William L. Finley NWR

I heard about the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, and knew we just had to see it!  Canada geese...ho hum...  Canada geese by the tens of thousands?  Wow!   And when they periodically decide, for reasons best known to themselves, that most of them really must relocate... the sound of their wings is positively deafening.  The refuge is located about 12 miles south of Corvallis, which proved to have a charming downtown. We brought friends along to make the drive thoroughly worthwhile, and we were all suitably impressed by the winter spectacle.  At first we drove around the refuge checking out the sights and hoping in vain to see lots of birds.  Much of the trails are naturally closed in winter so that the overwintering birds are not disturbed, and we could not really get close to the few we saw.  We were pleasantly surprised to see a herd of grazing Roosevelt elk.  Then  as we made our way out of the refuge, we were driving along Bruce Rd. and found goose heaven.  We also got to see several elegant great blue heron, a glimpse or two of a very large beaver, and a beautiful cloud of swans disappearing over the trees.  But of course it was the geese that stole the show.

Mallards.

Oak galls.

Roosevelt elk.

Canada geese.

Swans.

Great blue heron.

Canada geese.

Canada geese.