In the last few weeks, the staff and volunteers have been hard at work at new projects. And some are being done by contractors. Shoveler pond is getting is rehab and will be made into a deeper pond so it can once again serve as a fishing and crabbing spot.
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| Building terraces in Shoveler Pond to prevent bank erosion |
And we have a big new viewing platform that looks back north over the field just south of the maintenance area. It has water on three sides and should have good views of lots of birds since I think this field will stay wet all summer.
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| New Viewing Platform |
And today I watched the footings being built for the bridge over a little gulley that, when finished, along with a little more paved pathway, will provide a handicap accessible path to the viewing platform overlooking the rookery area. It is a riparian area and a great place to look for little birds like sparrows, warblers, kinglets, and gnatcatchers, and should be great for migrants. The pond has been a good place to see ducks, kingfishers, vermillion flycatchers and swamp sparrows. Eagles can often be found in the trees to the south of it. Cormorants and great egrets roosted here all winter and black-crowned night herons also roosted there.
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| Building Footings for footbridge in Skillern Unit |
A volunteer made a HUGE bat house to provide a new home for the bats currently living in the maintenance building.. It will be fun to watch them come out at dusk.. It is across the road from the Visitor Information Center so is easy to access.
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| Bat House by Maintenance Building |
And I'm finding some new wildflowers, as well as growing populations of ones that started blooming in January.
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| Mass of Indian Paintbrush |
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| Roadside Wildflowers |
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| Blooming shrub in Skillern Unit |
It's pretty exciting to be here right now.
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