Another day, another bird survey

Once the windshield defrosted this morning (I don’t have a scraper), I headed out to do this week’s bird survey.  After the thousands of waterfowl we saw last week, I was really looking forward to doing the count on my own this week.  I should have known!  There’s one thing you can count on about birds…they have wings!  :)  And they used those wings to travel to other areas of the refuge.  :(  It’s not that I didn’t see any birds, I just didn’t count the numbers that we did last week.

This is a scientific survey, so the rules of what to do and where are pretty strict.  There are seven sites that I visit in the East Unit of the refuge.  The count, obviously, has to be done on non hunt days. (this area is where a public hunt is allowed on the weekends)  I don’t want anybody to mistake me for a low flying double-breasted migrant bird lady!  :)
I couldn’t count these snow geese because they just flew past outside my count area.  I just put this pick in for AL…is this that curvy S thing that leads you through the picture?

As I approach each count area, I record which birds I flush and how many.  Then, once stopped, I scan the count area for all species, and how many of each.  After five minutes of scanning, I then walk a predetermined transit that I believe is 500 feet long counting all birds that are flushed while I walk.  The levies determine the boundaries of each count area.  Some of these fields are flooded, and others aren’t.  Flooded fields are the only areas where you’ll find waterfowl.  In the other unflooded areas, I mainly count land birds and raptors that are hunting the field.
While I was driving between count areas, I came upon this red-tailed hawk perched in a dead tree.  It wasn’t long before it took flight.  High perches are what red-tails like.  Their eye power is unbelievable.  They can see a mouse a mile away!  It was early in the cool morning, so the thermals that these hawks float on to hunt just hadn’t developed yet.
The bird on the left is a Savannah sparrow, and the bird on the right is an Eastern Phoebe.  There are a gazillion Savannah sparrows on the refuge, and I generally kick them up in good numbers no matter what count plot I stop at.  That little splash of yellow on it’s eyebrow (known as a lore, in bird circles) is diagnostic of this sparrow.  The amount of yellow is variable.  Of course, the Eastern phoebe didn’t make an appearance until after my five minute scan of the 7th area, so I couldn’t count it.  :(
One of my favorite birds on the refuge is the marsh wren.  I just love the way they hop around in the reeds of the marsh and chatter away as they’re doing it.  They don’t hold still for long!  You’ve got to be quick to spot one.  Looks like this one is doing the splits!  :)

Now I’ve got a couple of hours of data entry to do of today’s sightings.  These surveys are my favorite thing to do on the refuge.  Hope you’ve enjoyed a morning in the life of a NWR volunteer…

Thanks for stopping by…. talk to you later,  Judy

A weekend in Boise

The latest report that I got this morning, was that they would fix the wheel bearing today, but the parts for the leveler seals would not arrive until Saturday.  That meant the work couldn’t be done until next Monday!  Okay, I can live with that.  While the rig was being worked on today, Emma and I took our seats outside at the picnic table.  I had forgotten to grab the book on my way out the door, so it was a twiddling your thumbs kind of day.  :)
I was entertained by a pair of screaming red-tailed hawks overhead for a portion of the afternoon.  At least I didn’t forget my camera, but the day was not very exciting.  I didn’t want to drive anywhere because I wasn’t sure when they would be done with the rig for the day.  I was hoping, since I’ll probably be here until Tuesday morning, to move to the site on the end of the row.  That site also has a picnic table, and it is shaded in the afternoon.  I knew the folks in that site were leaving today, so I wanted to claim squatters rights on it!  The other advantage is that you only have folks parked on one side of the rig. 

Things went like clock work, and I was all set up on the end by about 3:00.  I even decided to set up the DISH since I’ll be here for another four or five nights.  Going along with the trend of the week, it gave me fits this afternoon trying to find both satellites.  :(  Oh well, what’s a little satellite searching in 90 degree temps.  I just made sure my ice water mug was filled and I had a towel to mop my brow.  Even Emma is being finicky and not wanting to eat her kibble.  Ack!!

To answer a few commenter’s questions:  No, I will definitely not take a picture of me flying out of the rocker when the sprinklers come on.  :)  Yes, I would recommend the book about 1000 places to see before you die!  And, I didn’t count how many places I’ve already checked off in the book, but let me just say that there are enough places left to last me the rest of my lifetime!  :)  Since I have three days ahead of me with no work being done on the rig, I’m hoping to check off a couple of the places listed around Boise. 
You know it was pretty boring today for me to take a daytime picture of the moon and fiddle around with it.  :)  I hope I’m gazing at the Sea of Tranquility.  :)  I could use a little of that.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Fall rolls on…

When I take Emma for her first outs each morning around dawn, I’ve noticed the increasing silence as the season progresses.  There is no longer the exuberant cacophony of the dawn chorus of birds that we experience in spring and early summer.  Now, only a few Western meadowlarks sing a few notes.  The nighthawks no longer roost in the trees overnight, and today I brought in my hummingbird feeder.  Last week’s cold front passage persuaded many of my avian friends to take flight for warmer climes.  I, too, shall take flight in one week and head South.

The warblers that nest up North in Canada are streaming through the refuge, and serious birders are haunting the paths around the visitor’s center early each morning.  The tall trees around headquarters are a magnet in this desert for those little travelers needing a place to rest and refuel on their long journey.  We haven’t had a hard frost yet, so there are still abundant insects to build up fat reserves.
The 200+ sandhill cranes that nest on the refuge are beginning to congregate, and are being joined by others from up North.  They will soon be heading off to central California.
The red-tailed hawks are still soaring each afternoon in the skies, and they are being joined by other raptors that will winter here.  It is a time of change and movement.  For everything, there is a season…

This noon, there was a luncheon at the Narrow’s Saloon for those of us volunteers that will be migrating on in the next week or so.  Thanks was expressed for our contributions to the refuge along with wishes that we would return.  It was a nice ending to my time here.  I still have a few work days left, but most staff members will not be around next week.  It will be up to us volunteers to keep the refuge running.  :)

On the more mundane side, Judd, a fellow volunteer, stopped over this afternoon to see if he could find the elusive hydraulic leveler dip stick that I have been unable to locate.  Before retiring, Judd spent 40 years with his own mechanics shop and was very familiar with this sort of thing and big equipment.  After I told him what the Winnebago tech had said, it only took him about two minutes to find the dip stick.  Of course, unlike me, he knew what he was looking for.  :)  I’ll be buying more fluid tomorrow to replace the stuff that leaked out, but at least now we know where to put it.  Then it will be a matter of getting the rig to a qualified repair shop to get the leak fixed.    I have e-mailed the manufacturer of the system requesting a repair facility location.  That will pretty much determine my route out of here towards Texas.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Laboring on Labor Day

National holiday or not, the Visitor’s Center must open, so you know who worked on this Labor Day.  :)  Actually, I enjoyed having the place to myself without all the office goings on, and since this was still part of the holiday weekend, I actually had 29 visitors today!  That was a big improvement over the measly 7 I had last Thursday.  It helps make the 8 hour day move along a little faster.
I had quite a bit of time in between visitors, so I did a little birding around headquarters.  This nice family of California Quail came sashaying through the grounds with Mom in the lead, and…
Dad covering their rear.  :)   There are quite a few of these quail families that hang around the visitor’s center, and I really enjoy watching them with their little top knots.
Of course, birds aren’t the only things that reside on the refuge.  Much to Emma’s delight, there are an abundance of cottontail rabbits.  This little guy has been lucky so far to stay out of the reach of the hungry coyotes and hawks.
Speaking of hawks, this pair of Red-Tailed Hawks put on quite a display of aerial acrobatics this afternoon in the air right over the VC.  They were up there circling and circling, and screeching and screeching just above the tree tops!  As the story unfolded, it turns out that a third hawk had invaded their “air space”, and was sitting in one of the big trees in their territory.  Before long, these two simultaneously swooped down into the same tree.  After much vocalization, this pair managed to chase the intruder far away.
Besides the mosquitoes and deer flies, there are also a gazillion dragon flies on the refuge.  These are just two of the many varieties.  ( I know squat about dragon flies)  As you walk the path to the parking lot, hordes of these insects take flight with each step. 
One of my favorite birds to watch in flight are white pelicans.  They remind me of B-52 Bombers.  Every day they get up into the air and just soar around. 
The only sound you hear when these birds are overhead is the collective whoosh of the air as they simultaneously flap their wings.  Unlike Canada geese, they never let out a peep.  Like I said yesterday, synchronized swimmers and fliers.  :)
As the afternoon began to wind down, I made one more trip to the old trees around the VC, and discovered a new life bird for me…the Lewis’s Woodpecker.  Try as I might, I just couldn’t get this bird to pose in the sun.  :(  He has a green back, pinkish belly, and red face.  You sure couldn’t tell that from these pictures.  So now I have another challenge to liven up my time working the VC…the quintessential Lewis’s Woodpecker picture!  :)

Since things are kind of slow working in the Visitor’s Center, I bring along my laptop and camera everyday.  I’m sure glad I had the camera with me today.  I think I’d be crazy bored without those two distractions.  :)

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy