Diversity in Siouxland, a short hour or so walk at Bacon Creek Park, Sioux City

An osprey keeps watch of a passerby from its perch above a walking trail at Bacon Creek Park in Sioux City, Iowa Tuesday April 19, 2022. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

As I’ve learned more about “birding” and being of aware of the creatures on my outings to local parks and preserves, sometimes I am amazed at the diversity I see within a small area and the numbers and types of birds there. And I know I am only scratching the surface of getting photos and seeing these critters. Others who post information while out have a list that is sometimes 15-20 species or more long. I am not quite, if ever, there.

An osprey is startled by a passerby walking on a trail beneath its tree perch at Bacon Creek Park in Sioux City, Iowa Tuesday April 19, 2022. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

An osprey wrangles a fish it caught in the lake to take back to a perch to eat at Bacon Creek Park in Sioux City, Iowa Tuesday April 19, 2022. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

And by no means are these birds exotic and flashy themselves, although my awareness was mostly of robins and sparrows, and occasionally a raptor or hawk of some kinds.

An American robin pauses on a downed branch at Bacon Creek Park in Sioux City, Iowa Tuesday April 19, 2022. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

A few blue-winged teal hang our together near a shoreline at Bacon Creek Park in Sioux City, Iowa Tuesday April 19, 2022. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

An American coot swims about in the lake at Bacon Creek Park in Sioux City, Iowa Tuesday April 19, 2022. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

And of course there are those cute, non aviary types one runs across who are determined not to be disturbed while trying to finish a meal. And of course I don’t blame them as those pesky paparazzi photo types walk by.

A squirrel munches its meal at Bacon Creek Park in Sioux City, Iowa Tuesday April 19, 2022. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

A northern flicker pauses momentarily on a tree trunk at Bacon Creek Park in Sioux City, Iowa Tuesday April 19, 2022. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

A belted kingfisher perches in a tree at Bacon Creek Park in Sioux City, Iowa Tuesday April 19, 2022. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

The creatures blend in so well and are most times too quick to photograph. I have learned anew the value of patience and perseverance. And of course the the usage of a digital camera that allows the deletion of many, many images with birds within thickets that only I know are there. As I tell students, “If you have to tell me about the great deer photo while showing it to me, maybe then one should try again. Oh, that small speck? Marvelous!”

It happens to the best of us. And with practice it can get better. But it’s also nice just being outdoors without a heavy coat, gloves and stocking cap along with hand and feet warmers. Although the wind gusts have persisted well into spring. But warmer months ahead and the opportunity to find and photograph more of these winged creatures.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

A Great White heron stands “hidden” in some reeds along a bank at Bacon Creek Park in Sioux City, Iowa Tuesday April 19, 2022. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

A Great White heron flies off along a bank at Bacon Creek Park in Sioux City, Iowa Tuesday April 19, 2022. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

A northern shoveler swims along a shoreline at Bacon Creek Park in Sioux City, Iowa Tuesday April 19, 2022. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

An adult bald eagle soars overhead at Bacon Creek Park in Sioux City, Iowa Tuesday April 19, 2022. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)