A Quest ... And a Milestone

Those of you who know me are aware that I'm a birder. That can mean a lot of things, but in my case, it means I sometimes rush off somewhere in the hopes of seeing a new bird. This weekend was no exception.

It all started when I attended a recent meeting of the local Audubon chapter, Sperry-Galligar Audubon Society. I've been a member of this group since its inception and I've learned a lot from my fellow members. In the fall of 2003, we were encouraged to start a bird list, with pins to be awarded when each person reached 50 birds, 100 birds and 200 birds. I made it my goal to reach 200.

I started strong. Within a year, I had over 100 birds on my list. I saw them in four states: Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Colorado. Naturally, I thought 200 was well within my grasp ...

Life intruded. Various things kept me from traveling much and sometimes it was hard to find a place to see new birds. With some help from field trips through SGAS, I finally got to 150 birds in 2009. Then things really slowed down and I started to wonder if I'd ever reach 200. After a few years, I resigned myself to the fact that I would get there, but not quickly. I made my peace with it, although it was always in the back of my mind. I saw one new bird in 2015. I was in the 190s by then, but 200 still seemed far away.

Then came the meeting. A member from Missouri reported that he'd seen long-tailed ducks at a wastewater treatment plant about 30 miles away. I didn't even know that such a thing existed and I certainly didn't know what it looked like (thank goodness for field guides). Some of the members decided they'd try to see it, so I decided I had to go with them.

The same thing happened in 2012. I heard there was a snowy owl in Missouri, so I drove over there near the end of January. I drove along several country roads, pretty sure I was lost, not sure where the owl was ... until I spotted a bright white object in the middle of a field. Binoculars let me confirm it was the owl. I called a fellow birder, who met me there, and we both stared at the owl for several minutes. Then we did a little happy dance right there on the country road.

So I know that sometimes you need to follow your instincts. It's possible you might not see anything, but that's better than wondering what you might have missed. The other birders felt the same way so we carpooled to Missouri, had to detour around a roadblock and finally found the place. We stood there staring at water birds through binoculars for a few minutes before we spotted one duck that seemed much lighter than the others. We consulted the books, studied the duck again, consulted the books and talked among ourselves. Finally we realized it was true: we were seeing a long-tailed duck! Cheers followed.

If you're interested, here's some information about it: Long-Tailed Duck-Audubon

I came home very happy that I'd seen a new bird and was able to share the experience with friends. I sat down to write it in my notebook ... and paused. I'd made a list of the other birds we'd seen while we were searching for the long-tailed duck, and I didn't see two of them on my list. I flipped through the pages once, twice. Still I didn't see those two. Was it true? It WAS! I was able to add three new ducks ... and that puts me at 200!

So patience and the occasional whim, with a little luck thrown in, got me to my goal. Isn't that usually how it goes?

Next up: 300!