The Main Pool remains the “hot spot” on the Refuge, currently having the most species of birds. We didn’t see the crane family yesterday, but I did see them in the Main Pool, across from Seneca Flats, Monday morning. Nearby, there was a juvenile Caspian tern resting. To help distinguish them from an adult, they have a grayish cap, instead of a black cap and their bill is more yellow-orange instead of red-orange.
As you get closer to the spillway, the pied-billed grebes and their young are so cute and loads of fun to watch. Sometimes the spillway tree, the dead tree just north of the spillway next to the canal, has cool birds. Last Sunday, Dave, one of our Roving Naturalists, found a young peregrine falcon perched there. I heard he had a spotting scope on it and many visitors got great looks at it! Thanks, Dave!! We had a peregrine falcon fly right over our vehicle on the Wildlife Drive yesterday. Linda saw another falcon in a tree between the Drive and the Seneca-Cayuga Canal at the same time. This is the time of summer when the peregrines show up as they are quite fond of shorebirds for lunch, or anytime! On Monday morning I saw an adult bald eagle in the spillway tree. Sometimes two adults are there. That’s usually a good place to check for eagles!!
There were 17 sandhill cranes in Knox-Marsellus Marsh that we saw from the East Road Overlook. I hope this is the beginning of their staging process and we will get to see more and more gather! Last fall the largest number of cranes, I think 350+, was seen on Olmstead Road which intersects with Armitage Road. Feel free to jump in and correct me if my number is off.
Great news, the Refuge staff is beginning to refill the Visitors’ Center Wetland!! WooHoo!! Hopefully, we will soon have shorebirds that can be seen from the VC deck. There is bad news about Benning Marsh. With the Main Pool level so low from the dry conditions, they can’t get water into Benning. RATS!! We will have to wait for Mother Nature to do that.
I am including some pictures of swamp rose-mallow and pickerel weed that are just spectacular!! There is a picture of a pair of adult pied-billed grebes, one of a young pied-billed grebe and one of the “coot clan”. That group was seen at the east end of Van Dyne Spoor Road.
I see there is a heat advisory for today and tomorrow. Take great care and hopefully you can get out soon to explore the Montezuma Wetlands Complex trails, towers and Refuge Wildlife Drive. The Refuge Wildlife Drive is open to hikers and cyclists as well as cars through August 15. Dogs on a leash are only allowed in and around the Visitors’ Center and on the Seneca Trail.
ENJOY, be respectful and safe.
Recent Comments