Went down to West Lafayette this weekend. I figured that being closer to the equator we will pick up some new species. Things are heading north for their spring business so some interesting things should be out and about. No such luck. At Prophetstown State Park we both added red-winged blackbird and I added Carolina wren. At the Pokagon State Park nature center we added red-headed woodpecker. That gives us both 77.
The purpose of the trip was to visit family so we were not out beating the bushes too hard. Maybe a little more work would have added some species. Instead Molly and I played pool Saturday afternoon at a karoke and bubble tea place in West Lafayette. No, we did not sing. The world has enough problems as it is.
While not adding to our bottom lines, we did see some interesting things. There are some bald eagles hanging around Lafayette and West Lafayette along the Wabash River. Something that you would not have seen a few decades ago. Coming back we saw at least 30 red-tailed hawks along the highway. Most were in pairs. Pretty cool.
It’s difficult to not do some highway birding while driving. After all, we are trying to add to the count. I’m starting to question being allowed to count big year birds while zipping along at highway speeds. Going 70 mph, a car travels ~100 feet per second. It takes about a second to glance sideways and process that fleeting flash of brown. God that sucker was big. Was that a face pattern? Was there a rump patch? Anyway, that’s more than enough time to scrape a paint sample from another car or to kiss a guardrail. Taking yourself out during a big year is probably acceptable. A dying for the cause kind of thing. Birding martyrdom. Problem is, there are usually some innocent bystanders we need to worry about.
There are the ethical issues too. It’s amazing how easily a plastic Meijer’s shopping bag becomes a red-tailed hawk at 70+ miles per hour. How about that flash of black and white. Was that the hooded crane that was down in Goose Pond? An ABA Class 4 rarity. Only seen three times in North America. That had to be it. What else could it be?
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 