Scout day at River Legacy 2017
Well I had a blast yesterday. It was a beautiful day to help lead hikes and teach kids all about wildlife. It was kind of a crazy day at first my little brother had an SAT to go to that morning so I got a ride with my aunt and my brother and headed off for TCC Southeast. Once there it was still around seven o'clock and not yet time for me to be at River Legacy so we killed sometime after we dropped off my brother by going to the pond and looked at the Buffleheads and the RIng-Necked Ducks. Once I got out of the car and got into position the birds took off to the other side of the pond. I was having the hardest morning taking photos of birds. The sun was still rising and it was in my eyes and it made the birds a lot darker than normal. Anyway soon I got the shots I needed and headed off into town. My aunt got her breakfast and we headed for River Legacy. She dropped me off and I was just in time to help set up stuff. I always love helping out when I can before scheduled volunteer time. I got the table set up and then went to my post which was the hike station. I ran into @charley and Anne and chatted for a little bit. We discussed the plan of action as well as what was on the trail. I had been out there twice before the even and saw a few things but not much that was too different. Charley told me about the bees in the nesting box and the Towhees that I missed that morning. I still have to get those on my life list. I will one of these days. Anyway I helped get people signed up at the table with a few others and soon it was time to get going to the hike meeting area near the red bridge. This was the first time I actually led a hike myself and I was kind of nervous but it was all good. The first group was so big that we had to split it up but the other groups that we hiked with later were very small groups and we all went as a combined group. I really enjoyed working with the kiddos and showing them stuff. The coolest things we found were the Diamondback Water Snake, the Red-Shoulder Hawk eating the Western Ribbon Snake, and the Spiny-backed Orb Weaver. The Diamond-backed Water Snake was there the whole day and he was the first thing we would show to the kids and they had a little trouble spotting him at first but they soon were all able to see him. It was quite the snake; it was pretty large and had possibly just ate. He was just sitting on top of the tarp keeping very still except a few times when he would change positions when we would look away. I think the DB water Snake is one of the prettiest I have ever seen. I love snakes in general and don't think they deserve their reputation. Some people just don't understand and get all in a panic for nothing. Sure it is wise to use caution but not develop an unhealthy fear about them. That is what is hard to unlearn is fear and it is hard to unteach it. The hikes were good and boy the last one was the coolest. I was giving a talk on Inland Seaoats and someone said there a hawk got something. It was the same hawk we had been seeing all day as well. I was in mid paragraph when I shot up and began frantically looking for the bird. I have never been upstaged by a bird before but it was kind of neat. The hawk had something for sure but it was hard to tell what it was at first. At first we thought it was a rat or a squirrel but then we soon found it was a snake. I didn't see it at first but I saw the hawk step on it when he turned around and strung it out. He soon flew on a nearby branch and showed us his catch. It was all twisted around his foot. The kids loved it and they were both kind of awestruck and kind of grossed out too. Kids and gross stuff like that make for interesting teaching moments. That was the first time I have ever seen a hawk eat anything like that in the wild. That was a very wild experience for me and for the others. My ticker was just racing trying to gather all of what happened. The rest of the hike went on and we all had a great time. I was pretty tired and my legs were sore. I went home soon after my parents came to pick me up and I went home with my photos and then uploaded my photos and went to bed. That was pretty much how my day went; I had a little too much excitement with that last one. That was the highlight of the day. Until next time this is Zachary Chapman signing out.