"Hard-Partying Nerd" is the self-appointed title "The Fiance" bestowed upon himself. Dee is a mismatched mix. Most people our age and younger do not understand his fascination with birds. He's an official birder. The man knows his tweets. But, to anyone who thinks that too weird, I say look at this dudes, below. And then if you still don't get it, well, go watch t.v.
We saw a Quetzal, above, when we spent Christmas, two years ago, in Costa Rica. When I saw the bird, I had to convince myself I was not seeing a stuffed animal perched in a tree. Actually the one we saw in the Cloud Forest was much fatter, much more like a stuffed animal, and it's long tail feathers were missing. The colors were unreal to this "Yank."
And then there was the Bearded Bellbird that we heard in a jungle in Trinidad last February.
Dee actually got sort of close to one. I only heard it several times echoing into the lush green valley of an abandoned coffee plantation where we spent a week. Listen to 35 seconds, above, of one odd-sounding creature. Cool, huh?
The top photo was taken from the site of the Panamanian tour guide who will be leading the birding tour "The Fiance" embarked upon yesterday. Without me. With my blessings. Our trip up the Amazon during Christmas got canceled for family reasons and I just can't do last minute for more reasons than my genetic autistic rigidity. So, The Fiance, who loves Central and South America, is flying solo. Oh, and I MISS the man I've spoken to EVERY day for the last three years terribly. Already. (Guess I've got it bad.)
Me: I simply love travel. And nature. The Fiance needs to appreciate the woman who spent seven days in the Trini Jungle with him last winter. I think he does. The honeymoon is coming this summer. I've made him swear we'll do somewhere in Europe for the occasion. I'll be swooning over the ancient architecture and the European ambiance and The Fiance will be bemoaning the loss of the Old Growth Forests and thus the lack of birds.He'll get over it. And enjoy it.
Dee, get your fill in Panama, sweetheart–my "hard-partying bird nerd," you.
That is really wild! There is a bird up at the Lake (Lake Tahoe) that sounds like it says cheeseburger. Hence the name the cheeseburger bird. Nature is a funny thing 🙂
How incredibly cool that you saw a quetzal!
Well, if you know what one is, Rebecca, then I’m really impressed!
Love it. Yes, indeed. And it gets weirder the less westernized. Like the giant rats like the BIG red rumped agouti we saw in the forest in Costa Rica. And I don’t dare share our encounter in Trinidad with one….Travel with The Fiance…an adventure. Good thing I sorta grew up in the country and am not totally adverse to these things.
The birds are beautiful.
Agree, Kristi!