Knox-Marsellus continues to be our hot spot with the most diversity. With less water and more mud we had some shorebirds there. They were frequently harassed by 2 peregrine falcons that pushed them away from the middle and closer to us so we could see them better! The roseate spoonbill was in Puddler Marsh, very close to the cross dike which made it impossible to be seen from East Road.
Tschache Pool must have been where all the grebes, gallinules and coots raised their young this year. We had large numbers of each species. There were quite a few young pied billed grebes. They must be finishing up the raising of their last broods.
What a wonderful surprise yesterday to come upon a family of trumpeter swans with 6 cygnets!! Due to the time of year I can’t say for sure if they were raised there or flew in recently. We also had an increase in adult trumpeter swans in this survey.
In the furthest back part of Tschache Pool we witnessed the incredible drama of a merlin chasing a belted kingfisher!! I’m not sure if the merlin was trying to steal food from the kingfisher or if the kingfisher was the intended food! At one point for a brief time the kingfisher was in pursuit of the merlin! But mostly it seemed to be trying to evade it. It all happened so fast, I wasn’t able to get any pictures or videos. Sorry.
I’m including a picture of a type of sunflower that is in bloom in many parts of the Refuge now. It is so pretty!!
This will be the only list for this week. Pete and I will not survey on Friday so we can be fresh for the Muckrace competition that starts at 7 PM Friday night!!
ENJOY, be respectful and safe.
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