The Birding Lesson

We made a second trip to the Bear River Bird Migratory Refuge, but this time we didn't go alone.  Our new next door neighbors, Jim and Connie, who are also here Summer Citizening for the first time, are big time bird people.  I knew they were pretty savvy when they could identify birds by their song without even seeing them!  It turns out that they have been birding for many years all over the country.  They confided that Texas is one of their favorite places to go birding because of the diversity of both birds and terrain.

I shared that Drake had bought me a set of birding binoculars for Christmas, and I would appreciate a birding lesson.  We set our plans to go the the Logan wetlands which fell through because when we arrived at the wetlands, the fire department was doing controlled burns and there were little tongues of fire everywhere we wanted to go.  What the heck!  We decided to hit the migratory refuge.  This trip was altogether different when accompanied by experts.

We were so impressed with their encyclopedic knowledge of the birds we saw.  I learned the correct way to use my binoculars - to enhance my ability to FIND the birds and actually see them.  I discovered what I THOUGHT was a warbler.........is in fact a yellow headed black bird.

We also saw avocets, which according to Jim is somewhat of a rare sighting - you only see them in certain locales.  Plus, we caught this couple in a courting ritual.

I discovered that there are 'super birders' - which seems to mean people who are obsessed with seeing birds, finding birds, and who actively seek out birds they haven't seen.  I laughed  when Connie told me, "I have too much imagination to be a good birder."  Later, she explained that the super birder types know exactly what bird they are going to see in a specific location, and any suggestion or voicing that it might be a different bird than expected is met with a distinctly chilly reception and outright disdain - hence, her comment of 'having too much imagination'.

We saw several different types of ducks :  Cinnamon Heads (yes, their heads are cinnamon colored), and a  funny looking duck with a bright blue bill.  The most fun sighting of the day was the grebe with her chicks.  It turns out that this is common; a mom grebe carrying a baby on her back as she swims around.  it was a great sight. 

Examples of going 'birding' with someone who actually has some knowledge:  Seeing a snowy egret (there are two types - difference is size and leg/feet color), but understanding that the bird is in 'mating plummage' - the ruffles around it's head.  Also, we spotted a Great Blue Heron with a twisted up neck - indicative of the bird getting ready to 'strike' a fish under the water.             

 This was a delightful trip with new friends.  And to top the day off, everyone knows how obsessed I am about knowing what kind of vegetation I'm seeing in my new locale, well, I had seen a bush/tree at the refuge which I had never seen before.  Obligingly, Jim explained that it was a Tamarisk, an Australian import to fight river bank erosion which was a poorly thought out import - it's a water hog and it crowds out native plants.  Sure is pretty in  bloom, though. 

What a great day with new friends.