But this is not too bad. The dry pond can undergo necessary maintenance

“Where is the wetland?” is a question often asked by visitors. No, “How do I get to the wetlands”, but “Where is the water?” Well, there are many reasons for the lack of water this year, but we all hope that next year will be better. That should be a huge slogan: 2021 will become wetter and better.
But this is not too bad. The dry pond can undergo necessary maintenance, including re-dying and protecting the pond 10 and the observation dock northeast of the pond 10 near the river. At the same time that the dock was processed, the pavilion at the parking lot was also processed. This will help protect these wooden structures for several years. The parking lot and entrance road were re-leveled to make it look almost new, and some additional burning was carried out to reduce some vegetation. It is interesting to see how it develops next spring.
The low water level does help reduce the habitat of migrating birds, so bird watching is quite slow this fall. In other words, some unusual birds stopped in a short time. Newly added birds to the list of wetland species include short-billed Dewey, Lapland Longspur and Diphtheria sparrow. Other unusual visitors include Red Shoulder Eagle, Half Palm Sand, Black Phoebe and Sage.
Looking ahead to winter, it is expected that the water level will rise and waterfowl will flood the wetlands again. This may not be normal until mid-winter ice covers the area. Look for a large number of mallards, green-winged teal and northern shovel. Cattails and small birds in long grass should include white-crowned sparrows, black-eyed Jun beans, and even rare animals like marsh sparrows. The more you look. . . You will see more. To date, 184 species of birds have been recorded from this popular bird watching area.
Regardless of water shortage, this is a good year for swallows to build nests. Every year, volunteers from the Prineville Bird Club monitor more than 200 nest boxes scattered around the wetland. This year, 55% of the nest boxes are filled. This compares to 23% in 2018 and 48% last year.
Autumn is a good time to plant perennials, and the two groups used this season to establish two new pollinator gardens near the Emperor Butterfly Pavilion.
Windy weather is not ideal, but in Oc. Thirteen about 20 workers from the Deschutes Land Trust and Prineville Bird Club and the wetland volunteers planted nearly 300 pollinator plants, representing about 15 species, including Oregon’s sunshine, various pen plants, and narrow-leaf plants. Showy milkweed.
Three days later, staff from the heart of Oregon helped plant nearly 1,000 plants under the guidance of “Discover Forest”. These plants are similar to those of Land Trust, but also include some native flowering shrubs, such as bitter cherry and waxy currant. The project is funded by grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and donations of in-kind labor and equipment from the city.
So what’s the big deal about the pollinator garden? According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, pollinators-bees, butterflies, moths, wasps and even hummingbirds-are vital to the world’s food crops. Only bees pollinate a quarter of the plants we use as food. Unfortunately, pollinators are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, pesticides, diseases and parasites. Not only does it involve the monarch, but the small garden of each pollinator can also help.
But wait. there are more. On a cold morning on October 22, 12 volunteers were found maintaining the education pavilion. Remove each plexiglass cover plate, clean it, and then reinstall it on the newly washed interpretation panel. In most cases, these panels will get dirty from spots and dust, and because birds will get fouled because of the metal cover installed on the top earlier this year. The bolts fixing the plexiglass were also modified with lock washers to prevent them from loosening due to wind.
This is all wetland news suitable for printing. Get out of the car, go for a walk, find some birds, and enjoy these sunny, crisp, smoke-free days.
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