Today was a nearly perfect weather day on the Refuge for this time of year!! It was sunny and comfortable in the car with a window down for viewing. There was a fairly steady stream of cars along the Drive Wildlife with folks enjoying this wonderful day! A notable highlight was a Eurasian Wigeon on the Main Pool, mixed in with a diverse group of ducks (American Wigeon, Gadwall, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked, Ruddy and Redhead Ducks and American Coots). Last week the ducks were stretched from the very back of the water area right up to the Drive. Today, these integrated groups were mostly back along the cattails with few ducks near the Drive. At one point an adult Bald Eagle took several passes swooping above and into the water that most likely helped to push the birds away from the Drive. A little bit south of the Seneca Spillway there were a few dozen Pied-billed Grebes fairly close. Many were taking refuge in small patches of vegetation. Scan those areas with binoculars to see those adorable little guys! A short distance past the Spillway, in the channel before the Photo Blind parking area, were 7 Blue-winged Teal feeding alongside twice as many Green-winged Teal.
The Visitors’ Center Pool had 12 Long-billed Dowitchers that could be seen from a vehicle along the entrance road and from the observation deck. There were lots of Canada Geese and several hundred ducks. A Northern Harrier was foraging the dike along the back of the unit and would occasionally alarm some ducks flushing them temporarily into the air.
A volunteer shared that there were around 50 Sandhill Cranes at Knox-Marsellus Marsh today. They could be seen from the overlook on East Road. That has also been a consistent location to see Bald Eagles recently.
Recent Comments