Barefoot Birding-
I tried that once. This was at Bandon where Nick Lethaby had recently
found THE Great Knot. It was around September and I had already seen
photos at Birder's Night in Portland. But, this was my first chance to get
down there. It was warm and the tide was out in the morning. (I left
Portland at midnight). I started to put on my rubber 'farm' boots but the
mud looked inviting so I just took off my shoes and headed out over the
flats with my (heavy) camera on its tripod. The Knot was way out there,
but there he was. I got some nice photos. (One was on the cover of the
next Birding Magazine). There were lots of other birds, including several
Red Knots which sometimes flocked with the Great One. Time goes by fast
when you're having fun, but eventually I felt the incoming tide and headed
back. Unfortunately, it was a little too late. I came to a channel which
would have been perhaps up to my waist if I forded it. That would have
been OK, but I feared for dunking my camera. This was a dilemma. There was
a very small island with shrubbery out there, which looked like it
regularly survived high tide. So.....I headed for the island, planning to
wait out the high tide, not an attractive prospect. Fortunately, a couple
of fishermen eventually came by in a skiff, which I flagged down. They
were amazingly polite considering what I assume they were thinking about
another wacko birder. They dropped me off back at the docks. But now my
predicament was not quite over as I had to walk back along the roads a half
mile or more in bare feet. The mud felt good, but the stones along the
road shoulder didn't. Ouch. There may be a lesson here but I haven't been
able to think of one.
Bob OBrien Carver OR
PS Back at the Jetty (where the Great Knot had sometimes waited out the
high tide himself), there was a single winter-plumage Red Knot. I watched
from the car as California birders arrived by car and high fived each other
on finding their presumed Great Knot. Ignorance is bliss so I kept mum.
PPS I strongly prefer 'Farm Boots' for winter birding, but these may not
be esthetically correct. They go up about 16 inches and can't leak unless
you go over the top of them; and if you do, they dry easily. These are
cheap and available most places. The cheapest ones crack by your big toe
after a couple of years while the more expensive ones (still cheap) last
longer before cracking.
On Sun, Nov 15, 2015 at 9:04 PM, Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi John & Pam & others,
The most ultra-light-weight rain boot is just to go BAREFOOT.
As many OBOLers know, this is my preferred footgear at least for
temperatures down to 30 F or so. Your own skin almost never leaks, even
if it might get wet on the outside.
Yeah, maybe your feet will get wet but you'll expect it, which is very
unlike the disappointment and discomfort of leaky boots that you spent
$200 or whatever on. And once you get past that little issue, you can
accept whatever comes your way.
If you're headed to South America, take a tip from the Yanomami. They've
lived there very happily for thousands of years without boots.
I had a good barefoot experience in Kenya, though somewhere along the
line a Kikuyu guide pegged me as "Jesus' brother" and that name stuck
for the rest of my time there.
This is still a good season for barefoot birding in western Oregon, and
a good chance to toughen up your feet for the tropics!
Happy birding,
Joel
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
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