Brad (& info for Tweeters),

I'm a bit confused - are you talking about waterfowl at McNary Dam or McNary
NWR? You mention both. Is "Bill" at the refuge or the dam? What mudflats
are closed? I don't think of McNary Dam itself as hosting huge numbers of
waterfowl. They are certainly in larger numbers upstream of the dam in
coves and ponds as far away as McNary NWR and Richland. McNary NWR (in
Burbank) is quite a bit upstream of McNary Dam.

Even nesting waterfowl were scarce at McNary NWR this summer with no clear
reason why. Though most of the water on the refuge is there because of
McNary Dam, I would assume that the ponds at the refuge have their own water
management gates so their levels would not be immediately controlled by the
dam. Other parts of the refuge are controlled by the dam. As Mike
mentioned, the water levels at the Walla Walla Delta (part of McNary NWR)
were kept high this fall. This was also true at the Yakima River Delta but
that has not kept the waterfowl from showing up. I would assume that much
like the Yakima River Delta in Richland (not far from the refuge) the
waterfowl will arrive at the refuge shortly.

The Yakima River Delta is starting to host quite a good variety waterfowl
with many of the divers just showing up. Today I saw my first of the season
Common Goldeneyes and Hooded Mergansers there. If one wants to see American
Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall,
Bufflehead, etc, there's no shortage.

Ruddy Ducks have passed through with probably a few still around whereas a
few weeks ago there were over 75. I have only seen a few Canvasbacks (4)
and Redhead (maybe up to 6) at the Yakima River Delta so far. These are
usually a good portion of the waterfowl at McNary NWR and are present there
in higher numbers than at the Yakima Delta..

There was also a huge number (for here) of Bonaparte's Gulls at the Yakima
Delta today with at least 75 present.

Today there was quite a bit of mud at the Yakima River Delta (so did they
open the floodgates?). Shorebirds were in fairly short supply as it is late
in the season with small numbers of Long-billed Dowitchers, Dunlin,
Killdeer, and Greater Yellowlegs. Just a few days ago, even with the water
high, there were 40-50 Least Sandpipers still around. The presence of at
least 1 (maybe 2) Peregrine Falcons and a Bald Eagle make viewing fun as
many of the birds take to the air when the raptors are flying.

PS - We recently got a note from the biologist at McNary with the results of
counts of Greater White-fronted Geese that they do at the refuge in
September - 1061 there on September 20 and 622 there on September 27.


Nancy
Bill and Nancy LaFramboise
Richland WA

_____

From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
[mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Brad
Yoneoka
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 10:04 AM
To: tweeters
Subject: [Tweeters] mcnary dam floodgates closed

i talked to the mcnary dam operator, bill, friday, and was told that the
floodgates are closed. this means the mudflats are closed, no access to
food, so few waterfowl stopping to eat. according to my falcon guide "wa
nature weekends" by sunny walter and janet o'mara, p.171, there usually are
huge nos. of wintering waterfowl who arrive at the end of october at mcnary
natural wildlife refuge,. but bill said he had not seen them yet [?]. for
further info, call 509-547-4942.

brad yoneoka
Seattle, WA
mailto:yoneoka01 at msn.com