Swans

Posted on December 26, 2018 by Roger

In the 1930s, Trumpeter Swans were almost extinct. Since then, they have been reintroduced throughout their historic range. In 1992, part of the population that now nests in the upper Midwest began migrating to central Arkansas. As many as 300 have returned in recent years.

I drove up through the fog and gloom on the day after Christmas. By the time I arrived at the ponds where the swans hang out, it was raining steadily. The swans are wild birds, but the are obviously very used to humans. A corn feeder ensures that they stay close to the viewing area.

There was a car already there, and the birds were swimming further out in the lake. When that car left, I pulled up about 20 yards from the shore. The swans drifted in and were soon eating the corn and paying very little attention to me.

Among the 103 Trumpeter Swans, I spotted a lone Tundra Swan. It stood on the shore right next to a larger Trumpeter and gave me a great chance to compare the two birds. There were also a few Canada Geese and a single Snow Goose among the swans.

Trumpeter Swan (back) and Tundra Swan (front). You can see the yellow spot on the Tundra’s bill that distinguishes it. It’s hard to tell from any distance, but when the two birds were right next to each other, the Trumpeter was obviously larger with a longer neck.

A couple more photos of the Tundra Swan

A Trumpeter Swan. The pink line along the bill is visible in this shot.

After about half an hour, I drove to the second of the three ponds where the birds are seen. There were 56 more Trumpeters there. At the third lake, some of the 14 birds were swimming right next to the shore. There was also a large flock of Ring-necked Ducks and some Buffleheads nearby. (See the last clip in the video.)

The rain ended while I was watching the swans, but started again as I drove back toward Conway. I didn’t let that stop me from hiking around the lake at Woolly Hollow State Park. Even there, on a wet and gloomy day, I met several other people on the trail.

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Christmas Eve

Posted on December 24, 2018 by Roger

I took off early for Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge. The government was shut down, so I was a bit surprised that I could get in. The place was busier than I’ve ever seen it — I must have passed 10 other cars. What it wasn’t was full of birds. There was very little to be seen. I didn’t stay long.

I headed to Petit Jean State Park and walked the Seven Hollows Trails. There were people here too, but not many. I was on my own most of the time. I also stopped in the campground to look for Brown-headed Nuthatches. I saw a few, along with a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers.

Turtle rocks
Natural bridge
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Wichita Illuminations

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Roger

On our way to Arkansas for Christmas, we spent a night in Wichita. As soon as we checked into our hotel, I got online and bought tickets for the light show at the botanical gardens. I should have gotten a hint of what to expect when I saw the notice that read “Because of the warm weather, we expect large crowds. Be patient and kind.”

We arrived just after dark. We had to follow a long line of cars all the way around the gardens to find a spot to park. It was crowded from the start, but things just kept getting worse and worse the longer we stayed. By the time we left an hour and a half later, it was hard to move. In places, we were packed into crowds so dense we were simply stopped. In one place, a woman with a baby carriage kept smashing it into the back of my foot in an attempt to bulldoze her way through the crowd. I finally turned and stared at her. She said, “We’re all in the same boat, friend.” Maybe, but the rest of us were’t being jerks about it. I just started placing my foot in front of her wheel so she couldn’t move.

The lights were well done, but it was hard to enjoy them in the throng.

We stopped at Old Chicago Pizza on the way back to the hotel.

Earlier in the day, as we drove through WaKeeney, Kansas, we wrote a limerick in honor of the stiff wind. The next day, we wrote a second one in honor of the woman who cleaned the gas station bathrooms we were forced to use.

There was a young lass from WaKeeney
Who decided to wear a bikini
The Kansas wind rose
And parts of her froze
Soon the bikini was no more to be seeny

There was a short girl from Checotah
Whose john cleaning skills we took note of
She wiped scum off the wall
High as she was tall
And considered that she’d done her quota

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Columbus Zoo

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Roger

We went with friends to see the lights at the Columbus Zoo. The plan basically worked, except that there were very few animals to see, so most of our time was spend wandering through an empty zoo. The lights, when the came on, were impressive. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Chocolate Cafe and had grilled cheese and dessert.

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Over the Rhine Again

Posted on December 20, 2018 by Roger

While we were planning our next trip to Columbus, I somehow found out Over the Rhine was performing in Cleveland on the night we flew into Ohio. I did some quick calculations and figured out that we could make it work. We invited friends to join us.

Our plane landed at 3:30 local time. We rented a stupid Nissan that kept beeping and telling me that the front-facing radar was unavailable. I didn’t care, and soon, what began as annoying became a joke. Later, it also gave us the warning that there was a  “low outside temperature.” It was 38°. We didn’t panic.

We arrived at the Music Box Supper Club around 6:00. It was in an older warehouse section of Cleveland along the Cuyahoga River. Several tall bridges towered over the club and the river and the roads down below. At one point, we were on a bridge over a canal under a bridge over the whole neighborhood.

We were seated at a long table with four other people with the stage on our right. We had a fairly tasty and expensive supper — I had strips of steak over rice, my wife had pot roast.

The opening act was a guy names Clarence Bucaro who sang about eight songs. I haven’t added any of them to my playlist, but they weren’t bad. When Over the Rhine came out, there was just three of them — Linford, Karen, and Brad Meinerding (who plays several instruments and sings harmony). Because there were fewer instruments than last time, their sound wasn’t as dynamic. They didn’t play many of the songs I’m familiar with, and a lot of what they did play was bluesy. They’d crack a few dry jokes about their relationship or things that have happened to them, then play something fairly dark (but usually with a message of hope). They claimed to have invented two new genres of music — reality Christmas and apocalyptic love songs.

They played for two hours — including the silly bit where they say goodbye but the lights don’t go on and everyone knows they ‘re coming back out. The vibe wasn’t as cool as last time, but we enjoyed ourselves and were glad we made the trip.

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