Last year, we were so busy with the new park model that we were unable to take the time for a birding day at the Grey’s Lake Refuge. While we are still not done with our projects, we are waiting for a contractor, we invited our friends Fred and Becky and off we went for a fun day of birding.
Always hoping for a new life bird, we concentrated on recording the calls and taking lots of images. As we turned north on the East Refuge Road, we photographed a pair of Long Billed Curlews. Stopping we noticed several small chicks that belong to the pair and the parents provided a defensive wall as the chicks hurried to get in long grass and hide.
It’s the first time we have ever saw Curlew chicks and they have a lot of their bill to grow! You can barely see the short bill. Not wishing to bother them anymore, we continued on, spotting Sandhill Crane pairs, a Northern Shoveler, and American Kestrels.
The Kestrels did not like their photo being taken and whenever we stopped, they would fly further down the road. Renita finally got a good image of one. It’s nice to have two people with cameras!
Further on we came across a
female Northern Harrier. The hawk was perched on a telephone pole and seemed content to let us take all the pictures we wanted.
Next was a Western Meadowlark called from the top of a fence post. The call is my favorite, and I remembered the call as a small child, while visiting my Dads Parents graves in West Union, Iowa
At the refuge headquarters, Cliff Swallows had nested under the eves and the parents were busy feeding them insects. The noise made by the chicks was loud!.
It was the sound of spring and summer would not be far away. Continuing our drive two hawks hunted low to thr ground. I tried to take pictures as they would hover and then land on their intended victim. One of the hawks flew right at us and I got a grest shot of the male.
His head is owllike, and it allows the bird to locate the prey as its ears are far apart, (that’s how owls locate their prey). It was a Northern Harrier.
As we drove, we reached a place where the marsh waters stood on both sides of the gravel road and that’s when we saw lots of Yellow Headed Blackbirds.
This year I got a great picture of a female yellow headed Blackbird.
A pair of American Avocets were guarding a nest and so we took a quick pic and moved on.
Next were Glossy Ibis and Western Phalaropes.
This year’s chicks were already swimming. They are so tiny, and of course I did not get a very good shot of them. Down the road I spotted a bird we see down south, a Marbled Godwit.
We didn’t see many other birds, but we did stop and spot four elk, or should I say Renita spotted them. Leaving the refuge, we headed back home after stopping for a picnic along the way. It had been a perfect day even though we did not see any new birds. Thanks for joining us, Fred and Becky!
Clear skies
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