EAST TEXAS — Things changed while I was gone. Fjord, under Courtney’s guiding hand, has begun to realize his election. I’d heard rumors of this happy fact, but I saw it for myself as he begged repeatedly, though he suffered from a cold, to go birding while I was in town. I decided I could spare a few hours before heading over to Dallas, and Courtney decided to skip her first class of the day. So it was settled.

We took Fjord’s car, since mine was stuffed with most of my earthly possessions. I had a little trouble finding CR 254, but we made it eventually and parked near the bridge.

Whenever I’m with a brand new birder, I become painfully aware of how infrequently we see calling birds, and how infrequently the looks we do get are very good.

I pointed out Chimney Swifts overhead, explaining that their shape and flight was unique. I identified the cries of Blue Jays and crows. We did see one molting Indigo Bunting, and from 782 we saw a distant kestrel and a jay.

It wasn’t a spectacular morning, and as we headed back to campus I wondered what Fjord was thinking. He added the morning’s sightings to a life list on his PDA. That’s a good sign!

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