A Brant gooose surrounded by Canada geese on a Cedar Mill pond, January 2010 Photo by Jeff Young

The Birds of Cedar Mill
Winter visitors
by Lauretta Young

Winter brings many birds to our area that we see only briefly. The Brant goose seen in the accompanying picture settled in Cedar Mill on January 23 for about a one-hour rest period before resuming its flight back to breeding grounds in Alaska. The Brant is rarely seen in the Willamette Valley and occasionally seen at the coast. But in the 25-plus years I have been bird watching in Cedar Mill I have certainly never seen one.

Over the past few weeks I have heard migrating tundra swans overhead and ran out to see them. Often they are low enough one can see the details of neck length and beak color! Other times, winter birds come closer, as in the swarms of juncos mobbing the bird feeder in my yard or the yellow rumped warblers flitting around the suet—they almost hover as if they were humming birds! But their large size gives them away as warblers. Soon they too will leave our area to go north to breed and feast on the millions of hatching insects in the Alaskan summers.

The key to seeing these fleeting migrants is to listen for new sounds and then look out! If you are lucky enough to be by a window or be outside it’s a special treat for those who are observant.

Soon the summer birds will be back in our area, making nests, singing for territory and eating all they can to get fat to make eggs and sit on them for a while! Spring really is coming—from the chives bursting through my garden soil to the just-appearing young dandelions in the grass—to the migrating geese and swans!

Lauretta Young lives in Cedar Mill and runs Portland Birdwatching Experiences.

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