I've been through a tough stretch with a pretty low response to my bird walks here at Cattail Cove State Park. It's the kind of thing that makes me question if I put together an idea that just was not workable. Maybe there are not that many people interested in birding. Maybe this is just the wrong place to attract people interested in birds. At the same time I have just tried to soldier on, grin and bear it, and try to believe it will eventually catch on. All those fears vanished this weekend. I had six people show up on Friday, and today, Saturday, I had ten people show up.
This is the group from Friday, looking at the cliff where there is a Great Horned Owl nesting sight from past years. It's strange, but the rumor persists and people insist that an owl and chicks have been seen here this year. We are camped a few hundred feet away and pretty much keep around the clock watch, and we see no owls. We do hear them nightly, but during the past week their calls come from further up the canyon.
This is the group of ten today at our meet-up place at the amphitheater. From here we usually walk out through the park, noting Great-tailed Grackles and Gamble's Quail hanging around the campsites. Next we check out Verdin nests, Great Horned Owl nests, and Common Raven nests. Down at the cove we count American Coots, Lesser Scaups, Ring-necked Ducks, and Pied-billed Grebes. We end up back at the start hoping to see Black-tailed Gnatcatchers a maybe some Verdin. Click here to see todays list.
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