We birded in six areas of the refuge today. We only identified three species in the area around the Visitor’s Center—Canada goose, house sparrow, and Carolina wren. Raymond Pool and Shearness Pool were filled with water again. Birds we saw in Raymond Pool included ruddy duck, great blue heron, northern shoveler, northern pintail, gadwall, American avocet, bald eagle, mallard, and northern harrier. Birds seen in Shearness Pool and the tidal marsh included great black-backed gull, double-crested cormorant, dunlin, bald eagle (6), American black duck, ring-necked duck, pied-billed grebe, American coot, Forster’s tern, song sparrow, and black-bellied plover. Finis Pool was void of birds but nearby we identified turkey vulture, Canada goose, northern flicker, and American goldfinch. Birds in Bear Swamp Pool included American avocet, great egret, mallard, green-winged teal, brown thrasher, and greater yellowlegs. There wasn’t much along the Boardwalk Trail but some of the birds we identified were red-bellied woodpecker, mallard, bald eagle (2), Carolina chickadee, and American goldfinch.
MY PHOTOS: ruddy duck, great blue heron, mallard, American avocet, green-winged teal, northern pintail
