Trying to Hide

We are back in Elkton for the weekend.  It’s been a week since we have taken a real bird walk, so we were anxious to get in a good one today.  We choose one of our favorite and most productive routes here in Elkton, out along Elk Creek on Schad Road.  It was still cool with clouds when we left the house in late morning.  And wouldn’t you know it, before we got to the end of the road it started raining, forcing us to turn around. On our way back we spotted this Canada Goose laying in the water.  Our first thought was it had been shot or was injured.  But as we began to think back we had seen this pair active along the bank earlier, and in fact after we had walked further away I looked back in by binoculars and she had gotten up and was feeding on some grass. My best guess is she was trying to hide, but it sure looked odd.

Fern Ridge Wildlife Area

With all the cold and rain this week it’s been real depressing, and also not a good week for bird watching. But looking back on the week, I guess we were pretty busy. The main effort of our volunteer position this week was delivering volunteer support items to various Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife sites. To that end we delivered stuff to the South Santiam Fish Hatchery out of Sweet Home, the Springfield Field Office in Springfield, and the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area east of Eugene where this photo was taken. We took a break after delivering to check out the birding possibilities. It’s now high on our list for a return trip. Later in the week we also delivered to the Salmon River Fish Hatchery near Lincoln City, and to the Umpqua District Office in Roseburg.

White-throated Sparrow

This guy seems to be saying, “hey, you looking at me?”  And, he’s right; I was looking at him---closely in fact.  His white throat and yellow eye brows separate him from the more common White-crowned Sparrow. From what I have read the White-throated Sparrow is an uncommon winter visitor here in the Willamette Valley, and come next month, he along with the more numerous Golden-crowned Sparrows will clear out of here and head north to Canada for the summer.

Jackson-Frazier Wetland

Yesterday afternoon we got in a little birding at the Jackson-Frazier Wetland on the north-end of Corvallis.  The great feature here is a three-quarter mile board-walk that takes you through the wetland just above the water level.  We saw literally hundreds of birds, but not a lot of diversity so we only ended up with 14 species. The most prolific were the swooping Violet-green Swallows.   The most interesting were Mallards. We saw two hens with tiny chicks in two different locations.  They were well camouflaged in the marsh grasses.  We also spotted a lone drake, hiding out in a thicket in deeper water.  Our largest effort went into identifying some Yellow Warblers, discarding possibilities of Orange-crowned Warbler, Nashville Warbler, and female Common Yellowthroat.

Correction:  After further study, I have reconsidered and now feel confident we saw Orange-crowned Warbler not Yellow Warbler.

Up Close & Personal

I took this photo this afternoon of a female Western Bluebird through the window of our motor home.  It wasn’t until afterwards when I reviewed the photo that I noticed the band or bands on her leg. One of the things that is working out extremely well for us here at Adair is birding from our motor home.  It’s like birding from a bird blind, (although I’ve actually never done that), but the point is, the birds don’t seem to notice us and we get to watch them up close.  Today was a good example; we had so many birds around us that we had a hard time finishing our lunch.  Golden-crowned and White-crowned Sparrows actively fed on the ground. A pair of Western Bluebirds excitedly inspected our bird house, while a pair of Tree Swallows also watched with interest close by from the power line. A pair of Yellow-rumped Warblers chased each other through the tree. Two Rufous Humming birds busily feed from our feeder.  And most surprising, a bird that seems to avoid personal encounters, a Hermit Thrush, paused to rest on our fence.  

Birding at E.E. Wilson

Got this shot of a Red-tailed Hawk taking off yesterday while birding at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area. We spent two and a half hours in the morning wandering roads and trails, and counted 143 birds of 29 different species. I was able to add a Bewick’s Wren and an improved Song Sparrow photo to Cascade Ramblings.

For those keeping track of Mark & Holly’s progress on the PCT---Mark called me this morning to report they completed their first day yesterday on the trail, 22 miles to Lake Morena. Warm, Holly had a little heat rash, but everything OK. Will be to Lake Laguna by tomorrow afternoon.

Site with a View

We are now set up in our Volunteer Host RV site overlooking Adair Pond north of Corvallis.  We are here again volunteering for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife at the South Willamette Watershed District Office in Adair Village. We moved here yesterday, got set up, and had lunch at our favorite Fire House Café, which incidentally has a new expanded menu. We love the quiet setting of our site with the great view of Adair Pond. So all in all, life is good. We will be here through the end of May.