Bob-tailed Sparrow?

No, this is actually a Song Sparrow that is molting and has lost all its tail feathers.  Its pretty easy to fall into thinking that these summer days are a little boring in the birding world, most of the birds around us we have already identified, it’s too early to get to see the new fall arrivals , and yet there are some very interesting things that are taking place.  During the last couple of weeks Matt Hunter has alerted us to watch for birds with missing feathers and the molting process that goes on this time of year. As is turns out, all birds go through a molting process at least once, some twice a year.  It’s important at some point that their old worn feathers are replaced.  For migrating birds, this time of year is crucial so that they get new feathers before they start their migration south.  However, Song Sparrows are year around residents, so I’m not sure what the importance is to this timing.  We have seen this Song Sparrow hanging around the feeder for the past week.  My first thought was that there had been a narrow escape from a predator and in the process had lost its tail feathers. My second thought was that perhaps it was a chick that had left the nest before growing tail feathers.  After consulting with a couple of experts it was decided that this is just a part of the molting process. If you look close at the photo you can see a number of the other feathers are in state of disarray. Soon it will have all new feathers and look perfect once again. 

Distractions and Interruptions

A high percentage of our visitors to the Welcome Center at Beaver Creek State Natural Area come with questions regarding hiking the trails. We have discovered it is really helpful in giving out advice to have actually hiked the trails. We have come to understand that the map has some errors and we have also made some false assumptions. To have a better understanding our goal yesterday morning was to hike the perimeter trail, called the Beaver Creek Loop Trail. We had hiked most of it previously, but not the complete loop and we also wanted some idea of the time it would take. To this end I explained to Jeanette that we would be concentrating on hiking, not stopping to look and count birds. But, about halfway around the loop our attention went to a male Western Tanager feeding a demanding juvenile, this along with hearing numerous Pacific Wrens, watching Great Blue Herons, and spotting Wilson's Warblers was too much and I had to start making a list.  Shortly after that, Jeanette asked for the clippers and took some time to clip away at some of the intruding blackberries. Still, we made the loop in an hour and a half and have a more accurate knowledge of the trail.

Red-shouldered Moth

I took this photo on Wednesday, but it wasn’t until Friday that I was able to figure out an identification.  Thanks to the Internet, Facebook, and Chris Pace of Elkton, it was determined to be a Red-shouldered Moth. On Wednesday Jeanette and I were hiking on Bear Meadow Trail, one of the more remote trails of Beaver Creek State Natural Area. We were primarily looking and counting birds, when my attention was caught by the bright color contrast of this moth feeding on Tansy Ragwort. I was further intrigued because I would have expected to find the Cinnabar Moth, shown in the lower photo, which is commonly used to fight the noxious Tansy Ragwort.  The Red-shouldered Moth is unusual enough that I have not been able to find information in any paper book guides, only the Internet. 

A Day Off

Today was a “day off”, and we didn’t have any doctor appointments or have to go shopping for groceries, so we just got to play.  We spent the morning hiking and exploring trails in our trail system.  In the afternoon we got out the inflatable and went on a little expedition in Beaver Creek Marsh. Now it’s time to rest. If you look close at the photo you can see the Welcome Center in the background.

Rewards of Hiking

This is an Elk that I photographed yesterday morning out of a herd of ten I came upon at an undisclosed location in the Beaver Creek StateNatural Area.  (Exact location available with an appropriate bribe) Anyone who spends much time hiking, even in remote locations, will realize what an unusual opportunity it is to see Elk up this close and with them standing still long enough to photograph.

In my volunteer position as Host at the Welcome Center, I am asked lots of questions about the trails and hiking.  I hand out a map and explain some of the options, but I’ve decided being able to give them firsthand information from actual experience would be the best.  To that end I have set a goal for myself to hike all the trails here at Beaver Creek SNA this summer. There are almost twenty different trails, of which I have hiked five.  Yesterday I added a couple more, and to my great surprise was rewarded with the Elk sighting.

An Inquisitive Look

This little squirrel seems to be asking, “are looking at me?”, or “what are you doing?” I was actually out roaming around looking to get some bird photos, but this little Douglas Squirrel seemed willing to pose so I took over thirty photos of him.  I discovered that in the early morning before the Welcome Center is opened and people are around, that the wildlife seems a little freer to use the area. In particular, the Steller’s Jays and the Douglas Squirrels were both quite boisterous in their claim of ownership of the Welcome Center. 

Falcon Chicks

Yesterday was a day off for us, so while Jeanette had a perm in Newport, I checked out Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. The draw for birders right now is these Peregrine Falcon chicks in their “scrape”.  I learned that yesterday that they do not technically make a “nest”, but place a little bit of material in a “scrape”. The chicks are replacing their down with feathers, making quite a messy area as you can see in the photo with bits of down all over the place.