The art of Tufted Ducking.
I learned an important lesson in December of 2012. It was my third winter of chasing reports of a Tufted Duck hiding in the massive scaup flocks that linger in the Columbia River. I chased and dipped, chased and dipped, froze my fingers and melted my brain trying to sort scaup. Then one day I was walking the dogs at Broughton Beach and boom, the Tufted Duck was the closest bird to shore. That's when I understood, you do not chase the Tufted Duck. It chases you.
A Tufted Duck is cool, and so you must also be cool. When one was reported by a local birder last week in my 5MR I knew exactly what to do: be cool, don't chase, act nonchalant. Finally yesterday I felt the urge to bird Marine Park which is connected to the park where the duck was seen. I left my scope at home because I was not going to chase that duck.
When it's 23˚ outside you might think that sturgeon did not smell as much. No. It smelled a lot.
I walked west along the beach to the boat ramp where a co…
A Tufted Duck is cool, and so you must also be cool. When one was reported by a local birder last week in my 5MR I knew exactly what to do: be cool, don't chase, act nonchalant. Finally yesterday I felt the urge to bird Marine Park which is connected to the park where the duck was seen. I left my scope at home because I was not going to chase that duck.
When it's 23˚ outside you might think that sturgeon did not smell as much. No. It smelled a lot.
I walked west along the beach to the boat ramp where a co…
