Post Mortum

Ed's totem: feather's in his cap, trophies of a good trip.

It's a week since we started our trek to Arkansas. In less than 3 days Ed and I drove over 1200 miles, went from the Arkansas lakes to the Ozarks to the mists of Bull Shoals.

If I were going to put a capstone on the trip, I would certainly call it "expect the unexpected". Instead of seeing the common we saw the uncommon. We saw Ospreys in both Holla Bend and Bull Shoals, supposedly a "rare" sight. We expected to see owls but saw only one, but heard them all over. There was no way that any eagles were supposed to still be there yet we think we saw either a juvinile eagle, or a coopers hawk, equally rare.

Expect the unexpected.

The highlights of the trip go through my head:

- Starting our at Holla Bend, Ed and I getting on the suntan lotion and the bug spray at the same time. Seeing the Osprey and the split-tailed flycatcher.

- Blogging during the hot part of the days.

- Lake Dardanelle and sitting out in the heat, the fans going full blast. Seeing a squirrel splayed out on his stomach, looking like he was done in with the heat like we were. Watching Speed Racer and passing out with exhaustion.

- The nature trail at Lake Dardanelle with sooo many spiders.

- The crazy drive through the Ozarks, eyes glued to the highway.

- The magic of Bull Shoals. The mist on the water. That cool breeze coming off the lake and the shelf where we sat.

- The armadillos.

- Waking up at 3 in the morning, unable to believe I was freezing.

- Seeing the eagle (or coopers hawk).

- Watching the vultures group together and spread their wings in a defensive posture.

- The goodbye and the long drive home.

All in all, even through all the heat and exhaustion Ed and I had a great time. We did what we came to do; we camped out, even in the bad conditions, we raptor-watched and found we could spot them when available, and saw quite a few other birds as well.

Plus, Ed and I had a wonderful time. Ed and I have already talked about coming back in the winter when the eagles nest. We should be able to catch a lot more; we will be more experienced at this.

The raptors were a great site. These apex predators in their natural place made for a great thing for Ed and I to share. I can't wait to see them again.

Will we see more? Or less? I don't know, other than to expect the unexpected.