Towheeblog

This afternoon Rob Schulman and I hit the north end of Yamhill County.  First Violet-green Swallows of the year…three Snow Geese among the Cacklers at Yamhill Sewer…pair of Osprey on  northernmost nest platform in the county…Trumpeter and Canvasback on Wapato Lake…spring all around us, even some people swimming in Hagg Lake.  Eared Grebe there in breeding plumage.  Plenty of snipe at Yamhill sewer. Bonus: two river otters in Wapato Lake.Common Merganser females above.  Gun-shy geese below, scared aloft by gunners, note the two visible Snow Geese in lower left:One of the warring kestrels at Yamhill.Look of the season:

The two Osprey were on a platform just a few yards from the county line, east of Hwy 47, south of Gaston.  First ones I’ve seen in Yamhill this year. Later we had a fly-by at Hagg Lake.

At Yamhill Sewer we were treated to a territorial dispute among kestrels with a lone female diving onto a mated pair.  The three were still there along the creek when we left.

My spring birding class for McMinnville Parks begins one week from today, April 5.

Yamhill Sewage Ponds (restricted access), Yamhill, Oregon, US
Mar 29, 2018 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM.16 species

Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens)  3
Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii)  500
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  X
Mallard (Northern) (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos/conboschas)  X
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  25
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)  12
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  X
Wilson’s Snipe (Gallinago delicata)  10
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)  X
Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna)  1
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)  3
California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)  X
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  20
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  X
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  X
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  X

Henry Hagg Lake Park (Scoggins Valley Park), Washington, Oregon, US
Mar 29, 2018 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM. 21 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  X
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)  1
Gadwall (Mareca strepera)  10
American Wigeon (Mareca americana)  15
Mallard (Northern) (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos/conboschas)  X
Green-winged Teal (American) (Anas crecca carolinensis)  8
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)  15
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)  X
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)  X
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  X
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)  1–in breeding plumage
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)  15
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  2
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  X
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
American Coot (Fulica americana)  X
California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)  X
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  X
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina)  4
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) (Junco hyemalis [oreganus Group])  X
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  X

Wapato Lake NWR (restricted access), Washington, Oregon, US
Mar 29, 2018 4:10 PM – 4:20 PM. 12 species

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)  1
Wood Ducks
American Wigeon (Mareca americana)  X
Mallard (Northern) (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos/conboschas)  X
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)  1
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)  500
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)  X
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  X
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)  4
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  1
American Coot (Fulica americana)  X
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  X