Thursday's Bird Watch

This is an American Kestrel, the smallest member of the fast-flying Falcon Family. Lucky for us, it is by far the most common bird to be seen perched on the power lines along any of our roads in Polk County.  This photo was taken along Smithfield Rd.  Notice her recent catch of a rodent tangling from her right talon.
 

Toledo for The Day

Yesterday, determined to get out of the heat in Dallas for the day, we set our sights on Toledo. Our planned first stop to bird was on the Depot Slough Path at the waterfront in Toledo but arriving there was a good amount of fog and no amount of bird activity. So, our next choice was Paddle Park, located on down Yaquina Bay Rd.  The weather was better, and we were greeted with bird songs galore. We set up our chairs and started counting birds. You can see our eBird Checklist with photos here.

After enjoying lunch and the birds we decided to explore the birding opportunities along the Siletz River. Arriving at the town of Siletz we found their riverfront park, Hee Hee Illahe, a little too busy for our tastes so we traveled on to the next river park, Ojalla Park. 

This park is primarily used for river access, but we were here to check for birds.  In past visits we didn't happen to notice any birds, and worst there was no cell service. On this day we had lots of birds and two bars of cell service!  Again, we made an eBird Checklist. This park will now be a definite return location.

For those who have an interest in more minute information, I presume that "Ojalla" is a different spelling of "Olalla" which is the name of a nearby reservoir, a creek and a slough. According to my research, "Olalla" comes from the word "Olallie" a Chinook jargon word for berries.

 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

The background of the deep red tree foliage contributed to a striking photo of this Anna's Hummingbird.  It was taken from our 2nd floor balcony where I was able to lean against the doorway to hold the camera steady.  Its's been an exceptional spring season for Anna's Hummingbirds in The Lodge Central Courtyard this year with four successful nesting sites.  The flowers as well as the trees have been without question the best we have seen.  It's a great time of year to take a stroll through the courtyard, take a seat on a bench and enjoy the trees, flowers, and bird life.
 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

 For several months a pair of Western bluebirds here at Dallas Retirement Village seemed to fail at getting serious about making a nest and raising babies.  They would become completely consumed at destroying what they presumed were other Western Bluebird, which in reality were merely their own reflection in the rearview mirrors of nearby cars. Finally on Friday, May 23rd, we watched the female enter the nesting box, and the male followed up with food.  We watched him return with food several times, so we think she is probably setting on eggs.  This bird house is located on the chain link fence in the south-west corner of the community garden.  If you are interested in watching their progress, there is a convenient bench outside the fence. 

Hebo Lake

This was a delightful escape for the day to Hebo Lake high in the coast range. A prettier setting is hard to imagine, and the birds were aplenty. Arriving at the lake at about 10:30 we were pleased to find the Handicap Parking space in the Day Use Area right next to the restroom. Next, we took off on a walk around the lake.  This was a challenge to see if I could make the half-mile loop with my continuing lumbar stenosis pain. Turns out there are a number of benches along the trail, which I stopped at to recover and we made it! Back at the Day-Use-Area we selected a picnic table and enjoyed our lunch, even sharing a bit with a Steller's Jay. Here us our eBird Checklist

Day Use parking and camping sites "require a digital reservation and payment on Recreation.gov". However, cell service is so poor at this location it would have been impossible to make a payment, which always puzzle me, as this is the situation at so many National Forest Campgrounds. In this case, the campground host seemed more occupied with mowing the grass than enforcing regulations. 

A Rufous Hummingbird!

It's extremely easy to fall into the trap of thinking that any hummingbird that you see here at Dallas Retirement Village is an Anna's, especially when you consider that we have two nests of Anna's Hummingbirds that are on their second brood for this season, both of which are located here in the Central Courtyard of The Lodge.  Yesterday, on Saturday morning Jeanette and I were sitting on a bench in the Central Courtyard, enjoying a cup of coffee and watching the birds.  We noticed a female hummingbird fly to the top of the closest tree, and even though I have plenty of hummingbird photos, I went ahead and took a couple of photos.  When I looked into the monitor screen, I shocked to notice rufous coloring on the tail! Closer examination on my laptop revealed that it was indeed a female Rufous Hummingbird!

In general, we see Rufous Hummingbirds here on their migration route from wintering grounds in the tropics to summer breeding spots as far north as Alaska. We have observed them here at DRV from the middle of March until the first of May, and then again on their return route from August through the first part of September.  This little lady appears to be bringing up the last of her species for their trip North this year.
 

Two New Hummingbird Nests

It has been a busy Spring for birds here at the Dallas Retirement Village, especially in the Central Courtyard. Eurasian Collared-Doves produced a baby this year. European Starlings are currently feeding young ones. And, most importantly, the Anna's Hummingbirds had two nests, not just one, and both nests had two babies. In mid-April, the juveniles in both nests fledged. Because Anna's Hummingbirds can have more than one brood a year, I have been keeping an eye peeled for a second round of nests. For a couple of weeks, I have noticed a hummingbird going into a certain tree but try as I might I could not find a nest. I finally asked Jeanette to take a look.  She walked right up to the tree and pointed it out. I now know there are two eggs in the nest.  Then resident Carol Combs told us she had discovered a nest in the tree in front of her patio. Low and behold it contained two juveniles as shown in the photo below.  In the photo above, Jeanette is showing resident Ron David the nest at Carol's patio.

These are good sized juveniles, so I imagine they will be fledging soon.

    

 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

This great photo of a Bald Eagle was sent to us from Christine who works the Front Desk at The Club House here in Dallas Retirement Village.  While visiting a friend who lives on Rickreall Creek, Christine noticed the Bald Eagle and her friend took the photo.  Bald Eagles are increasingly becoming a common sight in recent years, particularly along our waterways.  However, the downside is population of Great Herons and Osprey are decreasing.  

 

Riverview Park

 

Del Warren, a friend and fellow resident here at Dallas Retirement Village, explained to us that the birds were very plentiful when he was at the Riverview Park in Independence. We made it a point to stop by yesterday morning and give it a try.  Immediately on getting out of the care we were surrounded by bird songs, so many that our Merlin app had identified 10 species before we left the car.  It's easy to walk the path along the river and Jeanette was kept busy entering in our total species count of 37 on eBird in her iPhone. Here is the link to our eBird Checklist.

The best photo shot of the day was this Osprey male bringing a fish to his female on the nest. Notice the flat look to the front of the fish.  This is because of the normal practice of the male to eat the head off before bringing the fish to the female. This nest site is located next to the Independence Hotel, and it is easy to observe the nest from the Riverview Park parking lot. The exciting thing for birders is that there is a live camera on the nest.  We can watch it on your iPhone, tablet, and TV, but I think for the observation to count on eBird it needs to be in person rather than a screen shot.  We know there are three eggs in the nest, so this scene will be repeated many times in the days to come as the male brings his catch to the female on the nest. 

 

Happy Anniversary to Us

 On this day 32 years ago Jeanette and I got married at Silver Falls State Park. We are celebrating with a trip to the Oregon Coast for the night.  We are camped at Carter Lake Campground with our friend Glenn Pannier, who is the volunteer campground host for this season. We drove over this morning in our van and spent the afternoon birding in the campground with Glenn. Here is our bird list. 

Jeanette and I met through a common interest in bicycling. But soon discovered that we both enjoyed hiking. We added backpacking and cross-country skiing. As we aged, we traveled a lot in RVs. Now the most age-appropriate sport for us is birding. Through all these years what we have enjoyed the most is the time we spend together wherever our interests take us in the great outdoors.

Thursday's Bird Watch!

Eurasian Collard-Doves have made a nest this year at Dallas Retirment Village in the balcony rafters of Diane Wetherbee's 3rd floor Lodge residence.  Last Thursday I got a call from Ann Rolfe about a baby bird on her 2nd floor balcony, which is directly below Diane's place.  The baby turned out to be the juvenile Eurasian Collard-Dove in this photo.  It has also been seen down on the first floor of Del Warren's patio.  So, we know it can fly on its own.  Notice that it does not have the black "collar" on the neck that is so easy for identification of the adults. This is kind of a big deal because this is the first juvenile I have ever seen. It we be interesting to see what happens in the days ahead with this young bird.  
 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

 Recently, several Dallas Retirement Village residents have asked me about a hawk that has been seen in the backyards of the east-side Garden Homes. This photo is I believe what they have been seeing, taken on March 13th, a Cooper's Hawk. They are the most common of a group of hawks known as Accipiters, which prey on other birds. Here at DRV, they seem to prefer the small Pine Siskins which we have hanging around in flocks in the trees between the Garden Homes. In past years we have been able to observe the Cooper's nesting in tall trees in the Dallas City Park, which as "the crow flies", is just a short distance away from DRV. 

Owl Adventure

 For the last two weeks I have been on a quest to photograph an owl here at Dallas Retirement Village. It started with a late-night text from a neighbor. I missed it, but luckily Jeanette heard it and woke me up to explain that the neighbor had just seen a large white owl at her balcony. We rushed down to have a look, and did get a quick glimpse of what we believed were two Barn Owls.  Since 2024, they have been known as American Barn Owls.  After finding pellets we suspected that we had owls but had assumed Great Horned Owls.  We were disappointed that no one was hearing the hoot of the Great Horned Owl. Once we realized that we had Barn Owls, which have a sound more like a clicking or screaming, things fell into place, and early this morning I was finally able to get some photos.  

Easter Escape

Toledo Waterfront Park

Early Sunday morning, Jeanette and I fled Dallas Retirement Village in our camping van to spend the day birding in Toledo. Enroute, we made stops at Ellmaker Wayside State Park, and Chitwood Covered Bridge (see bird list here).

In Toledo, the Port of Toledo Waterfront Park, continues to draw our attention trip after trip. The concrete walkway on the Depot Slough Path is the perfect combinations for birding with a walker. The Osprey nest site provided our third location and viewing of Osprey mating in the last 24 hours. Here is our e-Bird List. 

After lunch in the comfort of the van, and a great phone call with daughter Lisa, we drove on down Yaquina Bay Rd. to Port of Toledo's Paddle Park, where I sat at the dinette and worked on bird lists and photos, and Jeanette roamed the park and docks identifying and counting birds. See her list here.

Hummingbird Wrap-up

In this photo, Jeanette is pointing out to our good friend and fellow resident, Dan Sewell, an Anna's Hummingbird nest. This is the location of the first nest we found this year in the Central Courtyard at the end of February.  We later located a second nest at the other end of the courtyard.  We have kept track of both nests with daily visits.  I also set up my spotting scope in the den, which allowed us to take a close look at this nest site on almost an hourly basis. It's been fun to watch the mother feed the two chicks and watch them grow. This week they finished and fled the nest. Next, we will start watching for a hopeful second round.
 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

In a follow up of last week's article about the arrival of our Violet-green Swallows here at Dallas Retirement Village, with the picture of a male; this week's photo is of a female checking out the nesting box of Mary Clair Site's on her third-floor balcony of the Lodge.  This photo was taken on March 9th.  There were 6 to 8 Violet green Swallows swooping around in the air checking out the area.  Mary's nesting box was used successfully last year.  It will be interesting to see when it is decided which pair will take up residency and build a nest this year. 
 

Thursday's Bird Watch

Our Swallows are Back! They always put a smile on my face as I remember my mother's excitement at the returning swallows to the nesting box that she could see from our kitchen window. It was infectious, and I realize now, it left a lasting imprint on me. This photo is a Violet-green male perched on the third-floor rain gutter of The Lodge.  It was taken on April 1st.  They have arrived from their winter grounds as far away as Mexico. I have been keeping track of my observations here at Dallas Retirment Village through eBird.org for the past five years.  They typically arrive here around the last of March and then leave in the middle of September.  Look for them as they currently are busy swooping around chasing insects and looking for nesting sites.  
 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

Our Anna's Hummingbirds now have babies! This photo of the mother feeding a baby was taken on March 24th in the Lodge Central Courtyard here at Dallas Retirement Village. Acting on a hunch that we might have a second nest, Jeanette and I made an effort to look closer at the other trees in the Courtyard and we found a second nest, and much to our surprise this nest also had a mother feeding a baby.  In fact, both nests appear to have two babies.  I expect the babies will remain in the nest, being fed by the mothers until around the 15th of April.
 

Spring Birding

Anna's Hummingbird

Spring birding is the best! This morning the sun was out here at Dallas Retirement Village, and the birds were active. We have two hummingbird nests in the Central Courtyard, and both have babies which they are busy feeding.

White-crowned Sparrow

A male White-crowned Sparrow was singing his heart out in his best effort to attract a female

Violet-green Swallow

A pair of Violet-green Swallows were checking out possibilities for nesting sites.

Dark-eyed Junco

A Dark-eyed Junco came out of its hiding place beneath the shrubbery.

Wild Turkeys

A pair of young Wild Turkeys creped quietly into the area to look for bugs. 

 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

BLUEBIRD UPDATE - - Last week I showed a photo and wrote about watching our Western Bluebirds at a nesting box by the Pavilion here at Dallas Retirement Village. This week the surprise is that they have moved! It now appears that they have chosen the nesting box in the garden area. This photo was taken on Saturday March 22nd. They seem to be comfortable spending more time closer together, so hopefully this new location will work out. The bench near the garden entrance is a good place to sit and watch them.
 

Birding at Fort Yamhill

This morning Jeanette and I went birding at Fort Yamhill State Heritage Area, another of our favorite places to bird. It is also steeped in the history of the contact and interaction of the native populations, the invading settlers, and the United State Army. It's always thought provoking to visit this park, particularly this section of the historical trade route used by the coastal and valley natives for thousands of years. In fact, according to David Lewis, author of "Tribal Histories of the Willamette Vallet", recent archeological evidence supports human habitation at 10,000 years. Let that settle in your mind. So, as we walk this ancient path, boarded with ferns and trees, seeking out birds by song and sight, it is for us a sacred moment. 
 

First Osprey!

Jeanette and I have been tracking Osprey arrivals in Polk County for the past ten years. Amazingly they are quite predictable in their arrival date from their winter grounds as far away as South America. I checked the last three years for two of the major sites we check in West Salem, and their arrival dates vary from March 19th to the 22nd.

This morning, we went out to check on a group of nests in the West Salem area.  The Murlark Ave. nest site was empty, as was the Patterson St. nest site, and the Bartel Dr. nest site. When we got to Wallace Marine Park, we struck gold. Here at the ball field nest site, we found a female Osprey on the nest crying her eyes out. We took a few minutes to photograph and add the information in to eBird.org, and then we noticed a 2nd Osprey in flight.  It made a couple of loops around the ball field area and then landed in the nest. The male Osprey! 
 

On our way out of West Salem, we made a stop at the Salem Audubon Nature Reserve to check out their nest site.  Nothing on the nest, but across the street in a conifer tree we spotted what I think was a male Osprey. On the way home we checked a couple of nest sites in Independence, and a site in Dallas.  All were empty. 

We are so excited for our first Ospreys of the season and look forward to keeping track of their development in the upcoming months before they leave us again in September for their winter hangouts.  

Thursday's Bird Watch!

A pair of Western Bluebirds here at Dallas Retirment Village are getting serious about nesting once again.  This nesting box is located at the Pavilion.  They have used this box for several years, and it easy to sit in the comfort of the Pavilion and look out to the north and watch them settling in.  I took this photo on March 13th, and they were very busy playing "catch me if you can."  The drab-colored female is the lower one, and the puffed-up brighter bird above is the male.  In the days ahead they we be bringing in grass to build a nest.  Then she will set on the eggs, and after the chicks have hatched, the busy time begins when they feed the babies.  Be sure and visit the Pavilion in the days and weeks ahead to watch the progression. 
 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

 We have more excitement in the hummingbird world here at Dallas Retirement Village!  This is a male Rufous Hummingbird, photographed by Lodge resident LaVerda Gallager at her third-floor balcony juice feeder on March 6th. This is only the second Rufous Hummingbird to be reported in Polk County this year! In general, Rufous Hummingbirds migrate through the Willamette Valley in the Spring on their way North for nesting, and then again on their way South for the Winter.  Although smaller than our resident Anna's Hummingbirds, thay are fierce competitors, and cause quite a commontion while they are passing through. 

Thursday's Birdwatch!

A NEW NEST!  During lunch at the Red House Bistro with our downstairs neighbors, Roger and Sandy Coburn, they mentioned to us that they had hummingbirds coming and going into their dryer vent.  They wondered if they were nesting in the the dryer vent.  After lunch, Jeanette and I went to investigate.  We concluded that the hummingbirds were probably not nesting in the vent but instead gathering lint to construct a nest in a more suitable location.  We turned our attention to the dogwood trees in the courtyard and almost by accident found the nest with the female in it.  I have now set up a scope in my den where I can observe it, and today as I write this, Friday February 28th, the female is busy working on the nest. 

Chitwood Bridge Check In

Jeanette at Chitwood Bridge

The town of Toledo is perhaps our favorite get-away location, and we were ready for our Toledo "fix". An escape in the van for the day was just what we needed. Our route plan was to take Highway 20 and detour at the Eddyville exit to the "old" highway and on to Chitwood.  We first stopped to check out the Chitwood Bridge last year in May. Here is our bird list.  We were impressed with the birding enough that I suggested it as an eBird Hotspot, which it now is. The sunshine was great, and we had a good variety of birds. Here is our bird list for the day. For more on the Chitwood Bridge check out this blog.  
 

 

Jeanette inside the bridge

We continued on to Toledo and birded the Depot Slough Path, another eBird Hotspot that we have enjoyed many times. Here is the bird list for today.  After enjoying lunch in the sunshine, we traveled on the Yaquina Bay Rd. to Paddle Park, another favorite. Jeanette folded down the bed in the van for me, and I took a nap and rested while she birded. When she came back, she laid down to rest, and I sat at the dinette and worked on bird photos. This is Jeanette's eBird List and photos. We left for home feeling refreshed an energized. The trip was just what we needed for a reset.   

Thursday's Bird Watch

I can't believe that this week I am featuring a bird I dislike, but here it is, - - a European Starling.  I took this photo here in Dallas Retirement Village on January 19th. A non-native, European Starlings were first brought to the United States from England and released into New York's Central Park in 1890 as part of a local Shakespeare Society's plan to introduce all the birds mentioned in Shakespear's works. They quickly spread across North America. Here in DRV they are among the top dozen birds to be seen all year around.  A worry is that they out compete many native cavity nesting birds.  Most annoyingly they mimic a variety of other bird calls and songs, creating confusion. 
 

Possible First Nesting Site of the Year

It's a beautiful morning, the sun is out, all is right with the world.  We took a quick little walk in our Central Courtyard this morning to check the dogwood trees for any possible new Anna's Hummingbird nests. No nests, but we did see a Eurasian Collard-Dove fly in and then disappear. Checking closely in the rafters we discovered the nest site! Sort of like Columbus looking for India and discovering America. Well, we are happy to have our first possible nesting site of the year.  Eurasian Collard-Doves are unique in that they can nest year around. We will be paying close attention to this location in the days and weeks ahead.

February 22, 2018

On this day, seven years ago we were in Arizona, working as Volunteers at Cattail Cove State Park, on the Colorado River. This photo shows a group of campers we had taken on a bird walk up a canyon to observe a Great Horned Owl's nest we had found earlier. Wonderful memories of how and where we spend many of our winters.    
 

Birding from the Van

Continuing rain, cold and snow in the recent days have caused us to choose to do most of our birding from the van. It's a good option. It's warm and dry in the van, and a comfortable way to bird without causing pain to my back. 

This bird, a female American Kestrel, America's smallest member of the Falcon Family, was spotted while driving on Sauerkraut Rd. in rural Polk County. Here is our eBird Observation List.
 

Winter Survival

We still have snow on the ground, and when we went out this morning to check on the van, we noticed a lot of bird activity, particularly Western Bluebirds! We wondered what they could be finding to eat.  We noticed that they seem to be checking out the bare spots under the shrubbery.  Then, Jeanette noticed that they were also looking for water. We were inspired to provide some food and water for them.  I put out a suet feeder and Jeanette set out some meal worms and a dish of water.  

 A female Western Bluebird, one of a group of five, is shown here in a tree all fluffed up trying to stay warm.

Next, we noticed the group found the Beautyberry (Callicarpa bodinieri). A thank you goes out to my sister-in-law, Patty Blair, for the plant identification.  This male and the rest of the flock went right to work harvesting the berries.

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Thursday's Bird Watch!

This Dark-eyed Junco was photographed at a seed feeder at the Assisted Living facility here in Dallas Retirement Village on January 19th.  Dark-eyed Juncos are the first birds I remember as a child.  I recall looking out my grandmother's window and seeing the Juncos on the snow. Their dark colors made such a striking contrast against the white snow.  Consequently, I always consider Juncos to be winter birds, and that's basically true. Although Dark-eyed Juncos have been observed here at Dallas Retirement Village year around, their largest numbers are normally seen in the winter.  However, this year seems different, and I don't know why, but we have yet to see any large flocks. 
 

More Birding from the Walker

We continue to go for a bird walk almost every day. The big impediment is my walker. It takes a little more logistics to load and unload the walker into either the car or the van. And then there is the consideration that the birding destination needs to have a concrete sidewalk for the walker. This does limit the possibilities; however, the walker is a necessity, and it allows me to sit, and by resting my elbows on the handlebars I am able to hold the camera still enough to take photographs. An example is the Anna's Hummingbird male, taken this morning at the Ash Creek Restoration Site in Independence. 

The big news, lurking in the background, is that on Friday we had an appointment with Dr Orina, a Neurosurgeon at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, and we are now on the path for a Laminectomy & Fusion in the next few months. Hopefully this will lead to the freedom of normal walking and no dependence on a walker.  

 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

 Our balcony was very busy last Thursday with what we assumed was courtship behavior by a pair of Anna's Hummingbirds.  This went on for hours, making it hard for us to get anything done.  After three days of observing them chit chatting on the perch and then breaking out into full blown war, and then settling down for more conversation, only to repeat the whole drama over and over, we realized on close examination that we did not have a pair in courtship, but two females, bickering over the feeder or whatever. A male would also look different with a more complete throat patch.

Thursday's Bird Watch!

This White-crowned Sparrow was photographed on a seed-feeder at the Assisted Living facility here in Dallas Retirement Village on January 20th.  White-crowned Sparrows are one of the easier birds to identify with their striking white crown stripes, and in Spring you cannot help but hear the males singing out boldly. They are year-round residents here at DRV, preferring to build their round grass formed nest in low shrubbery.  In fact, I found a nest with four eggs in a rosebush here at DRV at the Japer Street Entrance in May of 2020.  It's hard for them to make it through a nesting season without being interrupted by the gardeners, but that is the world we live in.