From the Contact Station January 2020

Where are the birds?

As I write January’s From the Contact Station column in mid-December, I am collecting the Christmas Bird Count information from the teams that completed the count on December 15^th. Although it is too early to get a complete picture, many of the count teams are suggesting that the number of birds seems low even though the weather was Birder friendly. That connects with the questions that visitors have had of late as they wonder where all the birds are. It will be some days before I get the results from the Sauvie Island side of our 15-mile diameter Audubon Christmas Count Circle to compare. We choose a count day that doesn’t include waterfowl hunting on either the refuge or Sauvie Island, so the birds aren’t favoring one side or the other. A quick look at the Ducks Unlimited webpage, where hunters post sightings of waterfowl (something like bird listing sites) shows, for the state of Washington, “low numbers” is the common reframe from reporters. We have only been able to do two goose counts this year so far because of the weekday bridge closure but the numbers of geese counted on the fields in November seemed to be a bit light.

So, what is up with the birds? Could be a lot of things contributing to their choices of where to go this year. Food is often a driver for where they go or don’t go. If water is still open and productive north of here, they might just be hanging out there instead coming to Ridgefield. That could change when ponds freeze farther north. We’ve also had lower than usual levels of water in the Columbia River and on the refuge this fall. Water is partly pumped into the River S and Hunt zone moving predominantly south and east across the landscape. With a low river, pumping isn’t very efficient. Couple that with low rainfall recently, which would otherwise supplement the pumping, and we have ponds that are lower than average this year, especially on the River S section. Swans and ducks are particular about the ponds where they feed based on not only the food available but the depth of the water. A Swan is going to feed where the water is much deeper than where a dabbling duck, like the mallard, will feed. Neck length makes a difference. We haven’t seen big numbers of passerines either. Perhaps the dry weather has affected their food supplies too. Less seed production or less insects?

Rain is promised for the next few days as I type, so maybe enough to fill more ponds and attract more waterfowl. Let’s hope so. Meanwhile, we now have much easier access to the River S and you won’t have to wait for trains or cars coming in the other direction. And, we are back open Sundays. Happy dance. There is still much work to be done to finish the bridge project so we will have to wait a while longer for weekday access. Be cautious at the west end of the bridge as there is still a blind dog leg that is a bit narrow there.

It isn’t all bad news about the low bird counts. Species seen on the count include Short-eared Owl, which was very popular last year. Look around numbers 11 and 12 at the south end of the River S. Three Great Horned Owls were calling in the ash forest by the hunt gate and down by the Kiwa Trail entry. There is a Rough-legged Hawk around so check all the buteos. Although most of the sparrows counted were Song Sparrows and Golden-crowned Sparrows, there were a couple White-crowned Sparrows and some Fox Sparrows. The Black Phoebe is still around and was seen between #2 and #3 on the right of the road. In any case, even though the numbers seem low, the winter variety is there. This is my favorite time of the year to do the auto tour. Raptors are abundant and can be easily seen with the leaves off the trees. And, the refuge can be so beautiful on a frosty morning or with a little snow. Come enjoy a winter’s day on our refuge.

-Susan Setterberg, Contact Station Volunteer

Photos: Susan Setterberg