Ahead of the multi-acre wetland restoration project at the 78th Street Heritage Farm in Hazel Dell, I conducted a brief bird survey to identify which avians utilize the project area and the farm surrounding it.
In just an hour on Wednesday, June 25, I was able to identify 16 native bird species at Clark County’s 78th Street Heritage Farm, more than I had expected for the later half of June. There were also the two usual suspects for invasive bird species present at the site, which is to be expected in the urban setting. The European starling was abundant and had dozens of juvenile-aged birds among the flock. The invasive house sparrow was also spotted several times.
During my time walking through the project area on June 25, it was obvious that there was a lack of water needed to support the headwaters of a small creek.
Around the property, American robins were gathering food in a manner to feed their young, as well as multiple killdeer, a common shorebird, expressing nesting behavior.
I was able to document half a dozen song sparrows along the ditch of the property. On nearby overhead powerlines was a pair of barn swallows and a pair of mourning doves. Flying around the property was a great egret, three red-tailed hawks and five American goldfinches — the state bird of Washington. A male white-crowned sparrow stopped to sing its song in the community farm portion.
A total of two great blue herons were spotted on the property. Based on other locations in Clark County, the frequency and quantity of species such as the great egret and herons will increase with a larger wetland habitat.
A northern flicker also made an overhead appearance flying across the property. What I thought was the most interesting find was a group of four California scrub jays making a flocking call while foraging for food in a spot on the property that was rich with native plants such as Oregon grapes varieties, Pacific ninebark and other endemic shrub species.
The wetland restoration project seeks to create a series of shallow “wet cells” to restore the natural headwaters of Cougar Creek along the existing ditch, the project overview states. The headwater wetland for Cougar Creek, a sub-watershed of the Salmon Creek watershed, occurs in the wetland project’s area. The county plans include seeding native grasses, rushes, sedges and herbaceous perennials. The project also includes planting 3,000 trees and shrubs that are endemic to the area.
The project overview states that expected benefits will increase groundwater, enhance summer streamflow, improve water quality and reduce the summer temperature of the water. All the expected benefits for Cougar Creek will also translate into further benefits to Salmon Creek, the county states. The project is expected to cost a little over $4.2 million dollars with the project funding receiving grants and low-interest loans.
