Spring Lake Escape

Crowded parking lots and cold winds thwarted our plans for a relaxing time on the beach yesterday, but led to an enjoyable afternoon at a hidden gem buried away in the middle of Lincoln City at Spring Lake Open Space. Click here to read the Trip Journal. 

Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilts are a familiar bird that I have enjoyed for many years during winter trips to California and Arizona, but they are an unusual sight here in Western Oregon.  Unusual enough that an adult and several juveniles being seen at Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge west of Salem have caused a little stir in the local birding community. This Black-necked Stilt with a great reflection from the morning light at the Cottonwood pond this morning was a little puzzling to me because I had never seen a juvenile before.  They are a little more subdued in coloration than the adult, with duller colored legs and body. If you live in the area it’s worth your time to look them up.

Memorable Marion Lake Hike

Eleven other hikers, for a perfect dozen, joined me for a hike into Marion Lake yesterday. Nearby forest fires on Bingham Ridge and Lizard Ridge had threatened closer for the past two weeks, but the Marion Lake Trail remained open. In fact we had a perfect day of warm sunshine, clear skies, and very few mosquitos. This was a very memorable hike for me as I recalled my first hike to Marion Lake with my parents and sisters sixty eight years ago at age six.  The above photo was our view from our lunch stop yesterday, looking across Marion Lake to Three Fingered Jack in the distance. Lots of changes have occurred over the years, gone are the boats and boat house and Marion Lake Guard Station, but the view across the lake to Three Fingered Jack is ever there. Below is the photo of our group assembled at the trailhead.   

A Downy Woodpecker

The best photo from yesterday’s birding trip to Keizer Rapids City Park is this male Downy Woodpecker. The red “skull cap” is the clue that this is a male of this smallest of woodpeckers. The trip was a Field Trip put on by the Salem Audubon Society.  It was my first trip with the SAS, and as I think back it’s possibly the first trip ever with someone else leading, a different experience and well worthwhile. This trip was led by Mike Unger who lives in Keizer and knows the park and trails very well.  His preparation and patience is a model for any trip leader. We were able to identify thirty to forty different species depending on the sharpness of the observer. The group totaled a dozen people, some with great skills in identifying a bird purely by sound, which has challenged me to spend more time in learning more calls and songs.

  

Mucking Around in the Mud

Here is a juvenile Virginia Rail mucking around in the mud. We visited the Fairview Wetlands in Salem yesterday morning and found the water lever low exposing lots of muddy areas. Virginia Rails were in abundance drilling into the soft mud with their large bills to find some kind of food. Virginia Rails, although easy to hear, are normally hard to see, preferring to stay out of sight in tall grass and sedges. Yesterday was one of the magical moments when we were at the right place at the right time and we actually saw a record seven of them in the open plus heard at least another three. Also working the mud were three Killdeer, one juvenile Spotted Sandpiper, and one Greater Yellowlegs, but the high numbers were the Virginia Rails. 

Marion Lake Hike this Saturday

This is an invitation to hike the Marion Lake Trail to Marion Lake this Saturday July 26^th.  I will be leading a Chemeketan Hike, recreating my first hike there as shown in the photo above with my family in 1946. We will be making stops at Lake Ann, and locations of the former Marion Lake Guard Station and the boat house. If time and energy permit we will also visit historic sites of Doctor Prill’s Cabin and Camp Mazama. It’s a two and a half mile hike to the lake with an eight hundred foot elevation gain. If you are interested in joining in, call me at 541-670-9189 for information on meeting place and time. 

Nesting Sandpiper

Today I led a bird walk at Willamette Mission State Park for a class of 4^th & 5^th grade students from the Straub Environmental Learning Center.  I think the last time I led a bird walk for kids was when my daughter Lisa was in the second grade, so I’m thinking it was close to 40 years ago.  I wasn’t sure what to expect today, but the moment we stepped out to begin our walk I was immediately blown away with their enthusiasm. I had a great time.  And as I always say, it’s the teacher that learns the most.  Today, I learned things about the Spotted Sandpiper that I hadn’t even thought about.  We were about to leave the river late in our walk thinking we had failed to find the sandpiper I had seen fly in, when one of the teachers spotted it on a stump.  It blended in so well I had missed it. I took some photos and finished the walk and went home tired but happy.  At home I researched Spotted Sandpipers in more detail and was surprised to learn that the male builds the nest and after the female lays the eggs, the male sits on the eggs until they hatch and then continues to care for them as well. So the photo above is not of a female sitting on a nest, but a male.