*Hello all birders: *
Following is the summary of the first SAS Short at Minto-Brown City Park on
Monday, November 16th. We walked 1.5 miles in 120 minutes. This is
designed to be a Short walk and after an hour we had about 20 birds-not
uncommon for birding near the parking lot. Some of us persisted for
another hour to the River with total time for the following birds, 2 hours.
*Comments*: Sunrise is 7:30 am today; 41 degrees with wind chill feeling in
the 30's. Started at 8:00 am; parking lot birding with introductions; Tim
Johnson giving 14 of us including Fred Stephens, Kay Fagan and myself, the
importance of membership, the number of species found over time in the park
since we have monitored (170), and the diverse habitat; Fred described the
contribution to be made at the Sector #4 of the Circle for the Salem
Christmas Bird Count Salem. We reviewed history of Minto and Brown-the
original farmers who bought pieces of land on the original islands of
Minto-Brown now a City Park.
*Highlights included the following:*
*We agreed this was a good warm up for winter birding. This was a day
to move around and keep warm against the wind chill factor. Cocoa from Tim
Johnson was a warm treat and it was easy with make-your-own service. Very
nice.
*More DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS than we had seen in a while, but
typical of a usual winter-on the River and across to the oxbow.
*Participants, who are frequent visitors, observed, as on prior Field
Trip, GREAT EGRETS coming to the oxbow more, maybe because of a food source?
*It was productive after our first hour trail walk to the oxbow and
"mallard" hedge trail to go to the River. There we had ducks, gulls,
cormorants, some passerines including one CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE,
kinglets and BUSHTIT with feeding flocks.
*While on the River trail we had 4 BALD EAGLE descend to the water at
once. This caused excitement lifting up the ducks and gulls-the latter
which we had made an effort to get closer to identify.
*Raptors included 1 young NORTHERN HARRIER in the parking lot
field-east; good looks at its lofty flight, its chestnut plumage, and its
efforts for prey; 1 kiting AMERICAN KESTREL; 1 RED-TAILED HAWK flying in a
wide range, perch to perch, around the parking lot; and the 4 BALD EAGLE.
*The list of species follows:*
37 SPECIES
83 Cackling Goose (minima)
4 Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima)
7 Canada Goose (parvipes)
24 Mallard
3 Green-winged Teal
1 Ring-necked Duck
10 Common Merganser
1 duck sp.-flying
2 Pied-billed Grebe
7 Double-crested Cormorant
2 Great Blue Heron
3 Great Egret
1 Northern Harrier
4 Bald Eagle -- 1 sub adult
1 Red-tailed Hawk
3 Glaucous-winged Gull
37 gull sp.
1 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
1 Belted Kingfisher
2 Northern Flicker
2 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)
1 American Kestrel
7 Western Scrub-Jay
23 American Crow
8 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Chestnut-backed Chickadee
3 Bushtit
2 Brown Creeper
3 Bewick's Wren
2 Golden-crowned Kinglet
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
5 American Robin
4 Cedar Waxwing
1 Fox Sparrow (Sooty) called from brush in parking lot.
2 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)
1 White-crowned Sparrow
6 Golden-crowned Sparrow
6 Song Sparrow
1 Spotted Towhee
7 House Finch
The next SAS Short will be held Sunday, December 13th at Eagle Marsh with
Fred Stephens and Tim Johnson. Join us if you can.
Thank you to all participants who joined today from Barbara Dolan and Fred
Stephens.
