Our Gang's Secret Spot

The birding "community" is like a giant school yard full of kids. Some you know, some you don't. Some have reputations, some are shy. Some are smart. Some are not so smart. There are cliques for sure but basically, there aren't any all out schoolyard fights. We know the cool kids but we aren't in their circle. We think the cool kids have their secret spots that they don't share with the community. Well thanks to our friend Yong, we now have our secret spot. Its not so secret but it is private property that we have permission to enter for birding purposes. 

Yong has been going on his own for some time now. He found a rare bird there a few weeks ago so Harvey and I decided to join him to see if we could refind the bird last Saturday. It was hot. Here are the guys - Yong, Harvey and Steve - and Peanut too. It started out pretty easy. 

The Gang

Then the path became more challenging. We had to bushwhack through high grasses and weeds along the dike. You can barely make out Steve's hat above the grass. Forget about trying to find Peanut. 

The Path

Once we got out to the end of the path, it opened up so that we could see the mudflats that the shorebirds love. We found a tagged bird - Semipalmated Sandpiper J5U. 

SESA J5U

We also found this Wilson's Phalarope which is a pretty unexpected find in mudflats. We usually see these in more water.

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson's Phalarope in flight

We gave up searching for Yong's rare bird and headed back down the dike. Of course, Harvey wasn't going to give up. And of course, he found the bird - Curlew Sandpiper. I swear he is charmed with this species. Unfortunately, I was the only one that got a photo of the bird. I swear, it is in this photo . . .

Curlew Sandpiper

Peanut had a great time in the mud.  She ran out and chased some birds which wasn't cool at all. She came back pretty quick. 

Peanut

She also had fun running through the grass. 

The shorebirds whirled around just above our heads when the resident Peregrine Falcons from the last post flew by.

I have to say that the experience was great. And my gang is great. We are happy not to be part of the cool kids. We have our own fun at our own pace and even find some cool birds on our own.