Hah, what a fun morning for a bird walk at Knight Park along the Salmon River, although it started off a bit chilly and gray. After introductions, the thirty-one birders were entertained by a Bald Eagle attempting to put a grebe on the breakfast menu! The eagle hovered and unsuccessfully swooped down at the grebe for about 5 minutes, each time being frustrated by the grebe’s diving underwater to escape its approaching talons! Another surprise was the amount of birds sighted and heard at the end of Three Rocks Road where it led down to a wetland meadow. Two more eagles were viewed in trees on the other side of the river. Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a couple of Golden-crowned sparrows and a Bewick’s Wren made their appearances for most to see! From Knight Park, many of the birders drove to Frasier Road on the other side of the estuary. Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier, chickadees, and a Great Blue Heron were sighted. Twenty-three species were tallied for the morning. Yes, it was an event enjoyed by all . . . and the hot cider provided by the Willoughby’s was very much appreciated!! We had guest birders from Spokane, Pendleton, Newberg, Pacific City, Depoe Bay, McMinnville and Yachats.

Sightings of the day:
Bald Eagle ~ Red-tailed Hawk ~ Common Merganser
Belted Kingfisher ~ Western Gull ~ Hybrid Gull ~ Song Sparrow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet ~ Northern Flicker ~ American Robin
Dark-eyed Junco ~ Bewick's Wren ~ Yellow-rumped Warbler
Chestnut-backed Chickadee ~ Steller's Jay ~ Northern Harrier
Golden-crowned Sparrow ~ Black-capped Chickadee
Yellow-rumped Warbler ~ Anna's Hummingbird
Great Blue Heron ~ Red-breasted Nuthatch