Date: 5/26/26 12:04 pm From: Don Morrow <donaldcmorrow...> Subject: [NFLbirds] Birding in the Rain
Before leaving for St. Marks NWR this morning, I had studied the weather
radar and worked things out very carefully. It was a perfect plan. The rain
would clear out at 6:00 am just as I arrived. Unfortunately, my
calculations were slightly off and I found myself parked on the side of the
road in the dark at the Double Bridges in a steady downpour.
I opened the car window to listen for owls, but rain was coming into the
car. Because I had not planned on rain, I hadn’t carried a rain parka but,
I keep a small, hi-tech folding umbrella in the car. I opened the window,
stuck the umbrella out and pushed the button on the umbrella’s handle. The
umbrella extended and unfolded with a satisfying snap. I sat and listened
for owls as the rain drummed down on the umbrella canopy.
Tiring of this, I decided to go for a walk in the rain, which meant that I
had to close the umbrella. This involved pressing the handle button, which
collapsed the canopy, but left the umbrella shaft extended. I pulled it in,
closed the window and stepped out of the car, manually pushing the umbrella
runner, the metal piece at the base of the umbrella ribs, to extend the
canopy.
The umbrella canopy has a wide coverage and I was dry and comfortable as I
walked along. A grunting Chuck-wills-widow flew by me and then I heard the
low tremulous calling of a Barred Owl. It was about this time that the
umbrella canopy, which had not locked in place, collapsed. Thinking
quickly, I grabbed the runner to pull it all the way down to the handle.
This would reset the umbrella and allow me to use the handle button to
reopen and lock the canopy in place. Unfortunately, in my haste, my fingers
slipped and the spring-loaded, high-tech umbrella went airborne and landed
five feet away, leaving me uncovered in the steady predawn rain.
I eventually managed to get the umbrella open, making a mental note to buy
a cheap plastic low-tech rain poncho.
The rain finally tapered off and stopped just after sunrise and a strong
east wind sprang up, which helped to dry me out. There were some good
birds. Northern Bobwhite and a Yellow-breasted Chat were calling along the
edge of Lighthouse Road. There was an American Avocet on Stony Bayou and
Lighthouse Pool had oystercatchers, godwits and a late Red-breasted
Merganser. I managed to get Black Tern and a Swallow-tailed Kite over East
River Pool, but my second stop at the Double Bridges in mid-morning had no
birds.
It was just a quick trip to the refuge. However, despite my technical
umbrella problems, it was a good morning.
