Under the Covid Crescent Moon

Year 9

Strange topic for a post? Yes, absolutely. However … very much appropriate.

While out in Seattle over Thanksgiving to visit my youngest son and daughter-in-law, I obviously picked up my first ever Covid-19 infection. Although I am fully boosted, and wore a mask while on both plane rides, ultimately it did not make a difference.

Today I am willing to be out of bed, and thus I am working upon adding two more required pages to my book, Snowy’s Search for Color. I have narrowed down my ideas and images. I will start with this photograph. The good news is the edits will bring “Snowy’s Search for Color” back for its third printing (out of print right now)! As always you will be able to download a PDF of this book w/o charge when it is republished.

Three winters ago I took took this photo when the “stars aligned” (or the moon and the Snowy Owl). The owl was out in the open catching the faint red light leftover from the sunset, but also aligned with the crescent moon.

Posts may be infrequent as my strength comes and goes, but my doctor says if I am feeling good … birding is okay. I just have to keep to myself, which is not a too difficult requirement in the Northland.

Grays Harbor Shorebirds

Year 9

When the tide goes out and reveals tidal mud flats in Grays Harbor near Westport, Washington, shorebirds appear. My best birding spot was actually at Brady’s Oysters! This establishment which has a small restaurant, a seafood grocery store, and their own fishing / crabbing / oyster fishing service was the place! During non business hours shortly after sunrise I asked and received cheery permission  to walk their boat launch (crushed oyster shells provided a firm walkway out on to the tidal flats). I then positioned myself and just waited for some of the thousands of shorebirds to walk over to where I was standing, which they did!

Willet

Black-Bellied Plover and Black Turnstone

Great Yellowlegs

Western Gulls (juveniles are brown)

Dunlins

Black Turnstones

Later in the afternoon I discovered a huge flock of Marbled Godwits (thousands of birds) at the Westport Harbor. I was surprised to make a good bird ID, as I had only seen Marbled Godwits twice in my life.

Marbled Godwits

It’s now time to fly home … and enjoy a snowstorm!

A Different Kind of Flight Problem: Delta Airlines

Background

Sorry to my loyal readers … this is not about birds. Feel free to ignore, but I am trying to make Delta Airlines take notice.

Delta: You may wish to review my Facebook post about poor service from your airline. My post only uses polite language. The basic situation is your airline bumped my wife and me off our already ticketed and reserved Comfort+ seats and flight to a significantly longer routing which includes plane changes. I took action two days ago within a couple of hours of receiving new email confirmations for the flight changes I did not request. After one hour on the phone with your representatives, one passenger service agent explained to me that my original flight from Honolulu to Minneapolis due to an equipment change no longer had Comfort+ service. I believed her (shame on me), but discovered while checking your website yesterday my original flight not only still exists, but has Comfort+ service. Not surprisingly I am annoyed. It appears you may have oversold this flight, and involuntary bumped my wife and me … which is illegal. I would like our original seats back on our original flight. For the moment I have not yet issued a formal complaint with documentation to the Federal Department of Transportation.