Category: Special Places

As we drove toward the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge we saw a flock of Terns swooping by.  I pulled over into a rest area and took this shot of a tern perching, briefly, on a post overlooking the wetlands. I think it’s a Forster Tern, but it could well be a Common Tern  (Merlin merely suggests it’s one or the other and leaves the final decision to me).

That’s the only picture I managed to get at that first stop, despite spending 10 or fifteen minutes trying to get a shot of them in flight.  They’re not as hard as Swallows to capture mid-air, but they’re a close second.   

After we got to the refuge we spotted several in the distance where I could use my 1000mm lens (500mm with a doubler) to capture shots of them whisking by carrying small fish.

Unfortunately, since the 500 mm lens is mounted on the car door, it’s impossible to photograph terns that are very high in the air.

I didn’t get a photo I liked until we left the refuge and returned to where we had seen them earlier.  Then I got out of the car and switched to the much lighter R5 camera with a 600mm telephoto with a 1.4 multiplier that Leslie had been using so that I could try to track the Terns as they flew up and down.  

Luckily, they hover for a brief moment before diving into the water.  That pause was just long enough that the autofocus on the camera would kick in, resulting in shots like this

and this.

I still haven’t managed to get a shot of a tern just as it hits the water, but that’s all the more reason to go back next year and try, try again.  

In the last few years I may have seen more Western and Clark’s Grebes at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge than everywhere else.  Unfortunately, we saw fewer grebes than usual, either because of construction on the refuge or the height of the flood waters. Shots of Grebes carrying babies on their backs have been a particular favorite, so it was disappointing that we didn’t see a single Grebe with chicks.  Either we were too early (likely) or the flooding has delayed breeding season (possible).  

However, that didn’t deter me from taking photos of the grebes I did see, like this one of a  Clark’s Grebe trying to catch a little shut-eye in the middle of the day.

This is a typical pose, but I’m still baffled at how they can wrap their neck around and still look forward. 

Although we didn’t see any Grebe chicks, most of the Clark’s Grebes we saw seemed to have paired off.

This pair of Western Grebes

seemed to be actively house-hunting,

but were apparently keeping their options open because they soon left rather than settling in.

Not seeing grebes with chicks was the one disappointment of the day, but luckily there were so many other birds and photographic opportunities that I didn’t realize I was disappointed until I got home and started editing the pictures we had (and hadn’t) taken.  

After years of looking for American Avocets, I expect to see Black-necked Stilts wherever we find Avocets.  Black-necked Stilts and Avocets are similar in many ways, including their diets. Both species are omnivores, eating small fish, insects, and crustaceans. Both feed on the Brine Shrimp found in the Great Salt Lake.

I’ll admit, though, I was still surprised to find a Black-necked Stilt nest less than a hundred yards away from the Avocet nest we had just seen.

This is the first time I can remember ever seeing a Black-necked Stilt nest (but that might be because my memory isn’t quite as good as it used to be because the post-generated link clearly shows a Black-necked Stilt nest.

Although we saw large flocks of stilts on the way to the refuge, most of the stilts on the sanctuary were either in pairs or were feeding alone.

Strangely, American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts seem to get along quite well when feeding together, sometimes quite close together.  Black-necked Stilts, on the other hand, seem less tolerant of fellow stilts when feeding.  They tend to be territorial, particularly during breeding season, and these two seemed more combative than most.

Neither bird seemed to be injured, and it gave me a chance to capture the loser as it flew a safe distance away.

We managed to get closer to these birds than we ever have before, 

and what really stood out to me were those bright reddish-orange legs, particularly how long they appeared compared to the bird’s overall size.  When I asked Bard about those legs it came up with:

The black-necked stilt is a shorebird with long, thin legs that are proportionally longer than those of any other bird. The legs of a black-necked stilt are about 1.5 times the length of its body, and they can reach up to 2 feet (60 centimeters) in length. The legs are pink or reddish in color, and they help the stilt to wade in shallow water and reach for prey.

The stilt’s long legs are an adaptation to its habitat. Black-necked stilts live in wetlands, where they feed on small insects, crustaceans, and other aquatic animals. The long legs allow the stilt to stand in shallow water without sinking, and they also help the stilt to reach prey that is hidden in the mud.

The long legs of the black-necked stilt are also a disadvantage in some ways. The stilt is vulnerable to predators that can reach it from above, and the long legs make it difficult for the stilt to take off and land. However, the stilt’s long legs are an essential part of its survival, and they allow the stilt to live in a variety of wetland habitats.

Here are some other interesting facts about the black-necked stilt’s legs:

The stilt’s legs are made up of hollow bones, which helps to reduce their weight.

The stilt’s legs have a network of blood vessels that help to keep them warm.

The stilt’s legs are covered in scales, which help to protect them from the elements.

The black-necked stilt is a fascinating bird with some amazing adaptations. Its long, thin legs are a key part of its survival, and they help the stilt to live in a variety of wetland habitats.

Most importantly, though, they make the stilt look like a Tai Chi master or ballet dancer, complementing their delicate beauty.

We had made plans to visit the Colorado Websters in May to see Zoe’s graduation ceremony, and I didn’t plan on driving that far without visiting other places, too.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t plan to do anything much because I had a doctor’s appointment right after graduation that had already been rescheduled once four months earlier.  So, we planned an extra day of travel time to Colorado in order to spend a day visiting Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge where I hoped to see the American Avocets that I didn’t see on our recent trip through California.

It didn’t take long before we saw them, either, as we found a pair on the road to the auto tour.

For a while it looked like they might be the only ones we would see because the roads were flooding.  We came up to a sign warning not to cross when there was water over the road, and there was definitely water over the road.  I thought our RAV 4 was high enough that we could safely cross, but, with recent images from the news showing cars swept away by floodwaters, I decided it wasn’t worth the chance of being stuck and missing Zoe’s graduation.  

Luckily, on our way back we stopped and talked to some other birders who had stopped at the refuge office.  They were told they shouldn’t have any trouble crossing with their Subaru.  Since our RAV 4 had at least as much ground clearance as their Subaru, I decided to chance it and made it fairly easily.

I’m glad we went on because we saw American Avocets throughout the refuge.

We also saw American Avocets that seemed to be floating and foraging, something I’d only seen a few times before. 

I wondered if those Avocets were feeding in deep water by choice or were forced to feed there because there weren’t many areas that weren’t flooded. 

Even more worrisome were the Avocet nests that seemed in immediate danger of being flooded.

We have observed Avocets nests both on dry fields and on tussocks in wetlands in prior years, but we’ve never seen one where the water surrounding the nest was this deep. Was the water that deep when the Avocets build the nest, or had the water risen afterward and they just refused to abandon the nest?