Greetings All,
I just got home from doing a truck shuttle for work between Richland, WA and
Tualatin, OR. After leaving Richland this morning, I made a very brief birding
stop at the boat launch area above McNary Dam at Umatilla, Oregon. There was a
RED-NECKED GREBE just off the boat launch hanging near the first concrete wall
that juts out perpendicular to the dam. There were also a couple of Common
Loons, about 70 Western Grebes and one Horned Grebe in the pool above the dam.
As I drove downriver coming back towards Portland, I saw huge numbers of birds
along the river starting about five miles east of Arlington and stretching all
the way down to The Dalles. In the stretch of the Columbia just upstream (about
4-5 miles) from Arlington there were many hundreds if not into the thousands of
gulls sitting on the water out in the middle of the channel. The numbers below
are just ballpark and mostly conservative, as I was not able to stop and count
or scope flocks, but these are the species that I was able to ID and estimate
as I drove.
Canada Goose -- 800+
Gadwall -- 200+
American Wigeon -- 1000+
Mallard -- 300
Canvasback -- 75
Ring-necked Duck 100
Scaup -- 1000+ (Generally along this stretch of the Columbia it is mostly
Greaters )
Bufflhead -- 100
Hooded Merganser -- 20 (mostly in one pond)
Common Merganser -- 50+
Common Loon -- 4 (surely many more, but I was only able to see those close to
shore)
Pied-billed Grebe -- 4-5
Horned Grebe -- 100-150
Western Grebe -- 150
Double-crested Cormorant -- 75-100
American Coot -- 2000+
Gulls -- At the very least 2000, perhaps twice that many.
I think one could easily spend an entire day birding this 40+ mile stretch of
the Columbia River. There must be some interesting gulls and perhaps a Tufted
Duck or two hidden away in these swarms. I have several commitments tomorrow,
or I would be heading back up the river. Maybe next weekend.
Dave Irons
Portland, OR
