*SAS Minto-Brown Island Park Bird Walk Report*
This morning, Barbara, Kay and I led the SAS Minto-Brown Island Park bird
walk. We were joined by 15 other birders including a couple from
Greenville, South Carolina. It was a nice morning with temperatures
ranging from 57 degrees to 72 degrees with mostly clear skies. We walked
about 4.5 miles as we covered the east end of the park. The bird activity
was quite good as early on it took us a long time to get going because we
stopped so many times to look at numerous birds. We observed (saw or
heard) 52 species.
The highlights were as follows:
· The highlight of the day was the *Lazuli Buntings* along the west
side of the trail leading to the Courtney Bridge. One male was singing
constantly in the berry vines. See the attached photo by Tim Johnson;
· We observed all five expected woodpecker species including *Hairy
Woodpecker*, *Downy Woodpecker*, *Pileated Woodpecker* (heard only),
*Red-breasted
Sapsucker* (heard) and *Northern Flicker*. Everyone in the group was able
to see the Hairy Woodpecker that was on a tree close to the trail leading
from Parking Lot #3 to the river;
· We saw five (5) *Osprey* at one time flying high above the park. The
Osprey were very active including a young one yelping for food. Also,
there was an Osprey in the Willamette River taking a bath for a long
time. There
was one adult *Bald Eagle* over the river, two Northern Harriers near the
Courtney Bridge and several *Turkey Vultures. *In addition, we saw five
(5) *Red-tailed Hawks*;
· For the first time in a while we heard both nuthatch species. We
heard three *White-breasted Nuthatches* and one *Red-breasted Nuthatch.* There
were several *Brown Creepers* too;
· The river was quite busy. In addition to the *Bald Eagle* we saw
five (5) *Spotted Sandpipers*, a *Belted Kingfisher*, *Cedar Waxwings* as
well as numerous swallows. The nicest swallow find was eight (8) *Northern
Rough-winged Swallows* along the far side of the river. There were also
*Mallards*, geese and *Killdeer* along the river;
· The birds of the day were the *American Robin *(23)* and Song
Sparrow *(23); and
· Other observations included *Western Wood-Pewees*, a *Willow
Flycatcher* and a *Hammond’s Flycatcher.* See Tim’s photo of a Western
Wood-Pewee that is attached.
There are a lot of field trips coming up in July so please join us for some
of these amazing trips:
- *Monday, July 16th at 7:30 AM* - *Cannon Beach for Tufted Puffins*.
Meet at the Airport Rd Park and Ride. We will carpool from there. Bring
lunch, drinks, snacks for the road and footwear for walking on the beach.
We'll return late afternoon (Tim Johnson 503-507-8552).
- *Saturday, July 21st *7:00 AM - *Ankeny NWR field trip.* Meet at
Pintail Marsh off Wintel Rd. (Note: The Overlook is closed for the Nature
Center construction).
- *Monday, July 23rd 8:00 AM* – A special *Illahe Hills CC bird
walk. *Meet in front of the clubhouse.
- *Wednesday, July 25th 6:30 PM* - *SAS Shorts at Minto-Brown Island
Park.* We will be looking for Common Nighthawks. Meet at Parking Lot #3.
*Note:* We have a *Flight and Feathers* workshop on *Saturday, July 28th
from 10:00 AM to 12 noon.* The workshop is held at the ODFW Classroom
located at 4034 Fairview Industrial Dr. SE in Salem. The cost is only $10
per person.
Mike Unger
Keizer, OR
*Minto-Brown Island Park Checklist Summary for July 5, 2018*
*Identified Species: 52*
20 Canada Goose
7 Mallard
3 California Quail
1 Great Blue Heron
5 Turkey Vulture
5 Osprey
2 Northern Harrier
1 Bald Eagle
5 Red-tailed Hawk
2 Killdeer
5 Spotted Sandpiper
3 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
7 Mourning Dove
5 Anna's Hummingbird
1 hummingbird sp.
1 Belted Kingfisher
1 Red-breasted Sapsucker
5 Downy Woodpecker
1 Hairy Woodpecker
10 Northern Flicker
1 Pileated Woodpecker
6 Western Wood-Pewee
1 Willow Flycatcher
1 Hammond's Flycatcher
2 Warbling Vireo
3 Steller's Jay
5 California Scrub-Jay
14 American Crow
8 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
6 Tree Swallow
3 Barn Swallow
2 Cliff Swallow
9 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Red-breasted Nuthatch
3 White-breasted Nuthatch
4 Brown Creeper
4 Bewick's Wren
11 Swainson's Thrush
23 American Robin
4 European Starling
15 Cedar Waxwing
7 Common Yellowthroat
6 Yellow Warbler
1 Wilson's Warbler
8 White-crowned Sparrow
3 Savannah Sparrow
23 Song Sparrow
7 Spotted Towhee
5 Black-headed Grosbeak
4 Lazuli Bunting
3 Brown-headed Cowbird
1 House Finch
5 American Goldfinch
Attachment:
Lazuli Bunting (7-5-18).jpg
Description: JPEG image
Attachment:
Western Wood-Pewee (7-5-18).jpg
Description: JPEG image
