I dedicate this entry to Non Birding Bill who claims I'm not interested in a bird unless it's brown.
I'm so excited by all the cinnamon teal out here--they are everywhere. We just don't get that many in Minnesota and they are one of the prettiest ducks on the planet. When they take off, they have a gorgeous patch of sky blue on the wings.
Hey, check out this cloud of midges:
Actually, that was smoke from a distant controlled burn going on near the refuge. This was my view for most of the day today. It's was perfect for customers to test out binoculars and spotting scopes, the flames from the fire were particularly exciting.
Western meadowlarks can be heard throughout the day. I love the calls of both the eastern and the the western meadowlarks, but out here the western call just suits the area. The town is so quiet (you can hardly hear traffic) so in the afternoon all you hear is that call and it sounds so solitary, combine that with the mountains and it makes for a beautiful setting. I also really enjoy the calls of the red-winged blackbirds out west. It's not the konk-kor-reeeee that you hear in the east. In the west it's a konkor-reeeeeee-o. The first time I heard it was along the Snake River in Idaho, gives me chills just thinking of that sound echoing up the canyon walls. Western birds are some of the best singers.
This bird kind of threw me for a loop. We can see them in Minnesota, but it's usually a bird I hear more than see. It looks like a sparrow, but the bill looks like a thrush. Any idea what it is? It's an American pipit--cute and brown.
Man o man, the day is catching up to me and I am tired. This entry is starting to lose cohesion. I started work this morning at 7:30am at the booth and didn't close down until 5:30pm. I have the same schedule tomorrow. I need to not think about diopters for awhile.
I had dinner with the coolest people tonight. Turns out one of them was a rocket scientist (and award winning at that). I have never met a rocket scientist before, but he was pretty darn cool--and I thought I had an exciting job.
So, I leave you with a view of the Brigham City mountains at sunset.
Well, NBB, if the birds aren't colorful, the landscape sure is.