Bennington Lake today

It was windy and cold, but we saw and heard some nice spring birds this morning on our walk around the lake.

Highlights were 9 WESTERN KINGBIRDS, 3 HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, 1 LINCOLN'S SPARROW, and 8 CHIPPING SPARROWS. We heard HOUSE WRENS, a YELLOW WARBLER, a WARBLING VIREO and a CASSIN'S VIREO.  There were over 200 swallows hunting insects over the lake – TREE, CLIFF, VIOLET-GREEN, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED and BANK.  We watched an opportunistic OSPREY try to steal a fish that a fisherman had laying on the ground near him. It's nice to see that some of the birds are returning.  If the weather warms up, there should be more by next Tuesday.  Ginger

Blue Bird Field Trip

Twelve people joined Tom Scribner for a successful trip south of Pomeroy in search of mountain bluebirds.  We saw 37 of them around  some of the many boxes Tom and his father put up over the years.  There is nothing quite as brilliant blue as a male mountain bluebird!  There were also 15 tree swallows in the area utilizing some of the boxes.  Other notable birds seen on the trip were western kingbirds, white-breasted nuthatches, Townsend's solitaires and a family of great horned owls.  The wind was a gale force in places up on top, but the bluebirds didn't mind and we could enjoy watching them from inside our vehicles.  Ginger

Bennington Lake birds

On Tuesday the walkers saw a nice selection of birds including 4 horned grebes, a Wilson's snipe, 2  calliope hummingbirds and a gray catbird (the earliest record for the County).  Since I missed the Tuesday walk, I decided to walk this morning.  There was a chipping sparrow at the south end of the lake and the lake was full of ducks!  2 pair of cinnamon teal, 13 green-winged teals, 7 ring-necked ducks, 10 scaup, 7 shovelers, 36 buffleheads, 13 wigeons, 3 mallards and 7 coots.  Two osprey were busy fishing.  The owl nest has been vandalized, but hopefully the chicks are okay.  The Corp Ranger and Game Warden are investigating.  Ginger

Bennington Lake Today

It was back to winter clothes this morning for our walk around the lake, and we had to wade across Cayuse Falls.  Fortunately the birds didn't seem to mind the cold.  There were over 200 violet-green swallows, about 20 tree swallows and 25 or so cliff swallows catching insects over the water.  The cliff swallows were also gathering mud to make their nests on the concrete structure in the lake.  Two ospreys were successfully fishing, while two coots, several mallards and three ring-necked ducks dotted the lake.  Black-capped chickadees were nest building at the south end of the lake and a red-shafted flicker was excavating a snag.   Two pair of northern harriers hunted the fields, and a Swainson's hawk soared overhead only to be dive-bombed by an American kestrel. The trees and shrubs near the parking lot were full of chickadees, Bewick's wrens, downy woodpeckers, song sparrows. white-crowned sparrows, juncos and yellow-rumped warblers. Next week should be even busier, especially if the weather warms up.

 

Evening Field Trip to Bennington Lake

It was a very windy evening, but that didn't keep over 20 people from joining Mike Denny for a walk around the lake.  At the parking lot we watched hundreds of swallows flying over the water, an osprey fishing, and baby great horned owls in their hole.  We didn't hear any owls on the walk, but Mike explained owl behavior and habitat to the group and also familiarized us with some of the plants along the trail.  Walking carefully along the somewhat muddy trail, flashlights were on at the end making an interesting sight. 

Spring arrivals at Bennington Lake

There were five tree swallows at Bennington Lake this morning, all by the two boxes on the south end of the lake.  There was also a nicely colored yellow-rumped warbler in the same vicinity.  Otherwise, it was a pretty quiet day at the lake for bird migration.  There were many adults and children fishing along the bank, enjoying the spring weather. The happy sounds of spring were everywhere, both from children and the birds!  Many of the deciduous shrubs are turning green and a few are blooming.  Next week should be much brighter as the various green colors start to appear on the trees.  Ginger