[birding] E E Wilson field trip: Yellow-breasted Chat, others

[Don Boucher]

Lisa and I started our involvement in Natural Areas Celebration Week with a nature walk at E. E. Wilson this morning. We had a decent turnout with around a dozen people.

To get there, we rode our bikes from home north on HWY 99W. We were delighted to see a patch of Purple Parsley (Lomatium dissectum) blooming near the railroad tracks. We saw many lovely patches of Tough-leaved Iris (Iris tenax). There were some Showy Milkweed sprouting in various spots along the road too.

At E. E. Wilson, we visited the marsh near the headquarters and walked north toward the west side of central marsh area. We saw an Osprey eating a fish with its mate perched nearby. Other birds we enjoyed were Black-headed Grosbeak, House Wren, Warbling Vireo, Wilson's Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Sora, Yellow Warbler, Pied-billed Grebe (calling at the HQ marsh). Tree Swallows were in the nestboxes. 
We saw more Tough-leaved Iris at E. E. Wilson. Lisa caught a Red-spotted Garter Snake (a.k.a. common garter snake). The native Black Hawthorn is common in the areas we visited and was in full bloom. A Raccoon crossed the path in front of us. Near the pheasant cages was a shabby cottontail rabbit with the top half of each ear missing!

After the field trip some of us got to see a Red-breasted Sapsucker on an old Big-leaf Maple near the pheasant cages.

Lisa and I will be leading more field trips during this week of celebration and there are many other events lead by others. For more info, go see:

http://www.sustainablecorvallis.org/naturalareasactionteam

Don Boucher
Corvallis, OR
www.Neighborhood-Naturalist.com
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