Searching Under Couch Cushions For Birds

 They started setting up for the Portland fair this weekend. The fairgrounds are located at the south end of Wangunk Meadows which is one of my regular favorite birding spots.

 I though that all the activity of large trucks coming and going would have spooked most of the birds away near the fairground area but as I peeked over an area of overgrown grass I found a Green Heron stalking prey.

 After searching the area more carefully I found that there were a total of 4 Green Herons hiding in the grass.

Wangunk Meadows is not a pristine area. It has muddy dirt roads with deep ruts,mangled trees,  and overgrown weeds making viewing difficult in some areas but I always seem to find some interesting birds there. Today it was the Green Herons, an Osprey, a Solitary Sandpiper, Savannah Sparrows, Eastern Bluebirds, and a Lincoln's Sparrow that caught my attention.

 Birding at Wangunk Meadows  reminds me of my childhood days when I used to dig under couch cushions trying to find loose change. I always managed to dig out a few quarters if I searched hard enough. Sometimes you have to dig deep to find birds at these meadows because there is so much cover but once in a while you get lucky.

 On October 20, 2011 I was at the fairgrounds early in the morning by myself at the same puddle pond where the Green Herons (above) were. I was excited enough to find an Ibis but later that day it was determined that it was a rare sighting of White-faced Ibis. Once in a while you manage to dig a silver dollar out of the couch cushions.