It was quite a journey to accidently run across my second lifer of the summer. Last night we left Seattle on the overnight Delta flight for Boston. Turbulence, a lack of overhead luggage space forcing me to place my backpack under the seat ahead of me which left no leg room, and the usual discomforts with trying to sleep upright in my seat on a plane limited my ability to get enough sleep to first drive to my Mother's house to meet for lunch and then another 3 hours of driving to get to the final destination for the night in New Hampshire.
Despite being sleep deprived, I was eager to grab whatever birds that might cross my path. In the Campus Plaza parking lot on my way to grab lunch a Pappa Ginos for the family that I saw what looked like a crow but the call was unfamiliar. At that point, I knew it was a Fish Crow. This is a bird I had hoped for on a previous trip to Rhode Island only to come up empty. I was so excited for this surprise that any weariness I felt got pushed off until later.
Although, I was excited for the bird I felt a little sad for this homecoming. Bridgewater was no longer the place I remembered. It was a city now in the same way that Brocton was when I was in high school. In Papa Ginos, a location I actually worked at in my teams for several weeks for a summer job, now required a key for the bathroom. On the previous day, a stolen car was left in my Mother's driveway. It really is a different place now and one that if it were not for my Mother still living in the area that I would never return to see.
Of course, I have long since redefined the Pacific Northwest as my home. I should also acknowledge I am not really seeking out anything changes with might be considered an improvement. I mean although I found no birds initially in my Mother's yard which was suprising how wooded it was it turned out I just need to be a bit more patient. An hour after my initial walk around the yard, I spotted a Gray Catbird, a Chimney Swift, and Blue Jays.
I can't live in what Bridgewater or I used to be, not that I really want to, but maybe upon reflection I can appreciate where we both are now with the identification of that Fish Crow, and knowing there are plenty of other life birds I could identify in the area. I just need to stay open and patient and keep paying attention.
Now only 98 to go on my goal to see 100 life birds this summer.
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