I love all the little Mexican cafes in Harlingen, unbelievably tasty food. I know, I know you're looking at that pile of meat in the photo and thinking, "Is she nuts?" Well, yes I am, but that is beside the point, the food in these places was abundant and cheap.

I'm sitting in Dallas waiting for my connecting flight home. When I left Harlingen it was 87 degrees and a quick check of Twin Cities weather says that a winter storm watch is underway. Whoo Hoo.

I'm am oh so itchy at the moment from chigger bites and mosquitoes. I don't know why I didn't think to bring insect repellent. I even had a couple of opportunities to purchase it during the festival and I kept getting distracted--too many lifers. Ah, well it's really not a good birding trip unless you leave with a souvenir like chiggers, rashes or a bot fly.

I've never kept a bird list before, but I think I'm going to start. I'm kind of afraid to do it, since I'll be traveling more with my Eagle Optics cohorts, I think I'll be okay. I was talking with Terry Moore from Leica, word on the street is that he's going for a 700 birds seen in North America goal. He only has ten birds left to get...no easy ones at that, we're talking about things like Mangrove cuckoos and he just doesn't want to hear the birds, he wants to see them. He told me that for years, he was like me, he didn't keep a list but had a vague idea. When people would ask, he would speculate 500. When he decided for 700 and sat down and started the count, he was only at 350. If he can start out like that, I can go ahead and count and not worry about how skimpy my list will be.

Doh, they are boarding my plane! Gotta go, but stay tuned, in the next day or two will be gossip, incriminating photos and Highlights of the Rio Grande Bird Festival.