The New Westmoreland

I had yet to  visit the new version of Westmoreland Park in SE Portland since work was completed on a major renovation to enhance salmon in the area.  The grand reopening was on October 25th, 2014.  I was wondering if it was still a good spot for gulls and waterfowl.  

I think I am standing out in what was once the pond in this shot.  I am looking south. They have built a few walkways across the stream/marsh area.

Here is a shot from the middle of the old pond out towards the railroad and Hwy 99E.

Looking north , I am out in the old pond again.  The big evergreen tree was once at the edge of the pond and was a spot were folks gathered to feed the gulls and ducks.

Another view looking south a bit closer to the play area than where I was in the shots above. The small bridge in the upper center is the same one that was there before.

As far as birdlife went, I saw just two gulls.  A few ducks were in the stream but not nearly as many as before.  The large flock of American Wigeon that grazed the lawns was

 not to be seen. Not sure if they were gone for the day or had not returned since the renovation. There were Yellow-rumps working the stream and chickadees in the area as well.

I met Jen and her two dog pals out at the park, she was scouting for her upcoming TGC (Taken For Granted Challenge)  tomorrow.  The TGC Rematch..very fun idea..anyway she mentioned a Cooper's Hawk having lunch so I walked over and took a peek.

The flocks of geese are still hanging around...

In the stream itself they have added a lot of structural items like downed trees to help with the fish habitat. This Great Blue Heron was sitting on a log in the stream.  The large square cement pool structure is still at south end of park, it had low water levels. There were about 6 Killdeer resting on a mud area there.  Might be worth keeping an eye on for other shorebirds?  The water level was low enough that geese were walking in it.

There were a few Mallards, American Wigeons, and Hooded Mergansers in the channels. Above are the wigeons and a pair of mergansers.

After not seeing any large numbers of ducks and no gulls except a Glaucous-winged Gull when I got there, I went over to the Crystal Gardens and snapped a few shots.

Name the headless duck..

Enjoy your weekend!