The Lost Bird

Beep.  I had to stop a moment to register the sound.  It came softly and unexpectedly from the receiver as I walked the treeline at the edge of the wide pine savannah.  I turned the antenna, waiting to hear the sound again.  I took a step back and pointed in the direction I thought the antenna had been when I heard the sound.  Beep.  The signal was coming from the stand of slash pines.  I tried to see if there was any opening in the pines where the bird could be sitting since I was already at the edge of the savannah.  The stand of pines looked like the perfect pinball machine for a signal to bounce around in all day, coming out in odd directions and strengths.  As I walked in the direction of the signal, the wind picked up and the light seemed to dim slightly.  I trudged through the shrubs, stumbling over uneven ground, listening intently for the receiver to let me know I was on the right track.  The signal seemed to vanish as I walked in its direction.  I stopped and began turning in circles, waiting.  I walked further into the stand and the wind picked up some more.  There appeared to be an opening ahead.  Beep.  I stopped and turned to the signal, perpendicular to my line in the pines, and stronger.  It had definitely been stronger.  Beep.  I followed the signal again.  Beep.  Beep.  Beep.  Finally consistent, I could move with faster speed without worrying about losing that sound.  Louder and stronger, the signal led me on a strange and frustrating path.  I was finally picking up on the subtle cues on the wind, to make the hunt more pressing.  My path was a set of right angles throughout the pines, bouncing around in what seemed to me like all directions.  The signal was still gaining strength, so I just carried on until I met a dense set of shrubs and vines packed between trees.  At this point, there was no way to miss the dense clouds that were racing in my direction.  I had come this far, so I decided to continue the search.  Through the brush was the very back corner of the adjacent savannah, which was finally the right habitat to find this little yellow rail.  Out into the opening, after tearing through some dense vines, I had a good signal in good habitat.  Now, it was just a matter of getting close and taking a GPS point.  As I got closer the rail moved and changed direction, and I followed.  I heard a loud rushing of wind.  As I looked up, I saw a downpour coming straight over the slash pines.  I followed the rail in the rain, which clearly wasn’t slowing it down.  After getting a strong enough signal, I stopped.  The storm had darkened the sky and the rain had soaked me.  The storm over the savannah was raging as I stood in awe.  The wind was energizing and the rain refreshing.  It was even a little nerve wracking.  What if lightning struck, or a tornado formed?  I was a kilometer from the truck and my co-workers.  I took the necessary data and began my long trek back to the truck in the rain.