Yesterday our Birdathon team, The Murre the Merrier, traveled a route
through the sunny Willamette Valley. The twelve of us started the day in
southwest Portland’s Gabriel Park and then visited Ankeny National Wildlife
Refuge, Finley NWR, Baskett Slough NWR, and Koll Center Wetlands, before
returning to Gabriel Park at sunset. We did well with waterfowl and marsh
birds, but we missed many of the expected songbirds. I blame the high
temperatures. By the time we stopped counting, we had 100 species (give or
take) for the day including the notables below:
SORAS were calling at every marshy location.
We found WESTERN MEADOWLARKS and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS at each wildlife
refuge.
With a little help, we found a WESTERN KINGBIRD building a nest near the
Finley Prairie Overlook. A LAZULI BUNTING was singing there as well.
Our best stop was at the Baskett Slough Narrows on Colville Road. We saw
many birds here including WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, BLACK-NECKED STILTS, a pair
of CASPIAN TERNS, and some AMERICAN PIPITS.
Koll Center Wetlands did not yield the shorebird numbers we’d hoped for,
but we saw a LEAST SANDPIPER and heard a loud VIRGINIA RAIL.
In the final minutes of the trip, we picked up a GREAT HORNED OWL, a
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, a COOPER’S HAWK, and a PACIFIC WREN before
returning to our respective homes for some much-needed rest.
Happy birding,
Max Smith
Portland
