Observation – Page 20 – Wildlife Intrigued

Not a Bird nor a Snake

Before anything else, I want to bring out the brags for Linda and Raven. We recently returned from Kalamazoo, Michigan after attending the UKC Agility National Invitation. The top 50 UKC ranked dogs in the nation per division were invited to compete against each other in the All-Stars event. Our little guy got it done bringing home the “bigger than me” (Raven’s words) first place ribbon! Congratulations to him and Linda (can I take credit for being the Team Raven Sherpa!?!).

Even Ruger got into the action. He pulled the “but I’m cute” on his agility runs, but we definitely found his star event, the Dash. A few years ago at this event we tried out this 50ft sprint competition and he ran like a bat out of hell, but more focused on getting to Mommy at the end of the course than he was the “rabbit” that was supposed to lead him. Two years later and his brain has now clicked putting full concentration on the rabbit – even chased it all the way back on his own. This now sets him up for the lure coursing events which use a similar lead around a far more complex course.

In addition to all this excitement I was also able to take a huge chunk out of my blog backlog that has been absolutely gnawing at me. Big thanks to Brad for holding down the HQ while we’ve been gone. The Average Year 2023 is not completely up to date after putting in 50+ daily recaps (link here) and I’m all prepped for 3 massive posts for the Mothership that should be ready to go by the end of the week. While the bows are being placed on those, wanted to give you something to entertain you in the meantime. Brad has had the bird front covered, so going with another Not a Bird from the queue.

Hit the jump to reveal the featured creature!

Building Team Intrigued…by Brad Marks

Howdy everyone! Just got back from attending the Midwest Region Haunt Convention up in Chicago with Ron and “partner in haunt” Brad S. (yes, I have lots of friends that happened to be named Brad ha). This was our first time attending this Halloween themed gathering and it was a BLAST. Got to see some of my heroes in the industry, try out new props/gadgets/mechanisms, take in all the attendees in costumes (a shocking amount of them) and most of all, came back with a ton of new ideas to add to our own haunt this year! Pretty exhausted from hours of walking around the exhibits and the long car ride up and back. Was getting ready to write up a post and realized Brad had sent me on our latest corporate outing. Let’s go with that while I test a quick rest from the trip.

…take it away Brad.

In the middle of May, Brian suggested we have an Intrigued team building event. The entire staff of photographers and writers was invited. No, there weren’t any rope courses, trust-falls, tug-o-war events, or overpaid motivational speakers. We did talk extensively about the Legal department and how much copier paper they had been using lately. It was Brian’s day off from intensive training for an upcoming ultra-event. I think the next event is “only” a 50k trail run. I’m working up to 10-15 miles on my bike and mowing my 1-acre lawn, only using the self-propelled feature for mowing up the hills. I did my best to keep up with Brian on the trails in the deep woods at Jubilee College State Park. We are both, after all, retired.

We met early in the morning at Intrigued HQ and drove the corporate Jeep (the corporate motorhome was out for cleaning and it wasn’t far enough away to use the corporate jet) to the north entrance of Jubilee State Park. This entrance is mostly used by people camping and riding their horses over miles of trails. The sky was clear and blue, not a cloud to be seen. The trees were sporting their full leafage (is that a word?) and blocking our view of most of the birds.

Brian parked the Jeep (skipping the valet service) and we began assembling our cameras. It was an honor to be in the presence of The Beast, Brian’s Nikon 200-400mm lens. Normally, I use a monopod to hold up my nearly 9 lb. (8 lb. 12 oz.) camera/lens combination (D300 with battery grip and Nikon 200-500mm lens). I believe that I end up with better results taking gravity out of the equation. But for the team building event, I decided to hand-carry the camera by the lens foot. Of course, I had the camera strap wrapped around my wrist as a failsafe. Brian hand-carries the much heavier combo of The Beast and his camera (8 lb. 15 oz.) all the time. In other words, we both carried a full gallon of milk (or your favorite almond/soy substitute) plus a glass or two, all day. (By the way, employees of Wildlife Intrigued all use Nikon cameras and lenses. If anyone from Nikon wants to talk sponsorship for the shameless plugs above, please contact our Legal Department. You may have to leave a message because they are probably out buying more copy paper.)

Just as I was putting the lens cap in my pocket, Brian pointed and said “Look over there.”

Hit the jump to learn what caught Brian’s eye and to read more about our corporate outing!

Blue Imposter…by Brad Marks

Welcome to June everyone! Admittedly I am a bit behind – things are…hmmm…let’s go with “normal” for Intrigued…translated…running around like headless chickens trying to get everything that needs to be done between the runs. I naively thought there would be an abundance of time after I retired, nope! This month is especially demanding as it is the last month of hard training before the first ultra of the season scheduled for the first week of July (link here). Heat conditioning, hydration/nutrition validation and worst of all, 20+ mile brutal hill runs…my body can’t wait until taper. While I ice to keep the black and blue bruising out of my legs, will turn the post duties over to Brad to tell us about a different kind of blue.

…take it away Brad!

It’s not really an imposter, but the name for this nearly white bird doesn’t seem to fit very well. A little while ago I wrote about the great blue heron (link here). This one is about a smaller heron cousin: the little blue heron (Egretta caerulea), another +1. This is a juvenile version of the little blue heron. No, not a middle-school type of juvenile making fart jokes. I’m talking about the juvenile variety that doesn’t have its adult plumage yet. Contrary to what the name implies, the only thing blue on this little heron at this point is the end of its bill. For now. Its feathers will turn darker blue in its second year and look similar to a smaller version of the great blue heron. The only coloring kept from childhood into adulthood is the bill and greenish legs. The white feathers are replaced by a purple-maroon colored neck and a dark slate-blue-colored body. Until their darker adult plumage grows in, they are very easy to spot in their surroundings.

Hit the jump to read more about this incognito wader.

Not a Bird

It has been a long time since I have felt birded out. No worries though as this is hopefully only a temporary state. This point has been reached thanks to several weeks of hardcore birding. Multiple days of birding while we were in St. Louis to start, followed by several days of birding the state park down the street and then two long days of birding with Ron over this Memorial weekend. On that note before I go any further, I would like to express our deep appreciation for those that are serving, those that have served, the families that support/ed them while they serve/served and most of all, those who lost their lives for our great country. I will ALWAYS stand and pay my respect for my father and the rest of the brave souls that fight/fought for the freedoms we enjoy. Ron and I spent the two days leading up to the memorial observation hunting for birds at Montrose Bird Sanctuary (Chicago) and Chain O’ Lakes State Park – Linda was running the boys in an agility show they were having close by in Spring Grove. Have to admit, the weather was fantastic for both those days and probably an understatement to say they were very productive. Not sure yet what Ron’s count is, but I crossed off 14 new species bringing me to 319 at the midpoint of the year!! All that birding has left me with “Warbler Neck” and thanks to the weight of The Beast I can scratch my knees without bending my legs. Followed that up with a mini-mini triathlon (10m bike ride, 1m kayak paddle, 5m trail run) before hitting it hard Monday with a 10 mile hill infested trail run. Today, legs are getting their revenge…which brings us to today’s featured non-feathered friends.

UV Lit Scorpion found at Estero Llano Grande SP in Weslaco, TX in January 2023

Hit the jump for details behind this glowy specimen and another leggy creature we came upon during this year’s travels.

QiaT and a Bonus

I have to say, this has been quite a week! Started with a trip down to the St. Louis area for the boy’s agility show. Raven was a rockstar qualifying 8 out of 10 runs placing in all if I remember correctly. Ruger, well, as they say…at least he’s cute. He did qualify on one of his runs – he’s young and still getting used to the big ring stress. Went for a run the day after and blew my May training goal of an 18 mile day out of the water with a 22 miler (the cooler temps were greatly appreciated). Then, as if that wasn’t enough, had a fun outing with the Intrigued staff – except the lawyers, they are still on double secret probation thanks to their previously mentioned copier stunt. Word has it Brad might cover that event, so I’ll leave those details for him. Retirement life is certainly good!

For today’s feature I am adding a new entry in the “in a Tree” series.

Gambel's Quail found at Henderson Bird Viewing Center, Henderson NV in March 2023

Hit the jump to see more high branch topknot glory and for the bonus content!

Technicolor Heron…by Brad Marks

It’s agility dog show weekend which means we are packing up the steel mule and heading out to…well, somewhere other than here. I am generally told the destination at some point between getting on and getting off the mule. If I am lucky I packed enough underwear for whatever length of stay it turns out to be (yep, I cheat and get an idea of how many days and climate zones are being crossed by seeing what Linda ends up packing). She also indicated I don’t need to bring running clothes, so this one sounds fairly shot. While out, Brad will once again be at the helm of the Intrigued armada. Fingers crossed he keeps the flowers watered and more importantly, prevents our lawyers from throwing a kegger – last time I left they papered all the inside walls with photocopies of their butts. We had to disinfect the copier before the rest of our departments would even come near it. Good luck Brad ha!

Take it away Captain…

I often wonder where the names come from for some of the birds I see and photograph. Many are very obvious: red-winged blackbird for example. (Even though it should really be the “red with a splotch of yellow”-winged blackbird.) Or the red-headed woodpecker. Nailed that one. Not so obvious is the red-bellied woodpecker (have to look very close to see the red, and if you are close enough to see it you are probably too close).

Today’s subject is no different. While technically not “technicolor”, it is tricolored. No, not the RGB (red/green/blue) colors so many former IT people know about. But there are certainly more than the three main colors as the name implies. At first glance, tricolored herons (Egretta tricolor) look like a miniature version of the great blue heron in stature and color. However, when this one turned towards us there is a bright white patch on its throat and breast.

Hit the jump to read more about this Great Blue Heron mini-me!

A Long One

First off, want to extend a belated Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful moms out there. I can’t imagine the stress and willpower it takes to raise a child, especially one like me – hats off, keep up the good work. I purposely waited to publish this post as this weekend brought with it a tremendous amount of sadness. Yesterday officially marks the end of a complete cycle of holidays/celebrations since losing my mother on Mother’s Day last year (technically a week ago because of the floating holiday – link here). As the year went by I would slowly come to terms with the emptiness and then a holiday or event would immediately bring it back front and center – major holidays – one less gift to ponder, birthdays – one less card to receive or buy, exciting life accomplishes – one less phone call and most of those are coupled with one less visit. I think it was extra hard as Mom was the last of the parental figures in our lives – we were officially on our own. Decided to go for a short five mile run yesterday to be with my thoughts. Eleven emotional miles later I had remembered numerous good times, reminded myself all the sacrifices she had made, recommitted to all the life lessons she lovingly bestowed and gave one last thanks for the moral foundation instilled in me. Acceptance will be easier from this point on. Our Mom and Dad were a true blessing.

In recognition of a long year, thought I would go with a featured feathered friend that also knows a thing or two about “long”.

Crissal Thrasher found at Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve in Henderson, NV in March 2023

Hit the jump to learn more about the prolonged hunt for this long-billed one.

Bigger Than Your Head…by Brad Marks

Greetings everyone, we are back with another adventure from Brad’s queue. Today’s feature is a perfect reflection of today – too big of a bite as it were. Ever had one of those days when you feel a 1,000 percent and decide to step up your game in celebration? My friend had to bail on our trail run today, so thought “Hey Bri, let’s put on the big boy pants and go hit the second hardest trail course in the area”. Mind you, Inner Bri has NEVER turned down a challenge and now several hours later sitting here wondering at what point an alien is going to pop out of my lungs. 2 months to go before I have a 50K on the big daddy course – Inner Bri is evil ha. I’ll let Brad take you through what kind of bite his subject took.

…take it away Brad! (note, you can use the image links to view the full sized images)

Like most of you, winter gets old pretty fast for us. Jan was looking at fun, quick, and warm trips for a February getaway from central Illinois. Not that the weather can’t be lovely in central Illinois in February, but it’s usually not. She found an inexpensive hotel suite in Myrtle Beach. I asked what’s there to do in Myrtle Beach (not knowing since we’d never been to South Carolina before). She said there are more than a few nature and wildlife reserves in the immediate area. By the way, did you know that Myrtle Beach is the mini-golf capital of the world? There are over fifty, fifty as in “five-zero”, mini-golf establishments located in Myrtle Beach. Jan and I saw two or three new ones being built.

One of the best winter locations for birding (IMHO) is Huntington Beach State Park, south of Myrtle Beach. The park has multiple environments to attract all sorts of birds: seashore habitats, tidal marsh habitats, brackish and somewhat tidal habitats, freshwater habitats, forest habitats, and open grassy area habitats. Need I say more? It’s a fantastic place to see a plethora of birds in a variety of habitats without traveling to multiple states over multiple days.

Hit the jump to read about Brads hungry GBH(ippo)

You’ve Been Mooned!

Been a weird couple of days. We ended up getting absolutely slammed with storms last night with an initial round of hail. As I type, we are probably less than 15 minutes from the start of what looks to be several more rounds of angry weather, except this time with a forecast of ping pong ball sized hail. Mother Nature spurned. Managed to get my butt out of bed early today in hopes of getting at least 13 miles pounded out assuming the ground wasn’t too saturated. What I wasn’t expecting is the highly humid steamy temps – by mile 10 I looked like Johnny Storm had flamed on. Heeding the “Linda Voice” (surgically embedded while I was sleeping) decided to shut it down only to resolve the gnawing defeat by going back out for another 5 right before dinner (and before the storms were supposed to hit). All this to simply say I’m exhausted and decided to go with something we will not be seeing tonight.

The Moon taken at Choke Canyon State Park in January 2022

How is that for a curveball!?! Technically, more like a knuckleball as there isn’t a perceivable spin. I am in the midst of processing more images from the Vegas and Dauphin trip and wanted to give Brad a break before his next feature. Looked in my queue and decided it was time to finish this draft.

Prepare yourself before you hit the jump, you are about to endure several more moonings!

Gone Fishin’…by Brad Marks

Welcome to May everybody! I mentioned this in my last post, but this year is sailing by. Good news, Brad has successfully returned home from his field assignment. Sounds like our quest for the incredibly elusive Ptarmigan will continue on. I wanted to start getting a few of the pending posts popped off his growing queue – word is there might be another batch coming soon. The weather took a turn for the cold this weekend and decided to go with one that fit the chilly temps. Put your mittens and hats on folks and brace yourselves for the cold Mighty Mississippi winds.

…take it away Brad…

I think most people remember the first time they saw a bald eagle in the wild. I know I certainly do. The story was featured right here on Wildlife Intrigued in an article called Yellowstone Feathers and Fur. At the time I thought I would probably never see another bald eagle in the wild so I absorbed as much of that opportunity as I could. Little did I know I’d be able to fill a couple of memory cards the next time I saw a bald eagle. Or see dozens of them in the same place. There have been a few stories about bald eagles on Wildlife Intrigued over the years. I suppose this one was also influenced by Brian in a way. He tells me that the photos are important, but the story about them is often more important. Even if a photo is worth a thousand words, it’s still nice to read the words. That’s why I thought I’d try this one on for size. By the way, I like to have music playing in the background when I write stories. Guess which song was shuffled while I was writing? The answer is at the end. (No peeking ahead of time)

Hit the jump to read more about Brad and Terry’s fishin’ adventure!

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