Last summer we took a trip out to the Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge. It was such a neat drive that we wanted to go back at different times of the year to see what new birds were there. We tried to go a few weeks ago, but the road was closed due to unsafe conditions. Today was such a beautiful day that we decided to try again. The gates were open and we were amazed at all the different types of birds we saw, especially ducks. There were so many varieties all swimming around together. Here is a list of some of the critters we were able to identify: 

• Ring-necked Pheasant
• Short-eared Owl
• White-tailed Jackrabbit
• Yellow-headed Blackbirds
• Red-winged Blackbirds
• Mallards
• Northern Shoveler
• Cinnamon Teals
• American Coots
• Rock Marmot
• Muskrat
• Northern Harrier
• White-tailed Deer
• Northern Pintails
• Buffleheads
• Canvasback
• Merganser
• Eared Grebe
• Canadian Geese

There were a few birds that we were unable to identify, either because we couldn’t get a close enough look, or because they were new to us and we were unable to locate them in our bird book. We are pretty sure one was the American Avocet, but cannot be positive.

The kids were excited about all the different birds and animals we saw. The only downsides were the death of the camera battery and only one pair of binoculars between the five of us.