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Posted by Toe on 10:02:01 11/22/08
I couldn't go far from home today since I had contractors coming to install the dorr to the new addition to house. They were supposed to do it yesterday. I headed to Dump Marsh and checked out the eastern side of the main pond and found nothing on the pond, but did see an Orange-crowned Warbler along the berm. Walking a little east, I took the remnant of the service road that circles the entire complex. The mangroves have really begun to take over and the road is not too obvious anymore. Walking south about 1/4 mile, the road almost disappears in the mangrove, but then opens again into a grassy ares with some ponds. Turning west, and going through the short mangroves, there is a marshy area with scattered cattails and small muddy puddles. The Virginia Rail was in one of these small puddles. It flew about 4 feet to a small clupm of cattails and disappeared. It's a shame, but in a year the area may be completely inaccessible, and the small marsh will be lost to a mangrove forest. Everyone wants to save mangroves, but I guess salt marsh can go to hell. I checked the wires as I drove past and didn't see any kingbirds.
The Bonapartes's was right in front of the fenced facility on the north edge of Culter Drylands (calling it wetlands is a bit exagerated right now). This is the worse case of reverse management ever. During shorebird migrationd, let's keep water levels excessively high so they can't use it. During winter when ducks arrive, let's get rid of all the water so that they can't use it either. Brilliant! Maybe somebody needs to turn the watches back about 6 months for whoever is managing this site.
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