I was half an hour late for the the 7am bird tour (I missed my 6am train). About 10 people. The leader carried a super binocular on a tripod, so is another guest on the tour. I saw clearly Cedar Waxwing, Band-tailed Pigeon, Long-billed Dowitcher, wood ducks, Blue-winged Teal from their lenses. A couple herons and great egret.
The lady who led the plant tour at 9am has a Ph.D. in marine plants. Another ~10 people on her tour, they all know more than I do about plants. I learned a lot, hopefully remembered a few.
At 11am, I went with the engineer and the botanist of Clearwater, the water treatment company who owns this land, to learn how they planned this. Quite interesting. You see all these stags and different water level: it's all calculated. They drained water 2 years ago, and changed some of the contours, laid down pipes, and seeded native plants. In the short time, this is looking very nice. I left before end, to catch a bus back home, and back to work.
