A visiting friend needed to so do some serious wine-tasting but we had to fill time before 11am when the tasting rooms opened…so birding!
Highlights: Snow Goose at Baskett Slough, my first Yamhill County Golden-crowneds and a Lincoln’s Sparrow along Rice Lane in Amity, both yellowlegs species feeding together with a lone LB Dowitcher and a slew (not slough) of Hooded Mergansers in irrigation pond at Left Coast Winery. Then, finally waxwings harvesting pinot noir grapes at Maysara Winery.
The Show Goose was in large pond downhill from the elbow in road where sign says “foot traffic only”, this trial is just south of the parking lot with toilet building where you can hike the memorial trail for the biologist who was murdered by terrorists on 9-11. EBird seemed to think this is a rare bird for Baskett Slough and demanded an explanation.
Here is the Snow surrounded by Greater White-fronts.
Note Cackling Goose with yellow neck band…and one nearby with natural white collar.
Cacklers above, White-fronts snoozing. 
Lesser Yellowlegs, Left Coast Winery pond. 
Rice Ln., Yamhill, Oregon, US
Sep 29, 2015 9:45 AM – 10:05 AM. 10 species
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) 4
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 2
Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) 1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) X
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) X
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 2
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla) 15
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 1
Lincoln’s Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) 1
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) 1
Baskett Slough NWR, Polk, Oregon, US
Sep 29, 2015 10:15 AM – 11:00 AM. 21 species
Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) 50
Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) 1 I have photo of it with White-fronted Geese
Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) 400
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 40
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 30
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 2
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 4
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 3
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 2
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) 2
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) 1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) X
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) X
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 2
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) 1
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) 1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 1
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) 1
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) 1
Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) 50
Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) 2
Towheeblog 
Interesting bout eBird response to Snow goose post, wondering if that’s due to location or calendar date. I saw about 75 of them on Sauvie Island today with huge mixed flocks of Canada; cackling, etc. After our walk, we returned to find just the Snow geese left, seeming reluctant to panic or fly as the Canada are wont to. But I usually don’t see Snow geese until early November at the earliest, so this is odd! Nice post, thanks for sharing.
By: Nikki Chapman on September 29, 2015
at 10:53 pm