First Osprey of the Year!

I got lucky today and found my first Osprey of the year at the Osprey nest site on Murlark Ave in West Salem. While the female was sitting on the nest the male was circling high above calling in his shrill voice. Jeanette and I have been watching this nest site on Murlark daily for the last couple of weeks.  For the past 4 years, the first Osprey to be seen in West Salem at the 6 nesting sites I keep track of has been the Murlark Ave nest site.  Last year it was on the 18th of March, so their showing today is pretty much on time.  Osprey are known to return to the same nest site year after year, and I have reason to believe this is the same female as nested here successfully last year.  Female Osprey have a spotting on the chest that is often referred to as a necklace.  Her necklace is unusually broad and high up the neck.  See the photo below, taken on the same nest site on March 25, 2018. Why this nest site has constantly been the first to be occupied each season is purely speculation on my part, but perhaps they winter closer.  Maybe instead of migrating clear to South America, this is a pair that winters in Mexico and has less distance to travel in the Spring migration back North.

Delight In New Birding Spots

One of the things I enjoy the most is finding new locations to look for birds.  This was our quest yesterday when we went to look for Bonesteele Park, a Marion County Park located along the Aumsville Highway between Salem and Aumsville.  Although I have lived in Salem for fifty years, I had never been there. A little research on line, and with maps pin-pointed the location and we were off yesterday morning to find it.  A gravel parking lot with restrooms is located next to the highway. Large areas of grass fields and a wooded area make up this park.  It was a glorious spring like morning, and the portion of the park that is woods was filled with birds.  You can see our bird list here.  I was so impressed with this park for birding that I suggested to eBird that it be designated a eBird Hotspot.  Upon leaving we struck up a conversation with Steve Narrow the park maintenance person and he told us about the huge old Douglas Fir tree that is some 300 years old.  This is definitely a place we will return, and with it's Hotspot designation others will find it also.

woodsy path

Mourning Dove

Hairy Woodpecker female

A Getaway to the Coast

We had a bit of a blank spot on our calendar, and the weather looked promising, so mid-day on Wednesday we took off for the coast in the van.  Most of our trips this winter have been in the southern direction on the coast to Florence or Coos Bay, for this trip we ventured north with our iternary including the Neskowin, Pacific City and Tillamook areas.

Knight County Park

Our first stop was Knight County Park, a combination boat launch and parking lot on the Salmon River estuary at the base of Cascade Head.  This a spot we stop at often to relax and enjoy some birding.  It worked out perfectly on this trip, which involved quite a bit of rain as we drove over the coast range, and then clear skies and sunshine when we reached the Salmon River.  A couple of short walks and some resting filled out our afternoon here.

Jeanette and Buster

Next we crossed  the cape and dropped down into Neskowin to the Neskowin State Rest Area, our nite time parking spot.  Here we took Buster for another walk before dining at the Hawk Creek Cafe.

A nice dinner just accross the street from the Rest Area, followed by a quiet night filled out a perfect first day.

Bird House ???

We left our over-night spot at Walmart yesterday morning at 8:00, pointing our van north up Hyway 101 towards home.  By the time we were close to William Tugman State Park, Buster's travel anxiety was in high volume, so we pulled in to the Day Use Area.  His medicine which we could not find before leaving Walmart was discovered in the refrigerator and administered, followed by a short bird walk.  It was during this walk that I noticed two bird house as in the photo above, located at the fish trap at the outlet of Eel Lake.  My first thought at a distance was someone had plugged the entrance of the bird houses with a can.  Once I had zoomed in with the camera I realize that they were actually surveillance cameras placed in a "bird house" look-a-like. I'm not sure if their purpose is to watch for spawning fish, or fish poachers. Here is our short bird list.

We pressed on with our route home, turning at Florence to drive west on Highway 126. Above Mapleton the road took on the look of winter as in the photo below.  The snow continued to deepen, and by the time we reached Veneta, where we planned to stop for lunch, the snow was so deep that only plowed out areas in the parking lots could be used.  After lunch we continue north on Territorial Road where snow plows and electric repair trucks we out in mass all the way to Monroe.  The snow depth decreased as we continued north, to the point of bare ground by the time we reached home in Salemtowne. A great relief to arrive home safe, and grateful for our lithium batteries that provide all the electricity we needed to run the furnace, power the lights, and run the micro-wave.

Day Three

Shopping in Florence

Our third day out on our little escape from the sub-freezing temperatures and snow of the Willamette Valley started out with bright sunshine.  After a night at Sutton Campground we stopped in Florence for shopping at Fred Myer, the Dollar Store, and Shell for gasoline. Heading south, we stopped to bird at Cater Lake, a long time favorite.  Although still sunny, a biting wind off of the lake made the 37 degree seem much colder.  Here is a link to our bird list with photos. Next was a stop in Reedsport of a hot sandwich at Subway and some more shopping. We continued south to the Coos Bay area, stopping at the North Bend Boardwalk to bird, but the cold wind quickly forced us back to the van.  We passed some time with computer stuff and an unsuccessful attempt to get TV reception.  Giving up, we went to the Captain's Choice Fish House for an early dinner. Our original idea was to park for the night at Pony Village, but with poor TV reception we decided to try Walmart which has a higher location.  Lots of room, and for TV we got a Medford station. The night descended into darkness and a full blown rain storm.  The cold and rain was depressing enough that we started to think of shortening our 10 day get-away plan. Checking weather and routes, it looked like Wednesday would be a dry break and we went to bed relieved in the thought of driving home the next day.

Kick'n Around Florence

Our morning started with breakfast at a little cafe in Florence where we heard from a couple that were stranded from returning to Eugene by a wrecked snow-plow that blocked the tunnel on  Highway 126.  Well that was all right with us we wanted to continue south towards Coos Bay. Oh no, piped up a local, you can't get through to Reesport because of snow and downed trees.  So, after breakfast we concluded it would be the best to just spend the day in Florence.  First we killed some time at the True-Value Hardware and purchaed a small electric heater 900 - 1500 watts for use in the van.  The 900 watt setting should work well with our 2,000 watt inverter. By then the rain had stopped and it was starting to clear so we went to check out the North Jetty.  The area was a real mess with the Siuslaw River on a muddy rampage.  We ventured north and checked out the Darlingtonia Reserve with the insect eating plants.  Wrong time of year for bugs, and there were absolutly no birds.  Next we stopped at the Sutton Lake Boat Launch.  Birds caught our attention right away.  A majestic Great Blue Heron sat quietly still in a patch of dead cattails.  A Red-winged Blackbird made his presence known.  As we continued to check off birds we followed Sutton Creek to the campground as the sun continued to win over the grey sky. We got in a nice walk and a respectable bird list which you can see here.  We decided to check the Sutton Campgound for TV reception.  It was good and cell service was adequate, so we decided to get a site and spend the night.  First site we looked at was a pull through with lots of open sky, which was good for us for solar, no need to look farther. Standard sites are 24 dollars, or 12 with a Senior Pass. We had lunch and clean-up, some down time to relax and work on photos.  After his nap, Buster wanted to go for another walk, we obliged, and Buster got to give chase to a bunny rabbit.

Darlingtonia Reserve

Sutton Lake

Site B-1 Sutton Campground

Fleeing the Storm

Three Rivers Casino

This morning we noticed that the weather forecast for the next 10 days included 3 days of snow ane 7 days of temperatures in the 20s! We decided to pack-up the van and head for more moderate temperatures on the Southern Oregon Coast.  We were able to get it all together and leave home around noon, and by around 3:00 we pulled into Three Rivers Casino in Florence. Jeanette registered us for a free nights parking, and then we picked a spot #43.  I think there are around 100 spaces, and only 2 others had RVs.  We will mosey on down Hwy 101 tomorrow stopping to bird when the conditions are right.  While driving here, about the time we were driving down Highway 99W through Monroe, Jeanette got a National Weather Alert on her phone warning possible winter snow of 4" to 6" for Salem.  We feel we have made the right choice.

 #43 parking site