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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Landfill Birding

As a homebuilder I regularly have to take construction debris to the county landfill. I hate throwing away money, but we recycle as much as possible. I take advantage of the opportunity when at the landfill to scope all the gulls looking for any unexpected birds.

On a recent trip to Hidden Hollow Landfill, while standing on the side of the road scoping the birds, a couple of guys pulled up next to me and the driver exclaimed, "Dude! Are you seriously birdwatching at the dump?!"

I smiled broadly and said with resolution "Yes I am." I briefly explained that there are often rare gulls spotted at the landfill and I was hoping to find one.

He replied, "And I just thought they were all 'dump chickens'."
Just for fun, I wanted to share the Mortensen Halloween costumes for this year.
My wife Jessica makes most of the costumes herself and we always have a family theme. Can you figure out what our theme was this year?

10 comments:

  1. Mia McPhersonNovember 1, 2012 at 3:54 PM

    I photograph birds near the dump here... and don't see a thing wrong about it, one never knows what might be found!

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    1. UnknownNovember 2, 2012 at 6:53 AM

      Gotta love the dump! I'm still waiting to see garbage heaps in the background of some of your photos Mia! :-)

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  2. Laurence ButlerNovember 1, 2012 at 4:24 PM

    I wish we had a good Gull dump here in Phoenix.

    The costumes are great--the Mortensen Holidays--but why aren't you dressed up Robert?

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    1. UnknownNovember 2, 2012 at 6:54 AM

      Hey now! That outfit is standard birder issue where I come from.

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  3. ChasNovember 1, 2012 at 4:48 PM

    Robert is Leprechaun in tribute to St. Patrick's Day. Other holidays commemorated here (the theme I guess!) include Easter, St. Valentine's Day, Halloween (of course), 4th of July, and Christmas (not so sure about the last one).

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  4. LarryNovember 1, 2012 at 5:39 PM

    Great family photo! Very colorful and action-packed too! We have some real gull watchers in Connecticut and it's hilarious to see 30 birders staning in a pile of trash looking for a rare gull. I know, I've been there with them.

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    1. UnknownNovember 2, 2012 at 6:56 AM

      I've discovered that solo birding the dump is not as fun as having that line of birders peering through spotting scopes. "Party at the dump folks! Who wants to come?!"

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  5. Hilke BrederNovember 2, 2012 at 4:53 AM

    I love that porthole photo of the gulls on the dump. I admire your wife who's made these beautiful costumes!

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  6. UnknownNovember 2, 2012 at 6:56 AM

    Thx Hilke. My wife is one talented lady who goes way out of her way to make holidays and birthdays super fun and memorable for the kids.

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