Los Conors Birdathon Team
March 30
We are a crew, newer to birding - so this was the first year we participated in the Birdathon. It has been a rough past 3 months for our family, as we have had to adjust to varying challenges associated with our parents' health. The Birdathon presented an exciting opportunity to come together to participate in an event for birding, and for us to put aside the challenges for at least a couple hours.
We are Los Condors - named for our love of the condor, a resilient bird species, and for part of our family history, which is from Peru. Our Birdathon took place in the evening of Sunday, May 3rd at Santa Teresa County Park.
Great blue heron by Rosalie Cárdenas
We saw 12 different bird species:
Crow
Barn Swallow
Turkey
Northern House Wren
Bushtit
Spotted Towhee
Red-tailed Hawk
Anna's Hummingbird
Great Blue Heron
Scrubjay
Western Bluebird
Turkey Vulture
Coyote on the trail: Rosalie Cárdenas
We also encountered an unexpected sighting of two coyotes on the trail
Our collective memorable moment from that evening was having the Great Blue Heron fly over our heads to a smaller pond that was near the trail. We all thought a dinosaur was flying over us as the shade/shadow of the Heron flying over us was strikingly noticeable. We encountered the Great Blue Heron at the pond, staying there for about 20 minutes - noticing the slow, thoughtful pace of the Heron and the patience in waiting to strike for food (photo attached), before heading back to where we started.
Days later, our Birdathon was still a reflective experience. One of our team leads/my sister, Julie, shared two more encounters with Great Blue Herons in the following two days of our Birdathon. Beyond coincidence? Meaningful? Nature speaking? Yes, all of the above! Julie shared with us the symbolism of Great Blue Herons across different cultures - namely being symbolic of patience and stillness, self-reliance, and balance. It could not be overlooked and as the true team/family lead she has been, Julie's share reminded us all of the sacred space, patience, and reflective teachings that birding can offer. Amidst life's challenges, however big or small, there's always time for birding.
Until next year!