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One Big Year nemesis obtained! Canyon Wren!

9 August 2021

I had a friend in town looking to get some year birds, so I got some intel on a couple targets. This involved DRIVING for birds. Weird. But I note it is way easier to drive for birding!

One target he had was Canyon Wren. I need that one too for the green bird year! We went to a hogback ridge in Littleton at dawn via recommendation and a male was singing his heart out! That was too easy, but we drove. 

The next morning (Aug 10), I left at first light and got there at 5:45 am and he was singing!  I was riding there wondering whether today would be the day he isn't singing and did I get up early for no reason again. There was a bit of dread and uncertainty in my head about this trip. These thoughts cross my mind on nearly every chase trip! 

However, I was riding along the shoulder of the road at the hogback and heard him singing!! I opted to stop and enjoy the moment, but could have easily kept riding and just ticked the bird and said good riddance! This was WAY TOO EASY after missing them something like 9 times at known locations. I stopped at the gate (photo) and enjoyed him singing and got some audio as well (see eBird list). I thought getting a Canyon Wren might be kind of anticlimactic after so many misses and I might have been just glad to check off that "should be easy" Code 1 bird, but I was quite happy and really enjoyed getting Canyon Wren for the year. Good things come to those who wait (and work hard). 

Joe would have laughed at how hard it was for me to get a Canyon Wren. But then again, I can hear him telling me some story about how he missed a bird several times and would say "that's birding."  Isn't that the truth!

https://ebird.org/checklist/S93031361

Canyon Wren was Joe Roller Memorial Green Big Year as #246! 


Hogback at C470 and Ken Caryl. I was able to hear the
Canyon Wren singing from the gate.

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