Ice-out and Staging! - 24 Feb 2026
Skies were partly clear this morning, and temperature was hovering near 18ºF with very little wind. So I decided it was a good time to take the bike to Pt. Mouillee SGA to check trail and ice-out conditions. Haggerman Road was (finally) clear so I took a drive by the Antennae Farm to see if anything was around (only a single Horned Lark ). I was glad the ground was frozen because ruts indicated a soft road and I didn't want to get stuck. I then drove to the Mouillee Creek parking lot and unloaded the Rad 5 ebike and headed out onto a dry and open Middle Causeway. Red-winged Blackbirds could be heard singing their "Konk-La-Riiii" call and I was able to photograph my first of the year along the west side of the Walpatich Unit. I'd run into another a short distance later, and count up to 60 birds by the time the morning ended. Inland pond were still frozen but there were signs that a thaw was soon to come. I made it a point to get some photos of the various units as I...
