I Got Skunked On My Birding Walk
Taking pictures of wildlife, birds in particular, is kind of like fishing …
You might spend hours out at your favorite little pond with barely a nibble, then “bam!” you hook a trophy fish just as you’re getting ready pack up and go home.
This morning was not like that for me.
After editing, I have exactly one bird picture that was worth keeping.
But don’t cry for me …
I was out in nature for about 2 1/2 hours right after sunrise.
And of course there were things other than birds to photograph … mostly things that were mocking me for my lack of birds. Like this guy:
Near the end of my walk, I thought, 'Oh, look, a chubby little bumblebee!' (Its mimic worked perfectly). Nope. It was actually a western bee killer, which is a type of robber fly.
It turns out I wasn't photographing a gentle pollinator; I was taking pictures of a tiny, winged horror movie villain.
So remember how I told you that I only got one good bird picture?
Well, prepare to play the world's smallest violin for me, because this is how spoiled I am:
Rough life, right? Truly a devastatingly 'bad' day when your consolation prize looks like a flying emerald. 🙃
Oh yea, one last thing, the post title …
I really did run into a skunk.
Thankfully, no tomato juice bath will be needed. 😎
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Thank you for such an informative article. I never heard of a robber fly before and will be on the lookout to protect my bees as much as possible.
I loved the pic of the hummingbird.
Today one neighbor was walking his dog later than usual; I asked why. Because on earlier walks, they've run into 2 coyotes and a skunk in the past week. We live near a riverbed. I don't think I've ever seen a skunk in my yard but have seen a couple of coyotes in the past ten years. We live 13 mi S.E. of downtown Los Angeles. I still find it amazing. I guess there is less uncultivated land for them as the population grows.