WOW, what a difference a week makes!! A week ago, the water level for Tschache Pool was over the gauge and the unit was inundated from the Clyde River. I saw really high water in places where I have never seen it before!! Yesterday we were able to see numbers on the gauge and got a reading. Woohoo! When you check the list, you will see that our duck numbers were low. Tschache has been open for duck hunting 3 days a week for a couple of weeks. Today, November 6, is the last day of duck hunting there until November 27. Except for special veteran/active military hunts on 11/11 and 11/13. Actually, I think that pushes the ducks to the Main Pool which makes them easier for many more visitors to see!
On the way back along the service road we came upon the trumpeter swan family – 2 adults and all 6 cygnets! I really think this pair is one that has frequently nested at Tschache Pool. I think that because, back when I was surveying with Larue, all summer long the parents would swim away from us with the cygnets as we surveyed along the service road. In August when the staff set up the duck traps for banding and put out copious amounts of shelled corn in and around them, the swans would swim right up to the edge and even come out of the water and approach our vehicle with the “kids”! I truly believe they associated corn with a white Refuge vehicle. They were always terribly disappointed because we did not have any corn to share. Even though the Refuge did not do duck banding at Tschache Pool this year, many times the swan family was on the service road or close to it, usually on our way back to the gate. That’s how I got so many close-up pictures of them this year!
We surveyed Knox-Marsellus and Puddler Marshes from the East Road overlook yesterday because the biologist did not want us driving on the dikes. We were able to check the Knox water gauge and it is 2.6 feet higher than our last survey there on October 26. So, we did a careful estimate of the number of ducks and identified the species we could detect. The bright sun produced much glare, the ducks were far away and very close together which made accurate species counting nearly impossible.
Sandhill cranes have been frequenting the Visitors’ Center Wetland this week. There are also many ducks and Canada geese there. I went to the Refuge this morning to get a couple more pictures for a high-water update. I saw a pied-billed grebe in Benning Marsh – not where I would normally expect to see one! On November 2, water covered that gauge. This morning, the water had receded enough to read the gauge. It is about 1.5 feet higher than normal. It has become acceptable habitat for grebes!
ENJOY, be respectful and safe.
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