Notes, birds, nature, meanderings.

Musings about birds, nature, and our meanderings on the Central Oregon Coast

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Pixieland WETlands!

Pixieland, one of several marshes in the Salmon River Estuary, opened to the public in August 2012.

Open to Foot Traffic!
In September, I started visiting Pixieland and became enchanted with the dry, grassy "wet"land.  From the downed logs to the ribboned new plantings, evidence of hard work was everywhere.  Birds seemed to be everywhere too!

Song Sparrow



A SONG SPARROW enjoys a newly planted tree, while a GREAT BLUE HERON (below) takes advantage of a long-time resident fir. 
Great Blue Heron

Basking in the work that many other people had done, in fact, were still doing, I roamed around discovering the spots where LINCOLN'S SPARROWS loved to play and the favorite riverside tree where the RED-SHOULDERED HAWK watched patiently for his next meal.

As our coastal autumn advanced, the rains came to the beautiful wetlands.  I added wellies and muck boots to my outdoor gear...

Killdeer




The KILLDEER came...   and the WILSON'S SNIPE.









The MALLARDS came... and PINTAIL and WIGEON and...
Mallards




The tides ebbed and flowed...





and, thanks to hundreds of hours of planning and hard work, the wetlands KNEW...







 ... and now, spring is coming - my first spring with Pixieland.  I can't wait, can you?

Birds encountered at Pixieland (9/23/2012 to 2/10/2013)

  1. Canada Goose
  2. American Wigeon
  3. Mallard
  4. Northern Pintail
  5. Green-winged Teal
  6. Bufflehead
  7. Common Goldeneye
  8. Hooded Merganser
  9. Common Merganser
  10. Red-breasted Merganser
  11. Pacific Loon
  12. Pied-billed Grebe
  13. Double-crested Cormorant
  14. Great Blue Heron
  15. Great Egret
  16. Turkey Vulture
  17. White-tailed Kite
  18. Northern Harrier
  19. Sharp-shinned Hawk
  20. Cooper's Hawk
  21. Bald Eagle
  22. Red-shouldered Hawk
  23. Red-tailed Hawk
  24. Rough-legged Hawk
  25. Killdeer
  26. Greater Yellowlegs
  27. Long-billed Dowitcher
  28. Wilson's Snipe
  29. Western Gull
  30. California Gull
  31. Eurasian Collared-Dove
  32. Anna's Hummingbird
  33. Belted Kingfisher
  34. Northern Flicker
  35. American Kestrel
  36. Merlin
  37. Peregrine Falcon
  38. Olive-sided Flycatcher
  39. Steller's Jay
  40. American Crow
  41. Common Raven
  42. Black-capped Chickadee
  43. Chestnut-backed Chickadee
  44. Bushtit
  45. Red-breasted Nuthatch
  46. Pacific Wren
  47. Marsh Wren
  48. Golden-crowned Kinglet
  49. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
  50. Hermit Thrush
  51. American Robin
  52. European Starling
  53. Cedar Waxwing
  54. Common Yellowthroat
  55. Yellow-rumped Warbler
  56. Townsend's Warbler
  57. Spotted Towhee
  58. Fox Sparrow
  59. Song Sparrow
  60. Lincoln's Sparrow
  61. White-throated Sparrow
  62. White-crowned Sparrow
  63. Golden-crowned Sparrow
  64. Dark-eyed Junco
  65. Red-winged Blackbird
  66. Brewer's Blackbird
  67. Purple Finch
  68. House Finch
  69. Red Crossbill
  70. Pine Siskin
  71. American Goldfinch

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful! And what a great record you are creating of an exciting work in progress.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Linda! It's thanks to you that I'm keeping track of the seasonal changes and wonderful wildlife here!

    ReplyDelete