A Really Good Bird

For studying winter ducks there's few places better than Lake Merritt. If you can get past the creepy stares of the herons and egrets you can get within a few feet of the many scaup, goldeneye, canvasback, grebe and other ducks wintering at the lake. While comparing the waterfowl to the pictures in my bird book this afternoon I noticed a trio of older people talking excitedly about the birds in front of us. One gentleman turned to me and said Miss, if you want to see a really good bird look at that second bird in the row right there that's a Tufted Duck. While working for the Audubon Society we were taught not to put such labels our feathered friends, this man was so kind and excited I didn't point out that he may be insulting the more ordinary ducks around us. The Tufted Duck was something to see, his tuft was sticking out in all it's glory. Even though I was looking at the birds fairly closely it's something I would have missed had it not been pointed out to me. In return I let the group peruse my birdbook for a few minutes to confirm some of their other observations. Maybe being a really good bird doesn't have to do with the species, maybe it has to do with making someone's day more interesting, with sharing a little knowledge. Maybe it's a really good bird because it brought a shared moment to four people on a perfectly ordinary Tuesday.