I birded Piute Ponds today -- the first day it has been open for recreation since the government shutdown began on October 1st. While it was frustrating to miss six weeks of prime fall migration, it was good to get back there. There were a few sprinkles while I was there, but no substantial rain had fallen yesterday or today (by the time I left at about 11:20 a.m.). Road conditions were excellent (this could change after the predicted rains), as was the habitat. There has been lots of dredging of channels along Ave C, and of course the controlled burn earlier in the fall has really opened up Ducks Unlimited and Kee Slough in the south pond complex. There is some good shorebird habitat in the burn area of the southeastern part of Ducks Unlimited. Duckbill still has water mainly only on the north and east sides (and a bit in the far west). But the dry grassy bed of Duckbill is attractive to Horned Larks and, it turns out, one Lapland Longspur.
Some of the less common birds I saw today included six Greater White-fronted Geese on Duckbill, two Hooded Mergansers on north Duckbill, a Common Gallinule along Ave C east of the Yellow Box Willows, a White-tailed Kite north of Parking 9, and a Swamp Sparrow calling in the reeds on the north side of Ave C about 100 m east of the gazebo. The aforementioned Lapland Longspur was with a large flock of Horned Larks on the Duckbill lake bed, roughly due north of the Yellow Box Willows; it apparently establishes the first record of this species for Piute.
