To Montezuma and then birdwatching and geocaching!!

Early this morning I packed up my car and headed towards the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, to meet up with Leslie for some bird watching and geocaching as well as some visiting some historical sites.

I think I arrived at the refuge a little before noon.

 There were a few people on the "deck" with scopes looking at the Hudsonian Godwit, so I got to see it (through a scope).  Apparently, this particular bird is not often seen in this area, but he is here now and generating a lot of enthusiasm with birdwatchers.  I found this picture on the internet:

I had brought a picnic lunch so we had that and
then drove the route birdwatching.  Leslie has a new SCOPE so we were able to use that.  It is pretty neat!

Here are the birds we saw during this adventure:
 1.Canada geese 

2.trumpeter swan  
3.wood duck  
4. gadwall ( a tan duck that has a black butt)  
5.American black duck  
6.mallard 
7.northern shoveler (duck with red sides, seen through scope in area where we 
saw the sandhill crane) 
8.green-winged teal ( a duck with reddish head, seen through scope with the 
black ducks in area where we saw the white egret) 
9.greater scaup (black and white diving duck, seen with the bufflehead)  
10.bufflehead (black and white diving duck)  
11.double crested cormorant (seen swimming near aquaduct)  
12.great blue heron  
13.great (white) egret  
14.bald eagle 
15.turkey vulture  
16.harrier (raptor) 
17.osprey  
18.sora  
19.American coot (swimmer- black with white beak) 
20.common gallinule or moorhen (swimmer –blackish had bright orange on top of 
beak)  
21.sandhill crane 
22.killdeer 
23.spotted sandpiper 
24.greater yellowlegs (a small wading bird)  
25.least sandpiper (smallest wading bird)  
26.Hudsonian godwit 

27. ring-billed gull  
28.caspian tern  
29.pigeon  
30.red-bellied woodpecker  
31.kestrel  
32.great crested flycatcher (heard near old paper plant)  
33.crow  
34.northern rough-winged swallow 
35.purple martin  
36.tree swallow(seen flying about- white underside)  
37.barn swallow(has red on underside)  
38.white-breasted nuthatch  
39.robin  
40.catbird  
41.yellow warbler 
42.yellow-rumped warbler  
43.chipping sparrow  
44.white crowned sparrow 
45.song sparrow  
46.cardinal  
47.red-winged blackbird  
48.grackle  
49.brown-headed cowbird (on lawn near visitor center)  
50.goldfinch 
  

  We also found four geocaches today, one of them we had looked for last year without success.  My favorite geocache of today was AN APPLE FOR THE TEACHER, which is hidden on the very overgrown grounds of an old building which may have been a one room schoolhouse first and then a church.

We then went to the DAYS INN and settled in a bit.  We had supper at SWABY's which is a neat place with interesting artifacts including an electric chair and this:

 Our prime rib was kind of salty.  I took a large piece of mine with me.