Category: Observation

Yellow-Crowned Night Heron…by Brad Marks

I feel like our haven of trail witches have put a curse on me. First I tweak my ankle during the build up to the haunted trail, then the race beats me down something good only to make it through to put the cherry on top the misery sundae by breaking a toe (on the good foot) in a manner so unmanly I am not about to reveal it. I’ve learned a couple of surprising things since then. One is the revelation that trimming trees for four days is probably not the brightest choice all hobbled up – something tells me some of our readers probably already knew or could foresee that bit of knowledge. The other surprise comes courtesy of Brad who is bringing us one of his adventures from his recent New England trip. In fact, my new birding tidbit comes courtesy of that little space between the third and fourth word in his title. I was about to insert the expected “-” when I decided to dig into this a bit more. Brad is absolutely correct, as of July 2024, the American Birding Association has removed the second dash between Night and Heron. You can read more about that change and several other updates in their 2024 supplement (link here). Note, once again, they FAILED to rename the Ring-Necked Duck arrrgghhh! Enough of my whining, it’s time for Brad to introduce us to one of his newest lifers.

Take it away Brad…

During a recent photo assignment to New England, Jan and I were enjoying the low tide near Boothbay Harbor in Maine.  We traveled to Maine with our friends from the Boston area.  We also had the bonus of having Allyson join us for an abbreviated weekend.

This also happened to be our first photo outing with our brand “new” D500 camera bodies, well, at least new to us.  The old trusty D300’s had served us well, but had begun showing age-related faults (over 200,000 clicks on both of them) during our Alaska assignment.  We had a mere six days after Alaska to get “new” cameras before the New England trip.  I used all of my trusted camera sites ordering bodies, batteries, and chargers.  I’m still working on the Wildlife Intrigued expense report.  Everything arrived in time, some only just, for the trip to Boston and Maine.

Our first morning in Maine, low tide was at 9am.  After breakfast, we all rushed down to the waterline to see what we would see at low tide.  The rented house where we stayed, was about 100 feet from the water.  The tide was nearly at the lowest point of the morning, down over 8 feet from high tide the night before.  Drying seaweed was all over the newly exposed rocks and made walking slippery.  Jan was photographing a Great Blue Heron in the shadows next to our dock.  Allyson was wading in the cold Atlantic water looking for crabs, lobsters, and snails.  I was watching the sunlit part of the terrain opposite our rocky point, when something caught my eye.

Yellow-Crowned Night Heron by Brad Marks

Did you spot today’s featured feathered friend? Hit the jump to read more about this well camouflaged discovery.

Continue reading Yellow-Crowned Night Heron…by Brad Marks

Rounds on the Flats

I am finally back on my feet. Still a bit tender in the legs and feet, but the toll for a shiny new finisher belt buckle is almost paid. I must say, I feel a bit like Biden after the first debate with everyone recommending I stop doing the ultras ha. The concern is definitely appreciated, but Linda will confirm I believe one should always know their limits (and ever reach beyond). Luckily I learn from my mistakes and will be taking steps to remedy whatever gremlins snuck into my race plan starting with my “barnacle-bitten swab” of an ankle. That weak bastard is still unusually “round” (and crunchy) which brings us to our similarly shaped featured feathered friend(s) of the day.

Piping Plovers found on Bolivar Flats, TX, in March 2024

Hit the jump to see more of what was “rolling” around the flats of Bolivar Peninsula back in April. As enticement, this is a rare multi-species post!!

Continue reading Rounds on the Flats

Crazy on You…by Brad Marks

It’s official, I can now coast until the new year as the last of the 2024 stressors completed last Saturday night. I was slightly worried going into this last ultra-race of the season. Torqued up my ankle pretty bad during the haunt work that didn’t seem to be responding to my customary barrage of rude insults and brash comments regarding its lily-livered condition. Even broke down and had it forcibly unjammed by my Chiro, plus cut my taper short to give the weak-ass, dirty bilge rat of a joint several days of rest (link here). With all the extra attention. it was STILL tender race morning. I’ll do my regular race recap later, but in summary, about the only two things that went right the entire day was I got up on time and I willed myself across the finish line. Everything in between pretty much the proverbial shit show. Dispensed with the nag and went full blown crush on the bad ankle at mile TWO (slid off a rock under the leaves in the dark), stomach issues prevented me mid-race food, stung by ground PO’d Hornets on 3 of my 5 loops, unexpected heat and switched to just plain water for loops 4 and 5 because the stomach refused any fluids with flavor – exception was the lifesaving ginger ale at the aid stations preventing me from hurling. Oh, and with the ankle destroyed, didn’t dare take the shoe off. No dry sock changes led to massive blisters on feet for last two loops. Not the best outing and certainly not the worst, but all things considered, one of the hardest finisher buckles I’ve ever earned – and I’m damn proud! Wife and friends have chosen the less glorious word “crazy”..which, ironically, brings me to today’s post. While I do my best to even stand, Brad is going to take you out to one of my favorite places to bird in Henderson, NV.

Take it away Brad… (note, responses will likely be delayed as he and Jan are still out on assignment in faraway lands).

During a return trip to Las Vegas to catch Death Valley, Jan and I had a list of birding assignments from Intrigued HQ.  Originally, we had planned a full day at each, but we lost most of a day to a flat tire on our rental car trying to pick up an unplanned birding location.  (See A New Low link here.)  Suffice it to say that we now had one less day and had to consolidate destinations within the remaining days of our vacation. 

One day we had to split between two destinations.  In the morning, we went to Clark County Wetlands Park.  After literally running through Clark County Wetlands, we headed to the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve (HBVP) just before noon.  Based on our experience, try to get there early because they close at 2:00 pm.  You will want to reverse these two destinations if you must see them the same day like we did.  We were also informed that they lock the parking lot gates promptly at 2:00 pm when they leave, capturing you and your car inside.  We did get the local number to call in case we lost track of time and found ourselves captives.

With the over 40 different species of birds we saw on this trip, I thought I would give you a slow pitch today.  This should be an easy guess on today’s subject.

Canada Goose found at Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve by Brad Marks

Hit the jump to knock this easy pitch out of the park.

Continue reading Crazy on You…by Brad Marks

Flying Escargot

And we meet again so soon! Probably seems like a whirlwind of activity as of late, especially since my long absence during the haunted trail prep. There has been extra free time around Intrigued while I try my best to rest up for the race this weekend. Unfortunately, that also means I’ll be stepping away from the websites to focus on that race. Suspect the need for some level of recovery regardless of whether I manage to make it through still vertical or those “Root of all Evil” tree appendages manage a retaliation from all the shade I’ve been throwing their way since the last time they bested me (link here). I’ll be at the exact “scene of the crime” again, and again, and again, and again, and again and fingers crossed again if things go as planned. While Brad and Jan are exploring faraway places, thought I would leave you with a special treat from our 2023 pass through upper Florida.

Snail Kite found at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park in Micanopy, FL in March 2024

Hit the jump to learn more about this unexpected surprise while exploring around the Gainesville area.

Continue reading Flying Escargot

Trash Tyrant Goes Moo

Howdy folks. In the days between the end of the haunt event and the fast approaching ultra-race, I’ve been doing my best to get a few body nags healed up and hopefully not add any new dings to pile. Last year I managed to injure my back putting all the decorations back right before the race. Lesson learned, I took the effort to get everything out of the valley and into the out building and left it to hang out there until post run. The run is hard enough as it is without piling on additional difficulty. With all the extra rest I’ve been able to get a lot of miscellaneous to-dos checked off starting with the bird counts. Updated both the Average Year stats (link here) and the life list. AY sits at 307 (two finds still have to be added to our tracking list) and as you will see on the left nav bar my lifelist is now at 432 (it may look like 430, but it is really 432 thanks to a couple of late adds ha). And one of those late adds and missing tracking species in our AY spreadsheet happens to be today’s featured feathered friend.

Cattle Tyrant found in downtown Corpus Christi, TX in March 2024

Hit the jump to find out more about this lost barnyard resident.

Continue reading Trash Tyrant Goes Moo

Cyrus of Sweetwater

A lot of the stress is finally off and best of all, I am finally getting caught up on some badly needed sleep. The annual Haunt Event appears to be another successful venture and since the last post we have received a lot of positive feedback from the attendees (including Brad and Jan, but they may be biased as their annual performance review is coming up ha). The first night we ran out of time for some of the props thanks to an unfortunate late hour incident that took a bit to resolve, however, we were able to catch up on Saturday and get everything working and additional props deployed. I made a quick summary of this year’s efforts up on the mothership if you are interested (link here). Most surprising of all is the weather held for both days even though there was an over 60% chance of rain for both nights at the start of the week. Mother Nature either took pity on me or she is waiting to really hammer me during the fast approaching ultra-race.

Since I am sitting here trying to heal a few leg/foot kinks that developed while hauling all the props back out of the valley, thought I would feature a feathered friend that also has a kink …in its neck.

Anhinga found at Sweetwater Wetlands Park in Gainesville, FL in April 2023

Hit the jump to read more about this turquoise-eyed beauty.

Continue reading Cyrus of Sweetwater

Meep Meep…by Brad Marks

Hello folks. As the Twain saying goes, “rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated” (I know that was embellished by Paine, but I prefer this version ha). During these last two weeks I’ve joked that I was close to knocking on that heavenly door as we toiled away preparing for the annual Haunted Trail. The stress is off now as the event was held Friday and Saturday night. Still awaiting testimonials, but from the positive feedback we heard over the course of the two nights, I’d say we had a pretty successful haunt. What I can commit to without question is I’m officially exhausted from the stress, work and woeful lack of sleep it took to wrangle the chaos into shape before the guests started arriving. We owe a big thanks to everyone who jumped in to help including family (Ron/Derek), friends (including Brad/Jan) and pretty much all the Intrigued staff (except the lawyer dept that are still upset I took away their “butt copier”). Tomorrow back on the training program for the fast approaching ultra-race – now officially 7 pounds lighter). Struggling to keep my eyes open writing this intro, so I’m going to reacquaint myself with my pillow and let Brad take you on another adventure in one of our favorite cities.

Take it away Brad.. (oh, and big thanks to Brad for keeping Intrigued HQ running smoothly while I was out battling demons and clowns in the woods).

During one of our compressed mornings in Las Vegas, we had tough choices to make.  Brian had assigned me three bird locations to visit.  However, during day one of the trip, we lost over half a day trying to get a flat tire fixed.  (See A New Low – link here)  While scheming in the hotel room the night before, Jan and I decided to visit two big locations in the same day.  Crazy, I know.  What can you do?  We had already planned many activities for after birding hours.  Early one morning, we headed to Clark County Wetlands on the edge of Las Vegas. 

As Jan and I were wandering through the Wetlands, we kept seeing opened Acme wooden crates everywhere.  Even though Merlin couldn’t pick it up, I thought I could hear a “meep meep” sound followed quickly by little clouds of dust.  Finally, as we were heading to one of the small ponds, we spotted this bird in the shadows, next to little anvil-shaped holes in the dust.

Greater Roadrunner by Brad Marks

Hit the jump to read more about a certain Coyote’s nemesis!

Continue reading Meep Meep…by Brad Marks

Whatchu looking at?…by Brad Marks

Haunts in the home stretch, weather is annoying me more than the ridiculous tiny screws on purchased props, trying to get miles in on a tired body and my head has put out an APB in search of its favorite pillow. Welcome to “hauntlife”. Last thing you want me to do is try to put sentences together, so even though Brad is out on assignment, he’s going to bring you an adventure from the exotic, untamed and dangerous realm of .. wait, did he say “subdivision”!?! Must be the sleep deprivation. Take care everyone, you are assuredly in good hands for the next week or two.

Take it away Brad…

Intrigued HQ gave Jan and I this assignment during the Fall of 2023, just after Brian’s visit to Las Vegas (here).  We were just coming off a multi-day visit to Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, with probably well north of 10,000 images already in the tin.  Jan and I met Allyson in Las Vegas (isn’t that fun when your adult children choose to spend time with you, even if they have to pay for the airfare?) to spend time together and see a few shows.  With so many demands on our time in just a few days, we were unable to look for today’s subject. 

Fast forward to Spring 2024.  Because of a flat tire on our rental car the prior day (see A New Low link here), we had to compress our extensive birding assignments (thanks to the taskmasters at Intrigued HQ) into one less day.  On the day we found these little jewels, it really came down to either having a shower and getting cleaned up after nearly 10 hours outside in Las Vegas, or take a chance that we might find what we were looking for.  I’m very glad we rolled the dice in favor of the birds.

I plugged in the secret coordinates into the GPS app, and we started on the adventure to find today’s birds.  When the GPS app said, “You have arrived”, I thought for sure it had gone bonkers in the desert heat.  Jan and I found ourselves in the middle of a subdivision.  But the GPS app said we were there (and we all know they are never wrong) so I parked the car next to a long chain link fence.  The fence was surrounding what looked like an empty city block.  As I was prepping the cameras, a 40-something couple rode by on their bicycles.  All they said was, “There are two of them out right now,” and pointed to the other end of the chain link fence as they pedaled away.

Finishing up camera assembly (Jan’s first as always), I gently closed the hatch on the rental so I wouldn’t frighten the birds, if they were, in fact, still there.  Jan and I moseyed about a hundred yards along the length of the fence until we got to the far corner.  Not knowing how large our quarry was, neither of us really knew how far out to be looking.  Were these birds larger than the small scrub brush we were seeing?  Or were they the size of a can of your favorite soft drink (soda or pop depending on where you are from)?  Then I saw these two, sitting up proud as you please, not very far away.

Burrowing Owls by Brad Marks

Hit the jump to see what caught our attention on the other side of the fence.

Continue reading Whatchu looking at?…by Brad Marks

Stopped in Motion

We are finally back from Colorado!! Although it took a serious chunk out of my haunt time and helping Linda photograph the TDAA Petit Prix was a lot of work, it was good to spend some time out West enjoying the views and even got a couple of mountain trail runs in. Truth be told, those runs nearly killed me – can someone please turn the oxygen mixture up out there, you are making us sea level runners suffer ha. Brad and Jan are back out on assignment and starting tomorrow my pillow will be filing a missing person report. To give Brad a break, thought I would put out a quick post before taking the next couple of weeks off.

Been running a lot at night lately. A bit cooler to relieve some of the stress on the internal temp regulator after the “July incident” and it gives me a full day to work on the props and other items on the 262 step project plan. Every once in a while something will happen or catch my attention that stops me in my tracks. Those moments remain embedded in the synapse mesh never to be forgotten. In that category, all my major childhood injuries (ex. I was pretty sure I cut my leg off at the knee when I was like 8 – still have the massive scar today), recognition for a hard earned accomplishment (no participation trophies for this kid), getting to close to that afterlife spotlight (my running escapades are well documented) and several instances when something read or heard hit me right between the eyes. For example, Malcom’s Blink book finally put to bed all that Gallop BS of being defined at at age 5, Carol’s Mindset masterpiece explained everything I was seeing in the ranks of the corporate world, Steve’s masterpiece Do Hard Things summed up my thirst for more challenges, Michael’s The Comfort Crisis is hands down my favorite read of the year (if not the decade) giving me the perfect one word answer for anyone who inquires about my ultra addiction – Misogi. In the last two weeks I’ve had two occurrences where I stopped running to appreciate what I had just heard on my selected podcast for that trek – both courtesy of Mike Rowe’s The Way I Heard It. The first was Are We All Lab Rats (link here) and today’s agony distractor, Meet the Stoics (link here – not posted on youtube yet). Spitting truth as they say.

In light of those personal life stopping moments, going with a quick montage of our feathered friends suspended in time – more due to my camera than any words of wisdom permeating their body, although, I think tiny bird headphones is an untapped market! No theme beyond “in flight”, just some shots I pulled out of the queue I thought you might like to see. Let’s begin shall we…

Starting off our little series is a Bonaparte’s Gull.

Hit the jump to see more images honoring my latest stopped in my tracks moment.

Continue reading Stopped in Motion

Cha Cha Slide…by Brad Marks

Welcome to September everyone! By now everyone knows what I am up to all day and all night so no need to belabor that point beyond apologizing more for being out of pocket for a good portion of this month. The good news is Brad and Jan have made it back safely from their latest excursion with SD cards full of future Intrigued fodder. I suspect it will take them some time to parse and process all the finds from that recent adventure (they have a ways to go before closing in on my 3 year backlog level…ha), but he has several accounts from outings earlier in the year that we will be featuring this month. To start things off, let’s go with some field work we did together.

Take it away Brad…

It was time for the 2nd Annual Intrigued Corporate Warbler Watch and Walk in the Woods.  Actually, that sounds like a good thing to start officially, with a bit of rebranding:  Intrigued (or International) Warbler Watch & Walk in the Woods, or the IW4.  Intrigued HQ started it here first, go spread the word!  I think that might be a great T-shirt idea paired with our corporate logo.  We must get the Intrigued marketing department to work on that right away.  (XXL Tall in Tec for me please.) 

I met Brian at Intrigued HQ to start our day.  When I arrived at HQ, Brian had already been chasing a Tennessee Warbler around the estate.  Being new to this bird, I asked what color it was (guessing a shade of yellow) so I could look for motion.  Brian replied, “It’s olive-colored with some yellow on it.”  Great!  Just like every single leaf in the woods at that point.  We could certainly hear two of them communicating.  I think one was saying, “Watch this, I can get those guys to look over here.”  And the other would reply, “Good one, now it’s my turn.  Watch their heads snap around the other direction.”  After spending time being laughed at by the Tennessee Warbler (they can trash talk, must have learned it from Raven and Ruger), we decided to expand our warbler search to nearby Jubilee State Park grounds.  Luckily, the park is only a few minutes from HQ and makes for great “Work from Woods” days.

Brian led us down a new trail, well, new to Intrigued outings at least.  However, a new trail always has the risk of an unseen root reaching up to grab you.  A couple of hundred feet into the trail, even I could make out warbler calls throughout the woods without using Merlin, though it is good for a memory aid to have bird songs and calls recorded with the timestamp to help sort photos later.

After a brief hike and photographing warblers for about 90 minutes (do you know how spastic they can be?), we decided to head to a new spot to see what we could see.  Cresting a small hill, Brian noticed the trail back to the parking lot was mostly mud near the creek.  The whole area had just had inches of rain a few days prior.  What good are hiking boots if they aren’t muddy?  We continued. 

In the middle of the squishiest part of the trail, Brian said to stop and pointed to a small tree.  I followed his outstretched arm to find a small yellow dot flitting about the twigs in a tree. 

Prothonotary Warbler by Brad Marks

Hit the jump to find out what caught our attention!

Continue reading Cha Cha Slide…by Brad Marks