Fellow Birders;
Greetings one and all; I'm back in NYC (from Panama) for an extended period
(not for the best of reasons, more later in this post), and ventured to JBWR
for the first time in several years. Apparently, somewhere along the way this
now professional neotropical birding guide forgot a few basic rules about
birding in muddy boreal waters and shorelines. (In Panama one doesn't even
think of wading in mud-- too many bad things lurk in such habitat.) First off,
I didn't work hard enough to connect the favored term for the key landmark,
"Dead Man's Cove", to the "Mud Cove" on the map.. My fault, nobody else's, but
I am glad to see some more specific notes appearing today on this Listserve.
Second, I did not wait for other birders, or sightings of them down one
shoreline or another, before venturing out. I also did not truly consider the
mornings rain as a factor. So I headed for the east side of the East Pond--
wrong, wrong, wrong! I made it out a ways just fine, managed!
a 'scope view of the original Ruff (the angle I'd chosen was favorable for
this), but then decided to head back. I lost my tracks, and eventually found
myself inexorably trapped in waist-high and thick mud-- it really only took a
bad step or two, and I am indeed out of practice. I knew enough to sit tight,
and concentrated on protecting gear as best as possible, saving my strength-- I
could touch solid ground and was in no real danger at any time. Within 10
monutes or so, Seth Ausubel and a companion passed on the west side of the pond
(the drier, correct side), spotted me, and went for help (thank you Seth and
friend!). A bit later I had a couple of rangers and a Swat guy working with
me, and we managed to wingle my legs into an upright and clear position, and I
was shortly safely in the reeds. We even managed to grab every last bit of
gear! Police found my father waiting in the parking lot and brought him to me,
and they tossed me in the back of a pickup to go back!
to the Visitors' Center for clean-up, chagrined but still laughing at my
stupidity!
As I was hosing down myself and my gear, several eminent birders passed by,
including Seth, Andrew Baksh, and Tom Burke. How embarassing to finally meet
Tom after many years of communicating via e-mail only, under such
circumstances! All of the birders pledged to keep my incident a secret, but I
am the season for many cautionary notes tonight, and I 'fess up in hopes that
my errors in judgement will spare others a similar experience. And really, who
among us has not done something foolish in the pursuit of our beloved birds!
While Tom was graciously helping me hose off, he commented that I seemed in
remarkable good humor considering the situation; so I told him that it paled in
comparison to the matter that brought me back to NYC (for such an extended
stay) in the first place. I am battling what will eventually be terminal brain
cancer ( and I am fighting quite well thus far, thank you), and I am relishing
every moment of every day, even the challenging days are met with a life-loving
smile. This brings me to my final topic...
If the listowners will indulge me (and I will do my best to stay within the
rules).... as part of organizing the rest of my life, I am ridding myself of
many things that are highly unlikely to be put to use again. My neotropical
birding library is in Panama, but I still have a solid collection here of US
bird-related publications (and many audio cd's), and much in the way of general
reference and world guides. I am feeling about for sales of some of the
high-ticket items, but basically I am looking to give away the bulk of the
collection, happy to see good books go to good use. I am preparing a simple
list, so if you've got a trip planned and need some literature, I may have it,
free of charge! Please contact me off-list ( kenalla...@earthlink.net ) if you
are interested; I am located in Flushing, have plenty of time to receive
prowsers, and am not averse to a birding/handoff excursion (dry land please) as
time allows. I hope the colection can go to good use-- I hat!
e to see things go to waste, but I do need to nip away at the pile of worldly
goods I've accumulated over the years!
I will also remind you that I am a professional birding tour planner and
guide based in Panama; I have obviously had to pass the guiding tasks on to
colleagues, but I am still managing several ambtious tours from here. This is
not a sales pitch-- any number of birders can tell you that I give away tour
advice quite freely, especially to NY birders-- a couple have even happened
across me in Panama, and been gifted with free life birds! Consider me a
resource; if anything, my committment to developing Panama's avitourism,
without thought of personal gain, is higher than ever!
Thank you for this indulgence; I am grateful to have a bit of time back in
this grand NY birding community, which was very formative in the years leading
up to my dream life in Panama. I hope to see many of you in the field in the
coming montths, and hope some of you will visit to claim some free stuff! Take
care, happy birding to all!
Saludos.
Ken Allaire
El Valle de Anton, Panama
www.panamagateway.com
www.canopyreport.com
skypename: kenallaire
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