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It's about time that Mother Nature in her infinite wisdom decided to reward us with superb weather! Cool start to the mornings, but warming mid day and outer layers were starting to fly off. Years past have been BRRRR and not the most conducive to comfortable viewing. The visitors center being closed was a bummer as was the unavailability of the tram for the far reaches of the preserve. High water in the basins and elsewhere made for hardships for the birds to have open mud flats and low marsh areas to feed. There was the Vermilion Flycatcher again in a usual spot. He was very cooperative with the photographers and lit on perches very close to the avid camera snappers.
The most sought after bird this trip was the American Flamingo who has been present in the far reaches of the preserve for a very long time. On Jan 5th, a couple of the group trekked out to view the marvelous creature and got good shots. Then on Sunday 6th, 5 of us trekked out 1.9 miles to get a view. Unfortunately good photos by our group were not as promising. The AMFL was a very long distance from our viewpoint. By looking through bins, we could see the AMFL, but not well enough to get good shots we then had to trek back the 1.9 miles, but grateful that at least we could see a bird that was a lifer in the wild for many of us. Thanks to Ken Spilios, his photos of the VEFL,White Faced Ibis, AMFL served us well. The trip netted 83 species.
The most sought after bird this trip was the American Flamingo who has been present in the far reaches of the preserve for a very long time. On Jan 5th, a couple of the group trekked out to view the marvelous creature and got good shots. Then on Sunday 6th, 5 of us trekked out 1.9 miles to get a view. Unfortunately good photos by our group were not as promising. The AMFL was a very long distance from our viewpoint. By looking through bins, we could see the AMFL, but not well enough to get good shots we then had to trek back the 1.9 miles, but grateful that at least we could see a bird that was a lifer in the wild for many of us. Thanks to Ken Spilios, his photos of the VEFL,White Faced Ibis, AMFL served us well. The trip netted 83 species.
The first day ended with our group enjoying a great seafood dinner. The restaurant is very good and located next door to our hotel. The con was that it was closed Monday night for some of us who stayed over. This photo was taken with my phone by one of the waitresses. Good time was had by all.
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