A little family time.

Christmas brought us together at our home in Macon.  It was nice to see that all the Coquerels have still gotten together, though in smaller number.  Many have returned back to France and Togo.

It has been a tradition for us to be together during the holiday season at least one time.  It didn't matter. Sometimes, it's at Thanksgiving, sometimes, Christmas, and sometimes, New Year.  There has always been a Coquerel family who would invite everyone else at their home for a day during the holiday season.

We've had new additions.  Chloe and Chelsea.  How sweet! We're growing.  And these new additions are just so adorable!!!

We had a nice dinner, then desserts.  Bradley and Ashley were there too.  As busy as Kelly and Leah have been, they made sure they joined in and helped a lot in some of the preparations.
We had games to play but we didn't play any.  We were just happy to be together and ...fellowship as a family.
I hope this tradition continues.

P.S. Oh, there were a lot of food! Thanks, Debbie.  You are a rare gem!...and blessed is the man who have found you. How lucky am I!

Some birding outings

Birding in Putnam brought a lot of rewards.  Lots of ducks.  We enjoyed several ducks that we have not seen this year yet until that trip.  The scenery was gorgeous as well.  At one point, a Bald Eagle soared over the river in a slow elegant and majestic display.

There were quite a few song birds in these brushes and reeds beyond.  From our vantage point, we could watch the river loaded with ducks.  We did not want to get too close to scare off the birds.  These pictures are taken with a smartphone but our binoculars gave us some great looks.  

Camping and birding in Alabama.  We rode bikes down bike trails during that camping trip.  We observed 67 different bird species on that trip.  We were hoping to see close to a 100.  Still, it was a very pleasant and enjoyable time.

Connie and Duane joined us on that trip.  This new RV belongs to them.  Nice.

Connie and Don.  Don came to visit for the day when we went camping in Alabama.

Back in Georgia, we went on several other birding outings including one with the Audubon group.

This was pretty much our group that day.  We were 12 people and you have 8 in the picture.  Kelly joined us that day which was nice.  She is in the far left with me next to her.

Bye for now!

A pelagic tour

A pelagic tour for us birders is when we go out to sea to spot birds that live primarily on the ocean.  These birds have to go on various islands, typically, to lay eggs and breed.  Otherwise, they live on the open Ocean.

Wait a minute! You might say.  Is there not enough birds on solid ground for birders to see? Let me put it this way.  Is there were birds on the moon, we'll be organizing lunar trips to check them out.  We're BIRDERS!!! From the Hawaiian Islands to Madagascar, Ecuador to Australia, we'd love to see as many birds as possible.  So, going to the Gulf Stream to see few more species is almost like going next door. (I'm just getting started).

Actually, we also did see dolphins, big sea turtles, flying fishes, a pretty sunrise... did I just write "pretty sunrise"? Oh yes, we were 100 miles in the Ocean before sunrise.  That means we left at 3:00 a.m. in the night.  That means we had very little sleep...but we were all excited.

As tired as some were, as seasick as some others were, when someone cries out BIRDS, BIRDS! everyone gets out and scan the sky with their binoculars, looking for the rare bird: Black-capped Petrel, Cory's Shearwater, Audubon Shearwater, Brown Booby, Sooty Tern, Long-tailed Jaeger...we're in pelagic paradise.  I picked up eight life birds. (A life bird is a bird species you see for the first time in your life).  

Sometimes, it's just perfectly fine to contemplate the Ocean and let pleasant thoughts and ideas come over you. Would be great in perfect solitude out in the Ocean, but birders make great company and we were in very good company.   

A Brown Booby with various Terns facing us

 There were navy towers in the Ocean where birds can come and rest if they want or get their picture taken by humans.  When they see us coming, they line up in perfect row looking in the same direction as in this next picture...and they smile.  They can feel intelligent humans are around, "let's pose" they whisper.

Line up and smile for the pictures, birdies!

All...turn around! Good. The captain is watching above.

Some quick credits.  Trey McCuen put the trip together with the help of Mark McShane.  (I'm sure others have helped Trey).  Michael Brothers was the tour leader.  Trey kept good communication with everyone in the group and Michael was superb in describing the birds, pointing them out, attentive to everyone's inquisitive need about the birds.  Thanks, Trey, and everyone who helped you.

Rebecca Byrd put in a dedicated effort to compile all the data from the tour with all the birds seen, exact spots with GPS coordinates and times, sea depth, wind direction and speed... and submit to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology after sharing with birders on the tour.  What a team!

Jason Shellenberger and Jeremy Brown took some great pictures.  (I have not used these pictures for this blog post).  

Before you know it, it was time to get back to land.  That was a great pelagic trip, a first for Debbie and me, and unforgettable.   

What do you do when your birthday rolls in?

I had a birthday this month and I had to think about that question.  What do you do when your birthday comes?
As for me, I did some of the same things I've been doing for years now, then to my surprise, I've decided not to do some other things.  What I still do: I reflect a lot about my life.  Where it has been, where it's going, what I like about it, what I don't like, what I want to change through new actions and new habits, those sorts of deep reflections.
My Mom taught me that at an early age and I still do it. Not exactly in those details, but she would sit down with me and, after breaking the piggy bank for all the money earned for good behavior throughout the year, she will give me words of wisdom about life.

I also take it slowly that day just to appreciate all the little pleasant things i.e. friends wishing me a Happy Birthday on Facebook, a bird singing loud in the yard, a clear beautiful sky after many days of rain, ..., otherwise birthdays tend to come with unpleasant surprises.  So, you just fill it with your own pleasant ones.

 Now, what I've stopped doing:  I use to set new goals on my birthday.  I'm now over 50 and I now realize that I'm not going to reach a lot of the goals I set on my birthday.  I set them too high for the challenge and I squeeze some easy ones in-between which I reach. I always end up doing a lot of unpredictable things throughout the year.  So I've decided to simply live life in the moment every day, doing the best I can, with great appreciation, and moving in a certain direction, systematically.

I also use to buy myself a gift on my birthday.  I now find it unnecessary.  If I need something and I have the money for it, then I just go buy it.  If I want something but don't have the money for it, then a birthday should not be an excuse to go in debt.  

  Actually, this has been my greatest eye opening experience this birthday.  Simply going back in reflection and appreciating all the little things that make you happy and that you're grateful for.  If you truly stop and think about it, you'll find a bunch.  For example, your sister-in-law just had a baby girl, your kids love you and are coming to visit (or live with you safely), your wife (or husband) loves you, you're here (wherever you are) and not in Syria or in the path of the approaching wildfires in California.  As for me, I took several birding and camping trips this year and I'm thankful for that. I'm also thankful of the above things especially my children and wife.

On and on, let's just be grateful and appreciative when our birthday comes around.

I have found that life greatest joy and pleasures and in the little and mundane things.  All it takes is an open eye of appreciation.  I've learned to suspend the negativity a long time ago.

 We create our own lives by the things we attract into our life and the things we weed out through daily actions.  In that sense, we can use a birthday moment to reassess things as we move forward.  

Well, your idea of a birthday may be different.  I just shared mine with you and I welcome all comments. In any case, Happy Birthday!

Do you remember what you did on the 4th of July?

Well, we went to Connie and Duane's in Alabama and put out a nice fireworks show.  Must be good, because the neighbors sat on their back porch and watched it! We did it in the big backyard.
But before the fireworks...

Duane, Debbie, Melba and Ms. Price (Mama)

...we visited with family,

That's a nice pic of Ricky! Keep smiling, Buddy!

happy family with smiling face,

They were not alone, everyone played on the smartphones at one point or the other

busy family,

Jeremy and Meredith, nice couple!, and nice people

 yeah, that's better, and that will make loving family.

Of course, we played Rook! and Settlers of Catan.

Melba, Debbie, and Connie

The nice ladies prepared good food,

then we played more Rook, had beer, wine, Diet Mountain Dew, water...grilled outside, shared a lot of stories...

...then we had the fireworks the night of the 4th!

We had all shapes, colors, and sizes of fireworks. (Duane and I set out the fireworks; was fun!)
The next morning...

...there was a red line in the sky of Alabama.  And the clouds changed color.  I guess we were not the only one setting out fireworks.  It's a good thing the 4th of July only comes once a year.

So, how was your 4th?

The greatest Father's Day ever

How better can it get? Kelly and Leah came over to join us (Debbie and me) outside Savannah where we were birding and camping...for Father's Day!

I feel lucky.  My young adult children have made the time to spent unique moments with us on Father's Day for the last few years. This time, it took them 5 hours of driving, but they came.

Around the camp fire

Everyone was happy which made things easy.  We were just happy to be together! The food was great, the camping was comfortable.  The activities were simple but fun filled.

Kelly and Leah on Little Tybee Island

We chartered a small boat and went around the waterways of Tybee Island and anchored at Little Tybee Island for a while where everyone did his/her "own thing".  Birding, looking for unique shells, wildflowers, or just strolling on this almost deserted island.  You can access the island only by boat or other form of watercraft.

I thought I have fun finding many bird species, but it seems that the kids had even more fun with our encounter with the dolphins.  We touched these sociable wild dolphins thanks to a patient boat captain.

Kelly on boat

I didn't know Little Tybee Island is more than twice the size of Tybee Island.  I was struck by the contrast between the crowded, overdeveloped Tybee and the natural, undeveloped, and mostly deserted Little Tybee.

Little Tybee Island

I was happy to hear from the Captain of the boat (he seems to be an authority on this) that a bridge cannot be built to connect Little Tybee to the mainland.  Too many reasons against it.  Some places just need to remain natural.

Thanks, Leah for these pics.

 No, this was not at Sea World.  These dolphins just befriended us and let us touch them! Actually, they touched us, because we were not supposed to touch the wild dolphins so we simply put our hands out and let them do the touching.

On Skidaway Island

A hiking on Skidaway Island with Kelly and Leah gave us a chance to see the Painted Buntings again and for the children, a moment to appreciate birding.  Sure, there were more than birding...butterflies, wildflowers, deer...nature is lovely in any regard.

Thank you, Debbie, for all you do to make the get-together pleasant in every way.  You're the greatest!

American Oystercatchers

How quickly time passes by! Especially when you're with loved ones and you just want to spend a lot of time together.

Kelly

Till next time.

Can't wait!

I love you, kids, for a great and unforgettable Father's Day!

Birding and taking a break in the Florida gulf Coast

It just seems that we like to take a break in this part of Florida every year now.  Maybe because we find the beach here to be the prettiest.  Or maybe because Grayton Beach State Park offers beach areas that are quite private.  Or just because it's inexpensive to camp or rent a cabin here.  Or all of the above.

We were really looking forward to some great birding during the few days and nights we spent in the Santa Rosa beach area.  Did we see alot of birds? No, not really.  We did try and picked up two lifers (these are bird species a birder has not seen before).  They were a Black Tern and an American Golden-Plover.   

The beach was gorgeous and the weather was perfect.  We enjoyed that! And it's was nice to brush up on our gulls and terns.  

A lake by the beach, very unique

We rented bikes and hit the trails near the marshes and wetlands where most of our target birds for the trip were.  That's where we came up a bit pretty empty handed.  Sure, we ended up with 92 bird species for the trip including 33 additional species for our Florida yearly bird list.  We're happy.



You're pretty!












Laughing Gull

It was strange to go to some great birding habitats in Florida and notice that there were hardly any birds!   

Since you've read this post this far, I'll let you in on a secret.  You probably already know that some of the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico in Florida are world renowned.  They are that beautiful with white sand, clean, and pretty ocean colors.  That's why it can get expensive to get a nice place on the beach; and my secret...Florida State Parks that are on the beach. 

Get down from that tree!

Here is the link Florida State Parks.  From that main page, go to "find a park", then "reserve".  We like Grayton Beach State Park.  Don't expect to book a cabin today and go next week now.  You have to book a few weeks in advance, sometimes a couple of months in advance.  They call these "cabins" but they are really comfortable 2 bedrooms duplexes tucked in the woods for privacy with screened porch...for $130.00 a night.  These cabins are well maintained and are in a gated complex. That's why the beach has a "private" feel. 

Debbie's mother (Mama) came with us and greatly enjoyed the trip too! We all had fun. 

When you work hard like most of us do, you need a break from time to time.  Even if you don't work very hard...well, take a break to the beach anyhow!

Pretty beach, where is everybody?

Bye now!