Trip report: Plains Lakes & Hutton

Both the weather and the birding were great for our trip to the lakes on Saturday. Duck numbers overall were down, but we still found quite a few species. Shorebird species are moving through; we got to see fantastic display flights by willets and Wilson's snipes. Songbirds were evident as well: recent arrivals are yellow-rumped warblers, Brewer's blackbirds, Brewer's sparrow, vesper sparrow, Say's phoebe, and multiple species of swallows.

Wilson's Snipe along Brubaker Lane. Photo © Shawn Billerman.

Tiger salamander found at Meeboer. Photo by Libby Megna.

Many fields have flooded since the snowstorm, providing good stopover habitat and birding opportunities. We found several Franklin's gulls and a few Bonaparte's gulls along Pahlow west of the Gelatt marsh.

In total we detected 72 species. Below are links to our eBird checklists and the species list for the day.

Blake's Pond
Meeboer Lake
Gelatt Marsh
Lake Hattie Reservoir
Brubaker Lane
Hutton Lake NWR

Species List - 25 April 2015

Canada Goose Canada Goose Gadwall American Wigeon Mallard Blue-winged Teal Cinnamon Teal Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Common Merganser Ruddy Duck Common Loon Horned Grebe Eared Grebe Western Grebe Clark's Grebe American White Pelican Great Blue Heron

Hooded Merganser Osprey Golden Eagle Northern Harrier Cooper's Hawk Swainson's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk American Coot Sandhill Crane American Avocet Killdeer Greater Yellowlegs Willet Long-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Snipe Bonaparte's Gull Franklin's Gull Ring-billed Gull California Gull Herring Gull Mourning Dove Great Horned Owl Belted Kingfisher American Kestrel Say's Phoebe

Ring-billed Gull Common Raven Horned Lark Tree Swallow Bank Swallow Barn Swallow Cliff Swallow Marsh Wren American Robin Sage Thrasher European Starling McCown's Longspur Yellow-rumped Warbler Brewer's Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Song Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Western Meadowlark Yellow-headed Blackbird Brewer's Blackbird Common Grackle Great-tailed Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird House Sparrow

Auduboners at Hutton NWR. Photo by Libby Megna.