SAS Minto-Brown Island Park Bird Walk Report

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SAS Minto-Brown Island Park Bird Walk Report

December 17, 2025 

On Wednesday morning, Tim and I led the Salem Audubon bird walk at Minto-Brown Island Park with fourteen enthusiastic birders along for the adventure. The walk was a fun warm-up for the Christmas Bird Count coming up this Saturday. We followed much of the Blue Heron Loop on the park’s west side and lucked out with fairly good weather, partly cloudy skies, light winds around 12 to 16 mph, and temperatures between 43 and 48 degrees. Over about three hours and two miles, we managed to spot or hear 37 different species. 

Do not miss the eBird checklist—it is packed with some amazing photos from the walk! You will find the link at the end of this report.                                                           

The highlights were as follows:

·         The highlight came near the end of the walk when we spotted a Townsend’s Warbler flitting through the branches above the trail as it fed. It was a real treat, and everyone in the group managed to get good looks at this active little bird. 

·         We spotted five Greater Yellowlegs on a small island in the Oxbow Slough (see photo). Other highlights included a Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Belted Kingfisher, Black Phoebe, and Double-crested Cormorant. 

·         We observed four of the five expected woodpecker species—Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, and Red-breasted Sapsucker. Almost everyone got great looks at the sapsucker, and there are some wonderful photos of it in the checklist. 

·         Other notable sightings included Black-capped Chickadee (18), Brown Creeper (7), and Golden-crowned Kinglet (3). 

·         Major misses for the day included Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Mourning Dove, Eurasian Collared-Dove, and California Quail. There was also a noticeable lack of sparrows—we saw only a few Song Sparrows and Spotted Towhees. 

      The upcoming bird walks include: 

       Minto-Brown Island Park on Saturday, January 10th at 9:00 AM.      Meet in parking lot #3 at the end of Minto Island Road SE.

 

Champoeg State Park on Thursday, January 15, 2025 at 9:00 AM.  Meet in the Oak Grove Day Use Parking Lot. A valid Oregon State Parks Pass is required; a  $10 day pass can be purchased on-site. Please bring water and binoculars! We should be finished by noon.   

Please join us if you can. 

Mike Unger

Keizer, OR 

Minto-Brown Island Park Checklist Summary for December 17, 2025

Identified Species: 38 

25 Snow Goose
25 Cackling Goose
12 Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima)
1 Northern Shoveler
8 Gadwall
5 American Wigeon
50 Mallard
30 Green-winged Teal
18 Bufflehead
2 Anna's Hummingbird
5 Greater Yellowlegs
9 gull sp.
2 Pied-billed Grebe
4 Double-crested Cormorant
2 Great Blue Heron
2 Cooper's Hawk
4 Red-tailed Hawk
1 Belted Kingfisher
1 Red-breasted Sapsucker
4 Downy Woodpecker
1 Hairy Woodpecker
5 Northern Flicker
1 Black Phoebe
1 Steller's Jay
1 California Scrub-Jay
11 American Crow
18 Black-capped Chickadee
9 Bushtit
3 Golden-crowned Kinglet
3 White-breasted Nuthatch
2 Red-breasted Nuthatch
7 Brown Creeper
7 Bewick's Wren
20 European Starling
8 American Robin
5 Song Sparrow
4 Spotted Towhee
1 Townsend's Warbler 

View this checklist online at: https://ebird.org/checklist/S288988719