Why Do I Like This Hobby, Again?

Sometimes, leaving work a couple of hours early to go walking on a sunny Friday afternoon is the only choice you can make, especially when Saturday is supposed to be non-stop rainy.

At least, this is what I told myself yesterday as I set out to do just that. I decided that I needed to check out Luther Marsh, which was about an hour's drive away, since the eBird checklists coming out of there this past week were impressive. Lots of shorebirds, so, potentially frustrating, but I was feeling up to the challenge and my scope was getting dusty from lack of use.

I made the drive. I pulled off on the roadside, got out of the car, geared up. Started up the trail. In short order I realized several things:

1. The sunshine wasn't going to last. In fact, it got fairly cloudy fairly quickly, and I hadn't brought my regular glasses, only my sunglasses.
2. In fact, I hadn't brought a lot of things, I was fairly unprepared for this walk, because it was turning out to be a lot longer than I thought it was going to be from looking at the map.
3. The walk was turning out to be a lot longer than I had thought it would be, and I was carrying my scope. Which is not that heavy, objectively speaking, but certainly starts to feel that way after any kind of distance.
4. I was carrying my scope, which means I was unable to also carry my shiny new insect net, which was a real shame since the trail was literally buzzing with dragonflies.

So there I was, carrying that wretchedly heavy scope, thirsty and a little footsore, and frustrated over the lost opportunity to practice my dragonfly ID, when I finally got to the lookout I was aiming for. Finally, I thought to myself. Finally, I will see some shorebirds and justify this entire experience.

I looked. And while the marsh was, indeed, very pretty and full of egrets and cormorants and swans and such, there was not a single shorebird in sight. None of the mudflats or shallow weedy areas I was expecting to see. I had carried that wretched bloody scope all that way and given up on an excellent chance to catch some dragonflies, for not much of anything. And I simply did not have the time to walk further up the trail to find a better spot, not if I wanted to get all the way back to my car in any kind of decent time.

Crap.

Well, I thought to myself, I was already there, I'd come all that way with the wretched scope slung over my shoulder, I might as well take a scan around anyway. The egrets are pretty, I'll spend some time studying those. Mute Swans, cool, I can see the orange beaks on those with the scope. Pied-billed Grebes, okay, I thought that's what those were with that head shape. Osprey, sweet, harassing a Bald Ea--

Wait. Two Bald Eagles. Wait, no, four Bald Eagles, three adults and one subadult. Mostly standing there chilling but also flying in occasional short hops when the Osprey got a little too close. Those are some big freaking birds, yo. The adults were unmistakeable with that colour pattern,  even just through binoculars, but they were all distant enough that it was only with the scope that I got any kind of decent look at the subadult. So I guess it was worth lugging the wretched thing around after all.

Even my super zoom couldn't get a decent shot, at that range.

So, lesson learned, find a different parking location if I want to go back and scope the wetlands again, and definitely swap the scope for the net if I go on the southern part of the trail. I wish Luther Marsh was closer, I'd definitely make more of a habit of visiting if it were, because it is lovely and despite my gear misfires I still found some things to look at.

At least the Autumn Meadowhawks were willing to pose
 for me, even if all their cousins weren't.

My second-ever Common Buckeye, sunning on the trail.

And finally, Monarchs are always fun, especially when they
finally sit still and let you take their picture.