Willamette Mission State Park birds

[Don Boucher]

Hello,

Last week (June 6 thru 9) I went camping at Willamette Mission State Park. The only way to camp there is at a group camp site, horse camp, or hiker-biker camp. There isn't any typical, single car, drive-in campground. I rode my bike there and had the hiker-biker campground to myself. I spent the first and last day mostly riding the 45-mile route from Corvallis as well as setting up and taking down camp. I camped there in 2021 for the first time but spent an extra day this time.

In this post I cover the birds but I'll post about plants and other things later.

The place is very large, 1,300 acres, with riparian woodland, wetland, rolling meadows and working farmland; and miles and miles of trails. On June 7, I cruised slowly on my bike scouting things out. On June 8, I dedicated my time to making eBird lists on foot. I had 66 species, including a short period of owling. I did not encounter a Red-eyed Vireo like I did in 2021 and it doesn't seem like other birders have either in 2023. I didn't see any extraordinary species but Willow Flycatcher, N. Rough-winged Swallow and nighthawk were nice. I got high numbers of robins, Swainson's Thrush and Yellow Warbler.

I had 4 checklists because I birded all day (and part of the night) in different areas of the park:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S140895816

https://ebird.org/checklist/S140909054

https://ebird.org/checklist/S140926602

https://ebird.org/checklist/S140951171

One interesting observation was a robin pecking and thrashing at a dead shew-mole. I've never seen a robin go for carrion but I suppose they were desperate to feed their babies. The robin was never able to open the carcass and get any meat and eventually gave up. I got a photo of the carcass and to identify it.

There was a Bewick's Wren family in my camp area and just after sunset, the adults would come for a dust bath between the picnic table and the fire pit. I took a video of it but the quality is poor due to poor lighting.

https://youtu.be/h4rWjL3N4AA

-Don Boucher

Corvallis

[Betty nancy bee]

Thanks Don. The video is cool. Interesting how they seemed to be fluffing themselves down into the loose soil. 

Humans and nature can co-exist, and both can thrive.

Travel and nature blog: https://nancybird375.wordpress.com/

On Jun 15, 2023, at 8:23 PM, Don Boucher <donab...@gmail.com> wrote:



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