Thursday's Bird Watch!

This Anna's Hummingbird photo was taken from our balcony unit in The Lodge here at Dallas Retirement Village on December 7th.  We have had a lot of activity lately from Anna's Hummingbirds, and on this day at least three different birds seem to be having a territorial dispute going on.  Males have the distinct ability to flash their brilliant red coloring, presumably in a show of male dominance. When not in the display mode the head and shoulders will be a dull black coloration. Keep a watch out for males as they establish their territory and attract females. 
 

Birdwalk with a Walker

Sarah Helmick State Park 

This morning, we drove down to Sarah Helmick State Park, south of Monmouth, to test out using my new walker on a bird walk. Debilitating pain in my lower back has made it necessary to use a walker to get around.  I got my walker on December 7th as shown below.  I have used it up and down the halls and trips to the dining rooms here at Dallas Retirement Village, and also out on the sidewalks for some short jaunts to check for birds. But this was our first full-blown test.  Load up the walker in the back of the car, drive to the park, unload the walker, strap on the camera, strap on the binoculars, turn on the Merlin bird app to identify birds by sound, and then start pushing the walker.  Mainly it was successful.  One of the surprising, best benefits was the ability to sit down and rest my back when the pain started to interfere.  On this test we did a half mile loop through the park, and I took advantage of sitting several times.  You can see our bird list here.

We are feeling quite encouraged that we will be able to continue our love for birding using this new helper.  I have been having fun getting it adjusted to fit just right.  I've added an accessory to hold my coffee cup and cell phone, which comes in handy when we go first thing every morning down the hall to work out in the exercise room known as The Mill, and then downstairs to The Lobby to read the newspaper by the fireplace, and top off our coffee with a complimentary refill.  Perhaps you get the picture, it's a pretty good life.    

 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

 

This bird is a Pine Siskin at a feeder box put up by Kirk Wagner in his Garden Home backyard here in Dallas Retirement Community Village. Pine Siskins have just arrived in large numbers last month from their breeding grounds in northern Canada. They can be seen here at DRV in our barren winter trees in flocks of 15 to 30 birds. It could be just a coincidence, but I'm thinking that there is a strong possibility that their arrival and the arrival of the Merlinn, which was featured in last week's post, has a connection.  That connection is that the Merlin has followed its food source south for the winter.

Fish Stocking Day

Jeanette and I went out to Sheridan South Side Park and Fishing Pond this morning to look for an unusual Black-crowned Night Heron that had been reported yesterday.  We didn't find it, but while scanning the pond for ducks an Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife truck arrived.  We guessed right away that it was a fish stocking truck from our years of volunteering at Roaring River Fish Hatchery. Sure enough it backed up and unloaded some fish.  For you fishing type people, this was a load of large brooder trout. I talked to the driver and his next stop was Huddleston Pond in Willamina. Grab your gear and get going, there was no one fishing there yet. (click on the image for a closer look)
 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

We were thrilled to see out first Merlin of the season on Monday, November 23.  Merlin are winter birds, coming south for the winter from Canada.  Don't let the dull coloring fool you, this is an exciting bird.  A member of the Falcon Family, they are slightly larger than their cousins, the American Kestrel.   Merlins are fast and unique in their preference to take their prey, other birds, in midair.  We found this one here in Dallas Retirement Village at the top of the large fir tree next to the Maintenance Building.  This is their preference, to perch high at the top of a tree to be able to spot their next victim.  I expect to see this bird again through the winter before it leaves sometime in March to head north for the summer. 
 

Huddleston Pond

Gray skies are not allowing the solar panels to keep the batteries fully charged in our Solis Pocket van. I like to run the furnace in the van at night to keep the water system from freezing, hence the need for battery power to run the furnace. This morning over breakfast with our friend LaVerda Gallager we were discussing taking the van for a drive to get the batteries charged. We settled on a drive to Willamina and some birding at Huddleston Pond. Killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. LaVerda was interested in going for the birdwatching. Jeanette took this picture of us while LaVerda is trying to get a photo of a busy flock of 30 or so Pine Siskins in a tree along the trail that circles Huddleston Pond. Pine Siskins have just arrived in the last couple of weeks from the cold North, and it's a good year for them. We are happy to see them in good numbers after last year being a low number year. You can see our bird list and photos here.     
 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

Many of us enjoy being able to watch the Turkeys roam our lawns and flower beds here at Dallas Retirement Village. Several months ago, Pastor Jon suggested that for my "Bird Watch!" article this Thanksgiving, I post a photo of a Turkey. I didn't take him seriously, because, as most of you
 know, he frequently jokes. But this past Sunday night, in the middle of the night, by brain woke me up and I started to worry about finding a Turkey photo.  It took a lot of searching on my computer and in my saved paper files, but eventually I found this photo of this strutting male Turkey taken here in Dallas Retirement Village in November of 2020. It was used in our newsletter for Thanksgiving Week.  At that time the newsletter was called the "DRV Daily Chronicle". Thanks, Jon, for the suggestion.       

Fishermens Bend

A report of an Osprey sighting at Fishermens Bend on the North Santiam River got us out of the apartment yesterday morning to go in search.  It was an unusual sighting for this time of year in that Ospreys general leave in the fall for warmer locations like Mexico for the winter.

Arriving at the park was a bit of a shock combined with a flood of memories.  We had not been back to the park since the devastating fires of a few years ago that swept through the Santiam Canyon. It was hard to recognize places we parked, or camped, or hiked.  

We first visited this park to bird and camp in May of 2016.  I didn't post a blog, but here is our eBird list. Today's birding was quite different. Gone were all the trees and shrubs that provided such wonderful habitat for birds. But still we found some birds and that filled our day with some joy.  A large female American Kestel perched busy preening was the first bird we spotted almost instantly as we drove in. A flight of Mallard duck surprised us as we explored further into the park. A Northern Flicker rushed to move out of sight. A Song Sparrow sang out from a hidden spot. Dark-eyed Juncos exploded from some shrubs in a series of appearing and disappearing acts. Here is our eBird list.

We did not find an Osprey, but we did see an empty probable nest site. Despite the gloomy weather and the cold and rain we left with an eagerness to return as the habitat improves.

Thursday's Bird Watch!

This is a Black Phoebe, a member of the Flycatcher Family.  They are easy to identify because they are almost entirely black except for the strikingly white underside. They love to hang around streams and ponds and are fun to watch as they fly out from a perch to catch an insect, and then return back to their perch, and then repeat over and over again. In the last two decades they have become a more common bird to be seen here in the Willamette Valley.  I took this photo last week in the nearby Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge at Cottonwood Pond.  In fact, I'm willing to go out on a limb here and guarantee that if you were to drive out to Baskett Slough and take Coville Rd. to Cottonwood Pond, you would find this Black Phoebe feeding along the shoreline next to the road. - Jim Scott  

Birds and Books

 

Dallas Retirement Village Residents Earl and Gwen Kimball are two of our favorite residents. They often report on hummingbird activity, or lack of activity, that they have at their feeder located on their patio. They recently reported enjoying a lot of activity at their juice feeder but were puzzled as to where the hummingbirds went when they left.

Yesterday we had a brief window of sunshine in an otherwise rainy day, and Jeanette and I got out the door to get in a quick bird walk.  One of our areas to check out was the Kimball's residence. Jeanette was pretty sure she knew the location where we could find the hummingbird.  Sure enough we found and were able to photograph this male Anna's Hummingbird (shown below) in a tree just across the alleyway. 

Jeanette gave Gwen a quick call and Qwen and Earl came out on their patio while we pointed out the location of the hummingbird. We explained how Anna's Hummingbird males are very territorial, so in all probability they will be able to continue to see it in that exact tree.   Earl went back inside and brought out his vintage bird guide and marked the species identification. I have to confess, I may have been more impressed with Earl's beautiful, aged bird guide than I was with the hummingbird. Birds and books are two of my favorite things. 

         

Thursday's Bird Watch

 Last week on a cold and overcast day we went looking for birds around Dallas Retirement Village.  It seemed bird less except for a few California Scrub-Jays, and a flock of European Starlings.  And then, we discovered this Anna's Hummingbird that seemed to be hiding in David Fletcher's garden plot. If you look closely, you will notice her little feet are not grabbing onto a perch.  She is suspended by her wings as she hovers above the Salvia and Lavender flowers.  This certainly brightened up our day!

Places We Love to Bird - Lyons Park

Last month on Oct 25th we visited Lyons City Park, an old favorite of ours that we have birded at for over 10 years. I posted a blog about it here, and then we were there again last week on Nov 8th. Here is our bird list for that trip.  It occurred to me this park should be put in our category of "Places We Love to Bird", so here is the blog to make it official. This is the 8th place I have now bestowed this honor. To see the complete list of Places We Love to Bird, simple use the search window in the upper left-hand corner and put in "Places We Love". 

Bordering Lyons City Park to the north is the John Neal Linn County Park, which has a campground, but it is only seasonal. In addition, there are trails and ponds which seamlessly connect with Lyons City Park. When we originally started birding at Lyons City Park, we were not aware they were separate parks, and we just sort of lumped them together. Technically, eBird lists them separately, and we now make separate lists each time we are at the correct location. Here is our bird list for this last trip.
 

Thursday's Bird Watch

It's always a red-letter day when we get to see the Red-breasted Sapsucker in the weeping cypress tree on Tilgner Ave. here in Dallas Retirement Village.  I took this photo on October 28th. It was busy getting sap out of the sap wells it had drilled in the tree.  If you look closely there is a drop of sap hanging off the tip of its bill.  What I wasn't able to capture with my camera was an Anna's Humming bird which was darting back and forth getting sap from the many sap wells as well. 
 

First Swans of the Season

Jeanette photographing swans

Rainy days have forced us to do our birding from the van. It's warm and dry inside the van.  You sit up much higher than in the car, making it easier to spot birds.  And if I'm honest, I don't have to walk, which is still a problem for me due to back pain.

Yesterday morning, we choose to visit Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge in hopes of finding some swans that Jeanette had spotted flying at a distance two days ago. Tundra Swans had been reported to eBird last week at Parvipes Marsh.  Most of the Refuge is closed off for breeding birds from Oct 1 through March 31, so you can't really hike there to get a look at them.   You can, however, get a distant view of Parvipes Marsh from Smithfield Road. This was our plan, and the photo at the top shows Jeanette doing her best to get a photo from that great distance.  

Below is one of the photos showing 6 of the 26 swans she was able to count. Notice the tall swan on the right, which presents a dilemma for us.  Could it be a Trumpeter Swan?  The trouble is that no one has reported a Trumpeter this season this far South yet. The smaller Tundra Swans arrive here from the North earlier than the Trumpeters.  The closest Trumpeters that have been spotted so far this year are at Ridgefield NWR in Washington. Do we get bold, and risk being corrected?     

 

Thursday's Bird Watch

I photographed this Anna's Hummingbird female at our balcony juice feeder last week from my office window.  Several of our residents have excitedly reported to have hummingbirds back at their feeders. This after a summer of hummingbirds not being around. So where were they? I honestly don't know for sure.  Perhaps they were dispersed throughout a larger area taking advantage of all the summer flowers available.  No need to hang around juice feeders.  Or maybe they sort of left the area because of all the construction of the roof replacement on the Apartment building and the siding on the Lodge building.  Now with construction over, and the flowers of summer finished, they are back and interested in our feeders.  Whatever the reasons, I know we are all happy to have them back at our feeders.  And that reminds me it's important to continue feeding through the upcoming winter months.  Anna's Hummingbirds were originally limited to California, but their range has extended north, due to the appeal of year around gardens and feeders.  Now they are year around residents, and dependent on our help for subsistence.    
 

Lyons City Park

Yesterday we drove to Lyons Oregon to an old favorite birding site of ours, Lyons City Park.  We discovered this park in December of 2013.  Despite bitter cold weather and snow, we enjoyed our experience and knew we would be back, in fact I checked, and we have been back 34 times! The park is made up of abandoned log ponds. On this day we were completely surprised to discover major upgrades.  Now there is a paved and striped parking lot, a new restroom, and cement walkways. 

We had driven in fog from Dallas, thru Salem and up the Santiam Canyon to arrive in bright sunshine and brilliant fall colors. I couldn't get my gear together and out the door of the van faster enough. We started a quick bird list for Lyons City Park and walked down the path to the third pond which crosses over to the ponds of the John Neal Memorial Park. 

We started a new bird list here for John Neal Park and walked on.  John Neal Park and campground are closed for the winter, but you can walk through it on foot. We choose a shorter path because of my continuing back pain. Returning to the van, we enjoyed a lunch of hot tomato soup and tuna fish and crackers, while listening to the high-pitched calls of the American Widgeon on the pond. It would be impossible to have had any more fun.  

 

    

Thursday's Bird Watch!

While driving through Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge on Smithfield Road last week, we came across this Great Egret in a private pond just across the road from the entrance to Van Duzer Vineyards.  Great Egrets are about the same size as the much more common Great Blue Heron, but easily identified by pure white plumage.  Two smaller egrets, the Cattle Egret and the Snowy Egret are not normally seen in this part of Oregon.  It is only in recent decades that the Great Egret can now be seen here in the Willamette Valley year around.  In addition to being spotted in the shallow water of our ponds and rivers, they can also be seen on bare field "mousing". 

 

Mt Fir Park - Independence

A wonderful morning of birding at Mt. Fir Park in Independence.  

Here is the link to our bird list

 

California Scrub Jay

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Anna's Hummingbird

Thursday's Bird Watch!

The Western Meadowlark is Oregon's State Bird.  However, due mainly to urban sprawl their numbers have radically declined here in the Willamette Valley. Fortunately for us at Dallas Retirement Village we are only minutes away from the Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, and there within the hundreds of acres of protected habitat the Western Meadowlarks are flourishing. This photo was taken while hiking the Rich Guadagno Trail on October 10th.  Their sweet piercing song rings out clear, and always puts a smile on my face.  I was lucky enough to catch this Meadowlark in mid-song.

October 14, 1805

 Over two hundred years ago today, on October 14, 1805, Lewis & Clark with the Corps of Discovery were battling the rapids of the Clearwater River. One of their dugouts struck a rock and overturned. They lost some of their trade goods, a precious commodity that paid for food, labor, information, and services along their journey. They still had two more days to go before reaching the mighty Columbia River. They would be the first white men to ever see it east of the Cascade Mountains. They were however not done with rapids; they still would have the dangerous Celilo Falls to deal with.   

Short Walks for Big Day

Yesterday was October Big Day, a Global Day of Bird Counting by eBird. If you are a reader of this blog, you know that I have been suffering from debilitating back and hip pain that affects my standing and walking. And you will remember that I had some spinal injections to decrease the pain. That helped for the first day, but since then I have had to continue to take a great number of pills to maintain any level of comfort. The bottom line is that our bird walking milage has dropped to a minimum.  So, to participate in eBird's October Big Day, we put together a trip to the coast that had three stops with "short" walks.

 

Salmon River Estuary

This is essentially a rest-area on Fraser Rd just off of coastal Highway 101. It has nice, paved parking, a restroom and a short trail with a view across the Salmon River Estuary. We make it a habit to take a quick stop here on most trips to the Lincoln City area. On-foot milage on this stop was 0.13 miles.

Bird List

Sand Point Park

Sand Point Park is a Lincoln City Park hidden away on the East side of Devils Lake. It's small with parking for only six cars.  On this day boat racing was underway making birds scarce. Our walk here was so short that eBird considered it as a Stationary Count. Bird List

 

Siletz Keys

Siletz Keys is a part of the Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Here is where we hit the jackpot for the day.  We discovered this "new to us" eBird Hotspot last month. It is visited by very few birders, but its location on the edge of the bay makes for a great variety of birds. Our milage on this short loop trail was 0.25 miles. Bird List

  

Thursday's Bird Watch!

 I enjoy watching Acorn Woodpeckers, they always have something going on in their lives.  They also can be very chatty.  In this case there seems to be a dispute between a mother and her child.  I suspect the juvenile male on the right is demanding to be fed by the female, presumably his mother, on the left.  I love her stubborn look in her effort to ignore his demands.  This photo was taken in Ballston County Park on September 28th. 

Sheridan South Side Park

 Our birding experience started out yesterday at Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, but the fog was so bad we gave up and headed west for some clear skies and sunshine.  We found both by driving west on Highway 22 and made a stop at Buell County Park on Mill Creek.  Our best bird there was hearing a Great Horned Owl.  Jeanette put together a lunch from supplies in the van, and we sat at a picnic table hoping to hear the owl again, which we did not.  On a whim we drove over to check out Sheridan South Side Park and Fishing Pond. Here we were astonished to find the former pot-holed mud and gravel parking lot was completely replaced by a brand-new asphalt lot with striped parking and a restroom.  Also, a new asphalt trail completely circles the pond, replacing the former muddy path. These are major improvements and will certainly bring us back this fall and winter to watch and photograph waterfowl. 

Thursday's Bird Watch !

 

Last week while the Village Birders were riding the bus to the Emile Marx - Lloyd Strange Fishing Hole, a number of large birds were spotted in the field along Rogers Road.  I recognized them as unusual enough that I asked Lane to turn the bus around and go back to get a closer look.  There were four birds, two of which were clearly Red-tailed Hawks. Unsure of the other two I took this photo, guessing they might be Rough-legged Hawks. When I got home and downloaded the photos into my laptop, I realized that I was wrong.  After more checking and scrutiny, I settled on the light morph of a Red-tailed Hawk, and specifically because of the total white breast, a juvenile.  This bird is so unusual that it has been ten years since I have photographed a juvenile light-morph Red-tail Hawk.    
 

Pain Progress

Close family and friends know that for the past six months or more I have been dealing with debilitating back pain that has curtailed my ability to walk. It has completely engulfed my life. A regimen of pills, patches and support band have failed to keep ahead of the downward spiral of increasing pain.  X-rays and MRIs have shown degeneration of the lower spine in the lumbar area and stenosis of the nerve that leads to my hips and legs.  

Yesterday afternoon I was finally able to receive a procedure of injections from the Salem Pain and Spine Specialist. I came home in a fog. After eating dinner and watching the news, I went to bed and saw the start of the Vice Presidents debate. I saw the candidates shake hands, the interviewers introduced, and then I guess it was lights out.  At midnight I woke up to take a pee and took a pill more less out of habit. Back in bed I realized I could turn over without pain.  I lay there the rest of the night thinking of all the trips we could take in the van and trails we could explore to seek out birds. It was as though my brain was again awake and enthused to embrace my former life. This morning, I was able to walk the halls pain free as we went for our morning workout, and then coffee and newspaper downstairs in the lobby. 

Now is a wait and see time.  How long will the treatment last?  Is it only temporary?  Is there something more that will have to be done?  In the meantime, I am going to enjoy as many as possible of a new/old relative pain free days as I can.    
 

Birding Turner Lake

 Hidden away next to Kings Valley Highway and just south of Highway 22, is a private reservoir named Turner Lake.  Although shown on the eBird map as a Hotspot, access is controlled by the Oregon Fishing Club. The Village Birders from Dallas Retirement Village were fortunate enough to have the services of Tim Johnson of Santiam Flycasters and also Salem Audubon, provide access and guide us on a bird walk around the lake. Fog hampered our view, but with the help of our Merlin phone apps we were able to identify 27 different species.  Eventually the sun won out over the fog, and we actually were able to see some of our birds. A big thanks to Tim, and also to Lane our bus driver. Here is the link to our bird list.

 

Thursday's Bird Watch !

This week's bird photo comes from Amity City Park.  Jeanette and I explored this park last week for our first time and were rewarded with this Acorn Woodpecker storing an oak tree acorn into a hole in a tall Douglas Fir tree.  Notice all the other nuts in other holes. This is known as a "granary".  Acorn Woodpeckers live in a colony and work collectively at storing acorns in a granary tree.  Supposedly they always leave one member to guard their collection.
 

Thursday's Bird Watch

The California Scrub-Jay as photographed on September 13th continues to be the most active bird species to be seen here in Dallas Retirement Village.  They are busy all day long bringing in oak tree acorns to bury for winter.  I get asked many times about these "blue jays".  Strictly speaking we do not have Blue Jays in Oregon.  Blue Jays occur East of the Rockies.  To complicate matters, our jays have been called various names as ornithologist continue to reclassify this bird.  If you look at a bird guide from 1990, our jays will be referred to as Scrub Jays.  If you look at a bird guide from 2000, they will be referred to as Western Scrub-Jays.  But a bird guide from this decade will refer to them as California Scrub-Jays.
 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

My thanks go out to Dallas Retirement Village resident Pete McDowell for telling us that our Red-breasted Sapsucker has returned to Tilgner Avenue.  I say "our", because a number of DRV residents have been observing this bird, or another one of the same species, for several years at the same tree.  We last saw a Red-breasted Sapsucker at this tree on April 1st of this year.  The story of this species is that they go somewhere else to breed and to raise their young during the spring and summer.  This tree is their winter hang out from September until April.  One look at the tree with its many sap wells will explain why they like to hang out here.
 

Thursday's Bird Watch

This is the time of year when birds are busy harvesting and hiding food for later this winter.  In this case it's a California Scrub-Jay photographed here in Dallas Retirement Village up at The Pavilion last Friday Aug 30th.  I watched while the jay repeatedly flew up to a perch with an oak in its bill and then down to its cache under some shrubs.  Incidentally, the California Scrub-Jay was first officially recorded in Oregon in 1880 as the Long-tailed Jay.  A quick glance at the tail in the photo validates the name.

 

Wild Turkeys

At 7:30 this mourning just as we were about to leave to check out several good birding locations out of town, Jeanette noticed this flock of a dozen Wild Turkeys just outside the building we live in. This is a combined family with two mama birds and their 10 offspring.  I posted about them back on July 17th. The poults have grown so fast that they are almost the same size as the moms. Officially named "Wild Turkeys" they seem quite domestic as they roam quite freely through the Dallas Retirement Village, much to the enjoyment of all the residents. I suppose there could be a lesson here, --- that it's not necessary to put a lot of effort in to traveling when we can have an interesting birding experience right outside our door. 

 

Thursday's Bird Watch

Today is the 300th article I have written for the newsletter for Dallas Retirement Village, originally known as the "DRV Daily Chronicle", now known as "Looking Ahead".  This Osprey was photographed atop a power pole at a pond along Smithfield Rd. near Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge last week.  It had just finished eating a fish.  It's an appropriate bird to feature in this 300th article because off All the birds that Jeanette and I pursue, it is probably the one species we know the best.  We know its life patterns by heart.  This male will be leaving in September to fly over 2000 miles south for the winter.  Come March he will return to this area and join his female at the same nest they shared this year.  He will fish all summer to feed her and their hatched juveniles. Then when September arrives again, he will take off for another winter down south. 

 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

This is a female Anna's Hummingbird from our balcony feeder last week, August 13th.  Did you know that Anna's Hummingbirds are one of the most frequently seen bird species at Dallas Retirement Village?  In fact, looking at eBird.org, Anna's Hummingbirds are in the top five, observed every week of the year here.  Other birds that have been seen every week are American Crows, California Scrub-Jays, Eurasian Collared-Doves, and European Starlings. There are a total 92 different species of birds that have been observed here at DRV, but only those five have been reported during every single week of the year.
 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

This Turkey Vulture is taking advantage of the morning sun to dry out its wings before taking flight for the day in search of dead cairn. It's their job, so to speak, to serve on the "clean-up crew" to take care of dead carcasses along our roads and fields.  This Vulture was photographed last month at the Ritner Creek Covered Bridge County Park in Kings Valley.  This park is a location that the Village Birders from Dallas Retirement Village will be visiting on a Bus Birding Trip next month. 
 

Thursday's Bird Watch

 Dallas Retirement Village resident David Stewart supplied this week's photo.  It was taken on the shrubbery of David and Bette's Lodge residence patio. The white head striping of the bird on the right easily identifies it as an adult, White-crowned Sparrow.  I first assumed the bird on the left was a juvenile, White-crowned Sparrow. Close examination revealed another story, it's a juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird!! Brown-headed Cowbirds are unique in that they do not build or use a nest of their own. Instead, the female lays her eggs in other birds' nests. This juvenile has in all likelihood hatched in this White-crowned Sparrows nest, which may explain what I perceive as a confused look of the parent at this oversized different looking juvenile. 

Places We Love to Bird - Ballston County Park

The small community of Ballston was originally called Ballsville after railroad backer Isaac Ball. The park is made up of this tiny one-room school nestled in a grove of oak trees. The school was originally built in 1855 a half a mile away and later moved to this location on log rollers pulled by oxen in 1874. Today as a Polk County Park it is an inviting spot to stop, and for us a good place to check out the birds. Acorn Woodpeckers are the most dependable species to be heard and seen here because of cavity nests in the oak trees. On this visit on August 6th, we set up the lawn chairs in the shade and listened and watched and made up our eBird list. I'm sure this will continue to be a place we love to visit and enjoy.

   

 

Thursday's Bird Watch

This Red-breasted Sapsucker was photographed by Dallas Retirement Village Resident Del Warren.  Del took this photo from his car as he was driving through the Dallas Cemetery last month.  The worldwide database of eBird.org recognizes the Dallas Cemetery as an official birding location.  Del has birded here several times and is currently the top birder at this location, having identified 37 different species of birds.  
 

Chemeketan Bird Walk

This was a bird walk Jeanette and I led for the Chemeketans this morning. We met up at Kingsborough Park here in Dallas and walked the West-end of the Rickreall Creek Trail System, listening, looking, and identifying birds. Here is our eBird Observation List. It was great to spend time with friends that we have hiked with over the years.  I joined the Chemeketans 50 years ago this season.  It was a tough time in my life, and the Chemeketans provided a new direction for me. They welcomed me and took me hiking, cross-county skiing, mountain climbing, snow camping, and back-backing. I am forever grateful, and always interested in a small measure of repayment.      

 

Thursday's Bird Watch

 Wild Turkeys have found their way back to Dallas Retirement Village!  A number of residents have reported seeing them in the past several weeks, but we didn't ge a chance to see them until the morning of July 17th, and that was only because Mary Ransier, better known as "Front Desk Mary", tipped us off as to their location.  This is the momma Turkey and one of seven of her juveniles, known as "poults".  Hopefully more DRV residents will get a chance to watch this family as the mother continues to guide her poults around and through the yards of Dallas Retirement Village.