Towheeblog

Fair views at Fairview. The dog and I visited Fairview Wetlands here in Salem this morning and ducks were swimming where a month ago stood dry weeds and baked soil lay beneath. And November is off to a wet and drizzly start, good for many forms of life, from feathers to fungi.

At Fairview there was a feeding flock of Cackling Geese on one island of lawn within the paved parking lot before the Oregon Department of Fish & Widlife offices. I wondered at the ironies. First that it was the PDFW office, that agency which oversees the hunting and killing of Cackling Geese when they fly down here for the winter. Secondly that the geese dine on lawn grass and donate water soluble fertilizer on the same grass, making it well-fertilized and helping to insure future meals for surviving Cacklers.

Fairview Wetlands, Marion, Oregon, US
Nov 2, 2021
Checklist Comments:     most of the main pool now has several inches of water, south end of the wetlands still dry
15 species

Cackling Goose  130
Canada Goose  10
Northern Shoveler  25
Gadwall  4
American Wigeon  2
Mallard  60
Northern Pintail  6
Green-winged Teal  50
Bufflehead  1
Ruddy Duck  1
Black Phoebe  1
American Crow  1
Song Sparrow  2
Spotted Towhee  1
Red-winged Blackbird  10

954 Ratcliff Drive SE, Marion, Oregon, US
Nov 2, 2021
12 species

Anna’s Hummingbird  1
Northern Flicker  1
Steller’s Jay  X
California Scrub-Jay  X
American Crow  X
Black-capped Chickadee  2
Bewick’s Wren  1
Lesser Goldfinch  X
American Goldfinch  X
Dark-eyed Junco  X
Song Sparrow  X
Spotted Towhee  1

954 Ratcliff Drive SE, Marion, Oregon, US
Nov 1, 2021
15 species

Anna’s Hummingbird  1
Northern Flicker  1
Steller’s Jay  X
California Scrub-Jay  X
American Crow  X
Black-capped Chickadee  1
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Bewick’s Wren  1
American Robin  X
Lesser Goldfinch  2
American Goldfinch  40
Dark-eyed Junco  30
Golden-crowned Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  2