This fish hatchery doesn’t get as much attention as some others, perhaps because honestly it is often disappointing, but today was a good day at Joe Hogan. I arrived at 8:15 AM. I climbed the tower to check the ponds and found several Green Herons perched conveniently in the nearby trees. Most of the ponds were full and I could see many Great Blue Herons and especially Great Egrets around. However, in the northeast region were a few ponds in assorted states of drainage and one in particular on the eastern edge of the hatchery looked best of all. I walked around the long way so I could sneak up it with the Sun to my back. I found a good variety of shorebirds there, in fact about 90% of the bird species I saw t the hatchery I saw at that one pond. The numbers were not nearly as large as what were at BKNWR yesterday but there was almost as good a variety of shorebirds. If you want shorebirds without the big drive, check it out. But don’t count on the restrooms being unlocked. Left the hatchery at 10:30 AM.
Species seen or heard:
• Semipalmated Sandpiper
• Semipalmated Plover
• Least Sandpiper
• Pectoral Sandpiper
• Long-billed Dowitcher
• Short-billed Dowitcher
• Baird’s Sandpiper
• Killdeer
• Loggerhead Shrike
• Great Egret
• Great Blue Heron
• Green Heron
• Purple Martin
• Northern Cardinal
• Mourning Dove
• Northern Mockingbird
• House Sparrow
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Carolina Chickadee
• European Starling
• Chipping Sparrow
• Carolina Wren
