A Week's Mission

So I drove almost 300 miles this weekend to try and see a harlequin duck. Crazy right? Well maybe not. But to summarize, I missed the duck at every turn. Partly because I am still learning to bird, I probably did see the bird but just didn't know it. I guess that's the fact of life. Some birds I can id by call and some far away with no sight, but most of the time, I just have to chalk up my misses and mistakes to just plain novice-hood. That's ok honestly. Part of the learning process is making mistakes and I've made some big ones. And ended up scaring some birds away. So I guess that's just something to work on. I do have a plan though. I am talking to some of my more experienced birder friends and hoping that I can shadow them and at least start to ape their skills until I can master them on my own. Practice will make permanent so I am at least hoping that my positive attitude will remain positive. Well, tomorrow my goal is to try and see some warblers and chats hanging out for the winter it seems. Wish me luck!