As you know, Montezuma isn’t just about birds. Even though our bird numbers are relatively low this time of year, there is a wide variety of mammals, reptiles, insects and plants to be found. Yesterday I saw the cutest fawn in the vegetation in Eaton Marsh. Also, last Tuesday, Pete and I saw a mink scamper across the drive being chased by red-winged blackbirds. It appeared the mink had something in its mouth. We wondered if that furry little rascal was a “nest robber”!!
The Main Pool had oodles of babies – baby pied-billed grebes, gallinules and coots!! I noticed that the striping on some of the first grebe broods were fading. But there were plenty of recently hatched grebes with prominent striping! Oooh, gotta love those baby “grebelets”!! There was a good number of black terns foraging over the Main Pool. They are such graceful fliers then all-of-a sudden they literally stop, change direction and dive into the water. WOW, AWESOME to observe! The ever-present, ever-increasing mixed flock of Canada geese, ring-billed gulls and Caspian terns was in the usual location south of the spillway. They reluctantly move for vehicles then quickly retake their real estate!! I haven’t been able to figure out why they like that particular place. So, if you have any thoughts on that subject feel free to share. The Main Pool is a great place to see black-crowned night herons and American bitterns. Sometimes they are standing at the edge of the cattails and sometimes they are in flight. In one of the pools along I-90 I saw an adult and a juvenile double crested cormorants up on a large stump. I also found a great egret in that area. Earlier in the morning, there were two adult bald eagles in the dead tree at the spillway. By the time I got there, they had moved. However, I did see one adult in a tree east of Benning Marsh.
Over at Tschache Pool, most of the heron nests were empty!! How quickly our babies grew and fledged!! There were also some great egrets down in the marsh with many great blue herons. I also found several dozen mallards in the area right in front of the tower. It was a great place to study their bills to see if they are male or female. If you remember, this time of year the males’ plumage resembles that of females. A male’s bill is a yellowish-olive green and a female’s is black and orange. Check it out!! From the May’s Point Observation Deck I found some baby coots, gallinules and grebelets. There was also a few cormorants and great blue herons.
The swamp milkweed is so beautiful around the Refuge. There is a huge swath of it along the Wildlife Drive at Benning Marsh. The swamp rose mallow is getting taller and blossoms are beginning to form. Before we know it, the lovely pink flowers will emerge and WOW us with their beauty!
Hopefully, you can get out soon to explore and experience all the amazing things at the Montezuma Wetlands Complex trails, towers and the Refuge Wildlife Drive.
Pic #1: fawn at Eaton Marsh, #2: black-crowned night heron Main Pool, #3: double crested cormorant Main Pool, #4: adult bald eagle near Benning Marsh, #5: great blue heron rookery at Tschache Pool, #6: great egret Main Pool, #7: great egrets at Tschache Pool, #8: swamp milkweed at Benning Marsh, #9: close-up swamp milkweed, #10: swamp rose mallow Wildlife Drive
ENJOY, be respectful and safe.
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