On this rainy, dreary day in central MN (may the sun be shining and birds flocking where you're at!), while studying for Sunday's sermon & classes, started thinking about "nemesis" birds - both those found after years of chasing, and those that remain.
By definition a nemesis bird must be achievable, in other words, it's not awaiting the arrival of a trogon or seedeater in Minnesota. For years my nemesis was the Harlequin Duck - reported with some regularity during my years of birding in Wisconsin - but never seen despite numerous winter trips to Lake Michigan. At times the bird was seen only minutes earlier; no matter, it was gone upon my arrival. I accepted a call to pastor a church in Princeton, MN, and relocated December 2003. One of the first reports that captured my attention that month was of a Harlequin Duck in Two Harbors, supposedly frequenting a bay. Two Harbors was just a Yahoo search and 2.5 hour drive away, so off I went on a Saturday morning. It took me a bit of time for this non-native to find the lighthouse bay; as I pulled up, a single duck was floating just off shore. Identified without bins or scope, seemingly without effort, the nemesis was no more - after eleven years. Of course, in true nemesis fashion, have seen others since without searching. The next nemesis? Long-tailed Duck - numerous sightings & flocks in Wisconsin, still missing from my Minnesota list. How about you? Found, or still searching, what's your story? Al Schirmacher Princeton, MN Mille Lacs & Sherburne Counties