Focus on local birders' spot
Very nice to see a community newspaper, The Laguna Beach Independent, focus on Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve, also known as Back Bay, and the birders who enjoy it. In today's edition:
As is his custom on each month's first Saturday, Laguna Beach bird-lover John Heussenstamm follows the bend of Back Bay Drive, and pulls to the curb just before the entrance to the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve. He waits for his flock to gather around 8 a.m., and once there, the bird watchers head into the reserve, with eyes peeled for congregations of waterfowl.Map courtesy of Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends
The others benefit from his knowledge and enthusiasm. Heussenstamm has been birding for 45 years, and knows each of the roughly 100 species wintering here not only by sight. For those hiding in the bushes, he can identify them by call. When he makes a good spot he gets excited, manning the spotting scope, lining up the distant bird, then encouraging the others, "Get a look at that one, quickly! That osprey is eating a fresh kill."
posted by Amy at 12:23 PM
1 Comments:
This is great to see.
For me, it's of the utmost importance to show non-birders that all this great stuff is happening right in their backyards.
For a while, I wrote a birding column for my Manhattan neighborhood community newsletter. The turf in question: about two blocks. But I know for a fact that I peaked some interest, and made a few more friends for the birds.
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