Roadside Assistance
Two weeks ago my good friend Bob invited me to go down to south Texas to look for a rare hawk that popped up along the border a week or so prior. The problem was that we had another friend who wanted to leave out Thursday afternoon to make sure they got there before the hawk took off back to Mexico. Rare birds do not always cooperate as I well know missing a few by just a couple of hours. I was thankful for the invite but work issues kept me home and I figured I would just have to pass on the bird.
Well, Bob and John were successful in locating the bird and pulled off a few decent pictures as well so that is where the story ends.
Or so I thought. The next weekend Bob offered to drive me down to the valley to see the hawk for myself. What a great friend, I definitely did not want to pass on such an offer so I made plans to drive from League City at 4:00am to his house in Palacios then leave around 6:00 birding our way down to the valley and try for the hawk that evening then stay the night and try again Sunday morning if necessary and return back home that afternoon.
The drive down was rainy but also pretty birdy so we were able to make good progress in a few counties. By progress I mean trying to get as many species in each county and ultimately reaching 100.
We made it to the valley by mid afternoon and decided to go straight to the Roadside Hawk spot. I am not sure where it got that name but that is why, at least for now, where I got the blog title, Bob helping find the Roadside Hawk... Roadside Assistance.
As we approached the area where the hawk was being seen we were intently looking and listening for it. After a few minutes of a quiet drive we heard an unfamiliar squealing sound coming from the woods. As we investigated further we realized the squealing sound was coming from under the hood. Not good. Roadside Hawk was out, Roadside Assistance for the Jeep was needed now.
After many attempts trying to find out who could look at the Jeep on a Saturday afternoon Bob finally managed to find a shop only a few miles away that could take look at it so all that was left was getting the beltless Jeep there. Belts are important. No belt = no power steering. Also overheating is a real issue, so not desiring to do no more engine damage we took 5 rest stops on a 2.5 mile journey.
Eventually after what felt like an eternity sitting in a tire shop, the mechanic said they could go get the parts (a belt and an idler pulley that froze up causing the belt to break) and get it put back together so Bob and I figured we would still have a chance to go to the hawk stakeout before dark. But, sometime later the mechanic gives us the old, "well I got some bad news" the part was a different part then he thought and wouldn't be able to get the correct part until Monday around 11:00 and hopefully have it fixed by around 3:00. It looked like I would be spending an extra day in the valley so instead of getting home around 10:00pm Sunday night it would not be until closer to midnight Monday night... provided the part showed up on time and installation of said parts was problem free.
We decided renting a car at this point was the best option. Seemed like a fairly straightforward thing to do but not in the valley. We finally found a place that was open on a Saturday afternoon so all that was left was getting there. Lyft ended up being our best option but you don't just call these guys, you gotta have the app. We did not have the app. My phone was plugged into the socket with the repair shops coffee maker because it was almost dead. Bob had 3% battery on his phone so he went for it and the app was loaded. Our ride came in no time and we unloaded our gear out of the jeep and into the Lyft drivers vehicle.
Our day was pretty much shot at this point but we still drove our new car to the stakeout just before dark and after a cold sunset we figured we needed to get to a hotel. Our room was reserved by my awesome secretary and wife a couple hours prior but we ended up with a room with only 1 bed and a pullout couch. I was too tired to care though, being up since 2:00 am, so I just gave Bob the bed and slept on the pullout. Aside from the tremendous dip in the middle and the bed springs in my ribs I did manage sleep. Another bummer was we needed to get out before sunrise but they didn't serve our complimentary breakfast on sunday mornings until 7:00 am.
So missing out on our free breakfast we headed out to the border patrol horse corral area where the hawk routinely showed up. And after a brief wait, while chatting with some other hawk enthusiasts, the Roadside Hawk did not disappoint for Texas Life Bird 434.
Well, Bob and John were successful in locating the bird and pulled off a few decent pictures as well so that is where the story ends.
Or so I thought. The next weekend Bob offered to drive me down to the valley to see the hawk for myself. What a great friend, I definitely did not want to pass on such an offer so I made plans to drive from League City at 4:00am to his house in Palacios then leave around 6:00 birding our way down to the valley and try for the hawk that evening then stay the night and try again Sunday morning if necessary and return back home that afternoon.
The drive down was rainy but also pretty birdy so we were able to make good progress in a few counties. By progress I mean trying to get as many species in each county and ultimately reaching 100.
We made it to the valley by mid afternoon and decided to go straight to the Roadside Hawk spot. I am not sure where it got that name but that is why, at least for now, where I got the blog title, Bob helping find the Roadside Hawk... Roadside Assistance.
As we approached the area where the hawk was being seen we were intently looking and listening for it. After a few minutes of a quiet drive we heard an unfamiliar squealing sound coming from the woods. As we investigated further we realized the squealing sound was coming from under the hood. Not good. Roadside Hawk was out, Roadside Assistance for the Jeep was needed now.
After many attempts trying to find out who could look at the Jeep on a Saturday afternoon Bob finally managed to find a shop only a few miles away that could take look at it so all that was left was getting the beltless Jeep there. Belts are important. No belt = no power steering. Also overheating is a real issue, so not desiring to do no more engine damage we took 5 rest stops on a 2.5 mile journey.
Eventually after what felt like an eternity sitting in a tire shop, the mechanic said they could go get the parts (a belt and an idler pulley that froze up causing the belt to break) and get it put back together so Bob and I figured we would still have a chance to go to the hawk stakeout before dark. But, sometime later the mechanic gives us the old, "well I got some bad news" the part was a different part then he thought and wouldn't be able to get the correct part until Monday around 11:00 and hopefully have it fixed by around 3:00. It looked like I would be spending an extra day in the valley so instead of getting home around 10:00pm Sunday night it would not be until closer to midnight Monday night... provided the part showed up on time and installation of said parts was problem free.
We decided renting a car at this point was the best option. Seemed like a fairly straightforward thing to do but not in the valley. We finally found a place that was open on a Saturday afternoon so all that was left was getting there. Lyft ended up being our best option but you don't just call these guys, you gotta have the app. We did not have the app. My phone was plugged into the socket with the repair shops coffee maker because it was almost dead. Bob had 3% battery on his phone so he went for it and the app was loaded. Our ride came in no time and we unloaded our gear out of the jeep and into the Lyft drivers vehicle.
Our day was pretty much shot at this point but we still drove our new car to the stakeout just before dark and after a cold sunset we figured we needed to get to a hotel. Our room was reserved by my awesome secretary and wife a couple hours prior but we ended up with a room with only 1 bed and a pullout couch. I was too tired to care though, being up since 2:00 am, so I just gave Bob the bed and slept on the pullout. Aside from the tremendous dip in the middle and the bed springs in my ribs I did manage sleep. Another bummer was we needed to get out before sunrise but they didn't serve our complimentary breakfast on sunday mornings until 7:00 am.
So missing out on our free breakfast we headed out to the border patrol horse corral area where the hawk routinely showed up. And after a brief wait, while chatting with some other hawk enthusiasts, the Roadside Hawk did not disappoint for Texas Life Bird 434.
This hawk is a tropical bird that has been seen in Texas only a handful of times. The first pictures I got of it were distant and badly lit. The border patrol had the gate to the corral closed off to the public in an attempt to keep the many weirdo birders out. But I guess persistence pays off, while Bob and I were birding on the back side of the corral on the levy we noticed that the back gate was open. So in we went getting close enough to pull off these amazing shots.
Now that we got our target it was off on our next adventure. So as to not overload one blog I will break this escapade into two parts.
...To Be Continued
...To Be Continued
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