*SAS Minto-Brown Island Park Scouting Trip Report*
Barbara, Fred, Kay and I scouted Minto-Brown Island Park on Thursday
morning in preparation for our Salem Audubon bird walk on *Thursday, July
6th at 7:00 a.m*. The four of us walked about 2.3 miles as we covered the
east side of the park including the enchanted forest (Brown Squirrel, Red
Osprey and Yellow Duck Loops) and along the Willamette River. It was a
nice morning with mostly sunny skies. The temperatures ranged from 55
degrees to 66 degrees. The bird activity was good as we were happy that
we were able to see so many birds instead of just hearing them. During the
trip we observed (saw or heard) 43 species.
The highlights were as follows:
· Observed four (4) *Lazuli Buntings* in a tree along the Yellow
Duck Loop. It appeared to be two pairs of buntings fighting over territory
as they were chasing each other off;
· We only observed three species of woodpeckers including *Downy
Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker* and *Northern Flicker. *We saw some of
the flickers but only heard the *Downy* and *Pileated Woodpeckers*;
· Some raptors were out and about the park. We saw an adult *Bald
Eagle* across the river in the trees. We also saw four *Osprey* including
one carrying a fish that flew right by the occupied nest near Parking Lot
#3 into a faraway tree. A short time later we saw the *Osprey* eating the
fish in a tree along the Yellow Duck Loop to the east of the dog park.
There were also two *Red-tailed Hawks*;
· We saw four *Spotted Sandpipers* along the Willamette River.
This is the most sandpipers we have seen in a long time as usually there is
only one;
· We heard a *Pacific-sloped Flycatcher *and two* Willow
Flycatchers. *There were quite a few *Western Wood-Pewees *and we saw
several of them;
· We heard a few *Orange-crowned Warblers* for the first time in a
long while. We also heard *Yellow* and *Wilson’s Warblers*. We were able
to see a couple of the *Common Yellowthroats*;
· The most numerous species observed were *Song Sparrows*
(21), *American
Robin* (17), *Swainson’s Thrush* (13) and *Spotted Towhee* (13). The
*Swainson’s
Thrush* were really singing a lot.
The next field trip is the *Minto-Brown Island Park bird walk* on *Thursday,
July 6th at 7:00 a.m.* Meet at Parking Lot #3. The Ankeny NWR field
trip is scheduled for *Saturday, July 22nd at 7:00 AM.* Meet at the
Overlook off of Ankeny Hill Road. The next *SAS Shorts* is at Minto-Brown
Island Park on *Wednesday, July 26th at 6:30 PM.* Meet at Parking Lot #3.
Please join us if you can.
Mike Unger
Keizer, OR
*Minto-Brown Island Park Checklist Summary for June 29, 2017*
*Identified Species: 43*
10 Mallard -- (1)
6 Great Blue Heron -- (1)
3 Turkey Vulture -- (1)
4 Osprey -- (1)
1 Bald Eagle -- (1)
2 Red-tailed Hawk -- (1)
1 Killdeer -- (1)
4 Spotted Sandpiper -- (1)
5 Mourning Dove -- (1)
3 Downy Woodpecker -- (1)
2 Northern Flicker -- (1)
2 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) -- (1)
1 Pileated Woodpecker -- (1)
10 Western Wood-Pewee -- (1)
2 Willow Flycatcher -- (1)
1 Pacific-slope Flycatcher -- (1)
1 Steller's Jay -- (1)
9 California Scrub-Jay -- (1)
2 American Crow -- (1)
9 Tree Swallow -- (1)
4 Barn Swallow -- (1)
6 Black-capped Chickadee -- (1)
2 Bushtit -- (1)
1 White-breasted Nuthatch -- (1)
4 Brown Creeper -- (1)
1 Bewick's Wren -- (1)
13 Swainson's Thrush -- (1)
17 American Robin -- (1)
4 European Starling -- (1)
12 Cedar Waxwing -- (1)
3 Orange-crowned Warbler -- (1)
9 Common Yellowthroat -- (1)
5 Yellow Warbler -- (1)
2 Wilson's Warbler -- (1)
12 White-crowned Sparrow -- (1)
7 Savannah Sparrow -- (1)
21 Song Sparrow -- (1)
13 Spotted Towhee -- (1)
5 Black-headed Grosbeak -- (1)
8 Lazuli Bunting -- (1)
4 Brown-headed Cowbird -- (1)
3 House Finch -- (1)
1 Purple Finch -- (1)
5 American Goldfinch -- (1)
