Shorebirds invade Market Lake - East Idaho News
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Shorebirds invade Market Lake

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From a distance it appeared as hundreds of snow geese had returned to Market Lake Management Area after they had migrated north. As I got closer the early morning light revealed several large flocks of American Avocets and Black-necked stilts with a few willets and other shorebirds descending on the local marshland.

The sun peeked out of its bed from the eastern mountains, highlighting the wings of these beautiful birds as they landed on the shallow water only to lift off again. Their soft voices were in contrast with the loud honking Canada geese, the mating call of the willets and the male Yellow-headed and Red-winged blackbirds announcing they had staked out their nesting areas. The males were looking for females who were ready for a serious committed relationship.

For about an hour small to medium flocks of avocets and stilts kept dropping out of the sky, joining those on Pond #3. Occasionally a pair of willets or a Marbled godwit would land near me and add to the circus of the morning.

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Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com

After a couple of hours enjoying the show, I was surprised when the large mixed flock of shorebirds circled around my truck with half them landing in front of me and the other half behind me. Every time a vehicle would come by they would fly off, circle a couple of times and land back on the road near my truck with the avocets staying on the old paved road. The stilts would gather on the grass and move down toward the water.

Eventually the large flock went back out on the water so I continued my tour through the management area noting the different birds on the water and in the marsh. Thousands of coots remain covering many of the ponds and are starting to pick their mates while some of the Canada geese have been joined by little yellow fluff balls.

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Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com

Franklin, Ring-billed and California gulls are back scavenging while the Foresters and one Caspian terns are diving into the water to pick up catfish and chub minnows. A lone osprey also dove into the water for a catfish and later tried unsuccessfully to capture a gosling while one of the 20 Northern harriers captured a coot and was eating it. A lone Black-crowned night-heron was resting on a dike by an injured Tundra swan who has been left behind by its migrating family members.

Absent in the marsh were the bitterns, and many of the colored songbirds. They should be arriving in the next two weeks and then I will walk through the cottonwoods in search for them. The nesting owls I will leave alone as the windbreaks closed to human traffic except for the main trails.

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Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com

To protect the nesting owls in the windbreaks, Fish and Game personnel have placed trail cams in the trees to watch for violators of the closures. The dikes between the marshes on the east side of the road through the marsh as well as all ponds have also been closed until July 15 because nesting waterfowl.

But a slow drive along the open roads will produce plenty of birds and animals, including a Least weasel who has produced a family and can occasionally be seen hunting along the road.

As I was leaving the flock of shorebirds decided to give me one last thrill by landing in front of my vehicle to bid me adios. Two days later I visited the WMA again only to find most of the avocets and stilts had left leaving a few who decided to stay and raise families at Market Lake.

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Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com

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