The past few days have been quite exciting planning and packing for a two month long bike trip. I think I have everything I need now. I'll be leaving in just an hour or two.
Yesterday, however, when I was just about finished packing, I thought I'd go out on a test ride with all my gear piled on. As I grabbed my bike, I didn't realize I had placed my binoculars on top of the ride. These beautiful ZEN-RAY ED3 8x43 binos fell straight to the ground. BROKEN!!! Out of alignment and broken glass. Yikes. A terrible catastrophe the day before leaving.
So now I'm left with my old trusty, but crusty Pentax pair. They get out of alignment all the time, but one only needs to scroll the focus back and forth to get them to work again. Hopefully, they will survive the next couple of months and perform how I need them too. Otherwise, I'll be stalking bird with the naked eye and probably not seeing anything new.
Well, I'm sure they will do fine.
So I change the route slightly. Tonight, I'll head to Palo Alto and stay with my friend Heidi. Sunol the next day to stay with another friend, Tanya, who just started a farm out there. From there, the birding really begins with a ride up Mines Road and Del Puerto Canyon. It's a hotspot for sure. I'm hoping for a lot of great birds like Roadrunners, Rufous-Crowned Sparrow, Lawrence's Goldfinch, Blue Grosbeak, Yellow-breasted Chat, and who knows what else. A few hummingbirds would be nice too.
After that, I'll charge up through the Central Valley. Not really too many birding plans there, but who know. I'm sure a Swainson's Hawk will turn up somewhere over there.
Well, I've got butterflies now. Did I pack everything??? Probably forgot something, but it sure will feel good to get out on the road.
More soon I hope... Adios Pescadero!!!
Red Start! I will be in Mammoth July 1st to the 6th! If you are there during that time, we can provide you with food and beer and hilarity. Just shoot me an email and we can chat.
ReplyDeleteMAY THE BIRDS BE WITH YOU. Or just near you.
talk soon,
avena
Hi Mark. I manage the blog for Golden Gate Audubon and would be interested in interviewing you for a post. Probably an email interview would be easiest since you're on the road?
ReplyDeletePlease email me if you're interested. If you have photos of yourself and what you're seeing, that would be great to run too.
Thanks -- and good birding --
Ilana DeBare
idebare@goldengateaudubon.org