For all of you who have been wondering when the Main Pool was going to be refilled you may be glad to know that Mother Nature didn’t wait for our biologist. She took matters into her own hands and dumped in enough rainfall to bring up the water level 2 feet!!  Our biologist said the Main Pool is now up to its regular level, weeks ahead of the original schedule. 

 

Last week’s rain also filled everything else. Canada geese are back (pic included) in the Visitors’ Center Wetland.  On Monday afternoon, 3 sandhill cranes (pic of 2 included) also showed up in the VC Wetland and hung out for several hours. 

 

From the Wildlife Drive as we neared the spillway, we saw a juvenile black crowned night heron on a Refuge sign on the edge of the Seneca-Cayuga Canal (pic included).

 

I think the ducks are still around, we just can’t see them swimming around in the vegetation. Again, we have to be patient and wait for the water to saturate the stems to allow the vegetation to relax to give us views of the birds. In the meantime, notice that there are few red-winged black birds, purple martins and others around. Now that most of the songbirds have fledged their last broods, parents and fledglings are gearing up for their southward migration.