Chain of Lakes Field Trip Report

Submitted by Ted Smith, Coeur d’Alene Audubon President

14 members and friends attended our May 11 field trip to the Chain of Lakes area.  It was a spectacularly beautiful spring day with bright sunshine and light winds. Our first stop was at the River Road fields. (This doesn’t include the stop at the top of the hill when the trusty guide missed a turn.) The fields were not as flooded as usual and there weren’t quite as many waterfowl as in years past. It was a productive stop though, and yielded a lesser yellowlegs, a Wilson’s snipe, numerous waterfowl and a peregrine falcon in full pursuit of the waterfowl it had flushed off the largest pond. The aerial display was really something to see. Stops were make along the Coeur d’Alene River to watch swallows and at Killarney Lake for more waterfowl and a great sighting of 12 black terns. There were quite a few white pelicans at the Killarney wetlands along with redheads and wood ducks. We finished the day with a total count of 47 species observed and new friendships made.