Linda and I had the most wonderful weather day yesterday!! It was sunny, breezy and so comfortable. YAAY!!  From Tschache Pool Tower we saw the trumpeter swan family with 5 cygnets.  There were also a few black terns, adults and juveniles, flying around over the cattails.  Almost all of the great blue heron nests were empty.  Holy cow, those kids grew fast!!  There were still some young pied-billed grebes, common gallinules and American coots seen from the May’s Point Observation Deck.  I thought I saw a redhead from there as well.  Jay McGowan confirmed my redhead identification.  However, he is unsure if it is a “female or a full-grown young bird.”  Thanks, Jay!!

Early Monday morning, I pulled in the entrance drive and found the sandhill crane family eating their way across the Visitors’ Center Wetland.  WooHoo!!  When I came back around a little before 10, after a quick survey, they had made their way to the north end.  I glanced out the doors just before I opened the building at 10 and saw them walking into the vegetation towards the Seneca Trail Tower.  RATS!! No cranes for visitors!!  But check out the vegetation and clumps in the picture of the cranes and compare it to the picture I took yesterday after Nick reworked the unit with the farm disc. Way to go Nick, it’s looking great!!

We found a few shorebirds in the slough before Larue’s Lagoon.  There were some dowitchers, yellowlegs and peeps. Later in the day, Mike Tetlow found some snipe there.  The other shorebirds were in the Main Pool. Some were fairly close to the Wildlife Drive in the section across from Seneca Flats and up towards the spillway. We noticed the swallows have fledged and are in HUGE flocks in places.  I am including pictures of swallows in a tree along the Wildlife Drive, the empty heron nests, the redhead at May’s Point, and a great blue heron in Seneca Flats in front of some swamp rose-mallow and pickerel weed.

I learned something interesting on Monday.  A visitor asked if fishing was allowed in the units on Howland’s Island.  I didn’t know so I called and spoke with Frank Morlock at the DEC Office.  He said, yes fishing is allowed, but those units are periodically drawn down so fishing is not particularly good there.  He suggested that this time of year, better fishing is to be found in our lakes, canals and rivers. Thanks, Frank!!

It looks like we might get some rain tomorrow but after that, it could be mostly dry and comfortable.  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.  Remember, the Refuge Wildlife Drive is open to hikers and cyclists as well as cars. Dogs on a leash are only allowed in and around the Visitors’ Center and on the Seneca Trail.

ENJOY, be respectful and safe.