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Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Jiggity Jig

 
Home again, home again,
jiggity jig.....
 
After 6 long weeks on the road,
I've finally landed in my favorite spot
and can sit tight for the next 6 months!
 
While only able to spend 2 full days in Maine,
I had the most delightful time birding and meeting a new/old friend,
birding extraordinaire and author of Kathie's Birds.
I was able to link her up with my brother-in-law and sister
for future birding adventures,
and introduce her to some of the birding hotspots of Maine.
 
 
 
Here she is with my little sister, The Fern Lady,
striking the all to familiar 'Geeky Birder' pose!
I'm sure she had Warblers' Neck
at the close of this fine, but cold, day.
 
And again, with my BIL

 
scanning the yet still wintery marsh,
hoping something new will fly in
before we make our way back.
 
On this day, we spotted a Northern Wheatear,
an arctic species that doesn't visit this far south very often,

 
as you can see from this species distribution map.
Birders from near and far have been stopping by the marsh
for a look at this beauty.
 
I have no pictures of the wheatear, and here is why...

 
she's a little brown bird somewhere out there,
best gazed upon through a scope,

 
as Kathie is doing here.
She had a much fancier camera and if I know her,
she was able to capture a beautiful image
of Mrs. Wheatear!
I hope she shares with me!
 
I haven't finished compiling my list,
but so far, between birding in TX, Mass., and Maine,
I've added 11 new birds to my life list.
 
Just between you, me, and the lamp post, I don't want to add
too many new birds 
too quickly,
because it is such a joy when you do,
and since you can only count them once,
I'd like to play it out as long as I can!
As of today, I have 327 different species of birds on my life list.
 
I'm sure I'll show you more,
later.
 
Thanks, Kathie, for joining us for a very special day
of welcoming the warblers to Maine!!
It was such a pleasure meeting you after all these years of blogging.
 
Now that I'm home, I'll be trading my binoculars
for my sewing machine.  6 weeks is a long stretch to go without sewing!!
 
Have a happy day!
~karen
 
 
 


15 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

happy homecoming to you! i know you're looking forward to settling in for 1/2 the year! :) glad you got some good birding done, too!

FAB said...

Hi Karen.
Good to hear you've arrived home safely after your interesting journey.
Nice to see your life list is growing. I can appreciate the dilemma as my life list has been stagnant for far too long but it's still fun watching old favourites.

P.S. E-mail on its way with a picture of that distant species.

Linda said...

WooHoo! You're home! Sounds like you had a great visit.Hoping to hear all about your travels.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

glad to hear you arrived home and had a happy time bird watching my daughter would be envious, she hasn't had a lot of time lately to do that and is always in the same are.

Montanagirl said...

Nice for you to have gotten some great birding into your schedule!

Roy Norris said...

You need to watch out for Kathie Karen, her bird counting is contagious.{:))
Oops! She is bound to read this.

grammie g said...

Hi Karen ... Why didn't you swing by to see me, or holler remember you wasn't that far away : )
I know your time is limited here, but glad you was able to connect with Kathie!! We plan on getting in touch as soon as Kathie lands for a few minutes!! I just glad she isn't in Androscoggin county, I am trying to hold my standings count for here ; ) she would steamroll me over!!
Well it is nice that all went well and you can settle into home, and your sewing!!
Good number on that life list, and yes it is a joy to see a new one!!

Grace

Just Ramblin' said...

Glad you had such a nice time bird watching. It is impressive to me that you have spotted 327 different species. Nola

Carrie P. said...

Glad you are home safe. That is so neat that you have a list of all the birds that you have spotted
I get excited when I spot new bird
Enjoy your time sewing.

Sheila said...

Wonderful to know you are back in Caoe Breton soil , hope to see you soon :-)

Kathie Brown said...

KaHolly, THANK YOU! I had such a great time and did not even know you had written this post until Grammie G told me! I have not even been online since I saw you other than to update my eBird list and post photos to my FB page!

It was so much fun to meet you and your family. Thanks for showing me these great birding spots! I hope to take Chris here when he comes to visit and I know I will visit them often myself! Thank you so much for inviting me along. I feel like we were all "kindred spirits!" I hope all is well for you back at your home! I look forward to seeing some pics from your location!

Kathie Brown said...

P.S. I just went back and read the other comments. LOL to Roy, and Grammie G! I hope to meet up with her soon!

Rohrerbot said...

I know that lady in the pic. She's a goofy one:) Thanks for sharing your expertise with her. We are going to rock Maine this summer and find every bird possible:) Don't worry about filling up your life list too quickly......there are so many birds out there. Plus that side of the country has so many strays coming in from Africa, Europe and the cold north....you'll never run out of birds to find. Plus some birds you'll get to see better in different locations. Life is a grand dance full of excitement when there are birds in it. If you ever come down to Arizona, let me know and I'll organize some fun day tripping. Wishing you the best and thank you for showing Kathie around:) Chris

eileeninmd said...

Sounds like your outing with Kathy was great. Always fun to meet with other bloggers. Congrats on your lifer, beautiful photos.

KirstenNB said...

It's often just as much fun watching the birders as it is looking for the birds.