Over at the Seney Refuge, late in the afternoon, but by no means at sunset, we saw the usual complement of birds, and not much else on the long loop of the driving tour (skipped the welcome center; we’ll stop next time). A couple of turtles. Very few Canada geese. Several family clusters of trumpeter swans, heads stained orange-brown by the tannic waters. Almost no ducks, grebes, or coots. Water levels are low, as across the UP and into Ontario. Not good for nesting. Or myriad other things.
Update to yesterday’s story
Ah, that “mallard”—wrong! It was a male ring-necked pheasant! I finally got a good look at ’im. Now I know why the “duck” walked/ran so far!
Ya gotta give me a break on this mis-ID; I haven’t seen a pheasant in a while—vigilant wildlife officers and hunters have intentionally extirpated them in Georgia. After all, they’re not native to the Americas.
7 August 2007 at 5:38 am
Pooh says:
Mark and I went to Munising Area for a bicycling/camping/waterfall/Pictured Rocks weekend. On our return when we passed the Seney Wildlife Refuge, there was a deer standing in the road leading into the park, right in front of the sign. Woould have made a great PR shot, had we had the camera out!
7 August 2007 at 12:20 pm
Sammy says:
We always enjoy many photo opportunities at the Refuge! Biking across the Shingleton stretch must have been rather dull, though….