SAS Ankeny NWR Field Trip Report

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Jul 13, 2024, 3:51:57 PM (14 days ago) Jul 13

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SAS ANKENY NWR FIELD TRIP REPORT

July 13, 2024

Today, Tim, Paul, and I led the Salem Audubon Ankeny NWR field trip with 12 other birders joining us. The morning was genuinely nice with clear skies. The temperature ranged between 66 and 75 degrees. The wind was mostly calm to 5 m.p.h. We walked 1.86 miles around the edge of the Rail Trail then down the Rail Trail from the back side. We also took a few minutes at the Ankeny Hill Nature Center where we observed 14 species. We identified (saw or heard) 45 species during the entire trip.

Most notable sightings:

· The sighting of the day was two Rufous Hummingbirds in the trees where the Rail Trail splits off to the left along a dirt, grassy trail.

· As noted above at the nature center, we observed 14 species. We saw one Western Bluebird as well as a couple of Violet-green Swallows and a Barn Swallow. We also saw an Osprey with a fish in its bill being chased by 5 – 7 crows. Another nice sighting was a male American Kestrel and Great Blue Heron. Everyone got close looks at Anna’s Hummingbird that was at a feeder for what seemed like an eternity.

· The Rail Trail area was great for this time of year. We observed 41 species there. A bit of a surprise was an Acorn Woodpecker near where the Rufous Hummingbirds were seen. The birds of the day were the Red-winged Blackbirds (67) and Song Sparrows (37). Most of the blackbirds along with 12 Marsh Wrens were observed on the south side of the Rail Trail in a marshy area with lots of cattails.

Throughout the walk we heard Yellow Warblers and Common Yellowthroats singing. The Swainson’s Thrush were pretty active too with their songs.

We saw three woodpecker species including Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, and Acorn Woodpecker. Everyone got good looks at a female Downy Woodpecker along the Rail Trail.

Just as we reached the parking lot to leave, we saw 20 Bushtits and observed a Black-headed Grosbeak and Western Tanager.

· Six raptors were seen: Red-tailed Hawk, Bald Eagle, American Kestrel, Northern Harrier, Osprey and Turkey Vulture.

· We saw one Black Phoebe at the Rail Trail just west of the photo blind. We did not see any Belted Kingfishers or Western Meadowlarks.

A complete list of today's birds follows. Our next bird walks include:

Illahe Hills CC – Monday, July 15, 2024 at 8:00 AM. Please contact the leader at paule...@gmail.com to confirm your registration for this trip. Registered participants should meet at the Country Club entrance at 8:00 AM. Please Park in the main parking area, not in front of the clubhouse!

Common Nighthawks at Minto-Brown, Monday, July 22, 2024 at 7:30 PM. Meet in parking lot #3 at the end of Minto Island Road SE.

Keizer Rapids Park – Monday, July 29, 2024 at 8:00 AM. Meet in the public parking lot near the boat launch area.

You can see all of our events at our website - salemaudubon.org under the Events tab.

Mike Unger

Keizer, Oregon

Ankeny NWR Checklist Summary for July 13, 2024

Checklists included in this summary:
(1): Ankeny NWR--Ankeny Hill Nature Center @ 7:32 AM
(2): Ankeny NWR—Rail Trail @ 7:58 AM

25 Canada Goose (2)
1 Eurasian Collared-Dove (2)
2 Mourning Dove (2)
2 Anna's Hummingbird (1)(2)
2 Rufous Hummingbird (2)
1 Double-crested Cormorant (2)
5 Great Blue Heron (1)( (2)

1 Osprey (1)
4 Turkey Vulture (2)
1 Northern Harrier (2)
2 Bald Eagle (2)
1 Red-tailed Hawk (2)

1 Acorn Woodpecker (2)
3 Downy Woodpecker (2)
4 Northern Flicker (2)
2 American Kestrel (1)(2)
6 Western Wood-Pewee (2)
1 Black Phoebe (2)
2 California Scrub-Jay (1)(2)

7 American Crow (1)
7 Black-capped Chickadee (1)(2)

2 Violet-green Swallow (1)
11 Barn Swallow (1)(2)
20 Bushtit (2)
1 Brown Creeper (2)
12 Marsh Wren (2)
3 Bewick's Wren (2)
4 European Starling (1)(2)
10 Swainson's Thrush (2)

1 Western Bluebird (1)
5 American Robin (2)
9 Cedar Waxwing (2)
4 Purple Finch (2)
1 Lesser Goldfinch (2)
12 American Goldfinch (1)(2)
9 Savannah Sparrow (2)
37 Song Sparrow (2)
3 Spotted Towhee (2)
67 Red-winged Blackbird (1)(2)
6 Brown-headed Cowbird (2)
1 Orange-crowned Warbler (2)
16 Common Yellowthroat (1)(2)
15 Yellow Warbler (2)
1 Western Tanager (2)
1 Black-headed Grosbeak (2)

Number of Species: 45

eBird List Links: https://ebird.org/checklist/S186779827 https://ebird.org/checklist/S186807290