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Spring Bird Walk at J2E Tree Farm - May 21, 2022

J2E Bird Walk Report, by Mike Unger (May 21, 2022)

Tim and I along with Kendra and Dave led a bird walk at J2E Tree Farm located near Philomath Oregon. We were joined by 16 other birdwatchers including many people who were new to birding. We walked a total of 1.39 miles around the tree farm checking for birds and nature in forests, along creeks, ponds, and a few open spaces. The group was met with a nice morning that was mostly clear with some wind. The temperature was 49 degrees at the start and 59 degrees at the end of the bird walk. The bird activity was fair overall with a total of 30 species identified (seen and/or heard).
                                                              
The highlights were as follows:
 

• We saw a Western Kingbird near the upper portion of the walk. The kingbird was at the top of a tree. This was a first of the year bird for most of the group.
• Other first of the year birds for many were a Western Wood-Pewee and several Swainson’s Thrush.
• A Hutton’s Vireo was heard singing in a tree. We also heard several Warbling Vireos.
• Near the house most of the group got to see a House Wren singing its beautiful song.
• The only warblers observed were the Hermit Warbler (4), Black-throated Gray Warbler (4) and the Wilson’s Warbler (9). All the warblers were singing.
• Near the ponds we saw four different swallow species including Tree, Violet-green, Cliff and Barn Swallows. We had a nice discussion on identifying the various swallows. There were also numerous Red-winged Blackbirds and a couple of Black Phoebes around the ponds.
• While walking along the trails we had a lot of Evening Grosbeaks flying over us. Many times, we heard their whistling call. Quite a few Band-tailed Pigeons flew over us too.
• We missed many species including finches, nuthatches, hummingbirds, and Black-capped Chickadee.

 
There will be some more LWC bird walks in the summer or early fall. In the meantime, Salem Audubon offers several bird walks each month. Just go to their website at salemaudubon.org and look under the “Events” tab.
 
Mike Unger
Keizer, OR
 
Luckiamute Watershed Council Checklist Summary for May 21, 2022


Identified Species: 30

Checklist (see link to checklist below):
J2E Tree Farm on May 21, 2022 @ 8:07 AM

8 Band-tailed Pigeon
1 Mourning Dove
1 Turkey Vulture
1 Western Wood-Pewee
3 Pacific-slope Flycatcher
2 Black Phoebe
1 Western Kingbird
1 Hutton's Vireo
5 Warbling Vireo
1 American Crow
1 Common Raven
1 Chestnut-backed Chickadee
7 Tree Swallow
4 Violet-green Swallow
2 Barn Swallow
22 Cliff Swallow
2 House Wren
1 Pacific Wren
1 Bewick's Wren
3 Swainson's Thrush
5 American Robin
12 Evening Grosbeak
1 Song Sparrow
2 Spotted Towhee
25 Red-winged Blackbird
4 Black-throated Gray Warbler
4 Hermit Warbler
9 Wilson's Warbler
1 Western Tanager
2 Black-headed Grosbeak
 
Checklist Link: https://ebird.org/checklist/S110872105
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A special thank you to Benton Soil & Water Conservation District for providing funding that made this event free of charge to all participants!