From the Contact Station May 2024

First Family

Goslings are on the Refuge: It is always a treat to see your first goslings or ducklings of the year.  This group of seven goslings and two parents was spotted on Swartz Lake on April 18. As Canada Geese are one of the earliest breeding birds in spring, it’s no surprise to see them as the first waterfowl with babies. Our pair of Western Canada Geese, Branta canadensis moffetti, probably started checking out nest sites in mid-March. The female does the nest site shopping. She will scrape out a depression then start to dress it up with surrounding vegetation of grasses, mosses and whatever is close by. After laying a few eggs she will start adding belly feathers to the structure. Incubation doesn’t start with the very first egg laid, and eggs can be added a bit more than a day apart. Seven is on the larger end of the scale for eggs laid.  There is a small possibility that a goose neighbor snuck in and dumped an egg in the pile while the female was out taking a recess.

The female goose is the one with the brood patch, an oval patch of skin which fills with blood to provide warmth for egg incubation.  Since she is the one who must do this activity, she will take a recess from time to time to wash, feed and drink.  The male is always in the vicinity, and he will join her at her refresh and recharge time until she goes back to the nest.

Once egg incubation starts, it can take about 30 to 37 days to hatching. It varies by subspecies. Incubation period is generally defined as time from laying of last egg to the emergence of the first gosling; the hatching may last up to 24 hours. Incubation time to hatch can vary with the amount of recess time, i.e. how many recesses are taken over the month.

Egg hatching is relatively synchronous even though egg laying is not.  Emergence of all the goslings happens and averages within 12-24 hours.  All will emerge fully covered with down. They leave the nest within 24 hours.  They can walk, swim, feed, and dive.  Think about our brood of seven. They were laid over a period of seven to ten days.  In the end, they all come out ready to go at the same time.  Our chicks here look very close to their hatch date.  Amazing.

Have you seen our Brown Crane?  It’s been seen moving around in the vestiges of Big Lake, on the right #11 to #12, in late April.  Early naturalists defined this bird as the “Little Brown Crane”.  It was later determined that it wasn’t a different species, but rather the result of a coating of mud the Sandhills preen into their feathers.  We must have iron in our soil that rusts when the waters go down exposing the mud to oxygen to create Iron Oxide, which supplies a red-brown color for the cranes.  They will preen their breast and back feathers during the breeding season.

Do they do it for camouflage?  It would make sense considering you don’t want to attract attention once you have a colt or two that will need to be incubated and protected.  Is that what our “brown” crane is up to?  Who knows; stay tuned.  The Kiwa trail will remain under staff scrutiny until they know one way or the other.  Expect a delayed opening for the fifth year in a row!

Slithering time:  My usual sighting of a snake in the spring is as I walk to the bathrooms by the contact station.  Forgive me for my dramatization, but I am usually walking with one thing in mind when, with no warning, the head of a Cobra rears up between the cement slats and scares the heck out of me.  It usually happens as I am crossing that cement plank divide causing me to make a high kick move which I would call unnatural for me.  The alleged Cobra quickly exits away from me faster than I can get my breath back.  Ok, it is only our lovely Red-spotted Garter Snake. But it gets me every time.  It is smiling and trading stories with other slithering things, I am sure. Fortunately, no one saw my snake dance this year. BUT the bigger point here is watch out for snakes on the road……and turtles, and killdeer nesting, and nestlings of all types crossing between ponds. They just don’t do well when we drive over them.

Walking to the Observation Blind:  This is a good time of year to slowly walk and pause along the trail to the observation blind.  Now we have a very nice new bench with a cleared area around it and a perfect viewpoint to my favorite plant, the Indian Plum.  Just after the bench, on the right-hand side beginning to arch over the path again (it had been cut back a bit) you can view the Indian Plum as you walk or enjoy a moment of leisure on the bench.  I recommend this now because the little birds come in looking for food and nest spots.  Hummingbirds are known to nest in this area.  Bewick’s Wrens, Spotted Towhee, and Song Sparrow are frequently singing as they move through the plum and the other underbrush.  Overhead the Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Brown Creeper will be dashing between trees looking for treats in the mosses and bark crevasses.  Tree Swallows are very busy finding tree holes for nesting and on the right day, you may hear the winnowing wings of the Wilson’s Snipe mating display flight. By just sitting quietly, watching for birds returning to the same spot repeatedly, and listening, it is amazing what you might discover.

I had an experience on a very quiet Tuesday midday stroll to the observation blind recently.  I had walked out, enjoying a fine moment of weather finding a pair of Ruddy Ducks on the back of Rest Lake among many coots.  Two Black Phoebe were sitting on limbs over water interacting.  When I returned down the ramp, I heard some not-so-bird noises on my left.  Taking a moment to look around, I found two Columbia White-tailed Deer moving along, nibbling the vegetation.  It looked like a mom and young deer maybe 50 yards away.   I tried to stay quiet as I moved slowly, but there was a moment when I caught their attention.  They stared, I stared and took a photo, and they went back to eating.  I turned to leave along the path and whoa, another deer on the path even closer.  I just enjoyed the moment, letting the deer set the pace.  I have to say, they were intent on their food, so it took a while for me to exit the area without undo disturbance.  If you can get down to the River S on a weekday morning after the chill is gone, this is a wonderful place to absorb nature without crowds.

Going forward: For the remainder of the summer and into early fall, I will not be writing the From the Contact Station column.  Travel and other projects command more of my attention, so I am taking a recess, just like Mama Goose.  May your days on the refuge continue to be exciting, peaceful, and full of new surprises.   –Susan

-Photos and Text by Susan Setterberg, Contact Station Volunteer