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I spent the late afternoon and evening at Bear
River MBR and enjoyed most of the bird species others have reported lately
(except those Snowy Plovers--Rats!) I also saw a few other goodies, all on
the north leg of the loop--a Great Egret practicing synchronized stalking with a
Great Blue Heron, five Black Terns flying over, and two Semi-palmated
Plovers.
I watched a balancing act that a large group of
Bank, Cliff, Barn, and Tree Swallows put on for me on the south side of the road
at the bridge favored as a Cliff Swallow nesting site. The water here is
heavily lined with tall sedge and is a popular perch among the four species of
swallows, especially the Bank. The birds fluttered to an upright
stalk, grasped it with both feet, and rode it down as the stem bent in an arc
under the swallow's weight. The stem would finally stop bending, and
voila! Vegetation transformation. The swallows created horizontal
perches just the right size for their tiny feet where no perches existed
before. They almost reminded me of sparrow and finch behavior when
riding stalks of seed heads to the ground to
forage. Periodically something would flush all the swallows and then
they'd have to go sedge-stem riding again as they settled down. It was
like a swallow amusement park ride!
I also saw a few mammals as I sped off the refuge
to beat the sunset--a two point buck, a muskrat, and Pepe LePew and his
siblings.
Kris
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