Published: January 25, 2008 01:03 pm      

Tales of Times Enthralled

I enjoy planning birding trips. It’s fun to think about the places, people and good food one might encounter, not to mention the lovely birds.

Many trips actually exceed my greatest expectations — Africa was amazing, Uruguay was special and Costa Rica was so nice we had to go there twice. In fact, I’ve never been disappointed in a trip.

Jim McMeans of Wimberley honored me with a poem he wrote which alludes to trips I have planned. It goes like this:



Birding Poem

With birding guide and sturdy boot,

With well-trained ear, we hear the hoot.

And off we go to find our prize,

The bright, the swift, the small of size.

Through squinted eyes and tinted lens,

The beauty of our winged friends,

We trek to distant shores to see,

A bird that will our lifer be.

But yet to eat and drink our fill,

At some exotic place beyond yon hill,

Is sure to be our destiny.

Together in his company,

We follow Jerry to the Hall,

And share our tales of times enthralled.



I think that’s a great poem, but I’m biased, of course.

By the way, short trips I am currently planning for this spring include Port Aransas, Palmetto State Park, the Rio Grande Valley and South Llano State Park. On the agenda for the Valley trip is the new Estero Llano Grande State Park, with 176 acres and 226 species including white-tailed kite and red-crowned parrot.

As for longer trips, I’m looking forward to Nicaragua in March and St. Simons Island, Georgia, in October. (The Georgia trip is full up, but we have two spots left for Nicaragua — call me at 512 847-3730 if you’d like to go.)

Soon it will be time to line up long trips for 2009. I’m looking at Iceland, Bermuda, Reno-Lake Tahoe, Mexico and Italy.

The Italian trip is called “Gourmet Birds,” which sounds like we’ll be eating birds, but actually refers to the gourmet meals which are included on the trip. We’ll take a half-day tour of Rome and enjoy wine and pecorino tasting while looking for birds throughout Tuscany. I believe pecorino is some type of cheese.

Food, to me, is a big part of a successful journey. On past trips, I was delighted by the steaks in Uruguay, the fresh pineapple in Costa Rica, and the sea bass in Panama. And don’t get me started on all the great wines and beers -- the pisco sours in Peru were outstanding.

I can’t imagine many things more fun than searching out interesting birds in interesting places. I’ll keep you apprised as plans develop, and as Jim says in his poem, I’ll certainly share with you “tales of times enthralled.”

Stay tuned.