It’s been a big week in the bird world in Grand Forks, from traffic encounters with Canada geese on the south end of town to increasing numbers of migrating shorebirds at Kellys Slough west of the city. And then some. To start with, the shorebirds: A trip to Kellys Slough National Wildlife Refuge on Monday, July 22, yielded a couple of hundred American avocets, double the number in the west pond a week earlier – Monday, July 15.
Numbers will continue to grow in the weeks ahead. In Grand Forks County, August is the month for avocets. This is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Avocets are known to nest in the county, but they’re not common in the breeding season. Instead, the bulk of the North American population nests west of here. In North Dakota, avocet nesters are most numerous along the Missouri Coteau, a glacial ridge that marks the Continental Divide.
This is an area of shallow, alkaline wetlands and mudflats that avocets favor. ADVERTISEMENT In breeding plumage, the avocet is a striking bird, with head and neck the color of cinnamon and the body a sharp contrast of black and white. The face is distinctive, too, with a bit of white behind the bill and around the eye.
Plus, the bill is long and turned up at the end. What’s more, this is a tall bird, maybe knee high to an 8-year-old, so avocets are hard to overlook. The avocets were not alone at the slough.
A gang of pelicans, perhaps 200 strong, was bunched up on an island and against the far shore. There were other birds, too, including yellowlegs and phalaropes. I searched for bitterns, but I was disappointed.
Bitterns are notoriously shy and very well camouflaged. They’re probably out there, but I didn’t find them. There were also several species of ducks, but ducks are tricky in this season of molt.
We cinched the identification of mallards and ruddy ducks. Of course, pelicans are not shorebirds in the strictest sense. Neither are bitterns and neither are ducks.
Avocets are shorebirds, of course, and perhaps the most beautiful of the clan. Avocet numbers will increase as August moves along. Last year, several thousand were there bulking up for migration.
It's impossible to say where these avocets came from and where they are headed. My guess is that these are birds that nest to the north and west of the refuge, extending across North Dakota and the Plains region of eastern Montana as far north as northern Saskatchewan. ADVERTISEMENT As to where they are going: Likely to the Atlantic coast, from the islands off the shore of Virginia to the Mexican Gulf Coast.
Back in the years I attended newspaper conventions in Washington, D.C., I always tried to get out to Assateague Island, Virginia – famous for its wild horses, but equally welcoming for avocets, which crowd the pools behind the tideline.
Kellys Slough has become important for avocets since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service altered the management plan for the refuge, lowering water levels and attracting more shorebirds.
It’s worth the drive to see the avocets. Drive west from Grand Forks past the airport and watch for a sign on the north side of the westbound lane. A well-maintained gravel road will take you to the slough itself, and there are pullouts where you can pause to gaze at the avocets – in wonder, as I predict.
The avocets go through a pre-migration molt, losing the cinnamon blush on their heads and necks. This becomes more obvious as the month goes by. Even without the color, however, the avocets are majestic birds.
This visit to Kellys Slough yielded a much less conspicuous bird, as well: marsh wren. The marsh wren is secretive while the avocet is showy, and of course there is a significant size difference. Plus, marsh wrens are shy birds.
They inhabit the tall reeds and grasses along the slough’s north pond, which is deeper than the west pond. From the avocet lookouts, continue north on the gravel road. Turn west when you reach the pavement.
Be careful – travel moves at speed and there are no pullouts as the pavement crosses the pond. There’s a chance to park at a gravel approach at the north of the road on the east shore of the pond. We were aware of marsh wrens as soon as we stopped.
They are noisy birds. Finding them, however, took real effort. After peering into the reeds from the sloping ditch of the road, we at last saw a single marsh wren move away.
The scientists who wrote the monograph on marsh wrens in the American Ornithological Society series got it right: The marsh wren is “more often heard than seen.” Our wanderings produced a total of 20 species, fewer than we’d anticipated, but including bald eagles and gray partridges. ADVERTISEMENT Each of us had other close encounters.
Twice this week, Canada geese stopped traffic in the south end of town. Geese are grazers, and they favor grassy areas near water – the kind of habitat that occurs around the retention ponds that are part of the Grand Forks flood control system. My birding buddy Charlie had an encounter of his own, involving green herons, another species that is increasing in Grand Forks.
The best place to look for them is Sertoma Park, where they loaf along the coulee. Jacobs is a retired publisher and editor of the Herald. Reach him at mjacobs@polarcomm.
com..
