Good numbers of waterfowl staging in the basin. Should be around for about 3 more weeks and then they'll move out.

At least a dozen or so Ross's geese. Had about 5 similar flocks in the general neighborhood.


Keeps ones mouth closed when they do an overhead pass. Poop missed the truck on this run.
Starting on the left with the steel post and counting over to fence post 8, there is a blue phase Ross on the ground just left of that post. Only one in the that flock.


A blue phase Ross that looked to be the sole example among several thousand today.


A few swans still around.


And finally a widgeon willing to pose. Don't seem to let one do a close approach very often. I need one of these for fly tying purposes.


Have a good one,

Big thumbs up to Cookie again.

Not waterfowl, but thought I'd toss him in.

Meadowlark. About the only bird one can hear doing 70mph with the windows up.

nice kudos to cookie, love the meadowlark songs.

Cookie sure can make nice pictures !

Didn't know Oregon had Swamps

Fantastic pics. Always like seeing them.

My favorite bird because of it's melodic call.

When we were kids out camping, we found out they, along with killdeer, robins and such, eat pretty good too.

One, how do those swans taste?

Great pictures as always. Thanks for posting

great pics thanks

Nice pics.

Not a blue Ross Goose.

It has the grinning patch on its bill, so it is blue snow goose.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snow_Goose/media-browser/478931

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rosss_Goose/id


I only noticed it because I was teaching Hunter Education tonight and went through waterfowl ID.

The grinning patch is the space between upper and lower bill. Ross does not have it. Snow goose does.

I'll be in that area next week Hope everything is still around.

And yes, that part of Oregon has more swamp than they know what to do with other than make a world renowned bird preserve out of it.

Is that a grinning patch or the goose currently having its squeal maker open? Looks like Cookie snapped the pic while it was talking.

Don't know as we can't shoot them here. Fair game though in Nevada and Utah if memory is correct. I'd like to bag one mostly for fly tying purposes, but would put some on the plate as well if the opportunity arose.



Beg to differ and think I'm correct on this one.
Went through this a couple weeks back with some images in the waterfowl section where I was indeed wrong. I think the perception is due to its open beak. Note the Ross bill is the same length as it's neighboring partners and carries the mildly warty texture near its base.

Image below is a blue snow. Much larger bill/body, looks to have a more substantial gap or the appearance of having lips and lacking the warty character. Also, white further down the neck on the snow and no streak up to the top of its head like the Ross.


Here's the image I mislabeled as a Snow a week or two back. Actually a Ross.

Thanks for posting the pics!
Love the widgeon

Great photos.

Great pics !!!

Cool photos

Boy howdy, Cookie is quite the photographer to get that pic of the meadowlark while you were doing 70 with the windows up 😀.

My wife and I moved in with my mom on Easter. She lives between Vale and Ontario in Eastern Oregon. We will be here while I continue to look for work. I have been doing some birding locally in between doing chores for my mom and looking for work.

There is a wetland about a mile away as well as the Malheur River. Also in Ontario there is a park called Beck Kiwanis that has some ponds and reeds. It has been fun birding a new area. My mom has lived here since 1987 or so and I have visited many times but had not really done much birding here in the past.

Yesterday in her back yard I saw my first of the year warbler (a yellow-rumped) and ruby-crowned kinglet. I have added 2 birds to my life list in the past week, a Swainson's Hawk and a Cinnamon Teal.

Not going to argue, I'm no waterfowl expert. It looked like a grinning patch to me.