Throughout my life, I’ve considered myself to be an endurance athlete in one form or another. Not competitively, mind you. I’ve just always gravitated toward endurance sports…

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I apologize for the “bait and switch” tactic this month. Please note, however, that I plan to start writing more articles for Tahoe Trail Guide and then sharing the links to them here (in lieu of writing a completely different essay for this newsletter). There’s only so many hours in a day, and I’ve let my TTG website languish for far too long. I have a number of subscribers at Tahoe Trail Guide who I haven’t connected with in years. And I honestly miss writing articles for the website.

So I’m hoping that you’ll continue reading despite having to go to the other website 🙂

What I’ve been focusing on with regard to birds during these past few months is surveying the Angora area of South Lake Tahoe. I tabled a book project that I started a few years ago, but have recently resurrected it. Basically, I plan to publish a small guide book/visual checklist titled, “The Birds of Angora.”

This area was hit hard back in 2007 by a wildfire, decimating over 250 structures (mostly homes), and it’s been incredible watching it recover over the years. Since I live close to the area and work at Angora Lakes Resort each summer, I’ve wanted to publish this book for a while. Until recently, however, I just didn’t feel confident in my knowledge, skills, and the catalog of photos that I’ve collected to-date of the birds that I’ll feature in the book.

Also, I’ve heard/seen over the years a handful of records of rare-ish birds that have been sighted in the area. However, I’ve not been able to confirm them on my own until this fall. Not that I don’t believe people, but I’ve learned first hand just how easy it is to incorrectly identify birds in the field. So when I don’t see diagnostic photos attached to records, I tend to be skeptical.

Anyway, I’ve managed to find most of those birds in question in the Angora area. And I have the photos to prove it 🙂

This isn’t to say that I’m now validating those records that I previously questioned. Rather, I simply don’t have to consider them at all because I have my own definitive proof. I know I sound curmudgeonly, but accurate data is paramount when researching this kind of stuff. And it drives me up the wall when people claim observations of rare species without any real proof. I mean, rare stuff is considered rare for a reason. And, to be honest, most of those rare records originate with people who are visiting from out of town. So the whole thing seems even more suspect. Like, those folks came up and birded for a few hours and saw 3-5 rare species that myself and other local birders typically only see once every few years?

Fuggetaboutit.

Okay, I’ll stop — haha 🙂

Long story, short, I feel really good right now about moving forward with this book project.