Need a Tow?…by Brad Marks

Linda and I have just arrived at the Purina Farms Event Arena in Gray Summit, MO, which means we are officially surrounded by Poodles. Small ones, medium ones, and even ones that stand three times the height of ours. Pick a standard breed color and it will not take long before a matching Prima-Donna will prance by, nose in air and sparkles on the collar. Yep, we are at the AKC Poodle Nationals or Poodle Specialty for short. The boys will be competing tomorrow in the agility ring and then give way to the confirmation events scheduled for later in the week. That would be rows and rows of grooming tables covering an entire exhibit hall – imagine a Build-A-Bear factory had exploded. Once that is done, Ruger will toe the line for FastCAT, which is the canine equivalent of the 100 yard dash (hoping to improve on his 19.5mph PR). Time for the pups to earn their keep ha. I also have a three part Halloween themed post to get through on the mothership that is about 7 months overdue (I swear I retired..where does the time go!!). While we get things taken care of here, Brad is going to take the Intrigued reins and bring you wings I’ve never seen!

Take it away Brad…

Ever run across a very unassuming bird, just sitting and minding its own business?  That’s what happened for me on this bird.

I was wandering along the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve (UNBNP) trying to find Jan.  She was photographing the California Thrasher (link here).  I thought I saw her on a parallel path so I tried to find my way over to her.

On the way, there was a smallish tree/bush with a brown lump in it.  The chances were very high that it was a bird I’d never seen or photographed before, so I snuck up on it.  I chuckled to myself (CTM).  I’m over 6 feet tall, carrying a very large piece of glass on a long stick.  I think it’s hard for me to sneak up on anything on pebbly gravel paths.

As I got closer, it seemed to be alerting someone.  John Wayne Airport was still pumping airplanes into the air at an astonishing rate drowning out the bird’s call.  I sure am glad my house isn’t within hearing distance of an airport.  The wildlife in the preserve must be accustomed to the noise to the point they can’t hear it any more.  Sort of “ear blind,” if you will.

Upon further inspection (on the big screen at home) I noticed the tiny orange eye ring.  I’m pretty sure there was no way I would have seen this at the time, and it is a great indicator if you can see it.

Hit the jump to reveal the identity.

Orange You Lucky

Howdy everyone, hope you are having a wonderful day. Had a couple of long grueling trail runs at the start of this week which gave me ample time to ponder what’s next on the post docket. Trust me, you are looking for anything to distract you when you are in the midst of a 2500ft and a 4000ft elevation gain training beat down. It’s during that second run that the topic appeared before my eyes – literally! On a fairly “roots of all evil” stretch my eyes were busy processing the path of least resistance in the immediate 8′ to 10′ out when something triggered the spidey senses. Lesson learned from shattered elbow, slowed down before looking for the source (I am teachable ha). Slightly beyond my root scrutiny was an absolutely monster of a Woodchuck/Groundhog/Land Beaver (pick your regional moniker) staring right at me (link here). Based on the eye dilation guessing we were equally surprised. Each stood motionless sizing each other up, processing through safety protocols, judging outcomes, assessing enemy capabilities and calculating threat models. Instinctively went with my “Hi puppy?” verbal response with my hands down and palms out. Chucky, actually more like Charlotte raised up, sniffed the air some more and waddled off further down the trail – clearly offended by my “odor-de-sweat”. Suspect the larger than expected size and cumbersome movements were due to pups in the oven (for the record they can have up to 9!). She eventually vanished in some brush and I restarted root protocols. Had to come up with a new inner Bri conversation as the post topic had just been decided.

I’ll explain the connection at the end, but for now let me introduce today’s featured feathered friend.

Hit the jump to learn more about this somewhat tricky bird …. and how it is related to one of the three incredibly rude experiences I had while we were on our recent south Texas trip.

Twice in a Lifetime…by Brad Marks

Welcome back to the light so to speak! I mentioned previously that we were trying to get back home prior to the recent solar eclipse and how Brad and Jan were getting ready to head in the opposite direction (south) for the full experience. Just received Brad’s hot-off-the-press post on the extravaganza and I’m jumping the queues to get this out to you. For the record, in Intrigued time this event->post duration “eclipses” all our previous performance records. Ironically, his midterm review will definitely reflect showing up his management ha. Without further delay, take us back to darkness Brad…

Beep.  Beep.  Beep. 

5:00AM. 

My darn alarm is going off. 

Oh yeah.  Today is the day Jan and I are driving south to see the eclipse.  We live in central Illinois, but the total eclipse path is only covering the very southern tip of the state.  About a dozen other states will be in the path of this total eclipse known as the “Great North American Eclipse”.

In 2017, the eclipse path started at the northwest corner of the U.S., traversed the little town of Chester, IL, and then exited through the southeastern United States.  In 2024, after starting in Mexico (first landfall) the eclipse path travels from the southwest corner to the northeast corner of the U.S.  And guess what?!  It goes right through Chester, IL again.  Hence the title, “Twice in a Lifetime” for those few communities where the 2017 and 2024 paths crossed like a gigantic “X” on the country.  

I talked Jan into going with me.  Yes, it is a very long drive.  We left home at 6am* (see backstory at the end).  At Jan’s urging, I had loaded up the car two days prior to make sure we had everything, and because the day before we left, the weather was predicted to be rainy all day.  It was.  Once we left the house, I was expecting traffic to start earlier because this was the second “Once in a Lifetime” eclipse to visit the general area.  We arrived roughly on time, a couple of hours ahead of the eclipse start time.  Shout out to Popeye (created in Chester, IL) for keeping the heavy clouds away, must be all the spinach he eats.  We had a few wispy clouds that didn’t interfere with the viewing.  This photo shows how it all starts.

Hit the jump to read more about Brad and Jan’s journey into darkness and back!

I Spy Yellow Eyes on SPI

By the time you are reading this, I will hopefully be back home from our southern migration. I guess technically I should refer to it as completing our northern migration. This year has been a bit chaotic on the birding front. Our January trip to Arizona netted me over 23 new lifers, but at a cost. Not being in Texas put me over 100 bird species behind for the year – shows you just how good birding is in Texas! We made a quick decision to right the ship and head back to our favorite wintering destination. There are still a lot of misses on the checklist, but did manage to claw back a lot of that deficit bringing me to the exact same point as last year with 272 species for the young 2024 Even managed to pull out three new lifers with one being a first time ever recorded in the US – going to make you wait until those get posted to reveal those gems. To be honest, our timing was not ideal. Probably a week or so early on the birds reaching South Padre Island. High Island was completely dead beyond the rookery residents (guessing 10-14 days early on that location as well). No complaints as there is now plenty of fodder to carry us well into next year (who am I kidding, with my backlog, probably inching into 2026 ha).

One thing that continues to bring a smile is how awesome the Texas birders are (including our fellow winter Texans). Always willing to help get you on a bird, give advice on other hotspots or answer any questions. Proud to say we reacquainted with existing birding friends and made a lot of new ones on this trip. On the downside, I also had three of the most inconsiderate people encounters we have had in a long time (non-birders of course). I can’t tell if this is just isolated cases, the state of the media stoked polarized country or the after-effects of the pandemic, but wow. Intrigued was actually founded as a means to document my human observations and these will definitely get their day in ink – likely on the mothership where the non-wildlife entries are anchored. I may not have yellow eyes like today’s featured feathered friend, but I can assure you my eyes are on constant scan.

Hit the jump to read more about this equally observant bird of prey.

Vespa…by Brad Marks

We are officially in our last phase of our southern migration. Not for a lack of effort, I’ve missed a few target birds that somehow managed escape The Beast. A few of those species appear to have headed north just a few days before we arrived at their wintering grounds (read Whooping Cranes and missed by less than 2 days). With a little luck we’ll be able to catch those escapees later in the year. I cannot complain too much as my annual species counts now sits at 268 with a good chance that number will edge up a bit more if the Warblers manage to make it across the Gulf tonight and visit us here at High Island. The first wave was hitting South Padre Island while we were down there last week. Hoping they’ll phone their relatives back home and give word that the bugs are a plenty. That would be an understatement for the horde of Mosquitoes we are currently battling. LBJs have an all new meaning – Liters of Blood Jettisoned – we’ve replaced the soap dish with Deet juice. While we try to defend against these needle-nosed bugger sorties, Brad is going to take the helm and bring you a more traditional meaning of the LBJ.

Take it away Brad…

This story is about another LBJ that was nearly overlooked.  I’m learning to photograph everything; I can sort out duplicate photos later.  Lightroom can help me sort and “fix” nearly 100% of the photos I take.  However, even Lightroom can’t fix the pictures I don’t take.  Future enhancement perhaps?

Jan and I had just been in Golden Gate Canyon State Park at Panorama Point seeing the Grey-headed Junco.  The elevation at Panorama Point was over 9000 feet and rather chilly for April in Colorado.  Two hours later we found ourselves at the more temperate Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge (RFNWR) at just under 6000 feet of elevation northwest of Denver.

Once I parked the car and opened the doors, we were hit with a blast of warm air.  The outside air temp was nearly 80F, well above average for April in eastern Colorado we are told.  This is the same parking lot where I saw the Western Meadowlark (here), and the Grackle (here).  Lurking in the shadows of the tall grass was another LBJ.

Naturally, Jan started taking photos while I was still putting my camera together.  Long time readers of Wildlife Intrigued are beginning to notice a pattern.  While I’m readying my camera, Jan is already getting photographs for the next feature story.  Besides, you never can tell when you need another LBJ photo to fill out a gallery or story.

Even at home on the big screen, this LBJ looked like many of the others we’ve photographed on our vacations.  I was just about to give it the “just another sparrow (JAS)” moniker when I noticed the “V” pattern towards the back of its head, where I imagined its ear would be.  Fortunately, Jan took enough photos from varying angles to be able to see the “V” clearly enough to differentiate it from other sparrows.

Mystery solVed, hit the jump for the reVeal!

Hummer vs Hangry

It has been about two and half weeks since we embarked on our southern migration and I have to admit, my batteries are starting to drain. Each day has pretty much been hardcore birding from sunup to sundown. On those few days when the birds are in short supply, I’ve been able to squeeze in some long runs just to keep the legs and lungs from getting soft. For supposed retirement, this sure seems a lot like work ha. The good news is I’m now up over 250 unique species for the year including around 6 lifers on this Texas trip. Today’s featured feathered friend was a new lifer back in January of 2023 and with a bit of luck managed to tin it at the same place this year.

Hit the jump to read more about this rufous speed demon.

California Thrasher…by Brad Marks

Good news, Brad is back from his field assignment and from what I’ve heard, the Intrigued HQ is still standing. Yes Virginia I now believe in miracles. We’ve been on South Padre Island for a few days now and making the most of it. The migrants are now arriving and starting to get those crucial Warblers ticked off this year’s list. Also met a lot of great birders this trip that have been incredibly helpful in pushing this year’s Average Year number to 242 (link here). Still behind last year’s pace, but definitely chipped into the deficit. A lot of that is due to a healthy dose of lifers we’ve been able to hunt down. Now the busy work of making sure all the images are copied off to multiple drives, the eBird reports are filled out and the birding tracking sheets are updated…I need a nap. Brad is going to take the lead and bring us one of his own lifers from California.

Take it away Brad…

Normally when I write these brief stories, I’ve taken most of the photos because I’m carrying the larger lens and can capture the little feathered guys at a further distance.  Not this time.  Jan was able to hold one bird captive with her bird whisperer powers.  Today’s subject was also nice enough to stay only a few yards off the path.  All of the photos in this story are from her.

Jan and I had just left a major theme park in SoCal on our way back to Las Vegas to meet the kids.  We stopped at the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve (UNBNP) just outside Newport Beach to see what we could see (isn’t that why the bear went over the mountain?).  I parked the car about 8:30am and started assembling the cameras.  We didn’t know before we got there, but John Wayne Airport (originally called Orange County Airport) is only a couple of miles away.  Unfortunately, the planes depart right over the nature preserve.  While I seemed to duck every time one of the monsters flew overhead, the local bird life didn’t seem to care at all.

Being the gentleman I am, I assembled Jan’s camera first, and then started to put mine together.  By the time I had my camera ready, shut the hatch, and locked the doors, Jan was already a couple hundred yards down the trail.  The shrubbery near the cars was tall enough I couldn’t see which trail she had taken.  But listening for a few seconds, in between airplane flights, the high-speed shutter clicking told me which way to go.

Hit the jump to learn more about the reason for all those clicks!

1600 Days

Hello everyone, it’s been a while. Things are a bit chaotic at the moment as both Brad and I are out in the field. This means the Intrigued HQ is under the supervision of our legal department and, well, “shudder”. I am pretty sure it is going to devolve into a Project X event (link here) purely based on the “Incident that shall never be mentioned” that occurred the last time they were in charge. For a group that prefers to wear suits and gets $300 haircuts, they go balls out without supervision. Brad will be getting back sooner, so he will have to deal with the cleanup, bail money and/or the angry neighbors. Meanwhile we have made it to southern Texas and today was the FIRST day it hasn’t rained the entire day. Of course, that means the humidity spiked and those $#%!@#!% bugs are out in force to make up for lost blood. Now I can get back to some serious birding and press that little ISO button on my camera and turn the dial down from 1600. I should see if there are photo competitions with a category for “Best Use of Grey”.

This being the first time down here during spring break we have noticed a few differences. On the disappointing side, our favorite state park Estero Llano Grande is basically bone dry (the rain over these last few days isn’t going to improve that situation at all. For those familiar with that park, there is no water out from the visitor center or any of the middle ponds before Alligator Lake. Luckily a lot of the waterfowl and shorebirds have moved to the reservoir beyond the back levee. Also on the negative scale, there is more foliage on the trees making it far more difficult to get a clear shot. Hmmm, maybe another competition category – “Most Obscured Bird”. Counterbalancing those, we are getting looks at several new lifers and the other birders and park volunteers we have met continue to be the shining examples of goodness in our society. Refresh your mental state by burning the newspapers, turning off the babbling TV heads, putting your phone away and simply go birding. If that happens to be in south Texas, we do recommend taking gallons of bug spray unless you want a blood transfusion to go along with your mental therapy.

While I try to dry out and recover from early morning ups and late night Paraque hunts (link here), going to go with a short feature today. One that south Texas birders now quite well.

Hit the jump for a couple more quick shots before I lather up in DEET.

Gentlemen Prefer Gingers

By the time you are reading this, we will be off to southern Texas. Believe this is the first time we have visited our favorite state at this time of year. By now I am sure everyone is aware we spent lot of our vacation time on the Gulf Coast and down along the Rio Grande Valley during our corporate years. We have continued… and extended our time there now into our retirement years. Our company would shut down between Christmas and New Year’s (initially started to reduce costs at our manufacturing facilities). No longer bound by the designated vacation days, we have been spending all of January in that warmer climate – well, up until this year when we decided to try out Arizona instead – regretted. Having missed our time in Texas, we are making our first Spring visit and excited to try out a new birding season. There is a bit of concern about the tourist competition being in the midst of Spring Break for many of the schools across the nation. Time will tell, but honestly, it is hard for us to ever be disappointed down there. I may be a bit sparse as we chew up the miles and I also know Brad will be heading back out on assignment soon, so apologies in advance for the expected delays in responses. The good news is we have plenty of material ready to go to keep everyone entertained while we are out and about.

Without further delay, how about we get to today’s featured feathered friend!

Hit the jump to read more about our ginger feathered specimen.

Stellar…by Brad Marks

I must say, as far as days go, last week was pretty good. Although the rain finally arrived at the end of the week, I was able to get a number of good runs in on the trail – definitely enough to remind me just how hard the July 50K ultra is going to be (link here). If you recall, that is the race I missed last year due to shattering my elbow a mere week before I was supposed to toe the line. It’s redemption year and building the base early to leave nothing to chance. Then my brother Ron was able to come down thanks to an opportunity to attend TransWorld down in St. Louis. Horrible name, but before you jump to conclusions, it is the premier Professional Haunt Trade Convention/Expo in the States (link here). This is somewhat of an “invite only” event and you have to prove you are in the haunt business to be allowed to attend. AMAZING. To put it into perspective it took us 3.5 hours just to make it through maybe a 3rd (at best) of the exhibits. While I recover from the trail training and the miles of expo walking, going to let Brad take over and take you through another “stellar” experience.

Take it away Brad…

If you haven’t seen the majesty of Yosemite Falls when there’s water flowing, add it to your bucket list of future destinations right now.  Go ahead, I’ll wait.

We had been planning a trip to Yosemite for years, but something else always came up and it slid down our list.  Last fall we decided to team it with other destinations we wanted to see Out West to make sure we’d end up going. 

Sidebar story:  Normally the waterfalls (Bridal Veil and Yosemite) only run in the spring when there’s ample snowpack melting.  The winter before Jan and I went, Yosemite received record snowfall, some say on par with what they used to receive way back a hundred years ago.  Others said it was twice as much as usual.  A few of the roads in the park didn’t even open until late May or early June.  Even when we went in September, the upper mountain roads were just then opening.

Quite breathtaking. Hit the jump to learn more about the falls and a rather stellar resident.