A RARE SURPRISE!

On Sunday, September 1st, 2013, I ventured over to the Half Moon Bay Pond as the migratory season has now started in earnest. Recently, I had been seeing a lot of “peeps” and other waders on and around the Golf Course, along with a variety of other birds.

At Half Moon Bay, I casually observed the construction of a new hotel with somewhat of a heavy heart, as the extreme Southern area of the Pond is being filled for development. Historically, this area was one of the best for bird observation, and many different species had been spotted in that location. While I fully support development on the island, I believe much of it could be undertaken with more environmental harmony, by working within and ensuring some measure of incorporation of the Natural Environment. This is not always the case.

I turned my attention to the North section of the pond with a quick sweep of my binos. At first, nothing out of the ordinary was noticed, until low and behold, my eyes fell on an immature Greater Flamingo, feeding, with its strange bill very noticeable. This was indeed a rare sighting, as the last local sighting was a lone Vagrant in year 2000 in the Great Salt Pond.

It was not pink but a greyish- white of the immature. This explained why I did not easily see it with the naked eye. I took a few pictures from a distance, and enjoyed a good long look at this casual visitor. When I finally left, I could not help wondering what other rare sightings will be observed over the next few months!