Black Belt Birding

I confess I felt a little intimidated by the name, especially after my time in the Valley where I'd been around so many birders who seemed to know every bird right off the top of their head. But my guide for the day, Emerson Learn greeted us enthusiastically. We started the day at the refuge headquarters at 5:30. The Black Belt Birding group broke up into two groups and loaded up into vans.


First stop, the Flight Deck, where we watched the snow geese take off. Bill Thompson was our other leader. He is editor for Bird Watcher's Digest. He pulled out his scope and we got a good look at the difference between a Ross's goose and a snow goose.



We also checked the snags for raptors.



















We loaded up and drove over to one of the other decks and were treated to a gopher working on his hole Next stop was to see where the belted kingfisher usually hangs out. He was a no show. We also went over to see if we could see the dipper, but likewise he was a no show. But we saw ruby crowned kinglets in the trees. One of our group was hoping to see a sora - one of the rails that lives at the refuge. Bill Thompson had a birding IPOD, and they heard the sora answer the call. The batteries gave out and the sora declined to make an appearance. But now I know one place to look for a sora as I make my loops around the refuge. We paused at one of the places where eagles hang out and found a dark morph red tailed hawk. I was amazed that one of our group spotted it. It was the color of the dead branch and blended right in. We got a good look at it through one of the scopes.

Then we headed to a part of the refuge that is closed to the public. When the geese first come in, they need 3-5 days to recover from their long flight. This area gives them a place away from people to regain some of their weight. Wild turkeys live back here, but they were also hiding well in the underbrush. Close to the Bill Norton Blind we saw a tree full of lesser goldfinches - what a delight.

I don't want to forget one of the other treats on this outing. They had prepared bags for each of us. Not any garden variety paper bag, no siree. We got beautiful cloth bags with this year's design labeled black belt birding. Inside was a beautiful mug, jalepeno cheese bagels, an apple, a banana, a bottled water, and two different slices of fruit bread. We munched on these goodies all morning. What a great souvenir for a wonderful morning.

This is one event I would gladly do again next year. In fact, I'll probably sign up for it more than once. Emerson Learn is one of the past presidents of the Friends of the Bosque and an avid birder. Going birding with him is truly a fun education.