Today, in Lake Tahoe, my friend Jenny is searching for birds as part of Audubon's 121st Christmas Bird Count. Steve and I decided to parallel bird with her!
We thought the best place to be in nature, birding, was at the Buena Vista Lagoon Ecological Reserve, 206 acres of coastal freshwater lagoon habitat.
In 1939, a county ordinance was approved that prohibits the discharge of firearms within the areas adjacent to the lagoon. This in effect made the lagoon a bird sanctuary. Buena Vista Lagoon was acquired to preserve, protect and maintain coastal wetland habitat and associated wildlife species. The property was designated as an ecological reserve by the Fish & Game Commission in 1968 (California's first).Okay, so what is the Christmas Bird Count (CBC)? This amateur ornithologist's dream day is a long-standing program of the National Audubon Society. It is an early-winter bird census, where thousands of volunteers across the U.S., Canada, and many countries in the Western Hemisphere go out over a 24-hour period on one calendar day to count birds.As we wandered the lagoon's ¼ mile long trail, we were introduced to the various flora (widgeon grass, pondweed, and arrow grass).I loved the informative plaques along the path. For instance, this Pickleweed is a low-growing succulent that dominates wetlands. These plants are described as “salt-loving” or halophytic, which means they can tolerate brackish environments. They accumulate salt and store it in their tips, producing the reddish top segments at certain times of the year. When the storage cells are full, these tips turn red, die, and fall off. Pickleweed is an important part of the marsh food chain, eaten by rodents that in turn are food for predators, including birds.And while the birds seem to mostly be elsewhere, cormorants, grebes, passerine birds, terns, ducks, and geese usually call this reserve home.After leaving the lagoon, we spied birds in various locales.We ended our search at the Oceanside Harbor, admiring the pelicans, gulls and various seabirds lounging on the docks. What a wonderful morning in nature!"Allowing people to spend some time outdoors in nature may help reduce the likelihood of developing symptoms of depression and or anxiety during a lockdown. Being outdoors has a protective effect on mental health, especially in the face of pandemics", Erik Gómez-Baggethun, Professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.
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1 comments:
Fun parallel birding with you yesterday! Together in spirit. Looks like you found a Pied Billed Grebe, Kingbird, two Starlings, and with your pretty pelican is a Heerman's Gull - a gull that rarely lands here in Tahoe but was seen several times this fall! The Double Breasted Cormorant was here for a few days too. Love your quote about the benefits of enjoying nature.
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