Ankeny NWR, Dallas, Oregon: Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge is one of three northwest Oregon refuges set aside in the mid-1960s to protect the declining population of dusky Canada geese. The entire population of duskies winter here and at the other two refuges in Oregon’s fertile Willamette Valley, along with some 50,000 Taverner’s Canada geese. Common sights at this refuge are such interesting birds as band-tailed pigeons, Steller’s jays, California quail, bushtits, scrub jays, killdeer, ruffed grouse, great blue herons, and kestrels. Seasonally, you’ll find tundra swans, lazuli buntings, yellow-breasted chats, orange-crowned warblers, and black-headed grosbeaks. Black-tailed deer and coyotes are numerous around the refuge. The same conditions that provide for the abundance of wildlife here attracted pioneers on the Oregon Trail, making this area the western terminus of their trek from Missouri. Hiking and auto-touring are popular activities at this refuge, although most of Ankeny is closed November 1-April 15 to protect the geese.
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