Just a Stroll

Tammy and I took a short trip to the West Coast so I could try my hand at being part of a team of judges that evaluated philatelic and postal history exhibits. The location of the event was next to the Burlingame Shorebird Sanctuary.  And for those who like birds, ebird actually has a birding checklist for that location.

We took a couple of walks and did our best to view and identify birds.  Some of them were surprisingly familiar because we have seen them at Sweet Marsh (near Tripoli).  And others were a bit more of a thrill because we won't see them anywhere near where we live.

Sadly, the camera did not come along for this trip, so we relied on our phones.  But we're not looking at creating images to print and put on our walls here, so these will suffice.

We went back and forth on the identity of this bird.  We thought it might be a Long-billed Curlew or maybe a Whimbrel. Since a Whimbrel is a type of Curlew, I suppose we could be forgiven for our uncertainty.  After looking at the photo, I am more certain it is a Whimbrel because its curved bill seems to be a bit shorter.

We saw a Clark's Grebe diving in the water and an Anna's Hummingbird checking out the flowers.  There were Plovers, Godwits and Dunlins.  Sandpipers, Dowitchers and Gulls.  A Forster's Tern and a Snowy Egret flew by.  Meanwhile, a Bewick's Wren and a House Finch sang happily and a Dark-eyed Junco hopped on the ground nearby.

All of this courtesy of the fact that the area they were happy to inhabit was not good enough for someone to make another buck.  The humans have surrounded this area with an airport, hotels and various other things.  But with the shallow water and tides changing its borders continuously, it seemed like it would be okay to leave this slice of the world for the birds to reside.  

Hey, let's call it a bird sanctuary and it can be an attraction - I guess there is still money to be had, even if you do let the birds have it.

I might sound a little bitter in the last bit, but don't let that make you think I don't appreciate the sanctuary or that I was not happy to see some of the flowers in the area, many of which had been planted in cultivated beds that various businesses seem to favor.  The world there is what it is now, and if we can do things to support and encourage nature as it is, all the better.

We did notice some Sea Lavender growing near the side of the road.  Clearly, they had not been planted there - they were volunteers (ME!  Take me!  I'll do it!).  Whether these are native cultivars or variety that has been cultivated over time for gardens, I do not know.  

Either way, it was a dash of color that was welcome and appreciated.  The fact that a plant that was this showy was making a go of it just a foot away from a road without human intervention was enough to get me to root for it.  Now I just hope it doesn't turn out to be an invasive plant that it causing more problems than the good it did for me.

Then again, what is it invading here?  The dull landscape near a road that has a convenience store just fifty feet away?  I think we could do more with that sort of invasion.

And speaking of invasions - I await the typical May flush of Dandelions at the farm.  There was a time when I thought this was a bad thing.  Now I see its value.  The pollinators have been hanging on for this time of year - time to feast!