A Life With Birds

                         Burrowing Owls

As this new year begins, so does that universal hope that things will change across the globe. 

Most of my adventures last year were cancelled due to the pandemic.  Yet for this year, I remain hopeful.  There still will be numerous challenges, but many birders are making plans for their spring and summer travels. 

The US remains a hotspot for covid.  Arizona has once again become the hotspot in the world for covid cases.  I zoom from my classroom.  I hope we'll be back for eventual hybrid learning again.  And also for our trek to southern Texas in February.  

I noticed that the rare wintering Garganey had returned to the Salton Sea in southern California.  So Gordon and I planned to kick start the year with a lifer.  Plus, we needed this trek to be reminded what it was like to explore again.  It has been difficult for everyone.  For the first time in my life, I have not flown anywhere in over a year. I had had it with QAnon and Trump supporters.  With covid restrictions in place, a riot at our nation's capitol by idiots and my frustration from being cut off from what I do, I snapped.  Enough was enough. 

We got in my vehicle, the USS Betty White, and drove to one of the most unusual places in the US, a forgotten resort town left to rot in the middle of the desert.  The Salton Sea is a fascinating area both environmentally and culturally speaking.  It had been several years since my last visit.  And it was Gordon's first visit.  We drove to Indio from Phoenix and stayed the night.  Early the next day, we got up before the sunrise to begin our difficult challenge. 

                       Brown Pelican

This rare eurasian duck was not going to be easy to find, especially among hundreds of similarly looking Blue-winged Teal.  We arrived at the visitor center which was a first for both of us.  It is here people can still get close to the water's edge. Over the years, the Salton Sea has lost much of its water mass due to agricultural demands and the increasing urban sprawl of southern California.  Where was this gray duck hiding?

At the visitor's center, there is a freshwater lagoon where a lot of waterfowl like to hang out. Would our bird be there?  It had been reported off and on for several weeks.  If I had been a new birder, this challenge would have been super difficult.  We were looking for a VERY plain female among several hundred teal.  But we held hope.  The bird was there.  We just had to be patient. 

The moon rose up over the snow covered mountains.  It was a beautiful site even if there were several outdoor bathrooms blocking some of the view.  The Salton Sea is a mix of decay and dust, inhabited by some of the most colorful human characters.  It was once an oasis; now forgotten except by only a few.    

We found our Garganey.  I found my spirit again.  And from the ashes, I felt reborn like the Phoenix.  This bird will always be linked to the end of this sad covid time. 

Garganey

For years, I wrote for my blog LAS AVENTURAS.  which was about the adventures of a Spanish speaking teacher searching for new birds. During covid, I discovered that it wasn't always about finding new birds.  In fact, I found myself comforted and surrounded by my regular feeder birds during our time in quarantine.  For the first time in over 20 years, I did not fly. I stayed home to create my own nature lodge in our little world. And it still continues.

Time is fleeting.  In fact, it is too late now to see my friend Sydney again.  Kathie and I both were going to visit her in October last year but the pandemic continued on.  She passed away in December. Our story is not done.  There is a pilgrimage that I will make.  It is what she would have wanted me to do.  

Over the years, I discovered that I can write about bird facts like everyone else, but it's our personal stories with them that matter the most. I received my first dose of the vaccine.  And I see somewhat of a future again.  As I re-emerge, I am not the same person.  How could any of us be?  The Garganey allowed me to breathe again.  When I saw that bird, a lot of the pent up emotions that I didn't know I had inside, resurfaced. No more bullshit. It feels like a new chapter of my life.