Recently I was thinking (I know, that is dangerous) that during the past 14 years I have owned the Wild Bird Center I have led a monthly BirdWalk. That a total of over 150 walks. Surprisingly only a handful have ever been cancelled because of bad weather.
I’ve been asked which one I remember most. Or what is my favorite location. In truth I’ve enjoyed them all, primarily because of the nice group of people that participates in them. Over the years many nice people have joined us. Young and old, male and female, tall and short. I learn from them all, they learn from each other. Bird people are nice people.
Thinking back, certain bird sightings do stand out. Not because, they were spectacular sightings of a rare bird but for other reasons. Maybe because of the people in the group, the weather conditions, or the time of the year.
One such notable sighting, occurred about three years ago on a spring walk to Read Sanctuary in Rye. The Osprey had returned just the previous day. Other returning migrants reminded us of the renewal that comes with spring. What I remember most was standing under the Osprey nesting platform as the newly returned birds brought large sticks to the platform for use in constructing their new nest for the year. They were totally oblivious to us standing just yards below as they went about their annual ritual. In my mind’s eye I can still see them flying in carrying sticks in their talons.
Another experience etched in my memory also occurred at Read Sanctuary about 9 years ago. As we were walking along the entrance road between Playland Lake and Long Island Sound a pair of Mute Swans took off from the lake flying directly over our heads, not 20 feet above us in the air. That is when I realized just how big a swan is. They seemed enormous with huge wings that flapped very very slowly, so slowly in fact that you could actually see them beat up and down. But more dramatically you could hear the sound of their wings as they slowly flew overhead. Each flap was a distinct swish. I can still hear that sound.
A third memorable sighting, also at Read Sanctuary, involved a Great Egret that had just caught a large fish. The size of the fish was about twice the diameter of the egret’s neck. As we watched the fish, now a bulge in the bird’s neck, moved slowly
down the long skinny neck from it’s mouth to it’s stomach. It took a few minutes.
There have been more memorable bird walks
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