Summer Tanager LIFE bird Betty Davis Park Los Angeles Rare Bird 569 _
One week ago, Super Bowl Sunday, W9 drove us to a park near the Los Angeles Zoo. A Summer Tanager sighting had been reported.
In LA you gauge distances by time. Not by miles. Then factor in things like "Rush Hour" (ha ha. Rush Hour is any day any time) and if Dodger Stadium has a game and the typical ….stalled cars, a mattress in the fast lane, stuff like that. The park was not close but do-able.
Gratefully we've had some rain. The ground was soggy. My well-worn boots had so many holes in the sole and I put off the decision to repair them or toss them. But not the decision to wear them one more time.
We were there to get the rare tanager.
W9 walks over to me and says look at my shoes. And I do. They look really wet. And I glance at my tired trusty boots. They are soaked but I don't feel the wet and cold just yet, but I will. And soon. We continue to stomp around fighting the urge to complain about the wet and cold like the weasels we are but “man up” when we find another birder who has been sitting patiently scanning the trees with her binoculars (BTW which abbreviation do you prefer? Bins or Binocs?). She is blond and wears a red jacket. I am sure if she had a dog I could tell you his/her name and how old they are and what their favorite toy is... but her name escapes me.
Today we tried again. W9 and I had new waterproof footwear on. We had better light and new energy. We struck up a quick bond with Amir, also looking for the colorful rare bird. Marylou and daughter Emma joined us. And the blond in red was there too. I saw her pointing and gesturing to Amir who had his camera raised and ready. She is the reason I am posting this photo today. She didn't have a camera but said she could look at ebird postings and find the photo or the link to the photo we post. And then she could show her friends this beautiful, incredible, and rare visitor.
I couldn't let her down.
Summer Tanager LIFE bird Betty Davis Park Los Angeles Rare Bird 569 _
One week ago, Super Bowl Sunday, W9 drove us to a park near the Los Angeles Zoo. A Summer Tanager sighting had been reported.
In LA you gauge distances by time. Not by miles. Then factor in things like "Rush Hour" (ha ha. Rush Hour is any day any time) and if Dodger Stadium has a game and the typical ….stalled cars, a mattress in the fast lane, stuff like that. The park was not close but do-able.
Gratefully we've had some rain. The ground was soggy. My well-worn boots had so many holes in the sole and I put off the decision to repair them or toss them. But not the decision to wear them one more time.
We were there to get the rare tanager.
W9 walks over to me and says look at my shoes. And I do. They look really wet. And I glance at my tired trusty boots. They are soaked but I don't feel the wet and cold just yet, but I will. And soon. We continue to stomp around fighting the urge to complain about the wet and cold like the weasels we are but “man up” when we find another birder who has been sitting patiently scanning the trees with her binoculars (BTW which abbreviation do you prefer? Bins or Binocs?). She is blond and wears a red jacket. I am sure if she had a dog I could tell you his/her name and how old they are and what their favorite toy is... but her name escapes me.
Today we tried again. W9 and I had new waterproof footwear on. We had better light and new energy. We struck up a quick bond with Amir, also looking for the colorful rare bird. Marylou and daughter Emma joined us. And the blond in red was there too. I saw her pointing and gesturing to Amir who had his camera raised and ready. She is the reason I am posting this photo today. She didn't have a camera but said she could look at ebird postings and find the photo or the link to the photo we post. And then she could show her friends this beautiful, incredible, and rare visitor.
I couldn't let her down.