Assembling the Masses

This is a look at Church Slough. Maybe the best spring waterfowl hotspot in the whole county! That is a big area by the way, not like all the small counties in California or something. You can actually fit the WHOLE state of Rhode Island in the Columbia Falls School District.

Wow, getting off topic. Well, I was saying Church Slough is a great hotspot for spring waterfowl. At this point it is still mostly frozen, but when the ice continues to melt.... much more will happen.

I started the day (Saturday the 6th) driving to Dan Casey's house in Somers. We looked over the waterfowl on the north shore of Flathead Lake and right off I got several year birds!

Trumpeter Swan
Red-breasted Merganser
Northern Pintail
Barrow's Goldeneye
Killdeer
Eurasian Wigeon
Lesser Scaup

Suprisingly, there was a large flock of almost 12 Red-breasted Mergansers on the lake! That is actually quite interesting. Almost more so then the Eurasian Wigeon! We get small numbers of them every March, as well as Cackling Geese. My first wave of migrant waterfowl as been spotted!

Next we went to Church Slough, and as mentioned above, was still very icy. There was, however, a variaty of birds to be seen.

Northern Harrier
American Wigeon
Greater Scaup

-made up the yearbirds, but the most interesting to me and Dan was an adult THAYER'S GULL. I have only seen these at the landfill, but this bird was flying around the frozen slough!

My scope looking over the birds at Church Slough

A pair of the many Canada Geese in the area!

This Red-winged Blackbird was at splitpond, on the way to Church Slough

After saying good-day to Dan at Church Slough, I went and wondered up around Creston, and didn't have any luck with Swallows or Bluebirds...can't say I was expecting them though, they are still a few days out.

I did get a shot of this nice male SONG SPARROW singing on territory.

Just a few Canada Geese on a pond off of Montford Road

Next was the county landfill just to see what gulls were in the area.

I got this shot of a COMMON RAVEN siting on the edge of the mud-ridge.

All that was about was MANY many California Gulls, and a handful of Herring Gulls... not even any Ring-billeds!

Updates since Saturday:

March 10th - Besides it being Andrew Guttenberg's birthday, I got another yearbird this morning on my way to school! I got great looks at a female VARIED THRUSH!!!!! What a pretty bird!!!

up-coming: Saturday, the 13th I am co-leading a trip to the Mission Valley! That should be a mega bird-filled trip! Many new and exciting things!

up-coming: Saturday-Sunday, March 27-28 - FREEZOUT LAKE! The huge mass of white geese (Snow and Ross's Geese) will be substantial, and so will the other waterfowl and field birds! Amazing trip! Watch for my post!

So, as of now, I am at 77 for the year - 10 from Saturday and then the Varied Thrush today