Arriving for the "birding window" at Eagle Bluffs yesterday afternoon, a friend and I encountered only five avian species, despite the renewed, watery landscape. On our way south through the northern section of the floodplain, we saw massive flocks of red-winged blackbirds but only 30 mallards, 6 green-winged teal and a lone pied-billed grebe. No waders, shorebirds or raptors were observed.
Once we turned around and headed back north, however, we came across a flock of 175 American coot that had emerged from the dense marsh and were parading across a lake. After such a long period of man-induced drought a the refuge, their sudden appearance was emotionally rewarding.
Of course, in the past, that number would have been considered modest at best; thousands of coot would descend on Eagle Bluffs during the spring and fall migrations. We certainly hope that yesterday's sighting was a sign of the recovery to come.
