Yesterday Pete and Linda were busy so I decided that since our bird numbers had been low, I would just survey by myself.  I started early because I was also going to cover the shift at the Nature Store at 10. I was up on the Seneca Trail Tower a little after 7AM and discovered over 100 black bellied plovers and a host of other shorebirds in the southern part of the Main Pool!!  HOLY COW, that was the MOST AMAZING sight!! So much for not many birds!! I was writing down some stats so I could post this to the Cayuga Rare Bird Alert when the most wonderful thing happened.  Jay McGowan appeared!!  Woohoo!!  So, I relied on Jay’s younger and greatly more experienced eyes to handle that part of the survey and he posted on the rare bird alert as well. THANKS, JAY!!!  I am including a very poor, grainy picture, due to distance and rain, of the plovers from the tower.

   Most of the other units along the Wildlife Drive had few birds, but Eaton Marsh and the Visitors’ Center Wetland had some shorebirds. I did not see the Sandhill Crane family anywhere. I saw an adult bald eagle in the spillway tree.  I also noticed that many of our Canada goose goslings are looking like pre-teens.  They are growing quickly!  Pretty soon they will lose their downy feathers and look like miniature adults. I did see the American coot chicks from the May’s Point Observation Deck but not the grebe chicks. From the Tschache Pool Tower I was able to see young great blue herons in some of the nests.  I didn’t have time to check out East or Van Dyne Spoor Roads. It took much longer than I anticipated to check out all the shorebirds from the Seneca Trail Tower.

  It rained really hard for several hours yesterday afternoon.  Keep in mind, all that rain could change the landscape in our units for birds. There could be birds in units I didn’t find them in yesterday or they could move from areas I did see them in yesterday.  Be open to possibilities.  After today, the forecast is for several days with rain-free weather and warm temperatures.  So hopefully you can get out soon to explore the Montezuma Wetlands Complex trails, towers and Refuge Wildlife Drive.  Remember, the Refuge Wildlife Drive is now open to hikers and cyclists as well as cars.

ENJOY the holiday weekend, be respectful and safe.