Bird Story- " A Real Dog and Pony Show! "
Harry Fisher (fish8553@dpnet.net)
Fri, 16 Oct 1998 01:46:35 -0400
Vince Elias, a naturalist with the Cape May Bird Observatory, will
probably never forget the Oct. 15 field trip he led to Hidden Valley;
it literally turned into " a real dog and pony show." All was well with
the world as the group of 20 or so meandered along a sunny hedge-row
looking for fall migrants. When the affectionate young shepherd mix
joined us, no-one was particularly concerned; it was friendly and its`
presence not overly intrusive.
It began when our path brought us into a pasture of quietly grazing
horses that belonged to the neighbouring ranch, when our canine
companion went into the herding mode. At first, all was well, as none
of the equine persuasion took notice. Then, trouble!! A lovely
chestnut gelding strode over purposefully to investigate. At first it
was amusing as the pair faced off, a retreat by the dog, another face
off and so forth, on the fringes of the birdwatchers.
However, when dog bit horse on nose, horse was NOT amused, and things
really livened up! Horse stood on hind legs, people shrieked! At this
point, as the erstwhile dog attempted to take refuge in the crowd from a
determined horse, I think all pretense of birding had been dropped. The
horse was no longer walking, it was trotting, yes, even galloping in
pursuit, through a course of dodging human beings. Even tho` the birding
had been a little slow, this was too much of a side show, even for
Vince.
In our time of need,a volunteer of CMBO quietly led the dog off into the
woods( no, he didn`t kill it ) so the group could continue on
unscathed. Yup, doubt I`ll ever forget this one either, the field trip
that turned into a " real dog and pony show ".
This is a true story!
Leslie Fisher
Cecil Bird Club
North East MD