From the Contact Station July 2022

Yay! We are back!

We are all so happy to be back at the contact station again, seeing old friends and acquaintances.  It has been too long.  We love hearing about your sightings and experiences on the refuge and we missed that.  Come talk to Annette, Terri, Randy, Dave, Pete, Roger, and Susan anytime.  We are hoping to bring in more volunteers, including trail walkers, as we get back on our feet.  Welcome back.

June-uary was the term used by one of our frequent visitors last month as we opened the Contact Station on June 1st. If it weren’t for the extended gate hours and long hours of light, it would be hard to know if we had emerged into spring yet. Notice I say light, not sunshine. Except for the glorious infrequent sunbreaks with rainbows and the amazing abundance of green, it has been wet and dreary.  Yet, it looks like we are moving into summer.  And, I have to say I have been fascinated by our atmospheric rivers, including the April snow and frequent downpours with hail.

All our excessively wet weather has brought us an overabundance of water and some interesting birdlife.  As the water was accumulating, we had enough muddy edge to attract a lot of shorebird migrants.  Red-necked and Wilson’s Phalaropes were popular sightings on the far side of Ruddy Lake (the one on the left before the walk to the blind).  As Ruddy Lake filled, it was easy to see rarer seen Ruddy Ducks and Redheads among other waterfowl.  They have been in the far edge of Ruddy Lake and harder to pick out at distance. There seem to be more Cinnamon Teal this year too.  It might just be a matter of where the ducks are choosing to stay, and some spots look more inviting than in previous years.

In these photos from the entry bridge, taken June 25, 2021 (at the beginning of the heat dome) and June 20, 2022, you can see the change in water level on Lake River and the dryness of the fields.

Refuge staff started pumping water out of the system mid-June this year.   We’ve all seen the significant vegetation growth and some of the invasives, like bulrush, are coming up.  Bulrush is sprayed and pulled before it sets seed as we try to rid ourselves of some of these overtaking plants.  Staff and volunteers can’t get into the areas where they are coming up when the water is so deep and the ground so soft, hence the pumping out of water. Depending on what Mother Nature has in mind for us, all the ponds will start to contract.  People have been asking, ‘Where are all the Nutria?’  This water abundance has probably been hard on them too as they use the dikes for dens. Given the water height, they have been flooded, disrupting their lives too.

For spring migration, I have been exploring a new tool for enjoying the Refuge.  Cornell Ornithology Lab has produced an app called Merlin.  It is free.  Many newer birders use it to help them narrow down the possibilities for birds they see in an area by answering a series of questions about what they see.  I’ve ignored the app for some time, having long experienced field guides.  But what they have recently added is the ability to use your phone to record songs and calls for which the app offers suggestions for identification.  Song identification is the weakest part of my bird id repertoire. I have trouble sorting out songs, especially during breeding season, and remembering them long enough to find a match in other software I use.  When you hit the record button in the app the sounds are recorded in a visual spectrogram which scrolls across the screen.  If Merlin gets a match in its very extensive database, it will offer an identification.  Where there are lots of birds singing at once, each new species is added to the list.  If a bird sings again, the listing will turn yellow.  I’ve always found I learn song better in the field than from a tape (ok, aging myself).  Like some of my friends birding with me, it is not 100% accurate, but it is close.  Since it is free, it is worth the money and lots of fun to challenge yourself.  Given this is the season we can be out of the car and walk the road, find a bird-noisy spot and try it out.  It has upped my species list when I visit by probably 25%.  Part of that is I am paying much more attention to song and calls.  Right now, the Swainson’s Thrushes are calling in the woods.  See if you can catch their beautiful echo-ie call and verify it through Merlin.

Now that we are back, we have more opportunity to fill the Contact Station feeder.  What has been exciting visitors is the presence of the Yellow-headed Blackbirds.  Photographers are going nuts with the proximity to the birds.  The birds are masters at being too far away for any but the biggest camera lens in the ponds.  On the feeder it’s just 12 to 15 feet distance.  Right now, Red-winged Blackbirds,

California Scrub Jay and Yellow-headed Blackbirds are dominating the feeder, but that will wane, and we will see other songbirds.  The male and female Black-headed Grosbeaks have been coming in lately too.

Sighted at the Contact Station feeder so far (from 2019 and recently):  California Scrub Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick’s Wren, Song Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Brown Creeper (on the tree), Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Red-winged Blackbird, Spotted Towhee, Starling, Yellowthroat (on the tree), Bullock’s Oriole, Black-headed Grosbeak, Yellow-headed Blackbird.

Just so you know:  The cherries are beginning to form on the tree near the contact station. It is a great source of food for the wildlife and, although tempting for people, it should be saved for the birds.  Remember, there is a strong chance that herbicides have been used near or on some vegetation, especially those luscious blackberries.  And, just in case you didn’t know, collection of any materials, including fruit picking, is not allowed on our National Wildlife Refuges for the general public.  So, please leave the fruit for the birds and other critters.  Watching the birds come so close for lunch is (almost) as good as a ripe piece of fruit!