From the Contact Station

Migration is starting

This is an exciting time of year. Birds are moving south after, we hope, successful nesting seasons. Watch for shorebirds coming through. Look at muddy edges where they will be probing for food. Long-billed Dowitchers and Greater Yellowlegs have been seen already. You never know what might show up on any given day. There have been several sightings of American Bittern around the River ‘S’ over the last couple of weeks. With nesting season over, they are moving around a bit more and catching and eating frogs.

We do have an abundance of Bull Frogs in the canals and sloughs. Look carefully at the plant material floating on the water. You will start to see small bumps in pairs. A closer look will reveal the eyes of the Bull Frogs. Once you spot one, you will realize there are many out there.

Raptors are becoming a bit more evident too. With the haying completed on River ‘S’, the raptors can easily find and catch field animals and insects. As you turn back toward the Contact Station near the end of the drive, watch for the hovering American Kestrels over the big field. They love grasshoppers and dragonflies. The Northern Harriers are back on the River ‘S’ too. This white rumped hawk flies low to the ground listening and watching for furry critters. Red-tailed hawks are back to do the same though they like to watch from a perch or while they are flying a bit higher over the fields. With the tall hay bales still in the fields, I always scan for hawks and falcons hunting from their tops.

Keep an eye out for Sandhill Cranes. There has been one beautiful bird with very russet feathering moving around between Big Lake and Rest Lake.  Enjoy the migration.

-Susan Setterberg, Contact Station Volunteer, Board Treasurer