Some events that could be categorized as challenges presented themselves earlier in the year and they kept me from updating the blog as often as I would have liked to.
In an attempt to counter the effects of those stressful situations, I took to visiting nearby places that I hadn't visited in all the years we have been here on the Texas Gulf Coast. The Birding group I have joined on Facebook always has suggestions to offer and a host of information on migratory patterns and sightings. Visits to Surfside, Port Aransas, The Brazos Bend State Park, and Galveston were a result of these recommendations.
Everyday you learn something new is an adage which rings true all the time. Every time I visited the Facebook page of the group, I would see people using words I hadn't heard before.
"This one was a 'lifer'",
"How many in your 'list' now?"
Soon I learned that the first sighting of any species was a 'lifer'. People kept elaborate notebooks with life lists or e-lists that included details of all bird species they had ever sighted along with information about where the sighting took place, date and time and additional information one would consider useful. While I am an avid birder, I had no such list, so I decided to make one. I just added names of birds and where I had seen them. I had over a hundred names already.
Some of the names on my wishlist were Sandhill Cranes, Whooping Cranes, and Wood Storks. While I have yet to see the latter two, I managed to get a good look at a very large flock of Sandhills. They were together with a much bigger gaggle of Snow geese. It was like hitting a jackpot. I had been looking for them for a while. I heard their call and sure enough, there they were! Dozens of them! Coming so close to the sighting of Roseate Spoonbills that had put on quite a show for me at Surfside, this was indeed the icing on the cake.
In an attempt to counter the effects of those stressful situations, I took to visiting nearby places that I hadn't visited in all the years we have been here on the Texas Gulf Coast. The Birding group I have joined on Facebook always has suggestions to offer and a host of information on migratory patterns and sightings. Visits to Surfside, Port Aransas, The Brazos Bend State Park, and Galveston were a result of these recommendations.
Everyday you learn something new is an adage which rings true all the time. Every time I visited the Facebook page of the group, I would see people using words I hadn't heard before.
"This one was a 'lifer'",
"How many in your 'list' now?"
Soon I learned that the first sighting of any species was a 'lifer'. People kept elaborate notebooks with life lists or e-lists that included details of all bird species they had ever sighted along with information about where the sighting took place, date and time and additional information one would consider useful. While I am an avid birder, I had no such list, so I decided to make one. I just added names of birds and where I had seen them. I had over a hundred names already.
Some of the names on my wishlist were Sandhill Cranes, Whooping Cranes, and Wood Storks. While I have yet to see the latter two, I managed to get a good look at a very large flock of Sandhills. They were together with a much bigger gaggle of Snow geese. It was like hitting a jackpot. I had been looking for them for a while. I heard their call and sure enough, there they were! Dozens of them! Coming so close to the sighting of Roseate Spoonbills that had put on quite a show for me at Surfside, this was indeed the icing on the cake.
No comments:
Post a Comment