From the Contact Station November 2024

(it's back!) Ah, Fall.

A frequent comment from visitors of late is “It is so dry.”  Since the River S is behind a dike, the water comes from above or is pumped in from the slough off the Columbia River.   So far this month (to Oct 24^th) at the Ridgefield weather station we have measured 2.27 inches, Sept was 1.18 inches (Reference: Weather Underground).  Clark County’s ten-year average for October is 8.9 inches. So, Mother Nature isn’t helping us a lot to fill the lakes and ponds around the River S as we move into Fall.  With water levels also low in the Columbia River, pumping only works when tides are high on the river, so we can only pump three to four hours a day.  After all the summer work on the dried lake beds is completed, pumping starts about mid-September. It takes at least six weeks to fill from west to east. Now you can see water filling Canvasback Lake, to the left between #9 and 10. Last to fill will be Swartz Lake, on the right as you turn to come back north from the bottom of the loop.

Can you find the American Bittern in the photo to the right? That little bit of white streaking in the neck feathers gives him/her away as you scan edges by the water. (#11 to #12)

Our ducks and swans arrive when the water levels are optimum for good feeding.  Swans, with their long necks, like the deeper water.  The variety of ducks seen by Roger on his weekly counts is increasing. Meanwhile, watch Carty Lake in the northern unit for the Swans. There was an e-bird report of four Tundra Swans on the lake on October 22^nd. It’s a little later than usual but there will be more. See if you can separate Trumpeter from Tundra Swans. Historically, Tundra swans are predominant here but over the last several years that seems to be changing with more Trumpeters coming into our area, so don’t assume they are Tundras. Next e-news I will talk about telling them apart.

As a final nod to Summer, it didn’t pass without its own beauty.  If you drove along the first section of the auto tour, there was a panoply of flowers along the road. My favorite area was the little canal going south between #2 and #3 in mid-August. According to iNaturalist, the abundant white flowers were Wild Carrot, also known as Queen Anne’s Lace.

To the right of the road, our yellow flowering Beggar’s Tick grew in thick patches. Probably all of the ground tilling last year helped this plant emerge through the broken mats of invasive Reed Canary Grass that staff was trying to reduce in that area.

Marvelous news: We had a successful crane mating and hatch again this year. Obviously, our Kiwa area is very attractive to our amourous birds.  Although, it can be disappointing to not be able to walk the Kiwa trail from May 1 to mid-July. But, isn’t it worth it for the addition to the flock? Meanwhile, the number of cranes have increased through October as both the migrants and the wintering birds come into the Refuge.

We had our annual crane count on Octobe 13^th.  We count from Vancouver Lake Bottoms up to the Lewis River and across the Columbia River on Sauvie Island.  This year’s count numbered 4635 Sandhill Cranes. Not our top year but a good one nevertheless. The birds are counted at sundown as they fly into known night roost areas. Three-quarters of the cranes were counted on Sauvie Island. Vancouver Lake hosted the biggest number for Washington at 628.  The overall number for Washington might have been a bit higher as the team at Campbell Lake (in the southern closed section of the Refuge) noted they could hear birds flying in after it got too dark to effectively count.  Our average annual count over the last nine years has been 4777, we added counts from a farm just north of the Carty unit in 2016. A portion of the cranes will continue to go south into Oregon and California for winter.  The ones that stay here for the winter have migrated down from summer nest areas in British Columbia. As the water fills in around the autotour, they will move into areas where we can see them better. Yet there has been good viewing in late October on the western edges of the fields at the bottom of the loop and along the western side of the fields from #14 on the return leg of the tour. That is as long as the small pack of coyotes seen in the same area doesn’t harrass them.

We should see increases in raptors now. Northern Harriers are skimming over our fields already.  A few Bald Eagles are flying around. Red-shouldered Hawks have been calling and a few Red-tails have appeared. Watch for the Rough-legged Hawk. We had very few sightings last year and it is a lovely hawk to see. If the Short-eared Owls decide to wander into our area again, that will probably be about the second week of November. Being nomadic in their habits, they are never a sure thing; it is all about the food. In any case, enjoy the changes Fall brings.

-Susan Setterberg, Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Contact Station Volunteer