Event Report – 8/10/2024 – Ford’s Pond
We had 13 participants which is the most we’ve had at our 7 am summer start time! For a second month, we were able to walk on the finished ADA path on south side of Ford’s Pond. We had 35 species with 146 individual birds. It was an interesting morning.
The first thing that stood out, were the CEDAR WAXWINGS in and out of the trees next to the pond. We have been so used to seeing the Red-winged Blackbirds in these trees for several months; it was a nice treat to see something different.
The largest number of a particular species was the 65 PIED-BILLED GREBES, due to the presence of a lot of juvenile birds. In Oregon the Pied-billed Grebe is a common breeder in Klamath Lake, and Harney counties. The young, once they are able to fly, begin leaving their nesting grounds in mid-August. (Birds of Oregon; A General Reference, Edited by Marshall, Hunter, and Contreras).
As we got closer to the beaver dam, we saw a lot of light green algae and noticed a very foul odor. Is the odor from a scent competition between the beavers and nutria or the stagnation of the algae and bacteria giving off gases?? (Thank you to Beth Houseman and Matt Hunter on their speculations!)
The coolest observation was seeing 3 birds that were out on the water glowing white and were not Buffleheads. We got them on the scope and they were very uniquely marked. Quickly flipping through the pages of ducks, plovers, and onto sandpipers in our Sibley, we finally found the non-breeding RED-NECKED PHALAROPE as our bird! (See Lucas Lyle’s ebird list below that includes pictures!)
Thank you to the co-efforts of Stacy Burleigh, Marge Cooney, and Lucas Lyle for contributing to this field trip! It was great to see some migratory birds!