Sallying, as defined in The Warbler Guide by T. Stephenson and S. Whittle (an awesome field guide), “feeding method in which a warbler flies from perch to catch prey then flies to the same or nearby perch”. This is very similar to what Chuck and I have been doing for the past 12 days. Chuck experienced a colossal failure of several teeth, including having his bridge break off both of its supporting teeth at the gum line. We returned home from our “shake down” tour early to deal with the various dentist/endodontic appointments… as well as the pain. So, we have had to fly from our home perch, catch a few birds nearby when possible, and then fly back to our home perch. The disappointment of not being well on our way to Texas is acute and worsening as we ‘hurry up and wait’.
“You cannot be lonely if you like the person you’re alone with”- Wayne Dyer. I am pretty sure that this was meant for a person truly alone and referred to the need to like oneself, but being on the road for days on end with only a spouse could get pretty miserable if you didn’t like your spouse; we still enjoy each other’s company! We do recognize that it is critical to take a few truly alone minutes every day. I find my 15 minutes in the campsite comfort station (shower/restrooms) restorative. The evening Chuck was in the men’s shower on the other side of my shower wall, and I could still hear his humming… not restorative (those of you who have worked with Chuck in the field, heard his constant humming, realize that hearing him even in your shower is toooo much)!
The BirdsEye App is brilliant! Prior to beginning our adventure I stated that this easy to use cell phone app would be an important part of our Big Year Our Way 2015 “business plan”. I was not understating the issue. For birders (especially novices) it is wonderful to ‘Browse Birds’ reported (to eBird) in a specific area, but even more wonderful is the ability to weed out birds we already reported to eBird this year- leaving a personalized ‘Needs’ list for that area. We regularly check areas we are considering, to review what is reporting on our Needs list, which helps us decide where to go. Another great app, BirdLog, provides a simple interface for uploading the list of birds seen in a specific area to eBird. BirdLog allows us to more easily meet another of our goals, reporting the birds seen on (most of) our birding trips, to eBird. The more that we all do this, the better the data available for all!
We can live with EVEN LESS. Things we thought we just had to have with us have been weeded out (salad spinner – really?), and items that we threw into the mix as last minute ideas turned out to be brilliant (rice cooker- check on line for all the healthy one dish recipes that can be made with this appliance). And did we really need enough food to placate a Great Depression survivor? There are grocery stores everywhere we have been!
The limitation of requiring that we both identify a bird before adding it to our list has been good. We would certainly have a higher number of species on our list without this limitation but it has forced improvement in our individual skills, helped us learn to work better as a team, and served as a double check on identifications. So far, Chuck hasn’t gotten too frustrated at the ones that I have missed or the ONE that he missed. We have also increased the number of birds we can quickly identify, which is making finding the new ones easier.
Our Equipment and Software Skills are improving. Chuck is refining digi-scoping techniques and learning additional features of his new cameras, with his picture quality progressing noticeably. I have figured out better ways to upload pictures, data, and blog posts to our website.
We have learned that we are much more comfortable at State Park sites vs. RV Parks, and that State of Florida Parks are superior to those found in NC, SC, and Georgia.
We can stay on a healthy eating plan (JJ VIRGIN diet- without corn, dairy, gluten, soy, eggs, peanuts, and sugar (for Carrie anyway). We only put healthy food in the van (damn, only healthy food to eat). We have refined a rotating 2-week food plan to end the “what’s for dinner” time and space wasting anxiety. And as I mentioned previously, the RICE COOKER works wonderfully- yes, no gluten! We already feel better…but still crave chocolate!
Our informal goal of 200 species prior to heading West has not been met, but with dental delays keeping us in state, who knows?