Quackery 2

One of the great things about birding festivals is the opportunity to visit spots that otherwise might be beyond your endurance. Seriously, if you'd spent 12 hours birding on Wednesday and then stayed up late that night to visit with friends from around the country, would you start driving again at 5 a.m. Thursday to reach another far-flung location?

Thankfully, during festivals, bus drivers or trip leaders take the wheel in the early morning and allow participants to catch a few more winks. That's how my friend, Khara, and I found ourselves at El Rio RV Park in Chapeno near dawn during the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival.

Also thankfully, Khara tolerates my quackery and held Fall (the duck) while Lola, the petite brown dog, sniffed him. Then Flash, the inquisitive black dog, came over to investigate and assume the canine "play" pose (known as "downward-facing dog" by yoga aficionados).

Obviously, in the presence of such friendly creatures, the duck took second place. He was, however, the center of attention in other circumstances that might come to light later...