Text and photos by Fred Hileman
It was a beautiful morning, but a bit nippy. As usual, I never am completely ready for the cool mornings. I should know by now that you take an over shirt, because it can be chilly and then you can remove as it warms. Rey Wells usually comes to my rescue and has an extra shirt, but this morning he was wearing it. Bummer.
Rey was scheduled to lead, but he handed the baton to me. I didn’t object; Emeralda has always been one of my favorite field trips.
The morning did not disappoint. Birds were slow to come “alive.” The sun broke out; the insects began to arouse from their dormancy and the birds seemed to be the better for it.
I heard my first of the year Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. I always enjoy the sound. I call them “cry babies.” Birds were out in numbers. All the usual birds were in abundance. We did get a few surprises. It was thrilling to see two juvenile Bald Eagles soaring with two Ospreys. They appeared to be having a fun time dodging in and out of one another. It has been a few years since we’ve seen Purple Gallinules at Emeralda. We had good photo ops at the bridge. It was difficult to get the group to leave the area. In the past it had to be at Venetian Gardens where the Purple Gallinules are a dime a dozen. We also had a Common Yellow-throat at the same spot. The lake gave us the opportunity to watch two Ospreys diving for fish.
The thrill came at the end when we spotted the 2 Snail Kites. We saw one at first and then another. One must have been on the ground under the visible one eating a snail.
It was a fabulous day all in all. We tallied 52 species. Here is the eBird link: https://ebird.org/checklist/S213785183
