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The following comments apply to a few of the birds known to use Seavy Meadows, the area within Corvallis city limits, east of the railroad tracks and north of Seavy Avenue, extending to Stewart Sough, but exclusive of occupied dwellings, their yards, and paved surfaces.
Raptors such as Red-tailed Hawks are often seen perched in taller trees around the edges watching for Townsend's voles, deer mice or other small creatures in the meadow. American Kestrels hunt regularly through the area and catch voles, mice, or large insects. On one occasion a Merlin, uncommon in the Willamette Valley, was perched atop a large cottonwood tree along Sequoia Creek west of the railroad tracks.
Ring-necked Pheasants are sometimes seen and more frequently heard especially in the early spring. Through the years Seavy Meadow has been a fairly dependable spot to find Common Snipe on the annual Corvallis Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Numbers have varied from year to year but on at least three occasions counts of 20 or more have been found. In December 1997, an all time high of 58 snipe was recorded from this area. It is outstanding habitat for these birds during the wet season. Common Snipe breed in wet meadows and shallow marshes. Because it feeds by probing saturated soil with its bill, it is normally restricted to areas with very damp or slightly submerged soils (Atlas of Oregon Wildlife, 1997, Blair Csuti et al., p. 146).
Numerous American Flickers, notorious around feeders, forage for worms and insects in the short grass year round, as do American Robins. Several species of swallows – Tree, Violet-green, Cliff, and Barn – are attracted by the hordes of flying insects associated with wet areas. These birds fly over the meadow feeding from daylight to dark in the Spring and Summer, consuming countless insects.
Western Scrub Jays may be found along the meadow edges in shrubs and small trees. American Crows, common year round transients, are mostly seen flying overhead or perched in taller trees where available, as are the ubiquitous European Starlings.
Northern Shrike, uncommon winter residents in the Willamette
Valley, are occasionally seen hunting for insects or small birds
from available perches in and around the meadow.
Dark-eyed "Oregon" Juncos, plus Song, Golden-crowned,
and occasionally White-crowned or Fox Sparrows, inhabit brushy
borders or blackberry tangles.
Western Meadowlarks, Oregon's State Bird, are often heard there and have been found on Christmas bird counts. Because of its steady decline, this bird is included on Oregon's Sensitive Species List (Dec. 1997) as Critical: "A species for which listing as threatened or endangered may be appropriate for the Willamette Valley if immediate conservation actions are not taken."