We covered five areas of the refuge today. We saw the most bird species (20) in Raymond Pool which was our first area. American avocets, green-winged teal, and northern shovelers were the most abundant birds we saw in this area. Other birds included tree swallow, northern pintail, gadwall, ruddy duck, tundra swan, Canada goose, northern harrier, snow goose, ring-billed gull, Carolina wren, and American black duck. Some of the birds we saw in Shearness Pool were common merganser, American avocet, bald eagle, bufflehead, and ruddy duck. There were several hundred snow geese in the distance on the bay side of the road. Pasture Point Pond was at least half dried out. We identified only turkey vulture, Canada goose, mallard, eastern bluebird, and American crow. Next, we walked the Bear Swamp Trail. There wasn’t much here but birds we saw included greater yellowlegs, green-winged teal, northern shoveler, and northern flicker. Our last stop was Bear Swamp Pool. The highlight was watching a red fox for about 15 minutes. It was in the open area to the left of the road. After walking along the ground and among the grass, it came to the road and walked the other direction along the road past the cars and other people watching. Birds seen here included sandhill crane (1), mallard, bald eagle, green-winged teal, Canada goose, northern shoveler, and tundra swan.
MY PHOTOS: American avocet, sandhill crane, great blue heron, snow goose, bald eagle, northern shoveler
