[birding] Naturalist Adventure field trip and more

[Lisa Millbank]

The January Naturalist Adventure field trip was this morning, and about a dozen of us headed down to Finley to enjoy the waterfowl spectacle and whatever else we might find.  Although it was cold, there were no complaints...the sun was really welcome.
At the prairie overlook we listened to the WESTERN MEADOWLARKS singing and looked at some of the regular raptors.  The cool, still morning kept the hawks grounded and we moved on to the Homer Campbell boardwalk, where everyone appreciated the many swans, ducks, cormorants, herons, egrets, and geese.  A PILEATED WOODPECKER was flying around and and making a loud "whinny" call.  After spending some time there, we finished with the Woodpecker Loop.  Don called in a pair of WRENTITS who sang and rustled around in the brush right by our feet.  From the oak tree platform, we spotted the elk far away on the east part of the refuge.  We looked at ferns, Dusky-footed Woodrat nests, and some interesting fungi.
Don and I stayed at Finley after the field trip.  An adult female GOLDEN EAGLE soared over McFadden Marsh.  It was sunny enough to see the golden wash shining on her nape and we could also see the broad dark band at the end of her tail that distinguishes the sexes.  
A PEREGRINE FALCON preened on a snag, with a beautiful backdrop of South Sister and the elk herd running below.  It's too bad it was not close enough for a picture.  
As it got dark, an amazing number of AMERICAN WIGEONS flew up from the marshes and headed northeast.  Some flocks were enormous--we estimated about 20,000 wigeons flew by!  The sky was filled with the males' little wiw-WIW-wiw whistles and the beating of wings.
Lisa
www.neighborhood-naturalist.com

For more about the elk and also some pictures see: http://groups.google.com/group/mid-valley-nature/browse_thread/thread/1c2da080c5f5ec59
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.midvalleybirding.org/pipermail/birding/attachments/20090118/0faadd06/attachment.html