I have to say that it felt great to get out after several days of not feeling well and being stuck inside recuperating. Kyle Dudgeon joined me this afternoon and we headed out to the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area to try for the Common Gallinules that John Haas had posted about in his blog earlier in the week. We went directly to Haven Road, which is still flooded. We walked slowly through the water and over the bridge before we saw our first family of Common Gallinules, which consisted of one adult and 3 chicks. Fortunately, they were not too far out for photos, although the vegetation did make focusing on the birds a little bit difficult. It was super to get such a good look and photos of these birds, which are typically much tougher than this to locate. And, it was Kyle’s lifer COGA, so that was exciting too. There was an additional 6 Common Gallinules in open water out in the distance, and I could hear other COGAs in at least two other locations. Huge thanks to John for posting – what a great birding opportunity.
Matt,
Glad to hear you are feeling better and were able to get out to the Bashakill for the Gallinules. Its been an interesting week with all the flooding, but fortunately, it seems the birds have fared well through it all. Also glad Kyle got to see them as well. John
Thanks John, I felt awful for a few days! Like you said in your post, I guess the timing wasn’t that bad. Thanks again for posting, that was a lot of fun. Matt