By Michell DeLeon Tyler
Our December 1st field trip at the Creston National Fish Hatchery opened up new opportunities for us to see birds and waterfowl at the Mill Creek Pond. It is always enlightening to have a new adventure and new territory to add to a birding experience.
It was fairly quiet at the hatchery initially, but as the temperature began to rise above 30 degrees, it warmed not only us, but it warmed up the birds as well and they began to emerge from their last night’s roost. We could hear the chatter of a Belted Kingfisher in the distance. The Blue Herron lifted from Mill Creek and flew up into the top of a Douglas-fir and perched itself there. Soon after, the Kingfisher was on the move, flying from here to there and perching on the power lines, then to a tree and next to a branch along the creek, chattering from one destination to the next.
We moved on to Jessup Pond around 11am. Three Eurasian Collared-Doves were sitting on the top branches of a blue spruce. In a farm field next to the pond, we saw wild turkeys and two Red-tailed Hawks perched on ponderosa pines in the distance.
We could hear Canada Geese and Mallards as we walked along the pond. Soon we could see the Canada Geese in the water and standing on logs in the pond. As we ventured further we came across Golden Eyes, Hooded Mergansers, Common Mergansers and the Mallard ducks we had been hearing. Three Bald Eagles, two adults and one-first year juvenile sat high in the top of an American larch watching all that was going on below them…including us. The water in the pond was clear and turquoise blue, the watercress a vibrant green and the waterfowl seemed happy to be there.
On our return, we came across fox prints on a snow-covered log, discovered by Otto, a birder new to FAS. A male and a female Northern Shoveler soon appeared and then we were able to watch the American Dipper…dip, dip, dipping. What a fun way to end our field trip.
Many thanks to all who joined in…we had a lot of fun. Several who attended the field trip were new to birding and Flathead Audubon. I hope they join in on future field trips and will continue to take part in enjoying our beautiful birds, waterfowl and raptors.
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