finding a bird, I just pause for a minute and urinate. Perhaps the quiet of standing still and listening is what does it. Another reason why I usually bird alone....
ReplyDeleteHi Jamie,
ReplyDeleteI know someone (in New England) who FINALLY found a SPRUCE GROUSE because he took a quiet moment to relieve himself onto a snowy shrub. Out burst the SPGR, causing quite a furor !
Very enjoyable post. I've birded at Reynolda and Historic Bethabara, but I always manage to get there on a gloomy, overcast, rainy day.
The ABA blog should do a story on some of the TC-ers like you, who hold down fulltime jobs (and take care of family) while birding virtually non-stop. I could name them here but they might not appreciate that, so I will content myself with their initials: EW and KH are two that immediately come to mind. You will see their names near the top of the ebird list for Wake County, yet they work fulltime. On the phone in the field, birding.
Me, I have to content myself with an hour or less off campus -- more than that and I am expected to clock out. One time I was docked 2 1/2 hours because I lost track of time. No one said anything to me, but my hours were changed for that Monday before Thanksgiving. Call it a "silent warning". I noticed on the day before Thanksgiving and ended up staying at work 2 1/2 hours longer than expected! So I have to stick to short trips when working. No telecommuting for me.
Kudos on the Olive-sided Flycatcher. I loved the little tour-guide of Wilmington birds at the start of the "bee" post, too. Putting the names UNDER the photos really helps, so that I can scroll, guess, and check my bird ID skills. Hmmm. I missed the Yellowlegs (the bill looked short, less than 1 1/2 times the length of the the head, and the bill did not show a slight upturn, so I went with Lesser). But I will go with your diagnosis (and yes, the ankles ("backward knees") of the bird looked big, a sign that it was a Greater Yellowlegs. It shows I need to study my shorebirds before I head to Daytona Beach for a week of seeing my parents and birding! - Erla
So that typo was a problem: I meant EO, not EW, as the fulltime birder with a full time job due to the magic of teleconferencing. Oops
ReplyDelete