We saw our first ruddy ducks of the fall migration. Many thanks to Linda B for the pic. I forgot to put the memory card back in my camera last night. Oops! She saved the day! However, the American wigeons stole the show! They showed impressive numbers. Pied-billed grebes (pic from Linda), American coots and common gallinules also had impressive numbers! Tschache Pool water level is 6 inches higher since our last survey and I would be willing to bet that there are tons of birds out in the cattails that we can’t see. The birds are most likely freely swimming around in the cattails and vegetation that are obscuring them from our view. The trumpeter swan family (pic from Linda) complete with all 6 cygnets was on the dike and not thrilled when we approached. They were actually quite comical though. We approached VERY slowly. They waited a long time to get up and move. When I stopped the car, they stopped moving also. Then I would creep forward and they would reluctantly move a little. They did that a couple of times. Maybe they were hoping we were going to turn around and go away. We disappointed them!! I checked in the rearview mirror after we passed them and as soon as we went by they were right back up on top of the dike. Those silly swans!!
Yesterday, I briefly saw the ibis in Seneca Flats before it scooted behind some vegetation. I looked for the godwit from East Road but did not see it. It was raining quite heavily and visibility was very poor. I took a series of pictures hoping I might see it later on my laptop but the pictures were just too blurry.
Both yesterday and today from the Visitors’ Center deck I could hear the soft chatter of lots and lots of ducks even though I couldn’t see them. It was a sweet, wonderful sound. I hope you get a chance to experience this. It brought a smile to my face as I imagined all those duckies out there in the vegetation many of which were resting and feeding before continuing their journey!
ENJOY, be respectful and safe.
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