Places We Love to Bird - Huddleston Pond

Yesterday was a day of brilliant fall color and sunshine and Jeanette came up with the idea of driving out to the nearby small town of Williamina to Huddleston Fish Pond for some birding. Huddleston Fish Pond was a former log pond for Hampton Lumber Company. Besides attracting fishermen, locals use the circling path as a good place to take a walk. We, however, have treated it as a serious birding location since January 2014, turning in 97 checklists to eBird, identifying 130 different species of birds. Here is our list from yesterday.

 

This is the 9th in a series of posts entitled, "Places We Love to Bird". For the curious, you can do a search up in the right-hand corner with that title and come up with the other eight posts.

New Dallas eBird Hotspot!

Dallas' newest city park, John C. Barnard Park, is officially now an eBird Hotspot. I went there today to check on the park's progress. Construction is still underway, which means that it is still fenced off from the public, with ribbon-cutting set for November 8th. I went ahead and made up a bird list while walking the street-side sidewalk. Here is my very short list, The park is shaping up for a very impressive venue. A great place for families and kids, and with all the landscaping that is going in, and particularly the pollinator garden area, just recently planted, it is going to be an excellent location for bird watching as well.  
 

Thompson's Mills

On Wednesday, October 22, Dallas Retirement Village provided a bus trip for interested residents to historic Thompson's Mills State Heritage Site. Located off of Highway 99E near the quaint town of Shedd, the flower mill was operational before even Oregon was a state. It has survived fire, floods, and the ravages of time to provide an interesting visit with a glimpse into the past.

 It was particularly exciting for Jeanette and me because we had worked there as volunteers around 20 years ago.  Of course, we were interested in noting the changes to the mill proper, the additional collection of historical machinery, and the changes to the water system that provided power to the mill. Puzzling to us was that we did not have any notes or photos of birds for our time there, but that was a before birding had taken over our lives and became our passion.  We sought to rectify that on this day and made up an eBird observation list, used the Merlin app to identify sounds, and took photographs. The most exciting bird of the day was this Bald Eagle, shown below trying to hide out in a cottonwood tree. 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

I hear reports of hummingbird activity on a regular basis. This photo of a male Anna's Hummingbird was taken at our juice feeder on Monday. Recently I learned a couple of new things about hummingbirds through the thoughtfulness of Dallas Retirement Village resident Earl Kimball. He recommended a PBS Nature program, "Hummingbirds - Magic in the Air". I was surprised to learn that hummingbirds are "the smallest of all the warm-blooded creatures". Also that they can live up to twelve years. As winter is just around the corner, remember it's important to continue to provide juice for our smallest of friends.

Pollinator Garden Day!

Today was Pollinator Garden Day at the John C. Barnard Park, a brand-new Dallas city park. This was an event put together by the Polk Soil & Water Conservation District and the City of Dallas. Located on east-end of Academy Street, the park has all kind of playground facilities, winding sidewalks, a basketball court, and now a pollinator garden with 300+ native plants! I volunteered to take photos, plus I made up a bird observation list, and have nominated the park for an eBird Hotspot. I was so pleased that the first bird I head singing was a Western Meadowlark, Oregon's State Bird. 

Construction is not quite finished, but this is a park I highly recommend and will be returning to for sure.

Thursday's Birdwatch!

Our Red-breasted Sapsucker is back! Last week on October 8th we found a Red-breasted Sapsucker in the Weeping Cypress tree on Tilgner Ave across the street from the Maintenance Building. It's always a treat to peer into that tree and find the Sapsucker at work. Jeanette and I have been keeping records of bird observations at Dallas Retirement Village using eBird.org for over 5 years now.  Our very first sighting of a Red-breasted Sapsucker at DRV was on Jan. 9th, 2020. The species has since been seen here 76 times, almost every month of the year, except it has never been seen during the months of June, July, or August. Why? Is the sap not running in those summer months, or are the birds off nesting in some secluded locations? Let me know if you have an opinion. 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

This is a first-year juvenile White-crowned Sparrow, one of a mixed group of four adults and juveniles we spotted on a bird walk on September 28th in the shrubbery of the west-end of DRV's Assisted Living building. You may not recognize this as a White-crowned Sparrow because it's a dull colored juvenile instead of the sharp contrasting white and black crown of an adult. We have White-crown Sparrows scattered throughout DRV, and this juvenile is proof of their successful nesting this year. 
 

Seeking Solace

 

Inspiration Garden at Mt. Fir Park in Independence is a favorite birding location for us. We went there this morning to seek solace in these tyrannical Trump times. There were no ICE agents lurking in the parking lots, nor military helicopters overhead, only the drone of a small private plane. People were walking their dogs; volunteers were working at trimming the shrubs. Birds sang; flowers still continue to bloom. Ash Creek lies placid, awaiting the coming fall rains. The air was fresh, the sun was shining, all was right with the world. We identified birds, took photos, and made an eBird List. All the lies, hate and greed of this administration seemed miles away. The leaves will die and fall to the ground; we wait with hope for the magic of new life to fill our world once again. 

baby Turkeys wait for their mom.

Sunflowers wait to feed the finches

Fernhill Wetlands

 Dallas Retirement Village residents Vern and Anne Beeson put together a bus trip to Fern Hill Wetlands in Forest Grove. DRV provided the bus and driver, Lane. Fourteen residents braved the rainy weather for this adventure. Enroute, we made a stop at the Carlton Bakery for some extra energy. Fern Hill is a part of more than 700 acres in Forest Grove owned by Clear Water Service for water resource management. Jeanette and I, with our friend and fellow resident, Dan Sewell, did the Fernhill Lake Loop, putting together an impressive bird list which you can see here. 

Greater Yellowlegs

Wilson's Snipe

After everyone got to explore as much as they wanted of the impressive grounds, the trails, and the ponds, we boarded the bus to go to McMenamins Grand Lodge for lunch.