Come join us from 9am-3pm to help clean up the trails at the Great Marsh. Please bring work gloves and any tools you might have (clippers, weed wackers, chainsaws, etc.). Snacks and drinks will be provided.

Any questions contact Lori Moore
Call/Text 503-544-3868
Email greatmarshinstitute@gmail.com

The summer season is over and we are now in full swing with fall migration. We had three walks this season with one each in June, July and August. We had a total of 68 species observed including a Little Blue Heron which was a new bird for the property.

Our June walk has held on Sunday the second. June traditionally is a point where most of the species seen can be assumed to be breeding in the area. We took the group into the woodlands above the marsh. A group of five recorded fifty-one species over a three-and-a-half-hour period covering roughly five miles. Highlights included: Bald Eagle, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Great-crested Flycatcher, Veery, and Scarlet Tanager among the GMI regulars.

The July walk took place on Sunday the twenty-eighth. A group of seven spent close to four hours covering a little over three miles. While the birds were starting to “quiet down”, we managed to observe fifty species. The biggest highlight was a Juvenile Little Blue Heron, a first for the property. The group was able to get great looks as it perched on some dead snags in the marsh. Late July into August is when Herons and Egrets disperse from nesting sites into the surrounding areas. Other highlights included: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, plenty of Green Herons, Willow Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Swamp Sparrow, and Indigo Bunting.

Things slowed down in August as most species have finished breeding activities and males are no longer actively singing for mates or vigorously defending territories. Birding at this time of year becomes a mainly “site-only” activity and some species can be difficult to detect without an audible hint. A group of six spent about three hours in the heat on Sunday, August eighteenth and covered about three miles. We managed to view forty-three species. Highlights include: Wood Duck, multiple Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, a pair of Cooper’s Hawks, Eastern Wood-pewee, Yellow-throated Vireo, Cedar Waxwing, and Baltimore and Orchard Orioles.

As mentioned at the beginning, we are now entering fall migration and the number of species will start to increase again. Our next walk is scheduled for Sunday, September twenty-second at 7:00AM.

See you out there!  

Photo courtesy of Jim Moffett