Good Day - Despite Adversity

We finally had some decent weather yesterday. I was at the shore and planned a whole day of winter birding with Harvey. The day started with a big decision - what to do with Roxy. The issue is that Roxy has been a bit lame this week and cannot go out for the full day. We decided to leave her at the house and go to Stone Harbor Point first. Dogs are not allowed and this would shorten her day.

We were almost alone at the point. Only 2 other cars were in the parking lot. We met the first person soon enough - Richard Crossley, the field guide author was out and about.  The second person was out in the dunes wearing full camouflage carrying a huge camera. Soon enough, we were being yelled at for being too close to him. I guess he thinks that he deserves the beach to himself because he has a big camera.  He literally marched over and yelled at us for being on the beach "invading his space".  He wasn't joking. You know me - I didn't take that shit off of him. I gave it right back. Jerk. He flipped me the finger and stomped off the beach. We shook it off and went about our day.

This Ipswich Savannah Sparrow sat up on an old beach fence munching on a seed.

Ipswich Sparrow

He put on such a show that he eventually took a bow before disappearing into the dunes.

Ipswich Sparrow

We were pleased to see this Black-bellied Plover looking for breakfast between the frozen waves.

Black-bellied Plover

Alas, our joy didn't last. We had just about forgotten about the rude photographer when we came across this sad seen. We noticed her laying in the street along with another dead companion. Both Ruddy Ducks had bloody wounds on their breasts which look like shot gun wounds. Who would shoot 2 ducks and let them just lay in the street?  Sickos.

Ruddy Duck

We put them in the van and took them home. They are now in my freezer waiting to take their place at the Academy of Natural Sciences ornithology department. We picked Roxy up and decided to go to Cox Hall Creek for a walk and possible winter warblers.  No peace there either. Harvey was attacked by a wild rose bush and then threw his back out trying to escape the bushes.

Wound

And not to be outdone, I was bitten by a Dachshund!  The little fucker tried to attack Roxy and got me on the shin instead - through the jeans.  You can see the little teeth marks. Jeez.

Dog Bite

Roxy started limping about half way through the walk anyway. We had to take her home. One last try - let's go to the State Park and see what we can find there. This very accommodating Killdeer was poking around the grass.

Killdeer

This young Red-Shouldered Hawk perched on the Hawk Watch Platform - taking the name literally.

Red-shouldered Hawk

Harvey's back finally gave out on him so we called it quits. Besides, we didn't want to find out what else was in store for us. We were lucky to survive the day.