Last weekend I tried twice, unsuccessfully, to see the Slaty-backed Gull at Aurora Rez. I enjoy chasing rarities from time to time, and missing is part of the game, though I am disappointed to have missed a great bird that would have been a lifer...
Anyway, I had heard that there is a $10 entrance fee per car per visit, which is ridiculous, but that's not why I'm writing. My first visit was late Saturday, and when I arrived there was no one at the gate, so I figured I was just lucky. In fact I was decidedly UNLUCKY as the next thing I noticed was a huge flock of gulls departing for some other roost. Crap. Sunday I arrived a bit after two o'clock and again the gate house was un-manned. Makes sense. It was Sunday after all. Later, while scanning the gulls up by the dam, I watched the park ranger ticket my car, which is when I learned that there is a SELF SERVE PAY STATION at Aurora Rez. CRAP! Ok. So getting to the point of this story, in fact it was not a ticket. The Ranger had given me a copy of the rule book and a warning that if I didn't pay on my way out, then I'd be in trouble. This is not how Parking Nazi's operate in my experience. (it is a vulgar term, I know, but earned...believe me!) Well, I did pay on my way out, lifebirdless but very appreciative for the leniency from the kind and understanding ranger whom I do not include among the previously mentioned group of professionals. Unfortunately for me, I did not have $10, so I was forced to put $20 in the envelope. It's ok, I deserved it, right? Well, to my astonishment I just received a call from an incredibly well-mannered and thoughtful parking staff professional. He noticed the overpayment and suspected that I likely didn't have the correct amount, and wanted to know if he could send me a refund (!!!) Are you kidding me! So. After many, many instances of parking authority abuse, I feel compelled to report this exceptionally kind act. Thank you Ranger Terry. You are a gentleman and role model! Good birding, Peter Burke Editor, *Colorado Birds* *Colorado Field Ornithologists* 935 11th St. Boulder, CO 80302 (973) 214-0140 CFO <http://www.cfobirds.org/> Flickr<http://www.flickr.com/photos/pgburke/> LinkedIn <http://www.linkedin.com/pub/peter-burke/5/788/a62> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CACjv0GZVmYkWbMauOQ1D3kBHqvV4Qf0OKsao%2BtNKZLWPnBtkbw%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.