...and don't forget the Hummers

Hummingbirds are another bird we see daily, specifically the Anna’s Hummingbird.  They wiz across our back yard searching for flowers or feeders would be my guess. Many people take down their feeders in the winter, presuming the hummingbirds have gone south.  This is true for some species, like the Rufus Hummingbird, but the Anna’s, which is the primary species here in the Willamette Valley, are year around residents, which means that in winter they have an extra need for nectar, natural or artificial, to keep warm.  We just got up juice feeder hung this past week and already we are seeing more hummers like this female Anna’s Hummingbird in the above photo. So my words of wisdom for the day are; if you feed hummingbirds in the summer don’t neglect to continue feeding in the winter.    

Consistent Juncos

The most common birds that visit our back yard are juncos.  They are one of the easier birds to spot and identify and come consistently every day to scrounge the ground at the base of our feeder and drink and bathe in our bird bath.  As I think back, they are one of the more consistent birds in my birding life too.  Last winter I posted on Juncos in the Snow, which was about one of my earliest recollections and must have happened when I was around six years old.  I have enjoyed them through the years on mountain trails as well as suburban neighborhoods.  I usually refer to them simply as Juncos, although technically they are now called Dark-eyed Juncos, and this one to be most specific is an Oregon Dark-eyed Junco. I do not need to travel to some distant location to find them, they are consistently available for me to observe and enjoy and consistently bring a smile of recognition to my face. 

Northern Flicker

This morning while I was outside on the patio putting up some Christmas Lights I noticed a pair of Northern Flickers in my neighbor’s tree.  We hear flickers daily, but don’t always get a chance to see them.  This photo reveals several things, the red “moustache” indicates it is a male, and also that it belongs to the Red-shafted race of Northern Flickers.  Of course the red-shafted tail feathers would be another indicator of its race. The other race of Northern Flickers is the Yellow-shafted, which is predominantly on the East Coast, but some are seen in Oregon, and just to complicate matters, from what I had read they do inter breed. Anyway, I love their bright colors which today reminded me of Christmas, and although this is Thanksgiving, we are all on our way to Christmas for sure starting tomorrow.   

Greater Yellowlegs

One of the most productive birding spots for me in Salemtowne is turning out to be a pond on the ninth hole of the golf course.  I’ve gotten some nice shots of a Great Blue Heron there, have seen a King Fisher several times, and I can always see some Mallards.  In fact, a small Green-winged Teal is currently hanging out with the Mallards. This small pond has been formed by damning up Gibson Creek, and recently the maintenance people have drained the pond for winter I presume. The shallow water level has produced some good wading area which has attracted three to four Greater Yellowlegs.  These are interesting birds, and from what I have read for the most part they are not residents, but migrants passing through Oregon in the spring for breeding grounds in Canada and Alaska, and passing back in the fall to winter in California and Mexico. It will be interesting to see how long these birds hang around. 

A Closer Second Look

Here is second closer look at the bird I posted yesterday. Turns out I miss-identified it as a Copper’s Hawk when it is actually a Merlin, which technically is not a hawk but a falcon.  Elva Paulson, a very talented nature artist and blogger, who lives in the Roseburg area, noticed my mistake and very graciously e-mailed me to clue me in.  Here is a link to her blog, http://www.elvafieldnotes.blogspot.com , which I highly recommend.

It’s always encouraging to discover people read my blog, but it’s a double plus  to find they looked at it close enough to notice a mistake and then take the time and effort to let me know. I was thrilled to be wrong as it means a new Critter --- a Merlin, for my collection in Cascade Ramblings.  Thank you Elva.

Winter Birding

One of the advantages of birding in winter is that birds are much easier to see once the trees have lost their leaves. I spotted this juvenile Cooper's Hawk perched in a Red Alder tree on Oakcrest Drive during my morning walk in Salemtowne yesterday.  If the tree had all it’s leaves I probably wouldn’t have noticed the hawk, but as you can see it was pretty obvious.  Seconds after I took this photo the hawk took off to confront a harassing American Crow.  The Cooper’s Hawk was totally unexpected as I walked along the busy street, and that’s another thing I enjoy about birding, pleasant surprises.
EDITING NOTE:  It has been pointed out to me that this is a Merlin, not a Cooper's Hawk.  

Trail at Spring Valley

I went searching for birding opportunities yesterday afternoon and discovered this gem of a trail, lined with fungi and ferns, literally minutes away from my home in Salemtowne.  Spring Valley is managed by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department as an access point on the Willamette River Greenway. But what caught my attention was this obscure trail that appears to be receiving attention and improvements by the Salem Area Trail Alliance. The area is thick with a variety of trees, oak, maple, ash and fir, and winds pleasantly through the flora giving me the impression of being deep in the woods. In fact it brought to mind a story I read years ago about “the near-by far-away”.  This describes this trail perfectly; less than six miles out Wallace Road from my home, yet far enough away to isolate me from cars, roads, and houses and allow only the sights of nature to fill my experience. The afternoon was quiet and birds where a little scarce, but a group of busy little Golden-crowned Kinglets topped off my time here, and I’m sure I will be back.