I spent a few hours at the refuge this morning. It was terribly humid.
They’ve had a lot of rain and there are lots of wet fields and the areas
they usually drain have not been. The Arkansas River is extremely high and
it may get higher because of the heavy rain that has caused flooding in
Kansas and northern Oklahoma. It all drains into the Arkansas River
eventually.
But the refuge was quite birdy. I had 57 species on the refuge plus two
more at the Stony Point fishing access. There were a pair of Least Terns at
the sand barat Stony Point. Years ago the Army Corps of Engineers built a
huge sand bar by dredging the river bottom. Hopefully the terns will have a
successful nesting season.
Most of my birding was done by ear (not Merlin). Birds mostly stay hidden,
singing from the shadow of the trees. But they were quite vocal. Of course
there were cardinals and indigos at every stop, as well as quite a number
of Red-headed Woodpeckers throughout the refuge. Since the 2019 flood most
of the cottonwood trees have died and fallen. The woodpeckers love those
dead trees.
