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Posted by Susan Schneider on 08:30:36 10/26/08
In Reply to: Re: Greater Flamingos posted by Larry Manfredi
I did indeed see the Flamingos, Larry, thanks to you and the others who have been posting about these birds over the past few weeks.
There's not many places where 50 Roseate Spoonbills and a supporting cast of thousands of shorebirds, pelicans, gulls, terns, and other waders--and a Peregrine--can be upstaged. Bobbing in the water at a distance, hoping against hope, I panned through all the Spoonbills when, with one in the foreground, I noticed a distinctly different pink bird in the background, the lone adult Flamingo that Larry mentioned. The neck is proportionally much longer, and the color is that salmon pink rather than the Spoonbills' purer pink. I knew immediately that this was it, and then noticed the lighter subadults nearby. At somewhat closer range (still 100s of yards away), I could make out the unique bill, and one of the subadults opened its wings a couple times so I could confirm the black primaries. I watched for about an hour, pinching myself. I've tried for the Flamingos unsuccessfully several times by foot and by kayak over the past few years, and success was almost surreal--especially coming about a month before I move out of state. As Angel and Mariel say, Nature is Awesome!
For others who might be interested in trying by kayak or canoe, just be sure to watch the tides and the wind. I lucked out, as I launched at low tide at 9 AM from the marina, and normally would have encountered numerous mud flat obstacles. As I anticipated, though, the south wind in the forecast pushed enough water in to make even the shallowest areas of Snake Bight navigable for a kayak (although I could easily have reached out and grabbed several coupled Blue Crab pairs on the bottom, and had soft-shell for dinner!). The rain in the forecast held off, and the water was calm, making for a steady platform for using the binoculars. Staying close to shore, and advancing well into the bight, it took me almost an hour of paddling each way, but that was with stops for birds and marine creatures, and it could certainly be done faster.
A few other highlights: A Spoonbill 50 feet in front of me, preening. Despite that amazing bill, it somehow managed to pick out just a few flight feathers on which to concentrate its efforts.
The sound of the wings of flocks of shorebirds as they approached me from behind (puzzling the first time).
A male fiddler crab only half an inch long.
As usual, fish were feeding all about below the water, while the bird activity was constant above the water. Snake Bight around low tide is a spectacle not to be missed. Yesterday, Flamingos and Spoonbills were the pink icing on the cake.
Good birding,
Susan
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