Sunset, Kailua-Kona, The Big Island, Hawaii, March 11, 2024

Sunset, Kailua-Kona, The Big Island, Hawaii, March 11, 2024
Sunset, Kailua-Kona, The Big Island, Hawaii, March 11, 2024

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Walking and Birding - Sun., Feb. 9

Been working a lot lately, so haven't taken time to blog. A full day was planned today, starting with a 13K Volksmarch along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River.

At 9:00 a.m., our friend Susan met us at Travelers World RV Park where we started our walk. First stop, Mission San Jose to sign in for the walk.

We walked along the San Antonio River, seeing many birds along the route, including a flock of black-bellied whistling ducks.

Black-bellied whistling ducks



Other birds we saw along the way...

Great egret
Red-shouldered hawk
Red-shouldered hawk from back
Great blue heron.
Intellectually stimulating conversation covered the book "1421," speculation about life in other parts of the universe, the Army, Volksmarches we will do in the near future, the ultralight experimental aircraft her husband is building in California and the movie "Monuments Men" - made the 13K (8.06 miles) fly by.

We also saw Mission San Jose, ruins of the old Hot Wells Hotel and Mission Concepcion on Mission Walk 1. When we started the walk it was foggy and cold. About 2/3rds of the way through the walk, the sun came out. At that point we were back by the RV park. I changed out of my sweatshirt into a T-shirt and Susan M. did the same. Much more comfortable.  We finished the walk in less than three hours in sunny, warm weather.

Back at the 5er, I ate lunch, took a shower, then at 2:00 p.m., Lydia from our RV park met me for an afternoon outing to Mitchell Lake Wetlands Audubon Center. We also picked up Steve and Margaret at their RV. Off we went to see what we could see.

The admission to Mitchell Lake Wetlands jumped from $2 to $5. Wow! Luckily, I joined so I did not have to pay. Lydia is former military so she got in for $2.

We drove to the Duck Pond where we saw:

Buffleheads
American white pelicans
We also saw Northern shovelers, black-necked stilts, American widgeon, mockingbirds, a roadrunner, what I believe was a Northern harrier attacking a small bird, and a vermilion flycatcher. Again, the weather was gorgeous.

Later, Bob and I went to dinner at Sam's Burger Joint where we chowed down turkey burgers. He had regular fries and I had sweet potato fries.

Tonight we are watching "The Beatles: The Night that Changed America - A Grammy Salute." Excellent! Bob and I remarked it makes us feel young again.

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are singing. Travel Bug out.









10 comments:

  1. Ducks looks beautiful with their pink color beak...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Replies
    1. Thanks, Linda. Wow, you sure have been having the storms in Portland.

      Happy you're spending some time on Mt. Hood.

      Delete
  3. Great photos of the ducks and birds. I'm glad you got some time off work to see the
    Mitchell Lake Wetlands Audubon Center. It sound like a good place to see birds :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love going to Mitchell Lake Wetlands Audubon so much I became a member. Can't wait for the spring migration. Who knows what birds will show up.

      Delete
  4. Do Whistling Ducks actually sound like they whistle? Love your photos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. According to "The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America,"
      referring to the black-bellied whistling ducks:

      Voice: In flight a wheezy, musical, whistled "pit, pit, pit WEEE do deew."

      I think they sound like they're whistling their own tune.,

      Delete
  5. Those Black-bellied ducks are a hoot. Never have seen anything like them.

    We haven't been to San Antonio for a couple of years. Need to get back there and see the additions to the walk.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Mission Reach of the Riverwalk is newly redone and replanted since the Memorial Day flood of 2013 wiped out all the new landscaping that had just been completed before the flood. There are very few trees along the trail, so best to walk or bike ride on a cloudy or cool-ish day.

      If you haven't been on the Museum Reach of the Riverwalk north of downtown (where the locks are), that's beautiful with may trees and artwork along the way.

      Delete

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