4/3/21 - Liberty Loop Trail, Wallkill River NWR, Pine Island/Sussex, NY/NJ Time: 5pm to darkObserver: Andrew Block several Canada Geese (plus 2 dead ones near each other, not good)8+ Mute Swansseveral Wood Ducks4 American Wigeons7 American Black Ducksmany Mallards7 Blue-winged Tealsmany Green-winged Teals12+ Ring-necked Ducks6+ Pied-billed Grebes (courting like crazy)3 Mourning Doves2 Killdeer1 Calidris sp.2 Wilson's Snipes6 Great Blue Herons2 Black Vulturesseveral Turkey Vultures1 Bald Eagle2 Red-tailed Hawks1 Red-bellied Woodpecker1 Downy Woodpecker3 Eastern Phoebesmany Tree Swallows5 American Robins4 Song Sparrowslarge flock of Red-winged Blackbirds and Rusty Blackbirds Also had many Spring Peepers, some Pickerel Frogs and several Kauffeld's Leopard Frogs calling. Along the west side of the trail there were literally hundreds of carp struggling to breath and move up a very narrow channel like salmon moving up stream. They seemed to be stuck at a certain point and were backed up and dying because the level of the water is so low. I wonder if the refuge is lowering the water level so low to kill off the carp. In a few days there is going to be a sushi bonanza for the predators like eagles when they are all dead. Saw a similar thing at Blackwater refuge in MD several years ago. The eagles were so happy. Andrew Andrew v. F. Block Consulting Naturalist 20 Hancock Avenue, Apt. 3 Yonkers, Westchester Co., New York 10705-4780 www.flickr.com/photos/conuropsis/albums --
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