By Judy Hoy, Bitterroot Audubon
We had kind of a blustery day for Bitterroot Audubon’s 2019 Welcome Back Waterfowl Day on Saturday, April 13 at the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge. There wasn’t much sun to keep us warm, but fortunately, no rain or snow. Thank you to the bird loving people who came to help us celebrate the returning migrants and the resident birds. Several birds not usually found that were exciting to see included a Merlin, a Red-naped Sapsucker, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, a Mountain Bluebird and a Great Horned Owl.
Even with the cloudy, somewhat windy weather, we observed 55 species of waterfowl, raptors, songbirds and other birds and several mammals, including a porcupine, a muskrat, white-tailed deer and of course Columbian Ground Squirrels. We were pleasantly surprised by the arrival of a Snow Goose and a Trumpeter Swan. A pair of Osprey was working on their new nest on the nest platform right above us and the Great Blue Herons were already standing by their nests or sitting on them in their rookery. Fly-overs by several interesting birds, including a pair of Sandhill Cranes, were enjoyed by all and the antics of the ducks were highly entertaining.
Thank you to the BAS members who brought their scopes and assisted visitors in finding and identifying the wide variety of waterfowl present at the refuge, as well as raptors and songbirds and others. Thank you to all the Bitterroot Audubon members who helped with setting up, taking down and who provided a wide variety of delicious treats. The Bitterroot Audubon Society sincerely thanks Tom Reed, the Manager of the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge, for his help and providing treats at the visitor center. A special thank you to Kay Fulton and Kate Stone for bringing tables and the canopy and to Dave Lockman for making the bird check-off sheet.
BIRDS SEEN ON 2019 WELCOME BACK WATERFOWL DAY
Pie-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Trumpeter Swan
Snow Goose
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Common Goldeneye
Barrow?s Goldeneye
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Great Horned Owl
Wild Turkey
Ring-necked Pheasant
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Belted Kingfisher
Eurasian Collared Dove
Northern Flicker
Red-naped Sapsucker
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Black-billed Magpie
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
European Starling
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Mountain Bluebird
House Finch
American Goldfinch