Kharma

The Sora.  A rare find.

A little over half a year ago, I thought birding was funny.  Not that it was a joke, but I didn't get it.  Sometimes I would joke that birders were goofy people and sometimes just plain ol' strange.  Well, the tides have turned and it hit me several weeks ago that I had crossed over to the other side.  And I don't know how I feel about it.  It started with my post, The Closeted Birder.

Several of my birding friends reported Cedar Waxwings in the area and I knew I had several days to get my butt over to the springs where they were hanging out.  Agua Caliente park is a large park FULL of palms.  And with palms come the fruit that these birds love.  I walked the entire park searching for them and other birds.  It was a breezy day and I wasn't sure I would find the Great Blue Heron or Cedar Waxwings reported around the waters.

Northern Beardless Tyrannulet

I certainly found a lot of other birds out there, but I needed better guidance and thought that the docent in the gift shop would know more.  If you walk inside the building, there is a birding checklist.  It's actually quite nice and helpful for someone like me who has difficulty at times trying to identify birds. The docent was out.

So I went to the art gallery where there was another person selling beautiful artistic quilts from various artists. I asked if she knew anything about birds and she said that "She knew what most people knew about birds." which answered my question.  So I left and found several birders in the area.  They didn't know so I kept my eyes open until I spotted a birder standing near a group of palms.  More on that tomorrow.  But here's what happened.

Yellow Rumped Warbler

The Cedar Waxwings were near a group of palms along with a bunch of American Robins. We shot a lot of great pictures and had a really nice conversation.  I stayed a bit longer and did some more photography until I got some shots with better lighting.  It's very tricky to get good pictures of birds doing something special in midflight.

But what turned out to be a dull start ended with a bang and I wanted to share my excitement! On the way back to my car, I stopped at the center and let the lady know that I found them.  She was talking to another woman and while they were polite, I could see that they didn't care.  And I get that, but what I didn't expect was the mean laugh that followed after I turned my back and left the room.  "He's one of those nutty birder people."  I have to say that I have a thick skin, but that kind of hurt a bit.  When did it happen?

When did I become one of "them"?  The adrenaline rush from finding anything in the wild is pure magic.  It doesn't matter if it's a deer, wildflower, bird, cactus....it's just a wonderful gift.  I let it roll off my shoulders but I'm documenting this to remember that moment so I won't forget.  Maybe I am one of "them" but it sure beats sitting inside a room all day waiting for people to visit when the sun is out and about shining. Kharma.  It was a good lesson for the day.

One other note. "When the people play; birds will stray!"  I have to remember to search for low traffic areas where the majority of people don't congregate.....which would then turn out to be a high traffic area for birds that day.  More tomorrow on my Cedar Waxwing show!

American Robins

Time to fly!