Surfside Golf Course, 6:30 A.M, October 8th, 2022
As soon as I looked outside my bedroom window at 6:00 A.M, I knew that very few people would show up at the golf course for the Guided Bird Walks I was leading. When I arrived at the golf course with my mom and dad, it was very foggy and only two other cars were there, with people that were golfing. As I got off of the golf cart, I spotted my teacher’s car pulling into the foggy parking lot. We waited for five more minutes, but nobody else showed up. We headed down the hill towards hole #18, while my dad stayed in the parking lot for a little longer to see if anyone else showed up. As we walked, I told my teacher about the different birds we might see, and what we might see if we’re lucky. We usually see a Spotted Flycatcher, a Common Kingfisher, a Eurasian Hoopoe and several House Crows. As we walked towards the canals at the end of the golf course, we passed the area where the spotted flycatchers usually are, but there weren’t any. There were several crows and Mynas, and a Pigeon that was resting on a branch. As we neared one of the canals, I noticed a moorhen running along the cart path to the canal. There was also a kingfisher perched on a branch of a tree that hung way out over the water. As we continued along the canals, we startled a Gray Heron from the canal, who then proceeded to squawk at us. There was only another crow on the way back until we got to the duck pond. A Spotted Flycatcher was perched on one of the light poles, darting back and forth between the poles. The mosquitoes were buzzing over the pond, trying to avoid the fearsome flycatcher. As we left, we hoped that more people would show up at the tour at the Mangrove Eco Park.
Mangrove Eco Park, 10:00 A.M, October 8th, 2022
For our second Guided Bird Walk of the day, we drove to the Mangrove Eco Park, which was about 30 minutes away. We chose low tide, because the mudflats are exposed, where the crabs are, and the birds that eat the crabs. I assembled the camera, and then waited in the building while my mom and dad went out to the end of the boardwalk to scope out the scene. While I was waiting, I looked through some of the pictures I had taken over the summer. By the time my mom returned, five people had showed up for the bird walks. As soon as we stepped out of the building, I noticed a Gray Wagtail in the mud cooling off in the shade. As I looked closer, I realized there were four other wagtails along with it, sticking together during their long migration from Europe. Once we had the scope and the camera set up at the end of the boardwalk, we started scanning for birds. The first birds we saw were herons out at the sandbar, past the mudflats and water. As we looked closer, we saw tiny stints running in the very shallow water, sifting through the sand. Way out in the water, past the sandbar, 22 Greater Flamingos were perched in the water, sifting through it for their favorite food, Brine Shrimp. There were also several swallows and Dunlins. It was a feeding frenzy in the water, and in the air as well!
Once we had packed up the camera and the scope, we slowly walked back towards the building, looking for Dunlins and Kentish Plovers hiding among the mangroves. There weren’t any other birds, however. As we were driving back down the road towards the freeway, I spotted a raptor gliding in the thermals, slowly making its way towards the edge of the mangroves, and the shore birds.
