Towheeblog

My first Bald Eagle of the day was Baskett Slough. Then this afternoon I did an eagle watch again at Riverfront Park…eagles then scarce and the two sightings were probably of the same first-year bird. No nest related activity. Adult ar Baskett, then yearling at Riverfront:

At Baskett there was plenty of morning fog and plenty of ducks. Most were dabblers but I found a pair of Lesser Scaup, surrounded by non-ducks.

At Riverfront there were hundreds of gulls in the river, then swirling about high in the sky, then back on the river. A stealth appearance was made by a Cooper’s Hawk in one of riverbank trees:

We witnessed Mallard collusion. The ducks flew in off the river and a fellow conspirator fed them crushed corn chips which is what the ducks expected when they landed about six feet away:

This male was the only Common Merganser I saw at Riverfront this afternoon:

In the right place, that music you hear this spring was written and produced by a Marsh Wren. This is usually the view you get:

But if you click here for my piece on these birds on Salem Reporter website, you’ll enjoy some full-on Albert Ryckman photos.

Baskett Slough NWR, Polk, Oregon, US
Feb 9, 2023
13 species

Northern Shoveler  X
Mallard  X
Northern Pintail  X
Lesser Scaup  2
Bufflehead  2
American Coot  X
Killdeer  120
Bald Eagle  1
American Kestrel  2
California Scrub-Jay  1
European Starling  X
American Robin  X
Red-winged Blackbird  X

Salem Riverfront Park, Marion, Oregon, US
Feb 9, 2023
18 species

Canada Goose  6
Northern Shoveler  4
Mallard  30
Common Merganser  1
Pied-billed Grebe  4
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  X
Killdeer  3
Short-billed Gull  X
Ring-billed Gull  X
Glaucous-winged Gull  100
Double-crested Cormorant  3
Great Blue Heron  1
Bald Eagle  2
Red-tailed Hawk  2
California Scrub-Jay  1
American Crow  1
European Starling  X
American Robin  3