We are officially in the return leg of our Florida trip. Unfortunately, we need to thread the weather needle to get back as multiple snow producing systems are standing in our way. One comes in tomorrow and lasts through Sunday morning with expectations of 5 to 8 inches of heavy, wet snow. Then that following Monday a second cell comes through with an additional 1 to 2 inches to add to the fun. Our mission now accepted, get the winterizing done in the southern rain tomorrow and then cross the fingers we can make it safely home between those white goalposts – wish us luck. The good news is we came down here to get at least 9 new birds checked off for this year to reach the 400 species mark. Elated to inform you we did it!!! It was more of a struggle than hoped, but managed to get 11 including 2 lifers (Northern Gannet and King Rail) and the highly sought after (Red-Cockaded Woodpecker). Still missed some opportunities, but no complaints here. As always, I owe Linda for helping me get many of the checks – my brother Ron can confirm, she is my secret weapon when it comes to birding. More details coming in future posts.
Today we are going to bring you another lifer tinned on a trip down here back in April 2023.
For the birders out there, are you familiar with this species? Hit the jump to learn more about this rather elusive bird.
For those of us in the States, this is the official day we designate for giving thanks to others and our own fortunes. I don’t mind having an entry on the calendar as a mental reminder, but honestly, I think this holiday is 364 days too short. If we took this to heart, we would be thankful throughout the year for all the help and successes we have on a daily basis. If nothing else, it would train us to think about the positives more and help negate the constant barrage of negativity that comes at us from every angle – news, social apps, politics, the neighbor’s cat. Life has become so polar lately the middle ground has been tilled up, doused with gas and hit with a flamethrower. We need to get back to civility if that is even possible anymore. Hell, we even have “influencers” trying to convince others to disown their own families because they won’t swallow the narrative. I do not have the answer, but it definitely wouldn’t hurt if we thought more often about the values at the foundation of this holiday. One thing I do know is the entire Intrigued family is incredibly grateful for our personal families, our friendships and especially all our wonderful subscribers and readers. Thank you for your time, comments and support – you make our efforts truly rewarding!!
Now, typically, we like to bring you the traditional symbols of Thanksgiving on this day. You know, Turkeys (link here), Quail (link here) and Cranes (link here). Translated..whatever we happen to find in the queue ha!
Being that we are currently in the southeast, how about we celebrate..Florida style this year!
It is Gator time, hit the jump and maybe take a step back.
Ever have one of those moments when you just stop in your tracks, look around and say to yourself, “I’m back where I belong“?
It has been a long road for me, well, technically lack of road and lack of trail for way too long. This is officially the longest period of time out due to an injury and trust me, there’s been plenty of injuries over the years. I have to move…a lot… or the crazy suppression system goes on overload and begins to smoke. This week has been a big turning point for me as we are back out in the field. The goal, to get my annual bird count to the 400 tier – a personal record. On our way south, we made a stop at one of my favorite locations – Noccalula Falls in Gadsden, Alabama. If you are a mountain biker, trail runner, birder or just a nature fan, this is the place to be. I’ve ran more miles than I can count on the Black Creek Trails and still have many left to explore. This time my mode was walking, yet the smile was wider than ever. Halfway through the Family Loop trail I stopped among the golden colored trees, took a deep breath, looked around and took all the beauty in. Life is certainly better. Still need time to get back to running mode, but I continued my walk with those same words I start every ultra “Just put one foot in front of the other and repeat“.
I wonder if this Great Blue Heron has a similar mantra “Just put one fin in and repeat“
I have to say, this has been quite an odd year on the birding front. First half of the year was absolutely incredible thanks to a very productive January spent in our adopted state of Texas and then later in March/April out to new locations in southeast Arizona. If you are looking for recommendations to get into or looking to expand your birding horizons, those two states would be my go to recommendations – not to discourage or disparage other locations, but if you want to fill your counts and have a good chance of seeing rarities, then to the southern border you shall go. That first half netted me around 391 checks for the year, then the legs were kicked out – literally. You are not going to get a lot of birds staring out your den window month after month. Although already at a record for me with the 391 mark, the incredible 400 threshold has been so close…for so long. Well, we are going to try and correct that over the Thanksgiving holiday and head back out into the field. To increase our options, we are heading to the southeast where there are currently 27 potential checks. All I need is a third of those- wish us luck! Before I forget, we did release our latest Halloween prop tutorial – I’ll put that at the end in case you are interested.
Okay, we know why you are here, let’s get to it. Today I thought I would feature a feathered friend that has traditionally been a difficult find – not show much on the rarity front, rather the identification front.
Now you know why the issue is in the “identification” phase. The Gull family is an absolute nightmare thanks to their nearly impossible plumage variations during the early years and then the mature feathering that can look very similar from species to species. Hit the jump if you want to try your hand at this particular specimen.
Apparently my state forgot to pay its heat bill this weekend as we are experiencing well below cold temps since late Friday night. This even came with some of the white fluffy stuff we here about so often when we return from our winter retreat. Nothing stuck which is unfortunate as one of our wells is incredibly stressed and we could have used that to help re-saturate the ground. Last week decided to haul water and top it off just to insure we stay off the new well as much as possible. Beyond that, things are definitely looking up. They are ramping me up in physical therapy and the ankle (and the rest of the body) is taking well to the work. Surgeon even released me to go without the brace for routine outings – a break the chains moment for me as I’ve been in either a boot, surgery bandages or a brace every day since January. Now I start shifting my sights from recovery to training and that is where my mindset needs to be to keep the crazies at bay. Beyond that, the only other thing to mention is the 2025 Halloween season is officially over. Today I got the last of the props back in storage and the RV back in the out building – luck would have it I had to finish it off in the freezing temps. Definitely looking forward to shifting our event back to its usual time at the end of September as my hands were constantly reminded me I wasn’t a Polar Bear. Probably should get to what brought you here today, another featured feathered friend to enjoy!
Hit the jump, but warning, wildlife was harmed in the lead up to this post.
Well, I honestly thought things would slow down after the Halloween weekend – you’d think I would learn. Still working hard each day to de-battery all the props, break them down and get them stowed back away in the tubs/boxes. Fortunately, I did really well on those grade school spacial relationship tests. School counselor, “Have you considered a career at Mayflower?“. Some of my time is being siphoned off thanks to having to build new shelving in the outbuilding – apparently I went a bit overboard (Linda says “a bit” is a gross understatement) acquiring new props while I was sequestered in the guest bedroom due to the ankle surgery – Ted over at TJPhoto (link here) even warned me about that. Add in trying to get Ruger qualified for the CPE agility nationals, therapy and all the homestead chores I delayed due to the haunted trail event and …well, a perfect time to feature another of Brad’s adventures. Take care everyone, I should be caught up…umm, relatively caught…up…ehhh, somewhat caught up..ah hell, I think I need to go back to work so I can get all that free time back I used to have ha!
Take it away Brad!….
Jan and I were on a trip to see a few of the National Parks near the West Coast. If you haven’t been to see the flora and fauna of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, you really need to. My mind is still reeling over the scale, on both ends, of what we saw. Tiny brightly colored birds flitting amongst ginormous Sequoias over 250 feet tall. I think Warbler Neck could just as easily be renamed Sequoia Neck.
While we were there, it would have been a shame not to see the Pacific Ocean since it was only a few miles from where we were staying near Anaheim. I mean after all, it’s the Pacific Ocean! It covers nearly 1/3 (over 30%) of the surface of the entire Earth. An actual and verifiable fact.
On our last day in California, Jan and I took a side trip to Newport Beach to see the ocean. As we got closer and closer to the beach, I noticed the price for parking kept rising and rising. Finally, a spot opened up that only cost a pittance by West Coast standards (the equivalent of two café lattes and a bran muffin) to park before 10am. Our thought was to leave the big cameras in the car and simply walk along the beach for a few minutes, just to enjoy the sand and the ocean.
After crossing 50 yards of flat sand, Jan and I came to the ocean’s edge. I felt bad for the few people sitting on their surfboards just a few yards offshore waiting for a wave; the ocean was flat calm. I’ve seen larger waves in mill ponds. Jan and I had not expected to take any photos of shore birds on our five-minute beach stop, so we left the big cameras in the car.
We are inching closer and closer to the official date of my favorite holiday of the year. Although our huge 2-day celebration of the black and orange comes earlier (typically a month earlier), we still enjoy the national day of spook. Being rural we do not get any trick-or-treaters as the effort to go door to door far outweighs the reward. The traditional candy stalkers have gotten soft choosing to drop into the nice neighborhoods with full bar handouts or the drive through trick-or-trunk options at the local malls. Halloween is the night we jump into the car and seek out all the local displays to assess and get ideas for next year’s haunted trail. Fills our hearts to see so many houses still resisting the encroachment of corporate Christmas and keeping the scare tradition alive and well. In honor of October’s special day, thought I would feature a feathered friend that sports a touch of those traditional Halloween colors.
Hit the jump to see a few more images of this flamboyantly tailed Flycatcher.
I have to say, getting a couple of really good night’s of sleep in these last few days has felt really good. Two days of 8+ hours of sleep each when you have been living on 4 to 5 for close to a month feels like a vacation in paradise ha. Best of all, the ankle swelling is definitely subsiding which will please my therapist. Still some work to do to get all the haunt items put away and autumn always brings with it an annual list of homestead work (living in the woods is wonderful until the trees start shedding leaves and nuts), but there is some time while the props finish drying and no sense getting started too early on the leaves when there are plenty more to fall. That means I have some time to get some posts out before November comes calling. Continuing from the last post, we are back in southern Texas with a perennial favorite.
Hit the jump to see a few more shots of rather colorful Oriole
Probably one of the hardest elements of putting on our annual haunted trail is the aftermath. During the prep and build out I am full of energy and excitement. A whirlwind of ideas, tasks and problem solving all rolled up into a giant orange and black ball. Then the party is just pure fun..well, after dealing with all the late hour gremlins that always find a way to test my wits. On the second night, the last of the guests leave, we power down the haunt and at some point my tired body is reacquainted with the bed. A day of rest usually follows thanks to a mysterious magnetic pull embedded in the very fibers of the pillow – someone should really figure out how to harness that power! Then the post party hangover kicks in. Gone is the pre-event excitement – it is grind time as everything has to be hauled back up into the out-building for drying and then the masterclass sessions of packing and organizing. Fortunately, “grinding” is my superpower which has served me well over the years, work, ultras and the draining work of unplugging everything, disassembling the props and hauling them out of the valley. That part of the work is done now and just waiting out the drying phase (you do NOT want moisture in your storage bins). While that is happening, jumping back into the blog work with today’s featured feathered friend.
Hit the jump to learn more about this interesting Falcon sporting the orange and black colors of the season.
We did it! I am proud to say the Haunted Trail of Fears 2025 is officially in the books. All that is left is to haul it all back out of the woods, let it dry and then pack it away until next September. It is practically impossible to add up the number of effort hours this event requires as it extends well over 10 months when you add in all the project planning, prop building, assembly and tear down. Add in all the incredible help we get (including my brother Ron who spends weekend after weekend down here leading up to the event itself). Long hours starting early in the morning and rarely ending before well into the next day. This is what we live for here at Life Intrigued’s Haunt Department so through it all we are wearing big smiles (unless absolutely too tired to make those muscles move ha). Overall, I can proudly say it was a great success. Rain did move in on us the last night, but all but two guests made it through the nearly a mile haunt completely dry (even the two who didn’t make it out of the valley until the rain started had a great time as the drizzle coming through the tree canopy upped the eeriness in the dark woods). I’ll be posting some pics and likely videos from the event in future posts. For today, Brad is going to bring you one of his adventures from the northwest while I try to give the body a badly needed rest before starting tear-down tomorrow.
Take it away Brad…(note, Brad is still on his latest assignment)
Regular Wildlife Intrigued readers may remember a birding adventure Jan and I took out into the Atlantic Ocean in unstable seas (here). We were chasing a “must see” bird; one of those “life” birds that are usually only seen on nature shows. You know the ones, where the producer has a huge budget and dozens of cameras and weeks and weeks of time to sit and wait for the money shot.
A year ago, we were on a 65-foot boat out in the Atlantic that was bobbing like a cork on rough seas (4-6’ waves) for almost three hours. I had taken a double dose of Dramamine and wished I’d taken a third. Jan was getting bounced around and bruised from the fiberglass benches we were seated on. I couldn’t see anything because of the zero-visibility fog we were sailing through. The sky was various shades of dark grey. I vowed I’d never get on a boat that was less than 500 feet long ever ever ever again when it is out of sight of land.
And I haven’t, except for a quick tender trip in Hoonah, AK, but that was for only 100 yards on flat calm water. The last ship Jan and I were on was 1,083 feet long when we sailed from Alaska to Vancouver last August. That ship had some great nature programs on board given by The Ship Naturalist Robert Raincock (find him here or here). He was very popular helping to point out various birds, whales, and pinnipeds (seals) as the ship cruised the Inside Passage south from Alaska. BTW, what’s the difference between a boat and a ship you may ask? We were told, in no uncertain terms, that ships carry boats. Clear enough to me.
Our morning started with a slow and careful cruise into Glacier Bay National Park. We wanted to be sure to see glaciers while we still have them; we were not disappointed (may be a future story). Margerie Glacier is one of the few glaciers that is still advancing in North America, even though it detached from the Grand Pacific Glacier in the 1990’s. This 21-mile long glacier is about 1.25 miles wide at the waterline and 250 feet tall. In other words, it is roughly 7 times the length of our ship and nearly half again as tall above the water.
Hit the jump to learn about our new +1 enjoying the Alaskan waters.
Wildlife Intrigued 