Reflections
Well it's been a month since we were in Minnesota, and I can't say that I really miss it. But that's not to say that I'm not happy with the trip. I'm so grateful to have experienced a place like that. It's just so different from what I'm accustomed to. Life up there is coping with the stresses of extreme cold (as were we). Diversity is just low. But some species are just so specialized, and it's impossible not to be impressed by their life histories.
It was also impossible not to be impressed by the people up there. The birding community was awesome! People were so willing to exchange numbers and provide updates, and we would have been a bit less satisfied without their contributions. I guess weather like that really bands people together.
And non-birders were extremely nice, even nicer than I think that people in the South are. I was given free items on two occasions for having to wait for a minuscule amount of time. In a Chick-fil-A, I waited maybe 4-5 minutes for my meal before a manager came by and gave me a free ice-cream card. We hadn't even said anything. Later, Subway workers gave me a free Gatorade for waiting a few minutes in line. We were really struck by this. We're used to waiting in lines for much longer without any compensation. That was really cool.
Something else we noticed about the state was the lack of litter. Driving down any road in Georgia, rural or urban, trash and debris fills your view of the roadside. Not in Minnesota. No, people have pride for their state and elect not to trash it. Driving along in the Superior National Forest was as pristine as could be.
In all honesty, I expected more from Sax-Zim Bog. It wasn't the natural treasure that I pictured. But I do have great respect for the folks that are protecting the land. They have a wonderful vision, and their land stewardship is admirable. The Sax-Zim Snow Buntings were a real turnaround for me. I was already exhausted coming into the trip, and I think I finally began to get adjusted to the change at this point. And Snow Buntings are just so cool; they were probably my favorite sighting of the trip.
35 total species is not much. And it was a lot of hard work. Kudos to Uncle Chris for organizing and carrying out this trip. It was a memorable one, and it'll stick with me. Thank you Minnesota!
End of trip tally:
35 species total
12 Lifers for me
8 Lifers for Jim
3 Lifers for Uncle Chris
It was also impossible not to be impressed by the people up there. The birding community was awesome! People were so willing to exchange numbers and provide updates, and we would have been a bit less satisfied without their contributions. I guess weather like that really bands people together.
And non-birders were extremely nice, even nicer than I think that people in the South are. I was given free items on two occasions for having to wait for a minuscule amount of time. In a Chick-fil-A, I waited maybe 4-5 minutes for my meal before a manager came by and gave me a free ice-cream card. We hadn't even said anything. Later, Subway workers gave me a free Gatorade for waiting a few minutes in line. We were really struck by this. We're used to waiting in lines for much longer without any compensation. That was really cool.
Something else we noticed about the state was the lack of litter. Driving down any road in Georgia, rural or urban, trash and debris fills your view of the roadside. Not in Minnesota. No, people have pride for their state and elect not to trash it. Driving along in the Superior National Forest was as pristine as could be.
In all honesty, I expected more from Sax-Zim Bog. It wasn't the natural treasure that I pictured. But I do have great respect for the folks that are protecting the land. They have a wonderful vision, and their land stewardship is admirable. The Sax-Zim Snow Buntings were a real turnaround for me. I was already exhausted coming into the trip, and I think I finally began to get adjusted to the change at this point. And Snow Buntings are just so cool; they were probably my favorite sighting of the trip.
35 total species is not much. And it was a lot of hard work. Kudos to Uncle Chris for organizing and carrying out this trip. It was a memorable one, and it'll stick with me. Thank you Minnesota!
End of trip tally:
35 species total
12 Lifers for me
8 Lifers for Jim
3 Lifers for Uncle Chris
Comments
Post a Comment