[Tweeters] Clark County goose and crane extravaganza

[Jim Danzenbaker]

Hi Tweeters,

Just for starters, this report is not a rarity report - it's a report of
some totally fun birding that I did at Frenchman's Bar Park on the
western edge of the Vancouver Lowlands in Clark County this morning.  I
arrived at 7:30 in the hopes of witnessing the beginning of the goose and
crane commute from Sauvie Island, Oregon (to the west of the Columbia
River) to the Columbia Land Trust property to the south and east of
Frenchman's Bar Park.  I wasn't disappointed.  In the roughly two hours
that I was there counting geese and cranes, I saw about 14,162 Snow Geese
and a final tally of 1,822 Sandhill Cranes.  The cacophony of sound was
wonderful!  It more than satisfied my need for spectacle (biomass) birding.

Afterwards, I pointed my bins closer to the bushes and found a huge flock
of zonotrichia sparrows and juncos that held 3 White-throated Sparrows and
a surprise immature Wilson's Warbler.  All this fun made me almost forget
that it was drizzling or heavier all the time while I was there.  Another
soggy day in paradise!

Here's the ebird report with location information.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S158097768

The park gate opens at 7 am and there's an entrance fee.  Best to view this
area on a non-hunt day which, right now, is Tuesday and Thursday.  Don't
know about the weekend.  Best viewing is from the picnic table shelter at
the south end of the road.  Cranes will fly over often within 50 feet.

Since I was keeping my eyes and ears skyward, I am now recovering.

Jim
-- 
Jim Danzenbaker
Battle Ground, WA
360-702-9395
jdanzenbaker at gmail.com
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