![\"Mesquite](\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Jesss-Camera-4-27-16-003.jpg\")
<\/a>Mesquite Lake is actually a dry lake bed.<\/p><\/div>\n
Welcome to Mesquite Lake, which is actually a dry lake bed and therefore not (in my humble, Northern Wisconsin opinion) a lake. It does, however, provide a different environment for desert plant life than what I’ve seen thus far.<\/p>\n
Not all of the Needles Field Office is all dried up, though! The very next morning after surveying Mesquite Lake, I was able to tag along on a secretive marsh bird survey in the backwaters of the Colorado River.<\/p>\n
<\/a>I didn’t want to wake up at 3 A.M., but I did it for the birds!<\/p><\/div>\n
Our main goal was to determine if there were any rails present–particularly the ridgway rail, which is considered a threatened species. We were able to hear a couple ridgway rails as well as several other marsh bird species. We even noticed a nesting pair of western grebes.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Trying to see the nesting pair of Western Grebes.<\/p><\/div>\n
I know it’s a little hard to see in the picture, but there’s a white spot in the reeds behind the blue kayak–that’s the female grebe on the nest. There’s also a white spot a little in front of the blue kayak–that’s the male grebe trying to distract us from the nest.<\/p>\n
In other water-related news, it rained a lot in April– at least 5 days (4 of which were consecutive) which I’ve been told is really weird! We’ll have to see if all this unseasonable rain affects bloom times or not.<\/p>\n
<\/a>It rained a lot (for the desert) this April.<\/p><\/div>\n
Happy Trails<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jessica Samuelson<\/p>\n
Needles Field Office<\/p>\n
Bureau of Land Management<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In case you were wondering, this is what a lake looks like in the desert. Welcome to Mesquite Lake, which is actually a dry lake bed and therefore not (in my humble, Northern Wisconsin opinion) a lake. It does, however, … Continue reading