Cornfield Sauvie

“At 15 miles long and 4 miles wide, Sauvie Island is the largest island in the Columbia River and a main stopping point for migratory birds as they travel along the Pacific Flyway between Alaska and South America. In the winter months the island hosts more than 150,000 waterfowl, including several species of ducks, geese and swans.

Almost half of the island’s 26,000 acres are owned by the State of Oregon, which purchased the land in the 1940s largely through funding from a federal tax on arms and ammunition. These lands were subsequently designated as a state wildlife area by the Oregon Legislature and placed under management of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW).
An important component of ODFWs management plan is a waterfowl hunting program that provides unparalleled recreational opportunities to thousands of hunters each fall and winter.”
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Dried corn in these cornfields provides sustenance for the wild bird population on the Island. I could hear the distant popping of gunfire as I stood next to this cornfield.