Guest Feature – Page 5 – Life Intrigued

A Little Off the Top…by Brad Marks

And here we are, the first day of August. The entire Intrigued staff are very aware today is the official start of Haunt Stress Season. Our annual Haunted Trail event (link here) is now less than two months away and simply based on the number of half-done projects scattered about the headquarters, there is going to be a lot of sleepless nights between now and event opening. I am going to hop on the Mothership and get a couple of pending race recap posts out that I don’t want on the top of the list while trying to finish up the new props (one of the posts is going to be painful enough all by itself). While I lighten the top of my queue, Brad is going to bring you a new field find from South Carolina.

Take it away Brad…

During a typical Illinois winter, Jan and I like to escape the weather for a week or so in February. Last year we went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (not very far from North Carolina). This year we visited Hilton Head Island on the other end of South Carolina, right next to Georgia. After a long morning at Sea Pines Forest Preserve, we wanted to see birds at the seashore. One of the Top Ten lists for birders in the area suggested Fish Haul Beach, so that’s where we headed.

As we left the parking lot and walked through the dunes, I could see what looked like a bunch of ants way out at the edge of the water. Being a typical landlubber, I had completely forgotten about the tides. When it’s high tide, no problem, there’s a narrow beach and no tidal flat to walk on. But at only a few minutes before a very low tide, the flats are a couple hundred yards deep (beach to waterline) depending on location.

Tide’s out. Let’s go see what’s out there.

Naturally, I began to stroll in that direction. Jan started strolling as well, but in a completely different direction on the tidal flat, there was so much area to cover! There’s always that little bit of a funky smell when the tide is all the way out. The sand was wet but very firm and easy to walk on; much easier than the really dry powdery sand above the high tide line. These little clear tubes were sticking up all over the place. They sort of looked like a forest of plastic drinking straws. Remember grade school milk cartons and those little plastic straws? That’s just what they looked like, but a bit shorter. I tried to be careful not to step on them, but quickly realized that was a losing proposition, and trod as carefully as I could through the forest of inch-long (25mm for the rest of the world) clear tubes. I still don’t know what was hiding under the sand, maybe there’s a future story when I find out.

A lady was scraping mussels (or clams or oysters) off a rocky pile as I passed by. She didn’t even look up; they must be very used to tourists with large cameras strolling by at low tide. The mussels (or whatever they were) must have been particularly good that day.

As I got closer to the ants, I could see they were actually medium-sized black and white birds with a bit of orange/red highlight color. From that distance I still couldn’t tell which end was which. Before I could get close enough for a decent identification photo, the bunch of them took flight. My shoulders fell when I thought I missed my chance at a +1 bird.

Hit the jump and maybe they will fly back!

Hard to Swallow…by Brad Marks

Howdy folks! Somehow we have managed to fly through July already. Part of that fly-by was thanks to a pretty busy month here at Intrigued. Intrigued’s 4th celebration, Brad and Jan out in the field and there were several running events packed in there; Jan’s St. Jude run, my failure at Cry My a River and as of last Saturday, our 20th consecutive running of the Bix7 up in the Quad Cities. Admittedly, wasn’t so sure how the Bix would go based on my previous performance in the heat and Bix is traditionally an oven of a race being deep in July. Fortunately, temps stayed Midwestern mild in mid to high 80s for the actual race and all went well, very well actually (temps did go back up to normal post race). A great way to wrap up my road race career, it is all trails from this point on! While I get a bit of recovery in, Brad is going to bring us an adventure from another steamy location.

Take it away Brad…

Jan and I have the Annual Parks Pass, allowing us unfettered access to all of the nation’s national parks, forests, monuments, etc. We’ve purchased one each year since we retired and have more than paid for the pass with savings on park entrance fees several times over. When we had the opportunity to visit another National Park, we jumped at the chance to pile on the savings. If you don’t have your Annual Parks Pass by now . . . well . . . you know who you are.

The desert around Las Vegas is just that; a desert. We shook it up a bit by visiting the largest reservoir in the US, or even in North America: Lake Mead. For those keeping score at home, Lake Powell has more surface area, but Lake Mead holds more water. Both are suffering from extended drought conditions and increased demand for water. Kids don’t let the water keep running when you brush your teeth. After leaving the visitor center, we headed towards the Wetland Trail in Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

A few minutes into our hike along a ridge, I spotted something flitting in and out of a hole in the side of a cliff. A swallow was my first thought, but being 50-75 yards away, all I got was a small brown smudge on the sensor near the middle of the photo

Northern Rough-Winged Swallow by Brad Marks

Look closely and you’ll see the tiny image of the bird near a hole where the rock changes from gravelly aggregate to red-striated sandstone. Did you see it? Good.

This wetland trail area looks a bit like a capital letter “X”. The parking lot is near the top with the trail running along a ridge down the middle of the top half of the X. The marshy area is down the left leg of the X. The right side of the X was completely dry, even when it met the other side near the middle of the X. The trail along the peak of the ridge was mostly loose gravel. Several signs stated that this trail was not maintained and to hike at our own risk. The top part of the trail was OK. But as we neared the junction of the X and began the descent, I was very aware I was carrying a 9 lb. camera because the swinging weight was affecting my footing. Jan must have had a harder time of it. I imagined I was hiking on a non-stick surface covered in loose marbles. We descended the loose gravel switchbacks to the bottom of the wash ending up by the running water (left side of the X). Jan headed upstream along the marshy area and I wandered downstream a bit. At the bottom of the trail the right side of the X connected with our ravine then branched off again. This other ravine was probably the one I had seen from above early on.

As I wandered into the other ravine (right side of the X near the center), I saw a branch sticking out of dried mud. I think it was the remains of a tree that had been washed down the ravine during the biblical rains from Hurricane Hilary the prior summer. This was the same storm system that left standing water in Badwater Basin at Death Valley (future story).

A little brown smudge landed on the end of the branch. Naturally, I started clicking away. The smudge was still a bit far for a good photo, so I walked slowly until the bird began to fill the frame.

Hit the jump to find out what that smudge was…

Déjà Vu All Over Again…by Brad Marks

First off, we want to send our wishes out to our Texas based family, friends and others that were recently impacted by Hurricane Beryl. Texas is our home away from home and it is disheartening to hear about them experiencing another severe weather related event. Over the years, we have barely escaped crippling ice storms, hunkered down for a wicked tropical thunderstorm and witnessed the destruction at Rockport from Hurricane Harvey (link here). You are all proven Texas Strong! Locally I am going stir crazy waiting out the final days before the big race. Been getting some Beryl fallout as it has been raining extensively here the last couple of days and likely to continue up through the race. This race is already a “sufferfest in the valleys of death” – adding in a mudfest isn’t going to help my spirits any (link here). While I make tweaks to the final race plan, Brad is going to take you back to California…no wait, Vegas…so confused ha.

Take it away Brad…

Ever have the feeling you’ve done something before? Or been someplace before that you’ve never been to. That sort of happened to me when I was reviewing photos from a recent trip to Las Vegas and points nearby.

This story, and the bird, are nearly identical to another one, except that all of the facts have been changed. The venue is different. The nearby airport is different. The bird is different (mostly). The desert setting is nearly identical. The lighting conditions are nearly identical with the featured bird sitting high on a twig like before. The camera body is the same. The lens is different. Jan took all of the photos of both birds. The fact that I was nowhere nearby is identical. In fact, I didn’t even know Jan photographed this bird, too, until I reviewed the photos at home, just like last time.

Wait a minute. Is he just re-publishing the story about the California Thrasher (here) and simply retitling it? Has Wildlife Intrigued gone bonkers? Well, sort of. See if you can spot the differences from this photo.

Jan and I were, can you guess, on vacation again. Last time we were in California at the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve in California. This time we were at the Clark County Wetlands Park just outside Las Vegas, Nevada.

As is the custom, once we park the car, I assemble Jan’s camera first. This was the first trip with her brand-new Nikon 200-500mm lens. (Wildlife Intrigued uses exclusively Nikon equipment. If anyone from Nikon is reading this and wishes to sponsor the Wildlife Intrigued blog, please contact our Legal department.) I knew she was itching to try it out on birds. Once the lens was on the camera, I handed it over and got out of the way. For some reason, it took me a few extra minutes to assemble my camera this time. Maybe because we traveled by air and had to use two camera bags with bits scattered all over. It could also have been that I was tangled up in my new Black Rapid strap (not their fault). After a minute of untying nylon webbing knots, I was ready to go. In the meantime, Jan was busy capturing this feathered friend.

I wandered across the empty parking lot to the first trail into the brush. Literally, as my feet hit the well-groomed trail, my mobile phone rang. I didn’t recognize the phone number (it wasn’t in my contact list) and was going to let it go to voicemail. But remembering I’d had a call from that area code a few days before, with a similar number that was legit, I answered it. It was the hotel we had booked to observe the eclipse (booked 18 months prior to the eclipse). The little town near the center line of totality for the April 2024 eclipse had been hit by a tornado. About the only buildings left standing in town were our hotel and the school gymnasium. As tragic as that is, the senior center and senior housing were completely leveled. The hotel was going to house the newly homeless seniors and needed my room. After a bit of teeth gnashing, I realized I really had no choice and let the room go. It’s now scramble time for finding a spot to view the eclipse. At the time, the eclipse was less than two weeks away, which meant that finding a hotel room anywhere near the centerline of the eclipse, without costing my firstborn child, would be impossible. (See the story Twice in a Lifetime for the result of the search if you are curious.)

Just as I hung up the phone Jan came back and wanted to show me a bird. As we walked up to the twig where it was sitting, it had chosen to skedaddle. (I really didn’t get to see it until later.)

Hit the jump to find out today’s feathered friend.

A Cast of Thousands…by Brad Marks

Hoping those here in the States had a happy and safe 4th of July celebration! Our Intrigued HQ is just down the road from an individual that puts on a rather impressive annual show for us ruralites. Had some of our staff over (including Brad and Jan), filled the coolers with drinks, threw some meat on the grill and capped the night with things that light up the sky and make you go Oooohhhh and Ahhhhh – life is good. I did manage to come out with a losing record in our highly competitive JARTS tournament (the real ones, not those pansy ones they try to pawn off on kids these days). That will have to be remedied during our next Intrigued outing!!! As promised in my previous post, Brad has posting duties while I taper/rest/heal/plan/worry/obsess/fret and generally drive Linda crazy this week leading up to the first ultra of the year. One of those planning tasks is to set the crew schedule. In this case, only a cast of one (well, and 3 furry assistants), but I can tell you without hesitation, Linda is the secret sauce to success. While I go through the details with her, we’ll have Brad bring us an adventure with a much larger crew!

Take it away Brad…

After a very long and productive day of birding at Harris Neck NWR in Georgia, Jan and I decided we needed just a little bit more birding in our full day. Our memory cards weren’t quite full, and what’s the use of having large memory cards if you don’t fill them? Plus, we had plenty of battery life left on our cameras.

We decided to visit the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, which sits on the South Carolina state line shared with Georgia. While on a bird walk on Hilton Head at the Audubon Newhall Preserve, we heard people talking about the “millions” of ducks at Savannah. Others on the walk said there can’t be more than 10-20 birds there, there has never been a “million” in one location. A million ducks would be interesting. That sounded like a challenge for us.

Savannah NWR, at least the part we visited, is a drive-through nature preserve. The gravel drive is mostly a causeway type of thoroughfare, raised a few feet above the tidal water on either side. We had just entered the preserve and rounded the first corner when we saw a large grey pickup parked along the side of the road. That usually means there’s something worth photographing nearby. I pulled within a respectable distance of the truck and parked the car. Jan and I already had our cameras assembled and ready to go from earlier in the day. We saw the owner of the truck on the other side of the road on a smaller walking path. He was looking into the distance.

As we approached the driver was shaking his head and muttering something about, “every time I move, they move.” He had just driven non-stop from Virginia and was a bit worn out chasing ducks back and forth across this little pond.

Black-Bellied Whistling-Duck by Brad Marks

What’s that sound, everybody look what’s going down on the other side of the jump!

You Gonna Eat That?…by Brad Marks

Good news, Brad is back from his field office visit (in actuality he made it back just before I released my last post, but I didn’t see his expense report come in before hitting publish). I can definitely use the break as tomorrow morning is my “simulation” run for the fast approaching ultra trail race. Plan is to cover ~75% of the course, but 100% of the terrain (there is an 8 mile repeated section). The 24 or so miles shouldn’t be an issue, but the heat is the big unknown as temps have been climbing steadily since last week. It could be a “devil” of a time which makes Brad’s post on point. Enjoy this “spear-ited” adventure while I go talk through the battle plan with the crew.

Take it away Brad…

Sometimes with wildlife photography, I’m not really sure what I’m seeing, but I keep the shutter going just in case. I’ve been lucky enough to get the precise moment a Bald Eagle snatches dinner from a river. We’ve also caught the precise moment dinner exits a bird (not pretty, so no more details here) on more than one occasion. This time, both Jan and I were very unsure what we were seeing. Luckily, we took a combined few hundred photos over the course of a minute or two. As the subject moved along and came into focus (pun intended) we were able to tell what it was, but really couldn’t believe what we were seeing.

Jan and I were sitting on a berm at the end of Woody Pond at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. Even though there was no one at the gate to check our National Park Pass, we felt better that we had one with us. What?! No National Parks Pass yet? Go get one right now, it’s well worth the time. Of course, if you are reading this blog, you probably already have one.

Let me paint a picture for you. The berm at the end of Woody Pond acts more like a dam for the shallow-ish pond-like sort of area. It seemed to be more of a deep marsh because the thick parts of the tree trunks (you know, where they normally come out of the ground) weren’t sticking that far out of the water. To our right, a few dozen yards away, was a very large alligator sitting right in the middle of the path. (link here) To the left was a Great Blue Heron (GBH) trying to fish. Right behind the GBH were three more alligators: one very large and two bite-sized versions.

I was standing on the berm about halfway between the two groups of gators. Jan was to my left and a bit closer to the set of three alligators, but also very near the car. She was also somewhat protected from them by being across a small arm of water, just in case. There was a tree stump sitting in the water 15-20 feet from the bank. A minute before, a bird had been perching on it, but now it was empty. Butterbutts (Yellow-rumped Warblers) were flitting about like mosquitoes. Luckily, even in this marsh area, there were no mosquitoes in February.

We were watching the GBH on its morning snack hunt when Jan pointed and said, “What’s that?”

Anhinga at Harris Neck NWR found by Brad Marks

Hit the jump to find out what kind of “snake” this really is.

Dance Party…by Brad Marks

Thanks to the return of the wet stuff, I am officially in a forced recovery day. I should probably give a hat-tip to the weather gods based on the muscle whining while getting out of bed this morning. Instead, I get to spend the day learning about the traditional muscle structures of those “grotesque” creatures that watch us upon their high perches and hopefully test out some new wing linkages – Halloween is nearly here people ha! Meanwhile, Brad is going to give us a look at another creature with wings that do not illicit the same level of nightmares… unless you are foolish enough to let them see your cheese curl while strolling along the beach. Time to grab your favorite dark chocolate treat (thanks for the recent restock Brad and Jan!), sit back and enjoy a few laughs.

Take it away Brad…

Jan and I had just returned from a long day of birding along the Atlantic Coast. I think we carried our cameras for 9 miles that day. No monopods. No fancy shoulder straps. No sherpas. Don’t feel sorry for us–we were on vacation after all. And we are retired. But after chasing birds in swamps, marshes, and forests (and avoiding the more than occasional alligator) we decided to have a little bit of fun.

Our resort on Hilton Head was right on the beach (aren’t they all). Keep in mind that it’s mid-February on a beach; the high temperature that day was almost 60F (but only if you rounded up). Normally, a beach and cold weather don’t go together. Beach (more specifically sand) and camera gear don’t go together either, but there was nary a breeze this time of day and no fluffy blowing sand to worry about. I remember Brian and his brother Ron getting caught in a sand storm on a beach in Texas and I didn’t want to repeat their adventure. Plus, I didn’t want to have to extricate sand castles from my lenses and cameras. My camera gear coverage from Wildlife Intrigued hasn’t quite started yet; still the newbie I guess.

The light breeze didn’t stop the gulls from entertaining us.

Hit the jump to see more antics.

Vulture Love…by Brad Marks

This has felt like an unusually long month for me. Pretty much been on the go since the start, dog shows, our annual medical appointments, family events, more dog shows and every time I managed to find a slot, I was out on the trail. With Ruger’s recent competition over the weekend, the back to back schedule pressure is finally lifted for a couple of weeks. This will give me more time to get ready for the upcoming ultra and finally make some progress on a mega Halloween prop taking shape in my basement (fingers crossed Linda doesn’t go down there and see her basement covered in foam shavings). In tribute to the Vultures circling impatiently overhead while on my long run today, Brad is going to bring us another adventure from their travels east. May I recommend putting on Meatloaf’s Paradise by the Dashboard Light while enjoying this “fresh” post (link here)! (…and still pissed they replaced Patti Russo with an actress for the I’d Do Anything For Love video).

Take it away Brad…

I bet the title conjured up one of two songs from the 1970’s. Jungle Love by The Steve Miller Band, or Muskrat Love by the Captain and Tennille. Both used synthesizers. I just wanted to see if I could get a song going in your heads, like the Gulls, Gulls, Gulls from last year.

Why does nearly everything interesting that happens in a tree, happen in the middle of a bunch of leaves and twigs? I mean, c’mon! Can’t anyone actually hop to the end of an exposed branch and go through the poses to make bird photography easier? It’s just a few photos and a microsecond of your day. No? Well, OK. See if I make your photos flattering or not.

Actually, with today’s birds, I’m not sure there is a way to make the photos flattering.

Jan and I were on a Bird Walk through the Audubon Newhall Preserve on Hilton Head Island. The guide was talking about cedar knees and the red-cockaded woodpecker nest hole we had just passed. There was a very slight breeze blowing through the treetops. But not quite enough of a breeze to make the noise that was happening directly above us. One of the other birders pointed overhead and said there was a large black bird in the tree. At first, I thought it was a crow. Naturally, Jan and I pointed our cameras skyward as the other birders grabbed their binoculars. The guide had lost all of us for a moment.

At first, all I could see was one large black bird through the viewfinder. I was happily snapping away when it “skooched” to its left, my right

Hit the jump to see what I saw.

Fishing Hawk…by Brad Marks

I had forgotten just how tiring these national dog competitions can be. As mentioned in the previous post, we made it down here for the Canine Performance Events (CPE) Nationals being held in my hometown of Springfield, IL. Imagine a state fairgrounds stuffed to the gills .. or should I say muzzles with face lickers and tail waggers. Suspect they will have the greenest grass they’ve ever had once this is over ha! The various competitions have been going on all this week. Speedway competitions (think drag and barrel racing) and scent work led it off, but now the Big Kahunas have taken the stage with 6 concurrent agility rings in full swing. Raven did well today qualifying in 2 of his 3 runs with 6 more runs still to go over the next two days. Definitely a tough day for him as he is currently passed out between me and the keyboard – even mom is feeling pretty wiped. Ruger has been watching with intent as he hopes to be making his debut at nationals within two years (he needs more titles before he becomes eligible). We already had to get on him about trash talking some of the current competitors.

“I unplug my muzzle in your general direction, sons-of-a-puppyfarm! So, you think you could outclever us French Poodles with your silly knees bent crashing into agility bars. I’ll wave my private parts at your owners! You cheesy load of secondhand electric butt sniffers!”

While we sit Ruger down and have a discussion about sportsmanship, going to let Brad take the reins and bring you an adventure with a talented member of the birding family (and assuredly a fish trash talker as well).

Take it away Brad…

This story comes at the very end of our Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve (UNBNP) visit. The visit to UNBNP started with Jan finding the California Thrasher (link here). I finally found her among the trails so we wandered around the upper part of the preserve for a while. After Jan and I had been walking amongst the chapparal for a couple of hours, we headed back along the crunchy pea gravel path back towards the car.

One our way out, we bumped into a nice couple, roughly the same age as Jan and I. After chatting for a while, they asked if we had seen the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). We had not. Just then the man pointed off into the distance at a tree leaning out over the preserve lower levels, right where Jan and I were about 15 minutes ago. Roughly two hundred yards away there was a twig of a tree, with a white/black lump on the end of one of its three branches. Lo and behold there was a large bird sitting there. I zoomed in as far as I could and was able to capture this highly cropped image (not quite as good as Sam’s photos with her 500mm, visit Sam.Rappen here) of an Osprey.

Hit the jump to read more about this UNBNP encounter!

Can be Bite-y…by Brad Marks

Howdy all! It has been a hectic time as of late, but starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel – granted, Linda frequently tells me to stay away from the bright light in the sky. Fortunately, this one comes from the lightening of the schedule. One more major dog show next week (Canine Performance Dog Nationals) in my hometown of Springfield. After that, home for a good spell so I can go into beast mode training for the daunting 50K in early July. In the bustle we did manage to hold an Intrigued bird outing last week that was quite productive…at the cost of HR berating me about an office full of “Warbler Necks”. More to come on that front. For now I am going to focus on getting packed while Brad takes you to the water’s edge. Quick note, one of the locations mentioned happens to be where a similar encounter left me prematurely grey!

Take it away Brad…

We learned a very valuable birding rule of thumb: Be very aware of your surroundings. There can be rocks, uneven ground, water, mud, camera equipment, snakes, holes, birds nesting on the ground, etc. All of the above can be an inconvenience if encountered, or perhaps even painful. But none of those can really ruin your day like today’s topic. Since we encountered this subject all over South Carolina, I’m going to take you to many locations for today’s story.

One of our first stops was Jarvis Creek Park. It is a very nice park with many hiking paths including a 1-mile paved walking path around the central pond. The park was full of families picnicking and having fun. Dogs were pulling their people all around the path.

After about halfway around the pond, Jan came across something that had its eye on the tourists and small critters on leashes. I was up on the footpath talking with someone walking their dog, a boxer named Oscar if I remember correctly. Jan walked down the bank by the water to get this photo.

Want to see more spiky creatures (you know you do), hit the jump!

Tuxedo Bird…by Brad Marks

This was one busy week for us down at Purina Farms in Gray Summit, MO (got the state right this time David!). It started with Ruger and Raven running in the agility ring at the Poodle Nationals and ended the week with Ruger’s FastCAT runs yesterday and today (two flat out 100 yard sprints each day). In between those competition bookends, I spent most of the free (non-raining) time during the day over at Shaw Preserve. That place is incredible and I will definitely have more to say about it in upcoming posts. Managed to go at least +10 there in new birds for the year and even got a hard 11 mile run in on their rather hilly trails. My visits in the previous years merely scratched the surface of that place. Even squeezed a trip to the St. Louis Botanical Gardens – another surprisingly large place. The nights were spent working on content for the mothership – a three post series on a new prop for the 2023 Haunted Trail – feel free to check those out if you are interested in another behind the scenes walk-through on what it takes to put that event on every year (link here) – caution, those posts go deep into detail, so lots of words…and pretty pictures ha. That packed week has left me pretty exhausted, although nothing compared to the boys who are all currently passed out in their beds with little do not disturb signs hanging off their paws). Brad has been keeping things under control at Intrigued HQ while we were away and we’ll let him take us into May with another of his UNBNP encounters.

Take it away Brad…

During the end of our visit to the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve (UNBNP), Jan was trying to find me this time. I wandered past the parking lot to an area below the visitor center along the water. As is usually the case, there was something dark and feathered flitting about among the low branches of a very small tree near the water. Without my bird whisperer nearby, Jan, I had to keep looking until I spotted this little beauty.

My subject was sitting in a little tree about 30 feet from the path to my left. The late morning sun, obscured by haze and thin clouds, was mostly to my right. My quarry took pity on me and rested for a few seconds, quite literally. At first, in my newbie perspective, I thought it was a flycatcher from California, since many of the critters here had California in their names and it looked like it was catching flies. I was close.

This bird wasn’t making any noise, at least nothing Merlin could identify, so no help with name. This is sometimes the exciting part of being a new birder. I recognize I haven’t seen this bird before, but really have no clue what it’s called. Sort of like opening a box of Cracker Jack; you don’t really know what the prize in the box will be.

Learn more about this well dressed birdie after the jump!

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