I’ve been back from the East Coast for more than a week, but I’ve been a bit slow updating my blog. It was a very successful trip, and I enjoyed poking around some new and some familiar places.
Total bird species: 144
Total miles driven: 1481
Total miles by ferry: 17
Total miles on foot: 50
Favorite Place: Higbee Beach in Cape May, NJ
Most amazing morning: Seeing thousands of warblers at the “hot corner” at Bluff Point State Park, CT (Sept 16). Some other birders wrote up their experience that morning here. I was standing next to them against the fence (first photo on their page) for a while.
Best birds: Lesser Black-backed Gull, Saltmarsh Sparrow, & White-rumped Sandpiper
Biggest Miss: Buff-breasted Sandpiper & American Golden-Plover
Biggest pain in the @ss: sitting on sharp rocks at Hawk Mountain trying to identify distant specks (is that a bird or are my binocs dirty?)
Best food: The Gyro Plate at Yorkside Pizza, New Haven, CT
Unexpected thrill: Poking my head into the little classroom where I first learned Organic Chemistry.
Most out-of-place birds: Monk Parakeets, building a large stick nest in a CT park – aren’t you guys supposed to be living in Argentina?? [Feral populations have been established in many urban areas along the East Coast.]
Least Favorite East Coast Things: Tolls. Crazy, crazy, tolls. And crazy east coast drivers. And driving on the Cross Bronx “Expressway.” I guess I’ll stop complaining when I have to pay $3.50 to cross the 520 bridge.
Anyhow, it’s good to be back in Seattle. I’ll be in Washington state for a while, visiting local schools, hanging with my little people, writing some college rec letters, and trying to track down a few more birds. More later….
Periodic Wanderings 