Towheeblog

The shallow end of Hagg Lake was very busy this evening.  I got there just before sunset and need to make a return trip…soon.  Loons, grebe, dabbling ducks.  Did I mention the hundreds of coots?  Nearly all the birds were visible by scope from C-Ramp Recreation Area.  Note: the south side of the loop drive is closed.  You can only reach the upper end of the lake by staying to the right when the road splits near the dam and entrance.

The only surprise was the Red-throated Loon.  He was cruising along with the three much larger Commons.  This species has been occasionally reported from Hagg Lake on eBird but never this early in the autumn.  I suspect that last storm from the north that brought down the siskins and the Fox Sparrows and their ilk.

I hadn;t been at the lake long and had seen exactly two birds: a gull and a junco.  I then heard a flock of geese.  I couldn’t see them along the lakeshore. Were they around the point in a bay?  Then I realized they were getting louder.  I got out my camera and waited.  They soon came over the treetops into the opening overhead.  Three Canadas leading a trailing line of Cacklers:

Henry Hagg Lake Park (Scoggins Valley Park), Washington, Oregon, US
Oct 15, 2017 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
10.0 mile(s)
20 species

Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii)  40
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)   3
Gadwall (Mareca strepera)  2
American Wigeon (Mareca americana)  20
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  75
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)  30
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  50
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)  25
Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)  1
Common Loon (Gavia immer)  3
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)  2
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)  9
Great Blue Heron (Blue form) (Ardea herodias [herodias Group])  4
American Coot (Fulica americana)  300