Dean Drugge wrote:
>This last weekend in eastern Oregon an immature golden, with white band
>at base of tail, was soaring near Smith Rock State Park. As it was
>soaring low over the foothills the golden nape was obvious, and
>beautiful. What a majestic sight. It is also noted that a pair of
>prairies were seen in ritual flight displays and offering food. The park
>personnel did mention that signage is going up soon to stop the climbers
>and hikers. Also, a pair of kestrels were also seen over the rock. The
>sounds of swifts, canyon wrens, prairies, kestrels, and canadian honkers
>was great. Twelve turkey vultures overhead at one time, a very ancient
>feeling. Climbing was pleasant,too.

I was there this past Saturday myself and would like to echo Dean's
sentiments. Seeing at the same time courtship flights of Golden Eagles
AND hunting Prairie Falcons was breathtaking!

After watching the falcons alternately repeat the same aerobatic
performance high overhead over and over again, I began to wonder if they
were hunting some unseen prey. Sure enough, after pulling my scope from
the car, I could see hundreds of swallows swarming high out of binocular
range. (Maybe the swifts you referred to, Dean, were actually swallows?
The swifts don't usually arrive for another month or so.) Anyway, later
in the afternoon, the stage lowered to the point that I could see the
two falcons effortlessly pluck one Tree Swallow after another from the
sky. What a great show!

In addition to the other species Dean mentioned, there was a pair of
Flickers that caught my interest. They came and went frequently, each
time disappearing into a cavity in the bare rock face! Has anyone ever
seen this before? This isn't the soft grainy sandstone that crumbles in
your fingers, but hard rock that climbers hammer pitons (or whatever
they're called) into. It brought to mind the image of the woodpecker in
Sill's book, "Little Known and Seldom Seen Birds", that lives in petrified
forests!

Skip
--
Skip Russell
Beaverton, Oregon
skipr at teleport.com