Nuther Lifer!

We learned that birders in general call the sighting of a bird for the very first time as identifying a “Lifer”, meaning it’s the first time in your life you have seen it. We’ve decided that since we may not always have known the names of birds we may have seen in the past, that when we first actually can identify a bird by name, that constitutes a Lifer for us. So today, we scored a Lifer, the Clapper Rail.  Apparently, the Clapper Rail is a relatively rare water bird in these parts. As we were on our way back to the visitor center, a docent asked “Did you seen any Rails out there?” We showed him the pic we’d taken, and he yelled “Yes, a Clapper Rail – where’d you see it?”

I guess good things tend to happen in multiples. Not only did we score a “Lifer” with the Clapper Rail, but we spotted another that we had heard other birders chatter about, but never spotted ourselves. This Greater Yellowlegs graced us with an appearance – in fact we actually saw a couple of them. While we had seen this guy before, a Peregrine Falcon sat predictably on the water tower eyeing the Greater Yellowlegs – don’t know if he was thinking “yummmmmmm” or not.

We also learned what South Padre Island tradition is when you see a Lifer – that means you are buying. Needless to say, we plan to avoid the bars this evening since with two “Lifer” sightings today, I assume that means we are on the hook for two Rounds!

Talk to you soon!