The Most Exciting Sighting of All

Today I did my video and birding at the Oso Bay Wetlands Refuge. I do a video every week for my devotional/Bible Study blog called “Daily Enduring Truth.” Because I came in relation to my video, I was a little later getting to the Refuge than I would normally be. The birds were scarce around noon in the heat of the day. I saw some kind of hawk, but the pics were too blurry to use because he was so far off. I’ll share some pictures of an egret I saw in just a bit. I saw a Turkey Vulture, and I’ll share that pic, and the same pair, presumably, of mottled ducks that I talked about the other day. So what was the most exciting sighting of my day? The people.

I normally show up early in the day during the week. Showing up at noon on a Saturday meant that I got to see a lot of people: visitors there for the first time, families with little kids learning to love the outdoors, couples, joggers, people walking quietly. It was so exciting to see all those people out there enjoying the beauty of God’s creation. They may not have realized that they were following William Wise’s suggestion, quoted below this paragraph, but they were and everyone seemed to enjoy it!

Stop reading this blog, close your browser, push back the chair and walk out the door. Talk to God; cast your concerns at His feet; enjoy this world that He created. You just might get addicted. I know because I go there every day. So, pray and go birding!

I enjoy the wilderness style parks that reveal the natural beauty of the world God has created. So, while I didn’t see many birds today, it was time well spent.

One bird you can almost always see is this amazing bird known as the Turkey Vulture or the Turkey Buzzard. When you watch it soaring around overhead, it’s one of the most beautiful, graceful birds around. As scavengers, though, they don’t get good press. And the red head that looks so cool from a long way away is just plain ugly when you see it up close. I love watching these birds, though, and got a decent pic today.

turkey vulture

If you clicked on my video, then the egret, which I presume to be a Great Egret, you’ll see in the next pictures was right behind me. I kept hoping to get a picture of him catching and eating a fish, or something. He was stalking and darting his bill down to get something, but I never caught him in action. I’m gonna just post the pics without saying much about them. These egrets are beautiful birds and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

The third picture is my favorite from all the pics I took of this egret. I like the open mouth….

I keep hearing reports that the bird population seems to be going down. Obvioualy,  a few days shouldn’t be the sole proof of that idea. Still, I haven’t come across any sites that prove that theory right so far this year, and, a few sites SEEM to indicate that it may be right. Keep looking, keep watching and see if you agree with that idea.