One of my lesser-known achivements is being the first person to document the American Woodcock in Colorado for the Audubon Society* (much to the chagrin of my neighbor who’s been birding** for over 50 years***) but the only reason i got that photo was seeing that funky little dude on the other side of a small canyon in the mountains and was immediately siezed by a Primal Urge to get as close to his wobbleball as possible which resulted in me sliding down a cliff, jumping into, then swimming across a river, mountain goating up another cliff then belly-crawling through the grass of a meadow to get close enough to take several shots of him doing his little worm dance with a Noted Geographic Feature in the background.
My total injuries for this stunt were thigh-long road rash, a twisted ankle, some kind of plant rash, two tick bites and a case of moderate hypothermia but I 100% Do Not Regret It.
Birds in general unlock something primal and untamed in the Human mind but these guys are on another level.
*Andews and Right allegedly documented one in 1992, and while Upstanding Birders who put a lot of honor in the sport and would not falsify a report, their report lacks evidence like a photo or recording, and even they admit that this seemed improbable and that they may have been mistaken.
**Birding is a Sport with points, teams, training seasons, long-standing rivalries and some really spectacular drama and frankly I’m amazed more people on this site aren’t into it, or at least the secondhand drama.
***Part of the Point System is that you develop a Life List of all the bird species you’ve seen in your lifetime, and the rarer a bird is, or the more out of it’s usual range it is, the more points it’s worth (there’s like, six systems for awarding points, but the only real prize is Bragging Rights). Deedee (the neighbor I’ve accidentally thrown assorted wildlife and a shovel at) has been competitively Birding for 50 years now and Her Life List is Extensive and Very Highly Ranked.
I have been Casually Birding since kindergarten when Grandma got me a Copy of Sibley’s Guide To Birds becuase I liked the pictures in it, and only formally for about seven years and... Well, between having 20/20 perfect color vision, a tyrannosaur-like attantion for Movement, the urge to flee into the Mountains to avoid humanity and apparently, The Devil’s Own Luck, I blew past her point count with the Vagrant Woodcock, two rare grouses, a very Odd Duck, and a Condor.
As an apology, I promised we’d go on a mutual trip to the mountains this spring because she wanted to “Learn Your Secrets” but then the plauge happened, and i forgot about it until i got an email in march declaring “YOU OWE ME A WOODCOCK!!”
****I haven’t told her about the Vagrant Trumpeter Swan from earlier this year. Salieri could only put up with so much Bullshit from Mozart before he did him in.
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