Low 70s, mostly sunny, very windy
The targets for the day were the Crested caracara and the Least bittern. We ended up batting .500 with a late appearance by the caracara as it flew over our car while we were on the last leg of our trip around the reserve. It flew before we had a chance to get the cameras out from under the seat of the car, but we watched and found where it had perched with a second caracara some distance away. At the same time a Sora showed up along the side of the impoundment, and we were faced with the question of which to go for….waiting out the sora or try to go after the caracara.
The Sora won simply because it was close by. Once we were on that bird, the caracaras took flight again. Although it was still pretty far off, I did manage to get several shots off and then cropped and enlarged to get a “documentation” grade photo.
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| Hooded merganser |
Prior to our sightings of these two birds, we had more than 40 on the day list including several nice ducks including the Ring-necked, Mottled, and Hooded merganser.
Highlight of the day, however, went to the Great blue heron with a chick. I had photographed the same heron back in January when it was in the process of construction of the nest with its mate. It was gratifying to see that the end result was successful and we had the opportunity to see the fruits of their labors. There is always a story to tell at the end of each birding trip and this one certainly had happy ending.
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