June in Central Montana is a great time to explore the Wildlife Refuges for baby birds of all kinds. On this trip I’m mainly searching for little ones of waterfowl and shorebirds. So let’s go on a baby bird adventure!
Our first stop is Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area. We visited here last March to see the Snow Goose migration, but they are long gone. Many birds and waterfowl arrive a bit later and make this their summer home with breeding as the major activity this time of year.
We have had lots of rain this spring/early summer in Central Montana. This channel connects the main lake to Pond 5 ahead. Often the water is low and it is more of a mucky marsh. Not this year! That doesn’t deter the Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) from setting up home and nesting in existing reeds. Yes, he is enjoying breakfast right now. Yummo!
As it turns out, there were no babies of any kind to be seen here at Freezout. The weather has been colder than normal for this time of year and nesting times vary a bit year to year impacted by surrounds. Many ducks and waterfowl are here though. Let’s take a look. It is my dream to see the Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) courting dance. Could it be possible?
These birds have elaborate mating ceremonies, as they are called. Synchronized swimming and rituals lead to the “dance” that I’d love to see. This pair was synchronized more than not, but with so few other Grebes around, they may already be mated.
You may want to see their many mating rituals and take a look at their “dance” called rushing. Would love to see the dance live, but not happening today. Regardless, it is always a treat seeing Western Grebes.
The roads around the lake and ponds at Freezout are dirt but happily well maintained. Up ahead a large, stocky, long-legged bird just ran across the road. VERY slow drive up ahead and YES.! A Willet (Tringa semipalmata) and finally a bird closer than hundreds of yards away!
It didn’t take too long for him to tire of me not taking the hint by its squawking, so off it goes. Those are mighty large wings for this size bird. All that white did startle me a bit as it took off. A Willet is a shorebird. There are many shorebirds not only near lakes/ponds, but nesting in the prairies of Eastern and Central Montanan. Many look similar with brown/rusty spotted backs, longer bills, long legs, and are often hard to identify correctly. We’ll do our best.
Driving near a very narrow channel I saw it full of small swimming birds I have only ever seen once before. Getting out of the car, quietly closing the door, walking slowly and ducking down a bit, I came near the edge of the channel, raised my camera and they all flew off!! The incredible thing is they made a big circle and came back landing further up the channel except for a few who landed near where I was already standing. YES!!
This is a breeding male Wilson’s Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor). They are small, about the size of a Robin, with a slender neck, long legs, and long straight bill. Unlike most birds where the female has the larger role raising the young, the Phalarope lays her eggs and then leaves the nest, never to return. He raises the young as she finds new males to mate with.
This unusual mating arrangement is called polyandrous and is reflected in the coloring of the sexes. The female is more strikingly colorful than the male, as you can see above. The males only mate with one female and raise the young. The female mates with multiple mates and nearly always lays four eggs per mate.
We are welcome to walk across the wide grassland to the lake’s edge if we choose. The grasses are getting tall, but the cactus still sit low–thank goodness for Prickly Pear flowers giving us a heads up!
The thorns are long, strong, and dense. The cactus plants are everywhere so watch your step! Maybe we’ll just stay in the shorter grass closer to the road.
Here we have another type of Grebe, the Earned Grebe. This pair was quite far away, but take a look here for another encounter I had with them where they were delightfully close! I love their red-button eyes!
Ah, a Cinnamon Teal. Teals are the smallest dabbling ducks in this country. About the size of a crow with both a large head and bill.
Ooops, he saw us and we’re not even very close.
So, what are dabbling ducks? There are actually two broad groups of ducks: dabblers and divers. Those names refer to how they hunt for food. Dabblers hunt at or just below the surface of the water. Mallards with tails in the air, head in the water may ring a bell?
So, can you tell the difference between dabblers and divers when viewing from the shore as we are doing? Yes! Dabblers sit high in the water, have legs positioned mid body so walking on land is easy. They can also take to flight straight up into the air thanks to their large wings compared to their body weight
Then we have divers, our Western Grebe for one.
Divers sit lower in the water and often you don’t see their tails, it is on or just below the water. Their legs are far back on their bodies, making if awkward, sometime nearly impossible, to walk on land. Their feet are larger, used as paddles and helping to steer as they hunt underwater. As the sun begins warming the day, you’ll often see diving ducks pulling one leg out of the water to reduce their body’s heat loss in cold water.
Unlike the quick, straight up take off possible by dabblers, diving ducks need more of a runway approach, fast wing beats, feet “running” across the water until they gain enough speed for lift off. Landing is similar. Dabblers fly slower and can land exactly where they want. Divers tend to land with a feet-first skid.
Heading back to the car we see some interesting purple flowers. I didn’t know Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) has such lovely flowers!
Off we go to Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge. We have about an hour drive. Benton is 12 miles north of Great Falls, the third largest city in Montana with about 60,300 folks in residence. From the main road it is 2 miles to the Benton Lakes Visitor Center. Aftera quick stop, it is 3 miles through prairies along Prairie Marsh Auto Tour Road to the loop around the lakes. Nineteen square miles of protected prairie and marsh areas–let’s go!
Driving through the prairie our view is mostly grasses–it’s the prairie after all. Many shorebirds, like the Willets, nest in the grasses of the prairies with a short flight to creeks or ponds. The grasses are already tall enough where it is tough to find the ground birds such as Grouse and Partridge. However, Prairie Dogs are easy to find. Just like this one, they stand tall keeping their eye on us. They have various calls and movements that let neighbors know the situation with intruders like us.
Not seeing many flowers across the green grasses, but here’s a Hairy Vetch (Vicia villosa) adding color right along the road.
This Yellow Salsify is hosting a critter I’m happy not to disturb. The Blackjacket Wasp (Vespula consobrina) is a stinging wasp. Yup, its cousin is the Yellowjacket.
Here we are by the ponds. They are shallow year round but become more marsh like later in the season. This road is right along the lake’s edge so some great views. One of my favorite birds! The Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) is smaller than a crow with a long neck and bill. Of course the rosy-pink legs are unique.
Stilts have the second longest legs in proportion to their body of any bird in the world except for the flamingo. We won’t be seeing any flamingoes today, so you’ll have to take my word for it 😉 .
Stilts have read eyes too, as we saw on some ducks. Why do some birds have red eyes? Well, as always, there are a lot of possibilities for how and why birds have red eyes. It is not only water birds either. This article explores answers to questions about red-eyed birds, but in conclusion the author, Vince Santacroce, says:
From a scientific perspective, red eyes in birds can provide clues about their evolutionary history,
mating preferences, and genetic diversity.
From an aesthetic perspective, red eyes can add to the beauty and uniqueness of these feathered creatures,
making them even more fascinating to observe and study.
In the words of John Muir, ‘In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks,’ and
the study of red eyes in birds is certainly no exception.
So many American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana)! Lovely colors, upturned bill, and baby blue legs.
Ooops, got a bit too close. But wait, with such long legs they swim? Yes, because they have webbed feet. Not all shorebirds can swim but many can and it is about webbed feet. Black-necked Stilts can swim, but prefer not too unless endangered in shallow water or on land.
Two such elegant birds and surprise! They are related. Worldwide, they are the only two birds in the Recurvirostridae family. No, I can’t say it either. There are six types of of Stilts and four Avocets, but the Stilt and Avocet we just saw are the only ones in North America.
Oh, amazing! Way over there, see it? A family of Avocets! Momma and three youngsters. That little one at right seems nervous about continuing on. Mom is calling.
The two laggers are safely hugging mom now and I’m sure loving her kneeling-down reassurance.
All three seem happy and more confident now.
The chicks seem very, very young! Immediately on hatching, they are downy and able to walk. They could be less than a week old. This could their first trip away from the nest. Inquisitive but like hanging around mom.
The whole family continues their journey, or maybe just getting the little ones up and around living life with parent oversight. Wow, this is so special my friend!
Whoa, just turning around to walk back to car looking at vast green of prairie land and surprise. You never know what you’ll see with a different perspective. In this case a Coyote. How can you quickly tell a wolf from a coyote? Coyotes have a pointed nose, that’s the best and fastest way to tell. Also, their ears are narrow and pointed. Wolves are significantly larger, but how could you tell with nothing to compare? He/she is moving on–and so are we.
Another amazing sight! My first ever sighting of a Marbled Godwit (ILimosa fedoa). A long-legged large shorebird with upturned two-tone long bill. No webbed feet so . . . . . . . . you know, can’t swim.
A Marbled Godwit with two Avocets. These particular birds fly with their long legs outstretched at back.
Driving along the edges of the far pond we can see how marshy the area is getting. Oh my the ducks . . . and so many biting bugs! Thank goodness for bug spray and close shots.
Dabbling ducks love this environment! These are Blue-winged Teals (Spatula discors). They are more colorful that this picture shows, so take a look at All About Birds.
Male ducks (drakes) have no part in raising the young. The drakes leave as the female (hen) incubates the eggs. Typically the drakes hang around with other drakes as seen here.
The females of virtually every type of duck are brown colored, as are the ducklings. They blend easily into the surroundings, hiding from potential predators. The male on the other hand stands out due to his beautiful colors. His leaving the hen after mating could offer protection since his vivid coloring would draw attention of predators.
Thats a lot of new Blue-winged Teals! Notice the blue on the hen’s wing.
Northern Shovelers are very colorful with a large spoon-shaped bill. Along the edges of the bill are comb-like projections that filter out seeds and tiny crustaceans. This is a mucky area for sure. Must be lots to eat here as hens raise the young.
Shoveler hens have orange bills, when not covered with mud that is. Even the little ones have huge bills.
Looks like this hen is taking a bit of a break from the eight kids!
We are nearing the far end of the lake, but have another surprise. They are far away, but here we see an Eclipse (non-breeding) Canvasback at right and two Redheads (Aythya americana). These ducks are both divers and often hang out together.
It is hard to tell in this picture, but male Redheads have blue bills with a black tip. It’s easier to see the colors on the duck at left, but even easier by clicking to take a closer look.
The larger Canvasback has a long sloping forehead and black bill. Breeding Canvasback males have pure white backs. I did see one at the end of the lake, courting a few females, but even further away than these birds were. Explore better pictures than I could get here.
WOW, what a great trip and we got to see babies after all! Actually, I saw so many more birds than I was able to get pictures of. National Wildlife Refuges are always an amazing experience. If you have one near you, don’t hesitate to visit.
Until next time my friend . . .
