Migration Update October 23, 2007
Fall has arrived! The leaves on the willows and cottonwoods have turned yellow and many of the warm season plants have shut down for the year. Many of the cool season plants remain green, as we have not had a hard frost yet. The subtle yellows, greens, browns, and reds of the wetland and prairie plants along with the mild temperatures makes this a very beautiful time of year at Lacreek NWR. We have received nearly 4 inches of rain in October. This makes the roads in the area muddy for awhile, however it is badly needed moisture that will help significantly next spring.
Hunting seasons have started on the refuge in designated areas. Pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse, and deer hunting will be on going through the fall. Waterfowl hunting outside of the refuge has also begun.
A large variety of waterfowl are currently using refuge wetlands to feed and rest. Shallowly flooded portions of Pools 7, 8, and 10 are holding the majority of dabbling ducks such as mallards, green winged teal, and pintails. Portions of Pools 4, 5, 8, and 7 that have arrowhead or submerged aquatic vegetation are holding most of the trumpeter swans, Canada geese, and diving ducks such as canvasbacks, redheads, and lesser scaup. See the table below for the lastest waterfowl survey.
A large variety of raptors are currently utilizing the refuges wetland and grassland habitats. Owls spotted by staff in the last few weeks include some of the last burrowing owls, barn owls, short eared owls, a single long eared owl near headquarters, western screech owls, and of course the resident great horned owls. Hawk species observed recently include large numbers of red tailed hawks, Cooper's and sharp shinned hawks, ferruginous hawks near the prairie dog towns, a few Swainson's hawks, and the first rough legged hawks of the fall. A number of peregrine falcons have been spotted hunting green winged teal over refuge wetlands. Prairie falcons have been spotted regularly. The bald eagle pair that nested on the refuge along with the juvenilles are still observed on the refuge. In addition, several golden eagles have moved onto the refuge and spend most of their time hunting prairie dogs.
Large numbers of white tailed deer along with a smaller number of mule deer are often visible from refuge roads, especially in the early morning and late evening hours. Many other resident species, such as sharp tailed grouse, ring neceked pheasant, badgers, porcupines, prairie dogs, short tailed and long tailed weasels, mink, and muskrats can be spotted if you are in the right place at the right time. Have a safe and enjoyable visit!
| Date | 10/19/2007 |
| Observer(s) | SC, RM |
| Weather | 10moh, 60's F, 0% cloud cover |
| Start | 12:00 |
| End | 15:40 |
| Species | Pool 4 | 5 | 6 | 6E | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9DU | Hazel Pond | 9A | 10 | 11 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue winged teal | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Mallard | 80 | 60 | 700 | 605 | 15 | 14000 | 15460 | ||||||
| Gadwall | 3 | 1500 | 250 | 3 | 1756 | ||||||||
| Pintail | 100 | 6 | 400 | 506 | |||||||||
| Shoveler | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Green winged teal | 35 | 4 | 8000 | 8039 | |||||||||
| Widgeon | 300 | 40 | 340 | ||||||||||
| Wood duck | 100 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 124 | ||||||||
| Red head | 20 | 20 | |||||||||||
| Canvasback | 300 | 50 | 350 | ||||||||||
| Ringneck | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Lesser scaup | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Ruddy duck | 32 | 32 | |||||||||||
| Trumpeter swan | 45 | 45 | |||||||||||
| *Canada goose | 53 | 50 | 2400 | 167 | 410 | 93 | 3173 | ||||||
| Goldeneye | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Buffle head | 2 | 12 | 14 | ||||||||||
| Total | 5 | 2133 | 447 | 0 | 3161 | 781 | 757 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22575 | 0 | 29859 |
*Many of the Canada geese were likely feeding in surrounding agricultural fields at the time of this survey and numbers in the area are likely higher.
