Spotted Rail - Texas
Written December 22, 2020

A birder never knows when a chase can occur.

This past Saturday night I was going to bed early because I needed to leave the house at 2:30 am to participate in the Bombay Hook NWR Christmas Count. The early morning was necessary because we wanted to find owls before dawn at the refuge in Delaware. Before I closed my eyes for the night, I scanned a couple of birding websites and saw that a Spotted Rail had been identified at a State Park south of San Antonio Texas earlier that day. This small, secretive bird of the marshes occurs in south and central America. As I understand it, there have been only two other records of this bird north of the US/Mexico border and those were birds that were found dead. So this was the first countable/chaseable individual. I had heard it vocalize and seen some brief movement of a Spotted Rail in Mexico a few years ago but I wanted to really see it and photograph it

Along with Mike Rosengarten and another local birder, I did the Christmas Count on Sunday and monitored the situation in Texas. The bird was moving around a small lake and while it often disappeared for periods of time it was being seen on and off all day Sunday. On the way home from the Christmas Count, I called Les and discussed the situation, she said “Go for it”.
The chase was on.

When I got home on Sunday late afternoon I checked flights to San Antonio. There are no direct flights from Philadelphia to San Antonio but I could make getting there work. When I am chasing I never worry about getting home, just getting there. It saves worrying about the return flights for the whole adventure. Enough angst worrying if a bird would stay.
So on Monday morning I got up early, headed to the airport, and boarded a 5 am flight to Dallas (Thanks Ed!). We made way good time and arrived in Dallas about 45 minutes early which allowed me to move up my flight to San Antonio. I got into San Antonio about 9:40. When I landed I got a text message from Laura Keene, who lives in San Antonio and saw the bird on Sunday, that the bird had not been refound on Monday. But as quick as I said Arg!, she sent another message that it had just been refound. I picked up a rental car and headed to the Choke Canyon State Park about 75 miles away. Laura was also heading there because she wanted to get “better pictures”.

I got to the location in the park and walked out to the viewing location. Laura was already there and said she had just seen the bird. Great news. It was still there.
But, it had walked from the edge of the marsh into the surrounding tall grass and was not visible at the present time. The day before when it did that, it disappeared for several hours. But it also had done it that earlier this morning and reappeared in a half hour or so. In the vocabulary of rare bird chasers this is a “mega” sighting. Local birders were coming to see the bird and people were flying in, like me, from around North America. There were about 15 birders there with me, socially distancing from each other, staring at the edge of the marsh and the grass where it was last seen. (attachment) And we stared and stared and stared and then………………movement was seen along the edge of the marsh. As the bird slowly, and secretively moved along the edge it occasionally gave good views. Lots of shutters went off and lots of birders were happy. After about 15 minutes of activity the bird worked its way into a clump of marsh grass and roosted in there. I had gotten great views and good pictures so it was time for me to head home. I said good-bye to Laura and the other birders and went to my rental car to work on getting flights home.

It was a bit of a challenge because it was getting to be later in the day and there were not many options for me to get out of San Antonio. Besides only a few flights, the available ones were pretty full, making traveling standby, which I was flying, a real challenge. But I made it work and came up with a plan to fly from San Antonio to Dallas and then home to Philadelphia. The connection in Dallas would be tight but doable. I boarded in San Antonio and we taxied out. And then we stopped and the pilot shut down the engines. He came on the PA and his voice was muffled but I got the basic message that there was a problem with air traffic control in Dallas and we would have to wait 20-25 minutes on the ground in San Antonio. That made my already tight connection, real tight. But we eventually got going and when we landed win Dallas I scrambled. My second flight was already loading but I got on with no problem. Quiet flight to Philadelphia, and home slightly after midnight. About 21.5 hours after I had left that morning

Out of nowhere this successful chase developed. It ended up being a one day adventure.
Fun time and I got to see a remarkable bird. Nice to catch up with Laura for a few minutes

Here are some Photographs frm the adventure.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Common Cuckoo - Rhode Island
Written November 2, 2019

Chases usually require lots of planning and logistics. Often there are plane schedule issues, rental car issues, driving issues, lodging issues, food issues, weather issues, access issues, unexpected issues, and coordinating with other birders.
And then there is no guarantee that the chase bird will be “there” when you get there.
But sometimes things just work out and a chase can be easy.

On Sunday morning 11/1, I was out for a walk in the local park and got a call from my good friend and fellow chaser Neil Hayward. He had just found out about a Common Cuckoo in Rhode Island.
This Old World species rarely occurs in North America. Truly a mega-rarity for North American birders.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cuckoo

Neil, who lives in the Boston area, was on his way to see the bird even though he had not seen pictures of the bird yet. Neil got to the Snake Den Farm, which appears to be part of Snake Den State Park in Rhode Island, observed the bird along with many other assembled birders.
The identification was correct and there were lots of happy birders. Neil gave me the necessary local information.
The location was about 4.5 hours from my house but with the advent of standard time and things I was going to do Sunday, I did not chase that day.
But I made plans to chase today (Monday). I contacted Mike Rosengarten and he was in for the chase.

We met at a local Home Depot about 3 am and headed to Rhode Island. Not much traffic in the New York City area at the time of the day. Good roads all the way to the location. In almost exactly 4 hours we covered the 250 miles to the location. As a person get to a chase location there is a real sense of anxiety. Is the bird still there?? Is the bird still there? Is the bird still there?
When we got to the farm there were about 20 birders standing along the access road looking in one general direction. Always a good sign. As we threaded our vehicle through the birders, I heard a voice call out “Hey Bert, It is right here in this tree”. Without even getting out of the car , thanks to a friend who was already there, Mike and I saw the bird, were able to confirm identification and “tick” the bird on our lists. Got the bird without even getting out of the vehicle.

Needless to say we parked, walked back to the location, and for the next hour enjoyed the bird. It was fairly inactive as it sat in the early morning sun but when it warmed up, it seemed to feed on caterpillars that were in the field and bushes. It was unconcerned with the assembled birders. At one point it flew to where several of us were standing a perched in a tree almost over our heads.

After an hour, we loaded up and headed back home. The wind picked up as we drove through Connecticut and we even had a few snow showers. By 1 pm I was home taking a nice little nap.
As I said in the beginning of this message, some chases require lots of planning and logistics. This one did not. We just got in the vehicle, drove an easy four hours, easily saw and photographed the bird, and returned home.
But if every chase was this easy, they would not be nearly as fun.

Here are a few photographs from this adventure

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Red-legged Thrush - Florida
Written October 18, 2020

Red-legged Thrushes occur in the Caribbean but they are non-migratory.
Until this past week there has been only three previous records in the ABA area, all in Florida. All of these have appeared for short periods of time.
When one was identified on Saturday 10/10 in a Key West Florida nature preserve it was a big deal. But the bird was not being reported every day.
That could have been because the no one was looking, the bird was moving around to various spots, or the bird was gone.
But by the end of the week it was being reported every day.

Chris Hitt called me Friday morning and we talked about it. We decided that if the bird was seen that day, “the chase was on”
And a report came in about 12:30 pm on Saturday that the bird was seen so serious planning began. It was going to be a challenge coordinating Chris and myself. Chris as driving down to Key West from North Carolina and I was taking a plane.
After lots of discussions we had a plan.

About 6 pm on Friday night Chris left his house in North Carolina and started driving to Savannah Georgia. At about 6:30 pm I left our house and headed to the Philadelphia Airport. There I was to take a plane to Savannah Georgia (Thanks Ed!). We were to meet about 11:30 pm in Savannah.
As luck would have it the plane from Philadelphia had a minor mechanical problem was 35 minutes late leaving Philadelphia which threw our schedule off a bit. There were a few anxious moments but everything worked out.
Chris arrived in Savannah, after having driven about 400 miles from home, about midnight. My plane landed slightly after that at by 12:15 we were in Chris’s truck heading south on I-95.
It was a straight shot to Key West but there were over 600 miles of driving ahead, mostly at night.

We took turns driving and napping as best we could. We made a final stop for gas and food slightly after dawn in Florida City. While I gassed the truck, Chris went to the local McDonalds for food. The inside counter was closed so Chris had to walk through the drive in. He made it work.
Driving down the Florida Keys is always a slow process and with the bird waiting for us it seemed to take forever. But by 10:30 we were at the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Gardens. The facility does not open until 10 am so while we were not there at the opening we were only missed 30 minutes of birding. The parking lot was full which was a good sign. Hopefully there were lots of birders looking for and finding the thrush. As we paid our admissions the lady at the desk was very helpful. She said the bird had been seen that morning and showed us on a map where to head. We quickly went there and were met by about a half dozen birders. Yes, the bird was there and being seen. It was playing hide and seek in the heavy foliage but with a little patience we got good looks at it over the next 90 minutes or so.
I took many pictures of it obscured by heavy foliage but it showed itself well a couple of times. Once on a branch and a couple of times feeding on some fruits. All birders there got great looks.
Our Mission there was done and we head back north. Chris was going to visit a friend in the central part of the state and then possibly head to Arizona and New Mexico for other birds. I was headed to the Miami Airport and home.

On the way up the Keys we stopped at Sombrero Key Golf course for an attempt at a couple of Bahama Swallows that had been seen several days before. We found some swallows but not the ones we were looking for.
Chris dropped me at the Miami Airport about 5 pm and headed north. I was on an 8 pm fight and was home by midnight.

A fun 30 hour chase for me. Not much sleep but it all worked out.

Here are some photographs from the Red-legged Thrush location
Here are some pictures from Sombaro Key

__________________________________________________________________________________

European Golden-Plover - New Mexico
Written October 9, 2020

A European Golden-Plover was identified at the Maxwell NWR outside of Maxwell NM about 10/1. There is some thought that it had been there for a few days and had not been properly identified. This is a mega-variety for North American. Most records are for Maritime Canada and a few from Alaska. (range map attached) In 2009 there was one for a couple of hours in Delaware. I was there at dawn the next morning and it was gone.

This individual is hanging around at a small body of water at Maxwell NWR. On Tuesday I started to think about chasing it. On Wednesday I said to myself, and Les, “If it is there today I am going for it.” About midday on Wednesday reports started to come in that it was still there. The chase was on.

Thursday morning I was on a 6 am flight to Dallas/Fort Worth flying standby (Thanks Ed!). A brief layover at DFW and then a flight to Denver. I was able to pick up a rental car fairly directly and was on my way to the bird. Maxwell NM is about 4 hours south of Denver. It was a straight shot down Interstate 25 past Colorado Springs and Pueblo. The actual refuge is only 4-5 miles off the interstate. I was there by 4 pm. Laura Keene had chased the bird over the past weekend and she had given me local information on finding the bird. I forgot to ask her where to park and I took me a bit to figure out the lay of the land and where to park. But that only held me up for about 15 minutes.

As always is such a situation, it is important to “bird the birders”. I looked around and saw a group of birders about 3/8 of a mile from the parking lot. When I got to where they were, the pointed out the bird about 50 yards away. Great views in great light. Those birders soon left but I hung around to get some underwing shots. The bird was quite cooperative. Lots of other birds in this small wet area including Sandhill Cranes.

I left the area about 6 pm and drove north on the interstate to Raton NM where I got a motel for the night. It would have been nice to find a restaurant/bar to celebrate this chase but in the current health situation it was a fast food drive through dinner.
This morning (Friday) I will drive back up to Denver and should be on a non-stop flight to Philadelphia, flying standby, about 2 pm. Should be home by 8:30-9:00pm.

A fun little chase that worked out well.

Here are some pictures from this adventure.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Northern Jacana and Berylline Hummingbird - Arizona
Written September 12, 2020

About last Wednesday I became aware that a juvenile Northern Jacana was being seen south of Tucson Arizona. This is a wading bird that occurs in Mexico and every couple of years an individual wanders up into Southern Texas or Southern Arizona. Unfortunately this individual seemed to have been moving around between public and private properties. By Thursday it seemed to have settled in at a conservation area south of Tucson.
On Friday morning I looked at the situation and after consulting with Les I decided to chase. This would be an ABA bird for me. (Birding friends know what I mean)
Now that is after Labor Day, American Airlines has cut back on direct flights to Phoenix from Philadelphia which made the getting there and getting back a bit more difficult.

Once the decision was made to go, I quickly packed up and headed to the airport. I got on a 10:45 am flight to Dallas (thanks Ed) where I connected with a flight to Tucson. We landed about 2:40 pm and by 3:00 pm I was headed to the target location 35 minutes away. I had never been there before but upon arrival, I used the tried and true chase method of not looking directly for the bird but rather looking for the birders. And that paid off. I found birders with big lenes pointed at the target bird.
After about 30 great minutes of watching, photographing the bird, and chatting with other birders including Jeremy Dominguez it was time to move on. It seems I missed connecting with other birders I knew by an hour or two.

I made the decision to head up Madera Canyon to the feeders at Santa Rita Lodge.
Among the amazing birds coming in to those feeders had been a Berylline Hummingbird. My only sighting of this species in the ABA area was a “soft” sighting that I was not real comfortable with that sighting. But with some patience and the help of another birder, we saw, and photographed, a Berylline Hummingbird. That, in my mind, cleaned up that species for the ABA.

Then it was time to shut it down for the night and then head home. After a restless night at the local Comfort Inn Suites, I returned my rental car and was on a 5 am flight out of Tucson. (thanks Ed).
After a connection in Dallas I was home at 4:15 pm on Saturday.

It should be noted that as of the time I am writing this (6:30 pm EDT / 3:30 pm Arizona time) I do not see any positive reports on the Jacana for today

Has it moved on? Was I lucky?

Here are some pictures from this adventure

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Eared Quetzal
September 5, 2020

About 2 weeks ago I dipped on the Eared Quetzal when I did a quick run to Arizona. On that chase I did get the Plain-capped Starthroat but two day of searching did not come up the Quetzal.
I came home on a Sunday and on that very day the Stoll brothers were in Rucker Canyon and came up with a pair. With poor phone connectivity in the canyons, the word did not out until very late Sunday or early Monday. By that time I was home. Frustrating.

I purposely did not look at reports on eBird or NARBA until I knew I could chase again. On Wednesday I looked at reports and the birds were still being seen.

The chase was on.

I was on a non-stop from Philadelphia to Phoenix mid-day Thursday (thanks Ed!). My original plan was to spend Thursday night in Willcox and drive to the canyon on Friday morning. But looking at sunrise times and drive times, I decided to head to Rucker Canyon on Thursday night. It was an interesting 25 mile drive up the gravel canyon road in the dark but I make it. Had 3 Great Horned Owls in the road, and several Western Screech owls at the trail head. I arrived at the trail head shortly before 9 pm and settled in for a night in Hotel Ford Fiesta. It was restless night and I was up and about at 5 am. I failed to bring a flashlight which meant I would have to wait until daylight to start up the trial.

But three birders from Long Island showed up and they had been there the day before and had flashlights. I joined them and off we went. The first part of the trail kept crossing and recrossing a washed out rocky stream bed. I would have never found the trail without the help from these three birders. We finally reached good trail and after about 10 minutes of walking we heard a Quetzal call three times. Not close but it was the bird. It seemed to be moving up the canyon and we never relocated it. We worked our way to the spot where the bird was seen most often. A spot where “two big trees blocked the trail”

And that started many frustrating hours. Other birders showed up and some went up the trail, some went back down the trail, some stayed in the spot. A young guy was there and he heard calls a couple of time up the east canyon wall. He said he was going to explore up the trail which went another 2 miles. I stayed at the big trees spot for the most part. I did take a couple of trips of a half mile or so up the trail. The young guy disappeared and an hour later came back and said that he scrambled up the canyon side and had the birds about 1000 feet up the canyon side. A couple of us went to the spot and started up. It seemed like a good idea at the time. After we really exerted ourselves we got up several hundred feet and listened. Nothing. It was not worth going up further. Coming down the slope was an adventure I do not want to repeat.

I decided to go back to the two trees spot and stick it out. I figured I could put many more hours in there. And if the birds failed to cooperate I contemplated another night in Hotel Ford Fiesta.

Just about noon a voice called from up the canyon trail “Birders, the birds are by the trail about 10 minutes away”. There were only a couple of us there and we gathered ourselves together and headed up the trail. It took about 20 minutes to cover the “10 minutes away” but we got to the spot and about 5 other birders were there. The two Quetzals were sitting quietly about 25 yards off the trail. They only vocalized once or twice in the ½ hour I was there. They moved around a bit and while not the best photographic opportunities, It was quite the satisfying experience.

I finally headed back down the canyon and by about 2 pm I was headed to Phoenix and the flight home. I connected with Bob Marshall who was coming to see the birds. I gave him my local information. He saw them soon after he got to the general area I had seen them.

On eBird someone posted recently that to see these birds you need sunscreen, water, and patience. Unfortunately some birders who had been around for several hours did not have patience. Bob Marshall talked with the 3 Long Island birders who were helpful to me in the morning. They missed the noon sighting when they went back to their car for lunch and water. And then later missed them again when they left the sighting spot before the birds reappeared. ……Patience!

The trail is nice and flat for about 60 percent of the distance I covered. The remaining amount in over washouts, up over boulder fields, and up and down steep areas. I wished I had a walking stick with me. It was quite tricky walking and it would be easy to stumble.

So that is the story. A quick successful chase for a mega rarity!

Here are some pictures from this adventure

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Eared Quetzals and Plain-capped Starthroat - Arizona
Written August 24, 2020

This chase had been brewing for a while. If it had not been for the pandemic, I would have gone to Arizona much earlier in the summer when the Quetzals in the Chiricahuas were easier to locate. The Plain-capped Starthroat has been coming to the Paton feeders in Patagonia for a couple of weeks.
It was hoping that Chris Hitt and I could do this chase together but there were too many logistical problems and we could not make it a joint trip.
Going into this I knew that the hummingbird was a high percentage chase bird and the Quetzal was a low percentage chase bird. But if I only got one of the two it would be a successful chase. If I got both it would be a fantastic chase. If I missed both it still would have been a fun time birding in Arizona. I would be socially responsible and do everything possible, short of staying home, to stay safe and healthy.

On Thursday evening I boarded a non-stop from Philadelphia to Phoenix (thanks Ed). I debated driving down to Patagonia that night after arriving but instead booked a motel room south of Phoenix. As it worked out, that was a good plan.
As the plane approached Phoenix a major thunderstorm hit the airport area. We went into a holding pattern waiting for the storm to clear. But it did not clear in a timely fashion. So our plane diverted to Las Vegas for fuel. We ended up landing in Phoenix a couple of hours late. I was glad I had a nearby motel room waiting. I was in the room by about 12:20 pm.

On Friday morning, motel breakfast at 6 am and I was on the road. It was a nice two hour drive to the Paton Center for Hummingbirds in Patagonia for the hummingbird. The center is closed but the volunteers moved the feeders to the front and they are easy to bird from the road. Sometimes chases require patience and some chases are immediately successful. This one was the second scenario. I parked, grabbed my bins and camera and started to the feeder area where the hummingbird has been frequenting. There was one other birder already there. She saw me and said “Are you here for the hummer?” I said I was and she replied “It is right here in the tree”. Bingo.
I got brief look and it took off but it was nice to know it was there and coming to the feeder. It came back in in about 30 minutes and gave great views. 30 minutes seemed to be the cycle time. I hung around for 90 minutes and saw it, and photographed it, several times.

Then off to the Chiricahuas for the Quetzal. While there have been several records of this Mexican bird over the years, it has been many years since this species has been chaseable. This is an unprecedented year for the Quetzals in the ABA area. It seems that they bred, or attempted to breed, in the Cave Creek Canyon this year. Dave Jasper said he saw two adults and two juveniles earlier in the summer. But breeding season is over and the birds have dispersed. Or maybe other individuals showed up. Who knows. But there seems to be more than one bird in the mountains.
Earlier in the year there were stake out spots for this species but now the birds are wandering. Over the half day on Friday, the full day on Saturday, and the half day on Sunday I worked the area. There were a few visual sightings and a few vocalizations heard. But not by me. It was frustrating but it was a chase. There were many people seeking the bird.
The bird(s) have no pattern.
The bird(s) never were heard or seen in the same place twice. And in all kinds of different habitats
The bird(s) were not respond to tapes
The bird(s) were reported over a huge area.
Most sightings were brief flyovers of a road. Going to the spot where had been was a sighting never produced.
Going to spots where the birds were heard never produced.
And of course being up in the mountains with limited cell service, it was tough to get up to date information. Most reports were several l hours old
I drove the roads slowly and hoped I would get lucky. But that did not happen.
I stopped and listened but I never heard anything.
Saturday was the start of hunting season which drew a crowd in the mountains. And lots of locals were just out camping and picnicking in the cooler higher elevations. That did not help things.
It was frustrating but that goes with chasing.

Being in the Chiricahuas there was plenty of good birding. As I prepared for the trip Gaylee Dean let me know of a water puddle at Barfoot Park that was drawing lots of warblers. That was a special treat. Lots of great pictures.
While enjoying the warblers bathing I chatted with a nice guy from Florida. He along with many others was looking for the Quetzal. We ran into each other a couple of times and it was not until the next day, as we stood roadside where the bird had been sighted a couple of hours earlier, that we realized that we both knew Chris Hitt and both considered Chris a good friend. This was Bob Wallace from Florida who has traveled with Chris many times. Nice to finally meet him and we will certainly bird together again.

On Saturday Bob and I (he was driving his camper on the mountain roads!) decided to check out the Herb Martyr Campground because the bird had been seen there in the last month (we were desperate). On the way out of that area we ran into two birder/photographers with Dave Jasper. They put up a couple of hummingbird feeders which were soon dominated by Blue-throaed Mountain-gems. Dave had a trick to lure in a Berylline Hummingbird. He let the Bluethroats dominate the feeders and Dave put a bright red Coke can in at tree away from the feeders. The Bluethroats checked out the can but soon went back to the feeders with food. As Dave predicted, the Berylline came in to the Coke can to investigate. Neat trick.

As we all know, Portal, the closest town has limited services (food, lodging, gas, internet). I made the decision to stay in Willcox. It provided services and since the bird had been seen and heard in Pinery Canyon it allowed me to start on the west side of the mountains. It added an hour to the start of the day and an hour to the end of the day but I was not on a schedule. I realized later that it eliminated dusk/night birding in the Portal area. But of the two possible nights there, the second night featured thunder, lightning, and rain. So I only missed out on the one night of night birding. But even Willcox had limited food availability. The pond at Twin Lakes Golf Course in Willcox was nice to bird at the end of the day.

On Sunday I decided it was time to head home. After birding until 2 pm, I drove to Phoenix and caught a non-stop redeye flight to Philadelphia. I was in the house by 8 am.
Fun chase. I got one of two target birds. If the Quetzals return in the spring, I will chase.

Here are some photographs from this adventure

____________________________________________________________________________________

Terek Sandpiper - Rhode Island
Written June 30, 2020

On the road at 2:30 am.
Parked at 6:30 am and started the walk out to the area where the bird has been seen. The general location is the Napatree Point Conservation Area in Rhode Island
1.1 miles along a sandy shoreline. Not an easy walk. I hustled as best I could but I kept thinking “I am getting a bit old for this!” <grin>
Got to the location and there were about 50 birders there. It was a bit of a struggle to use the scope. I was overheated from the brisk walk and with the wearing of a face mask the scope kept fogging up. When I first got to the specific location I had my mask down because I was walking alone. When I got to the group several people were kind enough to remind me that I needed to pull my mask up.
I estimated that the bird was at least 70 yards away and it was overcast. Tough photo conditions. The sandpiper kept ducking in and out of debris and would disappear for 5-10 minutes at a time.
I did manage to get a couple of images but they are at best diagnostic. (attachment)
Hung around for about an hour.
Home by 12:30 pm.

Here are some pictures from this adventure

________________________________________________________________________________________

Siberian Accentor - Washington State
Written February 23, 2020

On February 7th a Siberian Accentor was found and identified outside Woodland, Washington State. This is about 2 hours south of Seattle.
I was away at the time and I hoped it would “stick”.
Once home from our recent cruise, and after a few days of getting over jet lag, I decided to chase that bird.
I flew out of Philadelphia on Friday evening on a non-stop to Seattle. By about 10 pm Seattle time I was in a rental car heading south.
I got to Woodland about midnight and headed for the local Walmart. There I checked into “Hotel Honda” for the night.
This bird has been regularly appearing at about 7 am by flying into a lone apple tree beside a dead end road. Normally it sits there for a minute or two and then feeds in the surrounding area the rest of the day. The best shot of seeing this bird is this regular early morning pattern.
I was the first person there at 6:30 am and soon about 10 birders were there. The bird flew in about 6:45 gave views for about a minute and took off. Diagnostic views were possible in bins and scopes but it was before dawn and photography was almost impossible.
Some people left but many stayed and more arrived. At 8 am about 25 people were watching when the bird returned to the apple tree for about 3 minutes. Excellent views and many photos were taken.
The bird soon took off and the crowd departed for other places.
I headed south a short distance to the auto loop at Ridgefield NWR. Excellent place!
Les and I have dude ranch friends in Tacoma and I decided to surprise them. Tom Plumley was home and looked very surprised when he answered the door. Sabine was away and would not be returning until that evening. Mark and Carol were on the road to Seattle.
I spent a pleasant afternoon catching up with Tom.
I went to Sea-Tac a bit early and was able to cross paths with Sabine as she arrived from Atlanta. She was shocked to see me standing at her arrival gate.
Then I caught a red-eye back to Philadelphia and by 8 am I was home.
Successful chase!
And a big thank-you to our son Ed for making the air travel possibl

Here are some pictures from this adventure