From the Contact Station December 2019

Counting the Birds in Fall

We all can’t wait for the bridge project to be done, or at least enough of it so we can get to our wonderful Refuge and enjoy the wintering birds more frequently. Each November there is a team of volunteers who start the goose counts. We meet twice a month until April. We spread out over the Refuge counting all sections except the Carty Unit. We started counting on November 13^th this year. It was a bit harrowing getting onto the refuge as the construction crews were working and trenching across the entry road at the west end of the bridge. My first hint of the trench, after driving through the thick mud lake on the east of the RR tracks and giving earthmoving equipment the right of way, was seeing a man with just shoulders and helmeted head above ground level. It took a moment. He pointed to the side where I could drive over the wood plank that would keep me from getting stuck in the 3-foot-wide trench. Having made it to the Bachelor Island shop, my assignment this time was the River ‘S’ unit. With clipboard and data sheets in hand and spotting scope and binoculars ready, I was in search of geese.  This time we also did a raptor count; my favorite count.

Once we find some geese, we must identify them to Canada or Cackling subspecies and record where they are seen. We look at relative size, head/bill shape, behavior, and general coloring to determine the subspecies. Each field, lake, or wetland is separately identified on a detailed map. To avoid double-counting, we only count the geese on the ground and mark the time of the count. Since the count is done on the whole refuge with multiple teams in a 2 to 3-hour window we can be fairly certain of accuracy with this technique. If we count a group and it takes off, we make a note of the time and where it headed as it left. That way the biologist can double-check for duplication from the datasheets. If the flock is big, say several hundred to a couple thousand, there are several techniques to count by grouping numbers of 25 or 50 or more as you move through the flock. We are often out in pairs so each of us will estimate the flock independently and then compare our numbers. Exact headcounts are usually limited to just a couple hundred birds. It gets tricky when some of the flocks are spread across the rolling landscape and you can’t see them all. They have a way of moving off over the small hilly areas just to make our task harder. Sometimes it feels like they know that. As with the River ‘S’ drive, we stay on the dike tracks and don’t get out of the trucks. Some flocks can be skittish. Big flocks often have sentinels; watching for predators. If we approach and all their heads go up, we know we are too close. The trick is to get close enough to find neck collars and read them without scaring off the flock. Geese are collared on nesting grounds in Canada and Alaska. The Dusky Canada Goose, our reason for establishing the Refuge, is a prime target. They sport red, sometimes faded to orange, collars. Cackling geese can be collared also, they are adorned in yellow. We collect the letter, number or symbol combination on our datasheets.

Why do we do this? The primary reason is to establish preferred feeding areas on the Refuge. The Refuge biologist and habitat coordinator are always improving fields for our wintering goose population. This year we will be watching the burned field on Bachelor Island to see if that effort paid off with more favorable feed for the geese.  The collar information can be used to monitor movement of the subspecies over the years and success of the targeted population.  With the recent change in the approach to the Refuge for the bridge construction, some of the cattle summering here could not be moved off in the big rigs. The cattle are now sharing some of the fields with the geese. Our biologist notes that he sees cattle and geese together now; the geese don’t seem to be bothered by the extended stay of the cattle. But our counts over the next couple months might give us more information about that impact. Interestingly, the cranes may be avoiding the fields with cattle (big ones on Bachelor Island). So, a question I have is whether that is why we are seeing bigger numbers of cranes feeding in the fields south of #12 where there are no cattle (usually). I had a group of 30 cranes and another group of 8 cranes there on my count day. Visitors have reported these larger than usual numbers on the auto tour for a couple weeks.

The raptor count is reported to a group that is assessing the winter raptor populations in the northwest states. We haven’t been doing that one for very long. On the River ‘S’ on November 13^th, I had ten Red-tailed Hawks, five Northern Harriers, two adult Bald Eagles and one American Kestrel. Other sections of the refuge with larger fields had more American Kestrels. One Rough-legged Hawk was spotted on Bachelor Island. And, there was a Peregrine Falcon on Bachelor Island. Although I know the Red-shouldered Hawk is around, it didn’t show for me on the count. We also note the number of owls. I was very disappointed not to spot any even though I looked in many of the usual places.

It is very satisfying to be able to contribute to the management of the Refuge by doing these counts. I often pair with a counter who is a waterfowl hunter. We have some interesting conversations as I am a longtime birdwatcher. Clearly, both of us have learned a great deal from each other through our different perspectives. He has taught me a lot about waterfowl, and I have taught him about finding and identifying raptors and some other birds. We are both passionate about refuge preservation and good habitat management. As a hunter, it is his way of giving back to the Refuge; as a birder, it is my way of contributing via citizen science to better assure continued preservation of birds and our environment. It’s a good pairing.

-Susan Setterberg- Board Past President & Contact Station Volunteer