flat out

Today’s plan was to search for Olive-sided Flycatcher up in Sawmill Canyon. I can get this one in New Hampshire but I’d like to get it out of the way here. I didn’t get five feet when I knew I had a flat tire. Well, if you’re going to get a flat, it might as well be in your own driveway. The hard part was figuring out the jack. It only had two pieces so I spent ten minutes searching for the missing pieces until I realized it was a two-piece jack. I haven’t changed a flat tire, that I can remember, since December 1999 in Playa Jaco, Costa Rica, pictured above. I am none too pleased with the photographer; she is having way more fun than me, but then that’s Costa Rica.

I got the spare on and went straight to the tire shop. I had many choices. “We got a Michelin SX 240R P29 Eagle LS”, the clerk boasted, “or a Cooper DB 27 P32 Wide 5G, or a Goodrich double T 27 3RX heavy….” Huh? My head spun. I shook it. “See”, I explained to the clerk, “when I go into an ice cream parlor, I know vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. But here….” A knowing smile creased his face. Many minutes later, I drove away with all new wheels, and I was tempted to lay some new rubber in their parking lot.

Mid-morning had already arrived so I scrapped the canyons for a small walk up Escapule Wash to look for Varied Bunting. I’ll have to give them another week to return.

Tomorrow is a big day, one of the biggest. I travel to a place whose very name sends shivers down the spine of the most intrepid birder. A land of fear, dread, and danger. Where few dare to pass. A land wild, untamed, half-civilized, and unpeopled. We may never be seen or heard from again. The borderlands, a land of bandits, rustlers, desperados, and smugglers – and that’s just the truck stop on I-19 where we meet. Yes, it’s time to embark on a journey the Big Year birder must make – you guessed it – gulp – California Gulch!

I’ve rounded up a seasoned support crew to accompany me and I’ve loaded up the truck with plentiful supplies and provisions – flour, salt, tobacco, whiskey. You may not hear from me for days. If it’s longer than that, worry.

Is it all worth it? Do we dare? Why go? Where else can I find two highly range-restricted species to add to the list – namely: Five-striped Sparrow and Buff-collared Nightjar. Birders travel far and wide to add these two choice specialties to life lists and Big Year tallies. And so, without any choice, lacking all reasonable alternatives, I too must go. Farewell to you I say, and wish me luck, treasure, and Godspeed.