Birders at Friends of Wildwood by Caren Willoughby
The morning was cold and clear and the woods were quiet... 22 people joined Audubon Society of Lincoln City group leaders dawn villaescusa and Caren Willoughby on a birdwalk adventure through Friends of the Wildwood Open Space in Lincoln City last Saturday, sponsored by Lincoln City Parks & Recreation.
The birds were scarce for the first half of the walk - we heard a few, but had no sightings. Several of us got out our phones to try the new sound identification on the Merlin app. It picked out a Pacific Wren (which we all could hear singing), Brown Creeper, and Red Crossbills.
At the end of the trail, we turned around to head back - and found the birds that we had missed! Flocks of small songbirds - chickadees, kinglets, and even a Townsend's Warbler - tripped around the tops of bare deciduous branches. Looking at a Northern Flicker, we happened to spot a Downy Woodpecker high in the canopy.
Once out of the woods, we wandered down to the boardwalk for a look at the wetlands, then crossed the street to get better views of the lake - where we saw Pied-billed Grebes, Bufflehead, and several distant ducks.
Sightings of the day:
Birders on trail by Ruth Shelly
22 Species observed
Canada Goose
Mallard
Bufflehead
Pied-billed Grebe
Anna's Hummingbird
Bald Eagle
Northern Flicker
Hutton's Vireo
Steller's Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Brown Creeper
Pacific Wren
European Starling
American Robin
Red Crossbill
Song Sparrow
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
Ruby-crowned Kinglet by Ruth Shelly
Yellow-rumped Warbler by Ruth Shelly