Although we have closed the Intrigued HQ so the staff can enjoy the holidays, thought I would jump in for one last post before the calendar turns. Some could accuse me of trying to pad the end of the year stats, but all the performance reviews are already in the books so this is pure bonus…in addition to giving me a break from all the last minute Texas birding I am trying to get in before we reset for the 2025 Average Year (link here – note not updated yet). Additional annual +1 opportunities are getting really slim. Currently sitting at 322 species for 2024 which is a boost from the 317 I was sitting at before we made our way down here. That now includes 2 new lifers from Bolivar Flats and Galveston Island – one of which was a rarity that took Linda and I a solid three days of hunting to finally get in the tin. Those in the Texas birding community know which one I am referring to, but I’ll keep the details for a future post. While looking at the queue I loaded up before we left home, decided to go with another rarity found during our January trip to Last Vegas.
We here at Intrigued just wanted to take a quick moment to extend our best wishes for a very Merry Christmas (or related holiday event) to all or wonderful readers!
It’s that time of year when we shut the lights off and close the office doors for a few days so we can enjoy this special holiday with family and friends. Hit the jump to see a few more warm tidings from our staff!
We are officially on our winter migration south… by way of north. We had Linda’s family Christmas gathering in Des Moines, IA and decided to simply start our trek to Texas directly from there. We had a great time with family, but I keep forgetting what a pain winterized RVing is. Mr. Freeze decided to give us a final reminder of what we were going to miss as the temps dove back down into the teens while there (link here). We looked like the kid from A Christmas Story all layered up in half our packed Texas wardrobe ha! Finally made it below freezeline today, completely de-winterized and life is good beyond this stupid boot I’m lugging around. While we continue defrosting our toes, Brad is going to take the controls and bring you something completely new to Intrigued. I am sure you are going to enjoy it to the very “fin”.
Take it away Brad…
It’s early morning during the second half of our Alaska photo assignment. The first week was a land tour of the vast wilderness. The second week was on a giant cruise ship heading south (I can get seasick if not chewing Dramamine like Smarties). By this time in our journey south Jan and I are used to running to the cabin door to listen to the Captain’s general and wildlife announcements. On this particular ship, we weren’t able to hear through the cabin door very well. We heard the usual mellifluous ascending tones bing-bing-bing-bing (please use your musical imagination here), but an a rather unusual time. Ship’s time was just past 8am and the Captain didn’t usually make announcements until later in the morning. Jan ran to the door to try to catch the message.
“ . . . has been spotted . . . “
We both looked at each other wide eyed.
“ . . . off the starboard . . . “
Jan and I grabbed both cameras and headed for the door.
“ . . . about 100 yards ahead of the ship . . . ”
We are now running down the hall, trying to strap on the 9-pound cameras to keep them from bouncing too much. The elevators were backed up, we again looked at each other and ran down three flights of stairs.
“ . . . it is swimming about 50 yards to starboard . . . “
Jan and I end up on the 7th deck and quickly figured out which way was starboard.
As we stepped outside . . . nothing.
During a presentation the night before in the main theatre aboard ship, The Ship Naturalist Robert Raincock (find him here or here) aboard the ship said to listen for the Pfffffft. This is what the noise sounds like when Orca, or whales in general, expel warm moist air from their lungs as they break the surface of the water. Remember kids, whales are mammals, not fish. Not having a whale to watch, we listened.
Then we heard it . . . “Pfffffft! Both of our cameras ran at the maximum frames per second they could muster.
Whoa, that ain’t no Dolphin, hit the jump to reveal the source of that sound!
I suppose you could say it is a fitting time for getting things “wrapped” up. All the excitement of seeing the festive colored boxes with their pretty bows bringing joy to kids and adults. The catalyst for this heartwarming affair, a jolly big-waisted fellow that shimmies down the chimney (or alternative burglary entry point into your homestead). Unfortunately, my coal colored gift this holiday year reflects some bad actions earlier in the year. To be exact, October 12th, one of those days that now takes its rightful place among my other noteworthy “mishaps”. The ankle specialist wasn’t wearing festive clothes yesterday, but he did take the time to wrap my gift in a shiny shade of black coal…ho, ho, ho, you are the proud recipient of a non-displaced double fracture! Grinch said WHAT!?!?! Now, in my joint’s defense I need to apologize for all the hurtful comments hurled at it since race-day. It was not faking it for sympathy, a stunt that it has pulled many times in the past – nope, it was damaged and now I am the proud receiver of a black boot that will loudly proclaim I’m damaged goods to anyone we come upon during the next 6 weeks. No running, of course, no long birding hikes (we’ll see) and beach time is likely right out. My Texas trip just took a mighty blow thanks in large part to the first orthopedic surgeon I went to in early November telling me it was nothing, take two aspirin and find your own way out of the office. Lost 4 weeks of recovery time and I’ve been doing chiro visits and physical therapy that was likely making it worse – shocked that it didn’t displace as a result of all the yanking and twisting. While I try to move on to the acceptance phase, decided it was an appropriate time to feature the totem animal for all runners.
Hit the jump for some looks at a bird that probably has more running shoes in its closet than I do..and that is saying a LOT.
We are in the heart of December and it’s busier than Santa’s workshop here at Intrigued. We have family Christmas gatherings to attend, staff performance reviews to administer, year end house/lot tasks to perform, RV prep and the most dreaded of all..packing for our migration south. We have about a week left to get all these items checked off our list. Now, the good news is we did have our Intrigued family holiday gathering and that went amazingly well – no law enforcement or ambulances needed this year which is a huge relief from the past. We probably owe that to Brad’s brilliant idea to move our performance reviews until AFTER the party hehehe. I probably was not supposed to reveal the source of that idea! In no small part to still being lamed up, I was able to chip away at my well-storied backlog of field excursions. Through a daily regiment in the digital darkroom, both the March 2023 trip through Alabama/Florida and the trip through New Mexico/Arizona/Nevada this last January are now completely processed. This provides plenty of fodder for posts while we are down south. Couple that with all the stories from Brad and Jan’s assignments, we are in very good shape to keep you entertained during the coming year. To give you just a taste of the new finds from Arizona, thought I would bring you a primary target going into that trip.
For those not familiar with the Sonoran Desert landscape, that impressive structure you see is a Saguaros Cactus. Hit the jump and we’ll provide a few more details about this cactus before getting to the real reason we were focused so much on this Arizona state plant.
Greetings everyone! Woke up today to an unexpected white wonderland – I really need to take better heed of the weather forecasts! Not being able to spend as much time outside this season, my cold conditioning has been lagging. Just the other day I received a letter in the mail from the RAU threatening a lawsuit for “Neglect and Unbecoming Behavior”. Dropped it off at our legal department to add to the “pile” (don’t ask). Upon inquiry, learned that the RAU is the Runner’s Apparel Union that, news to me, my cold weather running wardrobe had recently unionized under. They are pissed that they haven’t been used once this winter and noticed we were already packing for our trip south. They will need to take that up with my ankle doctor. While I get things straightened out with the disgruntled closet, Brad is going to bring you an adventure from across the pond (what expense report ha).
Take it away Brad….
Wildlife Intrigued sent Jan and I on an international birding assignment to Merry Olde England. The expense report is still pending. I think Legal is holding it up because they are jealous, they weren’t allowed to go. Can you blame HQ after the photocopy incident last time they were given responsibility?
On one of our free mornings, Jan’s cousin Louise offered to take us to Rutland Water Nature Reserve (RWNP) to see some birds. How could we refuse? The morning started out misty and cloudy, a typical English morning you’re thinking. However, in our experience, a very small percentage of mornings actually start this way. The movies have us all thinking that England, or more specifically London, is full of dark and gloomy places shrouded in a thick fog; best keep that brolly handy. Jan and I have made a few trips across the pond, and in the 70+ days we’ve spent there in total, only 2-3 have been truly rainy or the type of weather we needed a Mackintosh or Wellies after your morning cuppa.
After breakfast, Louise said she would drive. I was secretly relieved because while I am able to drive on the wrong, er, left side of the road, I’m not as confident as I need to be on the narrow hedge-lined roadways. Instead of driving the tiny European rental car (I could barely fit my normal U.S. sized feet under the dashboard to work the pedals), we rode to RWNP in style in a Jaaaaag (hoping the increased amount of “a’s” help with the proper pronunciation). Once we secured a spot in the car park, I put Jan’s camera together first. Then she and Louise headed off to the visitor center. I finished my camera, put the strap around my shoulder, and shut the boot on the Jaaaaag. As I wandered up the trail, I saw Jan snapping away at something sweetly singing in the shrubbery. But, as usual, by the time I got there it was gone.
Hit the jump to read more about this spiffy looking bird from across the pond.
Yikes, looked at the calendar and startled myself. How did we get to the last page so quick!! Fortunately, we have a few more weeks before we call it a wrap and put a bow on our 17th year of blogging here at Intrigued. Talk about warp speed, now those years have really flown by. Weeks that will be spent getting ready for the big end of the year staff extravaganza (fingers crossed no repeat of the ambulance needed last year), finishing up the gifts for our family get togethers and eagerly getting packed to head south. These sub-zero windchill temps as of late are for the birds ha. Oh, and in between those activities trying to get some birding to close out the Average Year (link here). That page needs to be updated, but checked off number 315 with a Snowy Owl this afternoon. Ron is having a down year, but Brad has really kicked it in on his annual checks!
Most important is to make sure we continue to keep our readers entertained as they go about their own December agendas. For today, we are going to feature a feathered friend that always causes me to stop and pull out my mental cheat sheet.
Hit the jump to read more about this long tailed prismatic.
Wildlife Intrigued 