Birdingonthe.Net Recent Postings from The Oregon Birding List > Home > Mail > Alerts Updated on Thursday, March 18 at 03:17 PM ET The most recently received Mail is at the top.	Pitta-like Ground-roller,©Tony Disley

18 Mar Troutdale WRENTIT (only one seen) [j hayes ] 18 Mar Crooked River Ranch Birders' Meeting [Kevin Smith ] 18 Mar Common Merganser's Westmoreland ["Martha taylor & Chris Bennett" ] 18 Mar Lesser Canada Geese on the Move [] 17 Mar Winnowing Snipe and Hummingbird Displays ["Jeff Harding" ] 17 Mar Washington Tufted Duck ["Wayne Hoffman" ] 17 Mar GH Owl chicks at Vanport [Bill Bradford ] 17 Mar Pittock, NW Portland, week ending 03/17/10 [Wink Gross ] 17 Mar Wrentit thread [Norgren Family ] 17 Mar Turkey Vulture over N.W. Portland [] 17 Mar Cent Or Wednesday birders to Redmond Sewage Ponds and Lower Bridge ["Judy Meredith" ] 17 Mar Re: Troutdale Wrentits [Norgren Family ] 17 Mar Eugene Wed morning ["Larry McQueen" ] 17 Mar Troutdale Wrentits - video and photos [Diana Byrne ] 17 Mar Ft Rock/Summer Lake joint LCAS/ECAS Field trip March 12/13/14 [Leila Snow ] 17 Mar TVs and more [Bob Fish ] 17 Mar swallows Tualatin River NWR ["Thomas Love" ] 16 Mar Highlights from the Winter Wings Festival in Klamath Falls [David Hewitt ] 16 Mar Troutdale Wrentits ["Paul T. Sullivan" ] 16 Mar Crook County Tree Swallows ["Charles Gates" ] 16 Mar Re: Hummingbirds [Roy Lowe ] 16 Mar RFI Wallowas and Osprey in Portland ["m_scatt AT yahoo.com" ] 16 Mar klamath birding 13-15 Mar [Eric Horvath ] 16 Mar Bald Eagle, Yamhill Co ["pamela johnston" ] 16 Mar Re: Eugene odd Mallard Hybrid(?) [Dan Gleason ] 16 Mar Eugene odd Mallard Hybrid(?) ["Roy McCormick" ] 16 Mar Cape Mears [Barbara and John Woodhouse ] 16 Mar Hermit Thrush...singing ["Dennis Vroman" ] 15 Mar Re: Hummingbirds [Brandon Green ] 15 Mar Jackson Bottoms ["Margaret" ] 15 Mar Re: Lesser Goldfinch (NE PDX) [Bill Bradford ] 15 Mar Christmas Valley Raptor Survey ["Kim Boddie" ] 15 Mar Christmas Valley Raptor Survey ["Kim Boddie" ] 15 Mar Summer Lake - Wagontire Raptor Survey ["Kim Boddie" ] 15 Mar Summer Lake - Wagontire Raptor Survey ["Kim Boddie" ] 15 Mar Feb. Lincoln Co. Bird Notes Received Through 2/28 [Range Bayer ] 15 Mar Hummingbirds [Barbara and John Woodhouse ] 15 Mar Western bluebirds [Tristen ] 15 Mar Free Jackson Bottom Bird Walk this Wednesday [Greg Gillson ] 15 Mar Lincoln Co. Brown Pelican Update--Many Have Not Left [Range Bayer ] 15 Mar 4th north Grants Pass raptor survey ["Dennis Vroman" ] 15 Mar Brown Pelicans Definately Back ["HARVEY W SCHUBOTHE " ] 15 Mar Red-breasted Sapsuckers [j hayes ] 15 Mar Brown Pelicans return ["HARVEY W SCHUBOTHE " ] 15 Mar Western meadowlarks have a lovely but vanishing song ["sheila" ] 15 Mar Re: Hummingbirds [rfilby ] 15 Mar Re: Hummingbirds ["HARVEY W SCHUBOTHE " ] 15 Mar Re: Hummingbirds ["HARVEY W SCHUBOTHE " ] 15 Mar Hummingbirds [DJ Lauten and KACastelein ] 15 Mar Re: Lesser Goldfinch (NE PDX) [A Duston ] 15 Mar Lesser Goldfinches [Ray Korpi ] 15 Mar Lessers in Portland ["pamela johnston" ] 15 Mar Lesser Goldfinch [Norgren Family ] 15 Mar Re: Mult. WRENTIT [Norgren Family ] 14 Mar Re: Of Wrentits and Lesser Goldfinches ["Tim Janzen" ] 14 Mar Of Wrentits and Lesser Goldfinches ["David C. Bailey" ] 14 Mar Rufous Hummingbird, Yamhill Co ["pamela johnston" ] 14 Mar Re: Lesser Goldfinch (NE PDX) [Jeff Gilligan ] 14 Mar Request: Information on Sandhill Crane Breeding Locations in Malheur County [Chad August ] 14 Mar Pileated Woodpecker000 [james wwilson ] 15 Mar Golden Eagle in Northeast Portland??? [] 15 Mar Garden Birds/Rufous Hummingbirds [] 14 Mar Re: Lesser Goldfinch (NE PDX) ["Tim Janzen" ] 14 Mar Re: Lesser Goldfinch (NE PDX) [Patty Newland ] 14 Mar Lesser Goldfinch (NE PDX) [] 14 Mar Wrentit in Multnomah [] 14 Mar Catherine Creek Sunday March 14 [kathykrall ] 14 Mar Mult County Wrentit photo [Andy Frank ] 14 Mar Re: Mult. WRENTIT [Jeff Gilligan ] 14 Mar Mult. WRENTIT [] 14 Mar Fwd: RBA GYRFALCON Florence [Daniel Farrar ] 14 Mar RBA GYRFALCON Florence [Alan Contreras ] 14 Mar Tillamook Scrub Jay [Barbara and John Woodhouse ] 14 Mar Out and About in Yamhill Co. Birding March 13, 2010 ["Carol Karlen" ] 14 Mar Raptor Route: Lane Unit 2 [] 15 Mar Adventures from Australia (Blog) [Noah Strycker ] Subject: Troutdale WRENTIT (only one seen) From: j hayes <bigburd_jh AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:17:12 -0700 (PDT) Hello, Obolers. On Wed. March 17 I went out to the SandyRiver to hunt for the wily Wrentits. Anybody who goes out there, please note: the bottoms on the west side of the Sandy are choked with Himalayan blackberry and Scots broom (invasive species), providing 10-20 acres of potential Wrentit habitat. That said, John Fitchen's directions proved to be spot-on. I had no problem finding the location. As soon as I got onto the dirt path, however: trouble. Someone was exercising his FOUR dogs, right there. I walked all the way down to the river and waited for birdlife to recover from the canine incursion. About 300 yards down the river (north) is another path that cuts back toward the dike, leading through more blackberry after passing a thin strip of riparian cottonwoods and alders with some Snowberry and willows - ideal for brush-loving birds. I pished and tooted, but birds were fairly quiet, save for yodeling Flickers. After 45 minutes or so, I made my way back to the Wrentit area, and briefly saw one WRENTIT perched on the edge of a huge patch of blackberry with many dormant stems (sprayed?) I saw the pale eye with dark pupil, long floppy tail and overall non-sparrow appearance. The bird was completely silent, not uttering even the "purring" alarm call. I stayed for 15 minutes st this location and never saw it again. Then comes someone with count 'em NINE DOGS on a mission from God to disrupt my birding experience. I left. Not once did I hear a Wrentit song or vocalization of any kind during the 2 hours that I was there. There were surprisingly few sparrows - only 5 Song Sparrows. Bewick's Wrens occupy the area, sticking close to the cottonwoods and alders. I saw two (and only two) Bushtits there, and a smattering of other birds, including my FOS RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD displaying and three VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS. For fun, I'll post a list in a separate post, via Birdnotes.net. Happy hunting, Jeff Hayes Portland OR _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Crooked River Ranch Birders' Meeting From: Kevin Smith <kevinsmithnaturephotos AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:39:33 -0700 I want to thank all the birders who showed up last night and especially the photographers who brought some REALLY GREAT shots! We all learned a BUNCH about the birds we have here at Crooked River Ranch. Where else does someone have a GOLDEN EAGLE for a FEEDER BIRD! I want to encourage ALL of you to bring your bird shots to our next meeting April 21st. Kevin Smith -- Kevin Smith Crooked River Ranch, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: kevinsmithnaturephotos.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 107 bytes Desc: not available URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Common Merganser's Westmoreland From: "Martha taylor & Chris Bennett" <tayben AT teleport.com> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:03:57 -0700 Yesterday their was a pair of Common Merganser's at Westmoreland Park about noon they were working the stream just south of Bybee before the main pond. Then in the afternoon they were in the main pond. Chris -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Lesser Canada Geese on the Move From: Bigrocketman AT comcast.net Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:12:11 +0000 (UTC) This morning at about 1:00 am, I heard the pleasing calls of a fairly large flock of Lesser Canada Geese, passing northward over the Willamette River near Clearwater Park, probably in migration. I very seldom encounter any of this subspecies in this area, as they mostly stay farther east when they migrate. I've seen only a few individuals and one flock of them on the ground around here, in the Upper Willamette Valley, in recent years. Steve McDonald http://flickr.com/photos/22121562 AT N00/ http://www.vimeo.com/user458315/videos http://video.yahoo.com/people/4019627 http://cid-229807ce52dd4fe0.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Video?uc=2 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Winnowing Snipe and Hummingbird Displays From: "Jeff Harding" <jeffharding AT centurytel.net> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:06:50 -0700 As I left for work this morning at 6:40 am, I heard my first-of-season winnowing Wilson's Snipe, in the air over the Beaver Creek bottomlands south of Crabtree, Linn County. Perhaps they were displaying last week, but the time change put my departure back in the pre-dawn hour. Then this evening I stepped out on the deck at about 7:00, and was greeted by a Rufous Hummingbird in a courtship display. Both male and female visited the feeder off and on for the next 20 minutes or so. The archive is a very convenient way to see these posts - I think the link is at the bottom of each of these notes. Anyway, it's easy enough to type in www.oregonbirds.org , then click on OBOL, then on OBOL archives in the next screen. Good Birding, Jeff -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Washington Tufted Duck From: "Wayne Hoffman" <whoffman AT peak.org> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:57:10 -0700 I have just returned from a few days attending a meeting in Hood River. While in the area, I spent quite a bit of time studying the Tufted Duck that was foound a week or so earlier at Drano Lake, on the Washington side of the Columbia. Drano Lake is one of the numerous Columbia River reservoir backwaters, cut off by fills for railroads and highways. It is located along Washington Hwy 14, from mm57 - mm58, several miles east of Stevenson. The duck is an adult drake in striking plumage. The back is very black, and the flanks bright white, distinctly whiter than the flanks of adjacent scaup; enough so, that I could pick it out at great distances by the difference in "whiteness." It has a nice long tuft, which is fairly lax, so that at least half of the time it lies indistinguishably against the back of the head. The tuft showed separately in about 40% of my photos. Overall, but particularly when the tuft was lying against the skull, the bird looked larger-headed and skinnier-necked than the nearby scaups and Ring-necks. There were 10 species total of ducks on Drano Lake, eight of which were divers: Mallard American Wigeon Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Tufted Duck Ring-necked Duck Common Goldeneye Barrow's Goldeneye Bufflehead Common Merganser Hooded Merganser Other birds of interest in the Gorge included Lewis's Woodpeckers Say's Phoebes Bald Eagle - 6 1 late (?) Rough-legged Hawk Glaucous-winged Gulls (3 adults) 5 Turkey Vultures in a group, appeared to be traveling Rock Wrens singing Wayne -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: GH Owl chicks at Vanport From: Bill Bradford <billbradford1 AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:13:46 -0700 Two baby GREAT HORNED OWLS are now visible with an adult in the nest at Vanport Wetlands. They are most easily seen from the gravel parking on the road that runs between the golf course and the woods on the back side of the fenced off woods. This road is generally closed off with gates, but it's an easy walk from either parking at Force Lake or at the dog park field close to the Portland International Raceway entrance. I'm always uncertain about whether I should post something about baby owls, for fear they might be disturbed at the time when they still can't fly, but this area is inaccessible by humans or dogs because of the fence, yet easily visible. The owls don't seem too upset by the dogs and humans walking by. The crows are their biggest concern right now and the visible parent seems to be taking good care of the chicks. The juvenile GH OWL at Whitaker Ponds is doing well on its own now. It's often visible on the north side of the first pond. It still has a little down on the front, but the wings look gray-brown like an adult. Bill Bradford NE Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Pittock, NW Portland, week ending 03/17/10 From: Wink Gross <winkg AT hevanet.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:09:37 -0700 Here is the summary of my morning dogwalks from NW Seblar Terrace to the Pittock Mansion for the week 03/11/10 to 03/17/10. Species neither seen nor heard the previous week are in ALL CAPS. Additional information about my dogwalk, including an archive of weekly summaries and a checklist, may be found at http://www.hevanet.com/winkg/dogwalkpage.html We did the walk 5 days this week. Species # days found (peak #, date) Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 (1, 3/16) Red-tailed Hawk 1 (1, 3/12) Band-tailed Pigeon 1 (1, 3/13) Mourning Dove 1 (1, 3/13) Anna's Hummingbird 3 (2) Red-breasted Sapsucker 3 (2) Downy Woodpecker 1 (1, 3/17) Northern Flicker 2 (2, 3/16) Pileated Woodpecker 2 (1, 3/11 & 17) Hutton's Vireo 2 (2, 3/16 & 17) Steller's Jay 3 (2) American Crow 5 (6) Black-capped Chickadee 5 (10, 3/17) Chestnut-backed Chickadee 5 (3) Bushtit 2 (8, 3/17) Red-breasted Nuthatch 5 (6) Brown Creeper 2 (2, 3/16) Winter Wren 4 (3) Golden-crowned Kinglet 3 (5) Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3 (2) American Robin 5 (30, 3/16) Varied Thrush 4 (3, 3/16 & 17) European Starling 4 (2) Spotted Towhee 5 (5) Song Sparrow 5 (10, 3/17) Dark-eyed Junco 5 (10, 3/11 & 12) Purple Finch 2 (2, 3/16) House Finch 5 (12, 3/17) Pine Siskin 5 (6) Lesser Goldfinch 2 (3, 3/16) EVENING GROSBEAK 1 (1, 3/16) In the neighborhood but not found on dogwalk: RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD Misses (birds found at least 3 days during previous 2 weeks but not found this week): Bewick's Wren Wink Gross Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Wrentit thread From: Norgren Family <gnorgren AT earthlink.net> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:15:21 -0700 A spate of posts at weekend's end gave me false hopes of an improved Obol. Evidently it was just fortuitous timing by the posters. Check the archives for a series of posts on Wrentits washed up there mid-day today. I don't know how to post a link to archives, I just scroll back to the one Greg Gillson put up a few days ago. Lars Norgren _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Turkey Vulture over N.W. Portland From: gneavoll AT comcast.net Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:57:29 +0000 (UTC) TURKEY VULTURE, FOS (for me), soaring over N.W. St. Helens Rd., between Forest Park and Willamette River, at mid-afternoon today (3/17/10). George Neavoll S.W. Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Cent Or Wednesday birders to Redmond Sewage Ponds and Lower Bridge From: "Judy Meredith" <jmeredit AT bendnet.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:47:50 -0700 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Judy Meredith" To: "cobol" Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 3:47 PM Subject: Cent Or Wednesday birders to Redmond Sewage Ponds and Lower Bridge > Birders > Spring is springing! Violet-green Swallows and Yellow-rumped > Warbler had spring written all over them today! We broke 50 > species so that is another sign of spring! > Nine of us birded the official ponds and the surrounding dry ponds > and then some of the group went on to Lower Bridge. > Report was mailed for Judy Meredith by http://birdnotes.net > Canada Goose > Tundra Swan - two flew over Redmond ponds > American Wigeon > Mallard > Green-Winged Teal > Ring-necked Duck > Bufflehead > Common Merganser > California Quail > Great Blue Heron - Lower Bridge > Bald Eagle - 1, adult, Redmond ponds > Northern Harrier - several, Lower Bridge > Cooper's Hawk - Redmond "owl thicket" area. > Red-tailed Hawk > Golden Eagle - Lower Bridge > American Kestrel > Killdeer > Rock Dove > Eurasian Collared-Dove > Mourning Dove > Great Horned Owl > Northern Flicker > Say's Phoebe - several, ponds, fields etc. > Loggerhead Shrike - Lower Bridge Rd, near Buckhorn > Northern Shrike - Redmond back ponds > Western Scrub-Jay > Black-billed Magpie > American Crow > Common Raven > Tree Swallow - Redmond ponds > Violet-green Swallow - 7-8 at Lower Bridge. Good, Mike! > Mountain Chickadee > Bushtit > Bewick's Wren - Singing near the bridge, tree top. > Marsh Wren > Golden-crowned Kinglet - several, Lower Bridge > Western Bluebird - Lower Bridge Rd > Mountain Bluebird - Lower Bridge Rd > Townsend's Solitaire > American Robin > European Starling > Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1, Lower Bridge > Savannah Sparrow - 2, Redmond back pond > Song Sparrow > White-crowned Sparrow - 1 - Cindy and Sherrie - good! > Golden-crowned Sparrow - 4 or 5 Lower Bridge > Dark-eyed Junco > Red-winged Blackbird > Western Meadowlark > Brewer's Blackbird > House Finch > House Sparrow > Total number of species seen: 52 > Birders today Joanne Cleland, Julie Robertson, Kim Kathol, Mike Golden, > Howard Horvath, Mary Oppenheimer, Sherrie Pierce, Cindy Zalunardo and > Judy Meredith. > Good birding, > Judy, jmeredit AT bendnet.com _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: Troutdale Wrentits From: Norgren Family <gnorgren AT earthlink.net> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:33:01 -0700 I have always thought of this species as an upland bird in the Willamette Basin, although they frequent riparian areas on the coast. Two years ago in late May I was on my way to the State High School Track and Field championships in Eugene. I stopped briefly on the 53rd Street Bridge south of Corvallis and heard a Wrentit. Although I saw a pair of this species at 53rd and Airport Road in November of 1976, that was a hilltop. The bird on the banks of the Mary's River struck me as significant. Coverage of riparian habitat by birders isn't very thorough. How many of us float the Willamette from Harrisburg to Portland on a regular basis? As for crossing open space, the Willamette isn't the Columbia. Many stretches have islands and backwaters that minimize the breadth. And while doing the Coquille Valley CBC this winter I was on Rink Creek south of Coquille about 4pm when a pair of Wrentits flew across a mowed lawn and a paved road. They landed in a heavily pruned shrub that offered no cover for the first 5 or 6 feet. It was in a large yard, all mowed grass, standing 15 or 20m from the brush to their north. They remained there for quite awhile. I don't recall if I was pishing at the time, but I certainly never gave an actual Wrentit call. So it can happen. They're not quite as shy as Black Rails. Lars Norgren On Mar 16, 2010, at 8:38 PM, Paul T. Sullivan wrote: > OBOL: > > I went out after work to the briar patch on the west side of the Sandy River in Troutdale, and fairly quickly heard the WRENTIT that was found last Sunday (see directions below). It was 30-40 yds south of the trail described below, but my imitation of its call brought two birds into view and up to the trail fairly readily. The lead bird sang, and the second followed closely. Craig Toomer (sp?) & I shared the sighting. > > How did these birds get to this loaction? The birds near Astoria or Linda Fink's farm are 75 miles away. I've seen a Wrentit north of Baskett Slough (57 miles away), and I've heard of a sighting above Hagg Lk. (42 miles away). A few years ago a participant in a Morning Birdsong Walk at Pittock Mansion reported Wrentit in Portland's west hills, but I never had time to pursue that report. > > Since this species is so notoriously loathe to cross open space, how would the westside birds cross the Willamette River? What are the closest confirmed birds on the east side of the river -- Linn county? Or Seth Reams report from the east side of Portland? It's interesting to speculate. > > Pretty soon they'll follow the Scrub Jays to Seattle. ;-) > > Good birding, everyone, > > Paul T. Sullivan > > ------------------------------- > Subject: Mult. WRENTIT > From: Jfitchen AT aol.com > Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:20:17 EDT > > Hello Obol, > > David Mandell called at about 10:30 to let me know he had a WRENTIT at the > Sandy River Delta's west bank. I rolled immediately, arriving about > 11:30. After some pishing and owl imitations, the bird suddenly popped up at > point-blank range. It was brown overall, with a long slender tail held > cocked up, white partial crescents above and below the eyes (more prominent > above); thin, dark, slightly decurved bill, faint streaking on the throat, > pale/warm/buffy chest and belly. The bird did not vocalize while I was there, > > but David heard it several times before I arrived. To my knowledge this is > a first record for Multnomah County. I'd be interested to know if anyone > is aware of a previous record. In either case, congratulations to David > for a great county bird. > > To get to the site, take I-84 east to Exit 17, drive past the stores on > your right and turn left at the traffic light at the far end of the mall and > go back under the freeway. At the light on the north side of the freeway > go straight. This will bring you along the east end of the Troutdale > Airport. The road turns right and then left and after about an eighth of a mile > > you'll see a dirt parking lot on the right with a blue gate with yellow > stanchions. Park and walk up the paved bike path that diagonals up the dike. > From the parking lot, walk 825 yards along the bike path and you will > come to a rock "outcroping" on the left of the path and "308" printed on the > paved surface. Go immediately down off the dike (steep but manageable) > heading toward the Sandy River. At the bottom of the dike, you'll see a dirt > footpath going east into the brushy habitat. Walk exactly 100 yards down > this path, then stop, look and listen. > > Cheers and good luck! > > John Fitchen > Portland > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL AT oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Eugene Wed morning From: "Larry McQueen" <larmcqueen AT msn.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:32:34 -0700 At Zumwalt Park and peninsula on the west shore of Fern Ridge, birds were anything but numerous and the quiet waters of Fern Ridge lake had nothing, so we felt lucky to have the following species: Canada Goose - a few small groups Cackling Goose - a flock of fair numbers at the W. eleventh Memorial Park. Mallard - few pairs Pied-billed Grebe - 1 Great Blue Heron - 2 California Quail - 1 heard American Coot - 3 pair Turkey Vulture - 2 Bald Eagle - 1 Northern Harrier - 1 Red-shouldered Hawk - 3 Red-tailed Hawk - 5 Peregrine - 1 Greater Yellowlegs - 1 Ring-billed Gull - flock in town Mourning Dove - 8 Belted Kingfisher - 1 Northern Flicker - 4 Tree Swallow - 10 Violet-green Swallow - 7 American Crow - 15 Steller's Jay - 5 Western Scrub-Jay - 6 Hutton's Vireo - 3 Black-capped Chickadee - 22 Bushtit - 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch - 4 Bewick's Wren - 3 Winter Wren - 5 Marsh Wren - 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet - 25 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 24 American Robin - 100+ Varied Thrush - 2 Wrentit - 3 American Pipit - 3 European Starling - 5 Spotted Towhee - 20+ Fox Sparrow - 1 Song Sparrow - 12 Golden-crowned Sparrow - 10 White-crowned Sparrow - 2 Dark-eyed Junco - 7 Red-winged Blackbird - 15 Purple Finch - 2 House Finch - 8 Lesser Goldfinch - 6 Pine Siskin - 10 House Sparrow - 2 Don Schrouder, Paul Sherrell, Sylvia Maulding, Dave Brown, Roger Robb, June Persson, Dennis Arendt, Dave Hill, Craig Merkel, and Larry McQueen -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Troutdale Wrentits - video and photos From: Diana Byrne <diana.byrne AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:03:40 -0700 I saw the 2 Troutdale Wrentits this morning and have posted a video of one singing, plus a couple of photos at: http://portlandbirder.blogspot.com/2010/03/wrentit.html John Fitchen's directions (below) were spot-on! -Diana Byrne ------------------------------- Subject: Mult. WRENTIT From: Jfitchen AT aol.com Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:20:17 EDT Hello Obol, David Mandell called at about 10:30 to let me know he had a WRENTIT at the Sandy River Delta's west bank. I rolled immediately, arriving about 11:30. After some pishing and owl imitations, the bird suddenly popped up at point-blank range. It was brown overall, with a long slender tail held cocked up, white partial crescents above and below the eyes (more prominent above); thin, dark, slightly decurved bill, faint streaking on the throat, pale/warm/buffy chest and belly. The bird did not vocalize while I was there, but David heard it several times before I arrived. To my knowledge this is a first record for Multnomah County. I'd be interested to know if anyone is aware of a previous record. In either case, congratulations to David for a great county bird. To get to the site, take I-84 east to Exit 17, drive past the stores on your right and turn left at the traffic light at the far end of the mall and go back under the freeway. At the light on the north side of the freeway go straight. This will bring you along the east end of the Troutdale Airport. The road turns right and then left and after about an eighth of a mile you'll see a dirt parking lot on the right with a blue gate with yellow stanchions. Park and walk up the paved bike path that diagonals up the dike. From the parking lot, walk 825 yards along the bike path and you will come to a rock "outcroping" on the left of the path and "308" printed on the paved surface. Go immediately down off the dike (steep but manageable) heading toward the Sandy River. At the bottom of the dike, you'll see a dirt footpath going east into the brushy habitat. Walk exactly 100 yards down this path, then stop, look and listen. Cheers and good luck! John Fitchen Portland _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Ft Rock/Summer Lake joint LCAS/ECAS Field trip March 12/13/14 From: Leila Snow <leilas AT ori.org> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:10:11 -0700 Many thanks to Steve Dougill, Judy, Darwin and Peter of East Cascades Audubon for hosting Lane County Audubon on the east side of the mountains. A good time was had by all. The following birds were seen on our joint field trip: Greater White-fronted Goose Snow Goose [1] Canada Goose Tundra Swan [2] Gadwall Eurasian Wigeon [3] American Wigeon Mallard Cinnamon Teal [4] Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-Winged Teal Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Ruddy Duck Ring-necked Pheasant Sage Grouse [5] California Quail American Bittern [6] Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture [7] Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Ferruginous Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Golden Eagle American Kestrel Prairie Falcon Virginia Rail American Coot Sandhill Crane Killdeer Dunlin [8] Common Snipe [9] Ring-billed Gull Rock Dove Eurasian Collared-Dove Mourning Dove Barn Owl Great Horned Owl [10] Belted Kingfisher Hairy Woodpecker White-headed Woodpecker [11] Northern Flicker Say's Phoebe Loggerhead Shrike [12] Northern Shrike Steller's Jay Clark's Nutcracker Black-billed Magpie American Crow Common Raven Horned Lark Tree Swallow [13] Cliff Swallow [14] Mountain Chickadee Bushtit Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Pygmy Nuthatch Brown Creeper Canyon Wren Marsh Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Mountain Bluebird Townsend's Solitaire American Robin Sage Thrasher European Starling American Pipit Cedar Waxwing Spotted Towhee American Tree Sparrow [15] Sage Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Song Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird Western Meadowlark Brewer's Blackbird Cassin's Finch House Finch Red Crossbill Lesser Goldfinch House Sparrow Footnotes: [1] 37,000 at the WMA [2] 300 at WMA and 600+ at Thompson Reservoir [3] 2 males at Summer lake [4] 15 at Summer lake [5] 47 at a lek [6] 2 [7] 1 [8] 125 [9] 1 calling briefly [10] 2 nests [11] 1 Silver Creek Camp ground [12] 3 Summer Lake [13] 25 Summer lake [14] 1 Summer lake [15] 2 Summer lake Total number of species seen: 93 Leila Snow, LCAS Field Trip Coordinator _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: TVs and more From: Bob Fish <bigfishyman AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:01:26 -0700 I have seen many Turkey Vultures around the Eugene, Creswell area beginning this past week. At our home, we have had multiple visits from Lesser Goldfinches, BC Chickadees, and our usual Robins, Spotted Towhees, Sky Rats (Starlings), House finches. One Hermit Thrush visited us on Saturday, and our first RC Kinglet visited our maples yesterday. Bob Fish Creswell -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: swallows Tualatin River NWR From: "Thomas Love" <tlove AT linfield.edu> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:57:04 -0700 Good numbers of TREE (40ish) and VIOLET-GREEN (10ish, all males) SWALLOWS finally at Tualatin River NWR Tuesday afternoon. No Wrentits were detected, however. Tom Love -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Highlights from the Winter Wings Festival in Klamath Falls From: David Hewitt <dhewitt37 AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:28:01 -0700 OBOLers, It was great to see so many people from across Oregon at the Winter Wings Festival in Klamath Falls this past February. The 3-day festival was a huge success. Over 550 people registered and nearly all of the field trips sold out. The workshops, presentations, and other activities were well attended too, and post-festival evaluations from participants have been overwhelmingly positive. We hope to build on our success next year with an even bigger and better festival, and we hope you'll join us. We were very fortunate this year to have a number of top-notch experts assisting with field trips, workshops, and other aspects of the program, including: - Scott Weidensaul (keynote presenter and trip leader) - Bill Clark (presenter and trip leader) - Rick Sammon (Canon photography) - Jeff Smith (HawkWatch International) - Dick Ashford (American Birding Association) - John Alexander (Klamath Bird Observatory) This year's festival drew in folks from all across the western US and from as far away as Arizona and Texas. We put together a Google Map to show the geographic "footprint" for this year's festival -- check it out: http://bit.ly/ciHpC7 Field observations during the festival were tracked with eBird (http://ebird.org). We recorded 93 species over the three days. As usual, raptors and waterfowl stole the show. Of particular note was a count of over 130 Bald Eagles leaving their night roost in Bear Valley National Wildlife Refuge during the flyout field trip on Sunday -- this is a high count for recent years. Some other notable highlights included: - Western and Clark's Grebes - American White Pelican (3 stuck around all winter in town) - Eurasian Wigeon (many) - Northern Goshawk - Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk (juvenile light morph; found by Bill Clark) - Peregrine Falcon - Loggerhead Shrike - Barn Owl - Short-eared Owls (putting on a show in the evening at the LKNWR auto tour route) - Tree Swallow (arrived very early) - Rock and Canyon Wrens - California Towhee - Cassin's Finch Wrap-up information, including a summary of the bird observations, will be posted to the festival web site soon: http://www.winterwingsfest.org/ Finally, we'd like to thank our title sponsor Pacific Power, our host Oregon Institute of Technology, and all of the other presenters, leaders, sponsors, vendors, and the nearly 100 volunteers that made it all happen. With field trips and activities again planned for a full 3 days during the 2011 festival, we hope you'll join us in observing and recording the diversity and abundance of bird life in the Klamath Basin of Oregon and California! -- Dave Hewitt Klamath Falls _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Troutdale Wrentits From: "Paul T. Sullivan" <ptsulliv AT spiritone.com> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:38:42 -0700 OBOL: I went out after work to the briar patch on the west side of the Sandy River in Troutdale, and fairly quickly heard the WRENTIT that was found last Sunday (see directions below). It was 30-40 yds south of the trail described below, but my imitation of its call brought two birds into view and up to the trail fairly readily. The lead bird sang, and the second followed closely. Craig Toomer (sp?) & I shared the sighting. How did these birds get to this loaction? The birds near Astoria or Linda Fink's farm are 75 miles away. I've seen a Wrentit north of Baskett Slough (57 miles away), and I've heard of a sighting above Hagg Lk. (42 miles away). A few years ago a participant in a Morning Birdsong Walk at Pittock Mansion reported Wrentit in Portland's west hills, but I never had time to pursue that report. Since this species is so notoriously loathe to cross open space, how would the westside birds cross the Willamette River? What are the closest confirmed birds on the east side of the river -- Linn county? Or Seth Reams report from the east side of Portland? It's interesting to speculate. Pretty soon they'll follow the Scrub Jays to Seattle. ;-) Good birding, everyone, Paul T. Sullivan ------------------------------- Subject: Mult. WRENTIT From: Jfitchen AT aol.com Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:20:17 EDT Hello Obol, David Mandell called at about 10:30 to let me know he had a WRENTIT at the Sandy River Delta's west bank. I rolled immediately, arriving about 11:30. After some pishing and owl imitations, the bird suddenly popped up at point-blank range. It was brown overall, with a long slender tail held cocked up, white partial crescents above and below the eyes (more prominent above); thin, dark, slightly decurved bill, faint streaking on the throat, pale/warm/buffy chest and belly. The bird did not vocalize while I was there, but David heard it several times before I arrived. To my knowledge this is a first record for Multnomah County. I'd be interested to know if anyone is aware of a previous record. In either case, congratulations to David for a great county bird. To get to the site, take I-84 east to Exit 17, drive past the stores on your right and turn left at the traffic light at the far end of the mall and go back under the freeway. At the light on the north side of the freeway go straight. This will bring you along the east end of the Troutdale Airport. The road turns right and then left and after about an eighth of a mile you'll see a dirt parking lot on the right with a blue gate with yellow stanchions. Park and walk up the paved bike path that diagonals up the dike. From the parking lot, walk 825 yards along the bike path and you will come to a rock "outcroping" on the left of the path and "308" printed on the paved surface. Go immediately down off the dike (steep but manageable) heading toward the Sandy River. At the bottom of the dike, you'll see a dirt footpath going east into the brushy habitat. Walk exactly 100 yards down this path, then stop, look and listen. Cheers and good luck! John Fitchen Portland _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Crook County Tree Swallows From: "Charles Gates" <cgates326 AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:08:27 -0700 I saw 9 Tree Swallows today around the Prineville Sewer Ponds. First of the season and a little early for Crook County. They show up in Deschutes in early March but I usually don't see them here until late March. Chuck Gates Powell Butte -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: Hummingbirds From: Roy Lowe <rlowe AT casco.net> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:47:44 -0700 8-10 new arrivals (rufous) at our house on Waldport yesterday has the feeders busy. On Mar 15, 2010, at 11:00 AM, DJ Lauten and KACastelein wrote: > I haven't posted in a while because I can't figure out if I am still > on OBOL or not, but I figured I'd mention that here in Bandon, Coos > Co, the hummingbird activity seems really slow this year, especially > compared to last year. We have a few Selasphorus around, including > finally one male Allen's that seems to be getting more consistent, > but in general, there are not many individuals of any of the three > species around. Anybody else have any observations so far? > > Also, Violet-green and Tree Swallows have shown up in the yard this > weekend, and Turkey Vultures are getting to be more common by the > day. The yard is very bird-songy, if that is a word! Everybody is > gibber-gabbering. > Cheers > Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein > Bandon OR > deweysage AT verizon.net > > -- > "We need to change our mind frame - our values. Perhaps quality > time, love, family values, friendship and respect are preferable to > material goods and status? Or maybe humans are too vain. In this > problem, I think we are seeing the worst of ourselves in the > mirror. We see power struggle and corruption." Rasmus Benestad, > The Norwegian Meteorological Institute > > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL AT oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: RFI Wallowas and Osprey in Portland From: "m_scatt AT yahoo.com" <m_scatt@yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:36:32 -0700 (PDT) We will be going to the Wallowas next weekend and will be staying at Wallowa Lake. Has anyone been birding around there lately? We would appreciate suggestions on where to bird in the general area. Target birds are American Three-toed Woodpecker, Great Gray Owl, Gray Partridge and any other Wallowas "specialties". Also, has anyone seen Gyrfalcon or Harris's Sparrow in Wallowa County recently? Thanks in advance for any information that you send. Yesterday we saw a Foy OSPREY perched in a snag by the Willamette River just north of Oaks Bottom, one day ahead of the average Portland arrival date. We also saw a pair of PEREGRINE FALCONS making a bunch of squawking and screeching noises and landing under the Sellwood Bridge. Does anyone know if they nest there? Good Birding! Christopher and Adrian Hinkle Em Scattaregia -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: klamath birding 13-15 Mar From: Eric Horvath <horvath AT pioneer.net> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:21:55 -0700 Nice weather at Klamath Falls this last weekend, birding highlights: WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, PEREGRINE Snow & Ross's Geese: big flocks at Tule lake and Lower Klamath Wood Duck: Two pair in the willows/water's edge in the canal south of hwy 140, by Howard Bay, Upper Klamath Lake. Eurasian Wigeon: A few males scattered in with the american wigeon at Lower Klamath NWR Cinnamon Teal: Several males at Lower Klamath Auto tour, and a pair at Tule Lake. Did not detect this species last weekend, so they just showed up! Redhead: Lower Klamath NWR Barrow's Goldeneye: still about a dozen visible from Putnam point (pelican marina) on upper klamath lake. Common Merganser: found lots of these wherever there was deep water, and could not find Hooded Merganser. Mountain Quail: Eagle Ridge, Upper Klamath Lake. Calling loudly/ territorial bird. Clark's & Western Grebe: both easy to find on Tule Lake. Bald Eagle: 60 at the dawn roost Flyout from Worden on 14 March. However there are lots more around, as we saw an amazing 90 bald eagles from a single 180 degree view in a grain field just north of stateline road in Lower Klamath NWR. Apparently the field was being flooded, as the water seemed to be rising , and the eagles and ravens and hawks were hunting (and catching!) lots of voles. There are a lot of eagles roosting in the line of willows along the lower klamath NWR auto tour route, but this section of the route is blocked off. Rough-legged Hawk: still enough around to get nice looks at the different plumages, with Township road and Williamson river delta preserve being the best spots. Golden Eagle; Sitting bird on nest along lower lake road Peregrine Falcon: 1 adult on Township Road Dunlin flock of 50 at Lower Klamath NWR, but not at white lake, on the auto tour instead Eurasian Collared Dove: 2 at the hwy 97 rest area by Midland. (couldnt find barn owl in any of the usual crevices at Petroglyphs or sheepy ridge) Great Horned owl: on nest behind Tule Lake HQ N. Pygmy-owl: 1 at Eagle Ridge, Upper Klamath Lake. Short-eared Owl: Nice looks at some on the Lower Klamath Auto tour, and also 2 hunting at midday on the Oregon side of stateline road in the flooded grainfield with all the voles and eagles. Williamson's Sapsucker: Territiorial male drumming and seen well on a snag right by the road at the pass on the way in to Eagle ridge from hwy 140, Upper Klamath Lake. Pileated Woodpecker, Eagle Ridge Say's Phoebe: some in basin, esp near sheepy ridge & petroglyphs Oak Titmouse: in Moore Park, Klamath Falls, go up hill and west of the gingerbread house, and you will hear them singing 2 hours after first light. (all 3 nuthatches; moore park and eagle ridge; marsh, bewick's rock & canyon wren all easy to see at various places in the basin, including a rock and canyon wren together on the same rock at petroglyphs) western bluebird: eagle ridge cedar waxwing: 3 at putnam point in K Falls on 13 Mar Slate colored Junco: one in the big junco flock at thompson's b&b in Klamath Falls, near moore park. Tricolored Blackbird: several at a feeder in front of a house along Toqua road, Williamson River Delta preserve, southern section. Cassin's finch, eagle ridge Red crossbill; eagle ridge Evening grosbeak: flocks of up to 10 birds in the neighborhood (Lynnewood ) W. of Moore Park, Klamath Falls --Eric Horvath horvath AT pioneer.net _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Bald Eagle, Yamhill Co From: "pamela johnston" <pamelaj AT spiritone.com> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:57:33 -0700 This morning about 1130 as I turned onto Baker Creek Rd, a flock of Canada and Cackling Geese hit the air. As I turned onto Hill Rd N, I saw some big dark wings coming along, likely the cause of the goose action. Not getting a conclusive view to rule out Golden Eagle, I turned back the way I had come to follow the bird. I considered how dumb this was, but soon found the eagle at the end of Willis Rd, in the top on an oak tree, where two American Crows had also found it. The eagle's bill was turning yellow, and its back was flecked lightly with white. The Bald Eagle headed off up Baker Creek, escorted by one crow. Pamela Johnston outside McMinnville _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: Eugene odd Mallard Hybrid(?) From: Dan Gleason <dan-gleason AT comcast.net> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:41:05 -0700 Someone must be breeding these ducks in the area as this question comes up much more frequently than just a few years ago. This is a domesticated duck of a breed known as "Cayuga Duck." Its origins seem to be somewhat obscure but it is said to have been popularized, or even developed in the Finger Lakes region of New York state, specifically Cayuga Lake (hence, the name). Some of these ducks have escaped, or were released in the Eugene area and may be seen with other ducks at the ponds in Alton Baker Park or other places where domesticated fowl can be found. Type Cayuga Duck in your search engine and you will find many sites with information about the breed. Unfortunately, the information is not always consistent from site to site. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason AT comcast.net 541 345-0450 On Mar 16, 2010, at 2:17 PM, Roy McCormick wrote: > I found this dark Annatidae while on a run along the Willamette > River in > Eugene on Monday. It has the iridescent green head of a drake > Mallard with a > darker iridescent green/purple body. The location is a pond on the > West Bank > Bike Trail directly east of Greenleaf Ave. There is an exotic bird > dealer > nearby. Is this a probable escapee or an unusual hybridization? > Thanks, you > can reply offline if you wish. > > Photos and directions: > > http://www.sarasavesanimals.org/Roy/obol_photos.htm > > > Roy and Melinda McCormick > 169 Marion Lane > Eugene, Oregon 97404 > 541-543-1249 > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL AT oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Eugene odd Mallard Hybrid(?) From: "Roy McCormick" <romick1 AT comcast.net> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:17:52 -0700 I found this dark Annatidae while on a run along the Willamette River in Eugene on Monday. It has the iridescent green head of a drake Mallard with a darker iridescent green/purple body. The location is a pond on the West Bank Bike Trail directly east of Greenleaf Ave. There is an exotic bird dealer nearby. Is this a probable escapee or an unusual hybridization? Thanks, you can reply offline if you wish. Photos and directions: http://www.sarasavesanimals.org/Roy/obol_photos.htm Roy and Melinda McCormick 169 Marion Lane Eugene, Oregon 97404 541-543-1249 _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Cape Mears From: Barbara and John Woodhouse <jbw AT oregoncoast.com> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:59:48 -0700 For those wanting to check out the seabirds, the Park reopened today after being closed since January 10th. Barbara Woodhouse. Tillamook _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Hermit Thrush...singing From: "Dennis Vroman" <dpvroman AT budget.net> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:41:31 -0700 This morning (03/16/10) at our place (just east of the Merlin I-5 exit) the HERMIT THRUSH that has over-wintered was attempting to sing (likely a male). A weak version of its summertime song, but recognizable none the less. Was a treat to hear...there is hope for spring! Dennis (north of Grants Pass) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: Hummingbirds From: Brandon Green <brandon.green18 AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:40:02 -0700 After hosting several regular Anna's Hummers through early February, I've seen them only sporadically at my nectar feeder over the past four or five weeks. I haven't seen a Rufous in the neighborhood yet, though that's not exactly unusual. Regarding the lack of nectar-consuming Anna's, I'm wondering if the warmer El Nino conditions have resulted in more active and easy-to-find small insects than usual at this time of the year. (I'm not a biologist, so I'm not sure how this works.) Brandon Eugene _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Jackson Bottoms From: "Margaret" <mtweel AT charter.net> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:07:56 -0700 The Woodhouses, Barbara Bennett and I went to Jackson Bottoms today. A lesser goldfinch was near the Education building. The eagle nest was a display in the building. Very impressive. Also an eagle nest with eagles in it at Jackson Bottoms. Cedar Canyon bitterns did not show up. Alot of water there. Margaret Tweelinckx -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: Lesser Goldfinch (NE PDX) From: Bill Bradford <billbradford1 AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:05:30 -0700 Lesser Goldfinches just moved into our neighborhood this year. It helps that my friend and neighborTom put up a thistle feeder. This is the block between 39th & 40th, Alameda and Klickitat in NE Portland. On Sun, Mar 14, 2010 at 5:14 PM, Patty Newland wrote: > I had Lesser Goldfinch all winter at my NE Portland feeder last year, and > this year, nary a one. > Patty Newland > > jim.and.rita AT comcast.net wrote: > >> We have recently sighted several Lesser Goldfinches in our neighborhood >> (near NE 47th Avenue and NE Halsey) in NE Portland, and today there was one >> in our backyard. Seeing this species around our neighborhood is something >> fairly new for us. Have others in Portland (and elsewhere in Oregon?) found >> their sightings of this species to be more frequent in recent years? >> Regards, Rita and Jim Coleman >> -------------- next part -------------- >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: < >> http://oregonbirds.org/pipermail/obol_oregonbirds.org/attachments/20100314/a35e6c74/attachment.html >> > >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OBOL mailing list >> OBOL AT oregonbirds.org >> http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org >> >> >> >> > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL AT oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Christmas Valley Raptor Survey From: "Kim Boddie" <kcboddie AT bendbroadband.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:00:26 -0700 Lowell Franks and I drove the Christmas Valley Raptor Survey today under clear skies in 5hr. 35 min. with calm to low winds and temps between 28 and 63 degrees F. We logged a new species for the route today. We had one Burrowing Owl. That and having two Golden Eagles take off from behind a sagebrush about 6 feet from the car were the highlights of the day. We also watched 59 Sage grouse doing their thing on two areas close to Ft. Rock. One group was about 50 yards away from us with a mature Bald Eagle sitting on a irrigation pivot watching them about the same distance away. The eagle was either not hungry or biding his time. The grouse did not seemed to be too concerned. I did watch an Eagle unsuccessfully go after them in the same field a couple years ago. We also saw lots of Mt. Bluebirds and Horned Larks along the route as well as 1 Coyote, 107 Mule Deer and 39 Pronghorn. We observed 59 raptors on the route plus another 36 going to and from the route. Red-tailed Hawk 23 Northern Harrier 2 Bald Eagle 7A Golden Eagle 5 Rough-legged Hawk 6 Ferruginous Hawk 9 Unidentified Buteo 4 Prairie Falcon 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Burrowing Owl 1 Total 59 ----kim -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Christmas Valley Raptor Survey From: "Kim Boddie" <kcboddie AT bendbroadband.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:00:26 -0700 Lowell Franks and I drove the Christmas Valley Raptor Survey today under clear skies in 5hr. 35 min. with calm to low winds and temps between 28 and 63 degrees F. We logged a new species for the route today. We had one Burrowing Owl. That and having two Golden Eagles take off from behind a sagebrush about 6 feet from the car were the highlights of the day. We also watched 59 Sage grouse doing their thing on two areas close to Ft. Rock. One group was about 50 yards away from us with a mature Bald Eagle sitting on a irrigation pivot watching them about the same distance away. The eagle was either not hungry or biding his time. The grouse did not seemed to be too concerned. I did watch an Eagle unsuccessfully go after them in the same field a couple years ago. We also saw lots of Mt. Bluebirds and Horned Larks along the route as well as 1 Coyote, 107 Mule Deer and 39 Pronghorn. We observed 59 raptors on the route plus another 36 going to and from the route. Red-tailed Hawk 23 Northern Harrier 2 Bald Eagle 7A Golden Eagle 5 Rough-legged Hawk 6 Ferruginous Hawk 9 Unidentified Buteo 4 Prairie Falcon 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Burrowing Owl 1 Total 59 ----kim_______________________________________________ COBOL mailing list COBOL AT lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/cobol To unsubscribe, send a message to: COBOL-request AT lists.oregonstate.edu with the word "unsubscribe" in the body. Subject: Summer Lake - Wagontire Raptor Survey From: "Kim Boddie" <kcboddie AT bendbroadband.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:37:21 -0700 Sun. March 14th Lowell Franks and Mark Swisher drove the 185 mile Summer Lake - Wagontire Raptor Survey Route under clear skies in 8hrs 5 min with temps ranging from 9-58 degrees F. and calm winds. In addition to the 79 raptors they observed 98 Pronghorn, 3 Coyotes, 14 Mule Deer and 65 Bighorn Sheep and one field swarming with sage rats (small ground squirrels). Red-tailed Hawks 24 Northern Harrier 9 Bald Eagle 6A, 5S Golden Eagle 14 (one on nest) Rough-legged Hawk 5 Ferruginous Hawk 2 Unident. Buteo 8 Prairie Falcon 5 Great-horned Owl 1 (on nest) Kim Boddie Bend -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Summer Lake - Wagontire Raptor Survey From: "Kim Boddie" <kcboddie AT bendbroadband.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:37:21 -0700 Sun. March 14th Lowell Franks and Mark Swisher drove the 185 mile Summer Lake - Wagontire Raptor Survey Route under clear skies in 8hrs 5 min with temps ranging from 9-58 degrees F. and calm winds. In addition to the 79 raptors they observed 98 Pronghorn, 3 Coyotes, 14 Mule Deer and 65 Bighorn Sheep and one field swarming with sage rats (small ground squirrels). Red-tailed Hawks 24 Northern Harrier 9 Bald Eagle 6A, 5S Golden Eagle 14 (one on nest) Rough-legged Hawk 5 Ferruginous Hawk 2 Unident. Buteo 8 Prairie Falcon 5 Great-horned Owl 1 (on nest) Kim Boddie Bend _______________________________________________ COBOL mailing list COBOL AT lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/cobol To unsubscribe, send a message to: COBOL-request AT lists.oregonstate.edu with the word "unsubscribe" in the body. Subject: Feb. Lincoln Co. Bird Notes Received Through 2/28 From: Range Bayer <range.bayer AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:36:01 -0700 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ BIRD FIELD NOTES from the February 2010 Sandpiper 31(2) for Observations Received Through 2/28 by Range Bayer The Sandpiper is a publication of Yaquina Birders and Naturalists, a Lincoln County (Oregon) natural history group. There is room only for some of the many Lincoln County sightings to be included here of those sent to me or posted to the Lincoln Co. Birding & Nature Observing (LCBNO) or Oregon Birders On-Line (OBOL) email discussion lists. If you have any Lincoln County field notes, please share them with Range (range.bayer AT gmail.com; P.O. Box 1467, Newport, OR 97365; 541-265-2965) by the 20th of the month. Bird field notes columns in the Sandpiper since 1992 are at http://yaquina.info/ybn/bird/bird.htm#recent Abbreviations, terms, and some Lincoln Co. site locations (numbers refer to site numbers in the Oregon Coast Birding Trail Guide http://www.oregoncoastbirding.com/): BEAVER CREEK (#78, in part): creek flowing through Ona Beach State Park, BOILER BAY STATE WAYSIDE (#59): about 0.5 mi north of Depoe Bay, ECKMAN LAKE (#84): lake 2 mi east of Waldport along HWY 34, HMSC (#75): OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center, LNG TANK: large green Liquefied Natural Gas tank on the north side of Yaquina Bay about 1.5 miles east of Yaquina Bay Bridge, ONA BEACH (#77): State Park about 6.6 mi south of Yaquina Bay bridge along HWY 101 at Beaver Creek, SALLY'S BEND (#66): large Yaquina Bay embayment east of the LNG tank, WHALE COVE (#61) at Rocky Creek State Wayside about 3 mi N of Otter Rock and 3 mi S of Depoe Bay along HWY 101, YBSJ (#71): Yaquina Bay South Jetty, YAQUINA HEAD OUTSTANDING NATURAL AREA (#65): headland north of Newport (vehicle entrance fee, http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/yaquina/files/yh_passes.pdf). WATERFOWL-FULMAR The high count of BRANT at Yaquina Bay was 285 on 2/12 at embayments (RB). On 2/7, we had our first report of them west of the Yaquina Bay Bridge, where they often appear during spring migration, but we had no reports there since then (RB). YB&N is a project partner of the International Brant Monitoring Project (IBMP http://www.padillabay.gov/brant/), and RB relays on sightings of significant numbers of Brant in Lincoln County to their Observation Log (see link on the left side of their web page). RL spotted our only CACKLING GEESE, a flock of 32 heading north over the ocean just before sunset on 2/16 at Seal Rock. He suspected they were Aleutians, but they were too far out to hear. A male WOOD DUCK at a Logsden pond on 1/31 was probably overwintering (BLl). HARLEQUIN DUCKS were at Yaquina Head during 6 days in Jan. (BLM). On 2/12, WH watched at least 2 females and 2 subadult and 7 adult males near the YBSJ that were involved in courtship behavior. The male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE X COMMON GOLDENEYE hybrid continued to linger near Port Dock 5 along the Newport Bayfront on 2/19 (PR). COMMON LOONS have over the years formed roosting rafts near the first finger west of the Yaquina Bay Bridge at dusk. At that area on 2/27 at 6:06 PM (sunset at 6:01 PM), there were 45 Common Loons in nonbreeding plumage, and 2 that appeared to be in breeding plumage with black heads and also a raft of about 7 HORNED GREBES (RB). Our only NORTHERN FULMAR report was of a dead one along 4.6 miles of beach north of Ona Beach in Jan. (B&SLo, L&VO). [Image Not Included: Roy Lowe's photograph of a Common Loon with a Starry Flounder near the YBSJ on 2/2. The stiff extension of the flounder's fins indicate that it is still alive. The loon moved away, so Roy did not see if the loon swallowed this flounder. It may have been too wide for the loon to eat. At Yaquina Bay, Great Blue Herons sometimes caught and abandoned Starry Flounders that were too wide for them to swallow. Their eyes can be wider than their throat!] BROWN PELICAN As reported last month, January 2010 set a record for sightings of BROWN PELICANS in January. Additional reports have since come in: pelicans were observed at Yaquina Head during 18 days in Jan. (BLM). More dead pelicans (4) than any other species were found in Jan. along 4.6 miles of beach north of Ona Beach (B&SLo, L&VO); 4 pelicans are abnormally high for that beach. Pelicans were in the news again in February, though some stories had errors. For example, Oregon Public Broadcasting's Oregon Field Guide aired a story about Brown Pelicans on 2/25 & 27 that is also available online (www.opb.org/programs/ofg/episodes/view/2111). At the start of the story, they state "For decades no one saw Brown Pelicans in the Northwest." Actually, Brown Pelicans were common along the Oregon Coast in late summer and fall prior to 1982 and in the 1970's (e.g., see p. 157 in Fred Ramsey's "Birding Oregon," published in 1978 by Corvallis Audubon Society and p. 483 in SemiL). Indeed, they have become more abundant and are present for longer throughout the year since the 1970's. In Lincoln Co., we had our first January record in 1983 and, with our first February record in 1992, they were noted each month of the year (SemiL). [Following incorrect--first year with records each month was 1998] Our first and so far only calendar year with records each month was 2008 (FN). The big news in the news media was weak and dying pelicans in Oregon and particularly in California that appeared to be related to food shortage and/or weather (e.g., J. Leovy. 2010. Pacific Coast pelican illness linked to bad weather, scarce food. Los Angeles Times, Feb. 22 at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/02/pelican-problems-caused-by-bad-weather-scarce-food.html). In Lincoln Co., Brown Pelican reports and numbers broke records this February. Since 1992, we only had Feb. records in 5 of 17 years (1998, 2001, 2007-2009), and we only had 1-2 reports of 1-2 pelicans in those years (FN). HS lives where he can view the Newport Bayfront and saw pelicans roosting every day this February on the rocky portion of the west end of the breakwater opposite Port Dock 1 where California sea lions also haul out. HS's high counts of 50+ pelicans were on 2/8 & 13; other surveys for that roost site include 25 adults and 2 immatures at dusk on 2/9 (RB), 35 pelicans on 2/12 (HS), and 17-18 adults and 3 immatures at dusk on 2/27 & 28 (RB). In addition, there were 27 other reports by 14 observers at Siletz Bay, Boiler Bay, Depoe Bay Yaquina Bay, or Alsea Bay, with high counts of at least 10 and as many as 30 on 2/7 at Rocky Creek State Park (Whale Cove)(LN), 2/13 at Waldport (TR), and 2/15 at Yaquina Bay (RL). There may be additional reports coming in from Yaquina Head. We had more reports this February than in all previous February's combined! SaL discovered a dead pelican wedged in rocks south of Yachats on 2/5, and RL found 3 stressed pelicans at the Port of Alsea Bay on 2/15. No dead pelicans were along 4.6 miles of beach north of Ona Beach in Feb. (B&SLo, L&VO). EGRET-RAPTOR ROUTES 1-2 GREAT EGRETS were at Beaver Creek on 2/6 & 27 (LO) and Eckman Lake on 2/7 (AC, TG, & NR). ----------------------------------------- Lincoln County Raptor Routes Coast_________ |Inland_________ 11/29 1/10 2/28|11/21 1/25 2/19 ----------------------------------------- N. Harrier 2 3 1 | 0 0 1 Wh-t. Kite 0 0 0 | 1 1 0 Sharp. Hawk 0 1 0 | 0 1 0 Coop. Hawk 1 1 1 | 3 1 0 R-shld. Hawk 0 1 0 | 1 0 2 R-tail. Hawk 15 12 6 | 10 15 10 hawk sp. 1 0 0 | 0 0 0 B. Eagle ad. 4 7 5 | 0 0 2 " subadults 2 0 3 | 0 1 1 " unknown 0 1 0 | 4 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 | 0 1 0 Am. Kestrel 0 1 0 | 4 1 2 Merlin 0 0 0 | 0 0 0 Peregrine F. 2 3 2 | 1 1 0 RAPTOR SUM 27 30 18 | 24 22 18 Oregon Winter Raptor Surveys are a good relative index to the abundance of wintering raptors and are coordinated by the East Cascades Birds Observatory (www.ecbcbirds.org/Default.aspx?tabid=73). The Lincoln Co. Raptor Coast Route is about 61 miles and runs along Hwy 101 from the north side of Alsea Bay to Taft area of Lincoln City, with nearby inland valleys. It was completed during 4.6 hours on 2/28 by WH & WN. The Inland or Yaquina River-Siletz Raptor Route is about 55-73 miles long. It was done on 2/19 by CP & DF. This month, the most numerous raptor on the Coast Route was Bald Eagle, and Red-tailed Hawk was the most abundant along the Inland Route. 2 RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS were mating in Hidden Valley between Newport and Toledo during the 2/19 Inland Raptor Route. Significant trends for the 3 surveys this winter suggest that harriers, Bald Eagles, and Peregrine Falcons were more frequent along the Coast Route, while kites and kestrels were more frequent for the Inland Route. No Merlins were found during any of Routes this winter. Combining the results of the two Raptor Routes, Red-tailed Hawks were the most numerous, and Bald Eagles were the second most raptor. OTHER RAPTOR REPORTS DG discerned our first TURKEY VULTURE of the season over Toledo on 2/20. The only WHITE-TAILED KITE was in a tree and over fields at Logsden from 1/23-2/6 (BLl). On 2/6, one sang a very clear, loud, rising one- and a two-call note call (BLl). On 2/7, OPB Oregon Field Guide aired "Murres & Eagles" that is available online as a segment in Episode 2108 at http://www.opb.org/programs/ofg/episodes/view/2108 It discusses the issue of increased numbers of Bald Eagles along the Oregon Coast resulting in reduced Common Murre nesting. In particular, the failure of all nesting murres along the Oregon Coast north of Yaquina Head. An interesting and challenging story! Local people included in the video are the USFWS' Roy Lowe and OSU's Rob Suryan, who are named and interviewed; OSU graduate student Amanda Gladics is unnamed but included in part of the video with Rob. On 2/21, BB found the remains of a COOPER'S HAWK in her Yachats backyard. The remains had no head, and it was probably predated by a GREAT HORNED OWL. A Cooper's previously had taken a few small birds near BB's feeder, but evidently, the predator became the prey! Elsewhere, both Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks have been noted as prey for owls (2005 Wilson Bulletin 117:237-244). Other than the Raptor Route, TS located our only Red-shouldered Hawk near Oregon Coast Aquarium on 2/13. On 2/9, BB & DS were on Yachats River Road, when a RED-TAILED HAWK took off with a writhing snake! It seems early to be warm enough for snakes to be out, but we have had some warm days. An AMERICAN KESTREL wintered at Yaquina Head on 1/6 & 9 (BLM), and 1-2 were also at Beaver Creek on 2/5, 6, & 27 (LO). A MERLIN at Yaquina Head on 1/20 (BLM) was our only report. Other than along the Coast Raptor Routes, at least one PEREGRINE FALCON was at Yaquina Head during 7 days in Jan. (BLM) and during the 2/20 YBNFT near the HMSC Nature Trail (PR). SHOREBIRDS-DOVES AS photographed a WANDERING TATTLER at Yachats on 2/20 (fide AC). In Lincoln County, tattlers used to be seen regularly during December-February with at least 16 records (1.6+ records/period) during 1974-1983 (SemiL). Since then, they have become uncommon to rare with only 2 records (0.2 records/period) during 1984-1992 (SemiL), and only 5 records (0.3/period) during 1993-2009 (FN; Yaquina Bay Christmas Bird Count Records). Migrants often first arrive in April (SemiL). The lone WHIMBREL wintering on the rocks at YBSJ continued until at least 2/7 (AC, TG, & NR). On 2/5, LO discovered 2 ROCK SANDPIPERS among 30 SURFBIRDS and 10 BLACK TURNSTONES in the central Seal Rocks intertidal. 3 or 4 Rock Sandpipers were also at YBSJ on 2/7 (AC, TG, & NR). Our first BAND-TAILED PIGEONS of the season arrived at RL's feeder in Waldport on 2/6 and "quickly relieved the feeder of all its seed!" They arrived at L&JM's home east of Sally's Bend on 2/14, and BB's Yachats home on 2/24. We had our first-ever February EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES records, and, with these records, we completed the first time that we have had 12 months of records in a row. On 2/9, TW reported that he had heard them every morning for the previous 2 weeks in the trees at NW Nye St in Newport, across HWY 101 from Fred Meyer. 2-3 were also at NE Grant Street in Newport daily in Feb. (fide CP), and others were near the Newport Recreation Center on 2/2 (HS), at HS's home near the Newport Bayfront on 9 days in Feb., in Toledo and near JC Market at the intersection of HWY 20 and 101 in Newport on 2/26 (CP). L&JM had our only MOURNING DOVES with 1-3 at their home near the east side of Sally's Bend during 1/31-2/7. [Image Not Included: Howard Shippey's Jan. 28 photo of an Eurasian Collared-Dove and a male House Sparrow on the railing of his deck near the Newport Bayfront. A pair of collared-doves had been feeding there almost daily for over a month. Both species were introduced.] HUMMINGBIRD-GOLDFINCH An immature or female RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD overwintered at J&KC's home about 4 miles east of Waldport, and the first male arrived at their home in early Feb. At the HMSC, the first male Rufous did not show up until 2/25 (DG). Our only RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER glistened in the bright sun in BLo's apple tree in Thiel Creek south of South Beach on 2/27. MW found a HORNED LARK at the YBSJ on 2/9. On 2/12, WH detected an odd-looking female at the "Gull Spot" on the YBSJ that clearly was not a Streaked Horned Lark; the underparts looked browner than any of the illustrations in Sibley's bird field guide. EH reported our first VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW on 2/21--it was at his home in South Beach. LO noted the first TREE SWALLOW at south Beaver Creek on 2/27. BLl listened to 2 AMERICAN DIPPERS "vocalizing and chasing each other around vigorously" along the Siletz River near Logsden on 2/21. RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS sang at BLl's beaver pond near Logsden on 2/14 and south Beaver Creek on 2/27 (LO). WESTERN MEADOWLARKS are not usually rare along the coast in winter, but there appears to have been a shortage of observers to look for and report them this month. Our only reports were of singletons near the shoreline in Yachats on 2/5 (BB) and at the HMSC on 2/12 (TS). Our only LESSER GOLDFINCHES were as many as 9 with up to 19 AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES present daily in early Feb at L&JM's home east of Sally's Bend. [Image Not Included: Jorrie Ciotti's Feb. 18 photo of a male Red-shafted Northern Flicker posing at her and Ken's home about 4 miles east of Waldport. Peterson's Western Birds field guide's description of Red-shafted's tail lings as "salmon-red" fits well.] OBSERVERS/SOURCES: Betty Bahn, Range Bayer, Bureau of Land Management staff and volunteers at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area (BLM), Jorrie & Ken Ciotti (http://www.birdsamore.com), CoastWatch (a volunteer project monitoring one-mile segments of the Oregon coast; http://oregonshores.org/coastwatch.php5), Alan Contreras, Darrel Faxon (see some of DF's bird records and his articles at http://yaquina.info/ybn/bird/bird.htm#thornton_creek and http://www.oregoncoasttoday.com/fieldguide.html), Tristen Gholson, Dawn Grafe, Bird Guide Pelagic Trip out of Newport (BGPT; info about pelagic trips at http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/), Wayne Hoffman, Eric Horvath, Lincoln Co. Birding & Nature Observing (LCBNO) (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LCBNO/), Bob Llewellyn (BLl), Sally Lockyear (SaL), Bob Loeffel (BLo) & Shirley Loeffel (SLo), Roy Lowe, Linda & John MacKown, Walt Nelson, Lars Norgren, Field Notes (FN; Lincoln County records from the Sandpiper since 1992 are searchable at http://yaquina.info/ybn/bird/bird.htm#recent), Oregon Birders On-Line (OBOL; recent postings at http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/OBOL.html), Laimons & Vicki Osis, Chuck Philo, Niko Ranta, Paul Reed, Tim Rodenkirk, David Schlesinger, Trent Seager, SemiL (semimonthly Lincoln Co. bird records through 1992 for each species at ScholarsArchive AT OSU [http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8070]), Howard Shippey, Aaron Skirvin, Tom Wainwright, Monika Wieland, Yaquina Birders & Naturalists (YB&N)(http://yaquina.info/ybn/), YB&N Field (YBNFT) led by PR. -- Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon Lincoln Co. Bird Information at http://yaquina.info/ybn/bird/bird.htm _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Hummingbirds From: Barbara and John Woodhouse <jbw AT oregoncoast.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:30:03 -0700 Here just south of Tillamook we usually have our first Rufous in mid Feb, nothing this year at all so far, Barbara & John Woodhouse _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Western bluebirds From: Tristen <tmanindahouse AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:50:06 -0700 I have a question, do western bluebirds make the same "turalee" call that eastern bluebirds make?? Because i was looking at some bluebirds making that exact call, i looked up the calls on the internet and it showed nothing like the call that i heard for western bluebirds. Thanks!! Tristen Gholson 541-971-9315 _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Free Jackson Bottom Bird Walk this Wednesday From: Greg Gillson <greg AT thebirdguide.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:35:49 -0700 In cooperation with Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve and the city of Hillsboro's Park and Recreation Department, I will be leading a free birdwalk at Hillsboro's Jackson Bottom Wetlands on Wednesday, March 17, from 8:30-11 a.m. Meet on the back deck of the Education Center. [The next Jackson Bottom Bird Walk will not be until April 21. However, I will be starting free walks from the Hillsboro Main Library on Brookwood St (Dawson Creek Corporate Park) on March 24, and continuing indefinitely. These Wednesday afternoon walks will be from 2:00-3:30 p.m. Call me to register, 503-681-6417.] Greg Gillson _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Lincoln Co. Brown Pelican Update--Many Have Not Left From: Range Bayer <range.bayer AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:32:31 -0700 Hi, As an update to my March 9 posting to OBOL below, Brown Pelicans continue to be reported almost daily at Yaquina Bay, with our most recent report being at least 30 near dusk on March 13 (Howard Shippey; Range Bayer). Elsewhere, there were 12 at Alsea Bay on March 11 (Maggie Rivers) and 2 flying by Salishan Spit also on March 11 (Michael Mefford, fide Roy Lowe). We had daily reports of Brown Pelicans in February. It is looking like 2010 will join 1998 and 2008 as years in which we have Brown Pelican records every month of the year, but numbers in March 2010, as in Feb. 2010, have been much higher than before. - Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Range Bayer Date: Tue, Mar 9, 2010 at 7:03 PM Subject: Newport Bayfront Brown Pelicans: 59 on March 5, 27 on March 8 To: Oregon Birders OnLine , "Lincoln Co. Birding & Nature Observing" Cc: Deborah Jaques Hi,     At sunset on March 5, Deborah Jaques counted 59-60 Brown Pelicans at the west end of the Newport Bayfront Breakwater.     At 5 PM on March 8, Barry McPherson saw 27 Brown Pelicans there. More could have arrived later, since I have seen them arrive there as it gets closer to sunset.     The rocky area at the west end of the breakwater has become a regular spot for roosting pelicans, especially at dusk, and for California sea lions.     We already have had more sightings and higher numbers in Lincoln County than in any March in the past, and we haven't even reached the 10th of the month!    It is looking like Lincoln County will have pelican records every month of the year in 2010, like 1998 and 2008, since pelicans are usually rarest here in January-March and we have had record sightings and counts each month so far. -- Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon Lincoln Co. Bird Information at http://yaquina.info/ybn/bird/bird.htm _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: 4th north Grants Pass raptor survey From: "Dennis Vroman" <dpvroman AT budget.net> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:48:58 -0700 The 4th North Grants Pass Raptor survey was accomplished today (03-15-10) Distance traveled: 37.8 miles; Survey time: 3.0 hours Weather: mostly overcast to mostly clear Results: Red-tailed Hawk - 8 American Kestrel - 4 Red-shouldered Hawk - 6 Bald Eagle - 1 (adult) Turkey Vulture - 10 No Kites this time out. Others of interest: VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW at old Merlin mill ponds (not my earliest). Lower River Rd (west of Grants Pass): 2 GREAT EGRETS (numbers way down from last time out). Off Upper River Rd in flooded field: pair CINNAMON TEAL and 15 WILSON'S SNIPE probing around. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Brown Pelicans Definately Back From: "HARVEY W SCHUBOTHE " <ninerharv2 AT msn.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:37:28 +0000 Four strings flying north in the last hour. Harv Schubothe Bandon Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Red-breasted Sapsuckers From: j hayes <bigburd_jh AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:17:59 -0700 (PDT) Hi, OBOLers Just adding a quick note re: RED-BREATED SAPSUCKERS. One is actively "mewing" and tap-tapping in my neighborhood near SE 39th Ave and Hawthorne in Portland. Another is active at Clackamas Community College, visiting various deciduous trees in the arboretum. Another at Hoyt Arboretum 2 weeks ago, active and noisy, following our horticulture group throughout the conifer section. Two or three others heard mewing while walking/biking through neighborhoods in SE Portland. Prior to the last week of February, I'd only found one sapsucker all winter, having twice failed to locate the Yellow-bellied at E.E. Wilson. Sapsucker activity immediately followed an intense period of FLICKER activity in late Feb. I have DOWNY WOODPECKER, RED-SHAFTED FLICKER and RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER for my "block list" here in a densely-packed residential area between Hawthorne and Belmont, with many specimen trees. FOS TURKEY VULTURE seen Mar. 11 along I-205 at Gladstone, Clackamas County. Jeff Hayes Portland OR _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Brown Pelicans return From: "HARVEY W SCHUBOTHE " <ninerharv2 AT msn.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:15:44 +0000 Brown pelicans last seen at Bandon's south Jetty on February 14. Just had 15 fly by headed North. Harv Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Western meadowlarks have a lovely but vanishing song From: "sheila" <sheilach AT nwtec.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:52:15 -0700 For a brief moment this morning I heard the lovely lilting song of the WESTERN MEADOWLARK, a beautiful song that is vanishing here because of endless population growth. I'm sadly hoping that nature will cull our excessive numbers before our beautiful birds disappear forever. I suppose we will still have those "flying rats" HOSP's and STARLINGS. Still here are the 'usual suspects' FOX, SONG, WHITE-CROWN, GOLD-CROWN SPARROWS, CHESTNUT-BACKED, BLACK - CAPPED CHICKADEES, "OREGON" JUNCO, HOUSE FINCHES, PURPLE FINCH, ECD, BAND-TAILED PIGEONS, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS, SCRUB JAYS, SPOTTED TOWHEE, STARLINGS, HOSP'S. Elsewhere are CROWS, and RAVENS and of course WESTERN, CALIFORNIA GULLS and CALIFORNIA QUAILS. It's a lovely day today, the sun is finally out and shining brightly before the inevitable RAINS return. Sheila from soggy, squishy, and very wet, Brookings Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: Hummingbirds From: rfilby <rfilby AT charter.net> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:11:57 -0700 We have noted the slow appearance of hummingbirds in Newport. We have had 3 Anna's all winter and we now have 3 Rufous (2 male, one female). For the past 8 years the first Rufous consistently appeared Feb 20 - 25. This year the first Rufous appeared March 10. Roy Filby Newport _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: Hummingbirds From: "HARVEY W SCHUBOTHE " <ninerharv2 AT msn.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:09:25 +0000 Make that 3, not r, sightings! Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: HARVEY W SCHUBOTHE Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:48:58 To: ; Subject: Re: [OBOL] Hummingbirds Dave Have only r sightings here on Bradley Lake including one yesterday. Neihbors have had feeders up. Ours today. Harv Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: DJ Lauten and KACastelein Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:00:55 To: Subject: [OBOL] Hummingbirds I haven't posted in a while because I can't figure out if I am still on  OBOL or not, but I figured I'd mention that here in Bandon, Coos Co, the  hummingbird activity seems really slow this year, especially compared to  last year.  We have a few Selasphorus around, including finally one male  Allen's that seems to be getting more consistent, but in general, there  are not many individuals of any of the three species around.  Anybody  else have any observations so far?    Also, Violet-green and Tree Swallows have shown up in the yard this  weekend, and Turkey Vultures are getting to be more common by the day.   The yard is very bird-songy, if that is a word!  Everybody is  gibber-gabbering.    Cheers  Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein  Bandon OR  deweysage AT verizon.net    --  "We need to change our mind frame - our values.  Perhaps quality time, love, family values, friendship and respect are preferable to material goods and status?  Or maybe humans are too vain.  In this problem, I think we are seeing the worst of ourselves in the mirror.  We see power struggle and corruption."  Rasmus Benestad, The Norwegian Meteorological Institute          _______________________________________________  OBOL mailing list  OBOL AT oregonbirds.org  http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: Hummingbirds From: "HARVEY W SCHUBOTHE " <ninerharv2 AT msn.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:48:58 +0000 Dave Have only r sightings here on Bradley Lake including one yesterday. Neihbors have had feeders up. Ours today. Harv Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: DJ Lauten and KACastelein Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:00:55 To: Subject: [OBOL] Hummingbirds I haven't posted in a while because I can't figure out if I am still on OBOL or not, but I figured I'd mention that here in Bandon, Coos Co, the hummingbird activity seems really slow this year, especially compared to last year.  We have a few Selasphorus around, including finally one male Allen's that seems to be getting more consistent, but in general, there are not many individuals of any of the three species around.  Anybody else have any observations so far? Also, Violet-green and Tree Swallows have shown up in the yard this weekend, and Turkey Vultures are getting to be more common by the day.  The yard is very bird-songy, if that is a word!  Everybody is gibber-gabbering. Cheers Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein Bandon OR deweysage AT verizon.net -- "We need to change our mind frame - our values.  Perhaps quality time, love, family values, friendship and respect are preferable to material goods and status?  Or maybe humans are too vain.  In this problem, I think we are seeing the worst of ourselves in the mirror.  We see power struggle and corruption."  Rasmus Benestad, The Norwegian Meteorological Institute _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Hummingbirds From: DJ Lauten and KACastelein <deweysage AT verizon.net> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:00:55 -0700 I haven't posted in a while because I can't figure out if I am still on OBOL or not, but I figured I'd mention that here in Bandon, Coos Co, the hummingbird activity seems really slow this year, especially compared to last year. We have a few Selasphorus around, including finally one male Allen's that seems to be getting more consistent, but in general, there are not many individuals of any of the three species around. Anybody else have any observations so far? Also, Violet-green and Tree Swallows have shown up in the yard this weekend, and Turkey Vultures are getting to be more common by the day. The yard is very bird-songy, if that is a word! Everybody is gibber-gabbering. Cheers Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein Bandon OR deweysage AT verizon.net -- "We need to change our mind frame - our values. Perhaps quality time, love, family values, friendship and respect are preferable to material goods and status? Or maybe humans are too vain. In this problem, I think we are seeing the worst of ourselves in the mirror. We see power struggle and corruption." Rasmus Benestad, The Norwegian Meteorological Institute _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: Lesser Goldfinch (NE PDX) From: A Duston <aeduston AT hevanet.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:32:49 -0700 We have had Lesser Goldfinches in our yard and at our feeders since last fall. I can't vouch for their singing or mimicking abilities, but "when they's hungry, they's hungry," and will boot other birds out of the way to feed, even pouncing upon the expletive deleted house sparrows. It usually takes more than one goldfinch to take on a house sparrow, however. The LG's are relatively fearless, inquisitive birds. They seem to like to spy on me when I'm out working in the yard. Between them and the resident song sparrow trio (I assume this will be resolved by true breeding season, ha) I am well-looked-after. Cheers, Anne D. just east of Glendoveer Golf Course > Message: 12 > Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:16:11 -0700 > From: "Tim Janzen" > To: > Cc:jim.and.rita AT comcast.net > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Lesser Goldfinch (NE PDX) > Message-ID: > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Dear Rita and Jim, > Lesser Goldfinches have significantly expanded their range in > northern Clackamas County and Multnomah County in the past 10-15 years. I > live on Mt. Scott and work near Adventist Medical Center. From 1990 to 2000 > I never saw or heard a Lesser Goldfinch at either location. Lesser > Goldfinches first appeared at my house in 2000 and within a year or so they > were reasonably common. They occur in my neighborhood on a daily basis now > and have been very regular here for at least the past 5 years. Lesser > Goldfinches are not quite as common at Adventist Medical Center as they are > on Mt. Scott, but they are still reasonably common there. I have been > hearing or seeing them on a fairly regular basis there for the past 5 years > or so. There has definitely been an increase in frequency of this species > on Mt. Tabor over the past 10-15 years as well. I suspect that a similar > increase in abundance has been occurring in your neighborhood. > Sincerely, > Tim Janze _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Lesser Goldfinches From: Ray Korpi <rkorpi AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:44:51 -0700 All, Interesting discussion on the Lesser Goldfinches. When I moved into my new place in Vancouver, I immediately heard Lessers. On this side of the river (and Wilson Cady probably has some better thoughts), I see them regularly on Burnt Bridge Creek Trail from about 1/2 mile west of Andresen into my neighborhood (98th and Burton Rd), north onto Royal Oaks Country Club (don;t count that, Danny), and then east haphazardly to around Camas Meadows GC. I've had them by the Firstenburg Center on 136th, but never had any in my apartments at 112th and Mill Plain. last winter, I had Lessers for the first time in 15 years at Clark C., and this year, near my office in Anna Pechanec Hall, I have a pair that has been courting, and the female has been gathering nesting material. So, the Clark experience with lessers parallels Jeff G's in the Laurelhurst area. RK Ray Korpi rkorpi AT hotmail.com Vancouver WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Lessers in Portland From: "pamela johnston" <pamelaj AT spiritone.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:11:51 -0700 During the time I lived in Portland, I saw the first Lesser Goldfinches in my NE Portland back yard in the mid-1980s. That was the only sighting. After I moved to Mt Tabor late in 1989, it took a while until I got a better thistle feeder than I had been using. It started bringing them in more or less overnight. Now we know they nest in the park, but at that time I had seen no evidence of it. Pamela Johnston _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Lesser Goldfinch From: Norgren Family <gnorgren AT earthlink.net> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:01:07 -0700 I noted this species sparingly in SE Portland from 1984 onward-- specifically SE 48th and Bybee and SE 37th and Francis. Always single birds in mid-summer. Until 1984 I did not spend summers in Portland, only the academic year(alas my arrival at Reed College coincided with Dave DeSante's departure, hopefully a mere coincidence). I met an anthropologist from UW in the winter of 1993 who was also a birder. He considered the Lesser Goldfinch to be the rarest breeding bird in Washington State, with Lyle being the only confirmed site. I believe they are now regular at least to Seattle. In western Washington County they now seem to outnumber American Goldfinches in winter. This is perhaps more a result of them being more vocal outside the breeding season than AMGO, and far more eye-catching. American Goldfinches can really disappear into the background as they sit silently in their grey garb on a winter's day. But I often hear Lessers in suburban Hillsboro while running errands in winter. In mid-Autumn there can be incredible flocks of Lessers at the Fernhill parking lot. I saw about 100 at once this past fall. The oriole house in Gaston has had many Lessers throughout this winter. Here where I live, essentially out of habitat (3km into heavy forest) I have had a Lesser fly over twice, the first time Oct 4 1995. One was in a clearcut down the hill July 9, 2009. Lars Norgren _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: Mult. WRENTIT From: Norgren Family <gnorgren AT earthlink.net> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:39:13 -0700 I recall a report of Wrentits in the Chat (ASC newsletter) that was probably pre-1977. It also mentioned Lawrence's Golfinches. This would have been a September issue, covering observations throughout the preceeding summer. Both records were for Portland, not Corvallis. Lars Norgren On Mar 14, 2010, at 3:11 PM, Jeff Gilligan wrote: > Hello John and OBOL: > > This is the first confirmed Wrentit record for Multnomah County. > > The only other report that I would give some credence to is that of a bird > heard by Rich Stallcup at the ridge over Oaks Bottoms in about 1977. I > heard of this from Dave DeSante. Rich Stallcup had accompanied Dave to > Portland to help in Dave's move to his new position at Reed College. I have > never spoken with Rich in regard to him having heard the song of this > species in Multnomah County. > > What a great find by David Mandell. I'll be looking for the bird. > > > Jeff Gilligan > > > On 3/14/10 2:20 PM, "Jfitchen AT aol.com" wrote: > >> Hello Obol, >> >> David Mandell called at about 10:30 to let me know he had a WRENTIT at the >> Sandy River Delta's west bank. I rolled immediately, arriving about >> 11:30. After some pishing and owl imitations, the bird suddenly popped up at >> point-blank range. It was brown overall, with a long slender tail held >> cocked up, white partial crescents above and below the eyes (more prominent >> above); thin, dark, slightly decurved bill, faint streaking on the throat, >> pale/warm/buffy chest and belly. The bird did not vocalize while I was >> there, >> but David heard it several times before I arrived. To my knowledge this is >> a first record for Multnomah County. I'd be interested to know if anyone >> is aware of a previous record. In either case, congratulations to David >> for a great county bird. >> >> To get to the site, take I-84 east to Exit 17, drive past the stores on >> your right and turn left at the traffic light at the far end of the mall and >> go back under the freeway. At the light on the north side of the freeway >> go straight. This will bring you along the east end of the Troutdale >> Airport. The road turns right and then left and after about an eighth of a >> mile >> you'll see a dirt parking lot on the right with a blue gate with yellow >> stanchions. Park and walk up the paved bike path that diagonals up the dike. >> From the parking lot, walk 825 yards along the bike path and you will >> come to a rock "outcroping" on the left of the path and "308" printed on the >> paved surface. Go immediately down off the dike (steep but manageable) >> heading toward the Sandy River. At the bottom of the dike, you'll see a dirt >> footpath going east into the brushy habitat. Walk exactly 100 yards down >> this path, then stop, look and listen. >> >> Cheers and good luck! >> >> John Fitchen >> Portland >> -------------- next part -------------- >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: >> > 5ab05d/attachment.html> >> _______________________________________________ >> OBOL mailing list >> OBOL AT oregonbirds.org >> http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL AT oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: Of Wrentits and Lesser Goldfinches From: "Tim Janzen" <tjanzen AT comcast.net> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:39:06 -0700 Dear David, There are no confirmed records of Wrentit for Clackamas Co. There was a report of one by an inexperienced observer near the Willamette River in Milwaukie ca 1994 or so. I looked for the bird at the time and never relocated it (assuming the record was valid). Sincerely, Tim Janzen -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces AT oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces AT oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of David C. Bailey Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2010 10:15 PM To: obol AT oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Of Wrentits and Lesser Goldfinches I am still wowed by the Wrentit--great bird, and one I would love to have on my Multnomah County llist! Have they been found in Clackamas or Washington Counties? David _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Of Wrentits and Lesser Goldfinches From: "David C. Bailey" <baileydc AT pdx.edu> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:15:19 -0700 Wrentit in the Portland area--Wow! I would have predicted that the species would have become commoner to the south of the Metro region before one ever showed up in Multnomah County, let alone by the Columbia River. The picture shows a fairly dark bird, similar to what I see on the N. Coast. Are the ones seen regularly in the Willamette Valley similar looking? Lesser Goldfinches have certainly become more common in the Portland area during the 25 or so years I have been birding. I had at one time thought that they had never before been regular in the Portland area until now, but I did some research a while back. Gabrielson and Jewett in their "Birds of Portland" thought them not uncommon in the Columbia bottomlands as I recall. Jeff G. or others who own that volume can correct me. I think the species may be rebounding from a fairly recent drop in population that occurred in middle of the last century in the Portland region. I am still wowed by the Wrentit--great bird, and one I would love to have on my Multnomah County llist! Have they been found in Clackamas or Washington Counties? David David C. Bailey Gearhart, OR ps. I saw my first TURKEY VULTURE of the year yesterday (13 Mar 2010) flying low in the cold and rain over the Clatsop Plains between Gearhart and Warrenton from hwy 101. _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Rufous Hummingbird, Yamhill Co From: "pamela johnston" <pamelaj AT spiritone.com> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:08:00 -0700 Yesterday my husband heard the wing whirr of a Rufous Hummingbird. He put out a feeder this morning and today we saw our first of the year, a female. Our next door neighbor, who has had a feeder up for about 3 weeks, also saw his first today, a male. Also, we heard a Red-breasted Sapsucker drumming for the first time. Pamela Johnston outside McMinnville _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: Lesser Goldfinch (NE PDX) From: Jeff Gilligan <jeffgill AT teleport.com> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:17:30 -0700 Much has been written about the species increase in recent years in Portland. Starting last year they began to breed in the Laurelhurst neighborhood, but before that I had only twice detected them in the neighborhood. I now expect to see them or hear them on almost every dog walk. American Goldfinches are common in the neighborhood, but only in winter. Jeff Gilligan On 3/14/10 4:39 PM, "jim.and.rita AT comcast.net" wrote: > We have recently sighted several Lesser Goldfinches in our neighborhood (near > NE 47th Avenue and NE Halsey) in NE Portland, and today there was one in our > backyard. Seeing this species around our neighborhood is something fairly new > for us. Have others in Portland (and elsewhere in Oregon?) found their > sightings of this species to be more frequent in recent years? > > Regards, > Rita and Jim Coleman > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > 5e6c74/attachment.html> > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL AT oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Request: Information on Sandhill Crane Breeding Locations in Malheur County From: Chad August <c.w.august AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:49:58 -0700 Hi Oregon birders, I am requesting information on the distribution of Sandhill Cranes in Malheur County during the breeding season from May to August. I am doing a research project with the University of Nevada-Reno on Greater Sandhill Cranes that breed in northeastern Nevada, extreme northwestern Utah, southwestern Idaho, and possibly extreme southeastern Oregon (these birdes are assigned to the Lower Colorado River Valley population of Greater Sandhill Cranes). I would only be interested in cranes from Malheur County because birds to the west belong to the Central Valley population. Thanks in advance for the help, -- Chad W. August Master's Student, Wildlife Ecology Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science University of Nevada, Reno Office: 775-784-6558 Cell: 515-368-3135 caugust AT cabnr.unr.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Pileated Woodpecker000 From: james wwilson <cuba19842002 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:29:19 -0700 (PDT) I have a question. Today was our  first time sighting of a Pileated Woodpecker on Southpoint,Depoe Bay. What range do they have?  Will they be nesting nearby? This was the largest woodpecker, like a crow in size. Will it return to the same dead tree, or do they travel a lot? Thanks if anyone has any thoughts. _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Golden Eagle in Northeast Portland??? From: sandyleapt AT comcast.net Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:09:34 +0000 (UTC) Hi All, Today I saw an unusual, large raptor in the Cottonwoods just north of Columbia Edgewater Country Club. It's where the old club house used to be before it burned down. I did not have my binoculars or camera. Drat...so, this was a large bird, sort of nice dark chocolate brown. Some lighter spotting on the back. The breast had no white, there was a band across the upper chest that looked a bit lighter in color than the rest of the underside. Could have been the lighting. The beak shape was difficult to see. The head and neck were a bright shiny golden brown when the light caught it as the bird looked at me. My husband and I circled back to take another look at the bird, but it was gone when we got back. I suppose it could be a very dark Red-tail Hawk. Some one did report a really dark Red-tail out by Portland International didn't they? Sandy Leaptrott NE Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Garden Birds/Rufous Hummingbirds From: sandyleapt AT comcast.net Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:59:49 +0000 (UTC) Had another male Rufous Hummingbird in the garden. Still have lots of Juncos and a few Golden-crowned Sparrows. One of the Juncos gathers up a couple sunflower seeds in his beak and dashes into the shrubbery with them. I'm thinking the Sharp-shinned Hawk has been visiting the garden. I noticed that Anna's Hummingbird feet are dark on the top and bright pink underneath. I was playing with my camera trying to freeze motion and get the right exposure. Anna's Hummingbirds have really cute feet. Sandy Leaptrott NE Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: Lesser Goldfinch (NE PDX) From: "Tim Janzen" <tjanzen AT comcast.net> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:16:11 -0700 Dear Rita and Jim, Lesser Goldfinches have significantly expanded their range in northern Clackamas County and Multnomah County in the past 10-15 years. I live on Mt. Scott and work near Adventist Medical Center. From 1990 to 2000 I never saw or heard a Lesser Goldfinch at either location. Lesser Goldfinches first appeared at my house in 2000 and within a year or so they were reasonably common. They occur in my neighborhood on a daily basis now and have been very regular here for at least the past 5 years. Lesser Goldfinches are not quite as common at Adventist Medical Center as they are on Mt. Scott, but they are still reasonably common there. I have been hearing or seeing them on a fairly regular basis there for the past 5 years or so. There has definitely been an increase in frequency of this species on Mt. Tabor over the past 10-15 years as well. I suspect that a similar increase in abundance has been occurring in your neighborhood. Sincerely, Tim Janzen -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces AT oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces AT oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of jim.and.rita AT comcast.net Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2010 4:39 PM To: obol AT oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Lesser Goldfinch (NE PDX) We have recently sighted several Lesser Goldfinches in our neighborhood (near NE 47th Avenue and NE Halsey) in NE Portland, and today there was one in our backyard. Seeing this species around our neighborhood is something fairly new for us. Have others in Portland (and elsewhere in Oregon?) found their sightings of this species to be more frequent in recent years? Regards, Rita and Jim Coleman _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: Lesser Goldfinch (NE PDX) From: Patty Newland <pbirder AT comcast.net> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:14:53 -0700 I had Lesser Goldfinch all winter at my NE Portland feeder last year, and this year, nary a one. Patty Newland jim.and.rita AT comcast.net wrote: > We have recently sighted several Lesser Goldfinches in our neighborhood (near NE 47th Avenue and NE Halsey) in NE Portland, and today there was one in our backyard. Seeing this species around our neighborhood is something fairly new for us. Have others in Portland (and elsewhere in Oregon?) found their sightings of this species to be more frequent in recent years? > > Regards, > Rita and Jim Coleman > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL AT oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > > _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Lesser Goldfinch (NE PDX) From: jim.and.rita AT comcast.net Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:39:22 +0000 (UTC) We have recently sighted several Lesser Goldfinches in our neighborhood (near NE 47th Avenue and NE Halsey) in NE Portland, and today there was one in our backyard. Seeing this species around our neighborhood is something fairly new for us. Have others in Portland (and elsewhere in Oregon?) found their sightings of this species to be more frequent in recent years? Regards, Rita and Jim Coleman -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Wrentit in Multnomah From: gneavoll AT comcast.net Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:34:53 +0000 (UTC) I believe Seth and Michelle Reams reported one in their Gateway (North Portland) backyard some time back. Everybody said they were crazy. George Neavoll S.W. Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Catherine Creek Sunday March 14 From: kathykrall <krallfamily AT comcast.net> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:04:14 -0700 Mike and I hiked Catherine Creek today. Highlights: white breasted nuthatches immature golden eagle (likely first year) Lewis' woodpecker Ring Necked ducks in the lake by Old Hwy 8 Turkey vulture was over I-84 near the Wood Village exit (on the way home) Kathy Krall _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Mult County Wrentit photo From: Andy Frank <andydfrank AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:44:10 -0700 Kudos to David Mandell for the great find of a Wrentit by the Sandy River in Multnomah County, and thanks also to John Fitchen for the excellent directions to the spot. I arrived 2:30PM and found there are 2 of them! At least one was calling. They had moved a little from where John saw them. John reported: At the bottom of the dike, you'll see a dirt footpath going east into the brushy habitat. Walk exactly 100 yards down this path, then stop, look and listen. I saw then only 5-10 yards down the path. A photo of one of them is at http://andyfrank.blogspot.com/ Left-clicking enlarges it. Andy Frank -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: Mult. WRENTIT From: Jeff Gilligan <jeffgill AT teleport.com> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:11:42 -0700 Hello John and OBOL: This is the first confirmed Wrentit record for Multnomah County. The only other report that I would give some credence to is that of a bird heard by Rich Stallcup at the ridge over Oaks Bottoms in about 1977. I heard of this from Dave DeSante. Rich Stallcup had accompanied Dave to Portland to help in Dave's move to his new position at Reed College. I have never spoken with Rich in regard to him having heard the song of this species in Multnomah County. What a great find by David Mandell. I'll be looking for the bird. Jeff Gilligan On 3/14/10 2:20 PM, "Jfitchen AT aol.com" wrote: > Hello Obol, > > David Mandell called at about 10:30 to let me know he had a WRENTIT at the > Sandy River Delta's west bank. I rolled immediately, arriving about > 11:30. After some pishing and owl imitations, the bird suddenly popped up at > point-blank range. It was brown overall, with a long slender tail held > cocked up, white partial crescents above and below the eyes (more prominent > above); thin, dark, slightly decurved bill, faint streaking on the throat, > pale/warm/buffy chest and belly. The bird did not vocalize while I was > there, > but David heard it several times before I arrived. To my knowledge this is > a first record for Multnomah County. I'd be interested to know if anyone > is aware of a previous record. In either case, congratulations to David > for a great county bird. > > To get to the site, take I-84 east to Exit 17, drive past the stores on > your right and turn left at the traffic light at the far end of the mall and > go back under the freeway. At the light on the north side of the freeway > go straight. This will bring you along the east end of the Troutdale > Airport. The road turns right and then left and after about an eighth of a > mile > you'll see a dirt parking lot on the right with a blue gate with yellow > stanchions. Park and walk up the paved bike path that diagonals up the dike. > From the parking lot, walk 825 yards along the bike path and you will > come to a rock "outcroping" on the left of the path and "308" printed on the > paved surface. Go immediately down off the dike (steep but manageable) > heading toward the Sandy River. At the bottom of the dike, you'll see a dirt > footpath going east into the brushy habitat. Walk exactly 100 yards down > this path, then stop, look and listen. > > Cheers and good luck! > > John Fitchen > Portland > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > 5ab05d/attachment.html> > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL AT oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Mult. WRENTIT From: Jfitchen AT aol.com Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:20:17 EDT Hello Obol, David Mandell called at about 10:30 to let me know he had a WRENTIT at the Sandy River Delta's west bank. I rolled immediately, arriving about 11:30. After some pishing and owl imitations, the bird suddenly popped up at point-blank range. It was brown overall, with a long slender tail held cocked up, white partial crescents above and below the eyes (more prominent above); thin, dark, slightly decurved bill, faint streaking on the throat, pale/warm/buffy chest and belly. The bird did not vocalize while I was there, but David heard it several times before I arrived. To my knowledge this is a first record for Multnomah County. I'd be interested to know if anyone is aware of a previous record. In either case, congratulations to David for a great county bird. To get to the site, take I-84 east to Exit 17, drive past the stores on your right and turn left at the traffic light at the far end of the mall and go back under the freeway. At the light on the north side of the freeway go straight. This will bring you along the east end of the Troutdale Airport. The road turns right and then left and after about an eighth of a mile you'll see a dirt parking lot on the right with a blue gate with yellow stanchions. Park and walk up the paved bike path that diagonals up the dike. From the parking lot, walk 825 yards along the bike path and you will come to a rock "outcroping" on the left of the path and "308" printed on the paved surface. Go immediately down off the dike (steep but manageable) heading toward the Sandy River. At the bottom of the dike, you'll see a dirt footpath going east into the brushy habitat. Walk exactly 100 yards down this path, then stop, look and listen. Cheers and good luck! John Fitchen Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Fwd: RBA GYRFALCON Florence From: Daniel Farrar <jdanielfarrar AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:18:09 -0700 Obol, Thanks Alan for the quick posting. Lydia Cruz and I walked out to the deflation plain along S Jetty Rd in Florence today at around 11:45. At noon we were about 3/4 of the way out the dike when a large falcon flew in from the east. The bird glided towards us on stiff wings (in the few minutes we watched it it never flapped) and then made a short pass at the ducks before changing its' mind and veering north. At this point is was fairly close over our heads and we could see the shape really well. As it was coming closer I noticed it had a very large "barrel" looking chest and did not feel right for Peregrine. It also had a largish looking head and thick neck making it appear to have a bulging crop. It almost reminded me of a Cooper's Hawk head compared to a Sharp-shinned. As it passed we could see the vertically streaked breast and a darkish face mask. We were pretty sure we had a DARK-PHASED GYRFALCON. We continued to watch as it soared north (again on stiff wings without flapping). We lost it behind some tall bushes and could not relocate it. It could very well have landed on a log out in the d plain, which is still totally flooded. I have seen only one Gyr (in Polk County) but have seen countless Peregrines. This is the first time I have ever found a falcon that I believe to be Gyr. The large body and head, flight style and vertical streaking would seem to rule out a Peregrine. Comments welcome. We also had half a dozen VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS on the way out. The dog pond had a single LESSER SCAUP with 5 Ring-necked Ducks. At the south jetty gravel lot there were two BROWN PELICANS. We did not make it out to watch the ocean. Daniel Farrar On Sun, Mar 14, 2010 at 2:28 PM, Alan Contreras wrote: > Daniel Farrar reports probable GYRFALCON at deflation plain of s jetty > Siuslaw at Florence 1:00 Sunday. Seen from the dike near parking lot No. 3 > on s jetty road. > > > -- > Alan Contreras > EUGENE, OREGON > acontrer AT mindspring.com > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL AT oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > -- Daniel Farrar Dunes City, Oregon jdanielfarrar AT gmail.com -- Daniel Farrar Dunes City, Oregon jdanielfarrar AT gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: RBA GYRFALCON Florence From: Alan Contreras <acontrer AT MINDSPRING.COM> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:28:32 -0800 Daniel Farrar reports probable GYRFALCON at deflation plain of s jetty Siuslaw at Florence 1:00 Sunday. Seen from the dike near parking lot No. 3 on s jetty road. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer AT mindspring.com _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Tillamook Scrub Jay From: Barbara and John Woodhouse <jbw AT oregoncoast.com> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:52:17 -0700 2 days now we have seen a scrub Jay in a laural bush behind the Tillamook Post office, Many ducks on the bay and lake, Ringnecks on the lake and Pintail, wigeon and mallard on the bay. At the entrance to the spit large group of Yellow Rumps (Myrtle) hawking insects. We saw our first tree swallow on a wire over the lake. Marg Tweelincks saw some a few days ago over the lake. Barbara & John Woodhouse _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Out and About in Yamhill Co. Birding March 13, 2010 From: "Carol Karlen" <carolk AT viclink.com> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:00:47 -0800 Saturday Paul and I rechecked my North Yamhill Raptor Route and found a few "good birds". On Thursday I did the route with Leslie Meserve and Diana Hwang in a driving rain with lots of wind. We found 2 Red-tailed Hawks and 15 American Kestrels. Compare this to a nice sunny day on Saturday along the same 52 mile route where we found: 21 Red-tailed Hawks 35 American Kestrels 5 Bald Eagles (2 sitting on nests) 1 Rough-legged Hawk 1 Merlin (very dark) 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk plus one unidentified large falcon Along North Valley Road we found quite a few ducks including: 1 male Cinnamon Teal 1 Eurasian Wigeon American Wigeons (lots of them) Ring-necked Ducks (lots of them) Green-winged Teal Northern Pintails 5 Pied billed Grebes 3 Double crested Cormorants Canada Geese Mallards Lesser Scaup Hooded Mergansers Common Merganser American Coots Other areas of the county: Bufflehead Northern Shoveler Killdeer Rock Pigeons Mourning Doves EC Doves 7 Turkey Vultures Red-breasted Sapsucker Northern Flicker Hairy Woodpecker At 2nd and Cottonwood Streets in Gaston we saw: HOODED ORIOLE (Arrived in Gaston December 2009) Anna's Hummingbird White-breasted Nuthatch and other little birds Returning home we arrived to find another dark Merlin watching over my backyard! Acorn Woodpeckers are using a suet feeder down the street a few blocks from my house. Hope they come to visit my suet feeders soon. Wow, a good day. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Raptor Route: Lane Unit 2 From: Oropendolas AT aol.com Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:58:53 EDT Hello All, Tanya Bray and I conducted the final survey of the season for the Lane Raptor Route Unit 2 yesterday, March 13. We took 5 hours on the 85 mile route which covers the West Eugene Wetlands area and north between Greenhill Road and River Road to Hwy 36 near Junction City then between Hwy 99W and Washburn Road to the Lane County line. The record high count of Kestrels for this route, which was set in Jan. 2005 was broken by one today. Great Horned Owl was added to the list of species for the season on this route. The same nest was occupied by a GHOW last year. Red-tailed Hawk numbers were down as birds are pairing up and dispersing. It also appears that most of the White-tailed Kites have left the area. Red-tailed Hawk - 29 American Kestrel - 65 Northern Harrier - 10 White-tailed Kite - 1 Bald Eagle - 8 Rough-legged Hawk - 1 (Washburn Lane, W. of Junction City) Merlin - 1 Great Horned Owl - 1 on nest on Lassen & River Roads John Sullivan Springfield, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Subject: Adventures from Australia (Blog) From: Noah Strycker <birdboy AT bkpix.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:17:31 +1300 Hi birders, If you're tired of Oregon's wet winter, check out my new blog! I'm at the beginning of a six-month internship studying Purple-crowned Fairy-Wrens at Mornington Station in northwest Australia: www.noahstrycker.com/latest Mornington Station is in the Kimberley, one of the last great wildernesses on Earth (about the size of California, with only one paved road). The nearest neighboring station is a two-hour 4x4 drive from here, and the nearest grocery store is six hours away (assuming the roads are passable, which, at the moment, they aren't). I'm living with about 15 other researchers in a camp with basic amenities. The climate is extremely hot - yesterday was about 108 degrees F, which is typical. I spend seven or eight hours a day closely observing Purple-crowned Fairy-Wrens, a beautiful, endangered songbird endemic to northern Australia. If you happened to read my Antarctica blog last year, this one's sort of equal and opposite. Anyway, hope you enjoy it - and save those Oregon mega-rarities until August, please ;) Good birding - Noah -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL AT oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org