Birder PapaRrazi
An Amateur Birdwatcher's tally
November started with a boom of birds. I expected little. The light is decreasing. My workday is not. But on Friday, the first of November 2019 I got off at 4:45pm. Early for me. I took advantage of it and went birding with my sister. We didn’t stop off for the dogs. This was going to be drive by, count some duck and watch the crows fill the evening sky birding. A hawk stood proudly in a tree, looking for his dinner. He was a red tail, a big handsome fellow. We moved forward. Sounds of killdeer, Canada geese, and ducks filled the air before we could see the marshy field. A majestic trumpeter swan floated serenely. He was by himself amongst northern shovelers, cinnamon teals, and wigeons. Canada geese filled the field by the marsh. A bald eagle soared in, flipped around a few times and left without taking a meal. Thank goodness. I know they must eat but I prefer to think a rodent is better than a bird. A wild rodent, not someone’s pet. After oohing and aahing, and much picture taking, we move on. Mallards mix with wigeons and pintails in the next field. We meet a dead end and turn. Past the dead end is a little river. My sister grabbed my arm and pointed, speechless and then stuttering. “It’s a, a, a.” “Blue heron?” I’m excited. “No, a bittern. An American Bittern.” I see it as it dives over some reeds in the water and vanishes. We wait hopefully but he doesn’t return. The next morning, we had to go back. The swan was there, and the ducks, but no killdeer. More ducks. But no bittern. We were disappointed. We went back again with the same results in the evening. Finally, on Sunday we went back to find the swan not there, but the bittern was. Finally, I got some pictures. Not good pictures. But something to show. I’m so pleased My regular birding jaunt was limited – I walked Katie around Flaming Geyser park. We missed the robins. Wonder where the robins are? I haven’t seen any all weekend. I’ve also missed red winged blackbirds. But I saw a blue heron fly in. I got some wonderful snaps of a hawk and some crows. The bittern and swan both made my weekend. November is starting off with a boom of birds…
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AuthorI love birdwatching. It's relaxing and fun. Even though I've been birding for over 10 years I classify myself as an amateur birder. I plan to write a blog each month about my experiences. Hope you enjoy them! Categories |
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