Hey folks,
Took advantage of the nice weather and biked down to the CGI today. Nothing particularly rare (was hoping for a hooded gull of some variety), but quite a few good shorebirds hanging around totaling 11 species, in addition to 5 species of duck, and all six swallows. A White-rumped Sandpiper was very cooperative, foraging in a puddle close to the ferry fence. A pair of Ruddy Turnstones flew in off the lake while I was scoping, and in true CGI fashion, a Black-bellied Plover literally appeared from nowhere in a small puddle I was scoping as I glanced down at my guide. I have no idea where the bird could have come from, as I had scanned the area pretty thoroughly beforehand. I was pretty excited to pick up a drake American Wigeon as well, as I had figured that the window on that species had closed. Still a decent collection of waterfowl, with single female Northern Shoveler and Hooded Merganser briefly seen (viewing of the waterfowl pond was pretty heavily obstructed, I think it is very likely the males were here as well). Really a shame this spot isn't managed for wildlife, who knows what else it would pull in with some real habitat.
An Olive-sided Flycatcher and a few Mourning Warblers highlighted a morning walk through Lake Park today.
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2 comments:
Checked out CGI today, tried riding a bike with my scope for the first time - not easy! Picked up Dunlins, Semipal-SP, SemipalPL, White-rumped SP. Was hoping for the Wigeon and Hoodie, but no luck. No Black-bellied Plover or Ruddy Turnstone either, but I'll try again in a few days. I wish they would manage it for wildlife - there was a guy with a truck and hoses and what appeared to be a pump - I think they're draining it. What would it take to change the grand plan? It's sad. It's not like we have tidal flats here.
I would think cleaning this spot up could do a lot for city image as well, especially with visitors arriving on the ferry. A dusty, barren field full of trash and tires certainly doesn't make the best first impression.
Biking with a scope certainly isn't easy. Last year, I invested in a backcountry snowboarding backpack (found it cheap somewhere online), specifically for birding. It has room for my guide, binocs, and jackets/clothing if I need to fill them. Built for hiking to the top of snowboarding runs, the pack also has straps that are designed to hold a snowboard... they actually secure my scope very well (and keep it centered and aligned with my spine... no shifting weight makes biking with the scope much easier). I have other packs that I've used before that hold the scope inside of the pack... not nearly as useful in my opinion. I'd highly recommend this type of backpack for any BIGBYer out there!
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