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Article: In the Southwest, a Family Journey for Birders and Non-Birders Alike
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- September 18, 1988
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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If this were a work of fiction, I could say I tracked down and
finally found the elegant but rarely seen colima warbler at the end
of an arduous all-day trip on horseback into the remote mountain
canyon, as my family looked on with pride.
But the way it really happened in Big Bend National Park in
Texas last month was that I eased myself gingerly off my
mild-mannered pony, favoring what was left of my back, and wandered
off alone into some trees to rest while my wife and two sons stayed
behind to share a snack with our guide. Then I saw the bird, not at
all elegant in drab brownish-gray plumage disheveled by a late-summer
molt, and not really rare-just a long climb from the beaten path ...