*SAS Ankeny Scouting Trip Report*
Hello all -
Barbara, Tim, Fred, Kay and I scouted Ankeny NWR in preparation for our
Salem Audubon birding field trip on *Sunday, February 21st at 8:00 a.m.*
The five of us covered six locations around the refuge including a 1.25
mile trek along the Rail Trail. The weather was somewhat foggy and 49
degrees at the start but soon after it started clearing up and was nice.
At the end of the scouting trip it got up to 55 degrees. During the
scouting trip we identified 50 species.
Most notable identifications:
· Just as we were leaving the Rail Trail we heard a *Cassin’s Vireo*. It
is rare to have this vireo so early as it usually doesn’t show up until
late April or early May. We heard the two-part song repeatedly. First
phrase was sung at higher pitch than second phase in a question - answer
sequence. Vireo like with sweet sound. Heard clearly by all but not seen.
Ruled out *Hutton's Vireo* or *American Robin*;
· We saw a *Red-shouldered Hawk *on the far side of Pintail Marsh;
· There quite a few other raptors as we saw four *Bald Eagles*, a *Northern
Harrier*, three *American Kestrels* and four *Red-tailed Hawks*. The
*Red-tailed
Hawks* led to some conversation due to their multiple plumages as some were
quite dark giving us thoughts of a *Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk* but it was
not to be.
· Saw 42 *Greater White-fronted Geese* on Pintail Marsh. Their orange
bills really stood out;
· The Rail Trail was very birdy this time around with 32 species seen or
heard. We believe this may be due to doing this part of the trip a lot
earlier than usual. We saw *Golden-crowned Kinglets*, *Ruby-crowned
Kinglets, *two* Marsh Wrens *(heard) and a lot of ducks (eight species) in
addition to the vireo;
· We also saw quite a few *Tree Swallows* and some *Violet-green Swallows*
at Pintail Marsh.
A complete list of today's birds follows. Our next SAS field trip will be
at Ankeny NWR on *Sunday, February 21st at 8:00 a.m.* Meet at the Overlook
off of Ankeny Hill Road. Please join us if you can.
Mike Unger
Keizer, OR
*Checklist Summary for February 17, 2016*
Number of Checklists: 6
Number of Species: 50
Checklists included in this summary:
(1): Ankeny NWR--Eagle Marsh Overlook @ 7:54 AM
(2): First pullout on south side of Wintel Rd. @ 8:27 AM
(3): Ankeny NWR--Rail Trail @ 8:36 AM
(4): Ankeny NWR--Pintail Marsh @ 10:53 AM
(5): Willow Tree Area @ 11:42 AM
(6): Ankeny NWR--Eagle Marsh Overlook @ 12:15 PM
42 Greater White-fronted Goose -- (4)
2310 Cackling Goose -- (2),(3)
140 Cackling Goose (minima) -- (5)
13 Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) -- (3),(4)
2 Tundra Swan -- (4)
4 Gadwall -- (3),(5)
53 American Wigeon -- (3),(4),(5)
148 Mallard -- (1),(3),(4),(5)
114 Northern Shoveler -- (3),(4),(5)
103 Northern Pintail -- (1),(3),(4),(5)
324 Green-winged Teal -- (3),(4),(5)
15 Ring-necked Duck -- (3)
3 Lesser Scaup -- (4)
3 Bufflehead -- (3),(4)
40 Ruddy Duck -- (4)
2 Great Blue Heron -- (3),(4)
1 Northern Harrier -- (4)
4 Bald Eagle -- (2),(4)
1 Red-shouldered Hawk -- (4)
4 Red-tailed Hawk -- (1),(4),(5)
9 American Coot -- (3),(4)
3 Killdeer -- (1),(5)
103 Dunlin -- (4),(5)
51 Long-billed Dowitcher -- (3),(4)
1 Eurasian Collared-Dove -- (6)
2 Downy Woodpecker -- (3)
4 Northern Flicker -- (1),(3)
3 American Kestrel -- (3),(4),(5)
1 Cassin's Vireo -- (3)
1 Western Scrub-Jay -- (5)
3 American Crow -- (1)
30 Tree Swallow -- (4)
6 Violet-green Swallow -- (4)
9 Black-capped Chickadee -- (3)
1 Brown Creeper -- (3)
2 Marsh Wren -- (3)
5 Bewick's Wren -- (1),(2),(3),(4)
5 Golden-crowned Kinglet -- (3)
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet -- (3)
4 American Robin -- (3),(4)
67 European Starling -- (1),(3),(5)
2 Yellow-rumped Warbler -- (4)
1 Fox Sparrow (Sooty) -- (3)
12 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) -- (3)
4 White-crowned Sparrow -- (1),(3)
1 Golden-crowned Sparrow -- (3)
9 Song Sparrow -- (2),(3),(4)
5 Spotted Towhee -- (1),(3)
30 Red-winged Blackbird -- (1),(3),(4),(5)
2 Western Meadowlark -- (5)
10 Brewer's Blackbird -- (5)
