Chitwood Bridge Check In

Jeanette at Chitwood Bridge

The town of Toledo is perhaps our favorite get-away location, and we were ready for our Toledo "fix". An escape in the van for the day was just what we needed. Our route plan was to take Highway 20 and detour at the Eddyville exit to the "old" highway and on to Chitwood.  We first stopped to check out the Chitwood Bridge last year in May. Here is our bird list.  We were impressed with the birding enough that I suggested it as an eBird Hotspot, which it now is. The sunshine was great, and we had a good variety of birds. Here is our bird list for the day. For more on the Chitwood Bridge check out this blog.  
 

 

Jeanette inside the bridge

We continued on to Toledo and birded the Depot Slough Path, another eBird Hotspot that we have enjoyed many times. Here is the bird list for today.  After enjoying lunch in the sunshine, we traveled on the Yaquina Bay Rd. to Paddle Park, another favorite. Jeanette folded down the bed in the van for me, and I took a nap and rested while she birded. When she came back, she laid down to rest, and I sat at the dinette and worked on bird photos. This is Jeanette's eBird List and photos. We left for home feeling refreshed an energized. The trip was just what we needed for a reset.   

Thursday's Bird Watch

I can't believe that this week I am featuring a bird I dislike, but here it is, - - a European Starling.  I took this photo here in Dallas Retirement Village on January 19th. A non-native, European Starlings were first brought to the United States from England and released into New York's Central Park in 1890 as part of a local Shakespeare Society's plan to introduce all the birds mentioned in Shakespear's works. They quickly spread across North America. Here in DRV they are among the top dozen birds to be seen all year around.  A worry is that they out compete many native cavity nesting birds.  Most annoyingly they mimic a variety of other bird calls and songs, creating confusion. 
 

Possible First Nesting Site of the Year

It's a beautiful morning, the sun is out, all is right with the world.  We took a quick little walk in our Central Courtyard this morning to check the dogwood trees for any possible new Anna's Hummingbird nests. No nests, but we did see a Eurasian Collard-Dove fly in and then disappear. Checking closely in the rafters we discovered the nest site! Sort of like Columbus looking for India and discovering America. Well, we are happy to have our first possible nesting site of the year.  Eurasian Collard-Doves are unique in that they can nest year around. We will be paying close attention to this location in the days and weeks ahead.

February 22, 2018

On this day, seven years ago we were in Arizona, working as Volunteers at Cattail Cove State Park, on the Colorado River. This photo shows a group of campers we had taken on a bird walk up a canyon to observe a Great Horned Owl's nest we had found earlier. Wonderful memories of how and where we spend many of our winters.    
 

Birding from the Van

Continuing rain, cold and snow in the recent days have caused us to choose to do most of our birding from the van. It's a good option. It's warm and dry in the van, and a comfortable way to bird without causing pain to my back. 

This bird, a female American Kestrel, America's smallest member of the Falcon Family, was spotted while driving on Sauerkraut Rd. in rural Polk County. Here is our eBird Observation List.
 

Winter Survival

We still have snow on the ground, and when we went out this morning to check on the van, we noticed a lot of bird activity, particularly Western Bluebirds! We wondered what they could be finding to eat.  We noticed that they seem to be checking out the bare spots under the shrubbery.  Then, Jeanette noticed that they were also looking for water. We were inspired to provide some food and water for them.  I put out a suet feeder and Jeanette set out some meal worms and a dish of water.  

 A female Western Bluebird, one of a group of five, is shown here in a tree all fluffed up trying to stay warm.

Next, we noticed the group found the Beautyberry (Callicarpa bodinieri). A thank you goes out to my sister-in-law, Patty Blair, for the plant identification.  This male and the rest of the flock went right to work harvesting the berries.

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Thursday's Bird Watch!

This Dark-eyed Junco was photographed at a seed feeder at the Assisted Living facility here in Dallas Retirement Village on January 19th.  Dark-eyed Juncos are the first birds I remember as a child.  I recall looking out my grandmother's window and seeing the Juncos on the snow. Their dark colors made such a striking contrast against the white snow.  Consequently, I always consider Juncos to be winter birds, and that's basically true. Although Dark-eyed Juncos have been observed here at Dallas Retirement Village year around, their largest numbers are normally seen in the winter.  However, this year seems different, and I don't know why, but we have yet to see any large flocks. 
 

More Birding from the Walker

We continue to go for a bird walk almost every day. The big impediment is my walker. It takes a little more logistics to load and unload the walker into either the car or the van. And then there is the consideration that the birding destination needs to have a concrete sidewalk for the walker. This does limit the possibilities; however, the walker is a necessity, and it allows me to sit, and by resting my elbows on the handlebars I am able to hold the camera still enough to take photographs. An example is the Anna's Hummingbird male, taken this morning at the Ash Creek Restoration Site in Independence. 

The big news, lurking in the background, is that on Friday we had an appointment with Dr Orina, a Neurosurgeon at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, and we are now on the path for a Laminectomy & Fusion in the next few months. Hopefully this will lead to the freedom of normal walking and no dependence on a walker.  

 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

 Our balcony was very busy last Thursday with what we assumed was courtship behavior by a pair of Anna's Hummingbirds.  This went on for hours, making it hard for us to get anything done.  After three days of observing them chit chatting on the perch and then breaking out into full blown war, and then settling down for more conversation, only to repeat the whole drama over and over, we realized on close examination that we did not have a pair in courtship, but two females, bickering over the feeder or whatever. A male would also look different with a more complete throat patch.