Jim Says Goodbye

I’d hoped to take Jim up to Mt. Rainier before he had to return to Vermont, but, like most of this year so far, the weather refused to cooperate, so he had to settle for a glimpse of the mountain on our way to Nisqually Wildlife Refuge.

Since I’d already taken him to Belfair, and because the weather was too questionable to justify a long drive, I took him to La Fuentes by Nisqually and bought him his first-ever Torta. Any day I can eat a barbecued pork torta with cilantro and avocado is a good day for me. (You do know I walk and exercise as much as I do so I can eat what I want and still not get too overweight, right?)

It was relatively quiet at Nisqually, but we did see three different Wood Ducks with chicks. This was my favorite shot:

Wood Duck with Ducklings

You think mom was asleep or keeping an eye on visitors?

As many Cinnamon Teal as I’ve seen this year,

pair of Cinnamon Teal

I wonder why they were so rare the previous four years I was birding.

Once again, Jim spotted a bird I would have missed entirely if he hadn’t been there, this Band-Tailed Pigeon,

Band-Tailed Pigeon

a bird I don’t think I’ve seen since Nisqually tore out the five-mile loop.

This was Jim and my last chance to do something together as he left for the airport early the next day. I did manage to get him there on time despite a traffic jam and an 8-mile backup on the freeway. He said he hoped there wouldn’t be thunderstorms in Newark on his return flight home. Strangely enough, WE had thunderstorms right after he left, a rare spring event here on the Pacific Coast. Somehow it seemed appropriate.

2 thoughts on “Jim Says Goodbye”

  1. Glad you had a good reunion and visit with Jim – enjoyed reading about your high school days.

    I agree with your assessment that when we come out of high school and college we really do know very little; only theories, no practical experience!

    As always, beautiful pictures. I hope now that I will have more time to really go birding up at our cabin that I will at least be able to see all the birds I hear. This past weekend I heard the Scarlet Tanager, the Rosebreasted Grosbeak, the Wood Thrush, the Phoebe, the PeeWee and the Ovenbird. But I didn’t see any of them. Seeing them will be my first goal – then perhaps being able to take pictures of them – a very long term one!

  2. I never quite know what comes first, seeing or photographing, mauigirl.

    More often than not I use my photographs to identify what I’ve seen. But as I’ve noted a few times, having someone along who’s not caught up in photographing often leads to seeing more birds.

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