Camera Stress

I had a little anxiety attack today. I noticed there were a few migrant ducks out on the pond that don't usually show up this early in the year. There were three Buffleheads, and one duck that I couldn't identify from a distance. So I grabbed my binocs and headed out to get a closer look.

I still wasn't sure. It looked like a goldeneye, but I couldn't be sure. I decided to grab my camera, because I don't have a good picture of a Bufflehead anyway. However, my camera wasn't where it was supposed to be. I began to panic. This is a not-so-cheap park camera. I began asking everyone in the office if they had borrowed it. No one had. Crap.

I sent a few email inquiries out, and decided there wasn't much more to do. So I borrowed my supervisors camera to see if it would zoom enough to get at least a decent picture of the ducks. It couldn't. I really wanted my camera back.

While waiting for any word to come back about my camera's whereabouts, I found that the unknown duck was a female Common Goldeneye. I usually see them with the male, so that threw me off. I was excited, though. These are the first of these birds for the year.

While I was focused on the ducks, another bird flew into my field of view. A Great Blue Heron. Dang it all that I didn't have my camera. But I was quite pleased with that little bit of luck. I watched it as it flew around the pond for a brief moment, then off in search of a better landing zone.

Later in the day I got word that our maintenance guy had used my camera to get some pictures of a damaged roof. At least I knew it hadn't walked off. But surely they could have found a cheaper camera to take up onto an icy roof to get maintenance pictures.