SAS Minto-Brown Island Park Bird Walk Report

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SAS Minto-Brown Island Park Bird Walk Report

September 10, 2025 

This morning, Tim, Paul, and I led the Salem Audubon bird walk at Minto-Brown Island Park, joined by 16 enthusiastic participants. Our route followed the Red Osprey Loop on the park’s east side, where we enjoyed pleasant conditions, cloudy skies, light winds of 3 to 7 m.p.h., and temperatures between 61 and 64 degrees. The group covered about 2.5 miles over the course of three hours, during which we observed or heard 42 species. Remarkably, this matched the all-time record for the walk, set in 2015, during my 10 years of helping lead these outings.                                                           

The highlights were as follows:

·         It is hard to single out the “best” observation since there were so many highlights. Along the Willamette River, we had two Green Herons, with one amusingly flying just ahead of us as we walked downstream. Near the parking lot, we spotted two Red-breasted Sapsuckers in a tree along the trail connecting lot #3 to the river. Be sure to check out the eBird checklist at the end for some photos.

·         The Oxbow Slough was especially productive, yielding about 11 species. Highlights included Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer, Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, and two duck species, with several Wood Ducks among them. Just to the right of the concrete block in the slough, we spotted a lively group that included Black-throated Gray Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Bushtit, and Black-capped Chickadee, all actively foraging and playing in the mud and shallow water.

·         The Willamette River also provided good sightings, including eight Turkey Vultures, an Osprey, eight Common Mergansers, a Double-crested Cormorant, and seven Canada Geese.

·         The standout birds of the day were Cedar Waxwings (40), Song Sparrows (34), and Black-capped Chickadees (25). Song Sparrows, in particular, seemed to be everywhere along the walk, with many juveniles adding to the count.

·         Other notable sightings included Western Flycatcher, Hairy Woodpecker, Hutton’s Vireo, Belted Kingfisher, and several Swainson’s Thrushes.

There are many upcoming bird walks including: 

Baskett Slough NWR, Sunday, September 14, 2025 at 9:00 A.M.  Meet at the Rich Guadagno Trailhead Parking lot on Coville Road. 

Keizer Rapids Park, Tuesday, September 16, 2025 at 9:00 A.M.  Meet in the last parking lot near the boat ramp at the end of Walsh Way N.  Address: 1900 Chemawa Rd N. 

Ankeny NWR Field Trip, Saturday, September 20, 2025 at 7:30 AM. Meet at the Ankeny Hill Nature Center parking lot off Ankeny Hill Road. 

Please join us if you can. 

Mike Unger

Keizer, OR 

Minto-Brown Island Park Checklist Summary for September 10, 2025

Identified Species: 42 

7 Canada Goose
3 Wood Duck
14 Mallard
8 Common Merganser
1 Mourning Dove
2 Anna's Hummingbird
5 Killdeer
1 Greater Yellowlegs
1 Pied-billed Grebe
1 Double-crested Cormorant
2 Green Heron
3 Great Blue Heron
8 Turkey Vulture
1 Osprey
4 Belted Kingfisher
3 Red-breasted Sapsucker
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Hairy Woodpecker
9 Northern Flicker
2 American Kestrel
1 Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope)
1 Hutton's Vireo
1 Steller's Jay
7 California Scrub-Jay
18 American Crow
25 Black-capped Chickadee
5 Violet-green Swallow
2 Barn Swallow
10 Bushtit
2 White-breasted Nuthatch
3 Brown Creeper
10 Bewick's Wren
15 European Starling
5 Swainson's Thrush
1 American Robin
40 Cedar Waxwing
1 Purple Finch
34 Song Sparrow
10 Spotted Towhee
1 Yellow Warbler
1 Black-throated Gray Warbler
1 Wilson's Warbler
3 passerine sp. 

View this checklist online at: https://ebird.org/checklist/S272613244