Birdcam and Ankeny NWR

Just a coupla shots from the Wingscapes BirdCam of a Townsend's Warbler and a Yellow-rumped Warbler on the suet feeder....boy, that Townsend's looks a little ragged.....

Yes, I do too have a yellow rump.

And a cute yellow bit on my head

Saturday I took my Beginning Birding 2 group to Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge south of Salem. Lovely day, no rain (that's how we judge 'em here) and about 55 species of birds. BEST bird of the trip was a Long-billed Curlew, a bird rarely found in the Willamette Valley. A very nice birder clued us in to its location and we all saw it easily. A new bird for much of the group!


Lots of pishing for a Common Yellowthroat.....first of the season for me.

Then we got to the spot where a Merlin entertained the group last year......and a Peregrine was perched there instead! Nice tradeoff!



The other benefit we received from the kindness of strangers was the news that Ospreys were just down the road at the river. I'd not been down that road so we went in search and were instantly rewarded with a pair on a nest right next to the road.




Good day at the refuge! Spring migrants are slowly coming in......and maybe my trees will bloom soon, too!

Beginning Birding 2 - Ankeny NWR

Today I took my Beginning Birding 2 class down to Ankeny for our all-day excursion. The weather wasn't nearly as spectacular as Monday but at least it wasn't raining.

Can you spot the bird in the photo?


There were even more geese than Monday and lots more ducks, too. Also, more predators! We logged Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier (4 individuals), American Kestrel, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Merlin. The Merlin was very showy and rocketed past us several times showing off its pointed wings and perfect falcon shape. Here are two very blurry scope shots. The Merlin shows a darkish malar stripe coming down from its eye. The Kestrel's is black, the Peregrine's is more of a hood. You can also see a light eyebrow. Since the bird was perched in the same tree as the Sharpie we had great looks at both to see differences in these small raptors.



Can you see the bird now?

If you guessed Downy Woodpecker then give yourself a pat on the back!

Birding Ankeny NWR

Yesterday we took a trip down to Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, 10 miles south of Salem, Oregon, right off I-5. I am taking my Beginning Birding 2 class here on Saturday. I hadn't been since April (much like Tualatin NWR) and needed to check it out. Another glorious birding day in the Willamette Valley!

At our first stop we found this Raccoon eating on the ground in broad daylight. Can't be a healthy animal......and it was favoring one paw. Seemed to be getting along OK, despite the injury. I'm not fond of raccoons, but they sure can look cute.

Our second stop was Eagle Marsh pond and the marsh hosted loads of waterfowl. Harriers buzzed low and spooked the Teal and Dowitchers but many ducks were resting and preening and bathing.


This is my favorite duck; the Northern Pintail. Actually, it's tied for favorite with the Gadwall, but don't tell.


At another stop we found just a few geese.




Most of these were Cackling Geese, recently split (classification-wise) from Canada Geese. Then there are three sub-species of the Cacklers to contend with, too. After some deliberation we decided we were looking at Cackling and Aleutian Geese.


What you really need to remember about the Cackling Goose is how little they are.....look at that stubby bill and high forehead. They aren't a whole lot bigger than a big barnyard duck and are certainly much smaller than the large, imposing Canada Goose we're used to seeing.


Quick! Pop Duck Quiz!! What species and gender is this duck?!?! Leave a comment with your answer.......

One nice feature of the refuge is the Rail Trail, a long boardwalk through seasonally flooded land. In April it was high water but now it's empty. Little bird activity but lovely photo ops.


We ended our day with about 45 species at a relaxed pace. I can't wait to bring my group on Saturday!

Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, Trip 2

Another wonderful day at the refuge! If you haven't been there you really should go; it has lots of interest.....boardwalks, a nice overlook, plenty of pullouts. Our list for today equaled last week's in number (56) but not in species: we added Warbling Vireo and Yellow Warbler but subtracted Yellow-headed Blackbird and Peregrine Falcon. Well, there were other changes but I'm too tired to list them all out. Suffice it to say we all had a terrific time and I know this new class was a huge success. I hope to lead it again this fall or next spring.
Next up on the agenda is Birding By Ear. May is full and I don't know about June. A customer at work mentioned that she is taking a birding by ear class through either PCC or CCC, I don't recall. It's five field trips and no class time whereas mine is three field trips and two evening classes. I've sometimes wondered whether the class time is worth it......but birding by ear is so overwhelming in spring I find that it helps students focus once we arrive in the field.
More updates from the spring migration coming soon!

Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, Trip 1

Yesterday was the first all-day van trip for Beginning Birding 2 to Ankeny NWR. All kinds of heinous weather was in the forecast and we experienced all of it, I do believe. Gray clouds and low temps gave way to snow on our drive south on I-5 towards Salem. We all groaned and rolled our eyes but the snow soon let up as we crested the hill and approached the lower elevation of the refuge. During the rest of the trip, it rained, hailed, the sun shone, it hailed again......the fickle spring of 2008. My students were all champs and put up with all of it without a grumble....even when I got us a wee bit lost in the fields. I think I made up for any missteps when I presented extra wool socks and mittens for anyone who needed them and two people immediately accepted my offer.
It was a good bird day, too! Our highlight birds were Yellow-headed Blackbird (not rare, but unusual for the valley region) and American Bittern (a secretive marsh dweller who came out in the open for us). Over the course of the three field trips we successfully identified 71 species! Sorry....no photos this time. Here's our list of 56 species from yesterday:

Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Greater White-fronted Goose
Canada Goose
Cackling Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
American Coot
Short-billed Dowitcher

Mourning Dove
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Steller's Jay
Scrub Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren
Marsh Wren
American Robin
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Spotted Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird

Purple Finch

Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge

Today I drove down to Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge to scout locations for the final field trip for Beginning Birding 2. Leading my own van trip is a big deal for me; on Audubon trips to Malheur I've driven participants in those big fifteen-passenger vans but I was an assistant, not the "real" leader. I want to make sure everything is right for this trip. I can't control the weather or the birds but I can do my homework and pick the stops with the most potential for good birding. This was my first visit to Ankeny and I highly recommend it. I have not yet visited the third refuge in the Willamette Valley Refuge Complex, Finley NWR, but it is now higher on my list than before.
Here are some images from around the refuge today.

Song Sparrow

Male Cinnamon Teal

The Rail Trail features a long boardwalk through the wetlands.
This took me an hour on my own so with the group it will probably take two.

Male Ring-necked Duck

There really is a Marsh Wren in this photo.

The Masked Bandit of the Marsh hypnotized me with his powerful gaze.
I broke free just in time.