Four of us from Golden Eagle Audubon birded Bruneau Duck Ponds Friday
morning after a crop duster disrupted our Wednesday morning group trip
there. Highlights included at least 70 great and 2 snowy egrets; a young
black-crowned night heron; western, least, and Baird’s sandpipers; 2
semi-palmated plovers and many killdeer; greater and lesser yellowlegs;
long-billed dowitchers; avocets mostly in winter plumage now; black-necked
stilts; and a lone marbled godwit. Other species included large numbers of
ducks – mallards, pintails, wigeons, all 3 teal species, gadwall, and
shovelers; California quail, Canada geese; white pelicans; barn, bank,
cliff, and northern rough-winged swallows; ring-billed and California
gulls; eastern kingbird, song sparrows, yellow warblers, house finches, at
least one hummer, and black-billed magpies with a turkey vulture thrown in
as we returned to the car.
Afterwards, we went to Bruneau Sand Dunes State Park for lunch. While we
hadn’t really intended to bird there it turned out to be a fairly birdy
spot Friday with yellow, Townsend’s, and Wilson’s warblers, collared doves,
black-chinned hummers (at least 7) and a probable calliope, common
nighthawk, red-tailed hawk, eastern kingbird, and barn and bank swallows.
But the most astonishing sight was a ribbon of ravens that stretched from
horizon to horizon running roughly east-west and drifting slowly southward,
including at least 2 kettles. We estimated there were at least 500 birds
and we probably missed many. While I’ve seen crows in this and larger
numbers wintering in downtown Portland, I’ve never seen ravens in such
numbers. What a sight!
—
Louisa Evers
elouisa603@gmail.com