Giving Back

I am on vacation this week and had made a commitment to give back some work time to the park I  regularly visit. It is a county park with a limited budget so some things go by the wayside. I figured I could do some simple things like weeding flower beds, clipping back wayward briars that creep into the trails, picking up litter, etc.  For every hour that I spend birding or walking in the park, I will give back an hour  of volunteer work time.

Probably most of what I am doing will never be noticed by the general park visitor.  They are subtle but things that needed to be done.  My one pet project area however is beginning to show signs of improvement.  I think what ticks me off the most are the people who litter.  There are trash and recycling cans located in various locations yet folks will throw trash down versus holding on to it for a bit until it can be properly disposed of. 

This morning started out very foggy so I worked first then birded once the clouds began lifting.  The back marsh was very quiet at first until a group of around seven Bluebirds arrived.   A flurry of activity followed.  From out of nowhere, multiple species were present and joining in on the frantic behavior of the Bluebirds.

The original Bluebird who found some remaining poke berries was eating them as fast as possible.  Then another flew in which did not please the first bird, then still more.  They were so busy chasing each other away until the resident Mockingbird flew in to take the prize and chased all of them away.

On the pond I felt really sorry for one of the female Buffleheads.  Out of the group, four males and two females.  They couldn't catch a break from the constant advances of the males.  This one female finally flew away from the group of males.  I guess she needed some alone time.