Fighting the Cold

We’re still fighting the cold here in the Northwest as below normal temperatures continue.  From the warmth of our home we daily enjoy watching the birds at our feeders as they stuff down extra calories.  I believe this is what’s going on with this Northern Flicker I took this morning on the suet feeder in our back yard.  I do have to say he is using a most unique position to feed on the suet.

Feeder Follow-up

Yesterday I stopped by to check on the feeder I put up on Wednesday at the Salem Audubon Society Nature Preserve. I wasn’t sure it would even be there as we have quite a bit of vandalism that goes on from time to time.  I also wasn’t sure how much bird activity I would find.  No need to worry, the feeder was still hanging and a lot of bird activity going on.   I was excepting to see some Black-capped Chickadees, which I did, but to my surprise the most aggressive bird at the feeder was a male Red-breasted Nuthatch.  He was busy feeding, plus throwing out seed as fast as he could, and carrying off seed to cache away in the moss.  Additionally a male House Sparrow was at the feeder, only the second time I had seen this common species in the year that I have been counting birds at the Reserve. Juncos were taken advantage of spillage on the ground.  For some reason Robins were hanging around.  A Northern Flicker watched with interest, a male Downey Woodpecker stopped by, and a couple of Western Scrub Jays kept making noisy passes. 

Black-capped Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

House Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Brrr its Cold!

This Great Blue Heron strikes me as a graphic illustration of our current weather pattern here in the Willamette Valley with nighttime lows in the 20s. The heron stands on a log out of the cold water with one leg tucked up out of the elements.  Its normally long neck is some how buried deep into its shoulders.  Even its eye is only partially open.  I took this photo as Capitol Auto Lake yesterday while having maintenance done on our Scion.  Starting at the Toyota store I walked halfway around the lake, then ducked in to the Subaru store to warm up a bit before completing the circle back to the Toyota store.

New Bird Feeder at the Reserve

On Tuesday while getting a bit of fresh air walking thru the Salem Audubon Society Nature Reserve, I noticed two 20 lb. bags of bird seed at the Osprey Kiosk.  I made a couple of phone calls and it appears an anonymous donor apparently left them.  The same person or someone else had ripped open one bag and spread half of it on the ground.  Despite the obvious good intentions, that is not actually a good idea because it attracts mice and rats and a good amount of the seed spoils and goes to waste.  I brought up the idea of a bird feeder and after some consulting with Eugenia Becker we arranged to get a bird feeder from the volunteer arm of Salem Audubon Society that makes birdhouses and feeders. I’m shown here yesterday hanging the new bird feeder from an oak tree. My hope is that not only will the feeder make life easier for some birds, but because its located next to the parking lot, park uses will get to enjoy watching the birds.

Continents Apart

I took this photo yesterday while we were birding at Talking Water Gardens in Albany, The upper bird is an American Wigeon, and the lower one is an Eurasian Wigeon.  The American Wigeon spends the summer in Canada and Alaska, migrating south to winter along the west coast and further south. The Eurasian Wigeon summers in Eurasia and winters south in the tropics except for a few that drop off to winter along the northwest coast.

I last photographed and wrote about these two different species of Wigeons last January. The American species is a common winter resident to the Willamette Valley and can easily be seen in large numbers on our lakes and ponds.  This was the case yesterday; we saw an estimated 250 of these at Talking Waters.  The Eurasian species is a different story, they are considered un-common, but when seen it is common to see them singly mixed in with large flocks of Americans.  We only saw this one lone Eurasian and it was in the last pond after spending almost two hours looking through all the Americans. 

I am intrigued with the fact that these two ducks represent two different continents, and yet here they are sharing time together in a little pond in Albany, Oregon. According to Wikipedia, “Eurasia is the combined continental landmass of Europe and Asia.” Lots of questions float through my mind.  In what country was the Eurasian born and raised; perhaps Russia, or China, or even India?  And what language does this duck quack in? Can his new American friends understand him? And, is it possible he will he be a good ambassador to future generations of migrating ducks, and promote better understanding of these two different continents.  Oops, maybe too much time on the computer.

Season of Changes

 Right now the change in season is particularly obvious with the change to cooler temperatures and to the brightly colored leaves of many of our trees and shrubs.  But another change has taken place as well, the plumage of birds from the breeding to non-breeding season.  Some are subtle, while others are more dramatic, giving rise to troubling identifications problems for birders.  Take the above as an example, it’s one I took on Friday during a lunch a stop at the Salmon River estuary with my daughter and three grandsons.  It’s a Spotted Sandpiper, but has no spots!  For a comparison, look at the lower photo I took along the Tillamook River in July, with lots of spots!  As you notice and marvel at the changes going on with the season, keep in mind birds make changes too.

Birding From My Window

I’m feeling a little under the weather this morning, trying to come down with a sore throat or cold, so have elected to stay inside and keep warm and drink plenty of liquids. In searching for a place to prop my self up I decided to station myself by the window so I could watch any bird action.  Just as I was approaching the window this juvenile Cooper’s Hawk flew in to land on my neighbors railing. What a great start to my day.  It got me to thinking about the many great sightings I have had right here in our back yard.  Thanks to eBird I have an easy way to check on that as it keeps a Yard List for me.  I took a look and was kind of surprised at the total.  In the past year we have observed fifty different species right here in our back yard!