Talk about serendipity!

The weather had been great all Christmas week, but a cold front was due to hit today. So yesterday, I was itching to go birding before it moved in, since I was pretty well recovered from my long bout with bronchitis. There just weren't any interesting birds to be had within reasonable driving distance of Alpine. A thirty minute drive was all I was willing to do, especially since it was already late in the morning. Checking Presidio County reports, I noticed a Couch's Kingbird had been reported in northeast Marfa a week earlier. It'd be like looking for a needle in a haystack, even if it was still around. At least that would give me a target, as opposed to none. I was absolutely positive I'd not find it, but it would be a fun treasure hunt looking. Not a lifer, although I didn't have a photo of one, and it would be a new Presidio County bird for me. Plus, I might find something else interesting while looking.

When I got to Marfa, it was packed with tourists and traffic. Very discouraging, driving the streets, avoiding cars and people, and trying to see birds. Plenty of doves and sparrows, but nothing interesting. Even worse than I had anticipated. 

Suddenly, the Couch's appeared, unmistakably, in a yard as I was driving past. As quick as I could, I grabbed my camera and jumped out of my car. In the process, my phone (with the Merlin app) slipped between the car seats. I knew it would be a pain to retrieve, but my full attention at that moment was on getting photo documentation. As luck would have it, the bird was between me and the sun, always a bad shot. There was no other option, so I took it. After getting a few photos, I wanted to record its calling for further documentation. By the time I got the car parked and my phone retrieved, I couldn't see or hear the bird. The yard was fenced with a tall wooden fence, and it was amazing to me that I had even seen the bird way back in the yard in the first place.

Apparently, the house behind that tall fence was some kind of Air B&B. People were leaving through a tall wooden gate in the fence with suitcases and loading them into a car next to where I was standing. I explained that I was watching a bird in the yard. A woman replied that she had probably flushed it, which I'm sure she had, but I politely demurred.

My quest had lasted less than an hour, and I was ready to go home, a happy camper! 

On my way home I got a text from a person that I get pine needles from every year, so as soon as the cold front passes, I'm going to take a load to the oasis. The home owner will load it, and at the oasis my son will unload it. Just gotta keep on keepin' on!