Ankeny Hill National Wildlife Refuge

Each Fall, waterfowl migrate to the Willamette Valley to winter. One of the more spectacular sights that one can see are the large flocks of Canada Geese. There are seven subspecies that call Oregon their winter home including the Dusky Canada goose - one of the most threatened waterfowl species in the world. These geese nest exclusively in the Copper River Delta of Alaska and winter exclusively in the Willamette Valley. Three refuges are set aside to help protect these geese - William Finley, Basket Slough and Ankeny Hill (pictured). I regularly visit these refuges to gather reference for my paintings and this morning I was fortunate to be able to see an increasing number of waterfowl (due to our recent storms and cold weather) including this flock of Canada geese coming in.

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