Wetland Wander to the BLM See-sil Area
Fifteen explorers met at the parking lot at the end of Royal Avenue May 14th to explore the BLM's See-sil area. Before we even left the parking lot we were treated to the appearance of an American Bittern, a shy bird more often heard than seen. The tall, yellow-legged bird went into its "oh, I'm just some stalks of grass" appearance, stretching its head high and pointing its beak upward, but soon walked cautiously along the edge of the road next to a swampy area, then disappeared over the bank. The arrival of a car startled the bird and it flew. Also at the parking lot was a flock of bright yellow goldfinches, one minute posing on the fence in a row, the next busily gathering seeds in the tall grasses.
We walked down the road a short distance and then out into the fields where the City of Eugene's Restoration Ecologist, Emily Steele, pointed out a variety of native plants including popcorn flowers, buttercups, disappointing buttercups (very tiny flowers on a big plant), and camus, which was nearly past.
Near the edge of the field we had a great opportunity to view and compare the Oregon White Oak and some nearby black oaks. We were awestruck by one particularly large white oak with massive lower branches. We also viewed an area where the oaks were actually growing too densely so some have been removed in a habitat restoration effort. This will allow allow the remaining oaks a chance to grow more normally.
Birds seen on the trip included the bittern, goldfinches, red-tailed hawk, Savannah sparrow, tree swallows (there are bird houses for them), and a meadowlark. There were the classic signs of acorn woodpeckers (a large dead branch with holes in it and an occasional acorn still plugged into the holes) but we didn't see any of the birds. Near a row of blackberries and other shrubs, at least three rabbits (who knows with rabbits!) ran quickly from grass to shrub hideaways. And as we arrived back at the parking area two white pelicans were soaring above us on rising thermals.
