Bird Ramblings

 

This striking bird is a Killdeer, a shore bird about the size of an American Robin. They prefer open fields and oddly enough gravel roads where they make a nest right in the rocks. The speckled eggs blend in, making them almost impossible to see. The parents are well known for distracting humans by calls of distress and feigning injury by dragging their wings as they run away from the nest site. This sighting was on December 20th on the west-end of the Rickreall Creek Trail System, which is best accessed from SW Oregon Falls Dr on a trail section dedicated to the public by David Radke, son of Dallas Retirement Village resident Gary Radke.

Our Christmas Bird Count

There is an official Audubon Christmas Bird Count, a tightly organized annual event for North America from December 14 through January 5th.  However, this was our own Christmas Bird Count and conducted only by us on this Christmas Day in our own living area of Dallas Retirement Village. We braved cold temperatures and rain showers to identify, count, and photograph as many birds as we could this morning. Here is our eBird Checklist.  
 

20 Years Ago

 Click on the link below to find out what we were doing 20 years ago this week.

Cascade Ramblings - Ramblings: Shellburg Falls Hike: Santiam State Forest

Chasing the Sunshine

Port of Toledo Marina Morage

Over breakfast yesterday morning we noticed that the Weather Forecast for the day was continuing cold and fog for Dallas and surrounding areas, but sunshine for the Oregon Coast. Our calendar was open, no meetings or classes or other responsibilities. Buy eight o'clock we had packed the van and were driving toward Toledo. The temperature was 44 and the fog was light along the Kings Valley Highway, and as we crossed over the Coast Range the sun started to break through. By the time we reached Toledo we were in bright sunshine with a temp of 61 degrees!

The Depot Slough Path is one of our favorite birding locations. Despite lots of sunshine, the birds were almost nonexistent. Debris along the path suggested there had been high water, and I suspect that it affected the waterfowl. As we walked up the slough birds began to appear and eventually, we got in a good list, which you can see here. 

Next, we traveled a short distance along Yaquina Bay to Paddle Park, another favorite birding location, and a perfect stop for lunch. Jeanette did some more birding while I worked on my laptop with the bird photos.

Paddle Park

Paddle Park

Bird Ramblings

 This duck photo is of a Redhead. It was one of two males Jeanette and I found on November 28th at the Sheridan South Side Park and Fishing Pond. Redheads are considered rare birds in our area, just passing through during their migration. Dallas Retirement Village will be taking Independent Living Residents on the Thursday's Scenic Drive to this park on December 18th. These Readheads are continuing to be reported by other birders, so hopefully they will still be hanging around as well as many other migrating ducks and geese.  

Mt Fir Park

We went birding this morning at Mt. Fir Park in Independence, and once again we were reminded that there is so much more about bird watching than just the birds. To begin with it takes place in the great outdoors amid the wonders of nature. We like to concentrate on city, county and state parks. On this trip we started from the parking lot off of F Street between 7th and 8th. From there we took the trail along the South Fork of Ash Creek.  With the recent rains I was hoping for good water levels in Ash Creek that would be bringing in some waterfowl. This was not the case, but we did notice two nice beaver dams. Next as we walked along the creek we noticed fresh chewed marks on the willow trees. At first, we thought about beavers, but the marks seemed a little too high, and I realized that beavers typically chew off a whole limb or tree and drag into the water where it is stored, then chew off the bark. As we approached the second beaver dam, we came upon a pair of Blacktail Deer. Suddenly we had an answer to the marks on the willows, the male deer use the willows to scrape off the velvet from his antlers. and there he was with polished antlers. I continue to be amazed at what there is learn from nature by simple observation. Here is our eBird Checklist for our mourning.

Bird Ramblings

This is a Merlin, photographed here in Dallas Retirement Village on the 21st of November. Like last week's photo of the American Kestrel, it is also a member of the Falcon Family.  But don't let the Merlin's drab coloration compared to the bright colors of the Kestrel of last week fool you into thinking it's a dull bird.  In fact, in many ways, it is a more exciting bird.  It feeds primarily on small songbirds, which it enjoys capturing in mid-flight. It is a winter bird here, migrating from Canada in the fall and hanging around through Spring. It seems to follow Pine Siskins in their journey South from Canada. Pine Siskin populations vary from year to year depending on the conifer tree seed production in Canada. So far this year I have not seen any Pine Siskins here at DRV, but I did notice just a few days ago that we have large numbers of goldfinches and robins, so I'm thinking the Merlin will have a reason to hang around.