Happy Birthday Jeanette!

Jeanette got her wish, and gave me a kiss

August 18th is Jeanette's birthday and the plan was that she would get to do whatever she wanted! First thing in the morning her hubby drove her and two of our friends, Dan and Karen Sewell, to the coast for breakfast at the Otis Cafe, where Dan treated us all to breakfast. 

Next, we went birding at one of Jeanette's favorite locations, Alder Island in the Siletz National Wildlife Refuge. We had great fun with all four of us using the Merlin phone app to identify birds by sound. We made an impressive checklist, which you can see here.

In the evening Jeanette's brother Bill Dye joined us, our daughter Lisa Borja, and our sister-in-law Mary Sites, for dinner at The Grill in The Lodge here at Dallas Retirment Village.

The grand finale was birthday cake in our apartment. Bill provided his home-made traditional Dye family chocolate cake. 

 

 

Thursday's Bird Watch

 Saturday morning, while checking the Dallas Osprey nest at the former Willamette Mill Site on Main Street, this Green Heron flew in and stole the show.  It landed high in a Cottonwood tree where my wife, Jeannette, got this photo. Green Herons like to hang out along waterways and ponds.  Although the log pond is longer there at the mill site, remnants of the North Fork of Ash Creek can still be seen in the area.  I think that this probably provides the kind of habitat that the Green Heron likes.  This may also be a clue to where the Osprey get some of their fish. 

Thursday's Bird Watch

This is an exciting time of year to be watching Osprey nests. This pair of juveniles were photographed in the nest at Riverview Park in Independence next to the Independence Hotel. The parents no longer spend time on the nest; they simply drop off fish for the young to eat on their own. The juveniles are growing rapidly and are getting ready to start flying. They can be seen stretching their wings getting ready for the big day they take flight, which is close at hand. In the coming weeks the parents will encourage their young to fly and fish for themselves. It's worth a trip to Independence to have a look.
 

DUMP TRUMP

 Jeanette and I attended a protest today in Dallas. It's been going on every Saturday for six months. It's a protest against Donald Trump and the terrible reign of terror and lawlessness that he has brought down upon our country.  Has our protest accomplished anything? Probably not, but it seems important to stand up and be counted. To say, this is not right to destroy an America that we grew up in that was concerned about the future of the world, that wanted to do something about climate change, that believed in free press, and that believed in truth and honesty. 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

 

Occasionally I am asked here at Dallas Retirement Village, "What kind of doves do we hear here calling all the time". The answer is that they are Eurasian Collared-Doves, a non-native species.  Eurasian Collared-Dove are much more common than our native Mourning Doves, in fact probably by 90%. One reason for their larger numbers is that they able to breed year-around, so it's possible for them to have 6 broods a year.  Also, the Eurasian Collared-Doves do well in urban settings, whereas the Mourning Doves prefer a more natural setting of field and woods.  This photo is of a pair of Eurasian Collared-Dove taken recently atop the roof above the Central Courtyard of The Lodge here at DRV. 
 

Thursday's Bird Watch

The Wild Turkeys are back!!! Saturday morning, Mary Ransier, affectionately known as "front desk Mary", reported seeing Wild Turkeys at Dallas Retirement Village. I got lucky and spotted them in the afternoon.  Ten turkeys in all, the one mother and seven juveniles shown here, plus two juveniles on the other side of the fence.  The deer in the background was accidently in the photo.  These are the first Wild Turkeys of this season. They will be hanging around here at Dallas Retirement Village through the winter until the middle of April when they always disappear to some hidden location to have their babies, and then once again in July a mother will be back with her new brood.

Mark O. Hatfield Park

We went to check-out Dallas' newest city park, Mark O. Hatfield Park this afternoon.  It was just dedicated last Wednesday, and in my research, I found that it was formerly known as Birch Street Park. It's a small park with a lot of playground equipment, so we did not have very high hopes for a birding location.  We were pleasantly surprised, and even with a very short visit we had 10 different species of birds. Here is our bird list. Another surprise is we found a half dozen comfortable and conveniently located benches.  This is definitely a winner, and we will be returning.