Merganser Decoys on West Side Lake.
Posted January 6, 2016 at 5:35 am by Peggy Sue McRae
Merganser decoys caught in the ice at West Side Lake – John Dustrude photo
We hear from Louise Dustrude…
West Side Lake on the Land Bank’s Limekiln Preserve attracts a variety of birds, especially ducks, and so Leslie Veirs came up with the idea of a bird blind along the trail next to the lake where people could watch the birds in an unthreatening way. Doug McCutchen, San Juan Preserve Steward for the Land Bank, and several volunteers built the bird blind and many islanders and visitors have been enjoying it ever since. Recently one hiker noticed a couple of Mergansers that seemed different somehow, and then realized that they were decoys.
It turns out that Leslie’s husband Val put the decoys out there in an attempt to attract the live Mergansers and other ducks to spend some time in front of the blind where observers can get a closer look without alarming them. If you go out there you might let the Land Bank know whether the decoys do indeed attract the live birds. A recent check showed the decoys caught in the ice and temporarily not attracting any other birds.
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Categories: Around Here
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After writing this I heard from Leslie who said her then 6-year-old grandson Liam Reese helped her come up with the idea of the bird blind in 2014 after they inadvertently scared up some ducks on the lake and then brainstormed about how to avoid alarming them. Doug McCutchen, San Juan Preserve Steward for the Land Bank, and several volunteers (including Leslie, her husband Val, Steve Ulvi, and Jim Goetz) built the bird blind, and many islanders and visitors have been enjoying it ever since.
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