[birding] Cinnamon Teal & water-level report from Buena Vista/American Bottom area

[Joel Geier]

Hi folks,

Just back from a quick tour of some of the areas that were underwater
last Saturday.

The only notable sighting was close to home, at Toketie Marsh (remedial
wetland for Coffin Butte Regional Landfill) where I saw a male CINNAMON
TEAL. It looks like one was also found in the Coffin Butte sector of the
Airlie CBC last Saturday, so presumably the same one (Four were also
reported from the Ankeny sector last Saturday).

At Luckiamute State Natural Area, it looks like the front part of the
Vanderpool Tract unit is now accessible without waders as far as the
front pond and the field just north of that. However chest waders would
still be needed to get across some deeper swales to the back portion.

The deck of the timber bridge into the Luckiamute Landing unit is now
about two feet above the flood water, so it's possible to drive all the
way into the parking area. From there, hip waders are needed to get
across the first swale just past the gate, where water is flowing from
the Willamette River into the Luckiamute. Several goose hunters were in
there today.

In the American Bottom area, Wigrich Road is now passable all the way to
the end, although an inch or two of water is still flowing over the road
in some spots. The filbert orchards were fairly busy with work crews. I
only saw one good-sized flock of juncos while driving past, and I
couldn't find any odd sparrows among them. I checked for the Vesper
Sparrow found by Cheryl Whelchel last week, but couldn't pish up any
sparrows to speak of in that location -- maybe wrong time of day.

Happy birding,
Joel

--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis