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Borrego Springs, CA

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Steel toes and awning woes

Today I chose to work the Wauboose Lake sector for the breeding bird atlas.  Most of the back roads I can access lead to lakes.  I took the rustic trail to Little Egg and Big Egg Lakes first.

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Most of the roads also traverse through deciduous forests to get to the lakes.  The woods were just bursting with bird song, so it took me several hours to go just a couple of miles.  I kept track of each singing species and ticked off each time I heard them in a different location.  Five different singing males of each species heard on one day constitutes moving them up from possible nesters to probable nesters.  I had at least 15 species that I verified as probable today.  One of those “probables” was the chestnut sided warbler.

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“Please, please, pleased to meet-cha” is what this bird sounds like if you have a good imagination.  I’m sure he’d be pleased to meet a gorgeous little lady friend.  Winking smile

IMG_3181Marsh marigolds are beginning to blossom in some of the wetland areas.  Even though it’s been wet and chilly, I guess spring is here… finally. IMG_3182

I think we finally made it up to 60* today, but I was still wearing a hooded sweatshirt and insulated jacket over that.  Cold weather doesn’t seem to bother the ticks, however, as they were out in full force.

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I kicked up a pair of adult bald eagles once again today at the same spot I saw them yesterday.  I’m thinking they may have a nest nearby, but I haven’t been able to find it yet.  However, I was able to confirm my first breeding species for this sector.  That’s a male tree swallow in the photo.  Can you see the old woodpecker’s nest whole in the bottom of the pic?  Well, Mrs. Tree Swallow was busy sitting on eggs inside.  Tree swallows readily use nest boxes because they are cavity nesters.  Not many nest boxes around here, so they chose a natural cavity that had already been made for them by a woodpecker at some time in the past.  No, I did not climb the tree to verify that mom was inside.  She just flew into the hole and stayed… an excellent indication that she’s setting on eggs.

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When I stopped for lunch along a lake shore, I heard several warbling vireos singing away.  This one actually sat still long enough up in the tree canopy for me to get a shot.  They’re a rather plain looking little bird, but what a set of lungs.  They sing almost non-stop.

Had an email message from Janice, the volunteer coordinator, this afternoon stating that I would be required to wear steel toed boots for doing my lawn mowing chores.  I don’t have any.  Best part of that email was that she suggested a store in Detroit Lakes, L & M Fleet (where I bought my fishing rod), to go to and pick out a pair of comfortable boots and put them on hold.  The refuge will go in on Monday to pay for them and pick them up.  I can live with that.  Looks like I have a mission for this weekend.

Then I got a phone call just before 5:00 this evening from Wold’s RV.  They were supposed to come out on Tuesday to fix my awning, but never showed.  I called them yesterday to complain that the least they could have done is call me about not coming so I wouldn’t have had to wait around all day.  Did the awning get fixed?  No.  The RV techs worked on it for a while, made some adjustments and are pretty stymied as to why it won’t work properly.  They will be calling Dometic to get suggestions as to what to do.

So it was a mixed bag of tricks today.  Some good news, some bad news.  It will all even out eventually.

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                                                                              THE END!!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

22 comments:

  1. Guess they want to be sure your toesies are not used to fertilize the grass. Good idea. Sure wish they could fix that awning for you.

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  2. That is great they will pay for your boots!
    Your bird pictures are awesome...especially the chestnut sided warbler with his beak wide open and just a singin'. The marsh marigolds are pretty too...nothing like a spot of yellow to put a smile on your face!

    Hugs to Emma!

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  3. Good idea on the boots...Mowing can take toes off real fast!! For some reason we have NO Wrens this year.

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  4. Love the Chestnut Sided Warbler. We sure have a couple of singers here in our RV park. One actually sounds like a Cockatiel that escaped. Any ideas?

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  5. Did you ever think you would be getting free steel toed shoes for your work anywhere! It has been a very very long time since I have had a pair on:)

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  6. Whay gorgeous photos ~ I just love listening to birds singing... Hope all turns out ok with your awning. They have some pretty cute steel toed shoes that look like hiking boots...
    Have fun & travel safe
    Donna

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  7. These boot are made for mowing!

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  8. Birding by ear. You've got my envy up again. I can recognize a few calls but I sure wish it was more. Excellent that the refuge requires steel toed boots and even more excellent that they will pay for them since they do. Can't wait to see you modeling them.

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  9. Sounds like the awning needs a good swift kick from a steel toed boot.

    I'm thinking you need to be some kind of contortionist to run your foot over with a riding lawn mower... ;c)

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  10. Good deal on the boots. I really would like to get some sort of very small camping trailer, but want a stripped down model only. I shudder every time someone mentions Dometic or Thetford, as I can't believe how many stories I've heard over the years about the lack of quality in those two brands, and the inability of the company to either fix what's wrong and not try to get out of warranties. The fridge in my 5th wheel was a real piece of junk. I hope you have better luck.

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  11. Hopefully, you won't have to put those steel toes to the test.:-)

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  12. Birding by sound is cool, it is good you can put your skills to good use.

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  13. Great pictures of the birds. Glad you have a duty you really have a passion for. Although I think you are going to love using that John Deere.

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  14. Mike is finished with his steel toe boots--I could pack them up and ship them to you but then there's the size issue, right! :)) Sounds as if that refuge is just the right spot for you!

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  15. I just knew steel toed boots in the title did not bode well. ..by hey. . .if they will pay for them, that's a pretty great deal. . .

    Envy you your birding task. . .I want to get much, much better at recognizing the bird songs. . .thinking the birding app on my phone will help!

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  16. I have little imagination, so I will believe you when you tell me what that little one is saying. Too cute.

    Thanks for letting me know that those flowers are called marsh marigolds. I have seen them several times and kept forgetting to ask at the Visitors Center their name.

    WOW...that is awesome that they are paying for your boots. I think it is a good idea you have a pair of them.

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  17. Sorry to hear the awning problem persists. Nice first day for the atlas project.

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  18. Wow! Judy, steel-toe shoes! You can kick some serious _ _ _.

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  19. What a great job this is for you. I love the picture of the warbling Vireos singing away.

    Safety frist with this job and you don't have to pay!

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  20. Your bird photos are amazing. Thank you for sharing them.

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  21. Loved the photos today. I am amazed at how you can distinguish the different songs so well. This lifestyle has made us pay a lot more attention to the birds but we are still such novices.

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