[birding] Greater White-fronted Geese & Chipping Sparrow, E.E. Wilson

[Joel Geier]

Hi again,

Forgotten due to Empid Fever in my previous posting:

High-flying flocks of GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were flying over E.E.
Wilson Wildlife Area all through my walk, heading NW toward the Polk
County Coast Range. I estimated a total of 1900 in a couple of hours. 

If you don't hear their calls way high up, you might recognize them by
their curious flock structure -- sort of a mesh shape with interlocking
V's, kind of like those expanding plastic mesh tubes that go around
young trees -- and their stiffer-looking wingbeats compared to Canada &
Cackling Geese.

Also, a CHIPPING SPARROW was singing in the south end of the refuge, in
the young oaks by the little Kincaid's lupine meadow where ODFW took out
a whole bunch of non-native hawthorns, cherries, and apple trees last
fall. This now starts to look like Chipping Sparrow nesting habitat.
While they seem to have nested on the Coffin Butte tract, I've seldom
seen them on E.E. Wilson proper. It's also nice to see how the lupine,
Oregon geranium, and checkermallow sp. are responding to the treatment.

Happy birding,
Joel

--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis