Blue Goose ~ Day 17

June 17, 2014 ~ Bismarck, ND to Minot, ND

The first Starbucks I headed for (based on Store Locator option) was a parking lot; the second was closed for remodeling; the third was open. It was sunny. The early mornings are so fresh, I have renewed energy, and finding good coffee is a bonus. 

A pleasant attractive women who had come back to Minot for her 50th high-school reunion asked me about Internet access and we talked a little. She commented on the oil-driven boom economy (the local news today was that ND is now producing 1,000,000 barrels of oil per day) and that she had talked to people who were getting $50K to $200K checks per month! She was interested in what I was reading (my hefty Pete Dunne book on birds that I had with me in Starbucks) which led to what I was doing, and she asked for my blog address. It's great that people find this adventure cool, as I do occasionally ask myself what in hell I’m doing but only at the end of a long day - never in the early morning. 

Audubon NWR is 65 miles north of Minot with an impressive "green" Visitor Center overlooking the prairie and distant Lake Audubon. Different refuges have different priorities, but this is what many of these out west do:

WWW.FWS.GOV

Although Audubon NWR is managed primarily for waterfowl, resident wildlife species also benefit from the food and cover produced through habitat management techniques. Neighboring landowners plant crops on the Refuge, leaving a portion for wildlife. Livestock grazing and haying of grasslands helps remove dead plant material to produce taller, thicker grass for improved bird-nesting habitat. Another important management tool is prescribed burning. Burning helps control weeds, stimulate plant growth, and increase soil nutrients. Water management is important for Refuge wildlife. Using pumps and syphons, water is moved from Lake Audubon to fill wetlands that would otherwise be dry in drought years. These wetlands provide habitat for waterfowl broods, shorebirds, and other water birds, as well as mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects.

I walked a mile trail and immediately saw another American Bittern in a small wetland. Bitterns are secretive birds, but this one stayed out in the open.  They often remain perfectly motionless with their vertically striped neck and belly blending in with the water reeds. As this one did when it sensed I was looking at it. 

American Bittern at Audubon NWR

 

A woman in the Visitor Center answered my questions and also explained that the first two miles of the auto route were closed because of nesting piping plovers, who sometimes nest on the road. Remember DHC, how we saw PPs at Ludington SP right on the beach? We also talked about the Birding Festival up at Lostwood NWR and whether it was still on schedule as fewer and fewer people sign up for this free one-day event. It is this coming Friday, and neither of us were initially able to reach anyone there to verify. But later in the day, I got a call confirming my registration for the Sparrow Seekers early morning walk. Be there at 0530, she said...nicely. Lostwood is kind of out there, so I'll have to drive 20+ miles from either the south or east that morning, but its probably my best chance to see grassland species like LeConte and Baird Sparrows and a Sprague Pipit....for free.  Are people not coming because of the oil activity? The female employee wondered about this as she has worked the festival in past years. There was a photo in the Devil's Lake paper of a gentleman who was quitting ranching because the sounds of birds singing and coyotes howling are being replaced by oil trucks and rigs. Lostwood also will have prairie wildflower walk mid day. I was here last June, and it's a stunningly beautiful place on the high plains under an endless sky. 

Back to Lake Audubon, which is the east end of Lake Sakakawea, a reservoir created by the Garrison Dam on the Missouri River. It's huge at 175 miles long with 1340 miles of shoreline.

WIKIPEDIA

The reservoir was created with the completion of Garrison Dam in 1956, the second (and largest) of six main-stem dams on the Missouri River built and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood control, hydroelectric power, navigation, and irrigation.

One can drive along the south shore of the lake which was lovely, with more small wetlands on the opposite side of the road, all with their ducks. The wind was blowing hard and the water had white caps. Several species of birds nest on the many islands, where the danger from predators is diminished. 

Lake Audubon at Lake Audubon NWR

I took back roads to Lake Nettie NWR, another refuge with no access, but the surrounding area was full of ponds and wetlands with Western and Eared Grebes in numbers, along with all the other ducks. I did see a couple American Wigeon today, which I haven't seen before on this trip. 

The public radio stations out here are always interesting and eclectic with local happenings and good music along with the standard shows like Fresh Air and The Story.  The van radio has excellent acoustics so I’ve been going through the CDs I brought along. Today, I listened to Willie Nelson singing duets with 18 different female singers, the best being a great song with Mavis Staples called Grandma's Hands.

The sky clouded over after I got to Minot, and I wandered around figuring out where to sleep, feeling melancholy (pretty much directly proportional to the weather) but went to a Barnes and Noble, got cleaned up a little and then to Olive Garden for dinner, with enough leftovers for at least two more meals. I felt better after a glass of wine and unwinding from a long day in the sun and wind. I stayed again at a Walmart along with several other travelers in various-sized RVs and wondered how many people sleep in their vehicles, figuring it’s probably more than I would have thought. The trick is to be unobtrusive. I did see signs all over this city about “No Overnight Parking” or “Parking Limited to 4 Hours. Vehicle Will Be Towed At Owner’s Expense.” Yet, I doubt this is strictly enforced if there is obvious room and no bad behavior or sprawling out with grills and camp chairs and awnings and rugs like RVers do in parks. 

There are working men everywhere, tanned, in cowboy or work boots, either ranchers or oil field / construction workers. 

I bought Gouda cheese this morning and had a Bacon-Gouda sandwich at Starbucks, thinking of the Cooneys headed to Goudaland.