Summer Savings

After one sweltering day editing photos and with the weather forecasting 90 degree heat in the city yet again, I needed an escape. After a brief perusal of the temps in the vicinity, Long beach in WA was opted for. Almost 20 degrees cooler seemed well worth the 2 1/2- 3 hour drive. I was looking forward to lounging in the breeze wi th the warm sand between my toes and the occasional splishing and splashing of toes at the waters turbulent edge..well away from the rip tides.

Maybe I would not take a single pic all day and just be.

Well of course the not taking photos was thwarted immediately upon my arrival- there on the briny misty shoreline was a cyclist slogging along. Snap Snap Snap went my cam.

My shoes had just been flung off and I had just began the afore mentioned splishing and splashing when sammy the wonderdog was snuffling around at what looked like a dead bird. He could not be called away so I ran after him only to find the dead bird was not so dead after all. It was a cute little chick. So young that it still had its eggtooth. At first I thought it might be a Marbled Murrelet, but those usually nest far inland.

Of course I could not just leave it there all alone and water logged. I tried dialing 411 information, but thanks to roaming and being on the crappy Cingular network I could not get through. I grabbed the little chirper.. quite the feisty little thing... bundled it up in some paper towels to avoid the poopage in my car and went off to the state park that was up the road. Apparently living in the UK has disillusioned me as to what to expect from a state park, for rather than any wildlife or ranger type personage I found a parking lot. Not much help to be had there.

So off onto the road yet again and into the nearest "town" of Oceanshore. I was looking for a police station or fire station or vets. Someone who would be able to direct me to a wildlife sanctuary of sorts. There were few places open and for some reason I was drawn to a real estate agency. I went in and asked for a phone book and explained the situation, the women there was unable to help, but the couple sitting looking at properties gave each other odd looks and were whispering about "should we?" ".... number..." "going to kill us" type of thing. Finally the lady of the piped up and asked if I wanted a number. That her husbands sisters husband was a Biologist (an ornithologist no less!!!!!!)and that he just happened to be one small town away for work (he is normally in Vancouver). Well they did not have his number but they had his wifes number. So I called her (I was told he ends up rescuing birds quite often, hence perhaps the reluctance to give out the number in the first place)who called him. He called me and gave me the number for a place in Astoria that rescues and rehabilitates seabirds, but thanks to poopy reception and pagers a connection to the lady who runs that place was not made until much later in the day. At any rate I called him back and he was willing to take in the little chick and pass it on to the bird place.

Nice chap who spoke about how many of the birds were starving and washing up dead on the shore as well as mentioning all about the crappy guy building condos on wetlands destroying prime birding land. Anywho that was that. The little chick ( I think he said it was a murre, but if anyone knows for sure I would love to know and I can't find my birds of america book)will be fed little fishies and happy. Funny lot of chance coninkydinks, but this sort of thing seems to happen to me more often than should be normal.

I hope to keep in touch with the Bird rescue and stay updated on my little guy, but they have over 100 birds in there, though most are adults... very few chicks have even been hatched this year due to shortages of food supplies in the ocean. So I am extra glad I could do my little part.

Maybe next week my lazy day will indeed be lazy -or perhaps I will be off on yet another rewarding adventure not of my own making.

.

.

.

.

.