Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Sept 22 (Day 265) - I give up...

Really fast entry since it's 11pm, and I need to get up again in 5 hours. Sonia and I spent 4 hours in Santa Venetia Marsh Preserve without hearing or seeing a thing tonight. There was no amount of taping or listening that would produce any sound or sight of a Black rail. Since we are already here, we are going to try again tomorrow morning. After this I may have to throw in the towel on this bird, which is very frustrating considering how much time I have put into it. There's always a shot in Yuma, AZ as I head back East in late Oct/early Nov. 

 I was able to add Nuttall's woodpecker (#555) along the road today! There was a second one in our campsite tonight at China Camp State Park near San Rafael. Also, a Western screech-owl serenaded us as we returned from our fail rail hunt. 

 I am still trying to sort out what to do about tomorrow. Several people have suggested trying the Palo Alto Baylands for the rail. I just don't know if I want to push more time into this bird. I have passed on chasing a continuing Cape May warbler at Point Reyes; I am sure as hell not going to find any nice surprises while searching for the rail. 

 Alright, time to hit the hay. Sonia wants me to ask you all to send out some good vibes. She is far more optimistic than me at this point. Let's hope she's right.

 Goodnight. 

 Map added a day late!
37 miles total
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2014 at 10:22 AM

    Did you get my e-mail & message I sent a few days ago about Keith Hansen & Bolinas Lagoon for Black rail. I'm a little pissed off you made no mention of it after I went to the trouble to look up the info for you. If you didn't get it and still want it e-mail me at peterduffy@comcast.net. I tried the P A baylands with no luck btw. Happy Trails - Pete

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    1. UnknownSeptember 23, 2014 at 10:34 AM

      Hey Pete, it's Sonia (Dorian's girlfriend). Dorian is out in the marsh right now so I thought I'd respond. I gave him a quick call to talk about your message and he wanted me to express an apology on his behalf for not getting back to you sooner. He will reply later today. I can tell you from personal experience that his days for the past week have been 16-17 hours of intense riding and birding; the little energy he has left at the end of the day is spent doing some logistics and updating the blog. Please do not take his lack of response as personal. He does read every email he gets and when he has a chance he tries to respond. Hopefully once/if he ticks this bird he will have a little more time to catch up on emails since he won't have to spend the nights wandering in a marsh. -Sonia

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