Saturday, December 31, 2022
Looking Back and Looking Ahead
Saturday, December 17, 2022
Winter Birding
Thursday, December 15, 2022
Cold Weather Birding
Tuesday, December 6, 2022
Return to Toledo
Saturday, December 3, 2022
American Bittern at Huddleston Pond
The American Bittern is an uncommon and secretive bird, able to camouflage itself into the cattails to be almost invisible. A member of the Heron Family, it is flagged as rare at this location of Huddleston Pond in Yamhill County. On November 20th, it was reported for the first time ever at Huddleston Pond by well-known birder Paul Sullivan from McMinnville. The next day Nov 21, it was photographed by Susan Kirkbride, the current top birder for Polk County. On Nov. 25th Jeantte and I made it back to Huddleston, after having missed it on the 19th, and failed to find it, and then repeatedly failed for the next four days in a row. Ken Chamberlin, another well-known birder, photographed the bird on December 1st, so we made a determined effort yesterday, Dec. 2nd. The weather has been on a cold streak lately with freezing temperatures each night, and even some snow and ice. As we took a back road route through Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, the sun came out and our spirits soared. But as we drove through Sheridan and then Willamina the clouds darkened and dampened our enthusiasm. Arriving at Hampton Park and Huddleston Pond, it seemed a foolish idea. The temperature had dropped five degrees in the last fifteen minutes, the good light was gone, and a strong wind from the south made for very poor conditions. We made a pact as we bundled up in the van to walk to the known location at the far end of the pond, for at least a quick check, even though common sense told us it would be futile. Ten minutes later after scanning the cattails, we had our first sighting. I clicked away with the camera, and Jeanette entered a hurried bird list in her iPhone, before we scurried back to the warmth of the van. We have previous counted American Bitterns, on the Oregon Coast, and in the Klamath Basin, but never have we worked so hard for a single sighting.
Saturday, November 12, 2022
Coastal Escape
We were able to carve three days out of our busy schedule to escape to the Oregon Coast in our camper van. We left on the first dry day, Wednesday November 9th, and returned on the next day of rain, November 11th. Even thought we were desirous of getting away from it all for a few days, Jeanette found herself still involved in solving problems. Here she is shown conducting business with Dallas Retirement Village on her iPhone in the middle of a birdwalk on the Bluebill Trail in the Coos Bay area. It was a good thing, as she was able to put together a replacement instructor for the water aerobics class. The Bluebill Trail is a favorite of ours, you can check it out here.
Freezing weather and icy road conditions favored a driving route down I-5 and over to the coast through Elkton to Reedsport. We made a quick stop to count birds at Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area, and then lunch at Subway in Reedsport. The next birding stop was at William Tugman State Park for a quick break, and then on to Bluebill Lake where we had a great time birding (list). Pony Village in North Bend was our final stop for the day with dinner from Taco Bell and an overnight parking spot.
Friday, November 4, 2022
Return to Livermore Road
Monday, October 24, 2022
Huddleston Fish Pond
Huddleston Fish Pond in Willamina was originally a log pond. Hampton Lumber Company donated the pond and surrounding land for a park to the City of Willamina. We first discovered the pond when we had a canoe back in the nineties, and I was interested in fishing. I remember it as difficult to navigate the canoe around the remaining logs. The pond is so much more now than just a fishing destination. The path around the perimeter of the pond is used by many people just for walking. It is one of our long-time favorites for birding, we have been reporting our bird observations to eBird here since January 2014.
Jeanette is shown here using Merlin's Sound Identification app on her iPhone to record a Green Heron.
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Coastal Visit
Friday, September 23, 2022
Covered Bridge Tour
The focus of this trip was bridges rather than birds. Sister-in-law Mary Claire Sites has recently moved from Pleasanton; California to the Dallas Retirement Village and was interested in showing her guest and friend Jaylene Wilson some interesting sites in the area. We settled on a tour of historic covered bridges in nearby Linn County. I selected a loop tour of five bridges centered around the town of Scio. We were unable to visit the Shimanek Bridge because the road was closed, but we did get to the other four, with a stop in the middle for lunch at the Covered Bridge Coffee House.