With the great weather, I have been having a very hard time staying at work.
Wednesday was a beautiful day and the birding bug was biting again.
Took off at 1pm with a photographer friend from work and drove out to the BR Refuge.
Brilliant colors all around with the graceful Tree Swallows, Yellow Headed Blackbirds and Red Winged Blackbirds giving their spring performance.
Got great looks at a Marsh Wren that perched at the top of a catttail for over 5 minutes, calling out for his true love. Other notable birds were the Long Billed Curlews, 2 Snowy Plovers, a Franklin Gull and a possible American Bittern flying low over the main auto tour route.
American Avocets are showing their brilliantly buffy colored head and neck. Black Necked Stilts and Greater Yellowlegs were found wading along with the Avocets. The ducks included Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Cinnamon Teal, American Wigeon, Redhead and Northern Pintail.
Other birds seen included Common Raven, Horned Lark, American Coot, European Starling, Western Meadowlark, Killdeer, Sandhill Crane, American White Pelican, Double Crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, 3 Northern Harriers, Western Grebe and Clarks Grebe.
Still have not seen any Egrets.
Stephen Peterson