Close calls and a crazy day!

Whimbrel

I went to Napatree this morning hoping for but not expecting the American Avocet that was seen there yesterday but flew off. I wanted to bird as much as I could but had to be in Galilee for 1 pm for a whale watch with a bunch of friends.

As I'm hustling out to the point I look down in tall grass and I have the business end of a skunk less than two feet from my foot. It was aimed and ready to fire. I jump back and luckily it doesn't shoot.I can't overstate how close I was to this skunk. I could have rubbed its back with the sole of my shoe. I don't find the bird but saw a Whimbrel which is a nice bird and I got good pics.

I went out to Ninigret Pond from there. The tide was high and my son called. While I'm talking to him, I get a message the Avocet is now being seen! I'm stuck on a mudflat and it is at least a 30 minute drive. I paddle back to car and head that way anyway. I do the math and I figure out if I go for this really rare bird I will miss the whale watch. 

American Avocet is a really big beautiful shorebird that is really rare around here. I have seen them on the Outer Banks of North Carolina (I don't remember this, but I have it written down). I have also seen them at a lake surrounded by sage brush in Wyoming ( a very cool memory when my son was 14). So I guess they can show up anywhere. Still I know this bird is really rare and was willing to give up a social event on a whale watch to see it, though I knew I'd regret it. I find the bird and get back to my car with the help of a friend that saves me 15 minutes. .

Very cropped photo of American Avocet from across lagoon

I finally get back to Route 1 and check the directions to Francis Fleet on my phone I was 16.9 miles away and 23 minutes. This would have gotten me there at 1:04. I still needed to find a parking spot and buy a ticket. I give it the "old college try".

I fly down Route 1 knowing the only time I can make up is on the highway because Route 108 is all red lights. I'm going WAY past the speed limit. I round a bend and a cop is in the median facing me. I'm screwed. Luckily for me, he has his radar facing behind him. Phew!

I get off the highway and my ETA is still 1:02. I hit every single light GREEN on Route 108 and make it to the parking lot at 12:56. There was plenty of places to park and I got fairly close to the ticket booth. I put on dry sneakers, run to ticket booth with my binocular strap in my mouth and buy my ticket. I got on board before the boat took off!

All of the birders on the boat were hoping to see birds but no whales. If we didn't see any whales, we'd get a voucher for another trip. Unfortunately, things worked the other way. We saw plenty of whales but we did not see one single pelagic bird. The whales we saw were minkes and humpbacks. One humpback even breached. I was on the other side of the boat, but got to that side in time to see it still lying on top of the water with its big pectoral fin waving at us.  The only people on the boat that were disappointed in the outing were the 14 birders hoping to see pelagic species.

Many more pictures below