Luckiamute Landing State Natural Area

Our daughter Lisa took this unposed photo of Jeanette and I while we were all birding at the Luckiamute Landing State Natural Area this morning. I think I’m probably playing a bird song on my iPod, and Jeanette is looking for the bird in a tree. The Luckiamute SNA is an outstanding destination for hiking, birding and canoeing that is largely unknown and way under used.  It is located where the Luckiamute River flows into the Willamette River between the towns of Independence and Albany.  A tremendous effort has been made by the state and the Luckiamute Watershed Council to remove invasive plants and shrubs and plant a wide variety of native plants, shrubs and trees.  This should continue to develop over the years to be an outstanding area to enjoy nature.  I think this is our forth visit here and each time we leave impressed, vowing to return again.  By the way they need Volunteer Hosts for the months of May and June.  

A Study in Grosbeaks

Black-headed Grosbeaks are a common sight at everyone's feeders at this time of year.  Their striking contrast of colors always catches my attention and because of their unique plumage they are an easy species to identify. I always enjoy their brief visit each Spring when they arrive from their Winter homes in Mexico. I have recently become well enough acquainted with their song to identify them on a daily basis from their hidden perches high in the dense tree top foliage. Yesterday at the feeder my observations brought me to some new understanding and appreciation.  A quick glance at the above photo will probably tell you that you are looking at two male Black-headed Grosbeaks.  But a closer examination will reveal that only the bird on the right has a complete black head, whereas the bird on the left has an orange area back of the eye not filled in with black yet.  After consulting The Sibley Guide to Birds I have come to understand that the bird on the left has the non-breeding plumage of a first summer male.  A confirmation of that identification was an observation of their behavior at the feeder.  The mature male in the full back head of its breeding plumage was in control of the feeder.  The younger one, awkward at trying to hold his own on the feeder, had to wait his turn.  Once the older bird had had his fill the younger bird was allowed to take his place at the feeder. I find this fascinating in that despite that fact that the younger one has flown to Mexico and back under his own power there is still a protocol or pecking order to follow.

Cherry Picker

If you have ever wondered how birds are able to eat cherries off of a tree, here is the answer-----one little bite at a time.  This is a Cedar Waxwing eating a cherry that I photographed yesterday while taking Buster on his morning walk here in Elkton.  There were ten to twenty birds feasting away in this one tree. 

Soaking Up the Sun

This Western Pond Turtle appears to have a smile on his face as he lays on a log soaking up the sun with his feet tucked up into his shell. Notice, he also appears to have his eyes half close too. I took this photo yesterday in Cottage Grove at the Row River Nature Park. While Jeanette did the grocery shopping, Buster and I went for a walk in the park.  I was set on looking for birds, but the many turtles lying out in the sun grabbed my attention. There are several ponds in the park, and every pond has several logs, and every log had a turtle or two on it.  They all seemed to be Western Pond Turtles; I did not see any Red-Eared Sliders, which is a good thing as they are an invasive species that is threatening the native Westerns. I did eventually get back to birding and managed to find 23 different species. All of us, the turtles, Buster, me and the birds, all seem to enjoy the sun.

Kingbird Nest

I love watching birds this time of year when all the nesting is taking place. There is so much to observe and learn and I find it very fascinating. I spotted a pair of  Western Kingbirds and this nesting site a few days back on the 11th while walking on Melh Creek Road.  At that time they were just getting started and it was only a couple of pieces of grass lying across the electrical transformer supports. When I returned with camera yesterday they had made real progress in the seven day period. The lower photo is a close-up view so you can see the female on the nest.

Finished Product

This is the finished nest of the Bullocks Oriole. It’s been quite fascinating to watch the progress of the nest building at the Elkton Community Education Center.  You can see an earlier photo of the nest I posted on the blog a few days back on the 11^th. We first spotted the nest on the 8^th of May, and I’m sure there was a day or two of work already put in, so maybe it’s taken a week, or 7 days, to build the nest. As I mentioned before, the female does the nest building, but don’t assume the male does nothing, because as we have observed, he does preform an important function, that of guarding the nest site.  As the nest construction was underway there was a lot of territorial dispute going on with a pair of Western Kingbirds who had also started a nest in the same tree.  The male Kingbird would stubbornly try to hold his ground, but there were repeated attacks by the male Oriole. Today when I took this photo, it looks like the Orioles have won out and the Kingbirds have move to another location.  

Checking Out Beaver Creek

We drove up to Beaver Creek State Natural Area yesterday to refresh our memory of the layout at the Visitors Center and get some questions answered by the current Hosts.  We arrived around 10:00 AM and discovered the Visitors Center hours are 12:00 to 4:00. Having some time to burn we decided to check out the trail system.  We had previously done the short trail from the Visitors Center down to the Marsh, but were interested in accessing the main trail area so drove around to the south end and walked the service road into the trail area.  We took the Beaver Creek Loop in a ways and then tried to make a short loop using the South Beaver Meadow Trail, only to lose the trail in the meadow and mistakenly start up the Beaver Creek Loop Trail the wrong way.  Having discovered my mistake we turned around a hiked back to the service road and back to the car. Bottom line is the trail system is still a work in progress and need more signage, but we enjoyed the exercise and the wild flowers.

 Yellow Monkey Flower

Bleeding Heart

Smith's Fairy Lantern