For the August third Saturday Bird Walk, about a dozen folks decided to meet at 7 a.m. rather than the usual 8:30 a.m., due to high temperatures in the forecast. We walked out onto the mudflats and met several other birders in pursuit of a Buff-breasted Sandpiper, which was found! This, in addition to Baird’s Sandpiper, about 16 Caspian Terns, Marbled Godwit, and several other species of shorebird made for a satisfying morning.
Mornings such as this are not hard to come by at Fern Ridge, even in the slower birding months such as July, August, and early September.
Fern Ridge is the favored spot of many local birders due to its varying habitat, which provides views of common, uncommon, and rare species. Late summer walks show such varied species as Song Sparrow, Willow Flycatcher, American White Pelican, Black Tern, Bonaparte’s Gull, Virginia Rail, Cinnamon Teal, Pectoral Sandpiper, and even the occasional Rough-legged Hawk, Common Grackle, and Ruff!
The land, owned by the Corps of Engineers and managed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, boasts a species total of well over 250. In my few years of birding, I have identified at least 137 of those. If Fern Ridge isn’t yet one of your go-to spots, it ought to be.
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For the complete species list for this walk, see the Lane Audubon Facebook posting on August 20 at facebook.com/pages/Lane-County-Audubon-Society/330177413824
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By Rebecca Waterman
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