From the Contact Station December 2017

My Favorite Season

You may have notice there is a new building on the River S. Refuge staff are working hard to finish off our new station with electricity, insulation, heat, finished walls, lighting, everything that will make in comfortable for us in the coming winter. Meanwhile, most volunteers, depending on the temperature of the day, are spending their time on the refuge driving the route a couple times rather than sitting in the chilly old station. You will notice we have volunteer stickers on our cars. You are welcome to wave us down at any time if you have questions.

Spending extra time driving the River S at this time of year is wonderful. I love that the leaves are gone from most of the trees, so I can see into the woods. And, all the big birds are here. One recent Sunday as I came around the south curve at 4 pm, I counted 100 Sandhill Cranes floating down into Rest Lake for the evening. When I drove around to look into Rest Lake, they were there among the Tundra Swans. What a wonderful sight.

How about a snipe Hunt? It is easy to do at this time of year. If you look at the muddy area between numbers 5 and 6, you might see one, or two, or fifty. They can be so hard to see, but they are out there. They like the muddy areas because they probe the mud for worms. It is best to have binoculars to find them. Slowly scan the mud lumps in that area until you see one move. Now don’t get confused by the Killdeer that are also out there. Killdeer have bright white bellies that stand out against the mud, and two dark bands around their necks. They tend to stand more upright than the snipe and have short bills. The Wilson’s Snipe has a very, very long bill and distinct striping of dark brown and shades of tan on its back. When they sleep, they tuck that long bill along there back, so you can’t see it. Usually where there is one, there will be many in the winter wet areas. They walk and probe, walk and probe.

The Eagles are getting very active now. I have heard pairs calling to each other as the fly around. I even spotted one carry nest material on the Carty Unit recently; that would be a big branch of course. They are preparing nests for a little later this winter when they will lay eggs. If you see a flock of ducks or geese fly up suddenly from a lake or field, take a minute to watch around for an eagle flying in low. The waterfowl always see them before I do, and they are a great indicator there is an eagle on the wing.

This November, we have had an exciting little bird to watch. A Harris’s Sparrow was spotted among the Golden-crowned Sparrows in a flock near the blind parking lot. This bird is out of territory as it is supposed to be on the other side of the Rocky Mountains. Sometimes a bird will take the wrong way south from its northern breeding grounds and end up on the wrong side of the mountains.

Moving into winter is a wonderful time to be on the refuge. We are keeping an eye out for our owls. They are being spotted intermittently, but not yet as consistently as last year. Meanwhile, while the contact station is being completed, you will see our volunteers on the refuge looking for those owls and other surprises.

-Susan Setterberg, Volunteer & Board Member