It’s odd spending my birthday away from Judy. Haven’t done that since 1965. But here I am, hammering out birds:
Allen’s Hummingbird
Cassin’s Kingbird
Scaly Breasted Munia
Northern Red Bishop
Pin-tailed Whydah
Five more birds to the count. Ended the day at 480.
Parks and gardens.
And white pelicans doing their feeding ballet.
The high in Fairbanks on Saturday is going to be 29 degrees below zero! And it’s snowing in Barrow. They’re below zero too.
Saw four year-birds today.
Mandarin Duck.
This thing.
Whatever it is…
Oak Titmouse.
And Nuttall’s Woodpecker. (No photo.)
That brings the count to 475. That was our target count in 2017 when we finished at 474, so this is a new record for us. 475. Only 25 to go to get to 500.
Parks and Gardens.
And this should ring a bell for brother Bill. Puddingstone!
I recall you taking me fishing there when I was a kid.
California part of the trip map
Couldn’t sleep past 5. (I’m a time-zone sissy. I don’t easily adjust.) Got a few hours of work in. Took a half-day class for CPE on the computer. (I’m still counting that down for the year. 10 hours to go.) and did some birding. Three new birds for the year: California Towhee, California Thrasher, and California Gnatcatcher. Now we’re at 471! Only 29 to go.
One of my stops was the botanic gardens; that always seems to be a stop.
Ended the day in Oceanside. Sister-in-law Barbara met me for dinner at Angelos. That was a good visit.
Hot Pastrami Sandwich! I demolished it.
Or it demolished me.
..and there is one corner missing. There aren’t any pins in the bottom left. Until now.
Judy is not over the shingles yet, but the painkillers for nerve pain have her at a good balance point. So tonight I’m in San Diego. One more shot at more bird species for the year!
The list started the day at 465 birds. 35 birds to go to get to 500. That’s a long way with just a couple weeks to go in the year. But I landed in San Diego early afternoon. Time enough to get to the San Diego River tidal flats before dark. Three new birds: Snowy Plover, Red Knot, and Western Gull. Missed the Eurasian Wigeon. 468. 32 to go.
…and waiting for Dad, when I was gone.
