New Birding Area

This is a Northern Flicker I took a photo of this afternoon while birding in an area that has suddenly become our new favorite.  It’s a ridge of Hancock Hill that can actually be seen right off our front porch on the other side of Elk Creek.  It’s private property and posted so we have never ventured up the gated road.  A few days ago Jeanette received permission from the owner to walk up the road.  We have walked up the road the last two days and much to our amazement have spotted a good number of not so common birds, like Black-throated Gray Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Common Yellowthroat, and Orange-crowned Warbler. It turns out to be a good aerobic work-out for us, a fun walk for Buster (there are several good culverts to explore), some great birding, and it's close at hand. 

No Dogs!

Yesterday we drove to Sutherlin to go birding at Plat I Reservoir.  As we entered the park I was surprised to see this new sign “Dogs Prohibited between April 15 – September 15”. I decided to take a photo so I would have a reminder of the effective dates.  When I got out of the car with my camera, Buster jumped out too and I guess you could say, expressed his opinion.

Turtles

It’s not all about birds; --- I’m actually interested in a lot of different kinds of critters.  Yesterday it was Western Pond Turtles that caught my attention.  We walk out Schad Road on a regular basis here in Elkton, and there is a certain section of Elk Creek that we pass where some logs always produce turtles soaking up the sun. The last two days four to five turtles have been spotted. They are on the other side of the river, so it takes binoculars to confirm, and full zoom on the camera to produce this photo.  Put “Turtle” in the SEARCH function of any of the main pages to see the three different kinds of turtles in Cascade Ramblings.

Birding Tugman

We went birding this morning at William M. Tugman State Park on the Southern Oregon Coast.  We have hiked there many times in the past few years on the Eel Lake Trail, but this was a first time to be there primarily for birding.  It was an interesting experience, and took some adjustment to look at the park and trails thru the lens of bird watching as opposed to hiking. It seemed a little odd to find ourselves standing still on the trail listening for bird sounds.  Trail distance goes way down; birding requires that you move much slower.  But, really that’s a good fit as we find ourselves slowing with age.   

Pretty Face

No, Pretty Face is not a comment---it’s the name of this flower.  I took this photo this past Saturday while hiking in the Jacksonville Woodlands on the Brett Ridge Trail.  It took me until Tuesday to be able to identify this flower which is found in California and Southern Oregon. It’s been a while since I’ve stooped to take a wildflower photo, been kind of obsessed with birds. Maybe it’s time to turn over a new leaf. Click here for most recent flower photos.  

Lazuli Bunting

We have always seen the beautiful Lazuli Bunting in the fields or tree tops, never up close.  Last evening this male appeared at our feeder, allowing for this close-up photo.  They are small birds, similar in size to Goldfinches or Juncos, but a little shyer than both.  They have a beautiful song and this unforgettable coloring.

Heaven in Elkton

Here is Jeanette luxuriating in her new hot-tub in Elkton this morning.  We moved back home to Elkton yesterday from Denman Wildlife Management Area in Medford.  Those of you who are on Face Book possibly got a hint from Jeanette’s posting of the frustrations with ticks. Dealing with ticks turned out to be a pretty big deal, it was one of those things as the story goes----“it’s the things that people don’t tell you.” Ticks were not mentioned to us, nor was the “non-potable water”.   “Bottled drinking water provided” in the volunteer’s site description should have been a clue I guess.  In the end we did OK on the water, but the ticks were a little too much, plus there was the crazed female Lesser Finch who apparently assumed she had proprietary rights to our site and continued to daily assail our car and motor home.  Oh, and then there was the new hot-tub waiting in Elkton.