Giving Thanks. For Life & Beauty
- Paul & Claire
- Dec 5, 2018
- 2 min read
After long journeys to the east coast we finally spent some time with friends and family in South Florida. We enjoyed a traditional thanksgiving filled with delicious turkey, ham, the impossible squash, the casseroles, the yams, and of course the pièce de résistance - the gravy. This may come as no surprise but I'm quite certain that I'm fired from gravy duty.
Nonetheless, it was a blessing to formulate, feast, and ferment. Thanksgiving traditions are always eagerly anticipated and these help cement the day as my favorite holiday. It reminds me to be a better communicator, to work together in the kitchen, to release the taxing pursuit of our own routines and expectations, and to simply share a meal with those you love.
And of course we did some birding. November birding in Florida is salve for the Boreal soul. Shorebirds, waders, warblers, and ducks all happily feeding. I'll share just a few highlights.
Perhaps because a member species is the iconic bird of the north or perhaps its because of their inquisitive nature and complex social structures, I'm not sure, but we both love corvids. So much so, that we chased down this endangered member of the family, the Florida Scrub Jay. This is the only bird species known to be endemic to Florida (only occurs here).
After watching the pair interact for 15 minutes, we added the bird to our 2018 big year list and I noticed it was our 300th U.S. bird species of the year! (We finished the trip at 315)
The spontaneity that is birding surprised us with two other endangered species. We had the fortune of starting one 6am birding adventure feet away from a Snail Kite eating its breakfast (apple snail) in the fog. On another we watched a petite Piping Plover roam the beach before the world woke. It's impossible to pick a favorite (okay, we sometimes have favorites), but other notable highlights included Magnificent Frigatebird, Northern Gannet, and the Grasshopper Sparrow below. You can see more photos from our trip on the photo blog entry.
Comentarios