Messages from Oregon Birders On Line

Date: Mon, 18 Apr 94 20:11:05 EST
From:Skip_Russell at intersolv.com
Subject: Weekend birding

I spent this past weekend owling and exploring south-central Oregon.
Here's a report:

I left work last Friday evening about 8:30 pm, ate a quick dinner, then
headed for the Cascades to do some owling. At first, all I could find
were Great Horneds. Eventually I heard a Saw-whet Owl calling north of
Detroit near the Marion/Clackamas County line. Later 2 more responded
to my whistled imitation of their call (along highway 224 in Clackamas
County). Since there is some old-growth in this area, I was hoping for a
Strix owl or two. In the past, I have heard several Barred Owls along
this stretch of the Clackamas River. Unfortunately the river is loud
enough to interfere with hearing of distant owls, so I searched for
places where the river noise was reduced. A few times I thought I heard
distant Spotted Owls, but could never be sure. Finally, around
midnight, I heard a definite Spotted Owl calling loudly at one of the
quieter spots along the river. A couple of uneventful hours went by,
until I heard another Saw-whet in Wasco County, and then just before
first light, two different Pygmy Owls in Deschutes County.

Dawn at Horse Ridge (E of Bend, Deschutes) arrived with a chorus of
Vesper Sparrows from all corners. They were soon joined by Horned Larks,
Sage Thrashers, Savannah Sparrows, Pipits, and Rock Wrens. An almost
continuous procession of small flocks of Mountain Bluebirds streamed by
overhead. The Hatfield settling ponds (near the Bend Airport) had a
sizable contingent of waterfowl of various species, including a lone
Snow Goose. Tree Swallows swarmed around the few bird houses there.

I worked my way south into Klamath County, where flocks of White-fronted
Geese were still present in every suitable pond and field in the basin.
A few Bald Eagles could be seen soaring with the numerous Vultures and
Red-tailed Hawks. Miller Island W.A. (south of Klamath Falls) was
literally covered with huge flocks of thousands of Ross's Geese. It was
an amazing spectacle. I couldn't find even a single Snow Goose among
the masses. Most of the expected summering species have returned,
including Avocets, Stilts, White Pelicans, White-faced Ibises, Forster's
Terns, Clark's Grebes, Cinnamon Teal, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, and
Sandhill Cranes. At the city park on the Link River (downtown Klamath
Falls, I don't remember if it has a name), were some resident
Black-crowned Night-Herons, several displaying Barrow's Goldeneye, and a
hundred or so Bonapartes Gulls, fully adorned with their black hoods of
breeding plumage.

At dusk, I drove north to Kimball State Park and Fort Klamath to look
for Great Gray Owls. The Fort Klamath cemerery/dump is supposedly a
reliable place, but I have tried this spot numerous times without ever
finding one. Tonight was different. At first all I found were the same
things I always find there - Great Horned Owls and a Western Screech-Owl
(and a few Snipe winnowing in the distance). But then, the unmistakable
call of a Great Gray from across the road to the north. And then again,
and again! Success! Now it was time to collapse from near total
exhaustion and sleep deprivation.

In the morning I spent a few leisurly hours exploring Upper Klamath
Lake. Of mild interest (for that area) were Scrub Jays and a few Lesser
Goldfinches. It was entertaining to watch the elaborate courtship
displays of the Western Grebes, which were paired off around the lake.
Around noon, I headed up to Crater Lake. It is still winter up there --
Deep snow everywhere. The view, unlike the birding, was magnificant.

By late afternoon, I was in Medford (Jackson), where spring migration is
definitely in full swing. The ponds at the Kirtland Road water treatment
plant were crawling with shorebirds. Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs,
Dunlin, Western and Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, and
Long-billed Dowitchers were everywhere. Five species of swallows swirled
around overhead. My last visit to the Rogue Valley a month or so ago was
too early for Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, so that was my target bird this
time around. I figured I had just enough time for a quick stop at the
Merlin Rest Area (Josephine) before heading back to Portland. Sure
enough, several pairs of Gnatcatchers were actively building nests in the
ceanothus shrubbery. This was a generally quite a birdy place, with
Orange-crowned, Black-throated Gray, Nashville and Audubon's Warblers,
Solitary and Hutton's Vireos, Lesser Goldfinches, Pygmy Nuthatches,
a Lincoln's Sparrow, an Anna's Hummingbird, all within about 50 feet of
my car.

Today, I notice that Evening Grosbeaks and Vaux's Swifts have returned
and a handful of Rufous Hummingbirds have staked out my feeders.

Skip

--
Skip_Russell at intersolv.com
Aloha, Oregon

==================================

Date: Mon, 18 Apr 94 22:36:58 PST
Subject: Oregon Trip Rpt, RUSTIC BUNTING

FROM: Stacy Peterson
Walla Walla College
College Place, WA
PETEST at WWC.EDU

Howdy all,

Spontanaity is good, right! That's what my wife and I thought when we
decided Friday about noon to take the weekend off and buzz down to Eugene
to try to see the famous RUSTIC BUNTING. The plan was to go part way
Friday, stay with relatives in Albany, and see the bird Saturday morning.
It worked!

But that's getting ahead of the trip log! Friday evening we stopped at
McNary Dam Wildlife Area near Umatilla. Strike out. "Nothing" in sight
except tons of fisherpeople (How's that for "correctness")?

Next stop was Umatilla NWR for about an hour. Got 22 species, including
2 AMERICAN AVOCETS, LONG-BILLED CURLEW, GREATER and LESSER SCAUP,
RING-NECKED DUCK, BUFFLEHEAD, CINNAMON TEAL, NORTHERN SHOVELER, and
LINCOLN'S SPARROW.

At Paul Sherrel's house in Eugene Saturday morning (he opened the door to
birders at 6:45 a.m. We arrived around 7:30 a.m. - his first remarks
when he answered the door was, "the bird just flew away, but come on
in!") we got 9 species of birds in about 3 hours, including RUSTIC
BUNTING, which gave us good long looks. It came into view twice in the 3
hours we were there, and stayed clearly visible for about 25 minutes
total! It really fluffed up its crest and "stomped about" when a HERMIT
THRUSH approached! What a bird, and Mr. Sherrel's a fun guy to talk to.
MULTIPLE THANKS TO HIM AND HARRY NEHLS FOR THEIR WORK IN MAKING OUR TRIP
FUN !!!!!!

We then decided to quickly bird some State Parks along the McKenzie River
and Hwy 126 (Lane County). Among the birds at Ben and Kay Dirris State
Park were singing WINTER WRENS. At Hendrick's Bridge State Wayside we
saw RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, DOWNY WOODPECKER, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW,
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS, BLACK-CAPPED and CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES, and
RUFOUS-SIDED TOWHEE.

Since my wife's family lives in Sutherlin (Douglas County), we decided to
go there and bird the old home front (after the necessary visits, of
course). Following the recommendations in Evanich, J.E. _Birds of
Oregon_ (1990) we went to Ford's Pond, Platte I Reservoir, and Cooper
Creek Reservoir. At most places we saw and heard ton's of COMMON
YELLOWTHROAT and GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW. WESTERN KINGBIRDS were at my
in-law's house and at Ford's Pond. The latter place also had BUFFLEHEAD,
RING-NECKED DUCK, CINNAMON TEAL, and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. TURKEY
VULTURES were common in the county.

Platte I Reservoir had GREEN-BACKED HERON, a pair of nesting LESSER
GOLDFINCHES (observed female on nest - no eggs, male staying close by -
Hey Greg, that is fun!) PIED-BILLED GREBE, GREAT BLUE HERON, WESTERN
MEADOWLARK, BARN SWALLOW, KILLDEER, LINCOLN'S SPARROW, and BELTED
KINGFISHER, among others. Nothing fancy was at Cooper Creek, but we did
see our first NORTHERN FLICKERS for the trip and more RUFOUS
HUMMINGBIRDS, along with BELTED KINGFISHER AND PIED-BILLED GREBE.

Sunday afternoon we ended our trip with a few hours as the sun was
setting at Sauvie Island, near Portland. There we saw 39 species of
birds. We hoped for the ROSS' GOOSE that was on the hotline last week,
but missed it (We decided not to count the white blob in the midst of 6.2
million CANADIAN GEESE about 9 miles away). Instead, we got good looks
at 5 SNOW GEESE, a yellow neck-banded CANADA GOOSE (which I reported
tonight. Recent talk on BIRDCHAT place the origin of some yellow
neck-banded geese in New Jersy!), WOOD DUCKS, NORTHERN SHOVELERS,
PINTAILS, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, 3 GREAT EGRET, 3 BALD EAGLES, MERLIN,
NORTHERN HARRIER, AMERICAN KESTRAL, SANDHILL CRANES (a sherrif's officer
told us the crane population has dropped dramatically from last week's
numbers - and yes, that's all he told us), GREATER YELLOWLEGS,
GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, DOWNY WOODPECKER, BARN
SWALLOW, MARSH WREN, SCRUB JAY, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT (everywhere),
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, and GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW (why is it that the
only place I get these birds is in Oregon?), to name a few.

I think we ended the quick trip with 75 species, and lots of fun.
What a trip! Now I hear there is a Clay-colored Sparrow near Tillamook.
Honey, what are we doing next weekend...?


Until later,

Stacy Peterson
petest at wwc.edu