![]() ![]() Deciding it was time to move on, it finally rose up on its enormous wings and treated us to a fly-by before soaring out of sight. Every turn revealed snowy egrets, tricolored and little blue herons, night-herons, boat-billed herons, the cryptic bare-throated tiger-heron, and on and on! But then we rounded another corner and BAM! There is was! Towering above a foraging group of herons and egrets was a JABIRU! They say that you should never meet your heroes, but this didn’t disappoint! We watched it for several minutes as it stalked the shallows looking for prey, the smaller birds around it giving it a wide berth in deference. ![]() But the group that really stood out were the waders. We spent some time admiring the kingfishers, from the massive blue and chestnut Ringed Kingfisher to the diminutive American Pygmy Kingfisher. Raptors on display included the dapper black-collared hawk with its cinnamon plumage and the snail kite, with its finely curved beak, perfectly suited for getting the meat from apple snails. And boy howdy, were there birds!Īs we wound through the deeper channels of the lake we were treated to amazing views of dozens of species of birds. The lake is ephemeral, meaning it dries up and fills up each year, but we were there at a good time, as the water level was high enough to allow the boat to travel easily and take in the birds. After a cup of coffee and quick, tasty bite to eat at the Main Lodge, we jumped aboard a small skiff to go and explore the freshwater lake. ![]() Now, several decades later, I might finally get my chance.Īfter a short, comfortable ride on a modern highway, we arrived at Crooked Tree. Communications on these platforms cannot be easily saved, and the amount of time to view them is frequently constrained. I was going to see one of these amazing birds, someday… By ephemeral communication platform, we refer to social media platforms that enable interpersonal communications, but do not by default permanently store them. Every time we do this we make a comparison. It was a giant white stork, with a black head, blood-red throat patch, and a MASSIVE black bill. a metaphor when we give a word a meaning not found in a dictionary. The field guide described it as a “huge stork of Central and South America, casual straggler in south Texas, recorded once in Oklahoma”. So as a kid, thumbing through my dog-eared “Birds of North America” field guide, I first saw the Jabiru. But that said, there are some species that capture your imagination in a special way. I heard it recently described by Corina Newsome, the Community Engagement Manager at Georgia Audubon, and one of the organizers of Black Birders Week, as a “treasure hunt.” Everywhere you go, there are birds to be seen, from your backyard to the far flung reaches of the globe. One of the best parts about birding is that no matter where I go, there will be birds. I’ve been a self-admitted bird brain since I was about twelve years old. ![]()
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