DUCKS R US!! Thanks to Pete for this phrase. The Main Pool continues to hold thousands of ducks. Loads of both dabblers and divers. However, on Monday morning I saw redheads, canvasbacks and ruddy ducks in the mix but we didn’t see any yesterday. I would guess that there could be plenty out there today. Due to the recent rains water levels were up in most units. The Main Pool was getting flooded from the Seneca-Cayuga Canal (the level has gone up just over 1 foot since 10/19) and a couple water gauges were completely under water!! That’s a lot of WATER! I am including a picture of the Main Pool looking towards Maple Island that shows how it has less vegetation and much more open water. Woohoo!! That should make many visitors happy!
We came upon a female northern harrier perched on the Eaton Marsh water gauge pole. If you look closely, you will see a band on her leg. I have sent a picture off to Cornell to see if someone can enhance it to read the tag.
Parts of the Seneca Trail are under water. And Alyssa from the MAC, who joined us again yesterday, said that Armitage Road west of Olmstead Road has been closed to traffic. She got a great picture of a pied-billed grebe at Tschache Pool that was very close to the service road due to the high water there. We got over an inch of rain last night at my house, so I think there will be high water issues for some time throughout the area. Please be cautious when traveling.
PLEASE NOTE that starting Monday, November 1, 2021 the Esker Brook and South Spring Pool Trails will ONLY BE OPEN TO HUNTERS until December 22. They will be closed again from December 26 – January 1, 2022.
ENJOY, be respectful and safe.
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I enjoyed the survey data and I will come out to the Refuge again in the next week or so. Many of the numbers were very precise. Were those estimates? If so , you might want to round them off. There appear to be to many significant figures.
That having been said, thank you for your investment of time and your skills in producing the counts.
Hello John, Thanks for your thoughtful comments. We met earlier this week and decided to change how we report our numbers. You’ll notice that for Tuesday’s survey we followed your advice. Thank you for taking the time to share your expertise with us.
Jackie 🙂
Love the reports! Helps me decide what duck decoys to bring when I hunt each week!
I am glad that you are able to use the information posted. Thank you for sharing your comment.
Jackie 🙂