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.