River Birds
Sean and I checked on the River pair this afternoon, just to get an idea how active they might be around the nest site. This, of course, required Sean to go into work on a Sunday, as the best viewing spot for that nest is from his office building’s 17th floor windows. Good ole’ husband made the sacrifice and we spent three and a half hours monitoring the activity on top of the London Guarantee building.
We’ve heard from the building engineering staff that the pair was sitting on four eggs, but Mary and I were both worried that the torrential downpours of late April/early May had washed the eggs out. I’m happy to report that during the hours Sean and I watched, there seemed to be more than enough movement in and out of the nest to suggest the pair has something cooking over there.
We saw both adults a number of times. The female spent most of her time down in the nest, which was out of our sight line, but we did see her a few times. The male hopped down into the nest twice while we were there, but emerged again rather swiftly. Past that, he cruised the skies in the area and then perched near the nest during a long period of drizzle in the mid-afternoon.
Sean took me up to a balcony near the top of Trib tower during one of the breaks in the rain. A year ago, management opened that balcony for the employees and even put a very swank barbecue out there. The view was spectacular and Sean taking me up there was the highlight of my day. It also gave me the chance to shoot the river birds sans window glass! Unfortunately, the balcony was considerably farther from the nest, so none of the pictures came out particularly well.
After monitoring the birds, Sean and I had lunch at Rockit Bar and Grill, which is near the tower. I had a very yummy appetizer of rock shrimp in a chili lime sauce, which went well with the excellently mixed traditional mojito. I can’t remember what Sean had to eat, but I do remember he very much enjoyed the “garnish your own” bloody mary bar. I’m not sure what this place is like in the evenings, but it was quiet and calm in the early afternoon on a Sunday and we had a great time!
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