[obol] Marion County Black-tern. Stilt Sandpiper gone.

[Roy Gerig]

I went to look for the Stilt Sandpiper that was at the Mill Creek Property 2 miles east of Turner May 29-30 this evening and could not find it.  But to takes its place there was a BLACK TERN flying with the many CLIFF, BARN, TREE, and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS over the 10 acres of water there.
 
The wetland restoration was terraformed (dikes built, scrapes made, fish ladder in) less than a year ago in Sept.-Oct. 2007 in what was a nearly featureless 120 acre almost flat field with the only features being a 3 foot wide irrigation ditch running straight through the middle of it, and one lone small willow in almost the exact center of the property.  
 
Already this year, on monthly visits plus a couple of extra visits the past few day, the following species (good Marion County birds in all caps) have been recorded, since February 9.  Common and widespread species are not included in this list:
 
(Long aside) I skipped January due to duck hunters being all over the place, and I don't interfere with their hunting.  As of November 2007, this is a padlocked hunting club with no public access. It represents the price we pay to have wetland habitat restored in the Willamette Valley.  It works this way: taxpayer money pays for the development of the wetland, sites that were wetlands prior to the 1940's-1950's when much of this land in the WV was tiled and drained, and we pay the landowner approximately 2/3 to 3/4 of the value of the land for a 99 year easement, the landowner gets to keep the land and form a hunting club on what was very marginal farmland (too wet) to begin with, and he can still farm 10% of it.  Even though we all bought an easement, you and I can't enter the property as I understand it unless you are with Fish and Wildlife, one of the cooperators in these ventures.  Otherwise you'd have to join the hunting club.  I don't know if this type of project was invented by the Bush administration, but they have flourished in the past 7 years.  It kind of fits.  I'm just saying, is all.
 
Feb. 9, 2008 
1 BLACK-SHOULDERED KITE
1 MERLIN
1 NORTHERN SHRIKE
20 WESTERN MEADOWLARK
 
Mar. 9, 2008
10 Greater Yellowlegs
15 Long-billed Dowitcher
60 Dunlin
1 NORTHERN SHRIKE
25 WEME
 
April 12, 2008
Fresh owl pellets, where I saw SHORT EARED OWLS twice in 2006-7
1 Gadwall
Least Sandpiper, GRYE, LBDO, Osprey
 
May 10, 2008
1 Tundra Swan (late)
5 Cinnamon Teal, 2 Gadwall
15 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER
2 Spotted Sandpiper
1 SOLITARY SANDPIPER
 
May 29, 2008
8 BLUE-WINGED TEAL
14 Cinnamon Teal
4 Gadwall
1 Virginia Rail
10 WILSON'S PHALAROPE
1 STILT SANDPIPER (still there on 5/30)
3 Spotted Sandpiper
 
Today
1 BLACK TERN
1 Greater Yellowlegs
2 Osprey, plus all of the above except no STSA
 
I saw a SNOW BUNTING on the property in winter 2005-6, and I've seen WESTERN KINGBIRD there 3 times, and, nothing to do with the property, I saw a BLACK SWIFT fly over during a time in late summer 2005 when BLSW were being reported regularly on OBOL.
 
Roy Gerig, Salem OR
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