From jgeier at attglobal.net Sun Jan 1 04:53:11 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Sun Jan 1 04:56:50 2006 Subject: [obol] The high point of my day yesterday Message-ID: <43B7D0B7.5030908@attglobal.net> Hello folks, The high point of my day on yesterday's Airlie CBC came precisely at its lowest point -- in terms of elevation relative to the Willamette River datum. While wading waist-deep through Willamette flood waters to get back from one of the new islands at the Vanderpool Tract greenway in ne. Benton Co., I finally heard WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES. I'd been searching for them all day in the rain. After wading back to the mainland, I was able to see two of them foraging high in the oaks. Luckiamute Landing greenway was completely inaccessible as Buena Vista Rd. was under water for about a half mile in either direction from the entrance bridge, the deck of which was presumably under three or four feet of water. Going by canoe also did not seem too sensible since there were strong currents where the Luckiamute River and Soap Creek were working on new shortcuts to the Willamette. From the hills above Buena Vista, the Ankeny area across the river looked like one big lake. A big chunk of American Bottom (the end of Wigrich Rd.) was also underwater, which cut me off from my second-most productive screech-owling spot. My favorite (at Wells Landing) was above water, but it took three stops before the pre-dawn rains let up enough for one to answer. Good luck in the bottomlands, Eugene CBCers. I've had headed for higher ground (Santiam Pass CBC) today, to try slogging through crystalline-phase rather than liquid/solid-suspension-phase water. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From kit at darkwing.uoregon.edu Sun Jan 1 06:35:50 2006 From: kit at darkwing.uoregon.edu (Kit Larsen) Date: Sun Jan 1 06:35:45 2006 Subject: [obol] Alvadore Snowy Owl Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060101063430.01dd4608@pop.uoregon.edu> Saturday afternoon (12/31), at about 4:45pm my wife and I saw the SNOWY OWL that Rolf Anderson previously located. This is on Franklin Rd, just a little west of Alvadore Rd, a mile or so north of Fern Ridge Dam. I first saw the owl on peak of the large barn just to the north of the intersection. It soon flew over and landed on a utility pole along Franklin Rd. It then flew north across the field to land on a fence post, in the vicinity of where we have found Rough-legged Hawks. It remained on the post for the few minutes of remaining light. Rolf reported seeing the owl twice since the first time: "I watched it again at dusk (5pm) Monday (12/27) - same place on Franklin Road. I didn't see it Tuesday, likely because it was raining too hard. I watched it again Wednesday at dusk - same place, same time." Kit Larsen Eugene From hawkowl at hotmail.com Sun Jan 1 08:04:53 2006 From: hawkowl at hotmail.com (Jason Rogers) Date: Sun Jan 1 08:04:55 2006 Subject: [obol] birding behavior Message-ID: Wayne Hoffman wrote: "Shorebirds have been shown to be able to gain weight at prodigious rates when preparing for migration so it makes sense that the same birds, when encountering abundant food out of nesting and migration periods literally have energy to burn." The weight gain you refer to is the result of increased secretion of the hormone, corticosterone. An elevated baseline level of this hormone in the blood is a seasonal phenomenon and, so, would not allow a shorebird to have "energy to burn" outside of its migration periods. _ Regards, ( '< Jason Rogers / ) ) Banff, AB //" " hawkowl@hotmail.com From ptsulliv at spiritone.com Sun Jan 1 09:25:31 2006 From: ptsulliv at spiritone.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Sun Jan 1 09:39:11 2006 Subject: [obol] January Audubon Birding Weekend FULL Message-ID: <000f01c60efa$415c2ad0$e0c063d8@dell307ac3e2b6> OBOL: The January 14-16, 2006, Audubon Birding Weekend trip to Wallowa county (sponsored by the Audubon Society of Portland) is FULL. We expect that the precipitation there, if any, will be the drier form. The next trip will go to Clatsop county February 18-19, 2006. Happy New Year and Good Birding, everyone, Paul T. Sullivan Audubon Birding Weekends (503) 646-7889 http://www.audubonportland.org/trips_classes_camps/adult_programs/birding_weekendsfolder/index_html From philliplc at harborside.com Sun Jan 1 09:42:22 2006 From: philliplc at harborside.com (Phillip Pickering) Date: Sun Jan 1 09:41:47 2006 Subject: [obol] Boiler Bay Message-ID: <034201c60efa$b9042fb0$6601a8c0@byronq189eo067> 7:45-9:00 (1/1): Overcast with rain heavy at times, wind SE 20-40, 15+ ft swells. Only minor scoter movement going on at Yaquina Head yesterday morning, conditions were calm with very low cloud ceiling. Was surprised to see heavy S movement today despite driving rain, continuous 400-900/minute combined from 8:00-8:30 dropping slowly to <200/min by 9:00. 600+ Red-throated Loons (~100 on the water, 500 S) 30+ Common Loons 1 Horned Grebe 5 Red-necked Grebes (S) 15 Western Grebes 2 Short-tailed Shearwaters 2 Double-crested Cormorants 60 Brandt's Cormorants (feeding) 40 Pelagic Cormorants (feeding) 2 Black Scoters 17000+ Surf Scoters (a few small rafts visible) 8000+ White-winged Scoters 2 Long-tailed Ducks 1 Harlequin Duck 1 Red Phalarope 5 Mew Gulls 20 California Gulls 1 Herring Gull 150+ Western Gulls 30 Glaucous-winged Gulls 3 Black-legged Kittiwakes 20 Common Murres 15+ Pigeon Guillemots (most on the water, no obvious movement) 2 Marbled Murrelets Phil philliplc@harborside.com From dhaupt at tulelake.k12.ca.us Sun Jan 1 10:11:31 2006 From: dhaupt at tulelake.k12.ca.us (Dave Haupt) Date: Sun Jan 1 10:15:15 2006 Subject: [obol] Mockingbird, Jackson Co. Message-ID: <43B7AAD40200006700000A0A@mail.tulelake.k12.ca.us> OBOL, While traveling to Medford on Hwy 140 on Friday, December 30, a Northern Mockingbird flew across the road toward a rural home at ~mile post 6, which is 2-3 miles east of White City on Hwy 140. Dave Haupt Klamath Falls From a-r at centurytel.net Sun Jan 1 10:38:37 2006 From: a-r at centurytel.net (Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. Rollins) Date: Sun Jan 1 10:38:42 2006 Subject: [obol] Ft. Stevens Snowy Owls Message-ID: <002001c60f02$94541f10$628dfea9@S1100382963> First time posting here. We had a chance to go hunting these birds last wk. and it was a good trip. We had never seen one before. Spotted three from lot C a Ft. Stevens within minutes after starting to look (4 pm Tue. 12/27). My intentions were to get a good photo of one and so I returned and spent the day 12/28th. It was a good day, got my butt wet, had a break in the weather in afternoon and got a few pictures. I am sure I saw Mike Patterson there, but by the time I figured out who he was he was gone so I did not get to meet him. My Thank You to those who posted about these birds and where to see them! Changed out from my desired lens combo from Zuiko 1.4 teleconverter and 50-200 on my E-1. Went to the 1.4 and an old 500mm OM lense to get some extra reach. This locks me at f8 but gives the 35mm film camera equivalent of 1400mm. Here are a couple of pictures. First one is from near Lot C and is of the three we got to see. http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54235603.jpg These two were taken when I was laying on a dune, on the river side of dunes. Spent several hours in hide there. http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54235604.jpg http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54235605.jpg Kim Rollins Burns, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060101/11fcf19c/attachment.htm From riutta at comcast.net Sun Jan 1 12:43:54 2006 From: riutta at comcast.net (Riutta Family) Date: Sun Jan 1 12:43:59 2006 Subject: [obol] Bushtits in the hills of Scappoose Message-ID: <002401c60f14$151de0c0$0301a8c0@HOMEBASE> Good afternoon all, Just a brief observation: late this morning (11:30 AM or so) a flock of Bushtits (six counted, probably a few more skulking in the trees) was noted visiting our suet feeders at the homestead in Scappoose. While Bushtits are not unusual birds for northwest Oregon, we have not previously seen them visiting our feeders. Good birding in the new year, John E. Riutta Scappoose, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060101/fb6b5162/attachment.htm From jeffgill at teleport.com Sun Jan 1 13:50:06 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sun Jan 1 12:50:02 2006 Subject: [obol] Invasive species bird shelters In-Reply-To: <002501c60e74$50ee5670$0201a8c0@D7CDFN81> Message-ID: on 12/31/05 5:40 PM, Douglas Kirkpatrick at kirkpat@charter.net wrote: > Unlike English Laurel, my Portugal Laurel does not seem to be spreading at > all, either in my yard or locally. Holly and Ivy, on the other hand..... > > Doug K I have several volunteer Portugal Laurel plants that have come up in my yard. Adult fruit-bearing specimens are in a nearby park. I have not seen it in the wild, but if can get established in my yard, I assume it can do so in native habitats as well. On the recent Tillamook CBC is was surprised to see a few English Laurels in areas away from human habitation. Jeff Gilligan. From johnpam at ipns.com Sun Jan 1 13:01:37 2006 From: johnpam at ipns.com (JohnPam) Date: Sun Jan 1 13:00:12 2006 Subject: [obol] Acorn Woodpecker(s) & Pine Siskins at Feeders; Comment on Silverton CBC Message-ID: Acorn Woodpecker showed up again today at our feeder. However, for Silverton CBC yesterday, it stayed away all day. It has been out there for at least 90 min today in a blustery wind and seems to be camped out in the flowering plum tree over the feeder area. "Ya never know!" This is second day of our FeederWatch Count so A Woodpecker will still be present on it. Pine Siskins showed up at Niger feeder 3 days ago and built to at least 26 by yesterday. Nice to see them back. They have almost pushed all the Am Goldfinch off the main feeder. Partook of small part of Silverton CBC yesterday (AM on one route; thanks Roger & Tom!). One highlight was seeing a Townsend's Warbler in WC Sparrow flock below cemetery by Bethel School. Saw 14 Tundra Swans flying over a little south of that area. We missed the V. Rails at Silverton Ponds and even another "Raily-looking" place in the AM; surprised me as they were thick in there a few weeks ago. Maybe somebody saw/heard them later on the route or on other route.... Any other Silverton CBC comments here or direct would be appreciated. thanks, good birding, John Thomas/Pam Reid Silverton From nelsoncheek at charter.net Sun Jan 1 13:33:39 2006 From: nelsoncheek at charter.net (WALTER NELSON) Date: Sun Jan 1 13:32:56 2006 Subject: [obol] Yaquina Bay CBC Results Message-ID: <4k176m$27j1b1@mxip08a.cluster1.charter.net> The Yaquina Bay CBC (12/31) set off into the morning murk with rain showers, dark overcast and a scary weather forecast. Intermittent rain and flooded lowlands made for slow birding in the morning. Weather improved in the afternoon and the field teams persisted, resulting in a very good list of species at the evening countdown. Feeder watchers contributed a couple of surprises, bringing the CBC total to 132 species. Unexpected birds were a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE (residential street near Ona Beach State Park), a WANDERING TATTLER (Yaquina Head south cove), a NORTHERN GOSHAWK (Hidden Valley near Toledo), and a female BULLOCK'S ORIOLE (feeder in north Newport). The RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD is still visiting a feeder east of Newport. The CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was re-found with the sparrow flock on the South Jetty Road, and the SNOWY OWL was finally spotted at the old fish hatchery ponds near Hatfield Marine Science Center. A LONG-TAILED DUCK was at the South Jetty, a male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was in Sally's Bend (Yaquina Bay) and - no surprise - RED PHALAROPES were scattered all around the count circle. Seawatchers found SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER, BONAPARTE'S GULL, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, COMMON MURRE, PIGEON GUILLEMOT, and MARBLED MURRELET. Other good finds for this circle were 5 GREAT EGRETS (Beaver Creek), MOURNING DOVES at feeders in South Beach and Toledo, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW (feeder near Toledo), RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER and PILEATED WOODPECKER in the hills east of Beaver Creek. Many thanks to all the field observers and feeder watchers! ______________________ Rebecca Cheek 14399 S. Coast Hwy South Beach, OR 97366 541-867-4699 nelsoncheek@charter.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060101/c8936a57/attachment.htm From dpvroman at budget.net Sun Jan 1 13:27:58 2006 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis P. Vroman) Date: Sun Jan 1 13:46:51 2006 Subject: [obol] New Year birds Message-ID: <000001c60f1c$0925a200$73341c40@hppav> Hope everyone finds some neat birds in the new year. My first bird for the new year (north of Grants Pass) was a Canada Goose heard calling in complete darkness this morning...next was a Hermit Thrush! Just now a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW (likely the same bird found last year here) appeared after the downpour of this morning. We have had at least 6 inches of rain at our place over the last 3 day. Dennis (north of Grants Pass) From hawkowl at hotmail.com Sun Jan 1 14:30:15 2006 From: hawkowl at hotmail.com (Jason Rogers) Date: Sun Jan 1 14:30:17 2006 Subject: [obol] birding behavior Message-ID: Wayne, An abundance of food does not necessarily stimulate increased consumption of that food. What you may not have known is that corticosterone facilitates hyperphagia, that is, increased appetite and that when a migratory bird's baseline corticosterone level declines in winter, so does its appetite. I sincerely hope that you are not suggesting that it is acceptable to harrass birds if their food is abundant. _ Regards, ( '< Jason Rogers / ) ) Banff, AB //" " hawkowl@hotmail.com >From: "Wayne Hoffman" >To: "Jason Rogers" >Subject: Re: [obol] birding behavior >Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2006 12:52:36 -0800 > >A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. > >The weight gain is PARTLY a result of increased secretion of >corticosterone. >It also requires abundant food, and foraging and digestive efficiency >adequate to obtain and process many more calories than needed for >maintenance. The food abundance, foraging efficiency, and digestive >parformance are not all results of increased secretion of corticosterone. >So even if a Dunlin is not hormonally set to pile on the migratory fat >reserves in midwinter, if food is abundant it can meet its maintenance >energy needs in a small portion of the foraging time available to it, and >have no great difficulty obtaining additional energy for activity beyond >maintenance. Places like Ankeny Refuge where Dunlin winter in the >Willamette Valley likely have extremely high densities of easy-to-digest >high-calorie Chironomid larvae just beneath the surface of the mud in the >shallow impoundments. This week, with high water from the past 10+ days of >heavy rain these Chironomid beds may not be available. However these rains >are partially flooding many plowed fields, and earthworms and other >easy-to-digest high-calorie invertebrates are being forced to the surface, >providing abundant forage. > >Wayne From rriparia at charter.net Sun Jan 1 16:07:19 2006 From: rriparia at charter.net (Kevin Spencer) Date: Sun Jan 1 16:28:57 2006 Subject: [obol] Klamath Falls CBC summary Message-ID: <4ll4c0$4vamu8@mxip22a.cluster1.charter.net> OBOL, Yesterday, Dec. 31, 2005, some either crazy, or oblivious observers went out in some cold wet weather to participate in the Klamath Falls Christmas Bird Count. BJ Matzen, G. Smith, Ken Cooper, Wes Stone, Dave Haupt and his father, Howard, David Larson, Tamara Walker, Julie Van Moorhem, Mark Kelley and myself, along with a feeder report from Lois Phillips, did their best to dodge the rain, but most ended up at least a little wet and cold. The day ended at Julie's home for some great food and conversation. Highlights include: 95 total species, and among those: Double-crested Cormorant (tough bird for winter conditions), Ross's Goose-2, Ruddy Duck- 2318 (almost all counted by Wes at Lake Ewauna), Ferruginous Hawk-1, Merlin-1, Mountain Quail-6 (Lois Phillip's feeder on Lakeshore Dr., Greater Yellowlegs-15 (most from A Canal), Glaucous-winged Gull-1, Hairy Woodpecker-1, Yellow-shafted Flicker-2 (one seen near Yacht Club), Black-capped Chickadee-2, Chestnut-backed Chickadee-4, Rock Wren-1, Western Bluebird-17 (all seen in cut alfalfa fields), Hermit Thrush-1, Fox Sparrow (Lois's feeder), Black Phoebe-1 (Wing-watcher's Trail at Lake Ewauna), and Yellow-rumped Warbler-6 (4 at Wiard Park). Happy New Year, and good birding. Kevin Spencer rriparia@charter.net 541 884-5739 From rkohls3206 at hotmail.com Sun Jan 1 16:47:59 2006 From: rkohls3206 at hotmail.com (Kate K) Date: Sun Jan 1 16:48:01 2006 Subject: [obol] Recent flurry of activity in the yard Message-ID: We've had some interesting activity in the yard during past 2 days.... Rain and blustering wind have also yielded some brief calm sunbreaks and the sunbreaks have brought huge bursts of avain activity 20-30 Townsends Warblers (mostly 1st year, but several bright adults), some feeding on the ground, but most muscling bshtits and chickadees off of the suet feeders (7 suet feeders) Bushtits (several large flocks), totalling approx 100 birds Black-capped chickadees Chestnut-backed chickdees Ruby-crowned kinglets Juncos Golden-crowned sparrows, ground feeding and bathing in the pond Spotted Towhees Varied Thrush Stellers Jays No. Flickers Annas Hummingbirds, M & F Am Crow Happy New Year from Randy and Kate Kohlschmidt in NE Vancouver, Wa From winkg at hevanet.com Sun Jan 1 17:01:13 2006 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Sun Jan 1 17:01:07 2006 Subject: [obol] Portland CBC--preliminary results Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060101161425.02900b78@pop.hevanet.com> The Portland CBC enjoyed a brief respite from the rain yesterday, at least for most of the morning, before an afternoon deluge. Birding was generally characterized as "slow" (isn't it always?). The preliminary species count is 102. Best birds were a COMMON TEAL (aka "Eurasian" Green-winged Teal), a SNOW GOOSE, a GREATER YELLOWLEGS, and a report of 3 MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES from a feeder watcher in Beaverton. As there were no spectacular finds, there were no egregious misses, either. Shorebirds were almost non-existent: 6 KILLDEER and 4 WILSON'S SNIPE being the only representatives. No Ring-necked Pheasants, at one time one of the most abundant birds on the Portland CBC, or Purple Finches were reported. Several species enjoyed unusually high counts: RED-NECKED GREBE (51, 15x normal), MERLIN (5, 2x), ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD (151, 3x), BEWICK'S WREN (170, 2x), WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH (18, 3x), LESSER GOLDFINCH (96, 4x normal). Special thanks to my wonderful area team leaders: Pam Johnston, Pat Muller, Lynn Herring, Linda Craig, and Char Corkran for all their hard work to make this count a success! Wink Gross Portland PS -- look for an article in Monday's "Oregonian" featuring John Fitchen and David Mandell birding in North Portland during the CBC. From mimz607 at epud.net Sun Jan 1 17:19:33 2006 From: mimz607 at epud.net (mimz) Date: Sun Jan 1 17:19:38 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy & Tundras Message-ID: <000801c60f3a$976164a0$461e6c0c@Maff> Just returned from checking out the snowy owl on Franklin Rd in Alvadore. It made its grand entrance right on time. Dozen or so birders also present. On my way home, I drove down Meadowview and saw a field of 250+ tundra swans. A bonus! It's been a great year so far! Marcia N. Eugene -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060101/667eeef6/attachment.htm From polkman07 at earthlink.net Sun Jan 1 17:39:24 2006 From: polkman07 at earthlink.net (bill tice) Date: Sun Jan 1 17:39:19 2006 Subject: [obol] Polk Snowy Owl Message-ID: <410-2200611213924671@earthlink.net> Hi Folks, I thought I'd get a start on my '06 county year list, so drove around the usual haunts. Best bird by far was a SNOWY OWL. This bird is an imm bird, and was found on the north side of West Perrydale Road about 3 miles west of Perrydale, and a few hundred yards before it junctions with Enterprise Road. It was about 200 yards from the road, and sitting next to a 5 gallon white bucket. This is the 6th record that I know of and 1st since '97. Otherwise, with the wind blowing hard birds were not very conspicuous. I did locate a large flock of gulls, mostly pink-legged north of Perrydale, but could not turn any into glaucous gulls. Bill Tice -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060101/f4228238/attachment.htm From oschmidt at att.net Sun Jan 1 17:46:43 2006 From: oschmidt at att.net (Owen Schmidt) Date: Sun Jan 1 17:47:46 2006 Subject: [obol] January 3rd is Portland Birders Night ... Message-ID: .......... 7:30 pm, Audubon House, 5151 NW Cornell Road. Bird quiz, potpourri. All are welcome. oschmidt@att.net Sunday, January 1, 2006 From deriv1 at yahoo.com Sun Jan 1 18:23:48 2006 From: deriv1 at yahoo.com (Brian Zeiler) Date: Sun Jan 1 18:23:51 2006 Subject: [obol] Klamath Basin visit Message-ID: <20060102022348.20161.qmail@web52805.mail.yahoo.com> Greetings from San Francisco (Dublin to be precise). My wife and I are heading up to Klamath Basin in mid-January, mainly to look for bald eagles. It's our first time visiting. Any tips are appreciated! Also, we're very interested in seeing some snowy owls, if they make it into southern Oregon... does anybody know how far south they've been seen? We're willing to drive up a ways. Thanks! Brian Zeiler Dublin, CA Bird galleries: http://www.pbase.com/zeiler __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From andy.frank at kp.org Sun Jan 1 18:38:56 2006 From: andy.frank at kp.org (Andy Frank) Date: Sun Jan 1 18:39:05 2006 Subject: [obol] Scappoose Bottoms Short-eared Owls Message-ID: <000301c60f45$ae191fc0$6600a8c0@familyroom> My daughter Lisa and I went to Scappoose Bottoms (Columbia County) this afternoon and off Honeyman Road saw a male Ring-necked Pheasant, numerous American Kestrels, Red-tailed Hawks and Northern Harriers. In the field where Short-eared Owls have been seen most years there initially were 40 Great Egrets, many Great-blue Herons, and a flock of Western Meadowlarks. As dusk descended 4 Harriers were flying around together making a beautiful sight. And 20 minutes after sunset, we finally saw the target species: 2 Short-eared Owls initially on posts and then flying around. A beautiful way to start the year. Happy New Year everyone. Andy Frank Portland From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Sun Jan 1 18:57:16 2006 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Sun Jan 1 18:50:01 2006 Subject: [obol] Eugene CBC results Message-ID: Preliminary results from Eugene CBC show an all-time record 138 species on a day with high winds and rain in the morning and a nice afternoon. Best birds include: SWAINSON's HAWK (hanging around Alvadore & Franklin roads southwest of Junction City). This bird was located in early December and excellent photos obtained. Yellowthroat Tree Swallow (at least three) Brant Snowy Owl (same location as the Swainson's, present only at dusk) Vesper Sparrow Mockingbird (2) Black Phoebe (at least three) Ross's Goose Turkey Vulture (many, widespread) Osprey Red Phalarope And such other delights as a roost of night-herons, Snow and Whitefronted geeze. Marilyn, we had six species of geese - where were you? The Falcated Duck was NOT found on count day on the pond it has been frequenting. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer@mindspring.com From ErikKnight05 at comcast.net Sun Jan 1 18:51:09 2006 From: ErikKnight05 at comcast.net (ErikKnight05@comcast.net) Date: Sun Jan 1 18:56:34 2006 Subject: [obol] Census Count: Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, Marion County, Oregon on January 01, 2006 Message-ID: <200601020251.k022p9C7018217@rottweiler.furfly.com> This report was mailed for Erik Knight by http://birdnotes.net Date: January 1, 2006 Location: Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, Marion County, Oregon Wind direction: Variable Prevailing wind speed: 6-11 km/h gusting to: 12-19 km/h Percentage of sky covered by clouds: 100% Precipitation: none Water everywhere, Buena Vista Road closed past Wintel Road interchange. Very windy Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Canada Goose Cackling Goose Tundra Swan 14 [1] American Wigeon Mallard Northern Shoveler 38 Northern Pintail Green-Winged Teal Canvasback 20 [2] Ring-necked Duck 119 Lesser Scaup 36 Bufflehead 39 Ruddy Duck 73 Pied-billed Grebe 5 Great Blue Heron 1 Great Egret 10 Bald Eagle 4 [3] Northern Harrier 3 Red-tailed Hawk 11 American Kestrel 5 American Coot Dunlin Long-billed Dowitcher 3 Red Phalarope 1 [4] Belted Kingfisher 1 Downy Woodpecker 2 Northern Flicker 4 Western Scrub-Jay 5 American Crow Tree Swallow 5 [5] Black-capped Chickadee Bushtit White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Brown Creeper 3 Bewick's Wren 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet American Robin European Starling American Pipit Yellow-rumped Warbler Townsend's Warbler 1 [6] Spotted Towhee 2 Song Sparrow Golden-crowned Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Brewer's Blackbird Footnotes: [1] flying east over Buena Vista Road [2] Eagle Marsh [3] adult, 3rd year bird & juveniles [4] westside of Pintail Marsh [5] Pintail Marsh [6] Egret Marsh boardwalk Total number of species seen: 47 From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Sun Jan 1 20:25:20 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Mon Jan 2 00:46:54 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: birding behavior Message-ID: <20060102042520.83895.qmail@web51810.mail.yahoo.com> I feel compelled to chime in on this thread and I agree with Wayne's overall philosophy regarding people interacting with birds. When I first hung a hummingbird feeder from the eave just outside my kitchen window, the hummingbirds that discovered the feeder would fly away every time I even approached the kitchen window. However, after a couple of months, they would keep feeding with nothing more than a quick glance in my direction even when I would stand very close to the window. Now, after several months, even the loud mechanical sound of grinding coffee beans doesn't seem to phase most of them. I could have hung the feeder further from the window so they wouldn't have been disturbed initially but if I had I wouldn't now have the pleasure of viewing those amazing little hummers up close and personal almost every morning while I make and drink my coffee....and I'm not of the opinion that it hurt them in any way to fly off and come back while they were getting acclimated to my presence. I would personally like to see people interact MORE with birds, not less. Birds seem to draw people into nature more than any other species (besides maybe marine mammals if you happen to be on the coast). While I am fascinated with the invertebrate lumps and bumps and segmented squigglies in the tidepools, they don't seem to excite most people in quite the same way :-) Birds, on the other hand, are the celebrities of nature....they have the charisma to charm even the least nature-oriented person. Moreover, they're ubiquitous and easy to spot. They have enough similarities to humans that people can relate to them...unlike many invertebrates (the vast majority of animal species on this planet), they have an easily identified head with eyes and a mouth and a body with legs...but they're different enough evoke curiosity in most people....and who could resist the pizzazz of flying without a motor. I've thought for a long time it would be a great idea to create a system of parks devoted specifically to birdwatching....complete with observation areas most appropriate for each environment, beautiful murals with life-size illustrations of the common species of the area (for each season), as well as carefully thought out natural history info on topics like feeding, mating, nesting, habitat, etc. A map of other birdwatching parks could be provided so it becomes not just one stop but several maybe emphasizing diversity of habitat. Volunteer staff could help interpret and once a week or so have a real expert come in guide people. I am very happy to see more general parks building bird observation platforms but these parks are not "marketed" in a way that many people even think about birdwatching as a fun activity unless of course they're already a birdwatcher or at least a nature enthusiast. If marketed appropriately a park with a specific activity that most people enjoy would bring bring in a wider scope of people. Instead of going to the movies one day, people might decide to take in the birds at the birdwatching park....live IMAX :-) This might be best done by a non-profit or maybe a for-profit with very odd business plan. Finding the land might be the hardest part but I bet philanthropists could be found who would donate some to such a cause...maybe team up with the nature conservancy or other pre-existing organizations. Every one is free to send out harsh criticism of how they think people are hurting birds but I really don't think it accomplishes much. A few times recently on this board I've seen it directed toward people who I consider highly knowledgeable and deeply committed to conservation....people who really don't deserve this type of criticism. I agree that there are few instances where the behavior is so egregious that maybe the negative approach is the most appropriate....I've seen at least one instance regarding the snowy in Newport that would might fall into this category. However, I think it is important to step back and consider the big picture when deciding what approach to take. If your main goal is to get people to behave in a responsible way toward birds and other wildlife, I think a positive approach would be far more productive. Everyone who is passionate about nature, including most if not all of the people on this board, has their own personal line that they don't like to see crossed but I'm reminded of the old expression, "it's important to pick your battles." What's the point of flaming people who are basically like-minded even though they may disagree with you on some of the finer points? I do understand that the nitty gritty details of a discussion are important but in this particular case where people really do have a lot of commonality, I think it would be better to spend the time and energy finding ways to get ADDITIONAL people to truely care about nature....even love it....make it affect their lives in a very direct and personal way. To me, this would be a much more worthy battle to fight. People are far less likely to hurt things they love and the more they love it the more effort they're willing to put into protecting it. In my opinion, people interacting MORE with birds, not less, would be one of the best ways to do this. __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From whoffman at peak.org Sun Jan 1 19:48:59 2006 From: whoffman at peak.org (Wayne Hoffman) Date: Mon Jan 2 00:46:55 2006 Subject: [obol] birding behavior References: Message-ID: <001901c60f4f$779def70$99341c40@D48XBZ51> Jason - Are you dense? I tried to take this discussion off the listserve, but since you want it back on, have it your way. I am not suggesting that it is acceptable to harass birds period. I do differ with you in the definition of harassment. Yes I do know about hyperphagia, but it is silly to think that in the absence of the seasonal jolt, birds in the presence of abundant and easily and safely available food will not eat enough to cover their energy needs. Before this goes farther, I suggest you research the behavior of Dunlins that I described (there is a fair amount of literature) and come up with an explanation consistent with your views that they are energy stressed in the presence of abundant food. Wayne. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jason Rogers" To: Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2006 2:30 PM Subject: Re: [obol] birding behavior > Wayne, > > An abundance of food does not necessarily stimulate increased consumption > of that food. What you may not have known is that corticosterone > facilitates hyperphagia, that is, increased appetite and that when a > migratory bird's baseline corticosterone level declines in winter, so does > its appetite. I sincerely hope that you are not suggesting that it is > acceptable to harrass birds if their food is abundant. > > _ Regards, > ( '< Jason Rogers > / ) ) Banff, AB > //" " hawkowl@hotmail.com > > >>From: "Wayne Hoffman" >>To: "Jason Rogers" >>Subject: Re: [obol] birding behavior >>Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2006 12:52:36 -0800 >> >>A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. >> >>The weight gain is PARTLY a result of increased secretion of >>corticosterone. >>It also requires abundant food, and foraging and digestive efficiency >>adequate to obtain and process many more calories than needed for >>maintenance. The food abundance, foraging efficiency, and digestive >>parformance are not all results of increased secretion of corticosterone. >>So even if a Dunlin is not hormonally set to pile on the migratory fat >>reserves in midwinter, if food is abundant it can meet its maintenance >>energy needs in a small portion of the foraging time available to it, and >>have no great difficulty obtaining additional energy for activity beyond >>maintenance. Places like Ankeny Refuge where Dunlin winter in the >>Willamette Valley likely have extremely high densities of easy-to-digest >>high-calorie Chironomid larvae just beneath the surface of the mud in the >>shallow impoundments. This week, with high water from the past 10+ days >>of heavy rain these Chironomid beds may not be available. However these >>rains are partially flooding many plowed fields, and earthworms and other >>easy-to-digest high-calorie invertebrates are being forced to the surface, >>providing abundant forage. >> >>Wayne > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From conserve at tidelink.net Sun Jan 1 21:38:23 2006 From: conserve at tidelink.net (Conservation For The Oregon Coast) Date: Mon Jan 2 00:46:56 2006 Subject: [obol] A poll: Your most treasured... Message-ID: <43B8BC4F.1010200@tidelink.net> Bird related books.... If you consider polls to be a complete waste of time or not worthy of posting to the list then please press del now. Otherwise... I was hoping to hear from folks about what they consider their most treasured bird related volumes. I offer 3 categories. Favorite recreational bird related book, favorite non fiction bird related book and favorite field guide related to birds/birding (submit responses only to those categories you see fit). My answers follow: Non Fiction has to be "Birds Of Oregon" through OSU Press/OFO and edited/contributed by many. Every time I crack it open I learn something new. I end up putting it down ever more grateful I purchased it. My field guide of choice is National Geographic. But, Peterson was my first and still holds a special place for me. I hope everyone understands that I am hoping for a light hearted discussion regarding these books. I desire to learn from the favorites of others regarding which I should choose to learn by and relax with. Have a wonderful evening all! Jason in Lakeside -- Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. -- John Muir, The Yosemite (1912). http://conserve.tidelink.net -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: conserve.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 387 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060101/cf980aff/conserve.vcf From carolk at viclink.com Sun Jan 1 21:30:04 2006 From: carolk at viclink.com (Carol Karlen) Date: Mon Jan 2 01:20:10 2006 Subject: [obol] Red Phalaropes & Black Phoebe (Yamhill Co.) Message-ID: <001c01c60f5d$a0bc2da0$63435cc6@carolk> Today Paul Sullivan and I found two Red Phalaropes on the largest Sheridan Sewage Pond. The birds were working their way along the rocky edge of the pond closest to Hwy 18. We were at the Sheridan Wetlands area by the fishing pond looking north towards the highway. To reach the Sheridan Wetlands turn off Hwy 18 onto the Ballston Road. Go south past the cemetery and turn left at the bottom of the hill into the wetlands before the prison entrance. Over at Huddleston fishing Pond at Willamina the Black Phoebe was calling and hanging out at the east end of the pond at the old plywood mill building as usual. Good birding, Carol Karlen McMinnville From hawkowl at hotmail.com Sun Jan 1 21:33:55 2006 From: hawkowl at hotmail.com (Jason Rogers) Date: Mon Jan 2 01:20:11 2006 Subject: [obol] birding behavior In-Reply-To: <001901c60f4f$779def70$99341c40@D48XBZ51> Message-ID: Wayne Hoffman wrote: "...birds in the presence of abundant and easily and safely available food will not eat enough to cover their energy needs." "...they are energy stressed in the presence of abundant food." If this were the case Wayne, I don't think birds would be alive on this planet today. Happy New Year. _ Regards, ( '< Jason Rogers / ) ) Banff, AB //" " hawkowl@hotmail.com >From: "Wayne Hoffman" >To: "Jason Rogers" , >Subject: Re: [obol] birding behavior >Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2006 19:48:59 -0800 > >Jason - > >Are you dense? > >I tried to take this discussion off the listserve, but since you want it >back on, have it your way. > >I am not suggesting that it is acceptable to harass birds period. I do >differ with you in the definition of harassment. > >Yes I do know about hyperphagia, but it is silly to think that in the >absence of the seasonal jolt, birds in the presence of abundant and easily >and safely available food will not eat enough to cover their energy needs. > >Before this goes farther, I suggest you research the behavior of Dunlins >that I described (there is a fair amount of literature) and come up with an >explanation consistent with your views that they are energy stressed in the >presence of abundant food. > >Wayne. From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Sun Jan 1 19:57:55 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Mon Jan 2 01:30:11 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: birding behavior Message-ID: <20060102035755.55276.qmail@web51808.mail.yahoo.com> I feel compelled to chime in on this thread and I agree with Wayne's overall philosophy regarding people interacting with birds. When I first hung a hummingbird feeder from the eave just outside my kitchen window, the hummingbirds that discovered the feeder would fly away every time I even approached the kitchen window. However, after a couple of months, they would keep feeding with nothing more than a quick glance in my direction even when I would stand very close to the window. Now, after several months, even the loud mechanical sound of grinding coffee beans doesn't seem to phase most of them. I could have hung the feeder further from the window so they wouldn't have been disturbed initially but if I had I wouldn't now have the pleasure of viewing those amazing little hummers up close and personal almost every morning while I make and drink my coffee....and I'm not of the opinion that it hurt them in any way to fly off and come back while they were getting acclimated to my presence. I would personally like to see people interact MORE with birds, not less. Birds seem to draw people into nature more than any other species (besides maybe marine mammals if you happen to be on the coast). While I am fascinated with the invertebrate lumps and bumps and segmented squigglies in the tidepools, they don't seem to excite most people in quite the same way :-) Birds, on the other hand, are the celebrities of nature....they have the charisma to charm even the least nature-oriented person. Moreover, they're ubiquitous and easy to spot. They have enough similarities to humans that people can relate to them...unlike many invertebrates (the vast majority of animal species on this planet), they have an easily identified head with eyes and a mouth and a body with legs...but they're different enough evoke curiosity in most people....and who could resist the pizzazz of flying without a motor. I've thought for a long time it would be a great idea to create a system of parks devoted specifically to birdwatching....complete with observation areas most appropriate for each environment, beautiful murals with life-size illustrations of the common species of the area (for each season), as well as carefully thought out natural history info on topics like feeding, mating, nesting, habitat, etc. A map of other birdwatching parks could be provided so it becomes not just one stop but several maybe emphasizing diversity of habitat. Volunteer staff could help interpret and once a week or so have a real expert come in guide people. I am very happy to see more general parks building bird observation platforms but these parks are not "marketed" in a way that many people even think about birdwatching as a fun activity unless of course they're already a birdwatcher or at least a nature enthusiast. If marketed appropriately a park with a specific activity that most people enjoy would bring bring in a wider scope of people. Instead of going to the movies one day, people might decide to take in the birds at the birdwatching park....live IMAX :-) This might be best done by a non-profit or maybe a for-profit with very odd business plan. Finding the land might be the hardest part but I bet philanthropists could be found who would donate some to such a cause...maybe team up with the nature conservancy or other pre-existing organizations. Every one is free to send out harsh criticism of how they think people are hurting birds but I really don't think it accomplishes much. A few times recently on this board I've seen it directed toward people who I consider highly knowledgeable and deeply committed to conservation....people who really don't deserve this type of criticism. I agree that there are few instances where the behavior is so egregious that maybe the negative approach is the most appropriate....I've seen at least one instance regarding the snowy in Newport that would might fall into this category. However, I think it is important to step back and consider the big picture when deciding what approach to take. If your main goal is to get people to behave in a responsible way toward birds and other wildlife, I think a positive approach would be far more productive. Everyone who is passionate about nature, including most if not all of the people on this board, has their own personal line that they don't like to see crossed but I'm reminded of the old expression, "it's important to pick your battles." What's the point of flaming people who are basically like-minded even though they may disagree with you on some of the finer points? I do understand that the nitty gritty details of a discussion are important but in this particular case where people really do have a lot of commonality, I think it would be better to spend the time and energy finding ways to get ADDITIONAL people to truely care about nature....even love it....make it affect their lives in a very direct and personal way. To me, this would be a much more worthy battle to fight. People are far less likely to hurt things they love and the more they love it the more effort they're willing to put into protecting it. In my opinion, people interacting MORE with birds, not less, would be one of the best ways to do this. __________________________________ Yahoo! for Good - Make a difference this year. http://brand.yahoo.com/cybergivingweek2005/ From a-r at centurytel.net Mon Jan 2 01:46:21 2006 From: a-r at centurytel.net (Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. Rollins) Date: Mon Jan 2 01:46:27 2006 Subject: [obol] Barrow's Goldeneye Message-ID: <001d01c60f81$639450a0$628dfea9@S1100382963> A little less common then the Common Goldeneye - Last Tuesday I saw and photographed a Barrow's Goldeneye at Warm Springs on the D. River. There was several along the West Bank on the road that goes up to the dam. The ones I got picture of were just South of the bridge, but I saw several others along the West bank up the river a ways. They were hanging out with some Buffleheads. http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54278611.jpg http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54278612.jpg Kim Rollins Burns, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/1569d104/attachment.htm From carolk at viclink.com Sun Jan 1 20:44:05 2006 From: carolk at viclink.com (Carol Karlen) Date: Mon Jan 2 01:46:52 2006 Subject: [obol] Red Phalaropes & Black Phoebe (Yamhill Co.) Message-ID: <000401c60f57$6f07ee80$63435cc6@carolk> Today Paul Sullivan and I found two Red Phalaropes on the largest Sheridan Sewage Pond. The birds were working their way along the rocky edge of the pond closest to Hwy 18. We were at the Sheridan Wetlands area by the fishing pond looking north towards the highway. To reach the Sheridan Wetlands turn off Hwy 18 onto the Ballston Road. Go south past the cemetery and turn left at the bottom of the hill into the wetlands before the prison entrance. Over at Huddleston fishing Pond at Willamina the Black Phoebe was calling and hanging out at the east end of the pond at the old plywood mill building as usual. Good birding, Carol Karlen McMinnville From a-r at centurytel.net Mon Jan 2 02:07:30 2006 From: a-r at centurytel.net (Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. Rollins) Date: Mon Jan 2 02:07:38 2006 Subject: [obol] Red Phalaropes Message-ID: <002501c60f84$588552b0$628dfea9@S1100382963> Burns to Portland to Beaverton to Fort Stevens to Newport to Corvallis - Red Phalaropes by the bunches seemed to be everywhere once we were on the West Side. http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54279423.jpg http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54278132.jpg http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54278131.jpg http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54278129.jpg Kim Rollins Burns, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/40887939/attachment.htm From arongold at teleport.com Mon Jan 2 07:31:24 2006 From: arongold at teleport.com (Jean Thompson) Date: Mon Jan 2 07:25:34 2006 Subject: [obol] Townsend's Warbler Message-ID: <6.1.2.0.2.20060102072739.02f54e80@pop.teleport.com> I, too, had a Townsend's Warbler at one of our feeders on Christmas day. I was really surprised to suddenly see all that yellow amongst the chickadees! I am sw of Dallas, about 600 feet up. Jean Thompson/arongold@teleport.com Alcohol and calculus don't mix. Please don't drink and derive. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/3d45aeda/attachment.htm From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Mon Jan 2 08:22:11 2006 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Mon Jan 2 08:14:22 2006 Subject: [obol] Most treasured bird books In-Reply-To: <43B8BC4F.1010200@tidelink.net> Message-ID: Bird books, oy. One of my favorite topics. Field guide of choice - Geo for everyday use, Sibley in the car for reference. I still have the Sacred Object: my original Peterson guide purchased in 1967 when I was 11. It has great sentimental value and contains my oldest written personal history, in a sense. Favorite nonfiction - very hard choice. I am uniquely unable to appreciate the glories of Birds of Oregon because I lived in it for five years. I am extremely fond of Hoffmann's 1923 "Birds of the Pacific States" because of the exceptionally interesting, clear way it is written. Peterson edited an amazing collection of essays called "Bird Watcher's Anthology" that came out in 1957 but has lost none of its wonder. That was an era in which nature writing as a form of writing was in a peak period of quality. Recreational - Peterson & Fisher "Wild America" has never been bettered. My runners-up are Jean Piatt's "Adventures in Birding" and Cocker's "Birders." In its own category are Bill Oddie's hilarious books about the birding life. I have one, I understand that there are two. I suggest another category: biography. I'll nominate Harriet Kofalk's "No Woman Tenderfoot" a biography of ornithologist Florence Merriam Bailey, and Barbara Stein's "On Her Own Terms," bio of Annie Alexander, founder of the Museum of Vert Zoology and collector in the west. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer@mindspring.com > From: Conservation For The Oregon Coast > Organization: http://conserve.tidelink.net > Reply-To: > Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2006 21:38:23 -0800 > To: Obol > Subject: [obol] A poll: Your most treasured... > > Bird related books.... > > If you consider polls to be a complete waste of time or not worthy of > posting to the list then please press del now. Otherwise... > > I was hoping to hear from folks about what they consider their most > treasured bird related volumes. I offer 3 categories. Favorite > recreational bird related book, favorite non fiction bird related book > and favorite field guide related to birds/birding (submit responses only > to those categories you see fit). > > My answers follow: > > Non Fiction has to be "Birds Of Oregon" through OSU Press/OFO and > edited/contributed by many. Every time I crack it open I learn something > new. I end up putting it down ever more grateful I purchased it. > > My field guide of choice is National Geographic. But, Peterson was my > first and still holds a special place for me. > > I hope everyone understands that I am hoping for a light hearted > discussion regarding these books. I desire to learn from the favorites > of others regarding which I should choose to learn by and relax with. > > Have a wonderful evening all! > > Jason in Lakeside > > -- > Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where > nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. -- John Muir, The > Yosemite (1912). > http://conserve.tidelink.net > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From johndavidclem at yahoo.com Mon Jan 2 08:35:27 2006 From: johndavidclem at yahoo.com (John Clem) Date: Mon Jan 2 08:35:30 2006 Subject: [obol] RFI #2 from South Dakota Message-ID: <20060102163527.39563.qmail@web51705.mail.yahoo.com> Thanks to everybody who responded to my first RFI regarding the wrentit and marbled murrelet. For this request, I'm wondering about feeder birds I can photograph in the Portland area. The bird I'd most like to photograph is varied thrush (don't know if that's technically a "feeder bird"). I understand they can be seen at the Audubon headquarters on Cornell Road. Can anybody comment on the birds they get at their feeders? Are the thrushes relatively common there? If anybody has a better place to find varied thrushes, in Portland or elsewhere in Oregon, please let me know. Thanks again. John Clem Vermillion, SD --------------------------------- Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/c238d30d/attachment.htm From contopus at telus.net Mon Jan 2 08:42:30 2006 From: contopus at telus.net (Wayne C. Weber) Date: Mon Jan 2 09:02:40 2006 Subject: [obol] 174 Eurasian Collared-Doves at Cawston, BC Message-ID: <018a01c60fbb$85f70fe0$6500a8c0@bc.hsia.telus.net> Birders, The Cawston, BC Christmas Bird Count, held on December 29, recorded a total of 174 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES-- up from the 155 seen there on last winter's count. Three "hybrid collared-doves" were also reported. This is only the third year for this relatively new Christmas Bird Count, which logged 72 species this year. It is centered just south of Keremeos in the Similkameen Valley of south-central BC. This introduced population of Eurasian Collared-Doves has apparently been present since the late 1970s, although it became known to local birders only in 2001. It is possible that some of the Eurasian Collared-Doves being seen in eastern Washington and NE Oregon are stragglers from this southern interior BC population. However, the population is very localized in the lower Similkameen Valley. To date, there have been only scattered sightings in the next valley to the east, which is the heavily-birded Okanagan Valley. Thanks to Doug Brown, compiler of the Cawston CBC, for the information. Wayne C. Weber Delta, BC contopus@telus.net From philliplc at harborside.com Mon Jan 2 09:24:50 2006 From: philliplc at harborside.com (Phillip Pickering) Date: Mon Jan 2 09:24:17 2006 Subject: [obol] Boiler Bay Message-ID: <042001c60fc1$705066e0$6601a8c0@byronq189eo067> 7:30-8:45 (1/2): Overcast with light rain, mostly calm, 10-15 ft swells. Another "dawn" scoter S flight peaking at sustained 800-1800/min combined from 7:50-8:25, dropping to <200/min by 8:45. 350+ Red-throated Loons (S with ~80 on the water) 1 Pacific Loon 25 Common Loons (most S) 2 Horned Grebes 3 Red-necked Grebes 20 Western Grebes 30 Brandt's Cormorants 50 Pelagic Cormorants 10 Black Scoters 26000+ Surf Scoters (a few small rafts, ~100 N) 22000+ White-winged Scoters 1 Long-tailed Duck 3 Mew Gulls 1 Ring-billed Gull 3 California Gulls 1 Herring Gull 80 Western Gulls 15 Glaucous-winged Gulls 2 Black-legged Kittiwakes 6 Common Murres 6 Pigeon Guillemots (on the water) Phil philliplc@harborside.com From crmiller at bendnet.com Mon Jan 2 09:27:39 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Mon Jan 2 09:27:44 2006 Subject: [obol] Eugene CBC results - Gooses! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20060102172743.94AF0170B8A@smtp2.oregonstate.edu> Alan and OBOL: Believe me, if I would have known there was going to be SIX species of GEESE, I would not have missed the Eugene CBC! It could have been the big snow storm on both Hwy 58 and Santiam that I would have had to drive through, but the geese would have been worth it! Marilyn Miller Bend, Oregon -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu [mailto:obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu] On Behalf Of Alan Contreras Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2006 6:57 PM To: obol Subject: [obol] Eugene CBC results Preliminary results from Eugene CBC show an all-time record 138 species on a day with high winds and rain in the morning and a nice afternoon. Best birds include: Brant Ross's Goose And such other delights as a roost of night-herons, Snow and Whitefronted geeze. Marilyn, we had six species of geese - where were you? Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer@mindspring.com From a-r at centurytel.net Mon Jan 2 09:43:02 2006 From: a-r at centurytel.net (Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. Rollins) Date: Mon Jan 2 09:43:07 2006 Subject: [obol] Subject: 174 Eurasian Collared-Doves at Cawston, BC Message-ID: <002a01c60fc3$faf46d80$628dfea9@S1100382963> Wayne - In 2004 a Collared-Dove was hanging for a while at my mother's place in Imbler, OR (12 miles North from LaGrande). I saw and photographed it in July of that year. We suspected then that it had been someone's pet, so your report was very interesting to me. http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/31667024.jpg Kim Rollins Burns, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/c84184f0/attachment.htm From contopus at telus.net Mon Jan 2 09:33:19 2006 From: contopus at telus.net (Wayne C. Weber) Date: Mon Jan 2 09:53:37 2006 Subject: [obol] Vancouver, BC RBA for December 31, 2005 Message-ID: <01d601c60fc2$9f75b000$6500a8c0@bc.hsia.telus.net> This is the Vancouver Natural History Society's Rare Bird Alert for Saturday, December 31st, sponsored in part by Wild Birds Unlimited, with stores in Vancouver and North Vancouver. This message was updated at 9:30 pm on December 31st. Sightings for Saturday, December 31st: At Iona Island in Richmond, the ROCK WREN continues on the south jetty just past the 2nd shelter on the north side. In Langley, at 208th St and 102B Ave, 10 CACKLING GEESE were present. Sightings for Friday, December 30th: At the Iona south jetty, the ROCK WREN and a SNOWY OWL were seen near the 2nd shelter. Nearby on Iona were 2 NORTHERN SHRIKES and 13 RING-NECKED DUCKS. A second SNOW OWL was present inside the Vancouver Airport property on Sea Island. Also in Richmond on the Lulu Island west dyke at the end of Francis Road, a SNOWY OWL has been present for at least 2 days. Sightings for Thursday, December 29th: At the Iona Island south jetty in Richmond, the ROCK WREN was present near the 2nd shelter. In Delta, at the intersection of 112th St and Hornby Drive, an adult gray phase GYRFALCON was present. At Brunswick Point in Delta, 9 SNOWY OWLS and a NORTHERN SHRIKE were sighted. At Blackie Spit in Surrey, 3 MARBLED GODWITS were present. Sightings for Wednesday, December 28th: At the Iona south jetty, the ROCK WREN was present near the 2nd shelter. Sightings for Tuesday, December 27th: The Ladner Christmas Bird Count tallied 139 species, with the following highlights: At the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta were a YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, 2 SWAMP SPARROWS, 6 SANDHILL CRANES, 4 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, and 3 AMERICAN BITTERNS. Nearby, 6 MUTE SWANS were seen near the Westham Island Bridge. At Brunswick Point and vicinity, 7 SNOWY OWLS, 2 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS, and 3 AMERICAN BITTERNS were seen. On the Boundary Bay shoreline in Delta, eastward from the foot of 72nd Street, 17 SNOWY OWLS were counted. At the Tsawwassen jetty in Delta, 4 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, the WILLET, and 2 SNOW BUNTINGS were present. At Lily Point in Pt. Roberts, a drake REDHEAD was present. No reports for Sunday, December 25th and Monday, December 26th. Sightings for Saturday, December 24th: At the Tsawwassen jetty, 6 SNOW BUNTINGS were seen. If you have any questions about birds or birding in the Vancouver area, please call Wayne at (604) 597-7201, Viveka at 531-3401, or Larry at 465-1402. Thank you for calling the Vancouver Rare Bird Alert, and good birding. For further information about birding in the Vancouver area, log onto the Vancouver Natural History Society's website at www.naturalhistory.bc.ca/VNHS/ This message was recorded and transcribed by Kevin Louth, and forwarded by Wayne Weber Wayne C. Weber Delta, BC contopus@telus.net From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Mon Jan 2 09:55:10 2006 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Mon Jan 2 09:55:12 2006 Subject: [obol] Subject: 174 Eurasian Collared-Doves at Cawston, BC In-Reply-To: <002a01c60fc3$faf46d80$628dfea9@S1100382963> Message-ID: <20060102175510.97578.qmail@web32601.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Kim, The Ringed Turtle-dove, a common cage bird, should carefully be eliminated as a possibility when you find a Eurasian-type collared-dove. On the South Coast, Curry Co., we've had both species show up at a ranch in the last year. There is an interesting article on dove expansion (including E. Collared-dove) in the Changing Seasons section of the latest North American Birds (a magazine I would highly recommend subscribing too, it's put out by the ABA). Anyhow, I'm sure the Oregon Birds Record Committee would be interested in all records of E. Collared-dove, at least for a while longer. Tim R Coos Bay --- "Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. Rollins" wrote: > Wayne - > In 2004 a Collared-Dove was hanging for a while at > my mother's place in Imbler, OR (12 miles North from > LaGrande). > > I saw and photographed it in July of that year. We > suspected then that it had been someone's pet, so > your report was very interesting to me. > > http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/31667024.jpg > > Kim Rollins > Burns, OR> _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. __________________________________ Yahoo! for Good - Make a difference this year. http://brand.yahoo.com/cybergivingweek2005/ From a-r at centurytel.net Mon Jan 2 10:15:58 2006 From: a-r at centurytel.net (Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. Rollins) Date: Mon Jan 2 10:16:03 2006 Subject: [obol] dove Message-ID: <000c01c60fc8$949a3dd0$628dfea9@S1100382963> Thanks Tom. I have looked and now see the difference. I am of the opinion the bird that I posted a picture of was the Ringed Turtle-dove and that we were correct in out original assumption. Kim Rollins Burns, OR http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/31667024.jpg -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/bc8f4faa/attachment.htm From hawkowl at hotmail.com Mon Jan 2 11:02:05 2006 From: hawkowl at hotmail.com (Jason Rogers) Date: Mon Jan 2 11:02:08 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: birding behavior Message-ID: Cindy, Facts are facts. They are neither positive nor negative. If you don't like what implications my facts might have about your behavior, that's fine, but it is inappropriate to characterize pure information as being "harsh criticism," "negative," and "flaming." Here's another fact: we are not basically like-minded. So we both enjoy watching birds. It could be said that an antique car restorationist and a hot rod builder both enjoy working with vehicles. It is precisely because of philosophies such as yours that we are having great difficulty in maintaining viable wildlife populations in our national parks, where many people feel compelled to interact with wildlife. _ Regards, ( '< Jason Rogers / ) ) Banff, AB //" " hawkowl@hotmail.com From dan at heyerly.com Mon Jan 2 12:31:03 2006 From: dan at heyerly.com (Dan Heyerly) Date: Mon Jan 2 12:36:18 2006 Subject: [obol] Downtown Eugene MERLIN Message-ID: <20060102202925.49C3C56C427@pixel.son-net.com> Obolinks, I just added a 5th raptor to my office list. I have been here since April 2005 I am on Willamette St. between 5th & 6th Avenues, 4th floor looking north at Skinner Butte. (The flag is at full staff today, by the way.) A MERLIN just went by heading southeast at about 200-feet altitude, probably heading toward 29th & Alder Alley and a mocker snack. Dan Heyerly -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/cd64e444/attachment.htm From celata at pacifier.com Mon Jan 2 12:50:48 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Mon Jan 2 12:50:17 2006 Subject: [obol] Brownsmead - 1/2/2005 Message-ID: <43B9920D.409B9FAB@pacifier.com> I took a trip out to Brownsmead to chase down rumors of a Cattle Egret. I only found GREAT EGRETS. The recent extra-high tides blew out the dike above Ziak's and the entire valley is now flooded. The railroad tracks that sat on top of the dike are now suspended over water and held together only by the spikes in the ties. There were apparently several other failures which were being re-rocked today, including one on the new dike at Svensen Island. There were many more RED PHALAROPES there today than were seen last Thursday during the Wahkiakum CBC. Also many more CACKLING GEESE. A single BONAPARTE'S GULL was at Jackson Rd and an imm. SNOW GOOSE was with 1000+ CACKLING GEESE on Aldrich Pt Rd. Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Snow Goose [1] Canada Goose Cackling Goose Gadwall American Wigeon Mallard Northern Shoveler Green-Winged Teal Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup Bufflehead Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Ruddy Duck Pied-billed Grebe Western Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret [2] White-tailed Kite Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel American Coot Dunlin Red Phalarope Bonaparte's Gull [3] Mew Gull Ring-billed Gull Western Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Barn Owl Belted Kingfisher Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Steller's Jay Western Scrub-Jay American Crow Common Raven Marsh Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet American Robin European Starling Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Golden-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird Brewer's Blackbird Brown-headed Cowbird House Sparrow Footnotes: [1] imm with Cacklers on Aldrich Pt Rd [2] both technically in fields off Brownsmead Dike, probable source of Cattle Egret rumors. [3] Jackson Rd Total number of species seen: 54 -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com Christmas Bird Count Calendar and FAQ for Oregon and Washington http://home.pacifier.com/~mpatters/cbc/cbc_WAOR_reg.html From withgott at comcast.net Mon Jan 2 13:20:31 2006 From: withgott at comcast.net (Jay Withgott) Date: Mon Jan 2 13:20:37 2006 Subject: [obol] Portland CBC in the news Message-ID: See today's Oregonian, Metro Section front page (pp B1 & B4), for an article on the Portland CBC, featuring nice photos of David Mandell, John Fitchen, and Greg Berry. The reporter gets some bird names wrong, but paints a nice picture of wintertime birding in urban "post-industrial habitat" (John's quote). I particularly liked David's metaphor for gull identification: "Gulls are sort of the smelly cheese of the bird world. They're refined tastes that you sort of learn to love." [Well, some of us do, anyway...] Well done, guys! From borealowl at comcast.net Mon Jan 2 13:26:26 2006 From: borealowl at comcast.net (Michael Marsh) Date: Mon Jan 2 13:26:30 2006 Subject: [obol] Most treasured bird-related books Message-ID: <010220062126.22616.43B99A82000638F9000058582200735834049901040E0A9D010D@comcast.net> Jason, Alan, et al: Glad to chime in here, as (being a native Arizonian) I draw the line at how much bad weather I'll go out birding in (and by both looking out my window and checking the weather.com forecast, that line has well been and will for some time continue to be crossed), and I haven't been and won't be birding for a few days. Of course, some would say birding in 115 F. is the height of folly, but................ 1) Non-fiction: Aldo Leopold's "A Sand County Almanac" (not 100% sure it's entirely non-fiction, and it's not 100% bird-related). But it's nature appreciation writing at it's best--and one of the first books on the subject (and still one of the best), published in 1949; 2) Biography: Wallace Stegner's "Marking the Sparrow's Fall," which contains essays written from the 1940's to the 1980's. Not strictly speaking a biography, but many of the essays are auto-biographical. In reality, Stegner's appreciation of the American West cannot be separated from his own personal history. Again, not strictly bird-related, but again, nature appreciation writing at it's very best. Consider for a moment the third paragraph of the essay, "Wilderness Letter," which begins: "Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed. . ." This paragraph alone contains some of the most powerful statements ever written concerning conservation of natural areas and precisely what will be lost if they are left to the bulldozer. 3) Recreational: Pete Dunne's "Feather Quest," altho his "Tales of a Low Rent Birder" and "More Tales of a low Rent Birder" also rank very high. This man's prose is, at times, pure poetry. As great a birder and leader in the birding community as he is, he's first and foremost a "writer"--and he makes it look easy (and writing great prose is NOT easy). 4) Field Guide: Every book out there is seriously lacking in one way or another, which is the reason I take in my car, in addition to Sibley and Geo, 9 or 10 "specialty" books. Examples would be Dennis Paulson's new "Photographic Guide to the Shorebirds of NA," Beadle and Rising's new "Photographic Guide to the Sparrows," and Clark and Wheeler's "Field Guide to Hawks," (not the exact title, but close). And while not strictly a field guide, Alan Contreras's "Northwest Birds in Winter" contains some of the best prose I have ever read in a specialty book, not to mention an incredible amount info based on what must have taken a very long time to research. And how about this for exceptional prose, written in response the suggestion that the book has an Oregon bias due it being the author's long time state of residence: "...I hope that I have been able to paint for the most part with a regional brush..." How I love great prose! Which, looking back thru the above, every book mentioned is chuck full of. Good birding, Mike -- Michael Marsh Portland, OR BorealOwl@Comcast.net "Well darlin' I think you'd like to know That I still write your name in the snow. Do you think of me when you're feeling low, And wish you could write my name in the snow?" --Chet Atkins -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/3206f58e/attachment.htm From rkorpi at hotmail.com Mon Jan 2 13:58:53 2006 From: rkorpi at hotmail.com (Ray Korpi) Date: Mon Jan 2 13:58:56 2006 Subject: [obol] Polk COunty Snowy Owl continues Message-ID: All, Keller's condition for going birdwatching today was that he see a Snowy Owl and a White-tailed Kite. So seeing Bill Tice's post, we took off for Perrydale. The SNOWY OWL continues very near the spot Bill reported--3 miles west of Perrydale on West Perrydale Rd. We also had probably 2 PRAIRIE FALCONS--one about a mile west of Perrydale and another on Enterprise Rd. south of the snowy spot. We had four ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, and finished on Farmer Rd. with a WHITE-TAILED KITE, a younger bird. Ray Korpi rkorpi@hotmail.com Still back and forth between Vancouver and Salem From fyshjpsy at comcast.net Mon Jan 2 14:33:01 2006 From: fyshjpsy at comcast.net (fyshjpsy@comcast.net) Date: Mon Jan 2 14:33:04 2006 Subject: [obol] re: "Bird books, oy. One of my favorite topics." Message-ID: <010220062233.15938.43B9AA1D000B6E0600003E422206424613979C9F06089C9700@comcast.net> I got a new Smithsonian Handbook "Birds of North America" (Western region) at Christmas. I like some of the book's presentations, but plumage variations aren't very well represented. What do you think, should I trade it in for, or supplement it with, the new big NGO? I realize that, in general, one can't have too many reference works, but would like to hear opinions from other folks. I'm probably going to spring for another field guide soon. Does anyone know of new editions coming? I'm leaning toward NGO as an update to my old Peterson's. I'm more interested in fieldmarks than range maps which, in my experience, aren't too reliable in any book. Thanks... Neil Holcomb Philomath -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/1e99986c/attachment.htm From borealowl at comcast.net Mon Jan 2 14:33:50 2006 From: borealowl at comcast.net (Michael Marsh) Date: Mon Jan 2 14:33:53 2006 Subject: [obol] Are you dense? Message-ID: <010220062233.17032.43B9AA4E00040B30000042882206424613049901040E0A9D010D@comcast.net> Dear Wayne: Pls allow me to suggest that the above question is probably not the most tactful or diplomatic way to preface a rebuttal or civil disagreement with another human being. Particularly in a public forum such as OBOL. I have enjoyed and learned from your (and Jason's) posts for some time now, and hope to continue to do so. But I do hate to see a perfectly appropriate discussion/disagreement degenerate into incivility. Sincerely, Mike PS: Pls pardon what my wife calls my penchant for adolescent humor, but sometimes I can't control what goes into my signature block :-) -- Michael Marsh Portland, OR BorealOwl@Comcast.net "Well darlin' I think you'd like to know That I still write your name in the snow. Do you think of me when you're feeling low, And wish you could write my name in the snow?" --Chet Atkins -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/5f231834/attachment.htm From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Mon Jan 2 14:43:02 2006 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Mon Jan 2 14:35:01 2006 Subject: [obol] re: "Bird books, oy. One of my favorite topics." In-Reply-To: <010220062233.15938.43B9AA1D000B6E0600003E422206424613979C9F06089C9700@comcast.net> Message-ID: A new Geo field guide is due mid-2006. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer@mindspring.com > From: > Date: Mon, 02 Jan 2006 22:33:01 +0000 > To: > Subject: [obol] re: "Bird books, oy. One of my favorite topics." > > I got a new Smithsonian Handbook "Birds of North America" (Western region) at > Christmas. I like some of the book's presentations, but plumage variations > aren't very well represented. What do you think, should I trade it in for, or > supplement it with, the new big NGO? I realize that, in general, one can't > have too many reference works, but would like to hear opinions from other > folks. I'm probably going to spring for another field guide soon. Does anyone > know of new editions coming? I'm leaning toward NGO as an update to my old > Peterson's. I'm more interested in fieldmarks than range maps which, in my > experience, aren't too reliable in any book. Thanks... > > Neil Holcomb > Philomath > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From averill at easystreet.com Mon Jan 2 14:35:24 2006 From: averill at easystreet.com (Katy Averill) Date: Mon Jan 2 14:35:33 2006 Subject: [obol] data sources Message-ID: <20060102223530.F12B46DC077@smtp.easystreet.com> It would be helpful to the non-professional birder if data sources for technical information about birds is given. If the material is anecdotal, whose anecdotes? If published, where available. Etc. K -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/7bea9096/attachment.htm From m.denny at charter.net Mon Jan 2 14:46:50 2006 From: m.denny at charter.net (mike denny) Date: Mon Jan 2 14:46:55 2006 Subject: [obol] Ferruginous Hawk & more Message-ID: <003901c60fee$6c225420$0886bd44@BLACKBIRD> Hello All, This morning we joined Ginger and Rodger Shoemake in watching a sub-adult Ferruginous Hawk in Umatilla Co., Oregon along Stateline Rd. that they had located on 1 Jan. 06. It was out hunting pocket gophers. We also observed the Frog Hollow Snowy Owl near the Forest and Frog Hollow intersection in Walla Walla Co., WA. then as we returned home we discovered a flock of 104 Bohemian Waxwings just SE of our College Place home. One note of caution for those going to look at the Short Rd. Barn Owls. the land owner to the east has suddenly decided that Short Road is his personal property though it is a county road. He may come on strong, but just kindly reassure him that you are not tresspassing on his land and that he need not worry as you really respect his private property. Thank-you. Later Mike ******************************************************************** Mike & MerryLynn Denny 1354 S. E. Central Ave. College Place, WA 99324 509.529.0080 (h) IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN BIRDING, YOU HAVEN'T LIVED! ******************************************************************* From bouchdon at juno.com Mon Jan 2 16:51:18 2006 From: bouchdon at juno.com (Donald A Boucher) Date: Mon Jan 2 16:53:46 2006 Subject: [obol] Corvallis Shrike Message-ID: <20060102.165118.2464.0.bouchdon@juno.com> Hello, 1/2/06 Benton County, Corvallis. Marys River Natural Area (not Marys River Park in Philomath) Best birds: Northern Shrike was visiting perches around the west end and in back yards & gardens of the nearby houses 10 Western Bluebirds Western Meadowlark Lincoln's Sparrow Northern Harrier Marys River Natural Area is off Brooklane Drive. The intersection nearby is west of the area: Agate Ave & Brooklane Drive. It's very flooded now but receding. One of the most notable events on the boardwalk was the tens of thousands of flood refugee spider hatchlings mixed with an assortment beetles, true bugs and other insects. There were also carcasses of flood victim voles on the boardwalk. Some voles dismembered perhaps by the shrike and other predators (like the family dog out for his walk.) Don Boucher Corvallis, OR www.neighborhood-naturalist.com From whoffman at peak.org Mon Jan 2 17:21:26 2006 From: whoffman at peak.org (Wayne Hoffman) Date: Mon Jan 2 17:21:31 2006 Subject: [obol] birding behavior References: Message-ID: <001c01c61004$05042870$1a321c40@D48XBZ51> That is very cute, Jason. You have taken two sentences I wrote, and cut them in half to make it look as if I had said the opposite of what I actually did write. The really funny thin about this is that you left my message attached to your reply so that it is really easy for everyone to see what I actually wrote, and to see for themselves what I wrote, and meant. What is your point? Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jason Rogers" To: Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2006 9:33 PM Subject: Re: [obol] birding behavior > Wayne Hoffman wrote: > "...birds in the presence of abundant and easily and safely available food > will not eat enough to cover their energy needs." > > "...they are energy stressed in the presence of abundant food." > > If this were the case Wayne, I don't think birds would be alive on this > planet today. Happy New Year. > > _ Regards, > ( '< Jason Rogers > / ) ) Banff, AB > //" " hawkowl@hotmail.com > > >>From: "Wayne Hoffman" >>To: "Jason Rogers" , >>Subject: Re: [obol] birding behavior >>Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2006 19:48:59 -0800 >> >>Jason - >> >>Are you dense? >> >>I tried to take this discussion off the listserve, but since you want it >>back on, have it your way. >> >>I am not suggesting that it is acceptable to harass birds period. I do >>differ with you in the definition of harassment. >> >>Yes I do know about hyperphagia, but it is silly to think that in the >>absence of the seasonal jolt, birds in the presence of abundant and easily >>and safely available food will not eat enough to cover their energy needs. >> >>Before this goes farther, I suggest you research the behavior of Dunlins >>that I described (there is a fair amount of literature) and come up with >>an explanation consistent with your views that they are energy stressed in >>the presence of abundant food. >> >>Wayne. > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From cgates at empnet.com Mon Jan 2 17:30:05 2006 From: cgates at empnet.com (Charles R. Gates) Date: Mon Jan 2 17:30:12 2006 Subject: [obol] Prineville CBC Message-ID: Steady rain and wind contributed to the lowest species count in 12 years for the Prineville CBC (75 species). We had a full compliment of participants who braved the weather (22 brave souls + 2 feeder watchers). Our best birds were a Purple Finch (first county record I believe) and a Greater Scaup (second for this count). We also had a Red-breasted Sapsucker for Count Week. The biggest misses were Waxwings, Lincoln Sparrow, Sora, and no nuthatches (Red-breasted and Pygmy were seen CW). High counts were seen in Common Merganser (334), Northern Harrier (29), Ferruginous Hawk (2), Merlin (8), Barn Owl (3), and Magpie (182). Chuck Gates Prineville From jgeier at attglobal.net Mon Jan 2 17:05:27 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Mon Jan 2 17:52:28 2006 Subject: [obol] Another Corvallis-area Northern Shrike Message-ID: <43B9CDD7.1070300@attglobal.net> Hello folks, I'm only mentioning this because shrikes seem to be a bit scarce this winter, and some have mentioned they are harder than usual to find around traditional spots such as Baskett Slough. This afternoon I saw an adult Northern Shrike on the north side of the Oregon National Guard rifle range, just west of the intersection of (where else?) Rifle Range Rd. and De Armond Rd., in northern Benton Co. about a half mile s. of the county line. Jim & Karan Fairchild mentioned that they saw one in the north end of E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area, during the Airlie CBC on Saturday. That is about two miles east of where I saw this bird, so likely a second shrike in the neighborhood. I have not seen shrikes this winter in some other "usual" spots such as along Airlie & Sauerkraut Rd. in southern Polk Co. In fact, I have yet to see one anywhere in southern Polk Co. this winter. Seems like there are at least three in Benton Co., counting the Mary's River bird, and maybe a fourth if that youngster on Bruce Rd. by Finley NWR is still around. Sorry Roy & Bill, but at least you have a Snowy Owl which we don't have down here. I looked at a bunch of white buckets today but did not find any owls practicing that neat camouflage trick. Northern Shrike numbers were also low on the Antone CBC in Wheeler/Grant Co. this year (only one, compared to 3-4 in recent years). The one at Antone was the only one I saw in north-central Oregon during my CBC-dyssey; south-central Oregon seemed to have more of them. At Hart Mountain it was interesting that the Loggerheads and Northerns were found in equal numbers (3 apiece if I remember right). Adel had one Northern and another was outside the circle, within 3 miles of the Nevada state line. Good birding Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From rcbrumitt at comcast.net Mon Jan 2 18:10:52 2006 From: rcbrumitt at comcast.net (Clint Brumitt) Date: Mon Jan 2 18:11:07 2006 Subject: [obol] Canada Goose question Message-ID: <005c01c6100a$ed07b320$9189c147@CB2> OBOL: Having recently moved to Eugene, I have heard there are 7 differnet sub-species of the Canada Goose to be found in the Willamette Valley. Does anyone have web site addresses or explaination of the various sub-species? In the same theme, is there a web site that explains the distinction of the two Canada Goose species now accepted as Greater or Western Goose and the Cackling Goose. I am aware of the Aleutian Goose and the white band found at the base of the neck. The basis of this question goes back to yesterday's CBC. We were looking at both the white-breasted large Canada Goose and the dark-breasted smaller goose. Right below us was a very small white breasted goose swimming near a Mallard duck. They were the same size. There were three very different Canada Goose critters in front of me and there are only two recognized species. I realized I did not know which was which. Clint Brumitt -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/698a0fb5/attachment.htm From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Mon Jan 2 18:19:06 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Mon Jan 2 18:19:09 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl In Newport Today Message-ID: <20060103021906.73991.qmail@web51815.mail.yahoo.com> Found the snowy owl late afternoon from the large parking lot across the street from Hatfield...it was behind the barbed wire fence of the food processing plant and then behind another fence just behind the gate to the second fence. Several people stopped by to view it through the fence/gate which does get you pretty close to the owl. However, the best view was from the west side of the barbed fence where you can scope over the fence without looking through the wire and bars. It was found in the same area during the Christmas Bird Count Saturday and someone emailed me he saw it there on Friday as well....so it seems it has a new favorite spot for now...but like my cat, I'm sure it will trick us again. __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From hawkowl at hotmail.com Mon Jan 2 18:54:11 2006 From: hawkowl at hotmail.com (Jason Rogers) Date: Mon Jan 2 18:54:13 2006 Subject: [obol] data sources In-Reply-To: <20060102223530.F12B46DC077@smtp.easystreet.com> Message-ID: Hi Katy, Here are a few abstracts/articles to get you started. _ Regards, ( '< Jason Rogers / ) ) Banff, AB //" " hawkowl@hotmail.com The role of corticosterone in the orchestration of long-distance shorebird migration http://www.sfu.ca/biology/wildberg/wesa2000.html Holberton RL, JD Parrish, JC Wingfield (1996) Modulation of the adrenocortical stress response in Neotropical migrants during autumn migration. Auk 113: 558-564. Hüppop O & Gabrielsen GW (1999) Energetic consequences of human disturbances. In: Adams NJ & Slotow RH (eds) Proc 22 Int Ornithol Congr, Durban: 3209-3210. Landys MM, Ramenofsky M, Guglielmo CG, Wingfield JC (2004) The low-affinity glucocorticoid receptor regulates feeding and lipid breakdown in the migratory Gambel's white-crowned sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii. J Exp Biol 207: 143-154. Tsipoura N, CG Scanes, J Burger (1999) Corticosterone and growth hormone levels in shorebirds during spring and fall migration stopover. Journal of Experimental Zoology 284: 645-651. From crmiller at bendnet.com Mon Jan 2 18:55:24 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Mon Jan 2 18:55:33 2006 Subject: [obol] Canada Goose question In-Reply-To: <005c01c6100a$ed07b320$9189c147@CB2> Message-ID: <20060103025530.B49DA104251@smtp3.oregonstate.edu> Hi Clint and OBOL: I have tons of information on Canada Geese, too much to type out tonight. There are: 1. Western - B. canadensis moffitti (our "resident" goose) 2. Vancouver - B. canadensis fulva 3. Dusky - B. canadensis occidentalis (very dark and somewhat large) 4. Lesser - B. canadensis parvipes 5. Taverner's - B. canadensis taverneri 6. Aleutian - B. canadensis leucopareia (winters mainly in Central California) 7. Cackling - B. canadensis minima (Mallard size) To my knowledge there are no wild Greater C. Geese (B. canadensis maxima) in Oregon. Vancouver are very rare in Oregon, Aleutian are showing up more often these days. Two other subspecies that I have seen, but not in Oregon, are the Atlantic - B. canadensis canadensis and the Central - B. canadensis interior. I am still hoping to see the Richardson's B. canadensis hutchinsii. The Oregon and Washington Fish and Wildlife Commissions have a booklet and a video (for people that choose to murder geese as a horrible pastime) called Pacific Northwest Goose Management available for $10.00 at http:/www.dfw.state.or.us or 503-872-5260. I think those are still current. Without knowing what CBC you are referring to, my guess would be Western, Taverner's & Cackling. If you need more websites, information, or just want to "talk" geese - please email me! If others have more information, please let me know! Marilyn Miller Bend, Oregon _____ From: obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu [mailto:obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu] On Behalf Of Clint Brumitt Sent: Monday, January 02, 2006 6:11 PM To: obol Subject: [obol] Canada Goose question OBOL: Having recently moved to Eugene, I have heard there are 7 differnet sub-species of the Canada Goose to be found in the Willamette Valley. Does anyone have web site addresses or explaination of the various sub-species? In the same theme, is there a web site that explains the distinction of the two Canada Goose species now accepted as Greater or Western Goose and the Cackling Goose. I am aware of the Aleutian Goose and the white band found at the base of the neck. The basis of this question goes back to yesterday's CBC. We were looking at both the white-breasted large Canada Goose and the dark-breasted smaller goose. Right below us was a very small white breasted goose swimming near a Mallard duck. They were the same size. There were three very different Canada Goose critters in front of me and there are only two recognized species. I realized I did not know which was which. Clint Brumitt -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/df7f728a/attachment.htm From ovenbird2003 at yahoo.com Mon Jan 2 19:09:36 2006 From: ovenbird2003 at yahoo.com (Holly Reinhard) Date: Mon Jan 2 19:09:39 2006 Subject: [obol] birding behavior In-Reply-To: <001c01c61004$05042870$1a321c40@D48XBZ51> Message-ID: <20060103030936.83292.qmail@web36908.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Obol, I really like what Cindy Ashy wrote about birding parks. I am of the opinion that there's nothing wrong with having feeders in your backyard, even when you go out the door a few times a day and they fly away. In my book, that's fine and they'll get used to it--my often-outdoor dog ocassionally chases the birds (usually starlings; he's smarter than I give him credit) and the other birds, especially Juncos, flutter up to a branch about 5 feet off the ground, but quickly return--they don't see him as much of a threat, since he has never caught a bird, and mostly just chases starlings and squirrels. So they have learned to adapt to the "threats" that face them when they use the bird feeder in my yard. Obviously I don't think a flock of flamingos should be "scared" into taking flight for a photograph, or that a sleeping shorebird should be startled into an alert posture so we can be assured of its identification. And I think that we ALL need to bird more and argue less. ;) Debating is good and healthy, but it can degenerate to a point in which it becomes counterproductive. Holly Reinhard Eugene, OR ovenbird2003@yahoo.com __________________________________ Yahoo! for Good - Make a difference this year. http://brand.yahoo.com/cybergivingweek2005/ From birder at iinet.com Mon Jan 2 19:10:24 2006 From: birder at iinet.com (Sherry Hagen) Date: Mon Jan 2 19:10:28 2006 Subject: [obol] SJCR - Snowy Owls Message-ID: <00eb01c61013$3dea5bf0$6501a8c0@Sherry> Monday, January 2, 2006 South Jetty Columbia River (OR) 4 SNOWY OWLS around the pond at Parking lot C along with Red Phalaropes and Dunlin. Astoria Airport - 2 WHITE-TAILED KITES Wireless Rd. - 3 WHITE-TAILED KITES No Emperor Goose at Hammond Boat Basin. Ridgefield NWR (WA) - 3 Horned Larks Many other more common species were seen also. Sherry Hagen Vancouver, WA birder@iinet.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/1b23c079/attachment.htm From crmiller at bendnet.com Mon Jan 2 19:15:24 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Mon Jan 2 19:15:31 2006 Subject: [obol] Jefferson County Birding Message-ID: <20060103031529.8F20C1042B6@smtp3.oregonstate.edu> Monday, January 02, 2006 Craig, Gary Clowers (Raven Research West) and I birded a private ranch near the mouth of Trout Creek today, north of Gateway. The best bird of the day was an Osprey flying over the creek. Other birds seen today in Jefferson County: Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Canada Goose, mainly Western - B. canadensis moffitti and three Taverner's - B. canadensis taverneri Mallard American Wigeon Canvasback (a pair in a farm pond on the way to Gateway) Ring-necked Ducks (in the same little farm pond) Common Goldeneye Bufflehead Common Merganser Bald Eagle - immature Red-tailed Hawk - two dark morphs Golden Eagle - four or five American Kestrel Ring-necked Pheasant - flock of 12 California Quail Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Belted Kingfisher Northern Flicker Black-billed Magpie American Crow Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee - heard near mouth of Trout Creek Mountain Chickadee Canyon Wren Mountain Bluebird American Robin Starling Song Sparrow Golden-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird House Finch House Sparrow Weather was calm, no rain and a beautiful sunset. High in the 40's. Marilyn Miller Bend, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/00a4b343/attachment.htm From Hhactitis at aol.com Mon Jan 2 19:21:55 2006 From: Hhactitis at aol.com (Hhactitis@aol.com) Date: Mon Jan 2 19:22:05 2006 Subject: [obol] Canada Goose question Message-ID: <220.5a7597f.30eb47d3@aol.com> Hi Clint, Marilyn and OBOL, I noticed that Marilyn did not address the recent split in her subspecies list. The last three subspecies she listed (Taverner's, Cackling and Aleutian) are now considered part of the Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii), while the other subspecies comprise the Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) complex. Separation of the two "new" species is mostly straightforward - Canadas are large, with longer, thin necks, and honk, Cacklers are small, with shorter, thicker necks, and cackle - but it is complicated by the two intermediate forms. The Lesser Canada Goose is the smallest of the "true" Canada Geese and and approaches Taverner's in size (which is considered part of the Cackling Goose). Taverners are a little smaller and lighter-breasted than Lessers, but in my experience they can be rather hard to tell apart, especially lacking direct comparison in the field, and I do not know how much these two subspecies differ vocally. And another cautionary note on subspecies ID: While Aleutian Geese always have a white neckband, this feature can also be present in some Cackling Geese (albeit often incomplete). Other good field marks for Aleutian Geese are the steep forehead, blocky head shape, and usually a black line on the chin that separates the white cheek patches. In Oregon, Aleutians are mainly coastal, witth only a few found in Cackler flocks in the Willamette Valley every once in a wile. Happy Goosing Hendrik ___________________________ Hendrik G. Herlyn 2855 NW Tyler Ave Corvallis, OR 97330 (541) 754-1220 hhactitis@aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/274a8437/attachment.htm From crmiller at bendnet.com Mon Jan 2 19:30:39 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Mon Jan 2 19:30:47 2006 Subject: [obol] Favorite author and treasured bird-related books In-Reply-To: <010220062126.22616.43B99A82000638F9000058582200735834049901040E0A9D010D@comcast.net> Message-ID: <20060103033045.5E485104306@smtp3.oregonstate.edu> Hi Obol: One of my current favorite authors is Bernd Heindrick. I own all of his books and love them all. The Geese of Beaver Bog (his newest book) Winter World: The ingenuity of animal survival. One of the best books I have ever read. Mind of the Raven Ravens in Winter One Man's Owl. Amazon.com has most of them. Marilyn Miller Bend, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/f767022a/attachment.htm From Hhactitis at aol.com Mon Jan 2 19:31:20 2006 From: Hhactitis at aol.com (Hhactitis@aol.com) Date: Mon Jan 2 19:31:28 2006 Subject: [obol] Polk County goodies Message-ID: Hello OBOL, Jamie Simmons, Oscar Harper and I decided to get a head start on our 2006 lists by poking around Polk County for a few hours today. Our best finds included: SNOWY OWL - in the previous described location along West Perrydale Rd. BLACK PHOEBE - at the barn at the south end of Livermore Rd. WHITE-TAILED KITE - 1 along Farmer's Road AMERICAN PIPIT - a huge flock (300+) along Livermore Rd. We scanned it for longspurs, buntings etc. without success. Besides, lots of the usual waterfowl and raptors, but songbird activity seemed somewhat slow. Still a great day to be out and about. Happy New Year Birding Hendrik ___________________________ Hendrik G. Herlyn 2855 NW Tyler Ave Corvallis, OR 97330 (541) 754-1220 hhactitis@aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/305c91a9/attachment.htm From barryterry at comcast.net Mon Jan 2 19:35:32 2006 From: barryterry at comcast.net (Barry McKenzie) Date: Mon Jan 2 19:35:37 2006 Subject: [obol] Eugene Birder's Night: Wed, 1/4 Message-ID: <000001c61016$c0820830$6600a8c0@BarryLaptop> OBOL- Eugene Birder's Night, Wed 1/4 at 7:00pm. Willamette Valley Cancer Center, 520 Country Club Road in Eugene. Enter front door and turn right into large meeting room.all are welcome. Barry McKenzie Eugene -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/25693912/attachment.htm From crmiller at bendnet.com Mon Jan 2 19:45:41 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Mon Jan 2 19:45:49 2006 Subject: [obol] 2006 Aleutian Goose Festival - 3-31-06 to 04-03-06 Message-ID: <20060103034547.DC513170438@smtp2.oregonstate.edu> Hi Obol and COBOL: The 8th Aleutian Goose Festival is coming up! I have attended six of the eight! Even if you don't wildly love geese, the festival is fantastic and much more than about Aleutian Geese. I highly recommend it. The trips are great, the people are friendly and there are lots of great birds and scenery. The 2006 Aleutian Goose Festival "A Celebration of Wildness" will be held March 31 - April 3, 2006. Celebrate SPRING with tens of thousands of Aleutian Cackling Geese. An endangered species success story, the geese now number more than 60,000. 80 bird, nature and heritage excursions in the home of the Redwood National and State Parks and Smith River National Recreation Area. For more information go to their website or call the telephone numbers listed below. www.aleutiangoosefestival.org 707-465-0888 or 800-343-8300 A project of Redwood Economic Development Institute. California's Wild Redwood Coast, Crescent City, Del Norte County. Meet some of the county's 400 plus recorded bird species View the third largest seabird colony in the lower 48 states Kayak on the West's largest estuarine lagoon, Lake Earl Coastal Lagoon Drift California's Wild & Scenic Smith River Enjoy an ocean voyage to see offshore islands Spotted Owls, Marbled Murrelets, Pelagic trips, etc. Marilyn Miller Bend, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/930bf532/attachment.htm From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Mon Jan 2 19:52:47 2006 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Mon Jan 2 19:47:44 2006 Subject: [obol] Shrikes Message-ID: Are Northern Shrikes simply arriving very late this winter? I saw one for the first time just last week. Numbers are definitely down and they are generally absent from the outer coast, but there seem to be a few trickling into the valley. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer@mindspring.com From crmiller at bendnet.com Mon Jan 2 19:50:02 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Mon Jan 2 19:50:08 2006 Subject: [obol] 11th Annual Godwit Days 2006, Arcata, California April Message-ID: <20060103035005.E7DDB17018F@smtp2.oregonstate.edu> 11th Annual Godwit Days - Arcata California. April 21 to 23, 2006. 1-800-908-WING or 707-444-2938 Post Office Box 894, Arcata, CA 95518 www.godwitdays.com Keynote lecture: John W. Fitzpatrick Director, Cornell Lab of Ornithology "How Ivory-billed Woodpeckers (and other birds) will save the world I was able to take some wonderful, close up, photos of Godwits last year. Fun place to bird. Marilyn Miller Bend, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/41588296/attachment.htm From smithdwd at hotmail.com Mon Jan 2 20:09:56 2006 From: smithdwd at hotmail.com (david smith) Date: Mon Jan 2 20:09:59 2006 Subject: [obol] Fernhill Flooded Message-ID: Sunday I drove around Hywy 47, Springhill Rd, and Geiger Rd. Fernhill Rd between Hywy 47 and Geiger was closed due to the Cattail pond extending across the dike, road, and about 1/4 mile into the west side fields. Lots of waterfowl as most of the lower fields are flooded. David Smtih From hawkowl at hotmail.com Mon Jan 2 20:28:08 2006 From: hawkowl at hotmail.com (Jason Rogers) Date: Mon Jan 2 20:28:10 2006 Subject: [obol] birding behavior In-Reply-To: <20060103030936.83292.qmail@web36908.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Holly Reinhard wrote: "I am of the opinion that there's nothing wrong with having feeders in your backyard, even when you go out the door a few times a day and they fly away. In my book, that's fine and they'll get used to it." What book is that, and could you provide a reference for it please? "...my often-outdoor dog ocassionally chases the birds (usually starlings; he's smarter than I give him credit)" And we on this list are smarter than you give us credit for. "...they have learned to adapt to the "threats" that face them when they use the bird feeder in my yard." What are the coping mechanisms that your backyard birds have evolved that make them impervious to the disturbances? How have migratory birds that have never seen your backyard also evolved these mechanisms? "Debating is good and healthy, but it can degenerate to a point in which it becomes counterproductive." It can also degenerate when individuals have no facts to back up their statements. _ Regards, ( '< Jason Rogers / ) ) Banff, AB //" " hawkowl@hotmail.com From fschrock at macnet.com Mon Jan 2 20:58:43 2006 From: fschrock at macnet.com (Floyd Schrock) Date: Mon Jan 2 20:58:37 2006 Subject: [obol] Canada Goose question References: <220.5a7597f.30eb47d3@aol.com> Message-ID: <005001c61022$5f296a40$0b01a8c0@desktop> Just curious... I suppose this means, then, that the Semidi Island Geese that winter on the Nestucca NWR (Tillamook Co.) are now Cackling Geese. (?) I believe these are the handsome birds that are sometimes grazing in a pasture along Hwy. 101 near the intersection with the Little Nestucca River road. ===================== Floyd Schrock McMinnville, Oregon USA fschrock@macnet.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Hhactitis@aol.com To: crmiller@bendnet.com ; rcbrumitt@comcast.net ; obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Sent: Monday, January 02, 2006 7:21 PM Subject: Re: [obol] Canada Goose question Hi Clint, Marilyn and OBOL, I noticed that Marilyn did not address the recent split in her subspecies list. The last three subspecies she listed (Taverner's, Cackling and Aleutian) are now considered part of the Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii), while the other subspecies comprise the Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) complex. Separation of the two "new" species is mostly straightforward - Canadas are large, with longer, thin necks, and honk, Cacklers are small, with shorter, thicker necks, and cackle - but it is complicated by the two intermediate forms. The Lesser Canada Goose is the smallest of the "true" Canada Geese and and approaches Taverner's in size (which is considered part of the Cackling Goose). Taverners are a little smaller and lighter-breasted than Lessers, but in my experience they can be rather hard to tell apart, especially lacking direct comparison in the field, and I do not know how much these two subspecies differ vocally. And another cautionary note on subspecies ID: While Aleutian Geese always have a white neckband, this feature can also be present in some Cackling Geese (albeit often incomplete). Other good field marks for Aleutian Geese are the steep forehead, blocky head shape, and usually a black line on the chin that separates the white cheek patches. In Oregon, Aleutians are mainly coastal, witth only a few found in Cackler flocks in the Willamette Valley every once in a wile. Happy Goosing Hendrik ___________________________ Hendrik G. Herlyn 2855 NW Tyler Ave Corvallis, OR 97330 (541) 754-1220 hhactitis@aol.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/dca59cc6/attachment.htm From marknikas at comcast.net Mon Jan 2 21:06:40 2006 From: marknikas at comcast.net (Mark Nikas) Date: Mon Jan 2 21:06:55 2006 Subject: [obol] Goose references Message-ID: <00a301c61023$7be039b0$040ba8c0@blue> Here are some goose ID websites I've bookmarked. I haven't checked but hopefully all still exist. Canada Goose subspecies (Oregon) Canada Goose subspecies (Idaho) Canada Goose subspecies, ODFW booklet Cackling - Canada Geese (Sibley) Cackling Goose (Ontario) Cackling Goose primer Mark Nikas -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/a1636036/attachment.htm From pbirder at comcast.net Mon Jan 2 21:27:50 2006 From: pbirder at comcast.net (Patty Newland) Date: Mon Jan 2 21:27:55 2006 Subject: [obol] A poll: Your most treasured... In-Reply-To: <43B8BC4F.1010200@tidelink.net> References: <43B8BC4F.1010200@tidelink.net> Message-ID: <43BA0B56.1030801@comcast.net> Conservation For The Oregon Coast wrote: > Bird related books.... > > If you consider polls to be a complete waste of time or not worthy of > posting to the list then please press del now. Otherwise... > > I was hoping to hear from folks about what they consider their most > treasured bird related volumes. I offer 3 categories. Favorite > recreational bird related book, favorite non fiction bird related book > and favorite field guide related to birds/birding (submit responses > only to those categories you see fit). > > My answers follow: > > Non Fiction has to be "Birds Of Oregon" through OSU Press/OFO and > edited/contributed by many. Every time I crack it open I learn > something new. I end up putting it down ever more grateful I purchased > it. > > My field guide of choice is National Geographic. But, Peterson was my > first and still holds a special place for me. > > I hope everyone understands that I am hoping for a light hearted > discussion regarding these books. I desire to learn from the favorites > of others regarding which I should choose to learn by and relax with. > > Have a wonderful evening all! > > Jason in Lakeside > >_______________________________________________ >obol mailing list >obol@lists.oregonstate.edu >http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > >To unsubscribe, send a message to: >obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > My favorite biographical/ non-fiction is "Refuge" by Terry Tempest Williams Patty Newland From rcbrumitt at comcast.net Mon Jan 2 21:44:52 2006 From: rcbrumitt at comcast.net (Clint Brumitt) Date: Mon Jan 2 21:45:27 2006 Subject: [obol] Canada Goose question response Message-ID: <007f01c61028$d1ca9a50$9189c147@CB2> Wow!! Thank you all for the volume of information. I feel like I am up to eyes in goose down and feathers, and a lot of great information. I will be able to distinguish the various species and sub-species of Canada Goose after I digest all of this. Good birding and thanks again. Clint Brumitt -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060102/8cbd7c53/attachment.htm From khanhbatran at hotmail.com Mon Jan 2 22:01:07 2006 From: khanhbatran at hotmail.com (khanh tran) Date: Mon Jan 2 22:01:11 2006 Subject: [obol] Tillamook Cheez-Whiz and gulls (Tillamook Co) Message-ID: Hi Obolers, "Gulls are sort of the smelly cheese of the bird world. They're refined tastes that you sort of learn to love." David Mandell Well after scanning and counting almost 1500 or more gulls within a mile radius of Fenk Rd., I must admit "Even on an assortment of crackers, I only like Cheez-Whiz to some degree" :) Not too much to report but there were at least 20 BONAPARTE'S GULLS mixed in with large flock of Herrings, Westerns, Mews, Ring billed, Glaucous wings and who knows what else? Up to 60 great Egrets were along the flooded fields. The best bird was a BLACK PHOEBE near the foul smelling dairy farm on Fenk Rd. There were several RED PHARALOPES strewned along flooded fields in Tillamook. The most noticeable flock was across from Nehalem Sewage Ponds which consisted of 200 birds. It was nice to met John and Barbara Woodhouse. Their pleasant demeanor and charming British accent dissolved my nausea quickly like a lactose tolerant pill. Was it the gulls, the cows, or my nasty hang-over?? As a result, I probably missed that LITTLE GULL OR IVORY GULL in that large flock of gulls :( Happy New Year and good birding, Khanh Tran PS Thank you John and Barbara for recommending an excellent restraurant near Cape Lookout. It is called the Whiskey Creek Cafe. For any birders looking for a warm, home cooked meal, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!! As per the food snob. From woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com Mon Jan 2 22:13:20 2006 From: woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com (J. Simmons) Date: Mon Jan 2 22:13:23 2006 Subject: [obol] iPod speakers: compiled responses to my query Message-ID: <20060103061320.27657.qmail@web31513.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Below are the responses I received to my query asking what speakers birders are using with their iPods. I've separated responses with lines of dots (.........). I'll let you draw your own conclusions. They are mostly listed in the order received; I did group some together that were for the same or similar speakers. I have removed names to protect the innocent and keep the summary objective in that regard. If you want more information from one of the respondents, email me and I'll forward your message to them. As has been stated previously in discussions, please use your iPod responsibly when it comes to playing bird songs in the wild. (If you want more info on this, see previous obol discussions and/or the ABA code of ethics available at http://www.americanbirding.org/ ) And don't dink (with your iPod) and drive! Jamie Simmons, Corvallis ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This is easy.; While many stereo type speakers are used, they are bulky, not very loud, and not rugged. They are designed for inside not outside use. I have been using the 9-volt, Radio Shack monorul speaker for years. I have given them to guides all over the world and they out-perform all the others. They are loud and small. They are so basic that most of the Radio Shack workers do not know about them. They are the favorite of cornell lab. (Note: See next note for URL showing these speakers.) Cost $12.95 (I just bought two extras to bring to some friends in Peru) .. This speaker from Radio Shack is a great tool for learning and playback of bird calls/songs. I first learned about it a few years ago from someone on the ORNITH-L listserve who was doing professional bird surveys. This is the speaker their university acoustic lab suggested. It is very small, has good frequency response and is VERY LOUD. Runs forever on a 9V battery and is incredibly durable (I just throw mine in a pack or pocket without a case or anything...), besides for 13 bucks, you could easily replace it if need be. Radio Shack also sells cords that are 6" to 6' long to connect the speaker to any CD or MP3 player with a standard small headphone jack. The whole package is less than 20 bucks with the battery. Standard disclaimers apply, such as I have no interest in Radio Shack, iPods, do not explicitly endorse playback to attract birds, etc, etc... http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062620&cp .. I use the Creative Travelsound i300 speaker, and love it. Nicely compact, with enough volume and good enough sound quality, fits in a pocket. I ordered it on the web somewhere, it runs about $40. .. I use the Creative Travelsound Speakers and am happy with their size and performance. I ran into <2 birder friends> using them at Malheur HQ last May and was impressed enough to get them for myself. They in turn had first heard them used by a bird tour leader so they appear to have a good word of mouth reputation. They list for $60 but if you search online regularly you should find them for much less. I paid $32 from Buy.com. They have it now for $60 and a $30 rebate. I can't remember if I had to do a rebate or not. http://www.buy.com/retail/Product.asp?sku=10345501&SearchEngine=GoogleD&Type=GoogleD&Keyword=10345501&Category=Comp&dcaid=17260 Looking around more I see Amazon has the "200" model for $30 with no rebate. This appears to be the one I have. My model # is CSW5300 but a search showed it as the "200". The one at Buy.com may be the "300" model. It says it is foldable but doesn't show it folded in the picture or give the folded dimensions so I can't say if it's really any different. Mine has a stand which contains the input jacks that folds out. This may be all they are talking about. User reviews seem very good for both models. .. I use a PodWave. It's about the size of a tube of lipstick. Great sound and just plugs into the top of your iPod or Nano. It was a gift but you should be able to look it up online. I use a set of folding speakers that take 3 AAs from Radio Shack. They weigh about 200g. They plug into the headphone jack-which allows them to work with all kinds of devices. They cost me $20, the only downside being they are 2W, and something more powerful is key if you don't have a loud recording. Costco in Albany has some. Saw them today. __________________________________ Yahoo! for Good - Make a difference this year. http://brand.yahoo.com/cybergivingweek2005/ From woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com Mon Jan 2 23:13:53 2006 From: woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com (J. Simmons) Date: Mon Jan 2 23:13:54 2006 Subject: [obol] Oops! Thanks for iPod speaker info!! Message-ID: <20060103071353.63980.qmail@web31501.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Thanks to all who sent me info on the iPod speakers they use! Jamie Corvallis __________________________________ Yahoo! for Good - Make a difference this year. http://brand.yahoo.com/cybergivingweek2005/ From ovenbird2003 at yahoo.com Tue Jan 3 00:36:27 2006 From: ovenbird2003 at yahoo.com (Holly Reinhard) Date: Tue Jan 3 00:36:29 2006 Subject: [obol] birding behavior In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20060103083627.48870.qmail@web36902.mail.mud.yahoo.com> First, a note: Having never participated in a debate on Obol before, I am leaving my reply on the listserve, since I think the topic is still of general interest. If we continue to send e-mails back and forth, however, I think the rest of the listserve might prefer that we "take this outside" (haha), i.e., outside the listserve and into private e-mails. Actually, I didn't base any of my post on facts, but on my opinion. I will attempt to clarify the quoted statements you brought up. First, as for me thinking it is fine to have the birds at one's feeder fly away when one goes out the door, I have no reference except my own experience. For me being "fine" with it, that's just my opinion. I am not going to feel like I am endangering birds' lives and the environment in general, if I make 6 Juncos and a Varied Thrush fly away for five minutes, only to return a few minutes later, or if not then, then perhaps the next day. As to the birds getting used to it, I have observed birds becoming accustomed to humans. Sometimes I have gone outside and walked up to the bird feeder, and the birds will fly away. Then while I am still standing less than 10 feet away, a curious Chickadee or two will venture back to the bushes around the feeder, and check me out. Obviously the chickadees have "gotten used" to me, at least within the last minute or two. Not all the birds are like this, but personally, (and I have no facts to back this up, just my general opinion on birds) I think that my scaring the birds away for a few minutes when I go out to change the birdbath water, bring in the feeder to clean, or whatever, is not that significant compared to, say, flushing a bird off its nest in efforts to get a good photograph. About the dog chasing the starlings, I don't know if you wanted a response from that or not. If so....I am very aware that many on this list are incredibly knowledgeable. I am not saying that y'all are unintelligent. I'm just saying I think we're getting too into this debate when it becomes a back-and-forth opinion and emotions battle. I am also aware that many of you on Obol probably think that it is horrible that I don't punish my dog for chasing birds. As I don't feel that he is endangering them, I just let him be. Lately we have brought him inside anyway during the colder days because he's kind of a wimp. Indoors he poses no danger to the birds. About coping mechanisms that my backyard birds use to make themselves "impervious" to disturbance: I certainly don't think they are immune to, or unaffected by, disturbance. Some of the birds fly away as soon as I open the back door. So they are definitely affected by the disturbance. But I think that once I'm outside and don't appear to be bothering them, many of them either decide I am not enough of a threat that they should stop eating from the feeder at that point. As for the question of how migratory birds would know that I am not a threat, that's a good question. I think that you're right; there is no way a migratory bird WOULD know that I wasn't a threat. It might spook as soon as the door was opened, and not even come back. However, most of the birds I tend to get seem to be winter regulars, who I think become accustomed to me and my yard, even my dog, when he's outdoors. Of course, there are those that are migratory. But I tend to find that when it comes to birds at my feeder, I tend to get them more in seasons--lots of the same patrons in winter. Migratory birds I think, would be more like warblers and Tanagers. In fact, our yard plays host to a flock of Western Tanagers about once a year. They do not come to our feeder but instead hover about the fir trees looking for food. We have found that walking outside when they're there, doesn't make them fly away, and at any rate, sometimes they stick around for a few days before moving on. Again, I think it's definitely good to have facts to back up one's statements, but in my earlier post I really didn't consider myself to be stating any facts, just things I have observed, and my general opinion. In my opinion, it comes down to a continuum, a scale. On the one end, there's those who think nothing of harassing a nesting owl in hopes to get close pictures of it. On the other end, there are are those who won't even set out a bird feeder, because they don't want to scare the birds when they (the people) go outside, and they don't want to disrupt the birds when they (the people) fill the bird feeders. I see myself as somewhere in the middle, as I think many of us are. Holly Reinhard Eugene, OR ovenbird2003@yahoo.com --- Jason Rogers wrote: > Holly Reinhard wrote: > "I am of the opinion that there's nothing wrong with > having feeders in your > backyard, even when you go out the door a few times > a day and they fly away. > In my book, that's fine and they'll get used to it." > > What book is that, and could you provide a reference > for it please? > > "...my often-outdoor dog ocassionally chases the > birds (usually starlings; > he's smarter than I give him credit)" > > And we on this list are smarter than you give us > credit for. > > "...they have learned to adapt to the "threats" that > face them when they use > the bird feeder in my yard." > > What are the coping mechanisms that your backyard > birds have evolved that > make them impervious to the disturbances? How have > migratory birds that > have never seen your backyard also evolved these > mechanisms? > > "Debating is good and healthy, but it can degenerate > to a point in which it > becomes counterproductive." > > It can also degenerate when individuals have no > facts to back up their > statements. > > _ Regards, > ( '< Jason Rogers > / ) ) Banff, AB > //" " hawkowl@hotmail.com > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > __________________________________ Yahoo! for Good - Make a difference this year. http://brand.yahoo.com/cybergivingweek2005/ From ptsulliv at spiritone.com Tue Jan 3 00:36:57 2006 From: ptsulliv at spiritone.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Tue Jan 3 00:37:53 2006 Subject: [obol] A 3-Snowy-Owl day, plus Message-ID: <000901c61041$001199f0$b1c563d8@dell307ac3e2b6> Today, Jan. 2, 2006, Carol Karlen and I set off on a modest birding adventure. POLK COUNTY At about 8:30 AM we found the SNOWY OWL reported by Bill Tice along West Perrydale Rd. in Polk county. It was well back from the road in a weedy strip in the open fields north of West Perrydale Rd., near a white bucket as described by Bill. We viewed it from Delong Rd. (DeLorme p. 59, D6.) Along Hwy 18, west of Grande Ronde, we found 3 WHITE-TAILED KITES. LINCOLN COUNTY Behind Rose Lodge (DeLorme p. 58, D1) we found a DIPPER. Near the mouth of Schooner Creek, on the north end of Siletz Bay we found 10 RED PHALAROPES. At the mouth of Schooner Cr. on Siletz Bay we found BLACK, SURF, and WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS together. At Depoe Bay we found 3 ROCK SANDPIPERS, plus Surfbirds, Black Turnstones, and a Black Oystercatcher. At the south jetty at Newport we found a LONG-TAILED DUCK and several HARLEQUIN DUCKS in the channel. We also found the previously reported CLAY-COLORED SPARROW near the beginning of the south jetty road. Directions: Start out the south jetty road at Newport. Turn left (south) on Brant St. before the gate. Turn right (west) onto 27 Street. Look for birds around the first house. At the old fish hatchery across from the Marine Science Center, next to the marina on the south side of Yaquina Bay, we found our second SNOWY OWL of the day at 12:30 PM, sitting next to an old cement pond. At Yachats we found more Black Oystercatchers, Surfbirds, and Black Turnstones. LANE COUNTY We continued on through Florence, past Fern Ridge Reservoir and Alvadore, to Franklin Rd., where we saw our third SNOWY OWL of the day at 5 PM. This bird had attracted ~ 8 carloads of birders from Eugene. It was actively hunting in the field north of Franklin Rd., and west of Alvadore Rd. (DeLorme p. 47, C6). It flew hunting forays over the field and came back to perch on utility poles right above our heads, up until dark. It ignored all the people, and put on an excellent show. Good birding, everyone, Paul T. Sullivan From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Tue Jan 3 06:57:21 2006 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Tue Jan 3 06:57:24 2006 Subject: [obol] Shrikes In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20060103145721.53325.qmail@web32610.mail.mud.yahoo.com> No shrikes on the coast yet, at least that I've seen. Tim R Coos Bay --- Alan Contreras wrote: > Are Northern Shrikes simply arriving very late this > winter? I saw one for > the first time just last week. Numbers are > definitely down and they are > generally absent from the outer coast, but there > seem to be a few trickling > into the valley. > > -- > Alan Contreras > EUGENE, OREGON > acontrer@mindspring.com > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > __________________________________ Yahoo! for Good - Make a difference this year. http://brand.yahoo.com/cybergivingweek2005/ From John_Houle at pweagleinc.com Tue Jan 3 07:00:15 2006 From: John_Houle at pweagleinc.com (John_Houle@pweagleinc.com) Date: Tue Jan 3 07:03:01 2006 Subject: [obol] Geese, Swainson's Hawk, and Owls -- Eugene Area Message-ID: OBOL, This morning Daphne spotted a white bird in a goose flock on Lorane Highway immediately to the west of Sarvis Berry Lane (Delorme page 41, A7). While I was getting the scope on the SNOW GOOSE, she located another misfit in the flock -- a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. The rest of the flock was CACKLING and CANADA geese. We headed for Lane Memorial Gardens (Delorme page 47, D7) and located the BRANT. Try as we might, we could not find the Ross's goose that had been at the Franklin Road / Alvadore Road area, so we "settled" for five goose species on the day. Speaking of the Franklin / Alvadore area (Delorme page 47, C6), we did find the SWAINSON'S HAWK on a fence post very close to the first barn north of the intersection (the snowy owl barn). The bird was obviously different and clearly a buteo, but was unlike the NatGeo or Sibley illustrations. A review of my books at home later found almost a perfect SWHA match on page 241 of Volume 1 of the Audubon Society "Master Guide to Birding." The SNOWY OWL showed up right on schedule at the peak of the barn at dusk. I closed out the day by taking my dog for a nighttime walk. I heard BARN OWL and GREAT HORNED OWL, the eleventh and twelfth raptors of the day -- not a bad way to start the year. John Houle and Daphne Turner -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060103/4e9a827e/attachment.htm From celata at pacifier.com Tue Jan 3 07:04:58 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Tue Jan 3 07:05:08 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Shrikes References: Message-ID: <43BA9298.D9DA9ADA@pacifier.com> The folks on tweeters were whining vociferously about the dearth of shrikes up until mid-December. Shrike are now being reported regularly. Theu either arrived coincident with the beginning of the CBC season or that's when folks started paying real attention. I saw one at Trestle Bay in late November and didn't see any more until last week. I think that they arrived late. I blame the owls. Alan Contreras wrote: > > Are Northern Shrikes simply arriving very late this winter? I saw one for > the first time just last week. Numbers are definitely down and they are > generally absent from the outer coast, but there seem to be a few trickling > into the valley. > > -- > Alan Contreras > EUGENE, OREGON > acontrer@mindspring.com > -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com Christmas Bird Count Calendar and FAQ for Oregon and Washington http://home.pacifier.com/~mpatters/cbc/cbc_WAOR_reg.html From crmiller at bendnet.com Tue Jan 3 07:32:57 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Tue Jan 3 07:33:01 2006 Subject: [obol] Shrikes on the East Side of the Cascades In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20060103153300.8A71F10438A@smtp3.oregonstate.edu> Craig and I have been seeing them on the East Side of the Cascades, but it seems like they are not as abundant as in years past. We also have Loggerheads on the East Side in Winter. Marilyn Miller Bend, Oregon -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu [mailto:obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu] On Behalf Of Alan Contreras Sent: Monday, January 02, 2006 7:53 PM To: obol Subject: [obol] Shrikes Are Northern Shrikes simply arriving very late this winter? I saw one for the first time just last week. Numbers are definitely down and they are generally absent from the outer coast, but there seem to be a few trickling into the valley. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer@mindspring.com _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From David.Helzer at portofportland.com Tue Jan 3 07:56:05 2006 From: David.Helzer at portofportland.com (Helzer, David) Date: Tue Jan 3 07:56:07 2006 Subject: [obol] PDX short-eared owls Message-ID: Andy's report of Short-ears reminded me to report that there have been two SHORT-EARED OWLS seen hunting the airfield at dusk at Portland Airport in the last two weeks (Mult Co.) happy new year y'all, Dave Helzer Wildlife Technician Portland International Airport Port of Portland Aviation Environmental T: 503.460.4879 C: 503.830.0713 david.helzer@portofportland.com == My daughter Lisa and I went to Scappoose Bottoms (Columbia County) this afternoon and off Honeyman Road saw a male Ring-necked Pheasant, numerous American Kestrels, Red-tailed Hawks and Northern Harriers. In the field where Short-eared Owls have been seen most years there initially were 40 Great Egrets, many Great-blue Herons, and a flock of Western Meadowlarks. As dusk descended 4 Harriers were flying around together making a beautiful sight. And 20 minutes after sunset, we finally saw the target species: 2 Short-eared Owls initially on posts and then flying around. A beautiful way to start the year. Happy New Year everyone. Andy Frank Portland From jgeier at attglobal.net Tue Jan 3 06:31:20 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Tue Jan 3 08:15:02 2006 Subject: [obol] Impacts of bird disturbance by birds (long) Message-ID: <43BA8AB8.9050609@attglobal.net> Hello folks, I had been enjoying the lively debate among Wayne Hoffman, Jason Rogers and otherrs, and have learned some new things in the process. However, I sense that the discussion is now degenerating, with a decreasing ratio of facts & insights vs. personal jabs and insults. I think the impact of bird disturbance by birders is an important issue for the birding community, and I would hope that it could be discussed in forums such as OBOL without degenerating further. The issue is of course worldwide in scope, and not limited to Oregon birding. If the main actors in this debate feel that they can marshall sufficient facts, I encourage them to produce proper articles for wider circulation in the popular birding literature -- for example, in /Birding/ (where I happen to know the editor is interested interest in the ethical and ecological dimensions of birding). Such articles should address the question of relative magnitude of disturbance effects, versus potential benefits of bird feeding or other forms of birding. I personally aim to minimize my own disturbance of birds, but I view this as a moral/ethical choice rather than a scientific choice, since I am not convinced -- despite the discussion thus far -- that there is hard evidence to support my own personal views, which are very close to those that Jason expressed (as his own opinions) in the early part of this: "... the harm we see to birds is often cumulative. What we should be asking ourselves is whether getting a close-up photo or obtaining a point-blank view of bird is so important that we're willing to add to the challenges that that bird faces in life. "Personally I receive much more satisfaction from my birding when I've left a bird exactly as I found it. And if that means I don't get to see it, then so be it. I'll see the bird another day, or maybe I won't. But at least I'll sleep well at night." I thought this was a well-stated opinion that probably succeeded in engaging the moral sensibilities of many birders on this list. At the very least, it must have inspired some self-examination which is generally a healthy thing in my opinion. Stepping beyond opinions, the one paper that Jason cites that appears to directly address the central issue (H?ppop & Gabrielsen, 1999) -- as opposed to the peripheral topics of how various hormones affect bird metabolism -- is unfortunately a two-page conference paper, rather than a full-length article from a referred journal. It is unfortunately not accessible to most of us who did not go to this conference in South Africa to obtain a copy of the proceeedings. From another one of Jason's postings where he stated, "Certainly for the geese and finches whose responses to increased energy use while foraging have been studied ...," I infer that this paper (or extended abstract?) describes a study of geese and finches. It might be helpful to give us an excerpt of the conclusions expressed in this paper, and some indication of the methods. Here in the Willamette Valley, there is a regular cottage industry in goose disturbance. Grass seed farmers, their employees, and certain state/federal workers spend much of the winter driving around in pickups, employing various contraptions to scare geese -- shotguns loaded with blanks, air cannons, scarecrows, coyote silhouettes, and "goose hunters welcome with permission" signs. That is a fact. My impression (although I will admit to not having checked the latest USFWS data), is that goose populations in the Willamette Valley are at least stable, and possibly increasing despite this systematic harrassment. This suggests to me that, whatever adverse effects repetitive disturbance on the wintering grounds may induce in geese, there appear to be offsetting factors that still promote reproductive success of many geese (though not necessarily all subspecies) that that winter in our area. Similarly, House Finches are among the most regular visitors to feeders around human habitations, and thus presumably the most frequently human-disturbed birds, yet Oregon populations show a significant upward trend in BBS data 1990-1999 (Birds of Oregon, Marshall et al.). Some other common feeder species (e.g. Pine Siskins, Lesser & American Goldfinches) show declining trends although factors other than human disturbance have been hypothesized as explanations. I certainly am not advocating that we take carte blanche to harass goose and finch flocks, just pointing out that there seem to be grounds for asking how broadly applicable is the study that was cited (H?ppop & Gabrielsen, 1999). It would be good to see more research on how these findings generalize to other families of birds and other settings. In the meantime, many of us may want to err on the side of caution and minimize disturbance, especially to bird species that are at risk. As to the other articles cited, I took a look at this link: http://www.sfu.ca/biology/wildberg/wesa2000.html which turned out to be another set of conference proceedings, mostly devoted to Western Sandpipers. The abstract Jason mentioned was informative regarding the role of corticosterone. Some of the other abstracts therein could reignite the old peregrine falcon thread (which seemed to be higher in the list of hypotheses raised by WESA researchers than human disturbance -- in fact, I could not find the words "human" or "disturbance" anywhere in these abstracts, with a text search). One abstract even asked the provocative question, "Do Lighter Weight Sandpipers Indicate Healthier Ecosystems?" (the title of the abstract). The authors suggest that shorebirds actually maintain their weight lower in wintering locales with more predators (such as falcons), since lower body weight is a defense against predation. They note there is a tradeoff in terms of migration & breeding condition, which may relate more directly to the issue of dunlins disturbed -- whether by humans, falcons, or whatever. If shorebirds are frequently disturbed, might there be a feedback mechanism which keeps them more active (as in the seemingly spontaneous flights Wayne observed) and thus limits their weight gain, following an evolutionary strategy to reduce predation? With reproductive consequences? Beyond the biology, it seems to me there are a lot of angles -- public policy, species management, socioeconomics, etc. -- that could be discussed in a fully thought out article for a popular birding/birdwatching journal. One such issue could be disturbance of expanding vs. dwindling species. I am not especially worried about Wayne's Mourning Doves. This species was apparently rare on the Oregon coast in the past (see e.g. Gabrielson & Jewett, 1940 -- or just try to find MODO in the journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition during their stay on the soggy coast). Its increased presence on the coast today is likely due to other anthropogenic factors that were not present in the pre-settlement ecosystem -- even if it is declining elsewhere on the continent. Needless to say, I am also not worried about Holly's starlings. I like to see European Starlings in Europe but not here, so I disturb the ones in our yard every chance I get, but I leave them alone in Sweden. I am however worried about other, native species that are severely declining in our area. Streaked Horned Larks, Oregon Vesper Sparrows, White-breasted Nuthatches, to name a few. Shorebirds too, although we get so few in my neighborhood that I tend not to interact with them as much. Birder disturbance to these species, or individual birds at their breeding range limit seems much more likely to be a problem than other species that have robust and even expanding local populations. Maybe we need to be targeting our sense of ethics more precisely. Finally, I hope the journal articles I am suggesting for you to write could address the relative conservation importance of this vs. other issues we face. How much energy should we spend on this vs. the many other critical issues? As a conservationist, should I stop spending my spare time on protecting and maintaining oak savannah habitat for the imperiled species I mentioned above? Should I instead spend my volunteer hours putting padlocks on birdwatchers' doors, so that they can't scare the House Finches at their feeders? I am being a wee bit facetious here, of course. I do suggest that we need a better sense of proportionality than has been expressed at times in this discussion. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From rkorpi at hotmail.com Tue Jan 3 09:41:40 2006 From: rkorpi at hotmail.com (Ray Korpi) Date: Tue Jan 3 09:41:42 2006 Subject: [obol] Northern Shrikes Message-ID: All, Admittedly, I am not out in the field as much as I used to be, but between short day trips to Ankeny, Baskett Slough, and east of Salem, I've usually stumbled on a Northern Shrike by now though I have not to this point. This is especially the case around Baskett Slough, where I used to find at least one per trip easily. Perhaps Bill Tice or Roy Gerig can comment as they are in the area more than I Ray Korpi rkorpi@hotmail.com Clark College, Vancouver From BStitesPDX at aol.com Tue Jan 3 10:33:43 2006 From: BStitesPDX at aol.com (BStitesPDX@aol.com) Date: Tue Jan 3 10:33:48 2006 Subject: [obol] Northern Shrike-Multnomah County Message-ID: <221.5afb08e.30ec1d87@aol.com> OBOL: There was a NORTHERN SHRIKE along N.E. 185th, just south of Marine Drive this morning at 9:30 AM. It was on the west side of the street, overlooking a small lake to the west! Bob Stites-Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060103/1dce11d0/attachment.htm From rillo3 at msn.com Tue Jan 3 10:34:05 2006 From: rillo3 at msn.com (R ARCHER) Date: Tue Jan 3 10:34:07 2006 Subject: [obol] Geese and where the neck bends In-Reply-To: <220.5a7597f.30eb47d3@aol.com> Message-ID: Hi: I got this idea off of a Colorado birding site. They have a bird quiz that is fun to look at. http://www.cfo-link.org Go into the bird quiz box, look up the old ones, No 126. The person delivering the answer is noticing that the Cackling Goose has a neck bend at the bottom of the neck sock, Canada Geese have a neck bend up into the neck sock. I hope to check this out on Taverners. He uses this when they are feeding etc. Bob Archer Pdx >From: Hhactitis@aol.com >To: crmiller@bendnet.com, rcbrumitt@comcast.net,obol@lists.oregonstate.edu >Subject: Re: [obol] Canada Goose question >Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2006 22:21:55 EST > >Hi Clint, Marilyn and OBOL, > >I noticed that Marilyn did not address the recent split in her subspecies >list. The last three subspecies she listed (Taverner's, Cackling and >Aleutian) >are now considered part of the Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii), while >the >other subspecies comprise the Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) complex. > >Separation of the two "new" species is mostly straightforward - Canadas are >large, with longer, thin necks, and honk, Cacklers are small, with shorter, >thicker necks, and cackle - but it is complicated by the two intermediate >forms. >The Lesser Canada Goose is the smallest of the "true" Canada Geese and and >approaches Taverner's in size (which is considered part of the Cackling >Goose). >Taverners are a little smaller and lighter-breasted than Lessers, but in my >experience they can be rather hard to tell apart, especially lacking direct >comparison in the field, and I do not know how much these two subspecies >differ >vocally. > >And another cautionary note on subspecies ID: While Aleutian Geese always >have a white neckband, this feature can also be present in some Cackling >Geese >(albeit often incomplete). Other good field marks for Aleutian Geese are >the >steep forehead, blocky head shape, and usually a black line on the chin >that >separates the white cheek patches. In Oregon, Aleutians are mainly coastal, >witth >only a few found in Cackler flocks in the Willamette Valley every once in a >wile. > >Happy Goosing > >Hendrik > >___________________________ >Hendrik G. Herlyn >2855 NW Tyler Ave >Corvallis, OR 97330 >(541) 754-1220 >hhactitis@aol.com >_______________________________________________ >obol mailing list >obol@lists.oregonstate.edu >http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > >To unsubscribe, send a message to: >obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From deweysage at verizon.net Tue Jan 3 11:22:29 2006 From: deweysage at verizon.net (DJLauten and KACastelein) Date: Tue Jan 3 11:14:32 2006 Subject: [obol] Impacts of bird disturbance by birds (long) In-Reply-To: <43BA8AB8.9050609@attglobal.net> References: <43BA8AB8.9050609@attglobal.net> Message-ID: <43BACEF5.9010009@verizon.net> Joel Geier wrote: > I am not especially worried about Wayne's Mourning Doves. This species > was apparently rare on the Oregon coast in the past (see e.g. Gabrielson > & Jewett, 1940 -- or just try to find MODO in the journals of the Lewis > & Clark Expedition during their stay on the soggy coast). Its increased > presence on the coast today is likely due to other anthropogenic factors > that were not present in the pre-settlement ecosystem -- even if it is > declining elsewhere on the continent. As a tangent to this discussion, since Mourning Doves were mentioned, did everyone know that Mourning Doves are the MOST hunted species in North America (well, at least the US)? Some 40 MILLION are harvested each year. Every state but 2 has a hunting season on them. Is it fair to say that this species is collectively HARASSED each year? And what have been the impacts? Increasing populations? As I understand it, the thing that seems to have the most impact on dove populations is declining nesting habitat in some parts of the country. I am not advocating harassment. I am not advocating birding. I am not advocating hunting. I am just trying to point out a fact (since that seems to be important to this discussion), and trying to just kindly point out that some things need to be kept in perspective. Cheers Dave Lauten Bandon OR deweysage@verizon.net From paul.jacobsen at oregonstate.edu Tue Jan 3 12:20:28 2006 From: paul.jacobsen at oregonstate.edu (Jacobsen, Paul) Date: Tue Jan 3 12:20:16 2006 Subject: [obol] birding in belize Message-ID: <4D5DA98A54374044B7CC3F40A157B98B0B01C5@thuja> I am planning on a March trip to Belize and wonder if anyone has opinions on a good birding field guide. Off-list replies would be great. Thanks, Paul Jacobsen -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060103/bfe3c529/attachment.htm From forobol at msn.com Tue Jan 3 13:19:40 2006 From: forobol at msn.com (Al Ahlgrim) Date: Tue Jan 3 13:19:41 2006 Subject: [obol] Clackamas Hermit Hybrid Message-ID: We have has a large flock of Kinglets, Chickadees with occasional Townsend's Warblers in our fir trees for the past three days. Today I had sustained views of a shockingly yellow-faced warbler with just a small, faint strip of gray on the back of the bright yellow crown and a gray bib. Of course when I went for the camera the bird disappeared. This Townsend's-Hermit Hybrid would have easily been counted as a Hermit warbler in the summer. It was gleaning in lower branches like Townsend's often do and sure brightened up this dreary day. Dang camera doesn't know where it belongs. Al Ahlgrim, Oregon City -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060103/7a1fcb09/attachment.htm From philliplc at harborside.com Tue Jan 3 13:28:06 2006 From: philliplc at harborside.com (Phillip Pickering) Date: Tue Jan 3 13:28:12 2006 Subject: [obol] Boiler Bay Message-ID: <033901c610ac$971d58a0$6601a8c0@byronq189eo067> 7:30-8:45 (1/3): Overcast, wind SE 10-25, 10-15 ft swells. Scoter movement reduced, only briefly up to 600/min. Also for the first time today I was able to detect steady northward drift in some of the rafts, as much as 1/2 mile/hour. Assuming some individual birds are flying S less than 1 hour a day (may to be the case) and drifting back north the rest of the day I may be seeing some individuals more than once. Strangely the rafts close enough to ID were again mostly Surf, though. No large concentrations of W-w's have been observed on the water. 200+ Red-throated Loons 10 Common Loons 2 Red-necked Grebes 10 Western Grebes 30 Brandt's Cormorants 40 Pelagic Cormorants 3 Black Scoters 7000+ Surf Scoters (5000 S, 2000 on the water in N/S band of small rafts) 4000+ White-winged Scoters (S) 3 Mew Gulls 5 California Gulls 60 Western Gulls 15 Glaucous-winged Gulls 1 Glaucous Gull (adult S) 1 Black-legged Kittiwake 5 Common Murres 4 Pigeon Guillemots 2 Marbled Murrelets Phil philliplc@harborside.com From hawkowl at hotmail.com Tue Jan 3 13:34:20 2006 From: hawkowl at hotmail.com (Jason Rogers) Date: Tue Jan 3 13:34:21 2006 Subject: [obol] Impacts of bird disturbance by birds (long) Message-ID: Joel, Thanks for your intelligent comments and for salvaging this discussion (and, perhaps, for taking on a portion of the private insult e-mail I've been receiving!). I should clarify that I'm not per se worried about Wayne's Mournings Doves or Holly's starlings. I am, however, worried about the attitudes behind the statements. All too often people apply human limits of endurance to organisms that clearly aren't human including birds. I hope this discussion has shed some light on the energetic costs of short flights in birds and made known that, as evidenced by the relatively light-weight Western Sandpipers, birds don't have "energy to burn" in winter. I also hope that people begin to question the ethics of using food to attract birds to areas where they must not only respond to their natural pedators, but also to people, pets, and machinery. To everyone else, I refuse to respond to any more messages on this subject unless they are accompanied by a reference(s). And please, spare me the hate mail. It accomplishes nothing. _ Regards, ( '< Jason Rogers / ) ) Banff, AB //" " hawkowl@hotmail.com From a-r at centurytel.net Tue Jan 3 14:13:37 2006 From: a-r at centurytel.net (Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. Rollins) Date: Tue Jan 3 14:13:42 2006 Subject: [obol] Impacts of bird disturbance by birds (short) Message-ID: <001e01c610b2$f243a3a0$628dfea9@S1100382963> Hi, I'm going out to now to fill my bird feeders as the Flicker seem hungry. I'll fill 'em up.http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/52122042/original.jpg[No Troll food will be put out though.] LOL ;-)Kim Rollins Burns, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060103/3e542ab7/attachment.htm From WeberHome at att.net Tue Jan 3 14:23:41 2006 From: WeberHome at att.net (Cliff & Joanne Weber) Date: Tue Jan 3 14:23:51 2006 Subject: [obol] Hummer aggression Message-ID: <20060103222350.456321042A7@smtp3.oregonstate.edu> OBOL, hello! When a little group of Townsend's Warblers came into our yard to poke around, one of them made the Big Mistake of perching on our resident Anna's feeder. The little Anna's didn't actually attack the Townsend's, but buzzed it thoroughly enough to drive it away from its turf. We didn't know the normally docile little Anna's could be so possessive of its nectar bottle. Cliff & Joanne Weber Beaverton From dpvroman at budget.net Tue Jan 3 14:47:53 2006 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis P. Vroman) Date: Tue Jan 3 15:09:10 2006 Subject: [obol] Jo Co 1st County sighting Message-ID: <000001c610b9$f5e11180$ec351c40@hppav> Drove to Cave Junction in a downpour today (01-03-05) to look for a bird reported on the CBC there yesterday by Romain Cooper. Was thinking, this is dumb, attempting to find a unusual county bird in this rain! At the end of Martin Rd, off Rockydale, at about noon the rain let up for a bit. Got out and scouted the Bluebirds on the wire, nope, just Westerns. Looked out into the large bare-earth field...and out there was a much lighter colored blue, Bluebird. At last MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD (2 males) for my county list! Getting more difficult to get 1st for the county birds for me, but still some to go. Others species seen were: AMERICAN PIPIT (flock), 2 LINCOLN'S SPARROW, WHITE-TAILED KITE, SAVANNAH SPARROW, NORTHERN HARRIER, WESTERN MEADOWLARK and some others. Got back in the rig and the downpour continued and a large dog with a large-sized mouth showed up...such luck! Dennis (north of Grants Pass) P.S. Romain, any count week species in the above list. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060103/71b4b296/attachment.htm From deweysage at verizon.net Tue Jan 3 15:33:10 2006 From: deweysage at verizon.net (DJLauten and KACastelein) Date: Tue Jan 3 15:25:06 2006 Subject: [obol] Coos Cty Ruddy Turnstone Message-ID: <43BB09B6.90906@verizon.net> 1/2 Bandon Coos Cty Yesterday while out at Bullard's Beach St Pk taking a walk and assessing the flood situation, a flock of BLACK TURNSTONES was on the rocks behind the lighthouse, and one RUDDY TURNSTONE was mixed in. Cheers Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein Bandon OR deweysage@verizon.net From fyshjpsy at comcast.net Tue Jan 3 15:50:00 2006 From: fyshjpsy at comcast.net (fyshjpsy@comcast.net) Date: Tue Jan 3 15:50:03 2006 Subject: [obol] re: Canada Goose question (long, delete now if you don't care) Message-ID: <010320062350.29455.43BB0DA60006ED6A0000730F2207000953979C9F06089C9700@comcast.net> From: "Clint Brumitt" Subject: Canada Goose question "Having recently moved to Eugene, I have heard there are 7 differnet sub-species of the Canada Goose to be found in the Willamette Valley. Does anyone have web site addresses or explaination of the various sub-species? In the same theme, is there a web site that explains the distinction of the two Canada Goose species now accepted as Greater or Western Goose and the Cackling Goose." Here are some websites: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/ODFWhtml/InfoCntrWild/PDFs/Goose_ID_Book.pdf http://www.sibleyguides.com/canada_cackling.htm http://www.oceanwanderers.com/CAGO.Subspecies.html http://www.idahobirds.net/identification/cackling.html Differences between the now newly described subspecies, of the newly described species, can be difficult. Some birds can only be identified reliably when in hand, some of the publications address the problem of field ID vs. lab ID to some extent. Into this mix throw the different look of various sub-populations that winter in OR and the shift of some of those populations to the Valley from traditional wintering grounds due to grazing opportunities here and habitat loss in CA in recent decades, and it gets even more interesting. Changes in management of the various species and subspecies, especially regarding agricultural damage control and hunting opportunities, will continue to be the norm for the foreseeable future. ODFW has a goose identification video available for sale, but it's pretty old and was designed only for the protection of the Dusky Canada Goose. Whether you hunt or not, attending an ODFW goose identification class next fall or winter might be helpful, and would give you their latest information on field identification of the managed subspecies. Old information regarding neck band colors will now only hold true for Western and Dusky Canada Geese, and for some populations of Cackling Goose subspecies. In a Willamette Valley winter flock, a just-bigger-than mallard geese will (almost certainly) be a Cackling Cackling Goose. What's up with that, was the AOU just trying to be obnoxious? They have a flight call sounding (sort of) like "loo, loo". Big dark-breasted Canada Geese will likely be the Dusky subspecies, and big white-breasted Canada Geese will likely be the Western subspecies, our only (for now!) spring-summer resident. Aleutian Cackling Geese are USUALLY found west of the Coast Range, check with the Oregon Coast NWR Complex for reliable winter locations: http://www.fws.gov/oregoncoast/index.htm All the various Canada Goose and Cackling Goose subspecies can show a white neck ring. The neck ring is generally more prominent, and regularly occurring in the Aleutian Canada, but check out a big flock of any dark, white-cheeked geese and you will likely find some neck rings, full or partial. Sorry, hope I didn't just confuse everyone. Neil Holcomb Philomath -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060103/86f9e531/attachment.htm From deweysage at verizon.net Tue Jan 3 16:04:15 2006 From: deweysage at verizon.net (DJLauten and KACastelein) Date: Tue Jan 3 15:56:10 2006 Subject: [obol] Mourning Doves, harassment Message-ID: <43BB10FF.7080407@verizon.net> Reference for Mourning Dove comment: Ecology and Management of Mourning Doves, Thomas S. Baskett, Mark W. Sayre, Roy E. Tomlinson, Richard E. Mirarchi, editors Jason Rogers wrote: "All too often people apply human limits of endurance to organisms that clearly aren't human including birds." Maybe I should ask for a reference that shows that 'human endurance' is somehow greater than bird's, or other wildlife's, endurance. I think this might be a very debatable point. Take for instance, the recent Hollywood stars EMPEROR PENQUINS. They walk 70 miles over the ice of Antartica and breed in the middle of the winter there. I want to see humans do that. And then we'd have to walk back and go swimming in the ice cold water and catch our own food and then walk back again to feed the young one. Are humans really any more capable, or have more endurance, than these fine feathered friends? Or how about the ARTIC TERNS that fly 25,000 miles each year? Or what about the SNOWY PLOVERS that lay their body weight in eggs each year, and still some manage to fly 1000+ miles each way to their wintering grounds? Can humans birth their body weight each year and then walk 1000+ miles to their wintering grounds, and back? Endurance as stated here is very subjective and not really measurable. I am not condoning harassment. However, to take the stand that only science (ie, references that are published or unpublished) is the final and only word on a topic is not quite accurate. There are lots of papers out there, and not all of them are correct, nor meaningful even if conducted properly. And I say this as a scientist, one who has published papers. It is a little bit troubling to me that someone might say that they don't want to discuss anything without references, and then go and make a very subjective and debatable statement. Humans are as much an animal as a bird. The idea that we are somehow smarter and better than all other species on the planet is foolhearty. Sure we are pretty good at endurance, but so are a lot of other species. I'd bet some are a heck of lot more likely to survive on this planet than humans are (rats, starlings, bacteria). If we are so darn good at endurance, and so dang smart, than how come we are quickly becoming the first species on the planet to successfully overpopulate it (there is a good argument here for endurance, but not smarts), possibly causing the whole planet to collapse under our weight, which we may not survive, and we'll do it in a very short geological time period (faster than any other species). Maybe we will survive, maybe we'll prove to out-endure lots of other things, but then again, maybe we won't. And we call ourselves smart? Don't underestimate the endurance of the birds and wildlife around you. Yes, you are right, we shouldn't harass birds. We probably shouldn't cut the forests down either. Nor should we plow over the grasslands. Nor should we harvest all those fish. Nor should we drill for fossil fuels to dump in our cars that drive around all over crashing into thousands of birds each day. Nor should we put up radio towers and skyscrapers that the birds will crash into when migrating. Nor should we hunt. We got to draw the line somewhere, right? I would be willing to bet that 99.99% of OBOLers would agree on one basic thing: don't unneccessarily harass birds. We can sit here and argue until we are blue in the face what constitutes harassment. In the meantime, habitat loss continues and will continue to be the MAJOR cause of most species declines, and it is directly related to human overpopulation. Harassment, I would subjectively submit, is not high on the list of reasons why most species are in trouble. To be hung up on this issue is again arguing about the placement of the chairs and tables as the Titanic sinks. Good day all Dave Lauten Bandon OR deweysage@verizon.net From steve at paradisebirding.com Tue Jan 3 16:25:35 2006 From: steve at paradisebirding.com (Steve Shunk) Date: Tue Jan 3 16:25:51 2006 Subject: [obol] Coast Birding Trail Update Message-ID: Greetings all, With the new year, we are happy to share four pieces of exciting news about the Oregon Coast Birding Trail project. NEWS 1: $28,000 RAISED TO DATE We want to extend our greatest appreciation to those agencies and organizations who have already sent in cash sponsorship funding for the project. Please patronize these organizations and communities and thank them for their support of birding tourism: - Del Norte County, California (yes, that's right, California!) - http://www.northerncalifornia.net/ : $10,000 - Oregon Coast Visitors Association - http://www.visittheoregoncoast.com/ : $5,000 - Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development: $5,000 - Oregon Parks and Recreation Department: $5,000 - Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County - http://www.visitlanecounty.org/ : $1,000 - Inn at Spanish Head - http://www.spanishhead.com/ : $1,000 - WildSpring Guest Habitat (Pt. Orford) - http://www.wildspring.com/ : $1,000 NEWS 2: SITE NOMINATIONS A SUCCESS We closed the site nominations process at the end of October with a whopping 220+ sites offered up for inclusion in the project. Thanks to all of you who nominated your favorite birding spots, we will have a trail jam-packed with outstanding birding. We are still shooting for our May dedication ceremony, so our time is short. We will need your help with the site review process over the coming months. If you are interested in helping us review the nominated sites, please contact me as soon as possible. We will schedule some sort of orientation (likely on-line) later this month to teach you about the selection criteria and how to look at these sites from a tourist's-eye-view. NEWS 3: NEW FISCAL SPONSOR After June 2005, Audubon Society of Portland was no longer able to serve as fiscal sponsor for the project. We struggled the remainder of the year trying to recruit a new long-term fiscal sponsor. In mid-December, the Oregon Coast Visitors Association board of directors voted in favor of OCVA becoming the new "home" for the Oregon Coast Birding Trail. Special thanks to Rebecah Morris, executive director of OCVA, for her patience and support in pushing this decision through its process, and thanks to the OCVA board for having the vision to lead the project into the future. We are confident that OCVA is the best possible organization to take the reins. NEWS 2: BIG GRANT AWARDED Since we did not have a fiscal sponsor the last six months of the year, it was difficult to fundraise. We had our eye on some grant prospects, but we needed an organization to step-up as an applicant. Enter the Friends at Haystack Rock. Thanks to their willingness to also take a leadership role in the project, we secured a $55,000 grant from the National Forest Foundation at the end of December. The NFF grant requires non-federal cash match in order for any funds to be released. That is, we only get the $55,000 if we raise another $55,000. Since we want the Trail Guide printed in time for International Migratory Bird Day in May, we only have a few months to raise the matching funds. Those of you who wish to take advantage of this incredible opportunity to promote your businesses or communities need to get on board fast. We have a brand new sponsorship sheet that we can send you that covers all the details, and we have the capability to make presentations to your groups if requested. If we have talked with you about sponsorship in the past, please check in to let us know if you still intend to become a sponsor or advertiser. If we don't hear from you first, you can count on hearing from us in the next few weeks. FINAL NOTES Thanks to Audubon Society of Portland for carrying us through the first 12 months of the project. We know all about competing priorities and we are grateful for their early support. A final major thanks goes to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Coastal Refuge Complex), and especially Dawn Grafe, for helping to keep the engine running through our first 18 months of project development. Thanks also to her superiors, Roy Lowe and Rebecca Chuck, for making the birding trail part of Dawn's already packed agenda. More updates will be forthcoming over the next couple months. If you know someone who might like to be on this mailing list, please send me their email address and we'll get them on board. Get out and enjoy the SNOWY OWLS at the coast, and we'll talk to you soon! Steve Shunk OCBT Facilitator -- Stephen Shunk Community Solutions Sisters, Oregon "Creative solutions for small businesses and rural communities" 541-549-8826 (home) 541-408-1753 (cell) 541-549-8937 (fax) -- From hawkowl at hotmail.com Tue Jan 3 17:31:42 2006 From: hawkowl at hotmail.com (Jason Rogers) Date: Tue Jan 3 17:31:45 2006 Subject: [obol] Mourning Doves, harassment Message-ID: Dave, I think you misunderstood my statement, or perhaps I should have worded it differently. Let's try this instead: Birds aren't people and, so, shouldn't be treated as if they were. My metabolic rate doesn't soar to nearly 28 times baseline when I have to run somewhere. Also I don't become obese in fall and anorexic in winter. Not knowing that these things are within the realm of what birds can experience, I might be tempted to conclude that causing a wintering shorebird to take flight would be of no great consequence. Yet my actions and those of other birders have caused that shorebird to metabolize the buffer element of its fat and have left it at the mercy of its natural predators, the weather, and its food supply. In other words, I've played a role in pushing that shorebird to the limit of its endurance. Indeed habitat loss and pollution are the biggest threats to birds today, but I thought we were discussing harassment. _ Regards, ( '< Jason Rogers / ) ) Banff, AB //" " hawkowl@hotmail.com From johndavidclem at yahoo.com Tue Jan 3 17:52:14 2006 From: johndavidclem at yahoo.com (John Clem) Date: Tue Jan 3 17:52:16 2006 Subject: [obol] RFI #3 from South Dakota Message-ID: <20060104015214.2458.qmail@web51715.mail.yahoo.com> Thanks again to everyone who responded to my RFI #2. Now I'd like to know about locations for a common species (chestnut-backed chickadee) and an uncommon one (white-headed woodpecker). Regarding the chickadee, I assume it will be pretty easy to locate at various places along the coast. For instance, Barview Jetty County Park, one place I plan to visit, is supposed to be good for passerines. Can anybody shed some light on how common this species is in western Oregon, or should I even worry about it? Regarding the woodpecker, the Evanich guide mentions Indian Ford Campground and Cold Springs Campground, both near Sisters, as good locations. Can anybody comment on that? Are there more reliable places in the Cascade range? Thanks in advance. John Clem Vermillion, SD --------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos Ring in the New Year with Photo Calendars. Add photos, events, holidays, whatever. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060103/66e04f35/attachment.htm From a-r at centurytel.net Tue Jan 3 18:11:16 2006 From: a-r at centurytel.net (Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. Rollins) Date: Tue Jan 3 18:11:22 2006 Subject: [obol] Mourning Doves, harassment Message-ID: <002801c610d4$25839790$628dfea9@S1100382963> Dang Jason- I thought you had said earlier (in part), "To everyone else, I refuse to respond to any more messages on this subject unless they are accompanied by a reference(s)." I for one, was really looking forward to that. I do enjoy hearing other persons opinions too,even though you may not agree with them. Sincerely, Kim Rollins Burns, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060103/49643e01/attachment.htm From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Tue Jan 3 18:38:40 2006 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Tue Jan 3 18:30:35 2006 Subject: [obol] Saving birds from the horrors of people Message-ID: Eat more cat. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer@mindspring.com From ErikKnight05 at comcast.net Tue Jan 3 19:24:19 2006 From: ErikKnight05 at comcast.net (ErikKnight05@comcast.net) Date: Tue Jan 3 19:24:22 2006 Subject: [obol] Oaks Bottom flooded Message-ID: <010420060324.3418.43BB3FE3000405C800000D5A2200751150CACF9B08090702B505079DBA@comcast.net> OBOL, High water has inundated the low lying areas of Oaks Bottom. The trail on the eastside of the refuge is muddy but accessible. However, near the mausoleum complex a small section of the trail is underwater and the only way around is to try and walk or climb a steep slope around an old downed tree. The trail heading down from Sellwood Park to the South Fill was closed. Most of the waterfowl seen were sticking close to the shoreline. Did see a Peregrine Falcon across the channel on Hardtack Island. -- Erik Knight Portland, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060104/4bc1ea2d/attachment.htm From jgeier at attglobal.net Tue Jan 3 19:38:51 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Tue Jan 3 19:42:59 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Saving birds from the horrors of people Message-ID: <43BB434B.3020903@attglobal.net> Something I didn't dare share with the list, was the happy holidays message from the staff of High Country news (www.hcn.org), Dec 26 issue. This came as a set of recipes: Antelope Hamburger, Roast Goose with Apricot Stuffing, and most fantastic of all ... Slow-cooked Nutria. Trimmings for the last include onion, tomato, carrots, and Brussels sprouts plus white wine & garlic. It calls for two "hind-saddle portions of nutria meat" which I presume means two of the critters. The apricot goose sounds better to me though. The recipe calls for a young wild goose but does not state whether it should be Canada or Cackling, or Emperor. Joel From birdboy at bkpix.com Tue Jan 3 19:43:06 2006 From: birdboy at bkpix.com (birdboy@bkpix.com) Date: Tue Jan 3 19:43:08 2006 Subject: [obol] Yaquina CBC bird photos - MAGO, SNOW, TOSO, etc. Message-ID: <1775.207.118.65.107.1136346186.squirrel@www.bkpix.com> Obol - I put several photos on the web that I took on the Yaquina Bay CBC on Saturday, in case anyone is interested. I got pictures of most of the good birds our team saw with the exception of a Clay-colored Sparrow... anyway, it was a great day! Images can be found at: http://www.noahstrycker.com/randompages/yaquinaCBC.htm Good birding, Noah Strycker From crmiller at bendnet.com Tue Jan 3 19:54:43 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Tue Jan 3 19:54:48 2006 Subject: [obol] RFI #3 from South Dakota In-Reply-To: <20060104015214.2458.qmail@web51715.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20060104035446.A50D217048F@smtp2.oregonstate.edu> The Cold Springs Campground is more reliable for me for the White headed Woodpecker, but I have also seen them lots of times at Indian Ford Campground. Any one out there? Is there a more reliable location to see the White headed Woodpecker? Marilyn Miller Bend, Oregon _____ From: obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu [mailto:obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu] On Behalf Of John Clem Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 5:52 PM To: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Subject: [obol] RFI #3 from South Dakota Thanks again to everyone who responded to my RFI #2. Now I'd like to know about locations for a common species (chestnut-backed chickadee) and an uncommon one (white-headed woodpecker). Regarding the chickadee, I assume it will be pretty easy to locate at various places along the coast. For instance, Barview Jetty County Park, one place I plan to visit, is supposed to be good for passerines. Can anybody shed some light on how common this species is in western Oregon, or should I even worry about it? Regarding the woodpecker, the Evanich guide mentions Indian Ford Campground and Cold Springs Campground, both near Sisters, as good locations. Can anybody comment on that? Are there more reliable places in the Cascade range? Thanks in advance. John Clem Vermillion, SD _____ Yahoo! Photos Ring in the New Year with Photo Calendars. Add photos, events, holidays, whatever. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060103/3dcf041f/attachment.htm From Oropendolas at aol.com Tue Jan 3 20:17:08 2006 From: Oropendolas at aol.com (Oropendolas@aol.com) Date: Tue Jan 3 20:17:15 2006 Subject: [obol] Lane Raptor Route #2 Message-ID: <1c9.380ffb14.30eca644@aol.com> Hello All, Yesterday I conducted the second run of the season for the Lane Co. route #2. This route covers the West Eugene Wetlands area and north between Greenhill Road and River Road to Hwy 36 near Junction City then between Hwy 99W and Washburn Road to the Lane County line. Raptor numbers were just about the same as last year at this time. I was expecting higher numbers after the record numbers of raptors in the valley early in the season. It will be interesting to see if the same trend holds true for the other valley routes. I did not relocate the Loggerhead Shrike on Washburn or encounter any other shrikes on the route. The highlight of the day came after I had completed the route and joined many other Eugene birders at Franklin and Alvadore roads to watch the Snowy Owl show. While the Snowy flew from the big shed and made multiple flights from utility pole to utility pole directly over the heads of the crowd, 8+ Short-eared Owls worked the field to the Southwest. It was quite a show! Here are the numbers from '04 & '05. John Sullivan Springfield, OR 12-11-04 12-03-05 01-16-05 01-02-06 RTHA 16 65 69 66 AMKE 37 55 65 63 NOHA 4 18 10 21 BAEA 1-Imm, 2-A 3A 3-A 0 RLHA 0 2 1 0 RSHA 0 0 3 0 WTKI 2 8 3 8 MERL 1 0 0 0 PRFA 0 0 1 0 PEFA 0 0 1 1 COHA 1 0 1 1 SSHA 1 0 1 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------- Total 65 151 158 160 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060103/1cecd19b/attachment.htm From jgeier at attglobal.net Tue Jan 3 20:24:59 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Tue Jan 3 20:29:12 2006 Subject: [obol] Horrors! Message-ID: <43BB4E1B.2030607@attglobal.net> Oh my goodness, that bit about the nutria recipe was meant to go to Alan, but I must have picked the wrong address out of absent-mindedness. My deepest apologies to goosophiles out there for the offense. Joel From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Tue Jan 3 20:29:31 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Tue Jan 3 20:29:33 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl in Newport Today Message-ID: <20060104042931.22493.qmail@web51813.mail.yahoo.com> The snowy owl was in the same spot as yesterday (across from Hatfield at the old fish processing plant) around 3:30. It was more active than normal turning around several times (not just it's head) and I got an excellent view of it's "furry" feet . I left but checked on it again about 30-40 minutes after sunset and it had gone. I tried seeing if I could spot it near the jetties but it had gotten way too dark. When it was hanging out in the dunes, it usually flew off in a northerly direction about 30 minutes after sunset. __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From bigrocketman3 at webtv.net Tue Jan 3 20:35:27 2006 From: bigrocketman3 at webtv.net (Steve McDonald) Date: Tue Jan 3 20:35:29 2006 Subject: [obol] Canada Geese-----Confusion Unavoidable Message-ID: <23679-43BB508F-1100@storefull-3334.bay.webtv.net> Experts and novices alike have difficulty determining which species/subspecies/population of these geese they have sighted. It's understandable, as the Branta Genus, as well as many types of birds, has been in a state of flux for millions of years with convergence/divergence of breeding populations frequently occurring. Every time there's been an ice age, they have been driven south to new nesting areas and the established subspecies have likely been mixed together. Eventually, new subspecies would have emerged, linked to their geographically isolated zones. Then, at the end of ice ages, they would have re-established themselves in separate, northern nesting areas and new subspecies would have again emerged. Their genes and observable characteristics have been thoroughly and repeatedly mixed. Today, the variations observable among the individuals of most of their populations, gives evidence of this. Like Humans, their ancestry is so complicated, that even with the most sophisticated DNA analysis, much remains mysterious. Since the last ice age ended only about 11,000 years ago, the history of the development of the current group of subspecies, represents only the beginning of a differentiation still in progress. With that in mind, there are many things that you can see and hear to identify the different, currently recognized subspecies. But, they are only generalized traits and any one goose can be so different from its prototypical subspecies model, that it might easily be mistaken. Only by looking and listening to a whole flock, can you hope to identify them. Then, there's the problem of subspecies intermingling on the wintering grounds and some mixed breeding that produces intergrade offspring. Getting (sub) specific, there are some interesting observations I've made around Eugene over the years. The large resident population of Western Canada Geese here, is about 85% of intergrade ancestry, from captive stock, that was half Western and half Vancouver Canada Goose. They are a bit smaller and darker than the other 15%, that probably come from wild Western geese. The Westerns that are more true to their subspecies, live mostly on the west side of the area and the two groups don't seem to do much mingling or interbreeding. The more pure Westerns usually stand more erect and their breasts are whiter and held higher from the ground. For several years I've been seeing a flock of as many as 100 Vancouver Canada Geese at Stewart Ponds, during the Winter. They are about 90% the size of the Westerns and have shorter legs and necks. They are darker and have little or no white coloration on the breast. Their voices have a more shrill overtone than the other large Canada Geese. Imagine a goose about halfway between a Western and a Dusky in appearance. Often, there's a few Westerns with them. The majority of the small Cackling Geese that winter the whole day through near Eugene, are Taverner's, with smaller flocks of the minima subspecies mixing with them. The Taverner's are the most physically diverse subspecies, ranging from dark to light in color. Many of them have neck rings, as do the minimas. They've been wintering here for only about 7 years, having stopped over for a few weeks before that, in transit to and from points farther south. There are many thousands of minimas (I counted 33,000 one evening) that fly in at night from farther north, to roost at Fern Ridge Reservoir. Sometimes, you see fairly large flocks of minimas in the daytime, in fields south of Fern Ridge. I rarely ever see Lesser Canada Geese near Eugene, although some of the Taverner's are so light in color, it's easy to mistake them. The Lessers generally have light-colored breasts. Even though a Taverner's Goose may be light in color overall, their breasts aren't much lighter in shade than the rest of their bodies. I saw one very large Giant Canada Goose here several years ago. He made the largest Westerns around him look small. If there ever are what are called Richardson's or Tundra Canada Geese in the area, I've seen several that fit the bill. However, the possibility of their being intergrade birds always has to be considered. They were about halfway in size between Westerns and Taverner's and neck and bill length and voices were intermediate as well. There are a few Dusky Canadas that appear during the day or evening, near Fern Ridge. But, there aren't nearly as many as you'd see in the days before their overall population declined. Prior to about 1960, there hadn't been any wild geese seen in the Eugene area, since the 1930s, except for flyovers, during migration. I have a lot of video footage of all these geese I've described. I'm planning on editing together a little production on the subject of Canada/Cackling Goose identification in the next year and putting out some DVDs of it. I need to capture a few more "missing-link" scenes to make it complete. If I sound too sure of myself in my identifications, consider that in the past several years, I've recognized some bad mistakes I'd been making about this. Every year, I realize another big error or two. My knowledge about this is in flux, as it has to be, considering the almost inscrutable diversity of the subject. There will be such a disclaimer accompanying any video production I issue. Any expertise on this issue is relative and liable to challenge. Steve McDonald From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Tue Jan 3 20:46:17 2006 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Tue Jan 3 20:38:15 2006 Subject: [obol] Horrors! In-Reply-To: <43BB4E1B.2030607@attglobal.net> Message-ID: A major error ! Joel will be roasted and toasted by Our Lady of Foie Gras ! Geier with shallots and bacon wrap. I have often described the sport of nutria-lofting. You quietly approach a stupid young nutria (they are even stupider than the adults) in a muddy area near a pond, slowly move your boot under it when it is not looking, give a heave with leg extended high, and see how far it will go. Ideally, into a pond where the splash can be seen. Does anything eat nutria? Are they too big for Bald Eagle? -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer@mindspring.com > From: Joel Geier > Reply-To: > Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2006 20:24:59 -0800 > To: Oregon Birders OnLine > Subject: [obol] Horrors! > > Oh my goodness, that bit about the nutria recipe was meant to go to > Alan, but I must have picked the wrong address out of absent-mindedness. > My deepest apologies to goosophiles out there for the offense. > > Joel > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From monroemolly at hotmail.com Tue Jan 3 21:00:07 2006 From: monroemolly at hotmail.com (Molly Monroe) Date: Tue Jan 3 21:00:10 2006 Subject: [obol] McMinnville Red Breasted Goose! In-Reply-To: <20060103200007.EF82E1364D3@lists.nws.oregonstate.edu> Message-ID: I too had a mission today to see a snowy owl. After looking for the pdx snowy the day after it had been "transferred", the Newport owl the Monday after Christmas (lots of dogs and a stinky dead sea lion, I'd have moved too!), and missing the Franklin one that showed up at dusk yesterday, I decided to try for the Polk County one while looking for geese in that area. Success finally... Any guesses as to why it is hanging out with a bucket? The poor bird looked pretty lonely. Anyway... back to looking for geese, I ended up scoping a large flock of Canada/cackling geese (4-5,000 mixed) south of the McMinnville airport in a field off of Airport Rd labeled Evergreen Agricultural Unit (or something along those lines), and way in the back spotted a RED BREASTED GOOSE!!! I had the pleasure to see the one that used to visit Ankeny (two years in a row) so it was a lovely addition to my day to again see one wandering around with these cacklers. This is a large, somewhat hilly field and viewing access is not so great. While I was there looking for collars, the entire flock got up and flew to a closer spot in the field but I could not locate the RB Goose again. It did give me a chance to get four neck bands out of the group though, well worth the wait. Hopefully the cacklers will lead the RB goose to a refuge and I will have more luck getting a better look at him. If anyone has further ID questions about geese, I'd be happy to help... Happy birding! Molly Monroe (of Corvallis) _ ( '< / ) ) ~Be the change you wish to see for the world~ //" " From a-r at centurytel.net Tue Jan 3 21:05:08 2006 From: a-r at centurytel.net (Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. Rollins) Date: Tue Jan 3 21:05:13 2006 Subject: [obol] recipes Message-ID: <001501c610ec$6f4d9700$628dfea9@S1100382963> No offence taken Joel. Send Recipes ;-)Kim Rollins Burns,OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060103/13a2f123/attachment.htm From m.denny at charter.net Tue Jan 3 21:20:14 2006 From: m.denny at charter.net (mike denny) Date: Tue Jan 3 21:20:25 2006 Subject: [obol] Horrors! References: Message-ID: <000d01c610ee$8c066cd0$0886bd44@BLACKBIRD> Hello All, Last winter while birding Julia Butler Hansen NWR along the north shore of the Columbia River we observed three adult nutria grunting and slopping along the shore of the display pond at the refuge HQ when out of the overcast dropped an adult Bald Eagle that took two swipes at these huge rats and sent them slipping and sliding into the pond. This eagle had learned that these rodents may provide a sizable meal somewhere. I only wish him/her much better luck in future stoops on these rats. Later Mike ******************************************************************** Mike & MerryLynn Denny 1354 S. E. Central Ave. College Place, WA 99324 509.529.0080 (h) IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN BIRDING, YOU HAVEN'T LIVED! ******************************************************************* From polkman07 at earthlink.net Tue Jan 3 21:22:09 2006 From: polkman07 at earthlink.net (bill tice) Date: Tue Jan 3 21:21:58 2006 Subject: [obol] Lack of Shrikes Message-ID: <410-220061345229921@earthlink.net> Hi Folks, Just another piece of Shrike info. I have not seen a Northern Shrike here in Polk County all fall or winter. I did see a Loggerhead earlier, the one that Harry Nehls reported. Now that takes the cake! More Loggerheads here in Polk than Northerns???? Bill Tice -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060103/d322d11d/attachment.htm From romain at frontiernet.net Tue Jan 3 21:58:15 2006 From: romain at frontiernet.net (Romain Cooper) Date: Tue Jan 3 21:58:33 2006 Subject: [obol] Illinois Valley CBC, preliminary results Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.0.20060103213204.01d2b330@pop3.frontiernet.net> We held the Illinois Valley (Josephine Co.) CBC last Monday (1/2/06). Weather was relatively wonderful - especially as compared to the massive, near-continuous rains that preceded our count day. The weather was coldish but not frigid and rain showers (mostly in the morning) had dry weather in between. The count has now been held for 8 consecutive years and this count's species total was the lowest yet at 85 species. Perhaps not coincidentally, we attracted the lowest number of participants (7 - two of whom birded only on their property). Despite those low numbers we had a great day birding. New species for our count were: Snow Goose, Turkey Vulture and Mountain Bluebird. For only the second time in our 8 years, Double-Crested Cormorant and Say's Phoebe were observed. And for the first time in the count's history, Bushtit, Bewick's Wren, American Dipper (the river and creeks were quite high), Pine Siskin and House Sparrow were missed. If we would have counted rainbows, we'd have broken all records. Several were spectacular. I can send a birdlist of the count (as an attached file) for anyone. Just send me a request. Best, Romain From FoxSparrows at aol.com Tue Jan 3 22:23:44 2006 From: FoxSparrows at aol.com (FoxSparrows@aol.com) Date: Tue Jan 3 22:23:53 2006 Subject: [obol] Lack of Shrikes Message-ID: <9f.6e141c80.30ecc3f0@aol.com> I have heard a theory that the lack of shrikes this year has to do with a general inability to suspend disbelief, resulting in an inability to be frightened, which results in a lack of... of.... oh... sorry! That would be "lack of shrieks"... By the way, my cats just mailed somebody a big wet hairball... with bird feathers in it (relax.... feather duster!). You know who you are. Never mind. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060104/c50d5539/attachment.htm From bcraig777 at comcast.net Tue Jan 3 23:12:21 2006 From: bcraig777 at comcast.net (Bruce) Date: Tue Jan 3 23:12:23 2006 Subject: [obol] Lack of Shrikes In-Reply-To: <9f.6e141c80.30ecc3f0@aol.com> References: <9f.6e141c80.30ecc3f0@aol.com> Message-ID: <43BB7555.7080709@comcast.net> Yes, that is what my mother said to me many times -- "You never mind." Bruce. FoxSparrows@aol.com wrote: > I have heard a theory that the lack of shrikes this year has to do with > a general inability to suspend disbelief, resulting in an inability to > be frightened, which results in a lack of... of.... oh... sorry! That > would be "lack of shrieks"... > > By the way, my cats just mailed somebody a big wet hairball... with bird > feathers in it (relax.... feather duster!). You know who you are. > > Never mind. > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From allenwineland at yahoo.com Wed Jan 4 07:36:42 2006 From: allenwineland at yahoo.com (Allen Wineland) Date: Wed Jan 4 07:36:45 2006 Subject: [obol] RFI #3 from South Dakota In-Reply-To: <20060104035446.A50D217048F@smtp2.oregonstate.edu> Message-ID: <20060104153642.56741.qmail@web33012.mail.mud.yahoo.com> The only place I have seen the White headed Woodpecker is at the Cold Springs Campground. On a similar note...I did see a Black-backed woodpecker at the Santiam Sno-Park on New Year Day. -Allen Marilyn Miller wrote: v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) } The Cold Springs Campground is more reliable for me for the White headed Woodpecker, but I have also seen them lots of times at Indian Ford Campground. Any one out there? Is there a more reliable location to see the White headed Woodpecker? Marilyn Miller Bend, Oregon --------------------------------- From: obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu [mailto:obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu] On Behalf Of John Clem Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 5:52 PM To: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Subject: [obol] RFI #3 from South Dakota Thanks again to everyone who responded to my RFI #2. Now I'd like to know about locations for a common species (chestnut-backed chickadee) and an uncommon one (white-headed woodpecker). Regarding the chickadee, I assume it will be pretty easy to locate at various places along the coast. For instance, Barview Jetty County Park, one place I plan to visit, is supposed to be good for passerines. Can anybody shed some light on how common this species is in western Oregon, or should I even worry about it? Regarding the woodpecker, the Evanich guide mentions Indian Ford Campground and Cold Springs Campground, both near Sisters, as good locations. Can anybody comment on that? Are there more reliable places in the Cascade range? Thanks in advance. John Clem Vermillion, SD --------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos Ring in the New Year with Photo Calendars. Add photos, events, holidays, whatever. _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. --------------------------------- Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060104/c711723d/attachment.htm From allenwineland at yahoo.com Wed Jan 4 07:46:33 2006 From: allenwineland at yahoo.com (Allen Wineland) Date: Wed Jan 4 07:46:35 2006 Subject: [obol] RFI #3 from South Dakota In-Reply-To: <20060104015214.2458.qmail@web51715.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20060104154633.84441.qmail@web33007.mail.mud.yahoo.com> John - I live in Lebanon and have several chestnut-backed chickadees at my feeder throughout the day. If you would like to come by let me know and I'll give you directions. -Allen John Clem wrote: Thanks again to everyone who responded to my RFI #2. Now I'd like to know about locations for a common species (chestnut-backed chickadee) and an uncommon one (white-headed woodpecker). Regarding the chickadee, I assume it will be pretty easy to locate at various places along the coast. For instance, Barview Jetty County Park, one place I plan to visit, is supposed to be good for passerines. Can anybody shed some light on how common this species is in western Oregon, or should I even worry about it? Regarding the woodpecker, the Evanich guide mentions Indian Ford Campground and Cold Springs Campground, both near Sisters, as good locations. Can anybody comment on that? Are there more reliable places in the Cascade range? Thanks in advance. John Clem Vermillion, SD --------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos Ring in the New Year with Photo Calendars. Add photos, events, holidays, whatever._______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. --------------------------------- Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060104/21844b65/attachment.htm From farrarjd at hotmail.com Wed Jan 4 08:47:27 2006 From: farrarjd at hotmail.com (Daniel Farrar) Date: Wed Jan 4 08:47:29 2006 Subject: [obol] Lane Raptor Route #2 In-Reply-To: <1c9.380ffb14.30eca644@aol.com> Message-ID: The SWAINSON'S HAWK was also seen yesterday afternoon around 2. No owls present then. Daniel Farrar Eugene, OR farrarjd@hotmail.com ----Original Message Follows---- From: Oropendolas@aol.com To: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Subject: [obol] Lane Raptor Route #2 Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2006 23:17:08 EST Hello All, Yesterday I conducted the second run of the season for the Lane Co. route #2. This route covers the West Eugene Wetlands area and north between Greenhill Road and River Road to Hwy 36 near Junction City then between Hwy 99W and Washburn Road to the Lane County line. Raptor numbers were just about the same as last year at this time. I was expecting higher numbers after the record numbers of raptors in the valley early in the season. It will be interesting to see if the same trend holds true for the other valley routes. I did not relocate the Loggerhead Shrike on Washburn or encounter any other shrikes on the route. The highlight of the day came after I had completed the route and joined many other Eugene birders at Franklin and Alvadore roads to watch the Snowy Owl show. While the Snowy flew from the big shed and made multiple flights from utility pole to utility pole directly over the heads of the crowd, 8+ Short-eared Owls worked the field to the Southwest. It was quite a show! Here are the numbers from '04 & '05. John Sullivan Springfield, OR 12-11-04 12-03-05 01-16-05 01-02-06 RTHA 16 65 69 66 AMKE 37 55 65 63 NOHA 4 18 10 21 BAEA 1-Imm, 2-A 3A 3-A 0 RLHA 0 2 1 0 RSHA 0 0 3 0 WTKI 2 8 3 8 MERL 1 0 0 0 PRFA 0 0 1 0 PEFA 0 0 1 1 COHA 1 0 1 1 SSHA 1 0 1 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------- Total 65 151 158 160 _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Wed Jan 4 08:52:47 2006 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Wed Jan 4 08:52:49 2006 Subject: [obol] Lack of Shrikes In-Reply-To: <410-220061345229921@earthlink.net> Message-ID: <20060104165247.64732.qmail@web32609.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Terry Wahl, who usually see a few Northern Shrikes at the family ranch near Cape Blanco down in Curry Co, has only seen two shrikes all fall/winter also (last I heard), they were both Loggerhead Shrikes too! Tim R Coos Bay --- bill tice wrote: > Hi Folks, > Just another piece of Shrike info. I have not seen > a Northern Shrike here in Polk County all fall or > winter. I did see a Loggerhead earlier, the one > that Harry Nehls reported. Now that takes the > cake! More Loggerheads here in Polk than > Northerns???? > > > Bill Tice> _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From lconrad at adelphia.net Wed Jan 4 08:59:07 2006 From: lconrad at adelphia.net (Lori Conrad) Date: Wed Jan 4 08:59:14 2006 Subject: [obol] Falcated Duck Message-ID: <004c01c61150$2d6c0e70$121ca745@S0026192605> Hi all Has anyone seen the Falcated Duck recently? I haven't seen any reports this year yet, & we're planning a trip up there, so any info would be appreciated. Plus if anyone has the ph# of the RV park, could you please post it (or email me off list.) Thanks! Lori Conrad Hermosa Beach, CA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060104/1a2e3ba2/attachment.htm From johnpam at ipns.com Wed Jan 4 09:13:48 2006 From: johnpam at ipns.com (JohnPam) Date: Wed Jan 4 09:12:20 2006 Subject: [obol] Falcated Duck NOT Seen Monday Afternoon Message-ID: Pam and I finally tried for the Falcated Duck on Monday afternoon. It was not seen. A birder from Ohio had been watching for two days and not seen it. Over a dozen other birders had come and gone on Monday and signed in at the desk. Lots of birds around including Long-billed Dowitchers but no duck. We had to leave before dusk so maybe it came in later for the long-haul birder. We'll be back. Hopefully the duck will be back. The RV Camp folks are very friendly to birders and it speaks well for our subset of humankind. We bought some filberts from their store to thank them. John Thomas/Pam Reid Silverton From kirkpat at charter.net Wed Jan 4 09:14:05 2006 From: kirkpat at charter.net (Douglas Kirkpatrick) Date: Wed Jan 4 09:14:28 2006 Subject: [obol] Falcated Duck In-Reply-To: <004c01c61150$2d6c0e70$121ca745@S0026192605> Message-ID: <002601c61152$44b7e250$0201a8c0@D7CDFN81> Hi, Everyone, Should we be publishing the number of the RV Park? I don't have it but I hesitate to push their hospitality to the limit. Better that local birders should answer these questions and let people know if the duck is present or not than encourage people to call the management. Doug Kirkpatrick _____ From: obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu [mailto:obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu] On Behalf Of Lori Conrad Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 8:59 AM To: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Subject: [obol] Falcated Duck Hi all Has anyone seen the Falcated Duck recently? I haven't seen any reports this year yet, & we're planning a trip up there, so any info would be appreciated. Plus if anyone has the ph# of the RV park, could you please post it (or email me off list.) Thanks! Lori Conrad Hermosa Beach, CA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060104/9885a0f4/attachment.htm From Rob.Neyer at dig.com Wed Jan 4 09:17:55 2006 From: Rob.Neyer at dig.com (Neyer, Rob) Date: Wed Jan 4 09:18:30 2006 Subject: [obol] Falcated Duck Message-ID: <88D3FDF2A772ED44BCF8C91626ECD0699A1BA4@sm-cala-xm20.swna.wdpr.disney.com> The answer to this question is simple, I think: somebody who's friendly with the proprietors should ask them. -rob ________________________________ From: obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu [mailto:obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu] On Behalf Of Douglas Kirkpatrick Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 9:14 AM To: 'Lori Conrad'; obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Subject: RE: [obol] Falcated Duck Hi, Everyone, Should we be publishing the number of the RV Park? I don't have it but I hesitate to push their hospitality to the limit. Better that local birders should answer these questions and let people know if the duck is present or not than encourage people to call the management... Doug Kirkpatrick ________________________________ From: obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu [mailto:obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu] On Behalf Of Lori Conrad Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 8:59 AM To: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Subject: [obol] Falcated Duck Hi all Has anyone seen the Falcated Duck recently? I haven't seen any reports this year yet, & we're planning a trip up there, so any info would be appreciated. Plus if anyone has the ph# of the RV park, could you please post it (or email me off list.) Thanks! Lori Conrad Hermosa Beach, CA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060104/043f4869/attachment.htm From deweysage at verizon.net Wed Jan 4 11:25:48 2006 From: deweysage at verizon.net (DJLauten and KACastelein) Date: Wed Jan 4 11:17:41 2006 Subject: [obol] Mourning Doves, harassment In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <43BC213C.9090900@verizon.net> Jason Rogers wrote: > Dave, > > I think you misunderstood my statement, or perhaps I should have worded > it differently. Jason, I don't think I misunderstood you at all. At this point, this conversation is silly. I wrote: "I would be willing to bet that 99.99% of OBOLers would agree on one basic thing: don't unneccessarily harass birds." Who is misunderstanding what here? Cheers Dave Lauten Bandon OR deweysage@verizon.net From forobol at msn.com Wed Jan 4 12:27:27 2006 From: forobol at msn.com (Al Ahlgrim) Date: Wed Jan 4 12:27:28 2006 Subject: [obol] RFI #3 from South Dakota References: <20060104154633.84441.qmail@web33007.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Also, the chestnut-backed chickadees breed at my place and are seen daily south of Oregon City. email me to set up time if your interested. Al ----- Original Message ----- From: Allen Wineland To: John Clem ; obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 7:46 AM Subject: Re: [obol] RFI #3 from South Dakota John - I live in Lebanon and have several chestnut-backed chickadees at my feeder throughout the day. If you would like to come by let me know and I'll give you directions. -Allen John Clem > wrote: Thanks again to everyone who responded to my RFI #2. Now I'd like to know about locations for a common species (chestnut-backed chickadee) and an uncommon one (white-headed woodpecker). Regarding the chickadee, I assume it will be pretty easy to locate at various places along the coast. For instance, Barview Jetty County Park, one place I plan to visit, is supposed to be good for passerines. Can anybody shed some light on how common this species is in western Oregon, or should I even worry about it? &nbs p; Regarding the woodpecker, the Evanich guide mentions Indian Ford Campground and Cold Springs Campground, both near Sisters, as good locations. Can anybody comment on that? Are there more reliable places in the Cascade range? Thanks in advance. John Clem Vermillion, SD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos Ring in the New Year with Photo Calendars. Add photos, events, holidays, whatever._______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060104/af35ee44/attachment.htm From philliplc at harborside.com Wed Jan 4 13:31:51 2006 From: philliplc at harborside.com (Phillip Pickering) Date: Wed Jan 4 13:31:52 2006 Subject: [obol] Boiler Bay Message-ID: <006401c61176$488114f0$6601a8c0@byronq189eo067> 7:45-8:45 (1/4): Overcast, wind SE 10-25, 15+ ft swells. Scoters S 200-600/min from ~7:55-8:35 500+ Red-throated Loons (S) 1 Pacific Loon 40+ Common Loons (S) 2 Red-necked Grebes 5 Western Grebes 20 Brandt's Cormorants 20 Pelagic Cormorants 8000+ Surf Scoters (a few small rafts, no obvious drift) 6000+ White-winged Scoters 1 Long-tailed Duck 1 Harlequin Duck 2 Mew Gulls 1 California Gull 80 Western Gulls 20 Glaucous-winged Gulls 4 Common Murres 5 Pigeon Guillemots 4 Marbled Murrelets Phil philliplc@harborside.com From hawkowl at hotmail.com Wed Jan 4 14:55:12 2006 From: hawkowl at hotmail.com (Jason Rogers) Date: Wed Jan 4 14:55:15 2006 Subject: [obol] Mourning Doves, harassment In-Reply-To: <43BC213C.9090900@verizon.net> Message-ID: Dave Lauten wrote: "I would be willing to bet that 99.99% of OBOLers would agree on one basic thing: don't unneccessarily harass birds." How much do you want to bet? I've spent far more time and energy defending birds before a group of birders here than any person should have to. I have a job and a life, and I won't devote anymore of my time to this thread or any related one. _ Regards, ( '< Jason Rogers / ) ) Banff, AB //" " hawkowl@hotmail.com From linda at fink.com Wed Jan 4 15:07:25 2006 From: linda at fink.com (Linda Fink) Date: Wed Jan 4 15:07:28 2006 Subject: [obol] hovering bluebirds? Message-ID: <200601042307.k04N7N0Y032691@mail.viclink.com> Okay, I admit I don't see bluebirds often. Yesterday quite a few were hovering a few yards over a field (Blanchard Rd./W. Perrydale RD. -- Polk Co.), apparently hunting something below. Do bluebirds usually hover? We also saw the Polk Co. Snowy Owl with its bucket pal. Maybe it thinks its camouflaged by sitting next to a white bucket? It sort of is. One thing is sure -- it's not being harassed by people. It's so far from the nearest road it probably doesn't even know people are looking at it. Take a scope! Linda Fink, who has seen many hovering Kestrels and hovering Rough-legged Hawks and hovering W-T Kites, but... hovering bluebirds?? From dbarendt at comcast.net Wed Jan 4 15:23:19 2006 From: dbarendt at comcast.net (Dennis Arendt) Date: Wed Jan 4 15:23:24 2006 Subject: [obol] Eugene's Snowy Owl & more Message-ID: <002a01c61185$d9f0d740$4656a643@userf571d87fba> The Wednesday Birders traveled around Eugene today. The highlights were one BLACK PHOEBE, three HORNED GREBES and hundreds of ducks at the large pond at Eugene Sand and Gravel north of Beltline Road. Off Meadowview Road, north of the Eugene Airport, were a thousand TUNDRA SWANS and eight GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, one WHITE-TAILED KITE, several RED-TAILED HAWKS, two ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, as well as several KESTRELS and HARRIERS. Farther west, near the intersection of Alvadore and Franklin roads, we saw the SNOWY OWL and the immature SWAINSON'S HAWK. The Snowy Owl was on the ground at the west end of the buildings at that intersection. The Swainson's Hawk was on the posts of the fence paralleling Franklin to the north. At that distance through eight power binoculars, it looked like a Rough-legged Hawk. Through a scope and comparing its size to a nearby Red-tail and seeing its underwing patterns as it flew confirmed the identification. At the Fern Ridge Dam we found a CLARK'S GREBE and a lone GREATER SCAUP at the east end of Kirk Pond. A single EURASIAN WIGEON was seen from the dam among the 100,000(?) ducks on the lake. From the Orchard Point viewing spot, we saw four CINNAMON TEAL, a large group of sparrows including about ten LINCOLN'S. In the brambles with the sparrows was an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. A TURKEY VULTURE flew over the road as we were leaving. We ended our morning with an unsuccessful search for the NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD near 29th and Alder streets. It may still be there, but it was not cooperating today. The morning's total number of species was 65. Graham Floyd, George Grier, Paul Sherrell, Kit Larson, Roger Robb, Nate Senner and Dennis Arendt -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060104/962f783a/attachment.htm From bcraig777 at comcast.net Wed Jan 4 15:39:08 2006 From: bcraig777 at comcast.net (Bruce) Date: Wed Jan 4 15:39:10 2006 Subject: [obol] hovering bluebirds? In-Reply-To: <200601042307.k04N7N0Y032691@mail.viclink.com> References: <200601042307.k04N7N0Y032691@mail.viclink.com> Message-ID: <43BC5C9C.7020709@comcast.net> My wife and I have seen Western Bluebirds hovering many times, and always over relatively tall grass (1 foot or more high). Our guess was they were hunting insects. Bruce Craig. Linda Fink wrote: > Okay, I admit I don't see bluebirds often. Yesterday quite a few were > hovering a few yards over a field (Blanchard Rd./W. Perrydale RD. -- Polk > Co.), apparently hunting something below. Do bluebirds usually hover? > > We also saw the Polk Co. Snowy Owl with its bucket pal. Maybe it thinks its > camouflaged by sitting next to a white bucket? It sort of is. One thing is > sure -- it's not being harassed by people. It's so far from the nearest road > it probably doesn't even know people are looking at it. Take a scope! > > Linda Fink, who has seen many hovering Kestrels and hovering Rough-legged > Hawks and hovering W-T Kites, but... hovering bluebirds?? > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From dan-gleason at comcast.net Wed Jan 4 15:45:48 2006 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Wed Jan 4 15:44:52 2006 Subject: [obol] hovering bluebirds Message-ID: <4978FADA-1592-4363-A0B9-9F257E4183F7@comcast.net> I sent this response to Linda earlier but I realize that it didn't go out to the list as a whole so I'll send it again. Perhaps others would like to add other hovering sightings of interest. Dan Gleason Linda, Bluebirds often may hover, especially Mountain Bluebird. They are not as good at it as kestrels but they do manage. Other "hoverers" to add to your list include the obvious hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher and Osprey as well as: Red-tailed Hawk - not typical but some Willamette Valley birds occasionally hover Townsend's and Yellow-rumped Warblers - when taking an insect or at suet feeders Ruby-crowned Kinglets - at suet feeder or plucking insect from leaf surface and one big surprise, Vaux's Swifts. I have seen a swift briefly hover and pluck a spider right out of its web! After doing so, this same bird circled back and took a second spider from a web about 10 ft. higher in the same oak tree. I'm sure that many other birds could be added to the list of birds that hover, if only briefly. Many small passerines are capable of doing so for very short periods of time. It takes a great deal of energy so it is not done frequently. Hovering requires the ability to stall in the air, that is, keep an angle and flight motion where lift equals the force pulling the bird down. In other words, it is just about to fall. It requires less work to fly in a manner that maintain lift. ---------------- Dan Gleason Ornithology Consulting, Lectures, Education Author of the book "Birds! From the Inside Out" 541-345-3974 dan-gleason@comcast.net www.bgleasondesign.com On Jan 4, 2006, at 3:07 PM, Linda Fink wrote: > Okay, I admit I don't see bluebirds often. Yesterday quite a few were > hovering a few yards over a field (Blanchard Rd./W. Perrydale RD. > -- Polk > Co.), apparently hunting something below. Do bluebirds usually hover? > > We also saw the Polk Co. Snowy Owl with its bucket pal. Maybe it > thinks its > camouflaged by sitting next to a white bucket? It sort of is. One > thing is > sure -- it's not being harassed by people. It's so far from the > nearest road > it probably doesn't even know people are looking at it. Take a scope! > > Linda Fink, who has seen many hovering Kestrels and hovering Rough- > legged > Hawks and hovering W-T Kites, but... hovering bluebirds?? > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > ----------------- Dan Gleason 541 345-0450 dan-gleason@comcast.net From woodenapple at juno.com Wed Jan 4 15:45:13 2006 From: woodenapple at juno.com (Mark H Rudolph) Date: Wed Jan 4 15:45:53 2006 Subject: [obol] Obol: N. Eugene/Santa Clara Hermit Warbler Message-ID: <20060104.154513.-219291.2.woodenapple@juno.com> Greetings Obolists! An unexpected female HERMIT WARBLER joined our winter mob of 10-12 TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS at our suet this afternoon. I believe she makes our 100th yard bird. This sighting is still within the Eugene CBC count week if Hermit Warbler wasn't counted on Sunday. Rudi Mark "Rudi" Rudolph Eugene, OR woodenapple@juno.com From ndbarret at medford.net Wed Jan 4 17:14:05 2006 From: ndbarret at medford.net (Norman & Donna Barrett) Date: Wed Jan 4 18:03:30 2006 Subject: [obol] White Geese in Jackson County Message-ID: <000001c61195$53359e60$94331c40@Speedy> Good year for geese in Jackson County. On Highway 62, 1 block north of Highway 234, there is a flock of Canada geese that includes 3 SNOW GEESE, Cackling geese, and white fronted geese. There is also a snow goose in a flock at the east end of Brophy Road, .3 miles from the intersection with Brownsboro Highway. A ROSS' GOOSE is on a flock of domestic geese on Gramercy Lane in White City. All were seen on New Year's Day. The three on Highway 62 were still there yesterday but I have not had a chance to check on the others. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060104/2c2d121d/attachment.htm From 5hats at peak.org Wed Jan 4 18:13:20 2006 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel Faxon) Date: Wed Jan 4 18:14:12 2006 Subject: [obol] hovering bluebirds? References: <200601042307.k04N7N0Y032691@mail.viclink.com> Message-ID: <000b01c6119d$9d4b1900$0000a398@your5rlp3a9516> Linda, Sure, bluebirds hover quite frequently while hunting. When they pass through my place in the fall I often see them doing that. Sometimes we just get surprised. Darrel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Linda Fink" To: Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 3:07 PM Subject: [obol] hovering bluebirds? > Okay, I admit I don't see bluebirds often. Yesterday quite a few were > hovering a few yards over a field (Blanchard Rd./W. Perrydale RD. -- Polk > Co.), apparently hunting something below. Do bluebirds usually hover? > > We also saw the Polk Co. Snowy Owl with its bucket pal. Maybe it thinks > its > camouflaged by sitting next to a white bucket? It sort of is. One thing is > sure -- it's not being harassed by people. It's so far from the nearest > road > it probably doesn't even know people are looking at it. Take a scope! > > Linda Fink, who has seen many hovering Kestrels and hovering Rough-legged > Hawks and hovering W-T Kites, but... hovering bluebirds?? > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From conserve at tidelink.net Wed Jan 4 18:19:15 2006 From: conserve at tidelink.net (Conservation For The Oregon Coast) Date: Wed Jan 4 18:19:18 2006 Subject: [obol] hovering bluebirds In-Reply-To: <4978FADA-1592-4363-A0B9-9F257E4183F7@comcast.net> References: <4978FADA-1592-4363-A0B9-9F257E4183F7@comcast.net> Message-ID: <43BC8223.5090101@tidelink.net> Just another to add to the list... Northern Harrier (excellent hovering capability) Have a good night all! Jason in Lakeside Dan Gleason wrote: > I sent this response to Linda earlier but I realize that it didn't go > out to the list as a whole so I'll send it again. Perhaps others > would like to add other hovering sightings of interest. > > Dan Gleason > > Linda, > Bluebirds often may hover, especially Mountain Bluebird. They are not > as good at it as kestrels but they do manage. Other "hoverers" to add > to your list include the obvious hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher and > Osprey as well as: > Red-tailed Hawk - not typical but some Willamette Valley birds > occasionally hover > Townsend's and Yellow-rumped Warblers - when taking an insect or at > suet feeders > Ruby-crowned Kinglets - at suet feeder or plucking insect from leaf > surface > and one big surprise, Vaux's Swifts. I have seen a swift briefly > hover and pluck a spider right out of its web! After doing so, this > same bird circled back and took a second spider from a web about 10 > ft. higher in the same oak tree. > > I'm sure that many other birds could be added to the list of birds > that hover, if only briefly. Many small passerines are capable of > doing so for very short periods of time. It takes a great deal of > energy so it is not done frequently. Hovering requires the ability to > stall in the air, that is, keep an angle and flight motion where lift > equals the force pulling the bird down. In other words, it is just > about to fall. It requires less work to fly in a manner that maintain > lift. > > ---------------- > Dan Gleason > Ornithology Consulting, Lectures, Education > Author of the book "Birds! From the Inside Out" > 541-345-3974 > dan-gleason@comcast.net > www.bgleasondesign.com > > > On Jan 4, 2006, at 3:07 PM, Linda Fink wrote: > > >> Okay, I admit I don't see bluebirds often. Yesterday quite a few were >> hovering a few yards over a field (Blanchard Rd./W. Perrydale RD. -- >> Polk >> Co.), apparently hunting something below. Do bluebirds usually hover? >> >> We also saw the Polk Co. Snowy Owl with its bucket pal. Maybe it >> thinks its >> camouflaged by sitting next to a white bucket? It sort of is. One >> thing is >> sure -- it's not being harassed by people. It's so far from the >> nearest road >> it probably doesn't even know people are looking at it. Take a scope! >> >> Linda Fink, who has seen many hovering Kestrels and hovering Rough- >> legged >> Hawks and hovering W-T Kites, but... hovering bluebirds?? >> >> _______________________________________________ >> obol mailing list >> obol@lists.oregonstate.edu >> http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol >> >> To unsubscribe, send a message to: >> obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. >> > > > ----------------- > Dan Gleason > 541 345-0450 > dan-gleason@comcast.net > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > > -- Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. -- John Muir, The Yosemite (1912). http://conserve.tidelink.net -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: conserve.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 387 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060104/c0f0c627/conserve.vcf From Jadybrwn at aol.com Wed Jan 4 20:12:05 2006 From: Jadybrwn at aol.com (Jadybrwn@aol.com) Date: Wed Jan 4 20:12:09 2006 Subject: [obol] Hovering Message-ID: <270.3a000d6.30edf695@aol.com> I have seen a Sharp-shinned Hawk hover a few seconds before zooming in on a bird feeder. And saw a Barn Owl at dusk flying over a field stop and hover awhile then move on. Dave Brown -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060104/cd75d10b/attachment.htm From dlbird at earthlink.net Wed Jan 4 20:13:39 2006 From: dlbird at earthlink.net (Donna Lusthoff) Date: Wed Jan 4 20:13:48 2006 Subject: [obol] hovering bluebirds In-Reply-To: AAAAAFfgVzZVpShIiio/pA4Nvh4koisA Message-ID: <006b01c611ae$68a91150$0a0110ac@Donna> I'm sure all of you know that this species hovers, but I was absolutely blown away! I was standing on the bank of the Columbia River at Rufus, looking at ducks. All of a sudden, just about everything split. A few dove. I looked up to see a Bald Eagle hovering. He/she could see the ducks in the water. When one had to come up to breathe, the eagle reached down into the water and then flew off with lunch. It was quite an experience. Donna Lusthoff Beaverton OR -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu [mailto:obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu] On Behalf Of Conservation For The Oregon Coast Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 6:19 PM To: Dan Gleason Cc: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Subject: Re: [obol] hovering bluebirds Just another to add to the list... Northern Harrier (excellent hovering capability) Have a good night all! Jason in Lakeside Dan Gleason wrote: > I sent this response to Linda earlier but I realize that it didn't go > out to the list as a whole so I'll send it again. Perhaps others > would like to add other hovering sightings of interest. > > Dan Gleason > > Linda, > Bluebirds often may hover, especially Mountain Bluebird. They are not > as good at it as kestrels but they do manage. Other "hoverers" to add > to your list include the obvious hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher and > Osprey as well as: > Red-tailed Hawk - not typical but some Willamette Valley birds > occasionally hover > Townsend's and Yellow-rumped Warblers - when taking an insect or at > suet feeders > Ruby-crowned Kinglets - at suet feeder or plucking insect from leaf > surface > and one big surprise, Vaux's Swifts. I have seen a swift briefly > hover and pluck a spider right out of its web! After doing so, this > same bird circled back and took a second spider from a web about 10 > ft. higher in the same oak tree. > > I'm sure that many other birds could be added to the list of birds > that hover, if only briefly. Many small passerines are capable of > doing so for very short periods of time. It takes a great deal of > energy so it is not done frequently. Hovering requires the ability to > stall in the air, that is, keep an angle and flight motion where lift > equals the force pulling the bird down. In other words, it is just > about to fall. It requires less work to fly in a manner that maintain > lift. > > ---------------- > Dan Gleason > Ornithology Consulting, Lectures, Education > Author of the book "Birds! From the Inside Out" > 541-345-3974 > dan-gleason@comcast.net > www.bgleasondesign.com > > > On Jan 4, 2006, at 3:07 PM, Linda Fink wrote: > > >> Okay, I admit I don't see bluebirds often. Yesterday quite a few were >> hovering a few yards over a field (Blanchard Rd./W. Perrydale RD. -- >> Polk >> Co.), apparently hunting something below. Do bluebirds usually hover? >> >> We also saw the Polk Co. Snowy Owl with its bucket pal. Maybe it >> thinks its >> camouflaged by sitting next to a white bucket? It sort of is. One >> thing is >> sure -- it's not being harassed by people. It's so far from the >> nearest road >> it probably doesn't even know people are looking at it. Take a scope! >> >> Linda Fink, who has seen many hovering Kestrels and hovering Rough- >> legged >> Hawks and hovering W-T Kites, but... hovering bluebirds?? >> >> _______________________________________________ >> obol mailing list >> obol@lists.oregonstate.edu >> http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol >> >> To unsubscribe, send a message to: >> obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. >> > > > ----------------- > Dan Gleason > 541 345-0450 > dan-gleason@comcast.net > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > > -- Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. -- John Muir, The Yosemite (1912). http://conserve.tidelink.net From asterbleu at gmail.com Wed Jan 4 20:20:15 2006 From: asterbleu at gmail.com (b delaney) Date: Wed Jan 4 20:20:18 2006 Subject: [obol] Hovering Message-ID: Did anyone mention my favorite hoverer, the white-tailed kite? B. Delaney Reedsport -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060104/12f3cef8/attachment.htm From bigfishy at att.net Wed Jan 4 21:24:40 2006 From: bigfishy at att.net (bigfishy@att.net) Date: Wed Jan 4 21:24:43 2006 Subject: [obol] Delta Ponds Message-ID: <010520060524.3004.43BCAD980004460900000BBC216037631697089C070009070D@att.net> I visited the SE Delta ponds today... Saw many American Widgeons, 10-12 pair of Northern Shovelers, 4 pair of Mallards, 1 Male Bufflehead and 3 females, 40-50 Coots, 3 DC Cormorants, 2 Eared Grebes... and I will stick my neck out...20-25 Parvipes subspecies of Canada Geese, as well as 1 Snow Goose. Also seen, Yellow rumped "Audubons" Warbler, Lincoln Sparrow, American Pipits Good Day Bob FIsh -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060105/215a6183/attachment.htm From monroemolly at hotmail.com Wed Jan 4 21:30:50 2006 From: monroemolly at hotmail.com (Molly Monroe) Date: Wed Jan 4 21:30:52 2006 Subject: [obol] More on geese (couldn't resist, sorry so long...) Message-ID: Hi Steve, I was reading your goose message and wanted to touch base with you! I am a biologist with the USFWS out of Finley south of Corvallis. I've been working with geese for about 6 winters now and conduct surveys both on and off refuges here in the Willamette Valley. I'm super curious about these Vancouvers, are they around Stewart Ponds at this time? I always think I see a few here and there over a winter, in little family groups, and have also seen one checked in to a hunter checkstation I ran. Anyway, I would love to get down there to see the ones you are looking at. I wasn't sure if obolers want all this but seems like this goose conversation happens every year and I'd like to give my two cents... There are some old handouts that make goose ID easy, available to the public at Finley headquarters. I apologize for using common names- I am stubborn in still lumping Canada geese- a cackler willl always just be a minima in my mind! (Who can take Cackling Cackling goose seriously as a name?) Here's my take on ID of the common geese that winter around here: (Keeping in mind that " Experts and novices alike have difficulty determining which species/ subspecies/population of these geese they have sighted.") Cackler~ smallest goose here in the Willamette Valley- close to 150,000 in population. As for color, most are dark chested, some have different hues, often a dark gray to rusty brown. High pitched voices and tiny little beaks...at least 10% have a neck ring, the rare few have completely white heads or necks, a genetic mix up in the batch I guess! They breed in the Y-K Delta of Alaska where natives subsist on their eggs. Believe it or not, the natives don't think there are enough of them! They wear yellow neck collars. Big groups of little birds, usually the majority of a flock, very jumpy so they like to be out in the middle of an open field. They are the reason for the silhouettes of coyotes, eagle statues and white flags; and when the geese graze around these, that's when the fireworks come out, they can really hit a grass field hard if the flock is big enough! Taverner's~ a little bigger, I like to call them a miniature western, but puffier. Short necks with distinct difference between black of neck and silvery chest. Not as many overall, they seem to like to stay in smaller groups and are often found loafing with duskys, but can be mixed in with a group of cacks and lessers, too. Lesser's~ bigger, but more slender. Longer neck, chest is usually a grayish to dark gray in color, sometimes confused with duskys but not as brown, the checkstations use bill length when the colors are too close to tell. Some have blue neck collars (more collars around the Baskett area, the collared ones come from Anchorage I think). They are more apt to be found out in a field with a bunch of cacklers. Dusky's~ next size up. Chest can sometimes be a darkish gray but mostly a chocolate brown that seems to merge into black of neck. Their backs are darker too and they are just rounder overall. Red neck collars. I think last years estimate was around 22,000 and they seem to have alot of new bands this year so I think their nesting season was successful. Finley is definitely a hub for this subspecies, they love the tree lined marshes and spend much of the day sleeping either on or near water or out on the muddier fields. They usually stay together as a group, even if in a field of mixed geese, duskys are usually off to the side, moving slower and not as easy to spook. They also have a distinct voice, a worried honk of sorts. My favorite to watch, just a gorgeous goose! Vancouvers are oversized duskys and I think we all have westerns figured out! I would love to see the footage you have on Canada geese, if you ever want to meet to look at geese up close at Finley, let me know, I too love to talk geese and take pictures! ~Molly Monroe USFWS _ ( '< / ) ) ~Be the change you wish to see for the world~ //" " From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Wed Jan 4 21:41:19 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Wed Jan 4 21:41:21 2006 Subject: [obol] Cool Sightings of the Snowy Owl In Newport Message-ID: <20060105054119.59319.qmail@web51807.mail.yahoo.com> Janet Lamberson sent me an email today saying she had seen the snowy owl hunting at dusk yesterday around the HMSC nature trail behind the EPA building. She saw it sitting on the railing of the water tanks and flying over the upper intertidal as well as sitting in a spruce tree in the same area. Based on this info, I set out around 3:15 in search of the snowy. First, I checked at the fish processing plant...it was not there. However, there were people inside the inner gated area using noisy fork lifts so that was not surprising. As an interesting side note, a red phalarope was walking around in the exact spot where the snowy owl has been seen sitting. Janet later told me she had checked the same spot around 9:00 and again at noon and it was not there at those times either. Thinking that maybe the fork lifts hadn't scared it too far off, I walked around the west side of the gated property all the way to the bay and then climbed the hills to the west. From the high vantage point, I was able to scope the marina and the beach under and to the west of the bridge...the owl was not in any of these places. Next, I walked the HMSC nature trail checking the rooftops, trees, posts in the water, etc but I couldn't find it so I decided to head over to the south jetty. I quickly checked the dunes, the sign posts, the beach, and the jetties...no owl. So I popped back to fish processing plant but there was still no owl. It was about 5:00 PM at this point and after sunset and I decided to head back to the nature trail behind HMSC. At the beginning of the trail (just before the foot bridge) there is a small road heading north to a little dock and at the end of this a small building with a A-frame roof. The snowy owl was sitting right at the apex of this roof and seemed very interested (moving around like it had ants in its pants) in a little group of scooters in the water on the east side. With its tail sticking out and body leaning forward, it looked like several times it would swoop down and nab a scooter. However, when it did finally fly it went straight for the west corner of the water tank railings. From there, it seemed to give things a good survey and then swooped down toward the water and made a broad low circular sweep over the water and on its way back to the water tank railings it flew straight at me, made eye contact while flying straight toward my face and then at the last minute swooped up right above my head....it was an AMAZING look at this creature. Once on the railing again, it changed to the east side and then tried to take another circular sweep but as it approached the beach a great blue heron made some loud vocalizations which seemed to scare (or at least distract) the snowy and it abruptly made a jog in the air and switched back. As it moved further east down the trail, I followed it. At one point, it did land in the top of a spruce tree so the basic pattern of hunting sounds very similar to what Janet saw yesterday. The next time it flew over the water it circled in the opposite direction and went much further out and as it turned back to fly west it swooped down lower over the water and seemed to accelerate its speed. It was flying extremely low to the water when it passed over a group of at least 30 scooters but as far as I could tell under the light conditions, it did not capture one. It flew up again and landed on a post of some type much closer to the north side of the bay (just to the east of the large tank on the opposite side). About this time Janet came out with some much nicer binoculars than I have that performed very well under the very low light condtions we had at this point. We watched for a few minutes and then saw it fly off the post. Janet was able to make out that it was chasing a phalarope. Unfortunately, it was just TOO dark after this to see much and made me think seriously again about buying some night vision goggles. It is still a mystery where it was roosting today so if anyone sees it, please let me/us know. __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Wed Jan 4 22:22:30 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Wed Jan 4 22:22:32 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Cool Sightings of the Snowy Owl In Newport Message-ID: <20060105062230.59153.qmail@web51813.mail.yahoo.com> Sorry I can't spell: scooter = scoter Friend of mine pronounces it with a "oo" sound and she's got me doing it. __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From winkg at hevanet.com Wed Jan 4 22:38:39 2006 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Wed Jan 4 22:38:52 2006 Subject: [obol] Pittock, NW Portland, week ending 12/28/05 Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060104222811.0292ee68@pop.hevanet.com> Here is the summary of my morning dogwalks from NW Seblar Terrace to the Pittock Mansion for the week 12/29/05 to 1/04/06. Species in ALL CAPS were neither seen nor heard during the previous week. Additional information about my dogwalk may be found at http://www.hevanet.com/winkg/dogwalkpage.html We did the walk 6 days this week. Species # days found (peak #, date) GREAT BLUE HERON 1 (1, 1/3) CANADA/CACKLING GOOSE 4 (380, 12/29) Glaucous-winged Gull 1 (2, 1/2) Gull sp. 1 (10, 12/29) BAND-TAILED PIGEON 1 (4, 12/29) Anna's Hummingbird 6 (5, 1/4) DOWNY WOODPECKER 1 (1, 1/3) Hairy Woodpecker 1 (2, 12/29) NORTHERN FLICKER 3 (2) Pileated Woodpecker 4 (2, 1/3) Golden-crowned Kinglet 5 (8) Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6 (3, 12/30) WAXWING sp. 1 (1, 1/3) Bewick's Wren 2 (2, 12/29) Winter Wren 5 (2) American Robin 3 (15, 1/3) Varied Thrush 2 (3, 1/4) Black-capped Chickadee 6 (15) Chestnut-backed Chickadee 5 (15, 1/4) Red-breasted Nuthatch 6 (3) Brown Creeper 2 (1, 12/30 & 1/4) Steller's Jay 4 (4) Western Scrub-Jay 4 (2) American Crow 5 (10, 12/29) EUROPEAN STARLING 2 (4, 12/29) HUTTON'S VIREO 2 (1, 1/3 & 4) House Finch 5 (20) PINE SISKIN 3 (35, 12/29) Lesser Goldfinch 1 (2, 1/4) Spotted Towhee 4 (4) Fox Sparrow 2 (2, 12/30) Song Sparrow 6 (10) Dark-eyed Junco 6 (15) In the neighborhood but not found on dogwalk: GREAT HORNED OWL, RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER Wink Gross Portland From winkg at hevanet.com Wed Jan 4 22:54:38 2006 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Wed Jan 4 22:54:40 2006 Subject: [obol] oops! Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060104224937.0292ebd8@pop.hevanet.com> Of course, the subject line of my previous posting should have been "for the week ending 1/4/06". Wink From hnehls at teleport.com Wed Jan 4 23:34:09 2006 From: hnehls at teleport.com (Harry Nehls) Date: Wed Jan 4 23:31:21 2006 Subject: [obol] RBA: Portland, OR 1-5-06 Message-ID: - RBA * Oregon * Portland * January 5, 2006 * ORPO0601.05 - birds mentioned Ross?s Goose Red-breasted Goose FALCATED DUCK Cinnamon Teal Eurasian Green-winged Teal Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Great Egret Swainson?s Hawk Ferruginous Hawk Ruddy Turnstone Black Turnstone Rock Sandpiper Red Phalarope Bonaparte?s Gull Snowy Owl Western Scrub-Jay Tree Swallow Mountain Chickadee Northern Mockingbird Bohemian Waxwing Hermit Warbler Common Yellowthroat Wilson?s Warbler Clay-colored Sparrow Purple Finch - transcript hotline: Portland Oregon Audubon RBA (weekly) number: 503-292-6855 To report: Harry Nehls 503-233-3976 compiler: Harry Nehls coverage: entire state Hello, this is the Audubon Society of Portland Rare Bird Report. This report was made Thursday January 5. If you have anything to add call Harry Nehls at 503-233-3976. The Coburg FALCATED DUCK has not been seen in recent days, but is believed to be still in the area. A SNOWY OWL is now being seen a Franklin Road about a mile north of Fern Ridge Reservoir. Also in the area is a SWAINSON?S HAWK and a ROSS?S GOOSE. Another SNOWY OWL was found during the week along West Perrydale Road about three miles west of Perrydale. The Newport SNOWY OWL has moved to a new location at the old fish hatchery across the road from the Hatfield Science Center. There are still four at the South Jetty of the Columbia River. RED PHALAROPES are still being seen especially along the coast. The last storm brought new birds to shore. On January 2 a flock of 200 were at Nehalem Meadows. On January 2 a RUDDY TURNSTONE was in a flock of BLACK TURNSTONES at Bullards Beach State Park near Bandon. On January 2 three ROCK SANDPIPERS were at Depoe Bay and the CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS was at the South Jetty of Yaquina Bay. Up to 80,000 SURF SCOTERS and 35,000 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS have been seen off Boiler Bay during the week. On January 2, 20 BONAPARTE?S GULLS and 60 GREAT EGRETS were at Tillamook. On December 29 a WILSON?S WARBLER was east of Astoria at Brownsmead and 52 CINNAMON TEAL were at Svenson. On December 29 a ROSS?S GOOSE was at Steigerwald NWR near Washougal. On the December 31 Portland Count a EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL and three MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES were seen. On January 3 a RED-BREASTED GOOSE was spotted in a goose flock near the McMinnville Airport. On the January 1 Eugene Count a YELLOWTHROAT, two TREE SWALLOWS, and two MOCKINGBIRDS were seen. On January 4 a HERMIT WARBLER was in Eugene. During the week BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were seen at Pelton Dam near Madras and in Redmond. Four PURPLE FINCHES were seen January 2 at the Prineville Cemetery. A FERRUGINOUS HAWK was near Milton-Freewater January 2. A WESTERN SCRUB-JAY was in LaGrande during the week for the second Union County record. Good numbers of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS and COMMON REDPOLLS are now being seen in Northeast Oregon. That?s it for this week. - end transcript -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060104/c017d4e0/attachment.htm From dpvroman at budget.net Thu Jan 5 06:27:32 2006 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis P. Vroman) Date: Thu Jan 5 06:31:52 2006 Subject: [obol] Applegate-Williams Raptor count Message-ID: <000d01c61204$2fcbeaa0$6b341c40@hppav> Yesterday (01-04-06) the Applegate-Williams area raptor survey was accomplished. Total of 4.0 hours, 36.9 miles; weather: partly cloudy, partly overcast (mid-level); pretty nice afternoon overall. Observed were: 22 Red-tailed Hawk 6 American Kestrel 3 Bald Eagle (1 Imm, 2 Adult) 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 8 White-tailed Kite (they just kept turning up!) 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 Merlin Dennis (north of Grants Pass) From tlove at linfield.edu Thu Jan 5 07:07:17 2006 From: tlove at linfield.edu (tlove@linfield.edu) Date: Thu Jan 5 07:07:20 2006 Subject: [obol] Canada, Cackling Goose sspp. Message-ID: <50464.71.111.180.68.1136473637.squirrel@www.linfield.edu> Kelly Warren, a student of mine, is working up an independent study project on goose subspecies. It'll be a photo essay on each of the subspecies of Cackling and Canada wintering in the Willamette Valley, aimed at hunters, with attention to intermediates. I've alerted him to Clint, Steve and Molly's posts, whose feedback I'm sure he'll seek. We'll post in a month or two when he finishes. Good birding, Tom Love tlove@linfield.edu From winkg at hevanet.com Thu Jan 5 07:31:15 2006 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Thu Jan 5 07:31:27 2006 Subject: [obol] Portland CBC "Eagle Eye" Award Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060105072643.0292e110@pop.hevanet.com> Each year the Portland Christmas Bird Count awards the "Eagle Eye" Stuffed Eagle to the birder who spots the best bird on the count. The vote (Harry's) is in, and this year the award goes to DAVID MANDELL for finding a COMMON TEAL ("EURASIAN" GREEN-WINGED TEAL) at Vanport Wetlands in North Portland. Congratulations, David! Wink Gross, Compiler Portland CBC From linda at fink.com Thu Jan 5 07:52:41 2006 From: linda at fink.com (Linda Fink) Date: Thu Jan 5 07:52:44 2006 Subject: [obol] yes, bluebirds do hover Message-ID: <200601051552.k05FqWxh099876@mail.viclink.com> Thanks to all who responded to my hovering bluebird question. Seems like everyone except me has seen bluebirds hover. I must clarify, though, that this was not the hovering that a RC Kinglet does while flycatching, or even a house sparrow, gleaning spiders off the sides of our house. This was true blue (pardon me) hovering like a Kestrel does -- staying stationary for a good minute (I didn't time them) a few yards over a short grass field while looking down. It is interesting that Pat Waldron, who has bluebirds nesting on her property, has seen them do that but never during nesting season. Linda Fink, who learns something new every day From deweysage at verizon.net Thu Jan 5 10:27:37 2006 From: deweysage at verizon.net (DJLauten and KACastelein) Date: Thu Jan 5 10:19:32 2006 Subject: [obol] Vancouvers Message-ID: <43BD6519.9090707@verizon.net> Hey Alan, I heard that Vancouvers have a distinctly maple-y taste to them. I think that is why they are uncommon - their SO sweet - especially compared to ones here in this country that tend to be, well, fowl. Sorry Marilyn! ; ) Cheers Dave Lauten From davect at bendnet.com Thu Jan 5 10:22:01 2006 From: davect at bendnet.com (David Tracy) Date: Thu Jan 5 10:22:03 2006 Subject: [obol] Snow-roosting Grouse Message-ID: <042f01c61224$ecb44e80$6401a8c0@ACERLAPTOP> I had an interesting experience last week when a couple friends and I flushed a grouse while cross-country skiing near the Swampy Lakes snow park (actually, we were closer to Swampy shelter). It was about 18:30, completely dark and snowing moderately. The temp was probably in the low to mid 20's (F). There was between 6-10" of fresh snow on the ground with a base of 2-4 feet. As the first skier passed by, the grouse exploded up out of the snow right next to the trail and flew off in a shower of snow and feathers, very shocking, believe me. The loud wingbeats were obviously from a grouse, and I've since researched the topic and found out that both Ruffed and Blue grouse will roost under the snow to conserve energy during the winter if conditions are right (a new one to me...) I saw a female Blue Grouse near Mt. Bachelor during the winter a couple years back, but that bird was over 20' up in a hemlock. I know Ruffed Grouse are also in the area around Swampy Lakes during breeding season, but not sure about winter. I could use some help in determining what species of grouse it was we encountered. I collected two feathers that may help lead to an identification. If you have any experience with these birds in hand or know the details of their plumage, please have a look at the following link: http://www.surfbirds.com/albums/thumbnails.php?album=281 Let me know which grouse you think these feathers belong to. I can also email higher resolution copies of the pics if that would help. Thanks, Dave David Tracy davect@bendnet.com Bend, OR From philliplc at harborside.com Thu Jan 5 10:25:09 2006 From: philliplc at harborside.com (Phillip Pickering) Date: Thu Jan 5 10:25:20 2006 Subject: [obol] Boiler Bay Message-ID: <039b01c61225$5cb12140$6601a8c0@byronq189eo067> 7:45-8:45 (1/5): Overcast with rain devoloping, wind SSE 20-40, 15+ ft swells. 500+ Red-throated Loons (most S) 40+ Common Loons 1 Red-necked Grebe 4 Western Grebes 2 Brandt's Cormornts 12 Pelagic Cormorants 28 Cackling Geese (flock S, ssp looked mixed) 9000+ Surf Scoters (6000 S, 3000+ visible on the water with some minor northward drift noted) 4000+ White-winged Scoters (S) 1 Red Phalarope 20 Mew Gulls 10 California Gulls 60 Western Gulls 10 Glaucous-winged Gulls 15 Common Murres 2 Pigeon Guillemots 33 Marbled Murrelets (S) Phil philliplc@harborside.com From deweysage at verizon.net Thu Jan 5 10:50:09 2006 From: deweysage at verizon.net (DJLauten and KACastelein) Date: Thu Jan 5 10:42:02 2006 Subject: [obol] Snow-roosting Grouse In-Reply-To: <042f01c61224$ecb44e80$6401a8c0@ACERLAPTOP> References: <042f01c61224$ecb44e80$6401a8c0@ACERLAPTOP> Message-ID: <43BD6A61.5080906@verizon.net> Hi Dave, Indeed grouse do roost in snow (as a former grouse researcher, we saw this a lot). I looked at the feathers, but I am afraid I have no good answer for you from that. Habitat might be a better clue. Sounds like it would have been a bit high elevation and evergreen habitat for a Ruffed Grouse, but I don't live up there so I'm not exactly sure what Ruffed Grouse like in that part of the country. Ruffed Grouse tend to be more associated with deciduous trees, and therefore in this part of the country they tend to be in ravines and draws that have creeks with associated alders and willows (their main food source in winter). By the way, as an aside, sometimes we would find a dead grouse with a broken neck lying on the snow. To get into the roosts, the grouse litterally plunge from up in a tree, head first into the snow like it is a pool of water. Only problem is that what sometimes looks perfect, turns out to be a packed snowmobile trail or road, and hence, the grouse ends up with a busted neck. Ouch. Cheers Dave Lauten David Tracy wrote: > I had an interesting experience last week when a couple friends and I > flushed a grouse while cross-country skiing near the Swampy Lakes snow > park (actually, we were closer to Swampy shelter). > > It was about 18:30, completely dark and snowing moderately. The temp > was probably in the low to mid 20's (F). There was between 6-10" of > fresh snow on the ground with a base of 2-4 feet. As the first skier > passed by, the grouse exploded up out of the snow right next to the > trail and flew off in a shower of snow and feathers, very shocking, > believe me. The loud wingbeats were obviously from a grouse, and I've > since researched the topic and found out that both Ruffed and Blue > grouse will roost under the snow to conserve energy during the winter if > conditions are right (a new one to me...) > > I saw a female Blue Grouse near Mt. Bachelor during the winter a couple > years back, but that bird was over 20' up in a hemlock. I know Ruffed > Grouse are also in the area around Swampy Lakes during breeding season, > but not sure about winter. > > I could use some help in determining what species of grouse it was we > encountered. I collected two feathers that may help lead to an > identification. If you have any experience with these birds in hand or > know the details of their plumage, please have a look at the following > link: > > http://www.surfbirds.com/albums/thumbnails.php?album=281 > > Let me know which grouse you think these feathers belong to. I can also > email higher resolution copies of the pics if that would help. > > > Thanks, > > Dave > > David Tracy > davect@bendnet.com > Bend, OR > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From patman at aracnet.com Thu Jan 5 10:59:47 2006 From: patman at aracnet.com (patman@aracnet.com) Date: Thu Jan 5 10:59:54 2006 Subject: [obol] Ft. Stevens Snowy Owls In-Reply-To: <002001c60f02$94541f10$628dfea9@S1100382963> References: <002001c60f02$94541f10$628dfea9@S1100382963> Message-ID: <20060105185947.GA23231@aracnet.com> On Sun, Jan 01, 2006 at 10:38:37AM -0800, Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. Rollins wrote: > Changed out from my desired lens combo from Zuiko 1.4 teleconverter and 50-200 on my E-1. Went to the 1.4 and an old 500mm OM lense to get some extra reach. This locks me at f8 but gives the 35mm film camera equivalent of 1400mm. Here are a couple of pictures. First one is from near Lot C and is of the three we got to see. > http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54235603.jpg > These two were taken when I was laying on a dune, on the river side of dunes. Spent several hours in hide there. > http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54235604.jpg > > http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54235605.jpg That last photo is superb, thanks for posting them. -- Patrick Mansfield From frankdanl at yahoo.com Thu Jan 5 11:02:56 2006 From: frankdanl at yahoo.com (frank lospalluto) Date: Thu Jan 5 11:02:58 2006 Subject: [obol] Siskiyou Summit area,Jackson Co. 1/04/06 Message-ID: <20060105190256.45071.qmail@web36704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> OBOL: Snowshoeing with with my dog on lower Pilot Rock Rd. yielded the following birds: Golden Eagle(juvenile) Bushtit Oregon Junco White-Breasted Nuthatch Northern Flicker Mountain Chickadee Western Bluebird Townsend's Solitaire Golden-Crowned Kinglet good birding, frank __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From dpvroman at budget.net Thu Jan 5 10:46:57 2006 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis P. Vroman) Date: Thu Jan 5 11:07:56 2006 Subject: [obol] Snow-roosting Grouse References: <042f01c61224$ecb44e80$6401a8c0@ACERLAPTOP> Message-ID: <000001c6122a$357f4f20$7b321c40@hppav> Growing up in northern NY (where I just about lived in the woods throughout the seasons) got to see Ruffed Grouse "explode" from snow several times, as you experienced Dave. The temperature under snow would stay in the 32 degree range, when it might be well below zero (30-40 below not uncommon then) outside in the night air. Sometimes if it rained on the snow and frozen again, the Grouse would get trapped under the snow, but this sort of thing didn't occur that often. Not sure about the feathers, perhaps Pepper Trail is lurking in the sidelines out there and will venture a guess. Dennis > I had an interesting experience last week when a couple friends and I > flushed a grouse while cross-country skiing near the Swampy Lakes snow park > (actually, we were closer to Swampy shelter). > > It was about 18:30, completely dark and snowing moderately. The temp was > probably in the low to mid 20's (F). There was between 6-10" of fresh snow > on the ground with a base of 2-4 feet. As the first skier passed by, the > grouse exploded up out of the snow right next to the trail and flew off in a > shower of snow and feathers, very shocking, believe me. The loud wingbeats > were obviously from a grouse, and I've since researched the topic and found > out that both Ruffed and Blue grouse will roost under the snow to conserve > energy during the winter if conditions are right (a new one to me...) > > I saw a female Blue Grouse near Mt. Bachelor during the winter a couple > years back, but that bird was over 20' up in a hemlock. I know Ruffed > Grouse are also in the area around Swampy Lakes during breeding season, but > not sure about winter. > > I could use some help in determining what species of grouse it was we > encountered. I collected two feathers that may help lead to an > identification. If you have any experience with these birds in hand or know > the details of their plumage, please have a look at the following link: > > http://www.surfbirds.com/albums/thumbnails.php?album=281 > > Let me know which grouse you think these feathers belong to. I can also > email higher resolution copies of the pics if that would help. > > > Thanks, > > Dave > > David Tracy > davect@bendnet.com > Bend, OR From a-r at centurytel.net Thu Jan 5 11:14:54 2006 From: a-r at centurytel.net (Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. Rollins) Date: Thu Jan 5 11:15:01 2006 Subject: [obol] Ft. Stevens Snowy Owls Message-ID: <002c01c6122c$4ffbc980$628dfea9@S1100382963> Thank you Patrick. I am just playing with that photo at the moment. I agree it is superb, one of my favourites and I may not be able to improve it, but will soon have a different version. Stay tunes and I will show you the results. Thanks again, happy you enjoyed it. Kim Rollins Burns,OR http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54235605.jpg -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060105/937bedd2/attachment.htm From donalbri at teleport.com Thu Jan 5 11:21:07 2006 From: donalbri at teleport.com (donalbri@teleport.com) Date: Thu Jan 5 11:21:19 2006 Subject: [obol] McMinnville Red-breasted Goose Message-ID: <13222257.1136488867627.JavaMail.root@elwamui-polski.atl.sa.earthlink.net> This morning, after doing an online search to find out what the heck a Red-breasted Goose looks like, I visited the area south of the McMinnville Airport (Yamhill County), and after about 20 minutes of scanning found the RED-BREASTED GOOSE that was reported by Molly Monroe on OBOL a couple days ago. There is still a huge flock of several thousand Cackling and Canada Geese present in the field, but fortunately today they were rather near the road, so I was able to scan most of the flock with binoculars. The Red-breasted Goose was near the northern end of the flock, not far from the Osprey nest on a pole beside Airport Drive. A very striking individual, but still not all that easy to pick out of a flock that was walking away from me with their heads down most of the time. The Red-breasted Goose seemed quite at home with the other geese. Would be interesting to know how it ended up flying free in Oregon. I suppose it's not completely impossible that it got here naturally... A WESTERN GULL was with a scattered flock of gulls a little farther north along Airport Drive. Don Albright Newberg, Oregon donalbri@teleport.com From a-r at centurytel.net Thu Jan 5 12:10:07 2006 From: a-r at centurytel.net (Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. Rollins) Date: Thu Jan 5 12:10:15 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl in Harney County (NOT) Message-ID: <000e01c61234$06bb5ee0$628dfea9@S1100382963> Hi Folks, When I first moved here 20 years ago there were reports of a Snowy Owl being out by Jantura, however I did not see it then ...so... The one in the picture below was actually trapped @ Fort Stevens (Dec. 28th 2005) in my Compact Flash Card. It was then transported (don't tell anybody) to Harney County in my PSD. This AM it was put in a Time Machine where it was taken back to Oct. 15th 2005. Then it was tossed up in the air in front of Wright's Point. I just happen to be ready to capture it again. I did so and put it in my photo gallery. LOL http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54446728.jpg This is fun! Kim Rollins Burns, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060105/9a385052/attachment.htm From jimjuliano at comcast.net Thu Jan 5 12:33:53 2006 From: jimjuliano at comcast.net (jim juliano) Date: Thu Jan 5 12:34:00 2006 Subject: [obol] closing the book on the harassment debate Message-ID: <561a7ff9ad4baf4356a010ecb2a263b5@comcast.net> I suppose I wont be getting a response to my earlier email to Jason but I felt the need to comment and close the subject for myself. I ended up not being sure of exactly what he was arguing for or exactly how far he expects people to go in terms of "harassment." It sort of seems like what he is advocating is just simply not pursuing birds de facto. I think in the long run that what this would cause would be a great reduction in the number of people who come to care about birds and through birds our environment in general. Also without being hateful I think its fair to say that after re-reading his posts he seems combative at least, devious and self-serving at worst. (i.e misquoting Wayne Hoffman) To say that he has been "defending birds" against the posters on OBOL only makes him sound pompous in my opinion. In truth he has been defending a position. I have no idea why I am spending time writing this other than to say that I think Mr. Rogers, like most of us OBOLers have good intentions. I assume he spends a good amount of time studying birds and I would like to see his further posts but not at the expense of being scolded. Perhaps more tact is in need? For what its worth. Peace, Jim Juliano SE Portland From bcraig777 at comcast.net Thu Jan 5 12:35:47 2006 From: bcraig777 at comcast.net (Bruce) Date: Thu Jan 5 12:36:09 2006 Subject: [obol] yes, bluebirds do hover In-Reply-To: <200601051552.k05FqWxh099876@mail.viclink.com> References: <200601051552.k05FqWxh099876@mail.viclink.com> Message-ID: <43BD8323.8060008@comcast.net> The first time my wife and I saw the Western Bluebirds hovering was during nesting season. We were on a field trip with Prescott Bluebird group at Champoeg Park, specific trip to inspect the nest boxes and observe the WEBLs. Bruce Craig. Linda Fink wrote: > Thanks to all who responded to my hovering bluebird question. Seems like > everyone except me has seen bluebirds hover. I must clarify, though, that > this was not the hovering that a RC Kinglet does while flycatching, or even > a house sparrow, gleaning spiders off the sides of our house. This was true > blue (pardon me) hovering like a Kestrel does -- staying stationary for a > good minute (I didn't time them) a few yards over a short grass field while > looking down. It is interesting that Pat Waldron, who has bluebirds nesting > on her property, has seen them do that but never during nesting season. > > Linda Fink, who learns something new every day > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From maitreya at OregonVOS.net Thu Jan 5 12:48:45 2006 From: maitreya at OregonVOS.net (maitreya@OregonVOS.net) Date: Thu Jan 5 12:48:47 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl in Harney County (NOT) In-Reply-To: <000e01c61234$06bb5ee0$628dfea9@S1100382963> References: <000e01c61234$06bb5ee0$628dfea9@S1100382963> Message-ID: <60052.128.223.162.50.1136494125.squirrel@shemp.dialoregon.net> Digital Art at its finest. > Hi Folks, > > When I first moved here 20 years ago there were reports of a Snowy Owl > being out by Jantura, however I did not see it then ...so... > The one in the picture below was actually trapped @ Fort Stevens (Dec. > 28th 2005) in my Compact Flash Card. It was then transported (don't tell > anybody) to Harney County in my PSD. This AM it was put in a Time Machine > where it was taken back to Oct. 15th 2005. Then it was tossed up in the > air in front of Wright's Point. > > I just happen to be ready to capture it again. I did so and put it in my > photo gallery. LOL > > http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54446728.jpg > > This is fun! > Kim Rollins > Burns, OR Maitreya ?Each of us is in truth an idea of the Great Gull and an unlimited idea of freedom.? Jonathan Livingston Seagull From a-r at centurytel.net Thu Jan 5 12:58:14 2006 From: a-r at centurytel.net (Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. Rollins) Date: Thu Jan 5 12:58:21 2006 Subject: [obol] Ft. Stevens Snowy Owls References: <002c01c6122c$4ffbc980$628dfea9@S1100382963> <20060105195940.GA23909@aracnet.com> Message-ID: <001a01c6123a$bf339630$628dfea9@S1100382963> Patrick - Long reach is a lot of fun. With long reach and stalking it is a blast and good exercise too. A White-tailed Kite at Tillamook across from the Cheese Factory wore me clear out and I never did get a shot of him. Walked around from one side of that property to the other and back till... it was time to go for ice cream. With the Oly system I am using and the 4/3 sensor it changes the reach a bit, if compared to 35mm film cameras. The lenses of choice (digital 300mm Seiko f2.8) for this system is a bit out of my price range. No on second thought, WAY OUT of my price range. I have though about renting one to try it out, but then I might not be able to get my finger to un-wrap from it. I see pictures taken with this lenses and drool! I like using the 50-200 Dig Seiko and a digital 1.4 teleconverter and with the 4/3 system it puts me at 35mm film equivalent of just under 600mm. This is a good and sharp combo. Lots of fun and one can shoot in Automatic Focus Settings. When the weather and light is right I go to a different combo sometimes. The 1.4 and an old 500mm f8 Reflex (equivalent of 35mm film 1400mm). Need light and the OM lense is not water-proof like the E-1 and the digital lenses I have. so is often in the dry pack. This combo was used in the Owl Flight picture, steadied with a mono-pod. To use it I need lots of light and it is not as sharp as the 50-200, but it was a cheaper way for me get some more reach that I wanted. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't ;-( . Digital Film is cheap though. ;-) Auto is gone when using an OM on the digital but... who really needs it? I also have used other OM lenses on the digital with good results - a 50mm OM f1.4 that I paid 12 bucks for works well as does the 28mm OM f2.8. I do wish I had more of these old lenses and I know they are sitting in many a closet. I have external flash and when using for fill flash on wildlife shots they do not even seem to notice. Natural light is what I like though and seldom use the flash on wildlife shots. I am thinking of trying a twin flash from my blind though to see what it does. Each Brand of equipment has its pros and cons and in the end, it is not the camera that takes the picture. What matters is the person behind the camera. You might check into getting a adapter for your Canon to use Oly Lenses too. One thing Olympus is known for is the quality of their lenses. I know by visiting the Canon Photography Forum that many Canon users are converting to the use of Oly lenses because of both the quality and the savings in cost. Kim Rollins Burn, OR ----- Original Message ----- From: > > I've been thinking what seems like forever about buying a 400mm lense for > my canon 20d, I've rented the 100-400L a few times, but it is not quite > fast enough and I would not use it very often ... maybe when my wife gets > out of school and gets a job :) > > But I definitely want something soon in the 100 to 400 range! Though my > next purchase might be an external flash ... > > -- Patrick Mansfield > > From peterpatricelli at comcast.net Thu Jan 5 13:19:10 2006 From: peterpatricelli at comcast.net (Peter Patricelli) Date: Thu Jan 5 13:07:41 2006 Subject: [obol] Falcated Duck, Brant gone Message-ID: <43BD8D4E.B8E328B4@comcast.net> The Falcated duck has not been seen for the past few days. In fact. most of the usually highly populated duck ponds have had very few ducks according to my swing this morning. I suspect that with all the flooded fields in the area that there are just too many options. Last year's drought kept him in that pond. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. The Brant was gone from Lane Mem. Gardens this morning. We can only wish One-eyed Jack well. In the flock of nearly 1000 Cacklers were 2 yellow neck bands. Interestingly they were staying together. Maybe part of a family group banded at the same time? Peter Patricelli From richarmstrong5 at msn.com Thu Jan 5 13:54:09 2006 From: richarmstrong5 at msn.com (rich armstrong) Date: Thu Jan 5 13:54:17 2006 Subject: [obol] exotic waterfowl References: <13222257.1136488867627.JavaMail.root@elwamui-polski.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: i suspect this is already done in oregon, but in case it is not i thought i might try to help. if this is already done just ignore this message. 1. i came from texas where birders would also see some questionable waterfowl from time to time. 2. a member of the texas bird records committee took it upon himself to essentially find out every person in the state who collected and kept exotic waterfowl (no idea if he succeeded) and contacted them. i would guess he developed an email list or phone list. 3. then if a white-cheeked pintail (or whatever) showed up somewhere he would check to see if any collector was missing one. 4. this obviously did not determine whether every weird sighting was wild or not, but it certainly helped figure out some sightings very quickly. 5. i have no idea if someone is missing a red-breasted goose now or from the few years ago it was at ankeny, but that might be interesting. and i have no clues as to what went into not accepting the record from then. Rich Armstrong 541-753-1978 ----- Original Message ----- From: To: ; Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 11:21 AM Subject: [obol] McMinnville Red-breasted Goose > This morning, after doing an online search to find out what the heck a > Red-breasted Goose looks like, I visited the area south of the McMinnville > Airport (Yamhill County), and after about 20 minutes of scanning found the > RED-BREASTED GOOSE that was reported by Molly Monroe on OBOL a couple days > ago. There is still a huge flock of several thousand Cackling and Canada > Geese present in the field, but fortunately today they were rather near > the road, so I was able to scan most of the flock with binoculars. The > Red-breasted Goose was near the northern end of the flock, not far from > the Osprey nest on a pole beside Airport Drive. A very striking > individual, but still not all that easy to pick out of a flock that was > walking away from me with their heads down most of the time. > > The Red-breasted Goose seemed quite at home with the other geese. Would > be interesting to know how it ended up flying free in Oregon. I suppose > it's not completely impossible that it got here naturally... > > A WESTERN GULL was with a scattered flock of gulls a little farther north > along Airport Drive. > > > Don Albright > Newberg, Oregon > donalbri@teleport.com > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From greg at thebirdguide.com Thu Jan 5 14:23:26 2006 From: greg at thebirdguide.com (Greg Gillson) Date: Thu Jan 5 14:25:27 2006 Subject: [obol] 2006 Oregon Pelagic Trips Message-ID: <20060105142326.jraj8572wk5c0400@webmail.thebirdguide.com> Friends, For birders wishing to add offshore seabirds to their Oregon list this year, we have a dozen guided pelagic birding trips scheduled for 2006. Our first trip is March 18. Ten of our trips depart Newport, Oregon for the fantastic seabird area off Perpetua Bank. This all-day trip is really an extraordinary birding adventure with great birds, a roomy boat, and 3-7 helpful expert seabird guides to point out the birds, explain ID, and discuss the natural history of the birds and other sealife we encounter. We have two other trips especially appropriate for beginners. These half-day trips are less expensive and see most of the species expected on the longer trips. We concentrate more on the common seabirds on these trips, with lots of guides to really help you learn how to identify these unique birds for yourself. What is a pelagic trip like? Take a ride on our Virtual Pelagic Trip: http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/photo_trip.htm Also, view the photo essay of our 100th pelagic trip: http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/archive/11192005.htm When should you go? The best average ocean conditions occur May-September, with July-August usually smoothest. The most bird species are detected April-May and July-October, with late August to early October the peak of seabird abundance and diversity. What can you expect? March to October: On nearly every trip expect Black-footed Albatross, Northern Fulmar, Pink-footed & Sooty Shearwater, Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, Pomarine Jaeger, Sabine's Gull, Common Murre, and Rhinoceros Auklet. March specialties: Laysan Albatross, Short-tailed Shearwater, Thayer's Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Ancient Murrelet, Rhinoceros Auklet. May specialties: Laysan Albatross, Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, Red Phalarope, Long-tailed Jaeger, Sabine's Gull, Common Tern, Arctic Tern. August specialties: Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, Red Phalarope, South Polar Skua, Parasitic Jaeger, Long-tailed Jaeger, Sabine's Gull, Arctic Tern. October specialties: Northern Fulmar, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Short-tailed Shearwater, Buller's Shearwater, South Polar Skua, Cassin's Auklet, Rhinoceros Auklet. Late October and early November 2006: While weather cancellations become increasingly likely, this is the best time in fall for Short-tailed Albatross, Laysan Albatross, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Short-tailed Shearwater, Black-legged Kittiwake, Ancient Murrelet, and perhaps some rarities. 2006 Schedule: Perpetua Bank from Newport, Oregon: March 18, April 15, May 6, August 19 & 20, September 30 & October 1, October 14, October 28, November 11. $145. Newport Special: Summer Seabirds: July 1. $79. Oregon Shorebird Festival from Charleston, Oregon: September 2. $50. Discounts: Chartering fishing vessels is very expensive and must be done as early as possible. Therefore, we are happy to offer early signup discounts on most of our trips. We offer a $15 per person early signup discount on Perpetua Bank trips when paying more than 60 days in advance. Early Signup Discount for our March trip ends JANUARY 18th. More information: Our web site contains our full trip schedule, pricing, trip preparation, reservation form, trip report archives, semimonthly abundance lists, ID articles, photo gallery, and more! I'll look for you on the boat! Greg Gillson The Bird Guide, Inc. http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/ From tcherzig at gorge.net Thu Jan 5 14:43:33 2006 From: tcherzig at gorge.net (Tom Herzig) Date: Thu Jan 5 14:44:09 2006 Subject: [obol] More on geese (couldn't resist, sorry so long...) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <43BDA115.8060008@gorge.net> Molly, With all this email traffic on Canada/Cackler Geese and ways to ID them, I bet there would be an interest in OBOL land for a class on this subject divided between classroom and in the field. I know I would be and can't think of a better person to do it than you perhaps in conjunction with Steve McDonald....Tom Herzig Molly Monroe wrote: > Hi Steve, I was reading your goose message and wanted to touch base > with you! I am a biologist with the USFWS out of Finley south of > Corvallis. I've been working with geese for about 6 winters now and > conduct surveys both on and off refuges here in the Willamette > Valley. I'm super curious about these Vancouvers, are they around > Stewart Ponds at this time? I always think I see a few here and there > over a winter, in little family groups, and have also seen one checked > in to a hunter checkstation I ran. Anyway, I would love to get down > there to see the ones you are looking at. > > I wasn't sure if obolers want all this but seems like this goose > conversation happens every year and I'd like to give my two cents... > There are some old handouts that make goose ID easy, available to the > public at Finley headquarters. I apologize for using common names- I > am stubborn in still lumping Canada geese- a cackler willl always just > be a minima in my mind! (Who can take Cackling Cackling goose > seriously as a name?) Here's my take on ID of the common geese that > winter around here: > (Keeping in mind that " Experts and novices alike have difficulty > determining which species/ subspecies/population of these geese they > have sighted.") > > Cackler~ smallest goose here in the Willamette Valley- close to > 150,000 in population. As for color, most are dark chested, some have > different hues, often a dark gray to rusty brown. High pitched voices > and tiny little beaks...at least 10% have a neck ring, the rare few > have completely white heads or necks, a genetic mix up in the batch I > guess! They breed in the Y-K Delta of Alaska where natives subsist on > their eggs. Believe it or not, the natives don't think there are > enough of them! They wear yellow neck collars. Big groups of little > birds, usually the majority of a flock, very jumpy so they like to be > out in the middle of an open field. They are the reason for the > silhouettes of coyotes, eagle statues and white flags; and when the > geese graze around these, that's when the fireworks come out, they can > really hit a grass field hard if the flock is big enough! > > Taverner's~ a little bigger, I like to call them a miniature western, > but puffier. Short necks with distinct difference between black of > neck and silvery chest. Not as many overall, they seem to like to stay > in smaller groups and are often found loafing with duskys, but can be > mixed in with a group of cacks and lessers, too. > > Lesser's~ bigger, but more slender. Longer neck, chest is usually a > grayish to dark gray in color, sometimes confused with duskys but not > as brown, the checkstations use bill length when the colors are too > close to tell. Some have blue neck collars (more collars around the > Baskett area, the collared ones come from Anchorage I think). They are > more apt to be found out in a field with a bunch of cacklers. > > Dusky's~ next size up. Chest can sometimes be a darkish gray but > mostly a chocolate brown that seems to merge into black of neck. Their > backs are darker too and they are just rounder overall. Red neck > collars. I think last years estimate was around 22,000 and they seem > to have alot of new bands this year so I think their nesting season > was successful. Finley is definitely a hub for this subspecies, they > love the tree lined marshes and spend much of the day sleeping either > on or near water or out on the muddier fields. They usually stay > together as a group, even if in a field of mixed geese, duskys are > usually off to the side, moving slower and not as easy to spook. They > also have a distinct voice, a worried honk of sorts. My favorite to > watch, just a gorgeous goose! > > Vancouvers are oversized duskys and I think we all have westerns > figured out! > > I would love to see the footage you have on Canada geese, if you ever > want to meet to look at geese up close at Finley, let me know, I too > love to talk geese and take pictures! > ~Molly Monroe > USFWS > _ > ( '< > / ) ) ~Be the change you wish to see for the world~ > //" " > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From gutchdon at yahoo.com Thu Jan 5 15:05:38 2006 From: gutchdon at yahoo.com (Don Gutcher) Date: Thu Jan 5 15:05:41 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl-Perrydale Message-ID: <20060105230538.10310.qmail@web54104.mail.yahoo.com> Checked out the report on this Owl today with Marvin Tatchio at about 12:45 p.m.This Owl was sitting beside a white bucket on the North side of the road at 3 miles West of Perrydale. Really need a scope to see it well at 1/4 mile away. This is my second sighting of a Snowy Owl in Salem area.Thanks for all the reports so easy to find this bird. In HIS amazing grace, Don Gutcher __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From tmacport99 at hotmail.com Thu Jan 5 15:13:22 2006 From: tmacport99 at hotmail.com (Tom McNamara) Date: Thu Jan 5 15:13:25 2006 Subject: [obol] Mt Tabor (Mult. Co.) Message-ID: Annet and I, and our bird-observant dog Zac, saw a Townsend's Solitaire on that bird-attracting magnet--the Hypochlorite Building---near rez number 5. Micro-listers, "needing" a solitaire for, say, the 5th of Jan. between the hours of 12 and 5 .....you have your target. cheers, Tom From woodenapple at juno.com Thu Jan 5 15:34:13 2006 From: woodenapple at juno.com (Mark H Rudolph) Date: Thu Jan 5 15:34:16 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Obol: Eugene/Santa Clara Hermit Warbler Message-ID: <20060105.153414.-349593.5.woodenapple@juno.com> Obolists, The female HERMIT WARBLER reported by me yesterday was seen again today. There was some off-Obol discussion about whether the bird might be a Hermit x Townsends's Warbler instead. I believe the bird to be pure Hermit because it has no yellow on the ventral side any farther down than the upper throat/chin area and it has no black streaking on the sides. According to the references I have available, a Hermit x Townsend's hybrid would always exhibit at least one of these two traits. Rudi Mark "Rudi" Rudolph Eugene, OR woodenapple@juno.com From 5hats at peak.org Thu Jan 5 18:05:52 2006 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel Faxon) Date: Thu Jan 5 18:06:16 2006 Subject: [obol] 2006 Oregon Pelagic Trips References: <20060105142326.jraj8572wk5c0400@webmail.thebirdguide.com> Message-ID: <001901c61265$c0482bf0$0000a398@your5rlp3a9516> Greg, Great pictures, but as a virtual trip, somewhat lacking in .. in.. well, I don't have the guts to say it. Darrel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Greg Gillson" To: "OBOL" Cc: "Greg Gillson" Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 2:23 PM Subject: [obol] 2006 Oregon Pelagic Trips > Friends, > > For birders wishing to add offshore seabirds to their Oregon list this > year, we > have a dozen guided pelagic birding trips scheduled for 2006. Our first > trip is > March 18. > > Ten of our trips depart Newport, Oregon for the fantastic seabird area off > Perpetua Bank. This all-day trip is really an extraordinary birding > adventure > with great birds, a roomy boat, and 3-7 helpful expert seabird guides to > point > out the birds, explain ID, and discuss the natural history of the birds > and > other sealife we encounter. > > We have two other trips especially appropriate for beginners. These > half-day > trips are less expensive and see most of the species expected on the > longer > trips. We concentrate more on the common seabirds on these trips, with > lots of > guides to really help you learn how to identify these unique birds for > yourself. > > > What is a pelagic trip like? > > Take a ride on our Virtual Pelagic Trip: > http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/photo_trip.htm > > Also, view the photo essay of our 100th pelagic trip: > http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/archive/11192005.htm > > > When should you go? > > The best average ocean conditions occur May-September, with July-August > usually > smoothest. The most bird species are detected April-May and July-October, > with > late August to early October the peak of seabird abundance and diversity. > > > What can you expect? > > March to October: On nearly every trip expect Black-footed Albatross, > Northern > Fulmar, Pink-footed & Sooty Shearwater, Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, Pomarine > Jaeger, Sabine's Gull, Common Murre, and Rhinoceros Auklet. > > March specialties: Laysan Albatross, Short-tailed Shearwater, Thayer's > Gull, > Black-legged Kittiwake, Ancient Murrelet, Rhinoceros Auklet. > > May specialties: Laysan Albatross, Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, Red > Phalarope, > Long-tailed Jaeger, Sabine's Gull, Common Tern, Arctic Tern. > > August specialties: Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, Red Phalarope, South Polar > Skua, > Parasitic Jaeger, Long-tailed Jaeger, Sabine's Gull, Arctic Tern. > > October specialties: Northern Fulmar, Flesh-footed Shearwater, > Short-tailed > Shearwater, Buller's Shearwater, South Polar Skua, Cassin's Auklet, > Rhinoceros > Auklet. > > Late October and early November 2006: While weather cancellations become > increasingly likely, this is the best time in fall for Short-tailed > Albatross, > Laysan Albatross, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Short-tailed Shearwater, > Black-legged Kittiwake, Ancient Murrelet, and perhaps some rarities. > > > 2006 Schedule: > > Perpetua Bank from Newport, Oregon: March 18, April 15, May 6, August 19 & > 20, > September 30 & October 1, October 14, October 28, November 11. $145. > > Newport Special: Summer Seabirds: July 1. $79. > > Oregon Shorebird Festival from Charleston, Oregon: September 2. $50. > > > Discounts: > > Chartering fishing vessels is very expensive and must be done as early as > possible. Therefore, we are happy to offer early signup discounts on most > of > our trips. We offer a $15 per person early signup discount on Perpetua > Bank > trips when paying more than 60 days in advance. > > Early Signup Discount for our March trip ends JANUARY 18th. > > > More information: > > Our web site contains our full trip schedule, pricing, trip preparation, > reservation form, trip report archives, semimonthly abundance lists, ID > articles, photo gallery, and more! > > I'll look for you on the boat! > > Greg Gillson > The Bird Guide, Inc. > http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/ > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From jgeier at attglobal.net Thu Jan 5 15:43:01 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Thu Jan 5 18:32:44 2006 Subject: [obol] Re; closing the book on the harassment debate Message-ID: <43BDAF05.6000907@attglobal.net> Hello folks, I do not agree with everything Jason Rogers wrote, but I think his central point: - Disturbance of migrant birds can impact them adversely in ways we are not able to observe immediately, and in ways that can be cumulative. is one that every birder who truly cares about birds and bird conservation should take to heart. I am also willing to take up Dave Lauten on the 99.99% thing. Since there are far fewer than 10,000 birders, if there is even one OBOL lurker out there who thinks this whole harassment thing is a load of crap, I win. I have also informed Dave that I do not want to see Homo sapiens who are capable of doing a 70-mile trek across the Antarctic ice in their natural attire, then breeding at said location a la EMPEROR PENGUINS. I would rather eat NUTRIA, with or without shallots. Good birding, Joel P.S. Speaking of nutria, a pair of CINNAMON TEAL, including a resplendent male, joined the thriving population of said rodents at the ponds out front of Coffin Butte landfill yesterday. Spring's a-coming! -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From conserve at tidelink.net Thu Jan 5 19:09:21 2006 From: conserve at tidelink.net (Conservation For The Oregon Coast) Date: Thu Jan 5 19:09:38 2006 Subject: [obol] Re; closing the book on the harassment debate In-Reply-To: <43BDAF05.6000907@attglobal.net> References: <43BDAF05.6000907@attglobal.net> Message-ID: <43BDDF61.4040402@tidelink.net> Hardly laughter from the wife and I here... Thanks again Joel... Jay Joel Geier wrote: > Hello folks, > > I do not agree with everything Jason Rogers wrote, but I think his > central point: > > - Disturbance of migrant birds can impact them adversely in ways we are > not able to observe immediately, and in ways that can be cumulative. > > is one that every birder who truly cares about birds and bird > conservation should take to heart. > > I am also willing to take up Dave Lauten on the 99.99% thing. Since > there are far fewer than 10,000 birders, if there is even one OBOL > lurker out there who thinks this whole harassment thing is a load of > crap, I win. > > I have also informed Dave that I do not want to see Homo sapiens who > are capable of doing a 70-mile trek across the Antarctic ice in their > natural attire, then breeding at said location a la EMPEROR PENGUINS. > I would rather eat NUTRIA, with or without shallots. > > Good birding, > Joel > > P.S. Speaking of nutria, a pair of CINNAMON TEAL, including a > resplendent male, joined the thriving population of said rodents at > the ponds out front of Coffin Butte landfill yesterday. Spring's > a-coming! > > -- > Joel Geier > jgeier@attglobal.net > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > > -- Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. -- John Muir, The Yosemite (1912). http://conserve.tidelink.net -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: conserve.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 387 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060105/74c29fdb/conserve.vcf From kimdelo at yahoo.com Thu Jan 5 19:47:15 2006 From: kimdelo at yahoo.com (Kimdel Owen) Date: Thu Jan 5 19:47:18 2006 Subject: [obol] Redmond CBC results Message-ID: <20060106034715.14434.qmail@web50206.mail.yahoo.com> Here are the final results of Redmond's CBC. The Eurasian Wigeon, Barn Owl, Bohemian Waxwing, and Fox Sparrow were new birds for the count circle. The Graylag Geese are Free flying and listed for purposes of tracking their numbers. Thanks to all who helped with this count. GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE 3 CACKLING GOOSE 15 CANADA GOOSE 1441 GRAYLAG GOOSE 8 GADWALL CW EURASIAN WIGEON 1 AMERICAN WIGEON 140 MALLARD 892 NORTHERN SHOVELER 1 NORTHERN PINTAIL 2 GREEN-WINGED TEAL 15 RING-NECKED DUCK 2 LESSER SCAUP 3 BUFFLEHEAD 14 COMMON GOLDENEYE 6 BARROW?S GOLDENEYE 9 HOODED MERGANSER 21 COMMON MERGANSER 52 RING-NECKED PHEASANT 5 CALIFORNIA QUAIL 370 GREAT BLUE HERON 9 BALD EAGLE (adult/imm) 2A 4 I NORTHERN HARRIER 19 SHARP-SHINNED HAWK 7 COOPER?S HAWK 3 Accipiter sp. 1 RED-TAILED HAWK 99 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK 2 GOLDEN EAGLE (adult/imm) 7A 1 I AMERICAN KESTRAL 52 MERLIN 9 PRAIRIE FALCON 9 AMERICAN COOT 6 ROCK PIGEON 162 MOURNING DOVE 180 BARN OWL CW WESTERN SCREECH OWL 1 GREAT HORNED OWL 9 SHORT-EARED OWL 6 BELTED KINGFISHER 2 RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER 1 DOWNY WOODPECKER CW HAIRY WOODPECKER 2 NORTHERN (RED-SHAFTED) FLICKER 85 NORTHERN (YEL-SHAFTED) FLICKER 1 NORTHERN (INTERGRADE) FLICKER 2 NORTHERN SHRIKE 5 STELLER?S JAY 2 WESTERN SCRUB JAY 47 PINYON JAY 75 BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE 151 AMERICAN CROW 1 COMMON RAVEN 153 HORNED LARK CW MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE 38 BUSHTIT 27 BROWN CREEPER 1 CANYON WREN 2 WINTER WREN 1 AMERICAN DIPPER 2 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET 22 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET 1 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD 169 TOWNSEND?S SOLITAIRE 122 AMERICAN ROBIN 17629 VARIED THRUSH 6 EUROPEAN STARLING 5625 BOHEMIAN WAXWING CW CEDAR WAXWING 68 SPOTTED TOWHEE 2 FOX SPARROW 1 SONG SPARROW 31 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW 137 GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW 51 (OREGON) DARK-EYED JUNCO 652 (SLATE-COLORED) DARK-EYED JUNCO 1 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD 309 TRICOLORED BLACKBIRD 200 BREWER?S BLACKBIRD 2776 CASSIN?S FINCH CW HOUSE FINCH 314 LESSER GOLDFINCH 58 AMERICAN GOLDFINCH 33 HOUSE SPARROW 1456 Worst Misses: KILLDEER WESTERN MEADOWLARK "Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? On the rock he dwells and makes his home in the fastness of the rocky crag. There he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it afar off." Kimdel Owen Redmond, OR __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From tc at empnet.com Thu Jan 5 20:08:29 2006 From: tc at empnet.com (Tom Crabtree) Date: Thu Jan 5 20:08:33 2006 Subject: [obol] Re; closing the book on the harassment debate References: <43BDAF05.6000907@attglobal.net> <43BDDF61.4040402@tidelink.net> Message-ID: <004801c61276$d9af19d0$6500a8c0@tomwttwq0c6hrm> I'll donate a pound of shallots to the cause.... Tom ----- Original Message ----- From: "Conservation For The Oregon Coast" To: Cc: "Oregon Birders OnLine" Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 7:09 PM Subject: Re: [obol] Re; closing the book on the harassment debate Hardly laughter from the wife and I here... Thanks again Joel... Jay Joel Geier wrote: > Hello folks, > > I do not agree with everything Jason Rogers wrote, but I think his > central point: > > - Disturbance of migrant birds can impact them adversely in ways we are > not able to observe immediately, and in ways that can be cumulative. > > is one that every birder who truly cares about birds and bird > conservation should take to heart. > > I am also willing to take up Dave Lauten on the 99.99% thing. Since > there are far fewer than 10,000 birders, if there is even one OBOL > lurker out there who thinks this whole harassment thing is a load of > crap, I win. > > I have also informed Dave that I do not want to see Homo sapiens who > are capable of doing a 70-mile trek across the Antarctic ice in their > natural attire, then breeding at said location a la EMPEROR PENGUINS. > I would rather eat NUTRIA, with or without shallots. > > Good birding, > Joel > > P.S. Speaking of nutria, a pair of CINNAMON TEAL, including a > resplendent male, joined the thriving population of said rodents at > the ponds out front of Coffin Butte landfill yesterday. Spring's > a-coming! > > -- > Joel Geier > jgeier@attglobal.net > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > > -- Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. -- John Muir, The Yosemite (1912). http://conserve.tidelink.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From mariam at easystreet.com Thu Jan 5 21:05:01 2006 From: mariam at easystreet.com (Maria Michalczyk) Date: Thu Jan 5 21:05:02 2006 Subject: [obol] Ft. Stevens Snowy Owls In-Reply-To: <20060105185947.GA23231@aracnet.com> Message-ID: Oh my my...what beautiful pictures...and not just one but THREE. Thanks so much for being so kind in sharing....Maria > On Sun, Jan 01, 2006 at 10:38:37AM -0800, Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. > Rollins wrote: > >> Changed out from my desired lens combo from Zuiko 1.4 teleconverter and >> 50-200 on my E-1. Went to the 1.4 and an old 500mm OM lense to get some >> extra reach. This locks me at f8 but gives the 35mm film camera equivalent of >> 1400mm. Here are a couple of pictures. First one is from near Lot C and is of >> the three we got to see. > >> http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54235603.jpg >> These two were taken when I was laying on a dune, on the river side of dunes. >> Spent several hours in hide there. >> http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54235604.jpg >> >> http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54235605.jpg > > That last photo is superb, thanks for posting them. > > -- Patrick Mansfield > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > Maria Michalczyk People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, People may Accuse you of Selfish, Ulterior motives: Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be Honest and Frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway. Mother Teresa From crmiller at bendnet.com Thu Jan 5 21:19:46 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Thu Jan 5 21:19:50 2006 Subject: [obol] Fort Rock Raptor Route & lots of Bald Eagles Message-ID: <20060106051948.0F322170848@smtp2.oregonstate.edu> Greetings Obolites! Today, Thursday, January 05, 2006, Craig, Gary Clowers, Raven Research West and I ran the Fort Rock-Silver Lake raptor route. Fort Rock had one of the highest concentrations of raptors I've seen, and Silver Lake basin had about average numbers. Perhaps most astounding were the number of Bald Eagles seen. 68! We found 221 raptors in all, breaking our previous high record. The route distance is about 80 miles and includes much of the Fort Rock Basin and about 40 miles of Hwy 31. Our totals were as follows: Bald Eagle - 45 Adults Bald Eagle 23 Immatures Northern Harrier - 2 Cooper's Hawk - 1 Red-tailed Hawk - 63 Ferruginous Hawk - 16 Rough-legged Hawk - 41 Golden Eagle - 15 American Kestrel - 7 Prairie Falcon - 7 Great Horned Owl - 1 American Crow - 2 Common Raven - 228 Shrikes - zero Total Raptors - 221 Total Predators - 451 Pronghorn - 102 Mule Deer - 160 No coyotes! Very unusual Temperature - 24 degrees to 39 degrees. Calm and mostly sunny. 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Marilyn Miller Bend, Oregon Marilyn Miller Bend, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060105/b37955d8/attachment.htm From egon_bragger at hotmail.com Thu Jan 5 21:58:57 2006 From: egon_bragger at hotmail.com (Egon Bragger) Date: Thu Jan 5 21:58:59 2006 Subject: [obol] snowy owl and comment In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hi Group! I'm a long time lurker first time poster in this group. Thankyou to the posters who kept us up to date on the Polk co. snowy owl! I saw it early this afternoon (LIFER!) in a field about three miles west of Perrydale and maybe two thirds of a mile from an intersection where there is a road curving to the south but no road going north. I guess it was an immature but I don't really know how to tell the ages apart. Beautiful! On a different subject I have been reading the posts about bird harassment but I think that some posters are being too critical of Jason Rodgers. From what I can remember this guy was mostly giving information from scientific papers which seemed to make sense to me anyway. I don't think he was being dishonest. My feeling is that he was saying why it is important to be sensitive to the needs of birds but not to stop birding. In the future I hope that posters won't resort to calling names if they don't understand what someone is saying. Cheers! Egon Bragger Portland _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Thu Jan 5 23:27:08 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Thu Jan 5 23:27:12 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl Still Hunting In Newport Message-ID: <20060106072708.66032.qmail@web51805.mail.yahoo.com> I checked the fish processing plant at 4:30 but the snowy owl was not there, although Janet Lamberson saw it there earlier in the day. I think it may have started hunting earlier today because it got quite dark early due to ominous weather. I first found the owl in a tree next to the parking lot of the HMSC directly across from the public wing. It then flew to the same little building described yesterday, then to the railings of the water tanks, and then to the tallest tree along the nature trail behind the EPA building....sat there a while then flew down to a snag on the mudflats across from the blind along the nature trail...from there it flew out over the bay soaring way up then straight down then way up again then swooping down really fast...with the light so dim, I lost it......however, as I walked back to the parking lot, I found it again on the roof of the little building and then back on the same tree. I went to a meeting but later on the way out to the car, I found it sitting on the grass by the sidewalk leading to the nature trail...it took off as I approached the car...I walked the nature trail again and I spotted it a few more times...it seemed to be very actively hunting, returning several times to the top of that little building which is probably the best vantage point of the bay in that area. The nature trail is a very cool spot at night....the bird sounds are amazing. There's a great blue heron that seems to like hunting on the east side of the little building where some very bright lights shine down and illuminate the beach. __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From dan-gleason at comcast.net Thu Jan 5 23:55:59 2006 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Thu Jan 5 23:54:41 2006 Subject: [obol] Eugene CBC Message-ID: Eugene CBC ? January 1, 2006 Preliminary results: 137 species 72,270 individual birds were reported (R) indicates species that were a record high for this count. There were no species new to the count historically. Species usually seen but missing this year include: Mountain Quail, American Bittern, Red Crossbill, and Pine Siskin. Unusual species include: Ross?s Goose, Brant, Black-crowned Night- Heron, Swainson?s Hawk, Red Phalarope, Snowy Owl, Black Phoebe, Tree Swallow, Northern Mockingbird, Common Yellowthroat and Vesper Sparrow. Greater White-fronted Goose 14 Snow Goose 1 Ross?s Goose 1 Brant 1 Cackling Goose 18,482 (R) Canada Goose 6,323 Tundra Swan 540 Wood Duck 36 Gadwall 429 (R) Eurasian Wigeon 3 American Wigeon 1,364 Mallard 2,848 Northern Shoveler 377 Northern Pintail 4,035 Green-winged Teal 8,994 (R) Canvasback 70 Ring-necked Duck 38 Greater Scaup 2 Lesser Scaup 603 Bufflehead 93 Common Goldeneye 1 Hooded Merganser 10 Common Merganser 108 Ruddy Duck 201 Ring-necked Pheasant 25 Wild Turkey 102 California Quail 99 Common Loon 1 Pied-billed Grebe 83 Horned Grebe 2 Eared Grebe 1 Western Grebe 6 (low) Clark?s Grebe 1 Double-crested Cormorant 525 Great Blue Heron 78 Great Egret 54 Green Heron 3 Black-crowned Night-Heron 12 (R) Turkey Vulture 16 (R) Osprey 1 White-tailed Kite 20 Bald Eagle 19 (R) Northern Harrier 110 Sharp-shinned Hawk 16 Cooper?s Hawk 18 (R) Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Swainson?s Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 164 (R) Rough-legged Hawk 1 (low) American Kestrel 93 Merlin 7 Peregrine Falcon 5 (R) Virginia Rail 1 American Coot 392 Killdeer 386 (low) Greater Yellowlegs 77 Spotted Sandpiper 5 Dunlin 1,935 Long-billed Dowitcher 66 Wilson?s Snipe 92 Red Phalarope 13 (R) Mew Gull 11 Ring-billed Gull 497 (low) California Gull 35 (low) Herring Gull 7 (low) Thayer?s Gull 13 Western Gull 12 Glaucous-winged Gull 224 Western X Glaucous-winged hybrid 48 Unidentified gulls 267 Rock Pigeon 515 Band-tailed Pigeon 12 Mourning Dove 155 Barn Owl 15 (R) Western Screech-Owl 17 Great Horned Owl 21 Snowy Owl 1 Northern Pygmy-Owl 3 Short-eared Owl 6 Northern Saw-whet Owl 8 (R) Anna?s Hummingbird 44 Belted Kingfisher 25 Acorn Woodpecker 7 (low) Red-breasted Sapsucker 6 Downy Woodpecker 39 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 409 Pileated Woodpecker 2 (low) Black Phoebe 3 (R) Northern Shrike 1 (low) Hutton?s Vireo 9 Steller?s Jay 153 Western Scrub-Jay 505 American Crow 1,682 Common Raven 81 Tree Swallow 7 Black-capped Chickadee 571 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 116 Bushtit 661 Red-breasted Nuthatch 41 White-breasted Nuthatch 8 Brown Creeper 32 Bewick?s Wren 55 Winter Wren 43 Marsh Wren 20 Golden-crowned Kinglet 475 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 432 Western Bluebird 194 (R) Hermit Thrush 2 American Robin 2,519 Varied Thrush 37 (low) Wrentit 5 Northern Mockingbird 2 European Starling 7,127 American Pipit 183 Cedar Waxwing 38 (low) Orange-crowned Warbler 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler 97 Townsend?s Warbler 95 (R) Common Yellowthroat 1 Spotted Towhee 208 Vesper Sparrow 1 Savannah Sparrow 96 Fox Sparrow 145 Song Sparrow 383 Lincoln?s Sparrow 44 White-throated Sparrow 7 White-crowned Sparrow 125 Golden-crowned sparrow 693 Dark-eyed Junco 1,479 Red-winged Blackbird 631 (low) Western Meadowlark 187 Brewer?s Blackbird 923 Brown-headed Cowbird 1 Purple Finch 82 House Finch 242 Lesser Goldfinch 53 American Goldfinch 165 Evening Grosbeak 10 House Sparrow 347 ----------------- Dan Gleason 541 345-0450 dan-gleason@comcast.net From adamus7 at comcast.net Fri Jan 6 06:26:14 2006 From: adamus7 at comcast.net (Paul Adamus) Date: Fri Jan 6 06:17:38 2006 Subject: [obol] Results: Airlie-Albany CBC Message-ID: <000a01c612cd$26363440$6400a8c0@paul> OBOLers-- Last Saturday (Dec. 31) 23 people in 13 parties (below average for this count) endured frequent rain to conduct the Airlie-Albany CBC. The circle is centered at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area north of Corvallis, and includes Ankeny NWR and McDonald-Dunn State Forest. The species total was 106, well below the maximum of 122. Best finds were SPOTTED OWL, GOLDEN EAGLE, PRAIRIE FALCON, BLACK PHOEBE, and SAY'S PHOEBE. The total for NORTHERN SHRIKE was 3. Notable misses were HERMIT THRUSH, CEDAR WAXWING, PINE SISKIN, RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, PEREGRINE FALCON, RUFFED GROUSE, and gulls (only a few Herring Gulls were seen). I will be emailing the full list and tallies to all participants. If you'd like a copy, too, please email me. Paul Adamus (Compiler) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/f9e3f00e/attachment.htm From conserve at tidelink.net Fri Jan 6 07:18:36 2006 From: conserve at tidelink.net (Conservation For The Oregon Coast) Date: Fri Jan 6 07:18:50 2006 Subject: [obol] Re; closing the book on the harassment debate In-Reply-To: <43BDDF61.4040402@tidelink.net> References: <43BDAF05.6000907@attglobal.net> <43BDDF61.4040402@tidelink.net> Message-ID: <43BE8A4C.6010007@tidelink.net> Hardly should actually bee HARDY... LOL! Talk about mixed signals... Jay Conservation For The Oregon Coast wrote: > Hardly laughter from the wife and I here... Thanks again Joel... > > Jay > > Joel Geier wrote: > >> Hello folks, >> >> I do not agree with everything Jason Rogers wrote, but I think his >> central point: >> >> - Disturbance of migrant birds can impact them adversely in ways we are >> not able to observe immediately, and in ways that can be cumulative. >> >> is one that every birder who truly cares about birds and bird >> conservation should take to heart. >> >> I am also willing to take up Dave Lauten on the 99.99% thing. Since >> there are far fewer than 10,000 birders, if there is even one OBOL >> lurker out there who thinks this whole harassment thing is a load of >> crap, I win. >> >> I have also informed Dave that I do not want to see Homo sapiens who >> are capable of doing a 70-mile trek across the Antarctic ice in their >> natural attire, then breeding at said location a la EMPEROR PENGUINS. >> I would rather eat NUTRIA, with or without shallots. >> >> Good birding, >> Joel >> >> P.S. Speaking of nutria, a pair of CINNAMON TEAL, including a >> resplendent male, joined the thriving population of said rodents at >> the ponds out front of Coffin Butte landfill yesterday. Spring's >> a-coming! >> >> -- >> Joel Geier >> jgeier@attglobal.net >> >> _______________________________________________ >> obol mailing list >> obol@lists.oregonstate.edu >> http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol >> >> To unsubscribe, send a message to: >> obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. >> >> >> > > >_______________________________________________ >obol mailing list >obol@lists.oregonstate.edu >http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > >To unsubscribe, send a message to: >obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > -- Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. -- John Muir, The Yosemite (1912). http://conserve.tidelink.net -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: conserve.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 387 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/bac9a5db/conserve.vcf From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Fri Jan 6 08:03:13 2006 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Fri Jan 6 08:03:15 2006 Subject: [obol] Eugene CBC In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20060106160313.46577.qmail@web32602.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Incredible count Dan and all who participated! You forgot one of my favorite stats though, how many observers in the field and feed watchers did you all get? The Eugene count is usually one of the top counts in the country for observers and I'm wondering if you broke 100 for field observers? Happy Birding, Tim R Coos Bay --- Dan Gleason wrote: > Eugene CBC ? January 1, 2006 > Preliminary results: > > 137 species > 72,270 individual birds were reported > > (R) indicates species that were a record high for > this count. > > There were no species new to the count historically. > > Species usually seen but missing this year include: > Mountain Quail, > American Bittern, Red Crossbill, and Pine Siskin. > > Unusual species include: Ross?s Goose, Brant, > Black-crowned Night- > Heron, Swainson?s Hawk, Red Phalarope, Snowy Owl, > Black Phoebe, Tree > Swallow, Northern Mockingbird, Common Yellowthroat > and Vesper Sparrow. > > Greater White-fronted Goose 14 > Snow Goose 1 > Ross?s Goose 1 > Brant 1 > Cackling Goose 18,482 (R) > Canada Goose 6,323 > Tundra Swan 540 > Wood Duck 36 > Gadwall 429 (R) > Eurasian Wigeon 3 > American Wigeon 1,364 > Mallard 2,848 > Northern Shoveler 377 > Northern Pintail 4,035 > Green-winged Teal 8,994 (R) > Canvasback 70 > Ring-necked Duck 38 > Greater Scaup 2 > Lesser Scaup 603 > Bufflehead 93 > Common Goldeneye 1 > Hooded Merganser 10 > Common Merganser 108 > Ruddy Duck 201 > Ring-necked Pheasant 25 > Wild Turkey 102 > California Quail 99 > Common Loon 1 > Pied-billed Grebe 83 > Horned Grebe 2 > Eared Grebe 1 > Western Grebe 6 (low) > Clark?s Grebe 1 > Double-crested Cormorant 525 > Great Blue Heron 78 > Great Egret 54 > Green Heron 3 > Black-crowned Night-Heron 12 (R) > Turkey Vulture 16 (R) > Osprey 1 > White-tailed Kite 20 > Bald Eagle 19 (R) > Northern Harrier 110 > Sharp-shinned Hawk 16 > Cooper?s Hawk 18 (R) > Red-shouldered Hawk 1 > Swainson?s Hawk 1 > Red-tailed Hawk 164 (R) > Rough-legged Hawk 1 (low) > American Kestrel 93 > Merlin 7 > Peregrine Falcon 5 (R) > Virginia Rail 1 > American Coot 392 > Killdeer 386 (low) > Greater Yellowlegs 77 > Spotted Sandpiper 5 > Dunlin 1,935 > Long-billed Dowitcher 66 > Wilson?s Snipe 92 > Red Phalarope 13 (R) > Mew Gull 11 > Ring-billed Gull 497 (low) > California Gull 35 (low) > Herring Gull 7 (low) > Thayer?s Gull 13 > Western Gull 12 > Glaucous-winged Gull 224 > Western X Glaucous-winged hybrid 48 > Unidentified gulls 267 > Rock Pigeon 515 > Band-tailed Pigeon 12 > Mourning Dove 155 > Barn Owl 15 (R) > Western Screech-Owl 17 > Great Horned Owl 21 > Snowy Owl 1 > Northern Pygmy-Owl 3 > Short-eared Owl 6 > Northern Saw-whet Owl 8 (R) > Anna?s Hummingbird 44 > Belted Kingfisher 25 > Acorn Woodpecker 7 (low) > Red-breasted Sapsucker 6 > Downy Woodpecker 39 > Hairy Woodpecker 1 > Northern Flicker 409 > Pileated Woodpecker 2 (low) > Black Phoebe 3 (R) > Northern Shrike 1 (low) > Hutton?s Vireo 9 > Steller?s Jay 153 > Western Scrub-Jay 505 > American Crow 1,682 > Common Raven 81 > Tree Swallow 7 > Black-capped Chickadee 571 > Chestnut-backed Chickadee 116 > Bushtit 661 > Red-breasted Nuthatch 41 > White-breasted Nuthatch 8 > Brown Creeper 32 > Bewick?s Wren 55 > Winter Wren 43 > Marsh Wren 20 > Golden-crowned Kinglet 475 > Ruby-crowned Kinglet 432 > Western Bluebird 194 (R) > Hermit Thrush 2 > American Robin 2,519 > Varied Thrush 37 (low) > Wrentit 5 > Northern Mockingbird 2 > European Starling 7,127 > American Pipit 183 > Cedar Waxwing 38 (low) > Orange-crowned Warbler 2 > Yellow-rumped Warbler 97 > Townsend?s Warbler 95 (R) > Common Yellowthroat 1 > Spotted Towhee 208 > Vesper Sparrow 1 > Savannah Sparrow 96 > Fox Sparrow 145 > Song Sparrow 383 > Lincoln?s Sparrow 44 > White-throated Sparrow 7 > White-crowned Sparrow 125 > Golden-crowned sparrow 693 > Dark-eyed Junco 1,479 > Red-winged Blackbird 631 (low) > Western Meadowlark 187 > Brewer?s Blackbird 923 > Brown-headed Cowbird 1 > Purple Finch 82 > House Finch 242 > Lesser Goldfinch 53 > American Goldfinch 165 > Evening Grosbeak 10 > House Sparrow 347 > > ----------------- > Dan Gleason > 541 345-0450 > dan-gleason@comcast.net > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From a-r at centurytel.net Fri Jan 6 08:23:55 2006 From: a-r at centurytel.net (Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. Rollins) Date: Fri Jan 6 08:24:00 2006 Subject: [obol] Hardy Message-ID: <004201c612dd$974bafb0$628dfea9@S1100382963> Jay, "Hardly should actually bee HARDY... LOL!" That is a relief. I thought you and yours had no sense of humour. Have a good dayKim RollinsBurns, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/2edc46af/attachment.htm From conserve at tidelink.net Fri Jan 6 07:20:42 2006 From: conserve at tidelink.net (Conservation For The Oregon Coast) Date: Fri Jan 6 08:32:14 2006 Subject: [obol] Alaska version... Message-ID: <43BE8ACA.7090603@tidelink.net> Good morning all... Is anyone here aware of an Alaska version of our lovely OBOL? The wife and I are looking to get some land of there and wanted to know about the birds and flora in the area. Thanks! Jason in Lakeside -- Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. -- John Muir, The Yosemite (1912). http://conserve.tidelink.net -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: conserve.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 387 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/323800b2/conserve.vcf From jbw at pacifier.com Fri Jan 6 07:58:29 2006 From: jbw at pacifier.com (Barbara & John Woodhouse) Date: Fri Jan 6 08:32:18 2006 Subject: [obol] CBC Siskins Message-ID: I have been noticing Report after report coming in with 0 Siskins anyone have any idea where the Pine Siskins have gone?? Barbara & John Woodhouse From greg at thebirdguide.com Fri Jan 6 08:37:42 2006 From: greg at thebirdguide.com (Greg Gillson) Date: Fri Jan 6 08:39:47 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Eugene CBC: Cedar Waxwing Message-ID: <20060106083742.u04zfm5kndzkssg0@webmail.thebirdguide.com> > Cedar Waxwing 38 (low) This commentary on Cedar Waxwings on the Eugene CBC is very interesting to me. In Washington County, Cedar Waxwings generally depart in October and don't return until May. A winter sighting of Cedar Waxwing is a noteworthy event. They have been spotted in just 4 years of the 22 Forest Grove Christmas Bird Counts. Thus, even though intellectually I realize they are not neotropical migrants, I am always surprised to see them in in winter in cold places--east of the Cascades, for instance. Their occurrence must be due to food. I imagine that juniper berries are why they are abundant in winter east of the Cascades. But what food sources or other reasons account for Cedar Waxwings being expected on the Eugene CBC, but not the Forest Gorve CBC? Is it non-native berries that are available in the larger city? Or are there native food source differences? Greg Gillson Hillsboro, Oregon greg@thebirdguide.com http://thebirdguide.com From deweysage at verizon.net Fri Jan 6 08:51:29 2006 From: deweysage at verizon.net (DJLauten and KACastelein) Date: Fri Jan 6 08:47:24 2006 Subject: [obol] Re; closing the book on the harassment debate In-Reply-To: <43BDAF05.6000907@attglobal.net> References: <43BDAF05.6000907@attglobal.net> Message-ID: <43BEA011.7030904@verizon.net> Joel Geier wrote: > > I am also willing to take up Dave Lauten on the 99.99% thing. Since > there are far fewer than 10,000 birders, if there is even one OBOL > lurker out there who thinks this whole harassment thing is a load of > crap, I win. > Folks, What I said was "unnecessarily harass birds". If there really is 1 person on OBOL who thinks it is ok to "unnecessarily" harass birds, they ought to have their head examined, or something like that. Is there really people out there who think it is ok to deliberately, and unnecessarily, harass birds? What an aweful thought. I never saw anyone argue that it is ok to "unnecessarily" harass birds. What I read was that there was a disagreement on what constitutes harassment, and for that matter, what is harassment. But I never saw anyone advocate going out to the feeder or the mudflat and deliberately chasing birds so that they burn more energy than they need too. Now, I will agree that there are some people out there that think this whole conversation is BS, but that is a different story. Cheers Dave Lauten From llsdirons at msn.com Fri Jan 6 09:26:07 2006 From: llsdirons at msn.com (DAVID IRONS) Date: Fri Jan 6 09:26:13 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Eugene CBC: Cedar Waxwing In-Reply-To: <20060106083742.u04zfm5kndzkssg0@webmail.thebirdguide.com> Message-ID: Personally, I do not consider 38 waxwings on the Eugene CBC as "low". My party was responsible for about half of this year's total. Finding waxwings is always important in our area (College Hill/Friendly St. area of south Eugene) because is it is one of the few sectors where they regularly occur in winter. If memory serves me correctly the count missed Cedar Waxwing in 2005 and it is a rarity for more than one or two parties to get them. I think that Greg's comments about food supply are on the money. In south Eugene folks are really into gardening and landscaping so there are lots of ornamental fruit-bearing shrubs and trees (i.e. holly, mountain ash, hawthorn). The waxwings tend to linger as long as there is hanging fruit and once it is gone so are they. Historically, I've noticed that waxwings are around Eugene in big numbers until mid-November and then they drop off pretty steadily, so by CBC time they have become pretty scarce. On occasion (I am assuming in years of good berry supply) we get quite a few on the CBC. However, most years one or two small flocks are all that are detected. Dave Irons Eugene, OR >From: Greg Gillson >To: OBOL >Subject: [obol] Re: Eugene CBC: Cedar Waxwing >Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2006 08:37:42 -0800 > > > Cedar Waxwing 38 (low) > >This commentary on Cedar Waxwings on the Eugene CBC is very interesting to >me. >In Washington County, Cedar Waxwings generally depart in October and don't >return until May. A winter sighting of Cedar Waxwing is a noteworthy event. >They have been spotted in just 4 years of the 22 Forest Grove Christmas >Bird >Counts. > >Thus, even though intellectually I realize they are not neotropical >migrants, I >am always surprised to see them in in winter in cold places--east of the >Cascades, for instance. Their occurrence must be due to food. I imagine >that >juniper berries are why they are abundant in winter east of the Cascades. > >But what food sources or other reasons account for Cedar Waxwings being >expected >on the Eugene CBC, but not the Forest Gorve CBC? Is it non-native berries >that >are available in the larger city? Or are there native food source >differences? > >Greg Gillson >Hillsboro, Oregon >greg@thebirdguide.com >http://thebirdguide.com > > > > >_______________________________________________ >obol mailing list >obol@lists.oregonstate.edu >http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > >To unsubscribe, send a message to: >obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From winkg at hevanet.com Fri Jan 6 09:43:20 2006 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Fri Jan 6 09:43:23 2006 Subject: [obol] Alaska, etc. versions of OBOL Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060106094124.02781340@pop.hevanet.com> Go to http://birdingonthe.net/birdmail.html All sorts of speciality lists! Wink -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/e751230a/attachment.htm From llsdirons at msn.com Fri Jan 6 09:45:37 2006 From: llsdirons at msn.com (DAVID IRONS) Date: Fri Jan 6 09:45:39 2006 Subject: [obol] Cedar Waxwings again Message-ID: I took a quick look at the CBC data site online to check on Eugene CBC numbers for waxwings. I was actually mistaken about last year. The count did get Cedar Waxwing in 2005. I pulled up 30 years of data and discovered that Eugene used to get a lot more waxwings than have been detected in recent years. There were a couple counts in the late 70's and early 80's that had over 1000 waxwings. In recent years there have been a number of counts with 100-250 waxwings, but nothing approaching former numbers. In poor years counts ranged from 0 in 1992 (the only time the species has been missed in 30 years) to about 50 birds with several counts in the single digits. It would be interesting to know why we don't get the numbers that occurred in the "old days". I know that used to be some big holly plantations that have been cleared for development, perhaps Dan Gleason or one of the other Eugene CBC vets can offer some explanation. Dave Irons From dan-gleason at comcast.net Fri Jan 6 09:51:53 2006 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Fri Jan 6 09:50:45 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Eugene CBC: Cedar Waxwing In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Cedar Waxwings are always variable in numbers. Some years they are easily found while other years they are quite scarce. I marked 38 as "low" based on the historical data for the Eugene CBC. This count has occurred 64 times. The first count was in 1912 when no waxwings were reported. Counts have been continuous since the late 1940s and waxwings have been reported on 58 of the 64 counts. On more than half of those counts, the number of waxwings reported was greater than 75 and on four years, our numbers have exceeded 500 (506 in 1976, 858 in 1949, 1033 in 1977 and the record high of 1117 in 1982). The average for the 58 years of reporting waxwings is 135. There are also years with few waxwings reported. There are 10 years for which fewer than 10 birds were reported. It would be interesting to better understand the population dynamics of this species in the Willamette Valley. Dan ----------------- Dan Gleason 541 345-0450 dan-gleason@comcast.net On Jan 6, 2006, at 9:26 AM, DAVID IRONS wrote: > Personally, I do not consider 38 waxwings on the Eugene CBC as > "low". My party was responsible for about half of this year's > total. Finding waxwings is always important in our area (College > Hill/Friendly St. area of south Eugene) because is it is one of the > few sectors where they regularly occur in winter. If memory serves > me correctly the count missed Cedar Waxwing in 2005 and it is a > rarity for more than one or two parties to get them. I think that > Greg's comments about food supply are on the money. In south > Eugene folks are really into gardening and landscaping so there are > lots of ornamental fruit-bearing shrubs and trees (i.e. holly, > mountain ash, hawthorn). The waxwings tend to linger as long as > there is hanging fruit and once it is gone so are they. > Historically, I've noticed that waxwings are around Eugene in big > numbers until mid-November and then they drop off pretty steadily, > so by CBC time they have become pretty scarce. On occasion (I am > assuming in years of good berry supply) we get quite a few on the > CBC. However, most years one or two small flocks are all that are > detected. > > Dave Irons > Eugene, OR > > >> From: Greg Gillson >> To: OBOL >> Subject: [obol] Re: Eugene CBC: Cedar Waxwing >> Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2006 08:37:42 -0800 >> >> > Cedar Waxwing 38 (low) >> >> This commentary on Cedar Waxwings on the Eugene CBC is very >> interesting to me. >> In Washington County, Cedar Waxwings generally depart in October >> and don't >> return until May. A winter sighting of Cedar Waxwing is a >> noteworthy event. >> They have been spotted in just 4 years of the 22 Forest Grove >> Christmas Bird >> Counts. >> >> Thus, even though intellectually I realize they are not >> neotropical migrants, I >> am always surprised to see them in in winter in cold places--east >> of the >> Cascades, for instance. Their occurrence must be due to food. I >> imagine that >> juniper berries are why they are abundant in winter east of the >> Cascades. >> >> But what food sources or other reasons account for Cedar Waxwings >> being expected >> on the Eugene CBC, but not the Forest Gorve CBC? Is it non-native >> berries that >> are available in the larger city? Or are there native food source >> differences? >> >> Greg Gillson >> Hillsboro, Oregon >> greg@thebirdguide.com >> http://thebirdguide.com >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> obol mailing list >> obol@lists.oregonstate.edu >> http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol >> >> To unsubscribe, send a message to: >> obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From gorgebirds at juno.com Fri Jan 6 10:10:50 2006 From: gorgebirds at juno.com (Wilson Cady) Date: Fri Jan 6 10:11:47 2006 Subject: [obol] Alaska version... Message-ID: <20060106.101102.716.108649@webmail10.lax.untd.com> You can find all of the bird report/chat room sites on Jack Siler's Birding Page arranged by regions. Go to: hhtp://birdingonthe.net Once you are at his site click on "Regional/Speciality" under the heading of "Mailing Lists", a very handy compilation of sites for traveling birders. Wilson Cady Washougal, WA From johnpam at ipns.com Fri Jan 6 10:15:26 2006 From: johnpam at ipns.com (JohnPam) Date: Fri Jan 6 10:13:40 2006 Subject: [obol] Pine Siskins At Our Feeder Message-ID: We have Pine Siskins at our Nyjer feeder. They showed on Thursday, Dec. 29th, though I saw a solo Siskin earlier in the fall. Pam counted 26 for the Silverton CBC on Dec. 31st. She thought there were more than that but moved too quickly to "get a handle" on 'em. They were numerous and aggressive enough to take over from the Am Goldfinch. Just counted 14 this early AM for this Cornell FeederWatch Count Day. Why these wanderers have shown up is a good question as it doesn't seem to necessarily correlate w/ cold weather in western Oregon this year. John Thomas & Pam Reid Silverton From ggrier at efn.org Fri Jan 6 10:23:53 2006 From: ggrier at efn.org (George Grier) Date: Fri Jan 6 10:15:32 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: CBC Siskins Message-ID: <5.0.0.25.0.20060106101821.01a363e8@pop.efn.org> While the Pine Siskin numbers are down at our feeders (roughly 1/4/ to 1/3 of last year's record numbers), they have still been routine visitors for approximately the last month. One interesting increase has been in Evening Grosbeaks. We're just outside the city limits in east Springfield and outside the Eugene CBC count area. George Grier and Cynthia Pappas Springfield, OR From dan-gleason at comcast.net Fri Jan 6 10:52:16 2006 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Fri Jan 6 10:50:55 2006 Subject: [obol] Cedar Waxwings again In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <66FEE98A-F9A3-4194-AD6C-844C8BBD693E@comcast.net> I'm afraid that I don't have any explanation of local fluctuations in waxwing populations. If you look at the CBC historical data for Eugene, the record year was '82 when 1117 birds were seen but the following year only 54 were reported and 2 the year after that. The explanation, I think, has more to do with the nature of waxwings rather than local food sources. Population numbers vary all across the country and it is difficult to access local numbers anywhere. Populations wander and often overlap breeding ranges. Breeding Bird Survey data indicates an overall increase of waxwings over much of its breeding range although there are a few regions, such as parts of eastern Canada, there appears to be a decrease in total numbers. This data suggests long-term, overall trends but anywhere you look, there will be fluctuations in numbers from year to year. Waxwings are somewhat unique among our passerines in that they defend no territory at all. (Their lack of song and weak voice is perhaps a result of this.) The evidence suggests that they have little, if any, fidelity to nest site or breeding sites and the young quickly disperse away from the breeding sites. Since their nature is to wander, it may be that a steady supply of non-native fruits (as in a holly plantation) is not enough in itself to keep them in one small region. Where available, juniper berries are a prime food source but, juniper berries are obviously far fewer and less important to birds here in the Willamette Valley. During the breeding season, waxwings often eat insects but few of these insects are fed to nestlings and fruit is still the primary food. The lack of insects in the nestling's diet contributes to the fact the cowbirds are not successful in waxwing nests. Cowbirds need insects to maintain health and develop properly. There are a few cases where cowbird young have survived to nearly fledging but there are no documented cases of cowbirds successfully fledging and leaving a waxwing's nest; they simply cannot survive on a diet that is mostly fruit. Waxwings also nest late, after female cowbirds have laid most of their eggs and they reject cowbird eggs for the first three days of incubation. These facts also contribute the the low incidence of cowbird parasitism upon waxwings. An interesting species but one we still have much to learn about. Dan Gleason ----------------- Dan Gleason 541 345-0450 dan-gleason@comcast.net On Jan 6, 2006, at 9:45 AM, DAVID IRONS wrote: > I took a quick look at the CBC data site online to check on Eugene > CBC numbers for waxwings. I was actually mistaken about last > year. The count did get Cedar Waxwing in 2005. I pulled up 30 > years of data and discovered that Eugene used to get a lot more > waxwings than have been detected in recent years. There were a > couple counts in the late 70's and early 80's that had over 1000 > waxwings. In recent years there have been a number of counts with > 100-250 waxwings, but nothing approaching former numbers. In poor > years counts ranged from 0 in 1992 (the only time the species has > been missed in 30 years) to about 50 birds with several counts in > the single digits. It would be interesting to know why we don't > get the numbers that occurred in the "old days". I know that used > to be some big holly plantations that have been cleared for > development, perhaps Dan Gleason or one of the other Eugene CBC > vets can offer some explanation. > > Dave Irons > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From johnpam at ipns.com Fri Jan 6 11:00:39 2006 From: johnpam at ipns.com (JohnPam) Date: Fri Jan 6 10:58:54 2006 Subject: [obol] Lurking Around Fowl Water (i.e. Local Sewage Ponds) Message-ID: A trip to both Silverton and Mt. Angel Sewage Ponds yesterday yielded absolutely no Rails or Rail vocalization in the Silverton ponds and a large number of Rails in the Mt. Angel ponds. A local birder rode along and SAW his first VIRGINIA RAILS down at Mt. Angel Sewage Ponds. (Main purpose of the trip.) We also heard several SORAS very close in but did not see them. Silverton ponds also had many Wigeon, many Green-winged Teal, N Shoveller, Ring-necked Duck, rafts of Am Coot, Cooper's Hawk(1), Yellow-Rumped Warbler (1), Marsh Wren, etc. I am trying to figure out why there is a lack of Rails and Soras now at Silverton ponds and speculate it had something to do with those ponds moving more slowly and freezing over a few weeks ago (I saw Coot "dancing on the ice" over there) whereas the Mt Angel ponds may have more active moving water and didn't freeze over. Luckily we still had Rails (and Soras) when the local 4th grade kids visited 6-7 weeks ago. Mt. Angel ponds also had Mew's Gulls, many Marsh Wrens, Am Coot, a few Canada Geese, but lacked waterfowl overall. Big contrast to a few months ago. Noticed a huge flotilla of decoys just outside the area so hunting pressure still on close to the ponds. One of the operators said he had seen a small group of Tundra Swans nearby a few days ago. No Phalaropes either place.;-) Also checked Abbey Hill and Middle School in Silverton for Western Bluebirds but they were not around. Did see an Acorn Woodpecker behind the Middle School. back to the rain, good birding, John Thomas N of Silverton From tjanzen at comcast.net Fri Jan 6 11:04:04 2006 From: tjanzen at comcast.net (Tim Janzen) Date: Fri Jan 6 11:04:33 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Eugene CBC: Cedar Waxwing In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <006c01c612f3$f6b70420$6600a8c0@TIMJ> Dear All, My experience in Clackamas County in regards to Cedar Waxwings is relatively similar to Greg's in Washington County. Cedar Waxwings appear to be relatively rare in the winter in Clackamas County. I have found them only a few times in the winter previously, once being at a holly plantation near Canby. It wouldn't surprise me if Cedar Waxwings are more common in the winter in cities in the Willamette Valley than in the more rural portions of the Willamette Valley due to a greater abundance of food supply in cities. In reviewing the CBC data for the Portland count between 1950 and 2005 I found that Cedar Waxwings had been missed on that count only 3 times during that period and that the average number of Cedar Waxwings found during that time period on the Portland count was 113. Below is a table showing the results of a query of the CBC database for Cedar Waxwings found on counts in Oregon between 1950 (Count #50) and 2005 (Count #105). It would appear that the number of Cedar Waxwings being found on CBCs in Oregon is increasing overall, but that increase is likely primarily due to increasing numbers of observers rather than being due to an actual increase in the number of Cedar Waxwings in Oregon during the CBC count period. There also appears to be quite a bit of year to year variability in the number of Cedar Waxwings found on CBCs in Oregon. Sincerely, Tim Janzen Portland Count Number Number Number / Party Hr. Number of Counts Reporting Species Number of Observers on Reporting Counts _____ 50 942 4.4804 2 81 51 47 0.5105 3 103 52 177 0.5844 2 88 53 371 1.2838 3 128 54 62 0.2696 1 72 55 188 2.6386 4 96 56 74 0.3622 2 77 57 353 1.6923 3 93 58 561 0.9183 4 107 59 692 2.0615 3 123 60 290 0.9712 3 116 61 104 0.2519 3 105 62 172 0.4226 6 126 63 454 0.7418 3 94 64 209 0.586 6 107 65 833 2.5036 8 125 66 355 0.4851 5 91 67 432 0.4253 5 106 68 242 0.2878 8 202 69 334 0.3801 8 160 70 1810 1.4224 10 202 71 694 0.4739 9 230 72 767 0.7202 11 300 73 783 0.6473 14 392 74 449 0.3423 8 229 75 1246 0.628 8 342 76 564 0.2653 11 455 77 2917 1.3604 11 466 78 1360 0.3267 13 492 79 1946 1.0923 15 455 80 1194 0.6295 17 550 81 2051 1.2729 17 514 82 326 0.1401 15 433 83 3778 1.6242 21 636 84 2269 1.1747 16 478 85 1381 0.8046 15 481 86 346 0.2312 15 533 87 3452 1.3542 20 544 88 821 0.3053 14 412 89 1831 0.934 18 562 90 1302 0.7311 19 525 91 1794 1.0907 15 349 92 384 0.1748 16 409 93 1037 0.5639 19 492 94 3624 1.2288 23 578 95 335 0.1473 18 556 96 3721 2.4269 24 636 97 1048 0.4725 24 609 98 4260 1.6732 23 613 99 1218 0.652 23 561 100 1381 0.6581 19 516 101 2812 1.3068 31 683 102 1173 0.402 23 642 103 1476 0.944 20 546 104 667 0.4141 19 420 105 1716 0.6388 27 723 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/b7631ed5/attachment.htm From mklittletree at comcast.net Fri Jan 6 11:14:22 2006 From: mklittletree at comcast.net (michel Kleinbaum) Date: Fri Jan 6 11:14:05 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Eugene CBC: Cedar Waxwing References: <006c01c612f3$f6b70420$6600a8c0@TIMJ> Message-ID: <001e01c612f5$6735bba0$a037a443@michel1927> Hello, We had Cedar Waxwings feeding on Firethorn and Cotoneaster berries from 21 January through April 2005. Nearly daily sightings in February. High counts were 50+/- on 27 January, 64+ on 5 March and 36+/- on 8 April. These were the only winter sightings in 9 years at our home in South Salem Michel Kleinbaum S. Salem ----- Original Message ----- From: Tim Janzen To: 'Dan Gleason' ; 'DAVID IRONS' ; obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 11:04 AM Subject: RE: [obol] Re: Eugene CBC: Cedar Waxwing Dear All, My experience in Clackamas County in regards to Cedar Waxwings is relatively similar to Greg's in Washington County. Cedar Waxwings appear to be relatively rare in the winter in Clackamas County. I have found them only a few times in the winter previously, once being at a holly plantation near Canby. It wouldn't surprise me if Cedar Waxwings are more common in the winter in cities in the Willamette Valley than in the more rural portions of the Willamette Valley due to a greater abundance of food supply in cities. In reviewing the CBC data for the Portland count between 1950 and 2005 I found that Cedar Waxwings had been missed on that count only 3 times during that period and that the average number of Cedar Waxwings found during that time period on the Portland count was 113. Below is a table showing the results of a query of the CBC database for Cedar Waxwings found on counts in Oregon between 1950 (Count #50) and 2005 (Count #105). It would appear that the number of Cedar Waxwings being found on CBCs in Oregon is increasing overall, but that increase is likely primarily due to increasing numbers of observers rather than being due to an actual increase in the number of Cedar Waxwings in Oregon during the CBC count period. There also appears to be quite a bit of year to year variability in the number of Cedar Waxwings found on CBCs in Oregon. Sincerely, Tim Janzen Portland Count Number Number Number / Party Hr. Number of Counts Reporting Species Number of Observers on Reporting Counts ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 50 942 4.4804 2 81 51 47 0.5105 3 103 52 177 0.5844 2 88 53 371 1.2838 3 128 54 62 0.2696 1 72 55 188 2.6386 4 96 56 74 0.3622 2 77 57 353 1.6923 3 93 58 561 0.9183 4 107 59 692 2.0615 3 123 60 290 0.9712 3 116 61 104 0.2519 3 105 62 172 0.4226 6 126 63 454 0.7418 3 94 64 209 0.586 6 107 65 833 2.5036 8 125 66 355 0.4851 5 91 67 432 0.4253 5 106 68 242 0.2878 8 202 69 334 0.3801 8 160 70 1810 1.4224 10 202 71 694 0.4739 9 230 72 767 0.7202 11 300 73 783 0.6473 14 392 74 449 0.3423 8 229 75 1246 0.628 8 342 76 564 0.2653 11 455 77 2917 1.3604 11 466 78 1360 0.3267 13 492 79 1946 1.0923 15 455 80 1194 0.6295 17 550 81 2051 1.2729 17 514 82 326 0.1401 15 433 83 3778 1.6242 21 636 84 2269 1.1747 16 478 85 1381 0.8046 15 481 86 346 0.2312 15 533 87 3452 1.3542 20 544 88 821 0.3053 14 412 89 1831 0.934 18 562 90 1302 0.7311 19 525 91 1794 1.0907 15 349 92 384 0.1748 16 409 93 1037 0.5639 19 492 94 3624 1.2288 23 578 95 335 0.1473 18 556 96 3721 2.4269 24 636 97 1048 0.4725 24 609 98 4260 1.6732 23 613 99 1218 0.652 23 561 100 1381 0.6581 19 516 101 2812 1.3068 31 683 102 1173 0.402 23 642 103 1476 0.944 20 546 104 667 0.4141 19 420 105 1716 0.6388 27 723 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/e34f31b2/attachment.htm From crmiller at bendnet.com Fri Jan 6 11:19:39 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Fri Jan 6 11:19:58 2006 Subject: [obol] Emperor Geese - need directions In-Reply-To: <20051220001046.24611.qmail@web31810.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20060106191956.C5812105202@smtp3.oregonstate.edu> Hi Obol: Craig and I are going to make our first birding trip to the coast in a couple of years and we are leaving early tomorrow morning. Any there any Emperor Geese anywhere? Directions? Inland Brant? Trumpeter Swans? (we have them on the east side of the Cascades, but you can never admire enough Swans!) Eugene area geese? Directions? Oh, Craig might want to know about rare shorebirds and where they are. Thank you! Marilyn Miller Bend, Oregon From dpvroman at budget.net Fri Jan 6 11:10:09 2006 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis P. Vroman) Date: Fri Jan 6 11:20:11 2006 Subject: [obol] Jo Co Cedar Waxwings (GP CBC) References: Message-ID: <000001c612f5$934507a0$7a331c40@hppav> Cedar Waxwing counts on the Grants Pass CBC has ranged from none (1992) to 1,615 (1986); this year 366. While doing the raptor count in the Applegate Valley on the 4th, there were 100s of Waxwings along the route. In fact, some were seen aerial foraging (insects) pretty high up over the river and at first I thought they were Swallows (belly color gave them away). There is a really good Madrone berry crop in the hills surrounding the Valley this year. Of recent, the American Robins and Waxwings have taken note of this. Generally, these birds attract Cooper's Hawks and Merlins. One Merlin seen in flight, but appears to be after Killdeer (100 or so in flight, scared up by the Merlin). Dennis (north of Grants Pass) > Personally, I do not consider 38 waxwings on the Eugene CBC as "low". My > party was responsible for about half of this year's total. Finding waxwings > is always important in our area (College Hill/Friendly St. area of south > Eugene) because is it is one of the few sectors where they regularly occur > in winter. If memory serves me correctly the count missed Cedar Waxwing in > 2005 and it is a rarity for more than one or two parties to get them. I > think that Greg's comments about food supply are on the money. In south > Eugene folks are really into gardening and landscaping so there are lots of > ornamental fruit-bearing shrubs and trees (i.e. holly, mountain ash, > hawthorn). The waxwings tend to linger as long as there is hanging fruit > and once it is gone so are they. Historically, I've noticed that waxwings > are around Eugene in big numbers until mid-November and then they drop off > pretty steadily, so by CBC time they have become pretty scarce. On occasion > (I am assuming in years of good berry supply) we get quite a few on the CBC. > However, most years one or two small flocks are all that are detected. > > Dave Irons > Eugene, OR From marciafcutler at comcast.net Fri Jan 6 11:27:09 2006 From: marciafcutler at comcast.net (MARCIA CUTLER) Date: Fri Jan 6 11:27:08 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Eugene CBC: Cedar Waxwing References: Message-ID: <009401c612f7$309c9cb0$e2f9a843@MC2> For the Corvallis CBC, Cedar Waxwings have been recorded on all but 2 or 3 of the 45 years the count has been run (1912 and from about 1962 on). The numbers have varied quite considerably. I remember one year when I was on the only team that got any Cedar Waxwings. They were in an overgrown field/backyard just south of Avery Park and in trees that might have been hawthorns. This year we recorded 41 birds from 3 areas - 2 in the city and one across the bridge in rural Linn Co. They appear to move around considerably to find good sources of berries (holly, hawthorn, mountain ash, laurel, mistletoe, pyracanthus, cotoneaster, etc). Marcia F. Cutler Corvallis ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dan Gleason" To: "DAVID IRONS" ; Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 9:51 AM Subject: Re: [obol] Re: Eugene CBC: Cedar Waxwing > Cedar Waxwings are always variable in numbers. Some years they are easily > found while other years they are quite scarce. I marked 38 as "low" based > on the historical data for the Eugene CBC. This count has occurred 64 > times. The first count was in 1912 when no waxwings were reported. Counts > have been continuous since the late 1940s and waxwings have been reported > on 58 of the 64 counts. On more than half of those counts, the number of > waxwings reported was greater than 75 and on four years, our numbers have > exceeded 500 (506 in 1976, 858 in 1949, 1033 in 1977 and the record high > of 1117 in 1982). The average for the 58 years of reporting waxwings is > 135. There are also years with few waxwings reported. There are 10 years > for which fewer than 10 birds were reported. > > It would be interesting to better understand the population dynamics of > this species in the Willamette Valley. > > Dan > > ----------------- > Dan Gleason > 541 345-0450 > dan-gleason@comcast.net > > > On Jan 6, 2006, at 9:26 AM, DAVID IRONS wrote: > >> Personally, I do not consider 38 waxwings on the Eugene CBC as "low". >> My party was responsible for about half of this year's total. Finding >> waxwings is always important in our area (College Hill/Friendly St. area >> of south Eugene) because is it is one of the few sectors where they >> regularly occur in winter. If memory serves me correctly the count >> missed Cedar Waxwing in 2005 and it is a rarity for more than one or two >> parties to get them. I think that Greg's comments about food supply are >> on the money. In south Eugene folks are really into gardening and >> landscaping so there are lots of ornamental fruit-bearing shrubs and >> trees (i.e. holly, mountain ash, hawthorn). The waxwings tend to linger >> as long as there is hanging fruit and once it is gone so are they. >> Historically, I've noticed that waxwings are around Eugene in big >> numbers until mid-November and then they drop off pretty steadily, so by >> CBC time they have become pretty scarce. On occasion (I am assuming in >> years of good berry supply) we get quite a few on the CBC. However, >> most years one or two small flocks are all that are detected. >> >> Dave Irons >> Eugene, OR >> >> >>> From: Greg Gillson >>> To: OBOL >>> Subject: [obol] Re: Eugene CBC: Cedar Waxwing >>> Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2006 08:37:42 -0800 >>> >>> > Cedar Waxwing 38 (low) >>> >>> This commentary on Cedar Waxwings on the Eugene CBC is very interesting >>> to me. >>> In Washington County, Cedar Waxwings generally depart in October and >>> don't >>> return until May. A winter sighting of Cedar Waxwing is a noteworthy >>> event. >>> They have been spotted in just 4 years of the 22 Forest Grove Christmas >>> Bird >>> Counts. >>> >>> Thus, even though intellectually I realize they are not neotropical >>> migrants, I >>> am always surprised to see them in in winter in cold places--east of >>> the >>> Cascades, for instance. Their occurrence must be due to food. I imagine >>> that >>> juniper berries are why they are abundant in winter east of the >>> Cascades. >>> >>> But what food sources or other reasons account for Cedar Waxwings being >>> expected >>> on the Eugene CBC, but not the Forest Gorve CBC? Is it non-native >>> berries that >>> are available in the larger city? Or are there native food source >>> differences? >>> >>> Greg Gillson >>> Hillsboro, Oregon >>> greg@thebirdguide.com >>> http://thebirdguide.com >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> obol mailing list >>> obol@lists.oregonstate.edu >>> http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol >>> >>> To unsubscribe, send a message to: >>> obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> obol mailing list >> obol@lists.oregonstate.edu >> http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol >> >> To unsubscribe, send a message to: >> obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.15/223 - Release Date: 1/6/2006 > > From sarahp at ci.hillsboro.or.us Fri Jan 6 11:27:36 2006 From: sarahp at ci.hillsboro.or.us (Sarah Pinnock) Date: Fri Jan 6 11:27:39 2006 Subject: [obol] Canvasbacks and Swans at Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve Message-ID: The entire Wetland is still flooded, and all the trails at the south end are closed. However, we have large flocks of waterfowl on the ponds, including 200+ Canvasbacks, Lesser Scaup, Tundra Swans, Ring-necked Ducks and Buffleheads. There are also lots of Golden-crowned, White-crowned, Lincoln and Song Sparrows and even a few Yellow-rumped and Townsend's Warblers feeding on the large mats of floating debris just below the view shelter at the north end of the Preserve. Sarah Pinnock Wetlands Education Specialist Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve _ ( '< / ) ) // " " -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/bd0dccb5/attachment.htm From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Fri Jan 6 11:53:18 2006 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Fri Jan 6 11:53:21 2006 Subject: [obol] Emperor Geese - need directions In-Reply-To: <20060106191956.C5812105202@smtp3.oregonstate.edu> Message-ID: <20060106195318.15291.qmail@web32605.mail.mud.yahoo.com> The Coos Bay Emperor Goose have not been seen or reported in a week or two, I expect it has moved on or is gone (I've looked several times). Also, the Curlew Sandpiper was a one-day wonder as far as I can tell. Numerous visits were made (to Bastendorff Beach, the north spit, and other areas) to try and refind the CUSA by several birders without luck (except for one out-of-state birder who miracously found the bird several days after the initial discovery although other birders could not find it the previous day, the same day, or the day after the person refound it). Of course it's a big bay and there are thousands of Dunlin and shorebirds around, so with a few weeks of searching, maybe you could be the one to refind that bird if it is still indeed around! Not to discourage people from looking, but I think your odds are slim... Sorry Marilyn! Tim R Coos Bay --- Marilyn Miller wrote: > Hi Obol: > > Craig and I are going to make our first birding trip > to the coast in a > couple of years and we are leaving early tomorrow > morning. > > Any there any Emperor Geese anywhere? Directions? > > Inland Brant? > > Trumpeter Swans? (we have them on the east side of > the Cascades, but you > can never admire enough Swans!) > > Eugene area geese? Directions? > > > Oh, Craig might want to know about rare shorebirds > and where they are. > > Thank you! > > Marilyn Miller > Bend, Oregon > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From fschrock at macnet.com Fri Jan 6 12:57:05 2006 From: fschrock at macnet.com (Floyd Schrock) Date: Fri Jan 6 12:57:18 2006 Subject: [obol] Hardy References: <004201c612dd$974bafb0$628dfea9@S1100382963> Message-ID: <007f01c61303$c07599c0$0b01a8c0@desktop> Okay, somebody recently asked if there are any English majors in this group (I can't recall the reason) and I resisted the urge to reveal that fact about myself at that time. But now the English teacher's "obsession" with language compels me to open myself up to some inevitable heckling (or groaning, which is what I usually get from my kids) by pointing out a common misuse of a word in the expression in question here. I suppose laughter can be "hardy" as in tough or resilient, but the correct word in the phrase, as I understand it, would be "hearty" laughter, meaning heart-felt, sincere, or coming from deep within. Might have prevented the original misspelling and "typo" that (perhaps) led to misinterpretation. Plurality of :-) :-) here. Oh, something about birds? No siskins at my feeders here in McMinnville so far this winter. Yours for Speaking Strictly, ===================== Floyd Schrock McMinnville, Oregon USA fschrock@macnet.com (Okay, there must be a misspeling somewhere in this message or the next one I send... :-) ----- Original Message ----- Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 8:23 AM Subject: [obol] Hardy Jay, "Hardly should actually bee HARDY... LOL!" That is a relief. I thought you and yours had no sense of humour. Have a good dayKim RollinsBurns, OR ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. --- [This E-mail Scanned for viruses by Online Northwest] From farrarjd at hotmail.com Fri Jan 6 13:18:23 2006 From: farrarjd at hotmail.com (Daniel Farrar) Date: Fri Jan 6 13:18:24 2006 Subject: [obol] Lane County happenings Message-ID: Obol, Saw a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK on the fence around the Eugene Airport. The juvenile SWAINSON'S HAWK was on a fence near the Snowy Owl sight (no owl this afternoon, but it was there at dusk last night). The TUNDRA SWAN flock (is flock the right word Floyd?) was still present on Meadowview Ln. It is pretty decently sized this year, but I could not pick out any Trumpeters. Some birds were very close, offering superb views. There were also 15 G WHITE-FRONTED GEESE mixed in, a good number for Lane. The VERY large raft of ducks continues on Fern Ridge. I've heard estimates in the 30-50k range, apparently double the norm. On Kirk Pond, however, there are two ducks; a mallard and a widgeon. Guess they prefer the main body of water this year, probably food related, due to the high volume of vegetation that grew during the summer drawdown. Unusual on Kirk Pond was a CLARK'S GREBE. That's one I would have expected to find on the reservoir. That's all for now. Happy wet-weather watching! Daniel Farrar Eugene, OR farrarjd@hotmail.com From oschmidt at att.net Fri Jan 6 13:24:55 2006 From: oschmidt at att.net (Owen Schmidt) Date: Fri Jan 6 13:25:48 2006 Subject: [obol] Lane County happenings In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: The collective pronoun for swans is "bevy." Flying, they make a "wedge." SOURCE: http://www.annexed.net/bthree/nouns.html "Bevy" can be applied to any group of birds, though, particularly when they are closely gathered on the ground. oschmidt@att.net Friday, January 6, 2006 On Friday, January 6, 2006, at 1:18 PM, Daniel Farrar wrote: > The TUNDRA SWAN flock (is flock the right word Floyd?) was still > present on Meadowview Ln. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/a43b2aa7/attachment.htm From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Fri Jan 6 13:57:33 2006 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Fri Jan 6 13:57:35 2006 Subject: [obol] Coos Birds Message-ID: <20060106215733.15186.qmail@web32613.mail.mud.yahoo.com> As mentioned in a previous e-mail, neither the EMPEROR GOOSE or the CURLEW SANDPIPER have been seen in a while. Out on the north spit of Coos Bay (south end near the north jetty, need a 4x4 to drive out to the site or it's a satisfying 8-9 mile walk in sand) the SNOW BUNTING and the 6 HORNED LARKS continue (at least through 1/4). Also, the 2 CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS were still at Millicoma Marsh on 1/4 also. While looking for the Emperor Goose at Fossil Point in Empire, I found a PIGEON GUILLEMOT a couple differnet days recently. I has seen one before the Coos CBC, but it disappeared CBC week (dang). Lots of rain and high water still although roads are more navigeable now. Of course it's raining hard today and the forecast is wet, so stay tuned to road conditions if you're headed out to the south coast! Tim R Coos Bay __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From paul.jacobsen at oregonstate.edu Fri Jan 6 14:56:48 2006 From: paul.jacobsen at oregonstate.edu (Jacobsen, Paul) Date: Fri Jan 6 14:56:53 2006 Subject: [obol] Polk County Snowy Owl Message-ID: <4D5DA98A54374044B7CC3F40A157B98B1161E5@thuja> I managed to get out to see the SNOWY OWL that is west of Perrydale in Polk County today. It was pretty much where everyone has seen it, except I didn't see a white bucket. I drove past the spot it was being seen and missed it, but when I turned back I spotted a bit of white in the distance. I found it easier to look at by turning up the road to the north off of W. Perrydale, as the bird was a long ways out into the field. First Snowy for me! Paul Jacobsen Dallas, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/53a593a2/attachment.htm From dan-gleason at comcast.net Fri Jan 6 15:26:56 2006 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Fri Jan 6 15:25:36 2006 Subject: [obol] Eugene CBC - final results Message-ID: <3B9D91D4-CB94-4FFB-A90E-1E1CF36A878C@comcast.net> Eugene CBC ? January 1, 2006 Final results: We had 110 participants in the field and 38 home counters. All of the home counts have now been added to the preliminary results that I sent out yesterday. Most numbers don?t change significantly but it does add two species that were missed by teams this year: Hairy Woodpecker (1) and Pine Siskin (1). The number of most species was not significantly increased but it did bring the number of Cedar Waxwings up to 65 and the already record number of Townsend?s Warbler has now gone up to 135! The full tally is below. 139 species 73,956 individual birds were reported (R) indicates species that were a record high for this count. There were no species new to the count historically. Species usually seen but missing this year include: Mountain Quail, American Bittern, Red Crossbill. Unusual species include: Ross?s Goose, Brant, Black-crowned Night- Heron, Swainson?s Hawk, Red Phalarope, Snowy Owl, Black Phoebe, Tree Swallow, Northern Mockingbird, Common Yellowthroat and Vesper Sparrow. Greater White-fronted Goose 14 Snow Goose 1 Ross?s Goose 1 Brant 1 Cackling Goose 18,482 (R) Canada Goose 6,329 Tundra Swan 540 Wood Duck 36 Gadwall 429 (R) Eurasian Wigeon 3 American Wigeon 1,364 Mallard 2,895 Northern Shoveler 377 Northern Pintail 4,035 Green-winged Teal 8,994 (R) Canvasback 70 Ring-necked Duck 38 Greater Scaup 2 Lesser Scaup 603 Bufflehead 93 Common Goldeneye 1 Hooded Merganser 10 Common Merganser 108 Ruddy Duck 201 Ring-necked Pheasant 25 Wild Turkey 102 California Quail 117 Common Loon 1 Pied-billed Grebe 83 Horned Grebe 2 Eared Grebe 1 Western Grebe 6 (low) Clark?s Grebe 1 Double-crested Cormorant 525 Great Blue Heron 79 Great Egret 54 Green Heron 3 Black-crowned Night-Heron 12 (R) Turkey Vulture 16 (R) Osprey 1 White-tailed Kite 20 Bald Eagle 19 (R) Northern Harrier 110 Sharp-shinned Hawk 17 Cooper?s Hawk 18 (R) Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Swainson?s Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 168 (R) Rough-legged Hawk 1 (low) American Kestrel 94 Merlin 7 Peregrine Falcon 5 (R) [Prairie Falcon] count week Virginia Rail 1 American Coot 392 Killdeer 386 (low) Greater Yellowlegs 77 Spotted Sandpiper 5 Dunlin 1,935 Long-billed Dowitcher 66 Wilson?s Snipe 92 Red Phalarope 13 (R) Mew Gull 11 Ring-billed Gull 497 (low) California Gull 35 (low) Herring Gull 7 (low) Thayer?s Gull 13 Western Gull 12 Glaucous-winged Gull 224 Western X Glaucous-winged hybrid 48 Unidentified gulls 270 Rock Pigeon 515 Band-tailed Pigeon 12 Mourning Dove 155 Barn Owl 15 (R) Western Screech-Owl 17 Great Horned Owl 23 Snowy Owl 1 Northern Pygmy-Owl 3 Short-eared Owl 6 Northern Saw-whet Owl 8 (R) Anna?s Hummingbird 45 Belted Kingfisher 25 Acorn Woodpecker 7 (low) Red-breasted Sapsucker 7 Downy Woodpecker 41 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 433 Pileated Woodpecker 2 (low) Black Phoebe 3 (R) Northern Shrike 1 (low) Hutton?s Vireo 9 Steller?s Jay 180 Western Scrub-Jay 563 American Crow 1,797 Common Raven 81 Tree Swallow 7 Black-capped Chickadee 588 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 167 Bushtit 835 Red-breasted Nuthatch 63 White-breasted Nuthatch 9 Brown Creeper 33 Bewick?s Wren 56 Winter Wren 43 Marsh Wren 20 Golden-crowned Kinglet 483 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 453 Western Bluebird 194 (R) Hermit Thrush 2 American Robin 2,580 Varied Thrush 40 (low) Wrentit 5 Northern Mockingbird 2 European Starling 7,272 American Pipit 183 Cedar Waxwing 65 Orange-crowned Warbler 4 Yellow-rumped Warbler 115 Townsend?s Warbler 135 (R) Common Yellowthroat 1 Spotted Towhee 266 Vesper Sparrow 1 Savannah Sparrow 96 Fox Sparrow 162 Song Sparrow 421 Lincoln?s Sparrow 44 White-throated Sparrow 7 White-crowned Sparrow 129 Golden-crowned sparrow 753 Dark-eyed Junco 1,804 Red-winged Blackbird 631 (low) Western Meadowlark 187 Brewer?s Blackbird 968 Brown-headed Cowbird 1 Purple Finch 83 House Finch 342 Pine Siskin 1 Lesser Goldfinch 74 American Goldfinch 216 Evening Grosbeak 10 House Sparrow 421 ----------------- Dan Gleason 541 345-0450 dan-gleason@comcast.net From bcombs at dialoregon.net Fri Jan 6 15:35:47 2006 From: bcombs at dialoregon.net (bcombs@dialoregon.net) Date: Fri Jan 6 15:35:48 2006 Subject: [obol] Harrisburg-Coburg Raptor Route; Falcated Duck(no); Snowy Owl Message-ID: <1176.64.28.52.141.1136590547.squirrel@shemp.dialoregon.net> Yesterday (January 5, 2006) I took advantage of a no-rain day to run the raptor route in the area between Harrisburg and Coburg. The route passes by the RV Park on Van Duyn road, so we made a quick side trip into the park to check for the Falcated Duck. A few waterfowl were present, but not the hoped-for duck. We capped off the day with some awesome looks at the Lane County SNOWY OWL (at its usual location near the eastern end of Franklin Road) as it left its perch on the fence to circle overhead above the small crowd of owl-watchers lined up along the road. Raptor run results: 32 Red-tailed Hawks 27 American Kestrels 6 Northern Harriers 7 Bald Eagles (3 adults, 4 immatures) 1 Rough-legged Hawk 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 Cooper's Hawks From conserve at tidelink.net Fri Jan 6 16:16:20 2006 From: conserve at tidelink.net (Conservation For The Oregon Coast) Date: Fri Jan 6 16:16:23 2006 Subject: [obol] Hardy In-Reply-To: <007f01c61303$c07599c0$0b01a8c0@desktop> References: <004201c612dd$974bafb0$628dfea9@S1100382963> <007f01c61303$c07599c0$0b01a8c0@desktop> Message-ID: <43BF0854.3000006@tidelink.net> No spelling errors that I could find Floyd. However, you did forget to close with a ending parens... :) And I am of your thinking entirely... Hearty makes much more sense. Thanks for the clarification... Few Pine Siskins here as well, two last week but other than that we have struck out here. Jason in Lakeside Floyd Schrock wrote: > Okay, somebody recently asked if there are any English majors in this > group (I can't recall the reason) and I resisted the urge to reveal > that fact about myself at that time. But now the English teacher's > "obsession" with language compels me to open myself up to some > inevitable heckling (or groaning, which is what I usually get from my > kids) by pointing out a common misuse of a word in the expression in > question here. I suppose laughter can be "hardy" as in tough or > resilient, but the correct word in the phrase, as I understand it, > would be "hearty" laughter, meaning heart-felt, sincere, or coming > from deep within. Might have prevented the original misspelling and > "typo" that (perhaps) led to misinterpretation. > > Plurality of :-) :-) here. > > Oh, something about birds? No siskins at my feeders here in > McMinnville so far this winter. > > Yours for Speaking Strictly, > > ===================== > Floyd Schrock > McMinnville, Oregon USA > fschrock@macnet.com > > (Okay, there must be a misspeling somewhere in this message or the > next one I send... :-) > > ----- Original Message ----- > Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 8:23 AM > Subject: [obol] Hardy > > > Jay, > > "Hardly should actually bee HARDY... LOL!" > > That is a relief. I thought you and yours had no sense of humour. > Have a good dayKim RollinsBurns, OR > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > --- > [This E-mail Scanned for viruses by Online Northwest] > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > > -- Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. -- John Muir, The Yosemite (1912). http://conserve.tidelink.net -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: conserve.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 387 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/a09332cc/conserve.vcf From philliplc at harborside.com Fri Jan 6 16:21:22 2006 From: philliplc at harborside.com (Phillip Pickering) Date: Fri Jan 6 16:22:31 2006 Subject: [obol] Boiler Bay Message-ID: <090f01c61320$4be2e500$6601a8c0@byronq189eo067> 7:45-8:45 (1/6): Overcast with rain heavy at times, visibility limited during first 1/2 hour, wind SE 10-20, 10-12 ft swells. Scoters steady S at 200-800/minute combined for most of the hour. 150+ Red-throated Loons (S) 15+ Common Loons 2 Red-necked Grebes 4 Western Grebes 2 Brandt's Cormorants 3 Pelagic Cormorants 6 Black Scoters 10000+ Surf Scoters (a few small rafts with barely detectable northward drift) 7000+ White-winged 5 Mew Gulls 40 Western Gulls 8 Glaucous-winged Gulls 4 Common Murres 4 Pigeon Guillemots 2 Marbled Murrelets Phil philliplc@harborside.com From conserve at tidelink.net Fri Jan 6 16:26:24 2006 From: conserve at tidelink.net (Conservation For The Oregon Coast) Date: Fri Jan 6 16:26:31 2006 Subject: [obol] Elkton Snowy Owl? Message-ID: <43BF0AB0.8020909@tidelink.net> I work with a man who I would call far from the bird loving type and reported something strange to me today... He drove to Eugene (from the Coos Bay area) to a doctors appointment yesterday. In so doing he drove through Elkton. When on the east side of town, just outside city limits he spotted a very large white bird , dead on the highway. He stopped, and checked to (in all seriousness) give me all the details so he could watch the agony on my face when he reported it's death. He described a white owl with a sharply curved bill and gray/charcoal/bluish flecks on much of the body. I pursued the angle that such a bird does not exist (lying through my teeth to prevent him from the easy pleasure) and that he must mean Barn Owl. I showed a picture of a Barn Owl and he denied that was the bird. He has been known in the past to harass me somewhat on my appreciation of the birds, but was wondering if anybody has heard of such a thing in the last day or two or if we could find out for certain. Thanks for taking the time... Jason in Lakeside -- Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. -- John Muir, The Yosemite (1912). http://conserve.tidelink.net -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: conserve.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 387 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/a28fef30/conserve.vcf From linda at fink.com Fri Jan 6 16:58:34 2006 From: linda at fink.com (Linda Fink) Date: Fri Jan 6 16:58:38 2006 Subject: [obol] Yamhill/Polk birds Message-ID: <200601070058.k070wYrp043436@mail.viclink.com> Just back from a fun day with the Woodhouses. Thanks so much to the woman who found and reported the Red-breasted Goose, and to Don Albright for giving such good directions. We found this spectacular bird in a huge flock of mixed geese (no collars and I refuse to guess) just off Hwy 233 (the Amity-Dayton Hwy), almost across from where Airport Rd. intersects Hwy 233. Depending on where the flock wanders, it might be closer to take Stackhoff Rd., which is just west of Airport Rd, off Hwy 233. The rain kindly stopped long enough for John to videotape this lovely goose. We also saw the Snowy Owl off to the north of West Perrydale Rd., this time a bit west of its white bucket companion, but in the same field and easily spotted against the bare ground (although a scope is still needed to see what that white blob is). The Blanchard Rd. bluebirds did their thing for the Woodhouses, who were equally astounded at how long the birds managed to hang in the air. They'd seen bluebirds hover before, but never like this. A large flock of yellow-rumped warblers gave us good looks alongside the road. The usual pair of light phase Rough-legged Hawks performed in the W. Perrydale field that is just east of Emerson Rd., along with numerous Red-tails and various other buteos of uncertain i.d. (It was raining.) One possible Rough-legged had an all white tail. I'll go back on a clear day (if we have any more of those) and try for a better look. Scads of Kestrels all along the way. One bald eagle on its usual perch near the Monastery was visible from the Bellevue Hwy on our way home. A good birding day in spite of the weather. (Lunch at the Mexican restaurant in Amity was good, too.) Linda Fink From forobol at msn.com Fri Jan 6 17:49:25 2006 From: forobol at msn.com (Al Ahlgrim) Date: Fri Jan 6 17:49:20 2006 Subject: [obol] Lane County happenings References: Message-ID: Also, in addition to Bevy and Wedge for swans: Lamentation/ Herd/ Bank/ Squadron/ Whiteness This is according to Baltimore Birdchat. Follow the link below to Terry Ross for a 14 page list of Bird Group names. It's entertaining and has historical names too. http://baltimorebirdclub.org/gnchat.html Al Ahlgrim ----- Original Message ----- From: Owen Schmidt To: Daniel Farrar Cc: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 1:24 PM Subject: Re: [obol] Lane County happenings The collective pronoun for swans is "bevy." Flying, they make a "wedge." SOURCE: http://www.annexed.net/bthree/nouns.html "Bevy" can be applied to any group of birds, though, particularly when they are closely gathered on the ground. oschmidt@att.net Friday, January 6, 2006 On Friday, January 6, 2006, at 1:18 PM, Daniel Farrar wrote: The TUNDRA SWAN flock (is flock the right word Floyd?) was still present on Meadowview Ln. _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/602c9534/attachment.htm From celata at pacifier.com Fri Jan 6 17:54:45 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Fri Jan 6 17:53:34 2006 Subject: [obol] Columbia Estuary Report - 01/06/2006 Message-ID: <43BF1F2A.6228515E@pacifier.com> Columbia Estuary Report - 01/06/2006 Steve Warner saw a BROWN PELICAN yesterday at Seaside Cove. There were also several BLACK SCOTERS there. There were only 3 SNOWY OWLS at the South Jetty this morning, still about 80 RED PHALAROPES at the ponds. I could only find two pellets this morning, one had phalaropes in it the other had an, as yet unidentified, bird in it with a slightly larger and more robust femur and a much larger furcula than one would find in a phalarope. As many as 6 WHITE-TAILED KITES are around Youngs Bay for those who know where to look: 3 at Wireless, 2 at the airport and 1 near Netal. RED-TAILED HAWKS numbers have nose drived. I could only find 2 on the Youngs Bay Raptor route (average runs around 11, 16 on 12-2-2005). Numbers on the Columbia Estuary CBC were way low as well. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From johndavidclem at yahoo.com Fri Jan 6 18:09:39 2006 From: johndavidclem at yahoo.com (John Clem) Date: Fri Jan 6 18:09:41 2006 Subject: [obol] RFI#4 from South Dakota Message-ID: <20060107020939.84042.qmail@web51706.mail.yahoo.com> Two weeks to go before I leave for Portland. Thanks to everyone who responded to my previous RFI - if my trip turns out to be unproductive, I certainly won't be able to blame the Oregon birding community! Now I'd like to find out about your shorebirds, primarily black oystercatcher and rock sandpiper. The Evanich guide mentions several places for the oystercatcher, but I'd still like to know what you folks think are the most likely places to find them. I'd really like to get a good photo of one - can anybody comment on how approachable they are? For the rock sandpiper, the guide mentions Seal Rock SP as the best site. Is that still true? For both species, I imagine that jetties could be most productive. Any tips on which jetties are most accessible, or particularly birdy? Thanks again. John Clem Vermillion, SD --------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos Got holiday prints? See all the ways to get quality prints in your hands ASAP. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/c300559b/attachment.htm From beckykt at adelphia.net Fri Jan 6 18:48:26 2006 From: beckykt at adelphia.net (Becky) Date: Fri Jan 6 18:48:29 2006 Subject: [obol] Astoria Area Saturday Bird Walks Message-ID: <000e01c61334$d59f1e80$0402a8c0@AstroN> Hi, I did the Cowlitz & Columbia CBC this past weekend and was told that Mike Patterson does bird walks the first Saturday of each month. I wanted to find out if he is still doing them, and if there will be one this Saturday (January 7th). Any details anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated. I was also wondering if children are allowed. I have an 8 year old son who does enjoy some bird watching with me. I tried emailing Mike Patterson earlier this week and have not heard back. Maybe I didn't use the right email address or maybe he is busy with all the CBC records and my email got lost in the shuffle. Thanks, Becky Kent Longview, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/a64362af/attachment.htm From rbayer at orednet.org Fri Jan 6 19:40:14 2006 From: rbayer at orednet.org (Range Bayer) Date: Fri Jan 6 19:39:40 2006 Subject: [obol] Newport Snowy Owl at Midnight at the Hatfield Marine Science Center Message-ID: Renee Bellinger writes: "At midnight on Christmas Eve, I was treated to a close-up view of the Snowy Owl by the fire hydrant near the Visitor's Center in the Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) parking lot!" At about 12:05 AM the morning of Jan. 6, Steve Bemis found a Snowy perched on the ground in the median of the HMSC Visitor's Center Parking lot. He alerted others, so Jim Ruzicka, John Hagan, Mike Guthrie, and I also were able to watch it. It eventually flew and landed on top of a light pole, but at 1 AM, it was perched again on the ground by the light pole. Steve thinks he may also have seen it flying at about midnight the morning of Jan. 5 at the HMSC Visitors Center Parking Lot. Cheers, Range Bayer, rbayer@orednet.org, PO Box 1467, Newport, Oregon 97365 USA From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Fri Jan 6 20:16:44 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Fri Jan 6 20:16:47 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Newport Snowy Owl at Midnight at the Hatfield Marine Science Center Message-ID: <20060107041644.85626.qmail@web51809.mail.yahoo.com> Good reason to slow down in that parking lot. It was not at any of its hunting look out points after sunset tonight nor at the fish processing plant. There was a steady rain about that time. __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From ndbarret at medford.net Fri Jan 6 20:30:39 2006 From: ndbarret at medford.net (Norman & Donna Barrett) Date: Fri Jan 6 20:30:52 2006 Subject: [obol] TREE SPARROW - Jackson County Message-ID: <000001c61343$1ffda150$ef321c40@Speedy> I don't recall this being posted on OBOL yet. An American Tree Sparrow was found in Jackson County in early December (12/11?) by Jim Livaudias. It is still present. The location is in White City, on Tou Ville Rd. off of Agate Rd. Tou Ville is a dirt road into a game management area that is blocked by a gate. A key to the gate can be obtained from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife office on East Gregory Rd in White City. Take Tou Ville Rd to its end (appx 1 mile). On the left of the road is a flooded field with three islands of blackberries. The bird has been seen consistently on these islands and occasionally in the bushes along the road. It was seen on Jan 2 and again this morning. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/f59d663c/attachment.htm From crmiller at bendnet.com Fri Jan 6 21:58:52 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Fri Jan 6 21:59:01 2006 Subject: [obol] Rock Sandpipers Message-ID: <20060107055859.ABC291713EC@smtp2.oregonstate.edu> Hi Obol: Everyone has been so helpful with the other birds. Thank you to everyone who responded. Any current Rock Sandpipers anywhere? They would still be a life bird for me after all this time! Marilyn Miller Mostly Sunny Bend, Oregon PS I am not used to rain anymore so can some one tell it not to rain on the west side or on the coast for the next two days!! :-) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060106/b7597d8b/attachment.htm From lconrad at adelphia.net Fri Jan 6 23:12:28 2006 From: lconrad at adelphia.net (Lori Conrad) Date: Fri Jan 6 23:12:34 2006 Subject: [obol] Re; closing the book on the harassment debate References: <43BDAF05.6000907@attglobal.net> <43BEA011.7030904@verizon.net> Message-ID: <011b01c61359$b851e630$121ca745@S0026192605> Give it up already! better yet, take it offlist! I've only been reading this list for a couple of weeks, because of an upcoming trip, & this diatribe is boring & juvenile. If you don't have a bird to report, maybe all of the squabbling is best left to the gulls! :-) Lori ----- Original Message ----- From: "DJLauten and KACastelein" To: "Oregon Birders OnLine" Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 8:51 AM Subject: Re: [obol] Re; closing the book on the harassment debate > Joel Geier wrote: > >> >> I am also willing to take up Dave Lauten on the 99.99% thing. Since there are >> far fewer than 10,000 birders, if there is even one OBOL lurker out there who >> thinks this whole harassment thing is a load of crap, I win. >> > > Folks, > > What I said was "unnecessarily harass birds". If there really is 1 person on > OBOL who thinks it is ok to "unnecessarily" harass birds, they ought to have > their head examined, or something like that. Is there really people out there > who think it is ok to deliberately, and unnecessarily, harass birds? What an > aweful thought. I never saw anyone argue that it is ok to "unnecessarily" > harass birds. What I read was that there was a disagreement on what > constitutes harassment, and for that matter, what is harassment. But I never > saw anyone advocate going out to the feeder or the mudflat and deliberately > chasing birds so that they burn more energy than they need too. Now, I will > agree that there are some people out there that think this whole conversation > is BS, but that is a different story. > > Cheers > Dave Lauten > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From contopus at telus.net Fri Jan 6 23:05:22 2006 From: contopus at telus.net (Wayne C. Weber) Date: Fri Jan 6 23:25:54 2006 Subject: [obol] Vancouver, BC RBA for January 4, 2006 Message-ID: <015901c61358$ba4d0f60$6500a8c0@bc.hsia.telus.net> This is the Vancouver Natural History Society's Rare Bird Alert for Wednesday, January 4th, sponsored in part by Wild Birds Unlimited, with stores in Vancouver and North Vancouver. This message was updated at 9:30 pm on January 4th. The RBA phone number is (604) 737-3074. Sightings for Wednesday, January 4th: 3 CACKLING GEESE with about 60 Canada Geese were on the field between Lost Lagoon and the pool in Stanley Park, Vancouver. Sightings for Tuesday, January 3rd: A NORTHERN SHRIKE, and a male and a female AMERICAN KESTREL were observed at Colony Farm on the Port Coquitlam side. Sightings for Saturday, December 31st: At Iona Island in Richmond, the ROCK WREN continues on the south jetty just past the 2nd shelter on the north side. In Langley, at 208th St and 102B Ave, 10 CACKLING GEESE were present. Sightings for Friday, December 30th: At the Iona south jetty, the ROCK WREN and a SNOWY OWL were seen near the 2nd shelter. Nearby on Iona were 2 NORTHERN SHRIKES and 13 RING-NECKED DUCKS. A second SNOWY OWL was present inside the Vancouver Airport property on Sea Island. Also in Richmond on the Lulu Island west dyke at the end of Francis Road, a SNOWY OWL has been present for at least 2 days. Sightings for Thursday, December 29th: At the Iona Island south jetty in Richmond, the ROCK WREN was present near the 2nd shelter. In Delta, at the intersection of 112th St and Hornby Drive, an adult gray phase GYRFALCON was present. At Brunswick Point in Delta, 9 SNOWY OWLS and a NORTHERN SHRIKE were sighted. At Blackie Spit in Surrey, 3 MARBLED GODWITS were present. Sightings for Wednesday, December 28th: At the Iona south jetty, the ROCK WREN was present near the 2nd shelter. Sightings for Tuesday, December 27th: The Ladner Christmas Bird Count tallied 140 species, with the following highlights: At the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta were a YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, 2 SWAMP SPARROWS, 6 SANDHILL CRANES, 4 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, and 3 AMERICAN BITTERNS. Nearby, 6 MUTE SWANS were seen near the Westham Island Bridge. At Brunswick Point and vicinity, 7 SNOWY OWLS, 2 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS, and 3 AMERICAN BITTERNS were seen. On the Boundary Bay shoreline in Delta, eastward from the foot of 72nd Street, 17 SNOWY OWLS were counted. At the Tsawwassen jetty in Delta, 4 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, the WILLET, and 2 SNOW BUNTINGS were present. At Lily Point in Pt. Roberts, a drake REDHEAD was present. This message was prepared and transcribed by Mark Wynja, and forwarded by Wayne Weber. Wayne C. Weber Delta, BC contopus@telus.net From conserve at tidelink.net Sat Jan 7 06:03:37 2006 From: conserve at tidelink.net (Conservation For The Oregon Coast) Date: Sat Jan 7 06:03:39 2006 Subject: Thanks! Re: [obol] Alaska version... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <43BFCA39.6090301@tidelink.net> Thanks to all for the help on this. I appreciate it greatly! Jason in Lakeside Daniel Farrar wrote: > Try birdinonthe.net It has links for all the lists. I think there > are two for AK. > > > > Daniel Farrar > Eugene, OR > farrarjd@hotmail.com > > > > > ----Original Message Follows---- > From: Conservation For The Oregon Coast > Reply-To: conserve@tidelink.net > To: Obol > Subject: [obol] Alaska version... > Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2006 07:20:42 -0800 > > Good morning all... > > Is anyone here aware of an Alaska version of our lovely OBOL? The wife > and I are looking to get some land of there and wanted to know about > the birds and flora in the area. Thanks! > > Jason in Lakeside > > -- > Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray > in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. -- > John Muir, The Yosemite (1912). > http://conserve.tidelink.net > > > > << conserve.vcf >> > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > > > > -- Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. -- John Muir, The Yosemite (1912). http://conserve.tidelink.net -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: conserve.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 387 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060107/2f8b08ef/conserve.vcf From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Sat Jan 7 07:42:02 2006 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Sat Jan 7 07:33:47 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl article Message-ID: Front-page feature with a huge photo of the Eugene area Snowy Owl today in the Register-Guard. Story by Bob Keefer, Noah Strycker's dad. Nice quotes from the farm owner, who is pleased to have the owl around. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer@mindspring.com From youngwarriors at hotmail.com Sat Jan 7 09:56:55 2006 From: youngwarriors at hotmail.com (Keith Owen) Date: Sat Jan 7 09:56:59 2006 Subject: [obol] Emperor Geese - need directions In-Reply-To: <20060106191956.C5812105202@smtp3.oregonstate.edu> Message-ID: There are usually a lot of swans (both Trumpeter and Tundra) along Airlie Road west of highway 99W. From Corvallis take 99W north past E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area. Airlie Road is about 2 miles north of the the Wildlife Area. From Salem take highway 22 west to 99W at Rickreall (intersection is currently under construction). Take 99W south past Monmouth and the Helmick State Park turnoff. Airlie Road is about 3 miles south of Helmick State Park turnoff. Keith Owen >From: "Marilyn Miller" >To: >Subject: [obol] Emperor Geese - need directions >Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2006 11:19:39 -0800 > >Hi Obol: > >Craig and I are going to make our first birding trip to the coast in a >couple of years and we are leaving early tomorrow morning. > >Any there any Emperor Geese anywhere? Directions? > >Inland Brant? > >Trumpeter Swans? (we have them on the east side of the Cascades, but you >can never admire enough Swans!) > >Eugene area geese? Directions? > > >Oh, Craig might want to know about rare shorebirds and where they are. > >Thank you! > >Marilyn Miller >Bend, Oregon > > > > > >_______________________________________________ >obol mailing list >obol@lists.oregonstate.edu >http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > >To unsubscribe, send a message to: >obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From tc at empnet.com Sat Jan 7 10:22:42 2006 From: tc at empnet.com (Tom Crabtree) Date: Sat Jan 7 10:22:44 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl article References: Message-ID: <001801c613b7$593f4760$6500a8c0@tomwttwq0c6hrm> For those of us not in Eugene, here is a link to the first page of the article: http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/01/06/images/rgfront20060107.pdf The full story will be available at noon. Tom ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alan Contreras" To: "obol" Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2006 7:42 AM Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl article Front-page feature with a huge photo of the Eugene area Snowy Owl today in the Register-Guard. Story by Bob Keefer, Noah Strycker's dad. Nice quotes from the farm owner, who is pleased to have the owl around. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer@mindspring.com _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From llsdirons at msn.com Sat Jan 7 12:38:30 2006 From: llsdirons at msn.com (DAVID IRONS) Date: Sat Jan 7 12:38:32 2006 Subject: [obol] NAB -- Making sure you got it. Message-ID: Steve, I just wanted to make sure that you received and were able to open my NAB draft. I figured the questions would be pouring in by now. Dave From jmoodie at cocc.edu Sat Jan 7 12:36:14 2006 From: jmoodie at cocc.edu (Jim Moodie) Date: Sat Jan 7 12:38:35 2006 Subject: [obol] RE: [COBOL] Rock Sandpipers Message-ID: Marilyn, Kim and I found a Rock Sandpiper at Depoe Bay in late November. It was near the whale watching center with some Black Turnstones. Lifer for me too! Cheers, Jim ________________________________ From: cobol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu on behalf of Marilyn Miller Sent: Fri 06-Jan-06 21:58 To: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu; C Oregon Birders On-Line Subject: [COBOL] Rock Sandpipers Hi Obol: Everyone has been so helpful with the other birds. Thank you to everyone who responded. Any current Rock Sandpipers anywhere? They would still be a life bird for me after all this time! Marilyn Miller Mostly Sunny Bend, Oregon PS I am not used to rain anymore so can some one tell it not to rain on the west side or on the coast for the next two days!! :-) From celata at pacifier.com Sat Jan 7 12:49:00 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sat Jan 7 12:48:12 2006 Subject: [obol] Lower Columbia Birders trip - 01/07/2006 Message-ID: <43C02918.F352C293@pacifier.com> Lower Columbia Birders trip - 01/07/2006 The Lower Columbia Birders went east to Brownsmead today under cool and cloudy weather, occasional showers (heavy at times). Five CINNAMON TEAL were on Jackson Rd along with a sizable flock of DUNLIN. A SNOW GOOSE was with a flock of CACKLING GEESE on Brownsmead Dike Rd, probably the same bird seen earlier in the week nearer Aldrich Pt. Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Snow Goose [1] Canada Goose Cackling Goose Tundra Swan Gadwall American Wigeon Mallard Cinnamon Teal [2] Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-Winged Teal Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Ruddy Duck Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe [3] Western Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret White-tailed Kite Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Peregrine Falcon Virginia Rail [4] Dunlin [5] Mew Gull Western Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Barn Owl Belted Kingfisher Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Hutton's Vireo Steller's Jay Western Scrub-Jay American Crow Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Chestnut-backed Chickadee Marsh Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet American Robin Varied Thrush European Starling American Pipit [6] Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Golden-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird Brewer's Blackbird House Sparrow Footnotes: [1] imm with Cackling Geese from Brownsmead Dike Rd [2] 5 on Jackson Rd; 6 at Svensen Is [3] on the river by the Maritime Museum [4] heard only; Fish Rd [5] single flock of 400 on Jackson [6] heard only Total number of species seen: 64 -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com Sat Jan 7 13:03:31 2006 From: woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com (J. Simmons) Date: Sat Jan 7 13:03:34 2006 Subject: [obol] Time to submit 2005 OR listing results Message-ID: <20060107210331.2908.qmail@web31513.mail.mud.yahoo.com> It's that time of year again! See the form in the latest issue of Oregon Birds for the categories and thresholds. Refer to "ABA Recording Rules" for what is or is not countable. (See: http://www.americanbirding.org/resources/reslistru2.htm for the rules and interpretation of them) There are 3 ways to submit your 2005 Oregon listing results: -Use the form in the latest issue of Oregon Birds and snail mail it to me. -Enter them at the listing website: http://thor.clark.edu/korprt/ListHome.htm (Do not be concerned that the years shown on the website and results say 2004 or 2002--I'll know that you're sending 2005 results.) -Email them directly to me. If county listing results are included, please LIST THEM ALPHABETICALLY. I acknowledge receipt of results sent by EMAIL or via the WEBSITE. (NOTE: If you enter both life and year results on the web you should receive acknowledgement of both.) At this point the deadline is February 1st. If it is extended, I will post to OBOL. Jamie Corvallis woodpecker97330@yahoo.com __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From rkorpi at hotmail.com Sat Jan 7 13:31:36 2006 From: rkorpi at hotmail.com (Ray Korpi) Date: Sat Jan 7 13:31:38 2006 Subject: [obol] Web Posting of Listing Results Message-ID: All, The web address that Jamie Simmons posted for ORegon listing result for 2005 is off-line this weekend due to server and e-mail maintenance at Clark. I recommend not posting until Monday--I'll update the list when the web site is definitely on-line (which should be Monday morning) Ray Korpi rkorpi@hotmail.com Clark COllege From dlbird at earthlink.net Sat Jan 7 15:42:02 2006 From: dlbird at earthlink.net (Donna Lusthoff) Date: Sat Jan 7 15:42:16 2006 Subject: [obol] FW: The Beautiful "Horde" Message-ID: <001101c613e3$f66b5110$0a0110ac@Donna> -----Original Message----- From: Donna Lusthoff [mailto:dlbird@earthlink.net] Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2006 3:30 PM Subject: The Beautiful "Horde" Lately there have been quite a few reports about the hordes of Townsend's Warblers being seen. Today, they found me. I have seen one of and on since Thanksgiving, but, after a heavy rain shower, all kinds of birds swarmed my 1 suet feeder today. Townsend's Warblers at least 6 Red-breasted Nuthatch 3 Bewick's Wren 2 CB Chickadee 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3 not as agile in getting in the cage around the suet Bush Tit 50 at least. Too many to encircle the suet cakes, so they covered the surrounding bushes. I hope this group comes again! Donna Lusthoff Beaverton OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060107/f90a2dc9/attachment.htm From yaakovm at northwest.com Sat Jan 7 15:48:39 2006 From: yaakovm at northwest.com (Jordan Epstein) Date: Sat Jan 7 15:49:24 2006 Subject: [obol] Townsend's Warbler in SW Portland Message-ID: <01C613A1.D7663560.yaakovm@northwest.com> During a relatively brief sunny spell, while the bushtits who normally gorge at my suet feeder were gone, a beautiful male Townsend's warbler flew in to feed for a while. I found it quite exciting because it's a life bird and very exciting to see two feet in front of my living room window. I live in the area of Gabriel Park in SW Portland. Now the rain's back and the bird is gone, but it was a very special treat and a reminder of why we bird: you never know what's going to show up. Jordan Epstein Portland From pbgrebe2004 at yahoo.com Sat Jan 7 16:02:18 2006 From: pbgrebe2004 at yahoo.com (Phyllis Bailey) Date: Sat Jan 7 16:02:20 2006 Subject: [obol] Townsend's Warblers in NW Corvallis Message-ID: <20060108000218.44507.qmail@web32711.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Happy New Year to one and all. 2006 has begun for us with a wonderful display of Townsend's Warblers out our window. These beauties have been coming to the suet feeders in our yard with great regularity since at least New Year's Day. On Jan. 2, I counted 7 at one time, with perhaps another five twinkling in the tree above them. Today, there have been as many as 8-10 here, along with the long-suffering RC Kinglets, lots of Bushtits, a few CB and BH Chickadees, and a couple of YR Warblers and RB Nuthatches. We also have a Slate-colored Junco in with the mix of DEJUs. All in all, a great way to begin the new year. Cheers and happy birding to all. Phyllis Bailey --------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos Ring in the New Year with Photo Calendars. Add photos, events, holidays, whatever. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060107/ec60f945/attachment.htm From 4cains at charter.net Sat Jan 7 16:45:51 2006 From: 4cains at charter.net (Lee and Lori Cain) Date: Sat Jan 7 16:39:37 2006 Subject: [obol] Astoria Bonaparte's Gull Message-ID: <000501c613ec$e05c6900$d3747444@hbhsb01> At about 1400 hrs there was a lone BONAPARTE'S GULL working the flooded fields on Wireless Road. At about 1600 hrs it was still there. Lee Cain Aquatic Biology/Integrated Science Astoria High School http://www.astoriaschools.org/ASD/ahs/AHS%20Science/all.htm >//////> >//////> >//////> From bcombs at dialoregon.net Sat Jan 7 16:53:38 2006 From: bcombs at dialoregon.net (bcombs@dialoregon.net) Date: Sat Jan 7 16:53:40 2006 Subject: [obol] Townsend's Warblers in Eugene Message-ID: <1767.64.28.49.53.1136681618.squirrel@shemp.dialoregon.net> To add to the Townsend's Warbler phenomenon - I hardly ever see Townsend's Warblers in my yard, let alone my suet feeder, especially since the huge Norway Spruce toppled over onto the house during a February wind storm about 4 years ago. I had seen them very infrequently before then, in the nearly 29 years I have lived here. This year, on January 2, the day after the Eugene Christmas Bird Count, a female Townsend's Warbler showed up and ate suet from the feeder I have hanging underneath the outer portion of the patio. Either one or two days later, a second female joined it. I have now seen at least one Townsend's Warbler at my suet feeder at some point during the day every day since January 2. I have a starling-proof suet feeder, and the birds just stand on the bottom exterior rungs and grab bits of suet from the cage above. The feeder is just a few feet from the window, so I have been enjoying the show immensely. From johnpam at ipns.com Sat Jan 7 17:09:01 2006 From: johnpam at ipns.com (JohnPam) Date: Sat Jan 7 17:07:11 2006 Subject: [obol] Polk County Snowy Owl Today At 2 PM Message-ID: We saw the Snowy Owl by intersection of W Perrydale Rd and Dejong Rd in Polk County this afternoon. It was sitting about 500 feet west of the White Bucket near some dried grass stalks. I thought there was something white further along out there so we drove on. We drove past White Bucket to 3.5 miles west of Perrydale, turned right on Dejong Rd (north)and go up the road about 400 feet or so. Looking back toward White Bucket: a beautiful Snowy. Lots of Great Egrets and both Red-tails and Northern Harriers around Perrydale. We saw at least 4 N Harriers. Lots of White Buckets. Weather was 80% rain and fairly cold outside (low 40s)when we looked through the spotting scope in the lee of the Subaru. John Thomas/Pam Reid Silverton From tim2lee at yahoo.com Sat Jan 7 20:12:43 2006 From: tim2lee at yahoo.com (Tim Lee) Date: Sat Jan 7 20:12:45 2006 Subject: [obol] Slate-colored Junco (Canadian RM variant) Message-ID: <20060108041243.25886.qmail@web31801.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Obol, Dark eyed juncos congregated in massive numbers throughout my backyard today, while several spotted towhees and RB kinglets stopped by. However, one male junco appeared to resemble a slate-colored among the midst of Oregon races. This junco was grey overall (no buffy or chestnut splashes) but had a jet-black hood which was identical to the Oregon's. Apparently this matched the description of slate-colored Canadian Rocky Mountains (RM) variant. Is it regular for these variants to stray far off the Rockies? I know I've witnessed a few slate-colored individuals in past years around my neighborhood, but not this variant. Perhaps a vagrant? Tim Lee Eugene __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From llsdirons at msn.com Sat Jan 7 20:25:48 2006 From: llsdirons at msn.com (DAVID IRONS) Date: Sat Jan 7 20:25:50 2006 Subject: [obol] Informal Townsend's Warbler Survey Message-ID: Hi All, Over the last several weeks there have been several posts about the numbers of Townsend's Warblers around this year. Based on my own observations, I think there are far more Townsend's Warbler in Oregon this winter than any year I can recall. Over the next week I would be interested in attempting to quantify the numbers that are present statewide. For those of you who recall my White-throated Sparrow tallies of a couple years ago, I would like to do something similar with Townsend's Warblers only with a little narrower time frame. This will not be a particularly scientific effort. Please follow the guidelines below. 1. Attempt to survey all (or as much as possible) of the appropriate Townsend's Warbler habitat in your local area. Keep in mind that during the winter months Townsend's Warblers are actually more likely to be in urban and semi-urban habitats where there are stands of confers. They are definitely attracted to Douglas Firs and Cedars. They will also seek out suet feeders, warm spots under the eaves of houses or shrubby areas in courtyards around apartment complexes and office buildings. Try to learn the single "silvery" high-pitched call note and use that to locate birds. Make a particular effort to cover those areas that aren't birding hotspots 2. Send reports of your sightings to me via E-mail. In your reports please provide the town or location name and the county where you saw the birds. I need to know how many birds you counted and the amout of time of time you spent counting rounded off the nearest quarter of an hour. 3. I will accept counts made today (Saturday Jan 7th) thru next Sunday (Jan 15th). I will create an Excel spreadsheet to track the results by county and location. At the end of the 8-day tally period I will compile the results and provide a report. I expect that most of the birds will be found west of the Cascades, especially in low elevation towns of the interior valleys. Eugene is full of Townsend's Warblers right now and I imagine the same is the case in Corvallis, Salem, Portland, Roseburg, Medford etc. I think if we can mobilize a big enough effort we can produce a tally of Townsend's Warblers that easily tops 1000 birds. As posted by Dan Gleason, the Eugene count found 135 Townsend's. Based on the number I encounter about town on a daily basis I have no doubt a focused effort could find 5X that number this year. I look forward to hearing from as many of you as possible in an effort to quantify the amaziing influx of Townsend's Warblers that are around this winter. Thanks, Dave Irons llsdirons@msn.com From polkman07 at earthlink.net Sat Jan 7 20:51:27 2006 From: polkman07 at earthlink.net (bill tice) Date: Sat Jan 7 20:51:28 2006 Subject: [obol] Perrydale Snowy Owl, yes Message-ID: <410-2200610845127968@earthlink.net> Hi Folks I took my wife to look for the Snowy Owl near Perrydale. It was about 200 yards west of the white bucket, sitting in the pouring rain. Interesting how these owls stick around in all this wet weather. Guess it is better than the snow and cold father north?? Bill Tice -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060107/bd7d2471/attachment.htm From alderspr at peak.org Sat Jan 7 20:52:15 2006 From: alderspr at peak.org (Jim & Karan Fairchild) Date: Sat Jan 7 20:52:55 2006 Subject: [obol] OR north coast birding weekend Message-ID: <014d01c6140f$7034a0c0$033433d0@oemcomputer> Obolniks, A brief family outing to the north coast of Oregon brought back a few noteworthy sightings, along with a lot of wet rain gear and dog: Jan. 6 - 3 SNOWY OWLS in view from Parking Lot C at South Jetty Columbia River, and many dozens of RED PHALOROPES, along with a MIKE PATTERSON and several other bird observers not in the local field guides. Jim found a 4th snowy owl while on a beach walk from the jetty to the river parking lot, along with more scattered phalaropes and many dozens of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. Jan. 7 - no snowy owls could be found easily from lot C, but high tide and strong winds and rain interfered and/or changed activities. Phalaropes were still numerous. A BROWN PELICAN took wing over the beach before we left. Also watched a RUFFED GROUSE feeding on lichens on a road-side shrubby alder. It looked wet, bedraggled, and little concerned with our presence as it ate(and did not take flight before we left ;) ) Later along Fenk Road near Tillamook we saw 30 or more GREAT EGRETS, a WHITE-TAILED KITE, and more than 20 BONAPARTE'S GULL feeding amidst 200 plus RED PHALAROPES. We could see more of both just across the paved road to Oceanside from downtown Tillamook. JIm, Karan and Karl Fairchild -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060107/38603967/attachment.htm From hawkowl at hotmail.com Sat Jan 7 22:25:55 2006 From: hawkowl at hotmail.com (Jason Rogers) Date: Sat Jan 7 22:25:58 2006 Subject: [obol] Slate-colored Junco (Canadian RM variant) In-Reply-To: <20060108041243.25886.qmail@web31801.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Hi Tim, I think that you are well within the winter range of the bird you describe (i.e., "Cassiar Junco"), though it seems that the jury is still out on whether this bird is a valid subspecies (i.e., Junco hyemalis cismontanus) or an intergrade population. _ Regards, ( '< Jason Rogers / ) ) Banff, AB //" " hawkowl@hotmail.com From celata at pacifier.com Sat Jan 7 22:53:13 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sat Jan 7 22:52:09 2006 Subject: [obol] Red Phalarope skeleton Message-ID: <43C0B6A5.C691656E@pacifier.com> I have posted reassembled composite RED PHALAROPE at: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/REPH_skeleton.jpg Several folks have collected their own owl pellets with shorebird parts in them. You should be able to compare bones with this photo to determine if you've got a phalarope or something different. You can also estimate how many birds are represented in the pellet by counting long bones since every bird is only allowed 2 humeri and 2 tibiotarsi. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From tim2lee at yahoo.com Sat Jan 7 23:35:49 2006 From: tim2lee at yahoo.com (Tim Lee) Date: Sat Jan 7 23:35:51 2006 Subject: [obol] Slate-colored Junco (Canadian RM variant) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20060108073549.31920.qmail@web31801.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Jason, I've just googled up some Cassiar junco photos, and they match the bird I've witnessed today. However, it's nearly identical to the Rocky Mountain variant of slate-colored (according to my Sibley guide). So what is the Rocky Mountain variant? Is it a different subspecies, or is it simply the same variants as Cassiars', only referred with different names? Tim Lee Eugene --- Jason Rogers wrote: > Hi Tim, > > I think that you are well within the winter range of > the bird you describe > (i.e., "Cassiar Junco"), though it seems that the > jury is still out on > whether this bird is a valid subspecies (i.e., Junco > hyemalis cismontanus) > or an intergrade population. > > _ Regards, > ( '< Jason Rogers > / ) ) Banff, AB > //" " hawkowl@hotmail.com > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From hawkowl at hotmail.com Sat Jan 7 23:56:40 2006 From: hawkowl at hotmail.com (Jason Rogers) Date: Sat Jan 7 23:56:42 2006 Subject: [obol] Slate-colored Junco (Canadian RM variant) Message-ID: Hi Tim, The junco that David Sibley has labeled "Canadian Rocky Mountains" is the "Cassiar Junco." _ Regards, ( '< Jason Rogers / ) ) Banff, AB //" " hawkowl@hotmail.com From mimz607 at epud.net Sun Jan 8 09:00:37 2006 From: mimz607 at epud.net (mimz) Date: Sun Jan 8 09:00:44 2006 Subject: [obol] Varied Thrush Message-ID: <001d01c61475$0cea03f0$dc1e6c0c@Maff> Varied Thrush have shown up in my yard today. Lot's of Townsend's too, but no Hermit! Rudi...send it my way! Marcia N Eugene Santa Clara -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060108/d2368c2f/attachment.htm From WeberHome at att.net Sun Jan 8 09:56:03 2006 From: WeberHome at att.net (Cliff & Joanne Weber) Date: Sun Jan 8 09:56:17 2006 Subject: [obol] Jackson Bottom Wetlands Message-ID: <20060108175615.7337A1702C8@smtp2.oregonstate.edu> OBOL, hello! Wanting more to see the flooding than the birds, we went out to JBW around 10:am Sat, Jan 7. Two adult Bald Eagles were perched out in the old nest grove about a quarter mile across the water to the east. Three Swans were out in the lake. The Swans were too far to tell the species and we didn't set up a spotting scope since we hadn't planned to stay all that long. Our minds were set on King Kong at 11:40am over at Century 16 theater in Beaverton. We were pleased to see eight of Sarah Pinnock's oft reported California Quail from the back porch of the education center down at the south end of the preserve. The Quails were peacefully pecking around the new benches sited on a little mound a few yards from the back porch. "peacefully pecking" almost qualifies as a tongue twister. Try this one really fast from memory: Pepito clavo un clavito; Un clavito clavo Pepito. We wouldn't recommend planning a day of hiking JBW any time soon since you'd have to do it by canoe right now. Cliff & Joanne Weber Beaverton From OCMossBack at aol.com Sun Jan 8 11:35:33 2006 From: OCMossBack at aol.com (OCMossBack@aol.com) Date: Sun Jan 8 11:35:39 2006 Subject: [obol] Pileated Woodpecker Message-ID: <1f0.4a620e01.30f2c385@aol.com> I had a Pileated Woodpecker making quite a squawk in front my house this morning. Oregon City , Brighton Ave. near overlook. Sam Pointer -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060108/5bd2eca7/attachment.htm From jvanmoo at sisna.com Sun Jan 8 11:38:23 2006 From: jvanmoo at sisna.com (Julie Van Moorhem) Date: Sun Jan 8 11:38:39 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl, Eugene Message-ID: <6C33ECF5-34ED-4DE8-82A0-66EDBD3C1CE6@sisna.com> Hi Folks, Yesterday Tamara Walker and I took off for Eugene to look for the Snowy Owl and also White-tailed Kites (not a lifer, but a state bird for me). It rained most of the way to Eugene, but a small patch of blue sky opened up NW of Eugene as we arrived. Tamara had received instructions from a friend about a location at the end of Royal Ave. that had kites recently so we headed there first. About a minute or so after we drove into the parking area and scanned the trees, I spotted one hovering out in the field beyond the parking area. Not the best sighting but I could tell it was a kite. As we left, I saw another one perched in a tree and then it flew, hovered, and went back to another tree--great, close-up views--much better than the first sighting. My only niggle of a bad feeling was that I might have used up all the luck on finding that bird and leave us hanging out on the Snowy! We then headed to Alvadore and Franklin where the Snowy Owl had been hanging out. Just as we turned north on Alvadore, a nice half- rainbow appeared on the horizon. As we drove farther north the rainbow's colors intensified, and we talked about a Snowy Owl being at the end of the rainbow (who cares about a pot o' gold?!). Just after we passed the intersection of Alvadore and Franklin and spotted the farm buildings, the rainbow's colors became more intense. We also saw a few cars pulled off to the side of the road. We pulled in and began to scan. Tamara spotted the Snowy Owl sitting 2'-3' off the ground on a John Deere trailer. Its side was toward us but every now and then it would slowly turn its head around and look in our direction. We looked at the bird for a long time (lifer looks for both of us demanded scrutiny!) and watched others pull up (at least one woman clutching the newspaper article with the Snowy's picture) and look at the bird, too, then cruise down the road to the north and find a place to turn around and come back to look from the near side of the road. Just before we left to make the turn and come back, I noticed that the colors of the rainbow were even more intense and it was now an entire rainbow. I couldn't help but wonder what was at the other end. Neither of us will ever forget our lifer Snowy Owl at the end of a rainbow, and I know that I will remember this sighting every time I see a rainbow! Both owl and rainbow were beautiful! Thanks to whoever first discovered the Snowy Owl for reporting it, those who continued to post its presence, and to Tamara's friend, Roger Robb, for providing us with great directions and a picture of the Newport Snowy Owl for luck--it worked!! The other good news that came with seeing the bird early in the day (about 2:20 PM, I think) was that we got an earlier start on our return to Klamath Falls and across the snowy passes. Sometimes the chase is particularly good. Good birding y'all, Julie Van Moorhem Klamath Falls From smithdwd at hotmail.com Sun Jan 8 11:52:41 2006 From: smithdwd at hotmail.com (david smith) Date: Sun Jan 8 11:52:43 2006 Subject: [obol] EXPO pond Snow Goose Message-ID: A grinning Snow Goose was at the north end of EXPO/PIR/Vanport Pond at 9am. David Smtih From jgeier at attglobal.net Sun Jan 8 11:57:02 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Sun Jan 8 12:05:47 2006 Subject: [obol] Trumpeter Swans continue in s. Polk Co. Message-ID: <43C16E8E.4000306@attglobal.net> Hello folks, This morning a pure flock (bevy, wedge, brass band, horn section or whatever) of 32 TRUMPETER SWANS including five dusky juveniles were right at the intersection of Airlie/Suver Rd. with Hwy 99W (known locally as Suver Crossing), where they have been seen off and on the past month, and will likely continue for the next 6 weeks or so (at least in this general neighborhood). Another 50 swans farther west on Airlie Rd. were too far off the road to be sure, but seemed to be mostly TUNDRA SWANS with few groups larger ones that might have been Trumpeters. I did not check Simpson Rd. or the adjacent parts of Hwy 99W north of Suver Crossing. One DECOY SWAN continues to bottom-feed at the hunting club wetland along Robison Rd., in the company of several enormous CANADA GOOSE DECOYS, but it does not seem to be fooling any of the real swans. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From mmarvin at spiritone.com Sun Jan 8 12:15:16 2006 From: mmarvin at spiritone.com (Marcia Marvin) Date: Sun Jan 8 12:14:04 2006 Subject: [obol] Koll Center Wetlands, Wash. Co. 1/8/06 Message-ID: <8371FEB6-A583-4081-BA02-B7D7190DE424@spiritone.com> OBOL, There was a lot of water but not a lot of activity at this site today. Someone who walks the route and checks the site regularly said she had seen two Trumpeter Swans there a while ago. There were no swans today, nor were there any shorebirds or small wading birds. The most obvious species was large Canada Geese, and only about a dozen of them. While I was there, they were joined by a flock of equal size that landed and hung around for only about fifteen minutes. Just before they late arrivals took off, I noticed a few of them begin to nod their heads, as if saying "yes," and then suddenly they rose as one off the pond, to the surprise of the resident geese who stayed put, looking left and right to be sure they were following the appropriate signal. I was at the Gemini St. parking area (can't remember what business is there) and also at the pond with the island farther down in the parking lot. Birds seen only at the second site are marked with an * Here's what I saw in the hour I was there: Pied-billed Grebe Great Blue Heron* Great Egret Canada Goose Gadwall* Mallard Northern Shoveler Green-winged Teal* Ring-necked Duck Bufflehead Hooded Merganser* Red-tailed Hawk (a pair) American Coot Glaucous-winged Gull Scrub Jay Black-capped Chickadee Ruby-crowned Kinglet European Starling Song Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Not bad for a site only a stone's throw from a major shopping center, but I can see why no one has been reporting much from here. Marcia -- "and evening full of the linnet's wings" W. B. Yeats, "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Sun Jan 8 13:10:35 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Sun Jan 8 13:10:38 2006 Subject: [obol] Hybrid Gull Vocalizations? Message-ID: <20060108211035.13116.qmail@web51815.mail.yahoo.com> I've been thinking a lot about bird sounds. I have no idea if this has ever been studied, even anecdotally, but I'm curious about it: Are the differences in vocalizations between closely related gull species like the glaucous-winged gull and the western gull more akin to differences in dialects or to different languages? What happens to the vocalizations of hybrid offspring between gull species like western x glaucous-winged? Do parent gulls favor the hybrid offspring that make the "right call" (like their own species) by giving them more food? Is their ability to recognize their parents' calls in any way less than non-hybrids? Is it more difficult for parents of hybrids to communicate between each other regarding chick rearing than parents of non-hybrids? Do the gull chicks learn to recognize the calls of their parents after they're born or is it instinctual? Let me explain why I'm asking: At Yaquina Head when I first moved here, I observed a western gull family on a flat rock on the west side (and way down) of the observation platform overlooking the tidepool area...from nest building to speckled eggs to rearing the cute little polka dot fuzzy chicks that emerged...I checked on them almost daily. From what I saw, It seemed the "calls" between parents and chicks were very important. When the 2 adults were present, the chicks were sometimes allowed to waddle about the flat surface of the rock (more so as they got older). However, when a threat appeared (lots of eagles, hawks, and tidepoolers in the area - plus bad weather), calls were used to usher the chicks under a ridge on this rock...they were well hidden under this ridge...from the observation deck they would completely disappear from sight...and all but disappear if viewed from up the hill looking down and east....and the adults seem to "talk" to one another too regarding the chicks. Later, when the coast was clear, the chicks would be called back out. The call used to get them under the ridge compared to the call used to get them back out again seemed different to my ear. If one of the adults went to hunt for food, the chicks would always be ushered under the protective ridge before the hunting adult left...the remaining adult stood as vigilant scout. When the hunting adult came back with food the two parents would call back and forth and then a different call was used to get the chicks out for food...and again, to my ear this call seemed different still...subtilely different but different. Anyway, these interactions were quite interesting to watch. Would the interactions above be affected if we were dealing with a hybrid family? Calls seemed very important to protect the chicks from predation and other dangers....and there seemed to be some complexity in that there were different calls for different things....at least to my hearing, it didn't seem like generic calls. Even if the chicks do learn to recognize and respond to the calls of their parents after they are born, a hybrid chick would have to learn 2 sets of calls...wouldn't this get confusing? ..and how do the parents communicate regarding the chicks if they speak a "different language"...do they make stuff up on the fly? I remember Wayne Hoffman saying something about color of legs and something else (eyes/eye rings??...I can't remember) predicting which species combos would hybridize more successfully...like colors hybridized more successfully than non-like colors if I'm remembering right...anyway, I'm wondering if calls have less/more/equal status in predicting this?...are calls between species that hybridize more sucessfully more similar than calls between species that hybridize less successfully? "Stokes Field Guide To Bird Songs" has recordings for both the western gull and the glaucous-winged gull and I have listened carefully to both. They seem pretty different to me. However, they do not include juvenile calls for glaucous-winged. __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From johndavidclem at yahoo.com Sun Jan 8 13:19:08 2006 From: johndavidclem at yahoo.com (John Clem) Date: Sun Jan 8 13:19:21 2006 Subject: [obol] RFI #5 from SoDak (harlequins, Klamath refuges) Message-ID: <20060108211908.74038.qmail@web51705.mail.yahoo.com> Thanks to everybody who responded to RFI #4. I received a lot of good info. Now I'm running out of questions, but I'm sure I'll have at least one more post after this. In my last RFI, I forgot to include harlequin duck, another bird I'd like to photograph. Can anybody suggest a spot along the coast where I might get fairly close to one? I remember seeing really good shots of a harlequin in a recent post. I think those pictures were taken at Yaquina Bay. Regarding the Klamath refuges, can anybody suggest a good location where the waterfowl can be photographed from a fairly close distance? From my time in the area in the early 90s, I seem to remember having great views of ducks at the Klamath Forest NWR. That was in the spring, however, and I don't know if there will be any open water when I visit in a couple of weeks. Are there places closer to Portland with photographable waterfowl? Any and all advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks again. John Clem Vermillion, SD --------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos ? Showcase holiday pictures in hardcover Photo Books. You design it and we?ll bind it! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060108/e35e7218/attachment.htm From polkman07 at earthlink.net Sun Jan 8 13:19:54 2006 From: polkman07 at earthlink.net (bill tice) Date: Sun Jan 8 13:19:50 2006 Subject: [obol] Local rba: Ferruginous Hawk Message-ID: <410-22006108211954140@earthlink.net> Hi Folks, Went out to southern Polk County to add Tumpeter Swan and Kite to my year county list. Along the Airlie Rd I found a first year Ferruginous Hawk. The exact location is the next field east from the junc of Airlie and Sauerkrout Rds. It was first sitting on the fence separating the two fields, flew out to try for a mouse, landed and flew back after a co;uple of minutes. As usual, I dipped on the Black Phoebe at the barn on Livermore. Heard from Doug Knutson that the SNowy Owl is still at his location west of Perrydale. Bill Tice -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060108/6755c462/attachment.htm From oregonjunco at msn.com Sun Jan 8 14:09:20 2006 From: oregonjunco at msn.com (Linda Gilbert) Date: Sun Jan 8 14:09:25 2006 Subject: [obol] Free Non-functional Bogen Tripod Message-ID: I have an older model Bogen tripod, 3205, which has a broken hinge. I went round and round with Bogen, finally finding out that the model is discontinued and parts are no longer available. I went ahead and bought a new tripod. Why would anyone want it? It has a functioning 3130 microfluid head which can be removed. Bogen will give you a new tripod for half price if you send it in, or so they told me. Maybe someone could use it for parts if they have the same model. I would prefer that someone from the Eugene area take it so shipping would not be involved but I would consider sending it if no one local wants it. I just don't want to throw it away. Linda Gilbert Eugene -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060108/c3c1be9d/attachment.htm From sheilach at nwtec.com Sun Jan 8 14:10:09 2006 From: sheilach at nwtec.com (sheila L. chambers) Date: Sun Jan 8 14:09:59 2006 Subject: [obol] Yellow "hummingbird" Message-ID: <43C18DC1.000003.03112@SHEILA> I have a new yellow "hummingbird" at my feeders. They are TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS. It seems Lucy's warblers aren't the only warbler with a sweet "tooth". It also enjoys suet and peanut butter. Still missing from the "usual suspects" are BLACKCAPPED CHICKADEES.There are at least four CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES about but no BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES. The BLACK PHEOBE still cheeps and darts out for insects and the "usual suspects" are WHITE-CROWNED, GOLD-CROWNED, FOX and SONG SPARROWS and of course DARK-EYED (OREGON) JUNCOS. The WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS continue to feed here, it's a tan morph. I still have hordes of ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS at least 14 at last count, hordes of PINE SISKINS, LESSER GOLDFINCHES have shown up but only a few AMERICAN GOLD-FINCHES. Groups of HOUSE FINCHES, a MORNING DOVE and a few HOUSE SPARROWS share the feeders with the other sparrows but all are chased off by the larger, handsome STELLER'S JAYS. The ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS are already courting their lady loves and spring is in the air between the rains. Lurking in the shrubbery are a few RUBY CROWNED KINGLETS. Since I moved the feeders off the deck and on to the grass, I haven't had any sick birds! Sheila from for the moment, SUNNY, Harbor OR. From Oropendolas at aol.com Sun Jan 8 15:10:41 2006 From: Oropendolas at aol.com (Oropendolas@aol.com) Date: Sun Jan 8 15:10:48 2006 Subject: [obol] Eugene Bike Path Birds Message-ID: <22a.459d835.30f2f5f1@aol.com> Hello All, Laura and I were surprised by a BLACK PHOEBE on the South Bank trail at the Owasso bridge this afternoon. There were also a couple TREE SWALLOWS and 4-5 VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS on the river near Valley River Center. John Sullivan & Laura Johnson Springfield, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060108/2410dd3d/attachment.htm From brrobb at comcast.net Sun Jan 8 15:11:43 2006 From: brrobb at comcast.net (Roger & Betty Robb) Date: Sun Jan 8 15:11:44 2006 Subject: [obol] Red Phalaropes Message-ID: <000801c614a8$e3a09110$06331618@RROffice> This morning I found 21 RED PHALAROPES in the Florence vicinity. One was on the river near old town, 5 were in the flooded field just east of Cushman and 15 were in the flooded field near the 5 mile marker on Rt. 126. There was also a BLACK PHOEBE at this spot. On the way home I found a EURASIAN WIDGEON at Lane Memorial Gardens. Roger Robb Springfield, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060108/13e8607b/attachment.htm From peterpatricelli at comcast.net Sun Jan 8 15:52:06 2006 From: peterpatricelli at comcast.net (Peter Patricelli) Date: Sun Jan 8 15:52:20 2006 Subject: [obol] Eurasian Widgeon, Snowy Owl, swans, and whitefronts Message-ID: There was a beautiful Eurasian Widgeon drake at the Memorial Garden ponds with other American Widgeon. He was very approachable from the car and I got significnt upgrades for my photo website. Then drove past the Snowy Owl traffic jam on Alvadore road just north of junction with Fraklin Rd. Bird was too far to improve on my pics from SJCR. Large flock of swans off 99E south of Junction City. No spotting scope so couldn't look for species ID. 3 Whitefront geese in mixed flock of Western and Cacklers at LCC. There are several local white geese WITHOUT black wingtips that may be the source of some local reports of Snow geese. One in the Delta ponds, definitely larger than the Canadas (western), one in Fern Ridge, and another flying with Western Candas at LCC. Some of the local domestics seem to be going feral. No Falcated Duck at the RV park. There have been Gadwalls there past 2 days but no FADU. I think he is permanently AWOL> From llsdirons at msn.com Sun Jan 8 17:11:45 2006 From: llsdirons at msn.com (DAVID IRONS) Date: Sun Jan 8 17:11:47 2006 Subject: [obol] 59 Townsend's Warblers and an Orange-crowned Warbler in s. Eugene Message-ID: This afternoon Jennie Brown and I spent about two hours birding the Friendly St./College Hill area in s. Eugene. The main mission was a search for Townsend's Warblers and we weren't disappointed. We found a total of 59, most of which were in three sizeable flocks that were almost pure Townsend's. The largest flock, which contained at least 27 birds, was along 19th St. between Friendly and Monroe Streets. At one point we had about 12 of these birds in and under a single 8' Rhododendron bush. The birds were moving through the trees like a flock of bushtits and we were able to get an accurate count as they flew across a gap between trees. We had two other flocks of 14 birds plus scattered individuals. The Orange-crowned Warbler was in the Monroe Alley between 20th and 19th which is where we found a first big flock of Townsend's. Typically, Townsend's associate with large flocks of chickadees and kinglets with 1-3 birds being the norm. The large groups of Townsend's we had today were essentially pure flocks of nothing but Townsend's with no chickadees or kinglets. Dave Irons Eugene, OR From n7pjp1 at cascadeaccess.com Sun Jan 8 17:17:16 2006 From: n7pjp1 at cascadeaccess.com (George Redmond) Date: Sun Jan 8 17:17:16 2006 Subject: [obol] new to list Message-ID: <001c01c614ba$6e12db80$c601a8c0@George> Hello to list: This is my first posting to the list, but not my last I hope. I am real new to bird watching, and just as new to trying to take pictures of them. Let me ask some advice, I have a Fuji FinePix 3800, it has 3.2 mega pixels with a 6X zoom len. Now the trouble is with the zoom all the way out, I still cant get that close to the small birds to get real good pictures. Not sure if i need a telephoto lens or a Spotting scope? If some of you have been thru this, would you let me know how you fixed this problem, without to much expence at this time. Thanks for all your help. and keep up those bird feeders. George Redmond N7PJP Estacada, OR. n7pjp1@cascadeaccess.com All Emails checked by Norton Anti Virus -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060108/ff6156d9/attachment.htm From roygerig at hotmail.com Sun Jan 8 17:39:02 2006 From: roygerig at hotmail.com (Roy Gerig) Date: Sun Jan 8 17:39:04 2006 Subject: [obol] Mid-Willamette Valley birds 1/8/06 Message-ID: I did a lot of birding in 3 counties today, starting this morning with a monthly bird census at a wetland near Turner (Marion County). Not much there except a large group of 25 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS in a field mostly under a foot of water, in the emergent grasses and forbs. With them were 10 WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, 20 JUNCOS and 20 ROBINS plus a few REDWINGED BLACKBIRDS, GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS and a FLICKER. Quite a lot of activity, and I am not sure why, elsewhere on the count almost nothing was happening. I saw a dead RED-LEGGED FROG in the impoundment where the Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs have been on every count since July -until today. Then I went south, where I saw my first ever Linn County ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD at my parents' feeder near Crabtree. That was a long time coming. Before that, a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was with a flock of GOLDEN-CROWNEDS along Thomas Creek between Jefferson and Crabtree. At the south edge of the community of Plainview (west of Lebanon) along Manning Road I saw a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE where one has been for at least the past 2 winters. It was in some hawthorns a hundred meters west of the road. I have now seen twice as many Loggerhead Shrikes (2) as Northern Shrikes (1) in the Willamette Valley this fall/winter. About that time Bill Tice called with news of a Ferruginous Hawk over in Polk County, so I went a little farther south and saw 3 large flocks of TUNDRA SWANS (no Trumpeters), totalling over 1500, southwest of Brownsville, then over to Corvallis and up Highway 99 to Airlie Road (30 or so TRUMPETER SWANS were just west of there, where a flock can often be found in mid-winter) and then I saw the FERRUGINOUS HAWK (an immature) near the intersection of Airlie Road and Sauerkraut Road. A little later I had my Sighting of the Day. Near the south end of Sauerkraut Road, I could still see the Ferruginous Hawk east of me, and as I stood in the road and turned around, I could see 5 species of hawks, none further that 250 meters from me. In order they were; FERRUGINOUS HAWK, RED-TAILED HAWK, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, WHITE-TAILED KITE, and AMERICAN KESTREL. Pretty good diversity right there. Roy Gerig, Salem OR From rcdanley at onlinemt.com Sun Jan 8 19:35:15 2006 From: rcdanley at onlinemt.com (Bob and Christine) Date: Sun Jan 8 19:35:24 2006 Subject: [obol] Emperor geese Message-ID: <5.1.1.6.0.20060108203504.00bdad40@mail.onlinemt.com> Hello folks, I'm flying into Seattle on Wednesday (the 11th) and would like to chase after an Emperor goose. It sounds like the ones that were around aren't anymore? Are there sites that are more "reliable" for finding this species than others? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Bob Danley Lolo, Montana From sylviabird at worldnet.att.net Sun Jan 8 20:01:02 2006 From: sylviabird at worldnet.att.net (Sylvia Maulding) Date: Sun Jan 8 20:01:20 2006 Subject: [obol] Clay-colored Sparrow, Newport Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.20060108200102.00aa3008@postoffice.worldnet.att.net> Hi OBOL Today I saw the CLAY-COLORED SPARROW at the South jetty in Newport. It was with White-crowned Sparrows in the area were the trailers used to be, now there are only cement slabs. The SNOWY OWL was at the Old Fish Hatchery site, were others have reported it. One RED PHALAROPE was at Sally's Bend. Sylvia Maulding (sylviabird@worldnet.att.net) Springfield OR http://sylviabird.home.att.net From tanager at nu-world.com Sun Jan 8 20:59:23 2006 From: tanager at nu-world.com (Anne & Dan Heyerly) Date: Sun Jan 8 21:01:21 2006 Subject: [obol] Sat. 1/7/2006 Lane county coast Message-ID: <003901c614d9$774e0b60$0200a8c0@domain.actdsltmp> Anne, Noah Strycker, and I birded the Florence area Saturday 7 January starting off just after daybreak at the So. Jetty area looking for rockpipers of any kind. We saw lots of west wind and rain and not many birds except for the occasional Mew Gull rocketing past trying to stay upright. There were a few scoters (Surf & White-winged) in the bay/inlet south of the Crab Docks, but the rain and wind drove us out. We tried the little valley near Ada east of Woahink Lake/Siltcoos Lake. We went up this road to the old Grange where the road comes to a "T". Mostly this was "car birding", also because of the continuing rain. We saw a few dabbling ducks and some Hooded Mergansers, but not much else besides a small flock of Western Bluebirds and one Bald Eagle. We decided Western Bluebird is a pretty good bird for this area. We also decided to head back to town where we noticed some blue sky in the west. We next headed to the north jetty of the Siuslaw River. No rain, but plenty of west and southwest wind. In the little tidal inlet near where the road bends to the west, there was a nice mix of gulls, including Thayer's and American Herring. Mary Anne we can send you a complete list if you would like. The jetty itself was dry and pretty much devoid of birds. We saw a few Red Phalarope in the surf, a Western Grebe, Horned Grebe and the usual Cormorants. There was one mixed flock of about 10 Black Turnstones and Surfbirds (total number!). We headed north to Stonefield Beach and Bob Creek where we found one Black Oystercatcher and not much else except a lot of scoters both on the ocean and going by. The lack of rain and some blue sky tempted us to go back to Siltcoos Lake and Darling's Resort (where the Tufted Duck showed up the other year) where there were a boatload of Ring-necked Ducks and other divers. We counted over 65 Canvasbacks! We continued on again to the Ada Grange before dark where we found a Black Phoebe flycatching along the fence behind the building. A nice ending to the day! Dan Heyerly Eugene -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060108/d98b85eb/attachment.htm From tanager at nu-world.com Sun Jan 8 21:42:20 2006 From: tanager at nu-world.com (Anne & Dan Heyerly) Date: Sun Jan 8 21:44:15 2006 Subject: [obol] Raptor Run, Lane County #1 8 January 2006 Message-ID: <004301c614df$75a5cae0$0200a8c0@domain.actdsltmp> Greetings fellow birders and raptor route followers! Anne and I ran the Lane #`1 raptor route today (See below). We added two new species to this route today, namely SWAINSON'S HAWK and SNOWY OWL. Details are found later in this message. Non Raptor highlights: SNOW GOOSE - one individual mixed in with a large Canada/Cackling flock along Alvadore Rd.. WESTERN BLUEBIRDS- two small groups (Cantrell Rd. and Jeans Rd.) EURASIAN WIGEON - one male on the Cemetery pond on West 11th/HWY 126. CLARK'S GREBE - one individual on Kirk Pond just below the Fern Ridge dam. Raptor numbers: RED-TAILED HAWK - 27 (down from December's 34) AMERICAN KESTREL - 27 (up from November's 16 but exactly the same as December's 27) NORTHERN HARRIER - 27 (few around Fern Ridge but more in the Alvadore Rd/Franklin Rd. area) (down from November's 53 & December's 38) The Fern Ridge reservoir is now completely flooded. In November it was a weedy field with a very small pool. In December the pool flooded approximately 50% of the reservoir's area. Now it looks like it is at nearly full pool with no exposed mudflats or stumps upon which falcons and Bald Eagles usually like to perch. BALD EAGLE - 1 Adult at the end of Royal Ave. (down from December's 5 adult & 2 imm.) ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK - 1 light-phase bird at the Alvadore Rd./Franklin Rd. intersection (same number as December, but down from November's 2). We last saw the dark phased bird at this site in November. RED-SHOULDERED HAWK - 1 on Cantrell Rd. (down from December's 3) WHITE-TAILED KITE - 6 (down from December's 14) MERLIN - 1 (same as Dec.) COOPER'S HAWK - 2 TURKEY VULTURE - 16 (We had 0 in December and 11 in November!) We started off the morning with a "kettle" of 13 (if you can have a kettle of anything in January) on Cantrell Rd., then picked up five other individuals throughout the day, so it is conceivable some of these birds were duplicates, even though some were miles away. SWAINSON'S HAWK - 1 juv. along Franklin Rd. (An UNHEARD-OF bird in winter period, and especially on this side of the Cascades! Well, I suppose if it will winter over in North America, it will have an easier time of it here as opposed to Eastern Oregon.) SNOWY OWL - 1 (A big event especially after the front page photo ABOVE THE FOLD in Saturday's local paper!!) We set up our scope and several cars with adults and lots of kids were stopping by and looking at it perched on Mr. Kokkeler's barn at the corner of Franklin Rd. and Alvadore Rd. Cool bird! Misses: Prairie Falcon (things are back to normal), Peregrine Falcon, Sharp-shinned Hawk Good Birding, Dan Heyerly Eugene OR Lane Raptor Route #1: Approximately 60 miles - 4 hours 26 minutes - 2 observers - overcast skies, minimal wind, 45-48 degrees F. In a nutshell- the route starts south of Fern Ridge Reservoir at the intersectoin of K.R. Nielsen Rd. and Hwy. 126 and continues to Central Rd. via Cantrell Rd., then back east on Hwy. 126 to north on Fisher Rd, west on Royal Ave. then north on Fir Butte Rd. to Clear Lake Rd.. East to Merryman Rd. to Bond Rd behind the Eugene Airport. Then west on Clear Lake Rd. again to Barker Rd. and Shore Lane Park and back to Alvadore where we swing up north on Alvadore Rd. to Meadowview, Greenhill, Milliron and Vogt Rds. Then west on Hwy 36 to south on Alvadore Rd. then west on Franklin Rd. to Territorial Rd. South to Kruger Park Rd. to Clear Lake Rd. and the dam area. Back south on Territorial Rd. to Elmira, east on Jeans Rd. to Zumwalt Park and the RV-park at end of Jeans Rd. Then south on Ellmaker Rd. to Hwy 126 and then east to the route's end at Central Rd. If you want more exact directions- email us directly. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060108/29bbf519/attachment.htm From locomare at yahoo.com Sun Jan 8 21:58:09 2006 From: locomare at yahoo.com (Kerri Cawthon) Date: Sun Jan 8 21:58:12 2006 Subject: [obol] Roseburg Unusual Widgeon Message-ID: <20060109055809.63547.qmail@web60411.mail.yahoo.com> Stopped by Stewart Park in Roseburg near the Fred Meyers store today. There were the usual ducks there - Canada Geese, Mallards, Muscoveys, (2) Commorants, (2) Ruddy Ducks and about 15 American Widgeons. We noticed two male American Widgeons had an unusual head coloration. These two birds had extensive buff/white color covering the top of the head and then the same color extending below the green eye band onto the lower face, making the head appear very pale above and below the green stripe. The other birds at the pond had the usual white crown stripe, green eye band and then a streaky/dotted greyish on the lower face. The odd birds did seem to have all other characteristics of the regular Am. Widgeons. Kerri & Dave Eugene, Oregon --------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos Ring in the New Year with Photo Calendars. Add photos, events, holidays, whatever. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060108/88fff772/attachment.htm From bcraig777 at comcast.net Sun Jan 8 23:02:48 2006 From: bcraig777 at comcast.net (Bruce) Date: Sun Jan 8 23:02:42 2006 Subject: [obol] Roseburg Unusual Widgeon In-Reply-To: <20060109055809.63547.qmail@web60411.mail.yahoo.com> References: <20060109055809.63547.qmail@web60411.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <43C20A98.1020907@comcast.net> Did they look something like this Am Wigeon Eu Wigeon hybrid? http://www.birdphotographique.com/Birds/FullPhoto.php?FileName=americanxeurasianwigeon-20050313-55-bc-r0914-wppdorus&PhotoNumber=r0914&x=18&y=17 Bruce Craig. Kerri Cawthon wrote: > Stopped by Stewart Park in Roseburg near the Fred Meyers store today. > > There were the usual ducks there - Canada Geese, Mallards, Muscoveys, > (2) Commorants, (2) Ruddy Ducks and about 15 American Widgeons. We > noticed two male American Widgeons had an unusual head coloration. > > These two birds had extensive buff/white color covering the top of > the head and then the same color extending below the green eye band onto > the lower face, making the head appear very pale above and below the > green stripe. > > The other birds at the pond had the usual white crown stripe, green eye > band and then a streaky/dotted greyish on the lower face. The odd birds > did seem to have all other characteristics of the regular Am. Widgeons. > > > Kerri & Dave > Eu gene, Oregon > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Yahoo! Photos > Ring in the New Year with Photo Calendars > . > Add photos, events, holidays, whatever. > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From ptsulliv at spiritone.com Sun Jan 8 23:18:47 2006 From: ptsulliv at spiritone.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Sun Jan 8 23:20:34 2006 Subject: [obol] Gilliam county Raptor Routes, Jan 7-8, 2006 Message-ID: <003301c614ed$3014ec00$81c563d8@dell307ac3e2b6> OBOL: This weekend Carol Karlen & I did the two Gilliam county raptor routes. The most notable birds were 2 MERLINS - one each day, 14 miles apart, south of Arlington along Hwy 19 - the first I've ever seen in Gilliam county. We also found many locations where gully-washer rains had sent mud down onto roadways, or cut into the sides of roads. Philippi Canyon and Hoag Roads were cut and impassible. All other locations had been repaired. ----------------------------------------------------- Sat., Jan. 7, North Gilliam county, 122 miles. 1 Northern Harriers 23 Red-tailed Hawks 6 Rough-legged Hawks 1 FERRUGINOUS HAWK -- beautiful! (at top of Blalock Canyon) 4 Golden Eagles 1 MERLIN 8 American Kestrels 0 accipiter 1 Barn Owl -- in its usual cliff hole 2 Loggerhead Shrikes 1 Northern Shrike Numbers of Horned Larks were way down from the 3000 I saw last January. Snow was absent from the fields. We found 18 Chukar on Lower Rock Creek Rd. -------------------------------------------------- Sun., Jan 8, South Gilliam county, 152 miles. 7 Northern Harriers 11 Red-tailed Hawks 10 Rough-legged Hawks 3 Golden Eagles 3 Prairie Falcons 1 MERLIN 18 American Kestrels 1 Cooper's Hawk 2 Great Horned Owls -- at usual nest site 3 Loggerhead Shrikes We looked in vain for winter finches or Snowy Owls. Good birding, everyone, Paul T. Sullivan windsurfing rain skiing rain camping rain fishing rain /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ / \ O / \ R / \ E / \ G / \ O / \ N / \ || || || || || || || rivers rain mountains rain ocean beaches rainbows - T-shirt design by Rainbow Prints From bigfishy at att.net Mon Jan 9 06:29:53 2006 From: bigfishy at att.net (bigfishy@att.net) Date: Mon Jan 9 06:29:56 2006 Subject: [obol] Coos/ Bandon birds Message-ID: <010920061429.5344.43C273610000CF53000014E0216038311697089C070009070D@att.net> Drove to Coos Bay with the kids to Millicoma Marsh (Thanks Tim!). Found Several 5 Am Robins, 6 Golden Crowned Sparrows, 4 Fox Sparrows, 1 Swamp Sparrow, 10-15 DE Juncos, 6 Audubons Warblers, 1 Spotted Towhee, 1 Hermit Thrush. It was low tide, so looking over the saltmarsh I saw 1 ringbilled Gull, 4 Western Gulls, 6 Canvasbacks, 3 Buffleheads, 10-12 Western Sandpipers, and 3 Greater Yellowlegs. We then drove to Bandon, and went out on the beach from the South Jetty, We saw several Seals in the surf close to the beach... the boys were amazed, further down the beach there were 6 Black Oystercatchers, 2 Red Breasted Mergansers, ~20 Black Turnstones, Many Western Gulls, 1 Glaucous Winged Gull, 1 Surf Scoter and 1 Black Phoebe. Overall the day was comfortable, very little rain or wind. Good Day Bob Fish -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060109/9a69d9b9/attachment.htm From namitzr at hotmail.com Mon Jan 9 08:01:08 2006 From: namitzr at hotmail.com (Russell Namitz) Date: Mon Jan 9 08:01:12 2006 Subject: [obol] Roseburg Unusual Wigeon In-Reply-To: <43C20A98.1020907@comcast.net> Message-ID: Bruce~ Excellent photos. I'm not sure anything about this bird constitutes it being a hybrid though. The facial pattern, flank/side coloration and auxillary feathers are all consistent with American Wigeon. The maroonish feathering around the eye (where it should be green) is normal in fall/early winter. I'm not positive whether the coloration is due to the angle of the feathers to the observer or due to the molt from eclipse to alternate plumage. It sounds like the birds Kerri saw may have looked something like a male I photographed earlier this fall. Other observers have noticed similar "odd" males. http://www.surfbirds.com/albums/displayimage.php?album=253&pos=1 Cheers, Russ Namitz Coos Bay From: Bruce Did they look something like this Am Wigeon Eu Wigeon hybrid? http://www.birdphotographique.com/Birds/FullPhoto.php?FileName=americanxeurasianwigeon-20050313-55-bc-r0914-wppdorus&PhotoNumber=r0914&x=18&y=17 Bruce Craig. From POsburn294 at aol.com Mon Jan 9 09:01:29 2006 From: POsburn294 at aol.com (POsburn294@aol.com) Date: Mon Jan 9 09:01:34 2006 Subject: [obol] Crows with issuses PDX Mult. Message-ID: <209.1097c239.30f3f0e9@aol.com> I was at the 42 nd. ave. boat ramp Sunday around noon. I was checking out the gull flock that hangs around the parking lot. There were 4 crows hanging around. 3 of which had foot deformities . 2 had deformed left feet 1 had acorn sized nodules on both feet. Weird. No exciting gulls to report. paul osburn -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060109/61395b19/attachment.htm From crmiller at bendnet.com Mon Jan 9 09:20:13 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Mon Jan 9 09:20:57 2006 Subject: [obol] Bend to Coast and Back Message-ID: <20060109172048.E1544104015@smtp3.oregonstate.edu> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Jan 7 & 8 Bird trip to coast.doc Type: application/msword Size: 43520 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060109/e0d814dd/Jan78Birdtriptocoast.doc From bcraig777 at comcast.net Mon Jan 9 10:07:46 2006 From: bcraig777 at comcast.net (Bruce) Date: Mon Jan 9 10:07:54 2006 Subject: [obol] Roseburg Unusual Wigeon In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <43C2A672.1010802@comcast.net> Russell, After comparing my photo with other Am Wigeon and the Sibley illustrations, I conclude you are correct. It does seem an odd time of year (March) for the bird to be in molt. And, the photos are a pretty accurate representation as I watched it for about ten minutes because of its odd coloring. Any other comments are welcome, because, if my ID is incorrect, I wish to correct it. Not that I've mis-ID'd birds before ... Bruce. Russell Namitz wrote: > Bruce~ > > Excellent photos. I'm not sure anything about this bird constitutes it > being a hybrid though. The facial pattern, flank/side coloration and > auxillary feathers are all consistent with American Wigeon. The > maroonish feathering around the eye (where it should be green) is normal > in fall/early winter. I'm not positive whether the coloration is due to > the angle of the feathers to the observer or due to the molt from > eclipse to alternate plumage. > > It sounds like the birds Kerri saw may have looked something like a male > I photographed earlier this fall. Other observers have noticed similar > "odd" males. > http://www.surfbirds.com/albums/displayimage.php?album=253&pos=1 > > > Cheers, > Russ Namitz > Coos Bay > > From: Bruce > Did they look something like this Am Wigeon Eu Wigeon hybrid? > > http://www.birdphotographique.com/Birds/FullPhoto.php?FileName=americanxeurasianwigeon-20050313-55-bc-r0914-wppdorus&PhotoNumber=r0914&x=18&y=17 > > > Bruce Craig. > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From oschmidt at att.net Mon Jan 9 10:12:17 2006 From: oschmidt at att.net (Owen Schmidt) Date: Mon Jan 9 10:13:11 2006 Subject: [obol] new to list In-Reply-To: <001c01c614ba$6e12db80$c601a8c0@George> References: <001c01c614ba$6e12db80$c601a8c0@George> Message-ID: <11F9770F-63EE-4C82-A150-257B1F32BB46@att.net> Those birders new to digital bird photography would do well to Google the phrase "digital bird photography" -- enough information to last a lifetime. Those birders who wish to put a camera behind their spotting scope -- digiscoping -- would do well to Google that word. Greg Gillson's site has a useful link to digiscoping: http://thebirdguide.com/digiscoping/digiscoping.htm Those birders wishing to make the most of their digital equipment should visit digital photography portals such as dpreview, which is one of the biggest and best in my view: http://www.dpreview.com/ A bird photograph is ultimately a photograph. There is no one solution, or one best solution, in my view. You can multiply your choices by throwing video and audio into the mix .............. Enjoy! oschmidt@att.net Monday, January 9, 2006 On Sunday, January 8, 2006, at 5:17 PM, George Redmond wrote: > Hello to list: > > This is my first posting to the list, but not my last I hope. > > I am real new to bird watching, and just as new to trying to take > pictures of them. > Let me ask some advice, I have a Fuji FinePix 3800, it has 3.2 mega > pixels with a > 6X zoom len. > > Now the trouble is with the zoom all the way out, I still cant get > that close to the > small birds to get real good pictures. > > Not sure if i need a telephoto lens or a Spotting scope? > > If some of you have been thru this, would you let me know how you > fixed this > problem, without to much expence at this time. > > Thanks for all your help. > and keep up those bird feeders. > > > George Redmond N7PJP > Estacada, OR. > n7pjp1@cascadeaccess.com > All Emails checked by Norton Anti Virus > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060109/8d4d47d0/attachment.htm From m.denny at charter.net Mon Jan 9 11:50:15 2006 From: m.denny at charter.net (mike denny) Date: Mon Jan 9 11:50:19 2006 Subject: [obol] Owls in Sherman Co. Message-ID: <001601c61555$e9780c00$0886bd44@BLACKBIRD> Hello all, Thursday the 5th Mike and I stopped below the John Day Dam and didn't find much except 1 Long-eared Owl in a P. Pine on the right side of the road as you drive in. At Deschutes State Park we found 1 Barn Owl and in the evergreen tree just to the east of the parking lot were several fresh Saw-whet Owl pellets and some splatter but we were unable to locate the bird!! Sorry this is late but we just returned from a family wedding in Auburn. Later, MerryLynn ******************************************************************** Mike & MerryLynn Denny 1354 S. E. Central Ave. College Place, WA 99324 509.529.0080 (h) IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN BIRDING, YOU HAVEN'T LIVED! ******************************************************************* From rkorpi at hotmail.com Mon Jan 9 11:58:08 2006 From: rkorpi at hotmail.com (Ray Korpi) Date: Mon Jan 9 11:58:10 2006 Subject: [obol] Listing Result Forms Message-ID: All, The listing result forms at this web site http://thor.clark.edu/korprt/ListHome.htm should be working now. Some of the other pages have 2004 or 2002 in their addresses, but be assured that Jamie Simmons knows these are for 2005. Thanks Ray Korpi rkorpi@hotmail.com From namitzr at hotmail.com Mon Jan 9 14:19:20 2006 From: namitzr at hotmail.com (Russell Namitz) Date: Mon Jan 9 14:19:23 2006 Subject: [obol] Roseburg Unusual Wigeon In-Reply-To: <43C2A672.1010802@comcast.net> Message-ID: Bruce~ Sorry, I didn't pay attention to the DATE of the photo. You are absolutely correct in molt timing...males have usually molted into alternate plumage by the end of Oct/beginning of Nov. Light plays funny tricks on iridescent feathers...that's why they say to ID scuap/goldeneye on the shape of the name not the color. I've seen this on other waterfowl, especially Green-winged Teal. I remember a day when I saw a flock of American Wigeon where most of the males showed the same coloration as your bird. If it was just a single bird, I may have been more suspicious, but since it was multiple birds, I wrote it off as the angle of the light. Sincerely, Russ Namitz Coos Bay From: Bruce Russell, After comparing my photo with other Am Wigeon and the Sibley illustrations, I conclude you are correct. It does seem an odd time of year (March) for the bird to be in molt. And, the photos are a pretty accurate representation as I watched it for about ten minutes because of its odd coloring. Any other comments are welcome, because, if my ID is incorrect, I wish to correct it. Not that I've mis-ID'd birds before ... Bruce. From dpvroman at budget.net Mon Jan 9 14:16:43 2006 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis P. Vroman) Date: Mon Jan 9 14:42:57 2006 Subject: [obol] JoCo 1st for Yr Message-ID: <000701c6156d$6bef47e0$e53f1c40@hppav> Went out Leonard Rd (sw. Grants Pass area, south of River) today (01-09-06); some of the better finds. 1 SAY'S PHOEBE (Black Phoebe at same location) 1 WESTERN GREBE (gravel extraction ponds) 2 MARSH WRENS (missed on CBC, in wetland area behind Redwood Elem. School) 2 female BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS (missed on CBC too) Have 93 for Jo Co so far this new year and there are many fairly easy to find species I have not located yet. Dennis (north of Grants Pass) From bcraig777 at comcast.net Mon Jan 9 15:00:03 2006 From: bcraig777 at comcast.net (Bruce) Date: Mon Jan 9 14:59:58 2006 Subject: [obol] Roseburg Unusual Wigeon In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <43C2EAF3.3090505@comcast.net> In this instance, it was a single bird among many other males, so that is why I "focused" on it, so to speak. The other Am Wigeon males present showed typical plumage/coloring. There were also two Eu Wigeon males present; the appearance of "hybrid" coloring and not knowing otherwise, I made the presumption it was a hybrid. Greg Gillson weighed in, too, and agrees it is Am Wigeon and not a hybrid. Part of the learning curve for me, but I think it would be better if these "odd ducks" would wear ID tags. ;-) Bruce. Russell Namitz wrote: > Bruce~ > > Sorry, I didn't pay attention to the DATE of the photo. You are > absolutely correct in molt timing...males have usually molted into > alternate plumage by the end of Oct/beginning of Nov. > > Light plays funny tricks on iridescent feathers...that's why they say to > ID scuap/goldeneye on the shape of the name not the color. I've seen > this on other waterfowl, especially Green-winged Teal. > I remember a day when I saw a flock of American Wigeon where most of the > males showed the same coloration as your bird. If it was just a single > bird, I may have been more suspicious, but since it was multiple birds, > I wrote it off as the angle of the light. > > Sincerely, > Russ Namitz > Coos Bay > > > From: Bruce > Russell, > > After comparing my photo with other Am Wigeon and the Sibley illustrations, > I conclude you are correct. It does seem an odd time of year (March) for > the bird to be in molt. And, the photos are a pretty accurate > representation > as I watched it for about ten minutes because of its odd coloring. Any > other > comments are welcome, because, if my ID is incorrect, I wish to correct it. > Not that I've mis-ID'd birds before ... > > Bruce. > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From jgeier at attglobal.net Mon Jan 9 13:38:25 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Mon Jan 9 15:06:45 2006 Subject: [obol] Polk Co. Ferruginous Hawk continues, 62 Trumpeters Message-ID: <43C2D7D1.1040404@attglobal.net> Hello folks, After getting home yesterday and learning that I turned around less than a mile short of where Bill Tice and Roy Gerig saw the Ferruginous Hawk along Airlie Rd. in s. Polk Co., I was sort of bummed. So when another excuse to drive up that way presented itself today, I didn't hesitate. The imm. FERRUGINOUS HAWK was still there, mousing in the second field southeast of where Sauerkraut Rd. intersects Airlie Rd., about 200 yards out from the road. A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK and other raptors mentioned by Roy were also around, though mostly farther out in the field and the KITES were two fields over, on the north(west) side of Sauerkraut Rd. The first field also had what appeared to be an adult Peale's type PEREGRINE way back in the first field, a bit farther out than my scope is good for. The TRUMPETER SWAN flock at Suver Crossing (junction of Hwy 99W and Airlie/Suver Rd) numbered 62 today, the most I have seen in one place all winter. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From brrobb at comcast.net Mon Jan 9 15:10:59 2006 From: brrobb at comcast.net (Roger & Betty Robb) Date: Mon Jan 9 15:11:00 2006 Subject: [obol] Tree Swallows Message-ID: <000801c61571$f44c80e0$06331618@RROffice> This morning while I was running east of Alton Baker Park I saw 3 TREE SWALLOWS flying over the river. Roger Robb Springfield, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060109/a672aa04/attachment.htm From peterpatricelli at comcast.net Mon Jan 9 16:56:28 2006 From: peterpatricelli at comcast.net (Peter Patricelli) Date: Mon Jan 9 17:00:48 2006 Subject: [obol] RE: obol Digest, Vol 27, Issue 9 In-Reply-To: <20060109200009.DA8401364D5@lists.nws.oregonstate.edu> Message-ID: This message has been processed by Symantec's AntiVirus Technology. Unknown00000000.data was not scanned for viruses because too many nested levels of files were found. For more information on antivirus tips and technology, visit http://ses.symantec.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: "Peter Patricelli" Subject: RE: obol Digest, Vol 27, Issue 9 Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 16:56:28 -0800 Size: 48436 Url: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060109/bf08471f/attachment.eml From celata at pacifier.com Mon Jan 9 17:59:48 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Mon Jan 9 17:59:26 2006 Subject: [obol] FWD: My Green Big Year Message-ID: <43C3150D.C4A8946F@pacifier.com> Subject: My Green Big Year From: "Eugene and Nancy Hunn" Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 17:27:49 -0800 Tweets: I open the year with this challenge to Tweeters: Given our unfortunate dependence on foreign (and domestic) oil and the unconscionably large size of our human footprint, I would like to propose that we redefine our 2005 Washington Big Year goal by seeing how many species we can see in the state while expending a limited amount of fossil fuels. I figure it should be possible to tally well over 300 species in the state in 2005 while driving less than 6000 miles and/or burning less than 240 gallons, averaging 500 miles and/or 20 gallons per month. There are many possible routes any of which might offer the possibility of seeing virtually all regularly occuring Washington species within these energetic limits. After several helpful comments from fellow Tweets, I refined the rules: Mileage and fuel expenditures should be divided by the number of riders in the vehicle (even pelagic trips are included, based on 25 birders burning 120 gallons of diesel). Car pooling and using fuel efficient vehicles (my Subaru is just average at 27 mpg) offer a premium. Public transportation would be free! As would travel by foot, bicycle, canoe, or kayak. If one travels on business, one need only count the detours for birds, and if one combines a birding trip with a hike or other non-birding activity, one might split the miles between the trip goals. Perhaps some computer whiz could develop special software to do the calculations. My score for 2005: January 31, 144 species, 555 miles, 20.6 gallons or 7 birds per gallon; February 28, 172 species, 1185 miles, 60.7 gallons, or 2.83 birds per gallon (I busted the budget chasing a Cape May Warbler on the far side of Spokane); August 30, 279 species, 2450 miles, 109.3 gallons or 1.64 birds per gallon December 31, 312 species, 4850.8 miles, 204.9 gallons or 1.52 birds per gallon! I also set a personal best King County year tally of 210. As you can see, I met my goals and then some. However, I plan to do a bit better in 2006, with more car-pooling, canoe-, bike-, and bus-riding, and a stronger focus on my home county. I'm shooting for 4000 miles and/or 150 gallons. Gene Hunn 18476 47th Pl NE Lake Forest Park, WA 98155 -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Mon Jan 9 19:19:39 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Mon Jan 9 19:19:41 2006 Subject: [obol] Bad Weather for the Snowy Owl In Newport Message-ID: <20060110031939.42611.qmail@web51814.mail.yahoo.com> At 4:00ish today, the snowy owl was on the roof of a small building on the east side of the fish/food plant across from Hatfield...I believe this is the same area where Janet Lamberson saw it last Friday. It was raining and the weather continually deteriorated with an increasingly strong howling wind coming primarily from the south/southwest but also including whirling whistling gusts that made it difficult to stand in one place. As the wind picked up the snowy owl moved to the ground and then moved again to a more protected spot on the ground sitting on the north side of a small dirt mound with some thick grass. I watched it until well after dark (5:45) and during this time it made only one attempt to fly and it got caught in a gust and very awkwardly flew back to the ground and then walked back to its protected spot....the wind was really moving it around and it was obvious it was struggling to walk. I guess it will have to wait until the wind dies down to hunt. __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com From rbayer at orednet.org Mon Jan 9 22:56:11 2006 From: rbayer at orednet.org (Range Bayer) Date: Mon Jan 9 22:55:35 2006 Subject: [obol] Birds & Proposed Shipbreaking at Yaquina and Coos Bays Message-ID: Hi, As some of you may know, Bay Bridge Enterprises LLC is proposing to lease land from the Port of Newport to construct a shipbreaking facility at Yaquina Bay. Last Friday, the Oregonian reported that Bay Bridge is also negotiating to buy private land at Coos Bay to construct a shipbreaking facility. A Virginia newspaper reported that Bay Bridge wanted to have two shipbreaking facilities in the Pacific Northwest, but it is not clear if that is what Bay Bridge is doing. There are 5 web sites about the Yaquina Bay proposal! My web site that includes footnotes so that you can look up materials yourself and reach your own conclusions is at http://www.orednet.org/~rbayer/salvage/ [use only lower case letters]--it also has links to the other web sites. At Yaquina Bay, it is my impression that the bird species that may be most affected would be wintering Black Brant, see http://www.orednet.org/~rbayer/salvage/birds.htm/ It is a complicated, contentious subject, and I have much more material to add to my web site, but with the Coos Bay negotiations, it is clear that it is not just a local, Newport subject. Yours, Range Bayer From llsdirons at msn.com Tue Jan 10 00:33:14 2006 From: llsdirons at msn.com (DAVID IRONS) Date: Tue Jan 10 00:33:16 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: 200 Canvasbacks at Jackson Bottoms Message-ID: Hi All, To my knowledge, Sarah Pinnock's report of 200+ Canvasbacks at Jackson Bottoms constitutes a record count for the Willamette Valley. BOGR lists no peak counts for the valley. I've never seen more than about 30 at any one site in the valley and my peak coastal count is about 125. I know there was a count of 350 from Youngs Bay last winter which I reported as an Oregon record in the NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS seasonal report. Do any of you know of higher counts for the Willamette Valley. Thanks, Dave Irons From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Tue Jan 10 07:35:05 2006 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Tue Jan 10 07:35:09 2006 Subject: [obol] East Cascades Bird Conservancy Winter Raptor Project results for November and December Message-ID: <20060110153506.14813.qmail@web50910.mail.yahoo.com> OBOLERS, As most of you know, last winter marked the first year of volunteer survey work around the state for the Winter Raptor Survey Project sponsored by the EAST CASCADES BIRD CONSERVANCY and partly funded with a grant from OFO (Oregon Field Ornithologists). The emphasis of this project was to enumerate raptor species around the state and to understand their distribution as well. A total of 80 routes were established for the project totaling more than 6,700 transect miles. During peak survey activity 6,577 birds were counted on 6,624 miles in January and 6,242 birds counted on 6,630 miles in February. The key raptor species were Red-tailed Hawks, American Kestrels, Northern Harriers, Rough-legged Hawks, and Bald Eagles in that order. The second season of survey work is now underway. We have managed to add an additional 23 routes around the state and now have a volunteer base exceeding 80 people! Thanks to all of you for your desires to be a part of this project :) Unfortunately, several of last years routes do not have volunteers this winter to do the work. In addition, we are always looking for more areas to cover around the state. So, it is not too late to join in on the fun by either covering a few vacant routes or adding a new route of your own! If you are interested in joining this project please contact me and I will see what we can do to get you involved :) I have attached to this email, the results of this winters efforts so far for November and December. Two charts show data for each of the individual routes surveyed so far and two charts show the summary of this data relative to the 10 major Units around the state. These four charts should give you an idea of how many birds of each species were found and where they were found. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments that you might have relative to the data. And again, please feel free to contact me if you wish to be a part of this growing statewide project, I would love to have your additional help :) Enjoy! Jeff Fleischer Winter Raptor Survey Project Coordinator EAST CASCADES BIRD CONSERVANCY __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ECBC Monthly Route Summary November 2005.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 75885 bytes Desc: 2259866835-ECBC Monthly Route Summary November 2005.xls Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060110/660a60f5/ECBCMonthlyRouteSummaryNovember2005.xls -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: ECBC 05 - 06 Unit Summary for December 2005.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 11937 bytes Desc: 153895632-ECBC 05 - 06 Unit Summary for December 2005.xls Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060110/660a60f5/ECBC05-06UnitSummaryforDecember2005.xls From crmiller at bendnet.com Tue Jan 10 07:55:20 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Tue Jan 10 07:55:46 2006 Subject: [obol] Directions to the Red-breasted Goose Message-ID: <20060110155543.EF451104258@smtp3.oregonstate.edu> Hi Obol: I have received numerous requests for directions to see the Red-breasted Goose. I personally don't care whether it is "countable" for my "list" or not. It is truly a beautiful, free flying, wild acting goose. It could be an escapee or a tiny chance it is a "wild" bird. Either way the Goose is worth looking at and admiring! The Oregon Birds Record Committee will have to make a decision this year on this bird. Here are the directions to the Red-breasted Goose that Linda Fink sent me. The directions were perfect. We found the bird within a couple of minutes of driving up and parking. Marilyn Miller Bend, Oregon -----Original Message----- From: Linda Fink Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 4:38 PM To: crmiller@bendnet.com Subject: Red-breasted Goose Marilyn, you must go to the coast via McMinnville and see the Red-breasted Goose. It is spectacular. The Woodhouses and I found it today in a *huge* flock of geese just off Hwy 233. You'll need to scan with a scope until you find it. It is *worth* the trouble, I promise. >From Bend, come to Salem and go on through on Hwy 22 to Hwy 99 and head north toward McMinnville. Just past the little town of Amity (before you get to McMinnville), turn right on Hwy 233, the Amity-Dayton Hwy. The flock was on the right of Hwy 233, just past the intersection with Airport Rd. which takes off to the left. Depending on where the flock is, it might be closer to turn on Stackhoff Rd. which goes off to the right just before Airport Rd. Or they could have moved around a bit. Don Albright saw them off Airport Rd. a few days ago. If you see a huge flock of geese anywhere along there, stop and check them out. There is only one flock in the area. The Red-breasted Goose is with them. Spectacular is hardly adequate. And if Joel hasn't written to you, yes, there are Trumpeters in the Airlie area. Joel Geier always knows just where the flocks are. They're usually right along Hwy 99, south of Hwy 22 (instead of north toward McMinnville). Write to Joel and find out where they are now. jgeier@attglobal.net It sounds like you're headed toward Eugene, so go see the Red-breasted Goose first, then head back south on 99 to the Trumpeters and Eugene. You *must* see the Red-breasted Goose!! Linda Fink From dan-gleason at comcast.net Tue Jan 10 09:33:19 2006 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Tue Jan 10 09:31:52 2006 Subject: [obol] Townsend's Warblers Message-ID: <81FDD9CF-8884-4AD1-AC97-7EB5CA9133B1@comcast.net> The number of Townsend's Warblers around our house continues to increase Two is typical in any winter. This year we have had 4-5 visiting everyday. This morning, there were 9 visible at one time. There was more movement in the shrubs but I don't know if they were more warblers as there are many chickadees (Black-capped and Chestnut- backed), and Bushtits in the same cover, as well as 1-2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Red-breasted Nuthatches and a Song Sparrow. A nice way to start the morning. We live in the south hills of Eugene. For those who know the area, it is on Lorane Highway, about halfway between Friendly and Chambers Sts. There are many conifers in the surrounding area and we are far enough above the valley floor that these warblers should be expected each winter but never like this. Dan Gleason ----------------- Dan Gleason 541 345-0450 dan-gleason@comcast.net From rbayer at orednet.org Tue Jan 10 09:50:04 2006 From: rbayer at orednet.org (Range Bayer) Date: Tue Jan 10 09:49:28 2006 Subject: Correction [obol] Birds & Proposed Shipbreaking at Yaquina and Coos Bays (fwd) Message-ID: Hi, I mistakenly placed a forward slash (/) at the end of the web address for the web page about Yaquina Bay birds; I have corrected it below, so that it is accessible. Sorry for the inconvenience, Range ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 22:56:11 -0800 (PST) From: Range Bayer To: OBOL@lists.oregonstate.edu Subject: [obol] Birds & Proposed Shipbreaking at Yaquina and Coos Bays Hi, As some of you may know, Bay Bridge Enterprises LLC is proposing to lease land from the Port of Newport to construct a shipbreaking facility at Yaquina Bay. Last Friday, the Oregonian reported that Bay Bridge is also negotiating to buy private land at Coos Bay to construct a shipbreaking facility. A Virginia newspaper reported that Bay Bridge wanted to have two shipbreaking facilities in the Pacific Northwest, but it is not clear if that is what Bay Bridge is doing. There are 5 web sites about the Yaquina Bay proposal! My web site that includes footnotes so that you can look up materials yourself and reach your own conclusions is at http://www.orednet.org/~rbayer/salvage/ [use only lower case letters]--it also has links to the other web sites. At Yaquina Bay, it is my impression that the bird species that may be most affected would be wintering Black Brant, see http://www.orednet.org/~rbayer/salvage/birds.htm It is a complicated, contentious subject, and I have much more material to add to my web site, but with the Coos Bay negotiations, it is clear that it is not just a local, Newport subject. Yours, Range Bayer _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From mmarvin at spiritone.com Tue Jan 10 10:47:35 2006 From: mmarvin at spiritone.com (Marcia Marvin) Date: Tue Jan 10 10:46:24 2006 Subject: [obol] Varied Thrush chorus Message-ID: <1E2726F0-C2C4-4105-8416-4D39EBDE4FC9@spiritone.com> OBOL, Taking advantage of a brief (are you sitting down?) clearing period that settled down over Portland this morning, I took a walk along my usual route to (and sometimes through) Hideaway Park. All fall and winter, I have seen exactly one Varied Thrush at this location, and heard none. Today I saw several, and heard at least a half a dozen. Apparently they are enjoying the break in the weather as much as we are. For the Varied Thrush experience (I just got back), turn east on Miles Ct. off of Oleson Rd. (Miles Ct. is between Canby and Vermont). Park anywhere and walk around with your ears perked. Good birding! Marcia From richarmstrong5 at msn.com Tue Jan 10 11:46:33 2006 From: richarmstrong5 at msn.com (rich armstrong) Date: Tue Jan 10 11:46:39 2006 Subject: [obol] ferruginous Polk Co. References: <43C16E8E.4000306@attglobal.net> Message-ID: 1. the ferruginous hawk in polk county was there at 11 this morning about 1/2 mile south of the airlie saurkraut intersection. it was in a big field with 1 rough-legged, 1 red-tail, 1 harrier, a couple kestrals, and 2 white-tailed kites. 2. there were maybe 50 tundra swans in field just south of there. 3. and there were 20 trumpeter swans on northwest corner of airlie road and 99w, which apparently is the usual place. 4. we saw a total of 5 rough-legged hawks - 2 on north side of saurkraut and 2 more on robinson road just in benton county. Rich & Nanette Armstrong 541-753-1978 From jeffgill at teleport.com Tue Jan 10 13:51:15 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Tue Jan 10 12:51:14 2006 Subject: [obol] Tree Swallows In-Reply-To: <000801c61571$f44c80e0$06331618@RROffice> Message-ID: Several days ago one of Terry Wahl's cousins saw about 140 "white-bellied swallows" over a coastal lake in northern Curry County. When Terry went there the next day there was only one swallow - a pale-bellied Barn Swallow. Terry says that the cousin was likely correct in regard to his description of the "white-bellied swallows". Jeff Gilligan. on 1/9/06 3:10 PM, Roger & Betty Robb at brrobb@comcast.net wrote: This morning while I was running east of Alton Baker Park I saw 3 TREE SWALLOWS flying over the river. Roger Robb Springfield, Oregon _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060110/8a2a9f74/attachment.htm From 5hats at peak.org Tue Jan 10 13:40:32 2006 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel Faxon) Date: Tue Jan 10 13:40:45 2006 Subject: [obol] Townsends Message-ID: <005201c6162e$7f440a30$0000a398@your5rlp3a9516> OBOL, Here at Thornton Creek in the interior Lincoln County Coast Range I rarely see Townsend's Warblers in winter. I probably have recorded them during that season less than five times in fifty years. They usually are only seen duringfall migration, occasionally in spring. However I did see one this morning. Darrel -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060110/300c1c9d/attachment.htm From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Tue Jan 10 14:38:04 2006 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Tue Jan 10 14:38:07 2006 Subject: [obol] PO CBC Results Message-ID: <20060110223804.81213.qmail@web32605.mail.mud.yahoo.com> I received the final results of the December 23, 2005 Port Orford CBC from Jim Rogers, here are the highlights: Total species 141 number of participants- 18 Unusual species: CATTLE EGRET (2 previous recordds) CINNAMON TEAL- 5 (1st count record) GYRFALCON (1st count record) RUDDY TURNSTONE (1st count record) BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD-2 Other findings of note: CLARK'S GREBES- 2 AMERICAN BITTERN- 2 BLACK SCOTER- 33 KILLDEER- 1724 (The Coos count had a record numbers of this species) RED PHALAROPE- 2811 PALM WARBLER- 15 (down from recent years!) They also had no RED CROSSBILLS, same as on the Coos Bay count. That's it, Tim R Coos Bay __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From crmiller at bendnet.com Tue Jan 10 16:42:12 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Tue Jan 10 16:42:27 2006 Subject: [obol] Birding the Hotspots of Jefferson County 1-19-06 Slide Show and Talk Message-ID: <20060111004223.C198017038F@smtp2.oregonstate.edu> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Birder's Night 01-19-06.doc Type: application/msword Size: 31744 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060110/45f1ef1a/BirdersNight01-19-06.doc From jeffgill at teleport.com Tue Jan 10 18:34:53 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Tue Jan 10 17:34:45 2006 Subject: [obol] FW: Letter to the editorial page. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: (I sent this to "The Oregonian" in response to recent articles and editorials.) I have read with interest the various items recently in "The Oregonian" about the decline in fishing and hunting in the state, and the related strains on the budget of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The recent editorial mentions the "growing legions of birders and wildlife watchers". I have been a birder in the state for about fifty years, and I am from a family of hunters and fishermen. My suggestion to ODFW is that it develop facilities that attract birders in a way similar to what is done in Britain by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Birders would pay to visit managed habitats such as shorebird scrapes, desert migration oases, etc., that attract otherwise difficult to find species. ODFW could sell annual passes. Past efforts to provide facilities to birders such as the viewing structure on the east side of Sauvie Is., or the concrete bunker at Fort Stevens State Park, are ineffectual wastes of money. None of the many birders I know ever plan trips because of those improvements, and none would pay to use them. When I have shown them to visiting birders from out of the country, or to British birders who have relocated to Oregon, we only shake out heads. I would be happy to explain this to ODFW. I believe that there are actually more Oregonians who now have interest and knowledge about Oregon's outdoors and its wildlife resources. It is just that there are fewer hunters and fishermen. ODFW should adapt to the changing circumstances, as well as trying to recruit new hunters and fishermen. After all - the customers are always right. From jgeier at attglobal.net Tue Jan 10 18:01:01 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Tue Jan 10 18:05:44 2006 Subject: [obol] Corvallis middle-schoolers need photos of birds, plants etc. Message-ID: <43C466DD.60901@attglobal.net> Hello folks, The 7th and 8th graders at Inavale School (the science "magnet" school in the Corvallis public school district) are working on a set of field cards describing Willamette Valley plant and animal species. This is a culmination of classroom science study as well as some of the field trips which I've mentioned. The plan is to put together descriptions of the organisms' natural history and a few fun facts, on laminated cards which will be published by OSU Extension. Each kid has one species to work on. This is an ongoing program at Inavale, so students are working on species that were not covered by students in past years. The kids have all been working hard on their research and have come up with some great material in terms of text, but ... One HUGE PROBLEM is finding photographs/images that are in the public domain or with copyright permission. Some of tbe birds are not around, and may of the plants are dormant this time of year, so it has been hard for kids to get these on their own. Since many birders are also avid photographers and naturalists with broader-ranging interests, I'm hoping some of you are willing to help these kids out with your own photos that you have on hand. Here is the list of the species that this year's group of kids have picked. Their teacher told me they could use photos for just about all of these. I'm including the plants since I know some of you are interested in those too (I would appreciate if any NPS members could help me out with forwarding this request). BIRDS: Wood Duck Rufous Hummingbird Tree Swallow Cedar Waxwing Common Yellowthroat American Robin Osprey Great Blue Heron Bald Eagle AMPHIBIANS: Red-legged Frog Pacific Salamander MAMMALS: Big Brown Bat Beaver Raccoon Long-tailed Weasel River Otter Dusky-footed Woodrat INSECTS: Banded Ash Borer Cicada Western Swallowtail Sphinx moth Robber fly TREES & SHRUBS: Black Cottonwood Populus trichocarpa Oregon Ash Fraxinus latifolia White Alder Alnus rhombifolia Willow Salix sp. Red Elderberry Sambucus racemosa Blue Elderberry Sambucus cerulea Red-osier Dogwood Cornus stolonifera Pacific Ninebark Physocarpus capitatus Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis HERBS: Licorice fern Polypodium glycyrrhiza Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica Fringe Cup Tellima grandiflora Western meadowrue Thalictrum occidentale Wild Ginger Asarum caudatum Pacific Bleeding Heart Dicentra formosa Red Columbine Aquilegia formosa Cow Parsnip Heracieum lanatum Horsetail Equisetum sp. MOSSES: Leafy liverwort Porella navicularis Menzies' neckera Metaneckera menziesii FUNGI: Tricholoma populinum Verpa conica LICHENS: Net lichen Ramalina menziesii ___ orange Xanthoria parietina (lichen) The images ought to be at least 900 x 900 pixels for the main photos on the cards; secondary photos can go down to 400 x 400 pixels or so. They are trying to get all of this together by the end of the month. PLEASE, if you are able to help, please send me a note before you actually send the images. My mailbox can only hold 10 MB at a time and my dial-up connection is slow, so -- while all help is appreciated, I'd especially appreciate if we can spread this out. If you'd rather send me a print which I could scan for the class, or files on a diskette or CD, my address is: 38566 Hwy 99W Corvallis, Oregon 97330 I will also look into an e-mail address at the school, which might work better in terms of bandwidth. Thanks to Steve Shunk of Paradise Birding who has already helped out one of the kids with Downy Woodpecker! Thanks much, Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From woodenapple at juno.com Tue Jan 10 18:31:03 2006 From: woodenapple at juno.com (Mark H Rudolph) Date: Tue Jan 10 18:29:56 2006 Subject: [obol] Obol: Snowy Owl sightings (x3) Message-ID: <20060110.183104.-346583.8.woodenapple@juno.com> Greetings, Obolists! My wife and I just returned from a five-day trip, during the course of which we were able to see SNOWY OWLS in three locations. On Saturday, we saw at least three, and probably five, at the Columbia south jetty. Three were at parking lot C. We then went to parking lot D for 20 - 30 minutes and as we were returning, we saw two owls near Trestle Bay, roughly opposite the entry to parking lot B. So either two flew there from lot C or there were a total of five. Yesterday, Monday, and today we saw one owl at Newport. Yesterday it was on the ground in the enclosure across from the Hatfield Center that was a salmon processing facility but today is used to process marachino cherries (!?). Today the owl was just NW of the kiosk in the Hatfield Center parking lot, perched on the nearest large, white, container-shaped box behind a fence. Great pic from <100 ft.! And on the way home we stopped at Franklin x Alvadore road near Alvadore and spotted an owl perched on the large, light-colored barn to the northwest of the intersection. (I think I have my compass bearings right.) Also in Newport we saw seven HARLEQUIN DUCKS and six LONG-TAILED DUCKS along the south jetty. I've never seen more than two Long-tailed there before. Rudi Mark "Rudi" Rudolph Eugene, OR woodenapple@juno.com From newhouse at efn.org Tue Jan 10 18:43:50 2006 From: newhouse at efn.org (Bruce Newhouse) Date: Tue Jan 10 18:46:11 2006 Subject: [obol] Spurred lupine in the Willamette Valley? Message-ID: <43C470E6.7040409@efn.org> Greetings, NPSOers! A friend of mine at OSU is in need of finding any other Willamette Valley sites of spurred lupine (Lupinus arbustus, formerly known here as L. laxiflorus). He is doing genetics research, and already is aware of the populations at Baskett Butte NWR and Coburg Ridge. He knows of many sites in the Cascades, but is in need of Willamette Valley sites. Please contact me if you know of any other sites that he might be able to examine. (No need to send to the whole list.) Bruce Newhouse in Eugene From jbw at pacifier.com Tue Jan 10 18:25:47 2006 From: jbw at pacifier.com (Barbara & John Woodhouse) Date: Tue Jan 10 19:01:33 2006 Subject: [obol] Corvallis middle-schoolers need photos of birds, plants etc. In-Reply-To: <43C466DD.60901@attglobal.net> Message-ID: I'll try to help, but records are near non existant! Will search. May come up with :- Long-tailed Weasel River Otter Raccoon Beaver Red Elderberry Red Columbine Cow Parsnip The images woulld all be mine, and the school can use them freely. The animals were all at one time or other at the Wildlife Rehab Center of the North Coast near Astoria. I'll get to work. It's raining hard and blowing like crazy here. We'll be going over on Sunday to bird with Linda Fink. If we can get something by then we'll bring a disc with them on it. Maybe we can get it to you. John From jbw at pacifier.com Tue Jan 10 18:28:36 2006 From: jbw at pacifier.com (Barbara & John Woodhouse) Date: Tue Jan 10 19:04:20 2006 Subject: [obol] (no subject) Message-ID: Ooops! Sorry, that was meant to go just to Joel. John Woodhouse Tillamook From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Tue Jan 10 19:06:35 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Tue Jan 10 19:06:45 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page. Message-ID: <20060111030635.60266.qmail@web51805.mail.yahoo.com> Jeff, could you please expound on this: "Past efforts to provide facilities to birders such as the viewing structure on the east side of Sauvie Is., or the concrete bunker at Fort Stevens State Park, are ineffectual wastes of money. None of the many birders I know ever plan trips because of those improvements, and none would pay to use them. When I have shown them to visiting birders from out of the country, or to British birders who have relocated to Oregon, we only shake out heads. I would be happy to explain this to ODFW." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From celata at pacifier.com Tue Jan 10 19:37:23 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Tue Jan 10 19:37:38 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page. References: <20060111030635.60266.qmail@web51805.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <43C47D6C.7E6A4792@pacifier.com> I can speak to the down right embarrasing effort at Fort Stevens to create "wildlife blinds" and "habitat restoration". When the Fred Meyers was built in Warrenton, several projects were done to mitigate for lost wetlands at the Fred Meyer site. A scrape was made out at the end of Swash Lake, that was not deep enough to turn into any kind of functioning wetland, a waterfowl pond with a refuge island was built near Peter Iredale and two blinds were built. All, so far as I am aware, without much input from wildlife watchers or even duck hunters. I'm not sure the blame goes to ODFW on this one, more probably Oregon Parks and the Army Corps of Engineers. The Swash Lake blind is well built, but placed at a part of the lake so densely covered with wetland plants that there's literally nothing to see. The "Wildlife Bunker", meant to look like one of the bunkers at the military facility is built too far back on the dune, doesn't face in the best direction and has vertical slats that make scope or binocular use close to impossible. On the plus side, Barn Swallows like to nest in it and children enjoy climbing on it. It is too bad that the best that ODFW can come up with at the State level is to encourage more hunting. It ain't gonna happen. It's worth mentioning that the manager at Gnat Creek Fish Hatchery has made some remarkable efforts to change the focus. They've built a nature trail and invite local schools to do the interpretting. I agree with Jeff that the ODFW would do well to shift its focus away from hunter dollars which are probably maxed out toward "watchable wildlife" dollars. And I agree that the way to do the is to have some sort of wildlife stamp that or pass that is more enclusive than just game species oriented duck stamps, deer tags, etc. Cindy Ashy wrote: > > Jeff, could you please expound on this: > > "Past efforts to provide facilities to birders such as the viewing structure > on the east side of Sauvie Is., or the concrete bunker at Fort Stevens State > Park, are ineffectual wastes of money. None of the many birders I know ever > plan trips because of those improvements, and none would pay to use them. > When I have shown them to visiting birders from out of the country, or to > British birders who have relocated to Oregon, we only shake out heads. I > would be happy to explain this to ODFW." > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From oganc at sbcglobal.net Tue Jan 10 19:54:40 2006 From: oganc at sbcglobal.net (Chet ogan) Date: Tue Jan 10 19:54:41 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page. In-Reply-To: <20060111030635.60266.qmail@web51805.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20060111035440.3476.qmail@web80606.mail.yahoo.com> A problem we have with our blinds is that homeless think it is their shelter for the night. The City removed the boards from the bottoms to make it less "homey" for homeless and to make it more easy to patrol by enforecment personnel. Chet Ogan Baja Oregon --- Cindy Ashy wrote: > Jeff, could you please expound on this: > > "Past efforts to provide facilities to birders such > as the viewing structure > on the east side of Sauvie Is., or the concrete > bunker at Fort Stevens State > Park, are ineffectual wastes of money. None of the > many birders I know ever > plan trips because of those improvements, and none > would pay to use them. > When I have shown them to visiting birders from out > of the country, or to > British birders who have relocated to Oregon, we > only shake out heads. I > would be happy to explain this to ODFW." > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam > protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From oganc at sbcglobal.net Tue Jan 10 19:55:04 2006 From: oganc at sbcglobal.net (Chet ogan) Date: Tue Jan 10 19:55:06 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page. In-Reply-To: <20060111030635.60266.qmail@web51805.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20060111035504.82958.qmail@web80610.mail.yahoo.com> A problem we have with our blinds is that homeless think it is their shelter for the night. The City removed the boards from the bottoms to make it less "homey" for homeless and to make it more easy to patrol by enforecment personnel. Chet Ogan Baja Oregon --- Cindy Ashy wrote: > Jeff, could you please expound on this: > > "Past efforts to provide facilities to birders such > as the viewing structure > on the east side of Sauvie Is., or the concrete > bunker at Fort Stevens State > Park, are ineffectual wastes of money. None of the > many birders I know ever > plan trips because of those improvements, and none > would pay to use them. > When I have shown them to visiting birders from out > of the country, or to > British birders who have relocated to Oregon, we > only shake out heads. I > would be happy to explain this to ODFW." > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam > protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From jeffgill at teleport.com Tue Jan 10 21:44:09 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Tue Jan 10 20:44:05 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page. In-Reply-To: <20060111030635.60266.qmail@web51805.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: on 1/10/06 7:06 PM, Cindy Ashy at tunicate89@yahoo.com wrote: > Jeff, could you please expound on this: > > "Past efforts to provide facilities to birders such as the viewing structure > on the east side of Sauvie Is., or the concrete bunker at Fort Stevens State > Park, are ineffectual wastes of money. None of the many birders I know ever > plan trips because of those improvements, and none would pay to use them. > When I have shown them to visiting birders from out of the country, or to > British birders who have relocated to Oregon, we only shake out heads. I > would be happy to explain this to ODFW." > > __________________________________________________ > I was very limited by the number of words that The Oregonian would consider printing. The "bunker" at Ft. Stevens is in a dune near Trestle Bay - too far from the bay to use as a viewing blind or hide. It has viewing windows that are at the wrong height to use with a scope on a tripod. The location is one where there usually aren't many birds to look at. It cost a lot. The viewing platform on Sauvie Is. is far removed from the wetland that it looks out into . The wetland is a corn field much of the year. The only use for the expensive structure is that you can stay dry on rainy days. In Britain, and elsewhere, hides (blinds) are made inexpensively. They are placed where you can get good looks at a lot of birds. They are often placed at man-made habitats that are effectively designed to attract a lot of birds that one cannot easily see elsewhere - such as at the shorebird scrapes that attract shorbirds at high tides near estuaries, aswell as frshawater prefering species that might otherwise not have a feeding habitat in the general area. The lack of high tide roosting spots is a major reason in my opinion for diminshed use of Oregon estuaries by shorebirds. Desert osases (similar to the Malhuer Headquarters effect or that of the Fields Oasis) would also be much appreciated by birders. Facilities such as the drip water at Cabin Lake is another type of facility where birders would pay to have the privelege of visiting. From jgeier at attglobal.net Tue Jan 10 21:06:29 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Tue Jan 10 21:12:53 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page Message-ID: <43C49255.3050301@attglobal.net> Hello folks, A good example of a birding tower is the one at Hj?lstavik in Uppland, Sweden. To my understanding, it was built by the regional birdwatching society (Upplands Ornitologiska F?rening, or Uppland Ornithological Union) in cooperation with the authorities responsible for managing the habitat. It is well out into the habitat and has a good view of the shorebird areas, and the gravel path leading to it transects a full range of the habitats that are of interest. The tower is heavily used both by local birders and by visitors like myself. I have enjoyed, e.g. Ruff, various stints, both ringed plovers, various shanks, two species of wagtail, and various marsh warblers there, probably 60-70 species in all. The locals meanwhile were looking hard for rare vagrants like Greater Yellowlegs. No one pays to use this tower, though volunteer groups have helped to build and maintain it. That might be another model to think about, versus the British model. I realize that the point of Jeff's letter was to suggest a way of generating a revenue stream that ODFW could point to as birding vs. hunting/fishing revenue. There are getting to be more and more economic data showing the benefits of birding tourism; perhaps the issue is how to direct a fraction of that revenue into wildlife habitat management (through legislative means), rather than setting up an even more byzantine system of user fees than we already have. We do have a problem in this state, that revenue streams are closely tied to individual agencies. I was astonished during the Santiam Pass CBC to learn that my $85 "Golden Eagle/Oregon and Washington Recreation Pass," which covers state parks, national parks, BLM fee areas, and national forest user fees, would not cover sno-parks in the national forest. The reason, I was told, was because the sno-parks are managed by a different agency, ODOT, which counts on sno-parks as part of its own revenue stream. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From bcraig777 at comcast.net Tue Jan 10 21:35:03 2006 From: bcraig777 at comcast.net (Bruce) Date: Tue Jan 10 21:35:05 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <43C49907.1070309@comcast.net> The door is open, so I'll walk right in ... How many blinds/hides that are reasonably close to where the birds are have been located on the north side of the viewing area so that everything on view is backlit? That is not just a problem for those of us who photograph birds; looking toward the sun with nockies or scopes is no fun either, especially when viewing water birds. Not that reflections off the water are a problem. At least 2/3 of the refuges I've visited that had otherwise good blinds had them on the north side of things. I've been buying the Duck stamps for ... forgot when I started. I guess one each year is not enough now. I'd pay a reasonable amount to go to such places as suggested. But, I'd expect to have reasonable access, too. Compare current beach access, for example, at Bowerman Basin* at Grays Harbor with access at SJ Newport. Talk about a waste of money, and the boardwalk at Bowerman nearly eliminates any good access to bird viewing on the tidal flats. Bruce Craig. *or whatever its official name is. Jeff Gilligan wrote: > on 1/10/06 7:06 PM, Cindy Ashy at tunicate89@yahoo.com wrote: > > >>Jeff, could you please expound on this: >> >>"Past efforts to provide facilities to birders such as the viewing structure >>on the east side of Sauvie Is., or the concrete bunker at Fort Stevens State >>Park, are ineffectual wastes of money. None of the many birders I know ever >>plan trips because of those improvements, and none would pay to use them. >>When I have shown them to visiting birders from out of the country, or to >>British birders who have relocated to Oregon, we only shake out heads. I >>would be happy to explain this to ODFW." >> >>__________________________________________________ >> > > > > I was very limited by the number of words that The Oregonian would consider > printing. > > The "bunker" at Ft. Stevens is in a dune near Trestle Bay - too far from the > bay to use as a viewing blind or hide. It has viewing windows that are at > the wrong height to use with a scope on a tripod. The location is one where > there usually aren't many birds to look at. It cost a lot. > > The viewing platform on Sauvie Is. is far removed from the wetland that it > looks out into . The wetland is a corn field much of the year. The only > use for the expensive structure is that you can stay dry on rainy days. > > In Britain, and elsewhere, hides (blinds) are made inexpensively. They are > placed where you can get good looks at a lot of birds. They are often > placed at man-made habitats that are effectively designed to attract a lot > of birds that one cannot easily see elsewhere - such as at the shorebird > scrapes that attract shorbirds at high tides near estuaries, aswell as > frshawater prefering species that might otherwise not have a feeding habitat > in the general area. The lack of high tide roosting spots is a major reason > in my opinion for diminshed use of Oregon estuaries by shorebirds. > > Desert osases (similar to the Malhuer Headquarters effect or that of the > Fields Oasis) would also be much appreciated by birders. > > Facilities such as the drip water at Cabin Lake is another type of facility > where birders would pay to have the privelege of visiting. > > > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From celata at pacifier.com Tue Jan 10 21:49:08 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Tue Jan 10 21:48:35 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Letter to the editorial page. References: <43C49907.1070309@comcast.net> Message-ID: <43C49C43.384CB396@pacifier.com> Some Boardwalks are about crowd control. I think Bowerman is a fair example. If the 100's of folks who go to Bowerman were to walk through the wetlands.... well it wouldn't be pretty. It would be ecologically sound. It wouldn't be good management policy.... And as far as Duck Stamps go, there's nothing about them that says: I want the USFW/ODFW to think outside the duckbox. Buy a duck stamp and you get hunter-focused duck management. I will continue to resist buying a duck stamp, because the priorities for the funds generated do not meet my concerns. And no, I have nothing against hunters or hunting. Bruce wrote: > > The door is open, so I'll walk right in ... > > How many blinds/hides that are reasonably close to where the birds > are have been located on the north side of the viewing area so that > everything on view is backlit? That is not just a problem for those > of us who photograph birds; looking toward the sun with nockies or > scopes is no fun either, especially when viewing water birds. Not > that reflections off the water are a problem. At least 2/3 of the > refuges I've visited that had otherwise good blinds had them on the > north side of things. > > I've been buying the Duck stamps for ... forgot when I started. I > guess one each year is not enough now. > > I'd pay a reasonable amount to go to such places as suggested. But, > I'd expect to have reasonable access, too. Compare current beach > access, for example, at Bowerman Basin* at Grays Harbor with access > at SJ Newport. Talk about a waste of money, and the boardwalk at > Bowerman nearly eliminates any good access to bird viewing on the > tidal flats. > > Bruce Craig. > > *or whatever its official name is. > > Jeff Gilligan wrote: > > > on 1/10/06 7:06 PM, Cindy Ashy at tunicate89@yahoo.com wrote: > > > > > >>Jeff, could you please expound on this: > >> > >>"Past efforts to provide facilities to birders such as the viewing structure > >>on the east side of Sauvie Is., or the concrete bunker at Fort Stevens State > >>Park, are ineffectual wastes of money. None of the many birders I know ever > >>plan trips because of those improvements, and none would pay to use them. > >>When I have shown them to visiting birders from out of the country, or to > >>British birders who have relocated to Oregon, we only shake out heads. I > >>would be happy to explain this to ODFW." > >> > >>__________________________________________________ > >> > > > > > > > > I was very limited by the number of words that The Oregonian would consider > > printing. > > > > The "bunker" at Ft. Stevens is in a dune near Trestle Bay - too far from the > > bay to use as a viewing blind or hide. It has viewing windows that are at > > the wrong height to use with a scope on a tripod. The location is one where > > there usually aren't many birds to look at. It cost a lot. > > > > The viewing platform on Sauvie Is. is far removed from the wetland that it > > looks out into . The wetland is a corn field much of the year. The only > > use for the expensive structure is that you can stay dry on rainy days. > > > > In Britain, and elsewhere, hides (blinds) are made inexpensively. They are > > placed where you can get good looks at a lot of birds. They are often > > placed at man-made habitats that are effectively designed to attract a lot > > of birds that one cannot easily see elsewhere - such as at the shorebird > > scrapes that attract shorbirds at high tides near estuaries, aswell as > > frshawater prefering species that might otherwise not have a feeding habitat > > in the general area. The lack of high tide roosting spots is a major reason > > in my opinion for diminshed use of Oregon estuaries by shorebirds. > > > > Desert osases (similar to the Malhuer Headquarters effect or that of the > > Fields Oasis) would also be much appreciated by birders. > > > > Facilities such as the drip water at Cabin Lake is another type of facility > > where birders would pay to have the privelege of visiting. > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > obol mailing list > > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From jbw at pacifier.com Tue Jan 10 21:57:52 2006 From: jbw at pacifier.com (Barbara & John Woodhouse) Date: Tue Jan 10 22:33:34 2006 Subject: [obol] Fort Stevens Message-ID: I would like to add something about the Bunker at Fort Stevens, the vegitation has grown so tall that you can't see anything out of it anyway!! We would be quite willing to pay a fee for improved viewing thats not too obtrusive. Barbara Woodhouse Tillamook From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Wed Jan 11 00:04:03 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Wed Jan 11 00:04:05 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page Message-ID: <20060111080403.26296.qmail@web51803.mail.yahoo.com> I know in the grand scheme of things, Oregon Coast Passports generate only a drop in the revenue bucket but I was surprised to learn that each participating agency gets to keep 100% of the revenue of what they sell...and each agency handles these funds in a different way. So if you buy an Oregon Coast Passport from Yaquina Head, the BLM keeps ALL of the money generated from that sale...and in the BLM's case, all of it stays right there at Yaquina Head....and they have even made efforts to encourage people to renew their passes through them. If you buy a pass from a state park, 100% goes to the state parks system but not just to that specific park (into the day use fund). The only exception is if you buy one from an independent kiosk (like from GI Joes) the revenue is split up in the following way: US Forest Service: 33%, BLM: 8%, National Parks Service: 7%, and Oregon State Parks: 52%. I do not know if other passes involving multiple agencies work this way. Also, I haven't verified this yet (I know who to ask), but I've been told the "friends clubs" like Friends of Shoreacres, Yaquina Lights, Friends of Cape Blanco, etc can sell these passes to their members and in doing so direct 100% of the revenue generated to their park(s) of choice. It might be worth looking into selling these passes to OBOL members or other birding groups and directing the revenue to parks most important to birders and/or to specific improvements designed by birders that would take into account all the important things people have mentioned on this thread. By the way, this is a very interesting thread and I hope people post more examples. Joel Geier wrote: "We do have a problem in this state, that revenue streams are closely tied to individual agencies. I was astonished during the Santiam Pass CBC to learn that my $85 "Golden Eagle/Oregon and Washington Recreation Pass," which covers state parks, national parks, BLM fee areas, and national forest user fees, would not cover sno-parks in the national forest. The reason, I was told, was because the sno-parks are managed by a different agency, ODOT, which counts on sno-parks as part of its own revenue stream." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From philliplc at harborside.com Wed Jan 11 09:18:37 2006 From: philliplc at harborside.com (Phillip Pickering) Date: Wed Jan 11 09:18:45 2006 Subject: [obol] Boiler Bay Message-ID: <011701c616d3$0ff98880$6501a8c0@byronq189eo067> 7:30-8:45 (1/11): Mostly overcast, wind SW 20-35, 10-15 ft swells. After 3 days of little or no activity I was surprised to see the scoters back at it today. S flight dominated by White-winged, sustained 400-1100/min. combined from 7:40-8:25 before winding down slowly. 150+ Red-throated Loons (S) 15+ Common Loons 2 Western Grebes 2 Short-tailed Shearwaters 3 Brandt's Cormorants 20 Pelagic Cormorants 27000+ White-winged Scoters 10000+ Surf Scoters (9000 S, 1000 on the water) 1 Harlequin Duck 1 Red Phalarope 2 Mew Gulls 30 California Gulls 1 Thayer's Gull 80 Western Gulls 20 Glaucous-winged Gulls 20 Black-legged Kittiwakes (mixed ages S) 50 Common Murres 1 Pigeon Guillemot 25 Marbled Murrelets (S) 3 Ancient Murrelets Phil philliplc@harborside.com From gnarlyintegral at teacher.com Wed Jan 11 09:29:10 2006 From: gnarlyintegral at teacher.com (Elaine Deutschman) Date: Wed Jan 11 09:29:13 2006 Subject: [obol] Alvadore Snowy Owl: time of day? Message-ID: <20060111172911.EA849164278@ws1-4.us4.outblaze.com> I find I'll be driving from Klamath Falls to Corvallis on Friday afternoon and I thought I'd drive via Alvadore to see the snowy owl being reported on the list. Is it still around? At what time of day are birders seeing it? I'd delay my trip to get there near dusk if that's the best time. I'll try to catch the warblers in Eugene if they're still in the College Hill area. Please reply off-list and thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide. Elaine -- ___________________________________________________ Play 100s of games for FREE! http://games.mail.com/ From fyshjpsy at comcast.net Wed Jan 11 13:01:20 2006 From: fyshjpsy at comcast.net (fyshjpsy@comcast.net) Date: Wed Jan 11 13:01:24 2006 Subject: [obol] OSU lecture Friday 1/13/06 Message-ID: <011120062101.22446.43C5721F000C5B4A000057AE2206999735979C9F06089C9700@comcast.net> This may be of interest to some. Tribal harvest of marine organisms, including seabirds,is a complex, contentious subject in the NW. "Whales, Barnacles and Other Yummy Critters: Contemporary Hunting andFishing Practices of the Makah Tribe" Dr. Jennifer Sepez, Alaska Fisheries Science Center (NOAA Fisheries) Friday, Jan. 13, 1:00 pm in Waldo 240, OSU (Edited)Abstract: The Makah Tribe of Washington State garnered worldwide headlines whenthey resumed subsistence hunting of the California gray whale Eschrichtious robustus) in 1999. At times in both the popular debate and in some scholarly contexts, the authenticity of the whale hunt as a modern subsistence activity was questioned. Understanding the magnitude and contextof contemporary Makah subsistence hunting and fishing provides the basic framework in whichthe issue of whale hunting can best be considered, and the results challenge many assumptionsabout culture and assimilation. Neil HolcombPhilomath -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060111/70c685f1/attachment.htm From eager_jay at yahoo.com Wed Jan 11 14:45:26 2006 From: eager_jay at yahoo.com (Jo Yeager) Date: Wed Jan 11 14:45:36 2006 Subject: [obol] ODFW "Non-Game" funds In-Reply-To: <20060111200008.44B041364D6@lists.nws.oregonstate.edu> Message-ID: <20060111224526.78215.qmail@web51405.mail.yahoo.com> I use the check off box on my Oregon tax form to support ODFW Non-Game wildlife. obol-request@lists.oregonstate.edu wrote: Send obol mailing list submissions to obol@lists.oregonstate.edu To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to obol-request@lists.oregonstate.edu You can reach the person managing the list at obol-owner@lists.oregonstate.edu When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of obol digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: Tree Swallows (Jeff Gilligan) 2. Townsends (Darrel Faxon) 3. PO CBC Results (Tim Rodenkirk) 4. Birding the Hotspots of Jefferson County 1-19-06 Slide Show and Talk (Marilyn Miller) 5. FW: Letter to the editorial page. (Jeff Gilligan) 6. Corvallis middle-schoolers need photos of birds, plants etc. (Joel Geier) 7. Obol: Snowy Owl sightings (x3) (Mark H Rudolph) 8. Spurred lupine in the Willamette Valley? (Bruce Newhouse) 9. Re: Corvallis middle-schoolers need photos of birds, plants etc. (Barbara & John Woodhouse) 10. (no subject) (Barbara & John Woodhouse) 11. Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page. (Cindy Ashy) 12. Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page. (Mike Patterson) 13. Re: Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page. (Chet ogan) 14. Re: Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page. (Chet ogan) 15. Re: Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page. (Jeff Gilligan) 16. Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page (Joel Geier) 17. Re: Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page. (Bruce) 18. Re: Letter to the editorial page. (Mike Patterson) 19. Fort Stevens (Barbara & John Woodhouse) 20. Re: Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page (Cindy Ashy) 21. Boiler Bay (Phillip Pickering) 22. Alvadore Snowy Owl: time of day? (Elaine Deutschman) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 13:51:15 -0800 From: Jeff Gilligan Subject: Re: [obol] Tree Swallows To: Roger & Betty Robb , obol Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Several days ago one of Terry Wahl's cousins saw about 140 "white-bellied swallows" over a coastal lake in northern Curry County. When Terry went there the next day there was only one swallow - a pale-bellied Barn Swallow. Terry says that the cousin was likely correct in regard to his description of the "white-bellied swallows". Jeff Gilligan. on 1/9/06 3:10 PM, Roger & Betty Robb at brrobb@comcast.net wrote: This morning while I was running east of Alton Baker Park I saw 3 TREE SWALLOWS flying over the river. Roger Robb Springfield, Oregon _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060110/8a2a9f74/attachment-0001.htm ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 13:40:32 -0800 From: "Darrel Faxon" <5hats@peak.org> Subject: [obol] Townsends To: "Obol" Message-ID: <005201c6162e$7f440a30$0000a398@your5rlp3a9516> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" OBOL, Here at Thornton Creek in the interior Lincoln County Coast Range I rarely see Townsend's Warblers in winter. I probably have recorded them during that season less than five times in fifty years. They usually are only seen duringfall migration, occasionally in spring. However I did see one this morning. Darrel -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060110/300c1c9d/attachment-0001.htm ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 14:38:04 -0800 (PST) From: Tim Rodenkirk Subject: [obol] PO CBC Results To: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Message-ID: <20060110223804.81213.qmail@web32605.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 I received the final results of the December 23, 2005 Port Orford CBC from Jim Rogers, here are the highlights: Total species 141 number of participants- 18 Unusual species: CATTLE EGRET (2 previous recordds) CINNAMON TEAL- 5 (1st count record) GYRFALCON (1st count record) RUDDY TURNSTONE (1st count record) BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD-2 Other findings of note: CLARK'S GREBES- 2 AMERICAN BITTERN- 2 BLACK SCOTER- 33 KILLDEER- 1724 (The Coos count had a record numbers of this species) RED PHALAROPE- 2811 PALM WARBLER- 15 (down from recent years!) They also had no RED CROSSBILLS, same as on the Coos Bay count. That's it, Tim R Coos Bay __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 16:42:12 -0800 From: "Marilyn Miller" Subject: [obol] Birding the Hotspots of Jefferson County 1-19-06 Slide Show and Talk To: Message-ID: <20060111004223.C198017038F@smtp2.oregonstate.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Birder's Night 01-19-06.doc Type: application/msword Size: 31744 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060110/45f1ef1a/BirdersNight01-19-06-0001.doc ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 18:34:53 -0800 From: Jeff Gilligan Subject: [obol] FW: Letter to the editorial page. To: OBOL Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" (I sent this to "The Oregonian" in response to recent articles and editorials.) I have read with interest the various items recently in "The Oregonian" about the decline in fishing and hunting in the state, and the related strains on the budget of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The recent editorial mentions the "growing legions of birders and wildlife watchers". I have been a birder in the state for about fifty years, and I am from a family of hunters and fishermen. My suggestion to ODFW is that it develop facilities that attract birders in a way similar to what is done in Britain by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Birders would pay to visit managed habitats such as shorebird scrapes, desert migration oases, etc., that attract otherwise difficult to find species. ODFW could sell annual passes. Past efforts to provide facilities to birders such as the viewing structure on the east side of Sauvie Is., or the concrete bunker at Fort Stevens State Park, are ineffectual wastes of money. None of the many birders I know ever plan trips because of those improvements, and none would pay to use them. When I have shown them to visiting birders from out of the country, or to British birders who have relocated to Oregon, we only shake out heads. I would be happy to explain this to ODFW. I believe that there are actually more Oregonians who now have interest and knowledge about Oregon's outdoors and its wildlife resources. It is just that there are fewer hunters and fishermen. ODFW should adapt to the changing circumstances, as well as trying to recruit new hunters and fishermen. After all - the customers are always right. ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 18:01:01 -0800 From: Joel Geier Subject: [obol] Corvallis middle-schoolers need photos of birds, plants etc. To: Oregon Birders OnLine Cc: Kathy Merrifield , Bruce Newhouse Message-ID: <43C466DD.60901@attglobal.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Hello folks, The 7th and 8th graders at Inavale School (the science "magnet" school in the Corvallis public school district) are working on a set of field cards describing Willamette Valley plant and animal species. This is a culmination of classroom science study as well as some of the field trips which I've mentioned. The plan is to put together descriptions of the organisms' natural history and a few fun facts, on laminated cards which will be published by OSU Extension. Each kid has one species to work on. This is an ongoing program at Inavale, so students are working on species that were not covered by students in past years. The kids have all been working hard on their research and have come up with some great material in terms of text, but ... One HUGE PROBLEM is finding photographs/images that are in the public domain or with copyright permission. Some of tbe birds are not around, and may of the plants are dormant this time of year, so it has been hard for kids to get these on their own. Since many birders are also avid photographers and naturalists with broader-ranging interests, I'm hoping some of you are willing to help these kids out with your own photos that you have on hand. Here is the list of the species that this year's group of kids have picked. Their teacher told me they could use photos for just about all of these. I'm including the plants since I know some of you are interested in those too (I would appreciate if any NPS members could help me out with forwarding this request). BIRDS: Wood Duck Rufous Hummingbird Tree Swallow Cedar Waxwing Common Yellowthroat American Robin Osprey Great Blue Heron Bald Eagle AMPHIBIANS: Red-legged Frog Pacific Salamander MAMMALS: Big Brown Bat Beaver Raccoon Long-tailed Weasel River Otter Dusky-footed Woodrat INSECTS: Banded Ash Borer Cicada Western Swallowtail Sphinx moth Robber fly TREES & SHRUBS: Black Cottonwood Populus trichocarpa Oregon Ash Fraxinus latifolia White Alder Alnus rhombifolia Willow Salix sp. Red Elderberry Sambucus racemosa Blue Elderberry Sambucus cerulea Red-osier Dogwood Cornus stolonifera Pacific Ninebark Physocarpus capitatus Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis HERBS: Licorice fern Polypodium glycyrrhiza Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica Fringe Cup Tellima grandiflora Western meadowrue Thalictrum occidentale Wild Ginger Asarum caudatum Pacific Bleeding Heart Dicentra formosa Red Columbine Aquilegia formosa Cow Parsnip Heracieum lanatum Horsetail Equisetum sp. MOSSES: Leafy liverwort Porella navicularis Menzies' neckera Metaneckera menziesii FUNGI: Tricholoma populinum Verpa conica LICHENS: Net lichen Ramalina menziesii ___ orange Xanthoria parietina (lichen) The images ought to be at least 900 x 900 pixels for the main photos on the cards; secondary photos can go down to 400 x 400 pixels or so. They are trying to get all of this together by the end of the month. PLEASE, if you are able to help, please send me a note before you actually send the images. My mailbox can only hold 10 MB at a time and my dial-up connection is slow, so -- while all help is appreciated, I'd especially appreciate if we can spread this out. If you'd rather send me a print which I could scan for the class, or files on a diskette or CD, my address is: 38566 Hwy 99W Corvallis, Oregon 97330 I will also look into an e-mail address at the school, which might work better in terms of bandwidth. Thanks to Steve Shunk of Paradise Birding who has already helped out one of the kids with Downy Woodpecker! Thanks much, Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 18:31:03 -0800 From: Mark H Rudolph Subject: [obol] Obol: Snowy Owl sightings (x3) To: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Message-ID: <20060110.183104.-346583.8.woodenapple@juno.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Greetings, Obolists! My wife and I just returned from a five-day trip, during the course of which we were able to see SNOWY OWLS in three locations. On Saturday, we saw at least three, and probably five, at the Columbia south jetty. Three were at parking lot C. We then went to parking lot D for 20 - 30 minutes and as we were returning, we saw two owls near Trestle Bay, roughly opposite the entry to parking lot B. So either two flew there from lot C or there were a total of five. Yesterday, Monday, and today we saw one owl at Newport. Yesterday it was on the ground in the enclosure across from the Hatfield Center that was a salmon processing facility but today is used to process marachino cherries (!?). Today the owl was just NW of the kiosk in the Hatfield Center parking lot, perched on the nearest large, white, container-shaped box behind a fence. Great pic from <100 ft.! And on the way home we stopped at Franklin x Alvadore road near Alvadore and spotted an owl perched on the large, light-colored barn to the northwest of the intersection. (I think I have my compass bearings right.) Also in Newport we saw seven HARLEQUIN DUCKS and six LONG-TAILED DUCKS along the south jetty. I've never seen more than two Long-tailed there before. Rudi Mark "Rudi" Rudolph Eugene, OR woodenapple@juno.com ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 18:43:50 -0800 From: Bruce Newhouse Subject: [obol] Spurred lupine in the Willamette Valley? To: OBOL Message-ID: <43C470E6.7040409@efn.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Greetings, NPSOers! A friend of mine at OSU is in need of finding any other Willamette Valley sites of spurred lupine (Lupinus arbustus, formerly known here as L. laxiflorus). He is doing genetics research, and already is aware of the populations at Baskett Butte NWR and Coburg Ridge. He knows of many sites in the Cascades, but is in need of Willamette Valley sites. Please contact me if you know of any other sites that he might be able to examine. (No need to send to the whole list.) Bruce Newhouse in Eugene ------------------------------ Message: 9 Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 18:25:47 -0800 From: Barbara & John Woodhouse Subject: Re: [obol] Corvallis middle-schoolers need photos of birds, plants etc. To: jgeier@attglobal.net Cc: Kathy Merrifield , Oregon Birders OnLine , Bruce Newhouse Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I'll try to help, but records are near non existant! Will search. May come up with :- Long-tailed Weasel River Otter Raccoon Beaver Red Elderberry Red Columbine Cow Parsnip The images woulld all be mine, and the school can use them freely. The animals were all at one time or other at the Wildlife Rehab Center of the North Coast near Astoria. I'll get to work. It's raining hard and blowing like crazy here. We'll be going over on Sunday to bird with Linda Fink. If we can get something by then we'll bring a disc with them on it. Maybe we can get it to you. John ------------------------------ Message: 10 Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 18:28:36 -0800 From: Barbara & John Woodhouse Subject: [obol] (no subject) To: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Ooops! Sorry, that was meant to go just to Joel. John Woodhouse Tillamook ------------------------------ Message: 11 Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 19:06:35 -0800 (PST) From: Cindy Ashy Subject: [obol] Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page. To: OBOL Message-ID: <20060111030635.60266.qmail@web51805.mail.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Jeff, could you please expound on this: "Past efforts to provide facilities to birders such as the viewing structure on the east side of Sauvie Is., or the concrete bunker at Fort Stevens State Park, are ineffectual wastes of money. None of the many birders I know ever plan trips because of those improvements, and none would pay to use them. When I have shown them to visiting birders from out of the country, or to British birders who have relocated to Oregon, we only shake out heads. I would be happy to explain this to ODFW." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Message: 12 Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 19:37:23 -0800 From: Mike Patterson Subject: [obol] Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page. To: Cindy Ashy Cc: OBOL Message-ID: <43C47D6C.7E6A4792@pacifier.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii I can speak to the down right embarrasing effort at Fort Stevens to create "wildlife blinds" and "habitat restoration". When the Fred Meyers was built in Warrenton, several projects were done to mitigate for lost wetlands at the Fred Meyer site. A scrape was made out at the end of Swash Lake, that was not deep enough to turn into any kind of functioning wetland, a waterfowl pond with a refuge island was built near Peter Iredale and two blinds were built. All, so far as I am aware, without much input from wildlife watchers or even duck hunters. I'm not sure the blame goes to ODFW on this one, more probably Oregon Parks and the Army Corps of Engineers. The Swash Lake blind is well built, but placed at a part of the lake so densely covered with wetland plants that there's literally nothing to see. The "Wildlife Bunker", meant to look like one of the bunkers at the military facility is built too far back on the dune, doesn't face in the best direction and has vertical slats that make scope or binocular use close to impossible. On the plus side, Barn Swallows like to nest in it and children enjoy climbing on it. It is too bad that the best that ODFW can come up with at the State level is to encourage more hunting. It ain't gonna happen. It's worth mentioning that the manager at Gnat Creek Fish Hatchery has made some remarkable efforts to change the focus. They've built a nature trail and invite local schools to do the interpretting. I agree with Jeff that the ODFW would do well to shift its focus away from hunter dollars which are probably maxed out toward "watchable wildlife" dollars. And I agree that the way to do the is to have some sort of wildlife stamp that or pass that is more enclusive than just game species oriented duck stamps, deer tags, etc. Cindy Ashy wrote: > > Jeff, could you please expound on this: > > "Past efforts to provide facilities to birders such as the viewing structure > on the east side of Sauvie Is., or the concrete bunker at Fort Stevens State > Park, are ineffectual wastes of money. None of the many birders I know ever > plan trips because of those improvements, and none would pay to use them. > When I have shown them to visiting birders from out of the country, or to > British birders who have relocated to Oregon, we only shake out heads. I > would be happy to explain this to ODFW." > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html ------------------------------ Message: 13 Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 19:54:40 -0800 (PST) From: Chet ogan Subject: Re: [obol] Re: FW: Letter to the editorial page. To: Cindy Ashy , OBOL Message-ID: <20060111035440.3476.qmail@web80606.mail.yahoo.com> === message truncated === --------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos Got holiday prints? See all the ways to get quality prints in your hands ASAP. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060111/9fd0ecf0/attachment.htm From jellybean97006 at msn.com Wed Jan 11 15:16:01 2006 From: jellybean97006 at msn.com (Linda Stuwe) Date: Wed Jan 11 15:16:04 2006 Subject: [obol] Letter to the editorial page Message-ID: Unfortunately, I have not seen the articles in the Oregonian. I have been buying duck stamps because, as a birder, I thought it was a good thing for wildlife. Now I’ll have to rethink my actions. But I’d be much happier to pay a fee directly to a specific watchable wildlife concern. If it’s about building blinds, improving wetlands, etc., I’d be more than happy to pitch in money, swing a hammer, or dig a ditch to get it done. There are probably plenty of birders out there who would be willing to do the same. I note that Washington has special wildlife license plates and the website states: “These special plates cost $40 in addition to your regular licensing fees. Proceeds go toward wildlife conservation, with the bald eagle plate dedicated specifically to wildlife viewing activities.” This is a brand new program, so it would be interesting to see how many people buy the bald eagle plate and how Washington spends it’s money on “wildlife viewing activities.” From jgeier at attglobal.net Wed Jan 11 14:32:54 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Wed Jan 11 15:18:37 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Corvallis middle-schoolers need photos of birds, plants etc. In-Reply-To: <43C466DD.60901@attglobal.net> References: <43C466DD.60901@attglobal.net> Message-ID: <43C58796.7000209@attglobal.net> Hello again folks, Thank you to the many birders/photographers who have responded to my request for photos for the ecology field card project at Inavale School. The response has been overwhelming, both in terms of offers of photos and suggestions of good sources for the kids who are working on this. At this point it looks like all of the bird species are going to be pretty well covered, thanks to the offers thus far. I've attached a shortened list of the plant and other animal species where we are still running thin. Also, I wanted to share a little bit more of the particulars of this project, as I've received some additional information from Benton County OSU Extension Service, which is behind this project. The 7th and 8th grade classes at Inavale have been active in creating the content for the Ecology Field Cards, while other classes (younger grades) have been working on content for an educator's guide which will accompany the set of cards, on Riparian Bottomland habitats. Benton County OSU Extension Service plans to produce 5 sets in all, each focussing on 50 common species of particular habitats in the Willamette Valley. In past years they have produced a Douglas-fir Forest set, and the Oak Woodland set is in final edit. Students at Philomath High School will be assisting with a set on Wetlands. A Prairie set will follow in 2007. Each set comes with an Educator's Guide and will be available for $35 at the OSU Bookstore, Book Bin and the Benton County OSU Extension Service. A sample card is at http://extension.oregonstate.edu/benton/ Since OSU Extension does plan to sell these sets of cards and educator guides for educational use, this is a little bit different from a simple class project. For any photographers who have already sent in photos, please let me know if this additional information impacts your willingness to provide the photos; I apologize if I did not make this clear enough on the first round. I have asked OSU Extension to confirm that the cards, in published form, will include the photographers' names (and affiliations, where requested) as attribution. Thanks again for the very encouraging response. The short list of organisms is below. Thanks, Joel > AMPHIBIANS: > Red-legged Frog > Pacific Salamander > MAMMALS: > Big Brown Bat > Beaver > Dusky-footed Woodrat > INSECTS: > Banded Ash Borer > Cicada > Sphinx moth > Robber fly > TREES & SHRUBS: > Red-osier Dogwood Cornus stolonifera > Pacific Ninebark Physocarpus capitatus > Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis > HERBS: > Licorice fern Polypodium glycyrrhiza > Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica > Fringe Cup Tellima grandiflora > Wild Ginger Asarum caudatum > Horsetail Equisetum sp. > MOSSES: > Leafy liverwort Porella navicularis > Menzies' neckera Metaneckera menziesii > FUNGI: > Tricholoma populinum > Verpa conica > LICHENS: > Net lichen Ramalina menziesii > ___ orange Xanthoria parietina (lichen) > > -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From kimdelo at yahoo.com Wed Jan 11 15:35:47 2006 From: kimdelo at yahoo.com (Kimdel Owen) Date: Wed Jan 11 15:35:49 2006 Subject: [obol] South Redmond raptor route Message-ID: <20060111233547.67613.qmail@web50204.mail.yahoo.com> I ran the South Redmond route this morning. There wasn't much variety but, there fairly good numbers. Weather was low to mid thirties with passing rain and snow showers. Teh route is 50.5 miles, it took me 2.5 hours. Birds seen: Red-tailed Hawk - 18 American Kestral - 13 "Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? On the rock he dwells and makes his home in the fastness of the rocky crag. There he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it afar off." Kimdel Owen Redmond, OR __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From celata at pacifier.com Wed Jan 11 16:20:08 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Wed Jan 11 16:19:07 2006 Subject: [obol] South Jetty Owl pellet report - 1/11/2006 Message-ID: <43C5A08D.D1CFFD3E@pacifier.com> South Jetty Owl pellet report - 1/11/2006 I saw only two SNOWY OWLS today. The recent weather and extremely high water have probably changed the hunting and loafing patterns of the birds. Last week I found only two pellets in the usual spots, today I could find none. I did, however, find 5 pellets in a new location on a dune knoll which is routinely used by one of the owls during especially icky weather. Live Phalarope counts have dropped from a high of 200 2 weeks ago to one bird today. This in spite of high winds and 4 inches of rain over the last 72 hours. I found a headless CASSIN'S AUKLET at a spot where an owl had been sitting. The head had been very recently removed, but the carcass was stiff suggesting it had been picked up dead. Dennis Paulson helped me with a furcula and long bone found in a pellet last week. Based on comparisons he was able to make, he thinks it is a small duck, probably a BUFFLEHEAD. There are certainly plenty of Bufflehead using the shorebird ponds in these highwater days. Number of pellets examined = 44 Average length = 8.0 ? 2.0 cm (range = 4.0 to 12.5) Average width = 3.1 ? 0.4 cm (range = 1.9 to 4.2) Contents as of 01-11-2006: Rattus rattus 50.0% Red Phalarope 42.6% jay sp. (prob Steller's Jay) 1.9% unknown rodent (not Rattus) 1.9% unknown bird 3.7% I have been receiving all sorts of interesting reports of behaviors and photographs of pellet contents and behavior (thank you all for playing). Horned Grebes, Western Grebe and several shorebird species have all been reported. For those who missed it, I have reassembled the large bones of a Red Phalarope for reference purposes: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/REPH_skeleton.html -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From kit at darkwing.uoregon.edu Wed Jan 11 16:46:30 2006 From: kit at darkwing.uoregon.edu (Kit Larsen) Date: Wed Jan 11 16:46:35 2006 Subject: [obol] Eugene Wed morning birding Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060111164546.01c75c80@pop.uoregon.edu> This morning, Jan 11, we were successful at finding lots of rain, quite a few ducks, and few spells of clear weather. The best birds were an immature White-fronted Goose at Dexter Park; six male Common Goldeneye, a large raft of waterfowl, mostly coot with a few Am Wigeon and three Canvasback, a raft of about 90 Double-crested Cormorants, scattered Ruddy Duck, Lesser Scaup, and Ring-necked Duck, one Horned Grebe, and one Western Grebe all on Dexter Lake; and five Wood Duck along the Dexter-Jasper Rd. We stopped at the Creswell Sewage Ponds, finding about five hundred waterfowl, a mixture of (in decreasing density) Ruddy Duck, Bufflehead, Coot, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Green-winged Teal, and a solitary female Pintail. We birded LCC Ponds, finding the usual Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Duck, Ringed-necked Duck, and a single Mallard. While at the Creswell Sewage Ponds, we were politely told that they would not be letting birders onto the facility in the future. With George Grier, Dennis Arendt, Paul Sherrell, and Roger Robb Kit Larsen Eugene From celata at pacifier.com Wed Jan 11 16:58:34 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Wed Jan 11 16:57:28 2006 Subject: [obol] Astoria Townsend's Warblers Message-ID: <43C5A98B.DA91C38F@pacifier.com> It's not at all unusual in the winter to find a gang of Townsend's Warblers here in Clatsop Co. Shively Park pretty much always has a winter herd of 15 to 20. I've been to Ft Clatsop some years when there were too many to get a decent count on. So, I have to admit up front some reservations about reporting Townsend's from around here without a historical context. Anyway, ball player that I am, I took a walk around Astoria just to see what was what. I found 2 Townsend's at Buckey Barnett's house plus an Orange-crowned. No surprise, he usually has both species in about those numbers coming to his hummingbird feeders every year. Then I stopped by Melissa Yowell's feeder (of Bullock's Oriole - Hermit Warbler fame). Now it's worth noting what her set up looks like, because it's not the kind of place you'd notice on a driveby for feeders on a CBC. Basically, there a spindly little leafless dogwood with a suet feeder and a small millet feeder hanging in it. No cover, no other shrubs to speak of. Good habitat next door, but the yard where the feeder is is definitely spare. Twelve (12) Townsend's Warbler and an Orange-crowned in this little tree taking turns at the suet, all less than 4 ft off the ground. Not the usual spot for a mob of Townsend's in Clatsop Co. definitely noteworthy. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From gnarlyintegral at teacher.com Wed Jan 11 17:03:09 2006 From: gnarlyintegral at teacher.com (Elaine Deutschman) Date: Wed Jan 11 17:03:14 2006 Subject: [obol] Thanks for snowy oi\wl info Message-ID: <20060112010309.319D21CE304@ws1-6.us4.outblaze.com> Thanks to all who let me know when and exactly where to find the Alvadore snowy owl. I'm sure I'll have no trouble spotting it if it's there - and it sounds like it's very happy in those surroundings. Again, thanks Elaine -- ___________________________________________________ Play 100s of games for FREE! http://games.mail.com/ From cncschneider at msn.com Wed Jan 11 17:35:02 2006 From: cncschneider at msn.com (Carl & Christine Schneider) Date: Wed Jan 11 17:35:06 2006 Subject: [obol] binoculars Message-ID: Hi, Obolinks I am planning on buying a new pair of binoculars in $150 range. Could anyone recommend a good pair of binoculars for this price . Thanks ahead of time. Matthew Schneider Silverton, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060111/c1f5063c/attachment.htm From johndavidclem at yahoo.com Wed Jan 11 19:29:50 2006 From: johndavidclem at yahoo.com (John Clem) Date: Wed Jan 11 19:29:52 2006 Subject: [obol] RFI #5 from SD (GC Sparrow & Townsend's warbler) Message-ID: <20060112032950.98415.qmail@web51713.mail.yahoo.com> First off, thanks again to everyone who has responded to my previous RFIs. Just over a week before I leave for Oregon, and I'm running out of questions. But, two more species I'm wondering about are golden-crowned sparrow and Townsend's warbler. Regarding the sparrow, I'm wondering if they're as common along the coast (where I'll be spending most of my time) as they are inland. I do plan to spend one full day in the Portland area, and I'm considering visiting Sauvie Island, but I don't want to make a special visit there if they can be found about as easily elsewhere. For instance, I plan to check for waterfowl at some of the national wildlife refuges, such as Basket Slough, which also may be good places for golden-crowneds. Also, can anybody comment on the relative numbers of adults versus young at this time of year? I'd really like to get a good picture of an adult, even if they aren't in their best colors at this time of year. Townsend's warbler isn't a species I'd thought much about while preparing for this trip, but I keep seeing posts about their relative abundance in Oregon this winter. If anybody can suggest a reliable spot for them, please let me know. I'm mostly interested in getting pictures of these guys (I don't want to invite myself into anyone's backyard, but I'm certainly not above feeder shots, particularly given my time constraints). Many thanks again to you folks who have taken the time to respond to my questions, and to those of you who have offered your time to guide me around. John Clem Vermillion, SD --------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos Ring in the New Year with Photo Calendars. Add photos, events, holidays, whatever. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060111/3d6760c0/attachment.htm From monroemolly at hotmail.com Wed Jan 11 19:57:58 2006 From: monroemolly at hotmail.com (Molly Monroe) Date: Wed Jan 11 19:58:00 2006 Subject: [obol] Airlie whooper swans? In-Reply-To: <20060111200007.C40401364D2@lists.nws.oregonstate.edu> Message-ID: I didn't have alot of time today to study them, but was told by a coworker that two of the swans in the Suver junction flock look alot like whooper swans so I stopped to take a look. They are large like the trumpeters and there is a remarkable resemblance to the pictures in Sibley's. Have these already been discovered/discussed? Are they most likely escapees? Just curious about these oddballs. Neat to see! Molly Monroe USFWS, Corvallis _ ( '< / ) ) ~Be the change you wish to see for the world~ //" " From forobol at msn.com Wed Jan 11 20:46:37 2006 From: forobol at msn.com (Al Ahlgrim) Date: Wed Jan 11 20:46:35 2006 Subject: [obol] Polk Snowy Owl Message-ID: I did locate the SNOWY OWL this afternoon west of Perrydale on Perrydale Road. It's still in the same area as reported by Bill Tice last week. It was about 100 yards west of the WHITE BUCKET and inactive. A nicer circumstance than my views of what was the soon to be ex-Snowy seen in Washington County in November. Al Ahlgrim -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060111/be4d5d7c/attachment.htm From winkg at hevanet.com Wed Jan 11 21:48:21 2006 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Wed Jan 11 21:48:23 2006 Subject: [obol] Pittock, NW Portland, week ending 01/11/06 Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060111214008.02a70f30@pop.hevanet.com> Here is the summary of my morning dogwalks from NW Seblar Terrace to the Pittock Mansion for the week 01/05/06 to 1/11/06. Species in ALL CAPS were neither seen nor heard during the previous week. Additional information about my dogwalk may be found at http://www.hevanet.com/winkg/dogwalkpage.html We did the walk 6 days this week. Species # days found (peak #, date) Canada/Cackling Goose 2 (30, 1/11) Band-tailed Pigeon 2 (7, 1/5) Anna's Hummingbird 6 (3, 1/10) Downy Woodpecker 1 (1, 1/5) Northern Flicker 3 (1) Pileated Woodpecker 2 (1, 1/5 & 11) Golden-crowned Kinglet 6 (20, 1/10) Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5 (2) Bewick's Wren 2 (1, 1/5 & 10) Winter Wren 4 (2) American Robin 3 (2, 1/5) Varied Thrush 4 (4, 1/5) BUSHTIT 3 (25, 1/10) Black-capped Chickadee 6 (20, 1/11) Chestnut-backed Chickadee 4 (10, 1/5) Red-breasted Nuthatch 4 (3, 1/5) Brown Creeper 2 (1, 1/5 & 8) Steller's Jay 6 (4, 1/5) Western Scrub-Jay 6 (2, 1/11) American Crow 2 (1, 1/7 & 8) Hutton's Vireo 2 (2, 1/5) House Finch 5 (10, 1/8) Lesser Goldfinch 2 (1, 1/8 & 11) Spotted Towhee 6 (4) Song Sparrow 6 (12, 1/5) Dark-eyed Junco 6 (25, 1/6) Misses (birds found at least 3 days during previous 2 weeks but not found this week): Pine Siskin, Fox Sparrow Wink Gross Portland From jeffgill at teleport.com Wed Jan 11 23:19:04 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Wed Jan 11 22:18:58 2006 Subject: [obol] Airlie whooper swans? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: It was reported that they were escapees. Having said that - what is the specific evidence that they are escaped birds? I have noticed in the past that there are sometimes very unsubstantiated claims made of birds being escaped from captivity. Are they banded? If not - why not? What proof is there that someone possessed them? Are there photos or witnesses to indicate that they were held in capitvity? There was someone who birded near the location of the Baikal Teal last winter near Auburn, WA who asserted that the teal was escaped from a nearby aviary. As best as I could determine his joy was to be out there being negative, and had no evidence to support his claim. The bird was eventually widely accepted to be of wild origin. I am not posting this to criticize anyone who posted on OBOL that the swans are escaped birds that had been held in captivity. My recollection of the subject is that someone told someone that someone had lost the swans. In my opinion more documentation is needed before we dismiss these birds. Jeff Gilligan. on 1/11/06 7:57 PM, Molly Monroe at monroemolly@hotmail.com wrote: > I didn't have alot of time today to study them, but was told by a coworker > that two of the swans in the Suver junction flock look alot like whooper > swans so I stopped to take a look. They are large like the trumpeters and > there is a remarkable resemblance to the pictures in Sibley's. Have these > already been discovered/discussed? Are they most likely escapees? Just > curious about these oddballs. Neat to see! > Molly Monroe > USFWS, Corvallis > > _ > ( '< > / ) ) ~Be the change you wish to see for the world~ > //" " > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From hnehls at teleport.com Wed Jan 11 23:26:38 2006 From: hnehls at teleport.com (Harry Nehls) Date: Wed Jan 11 23:24:10 2006 Subject: [obol] RBA: Portland, OR 1-12-06 Message-ID: - RBA * Oregon * Portland * January 12, 2006 * ORPO0601.12 - birds mentioned Trumpeter Swan Brown Pelican Great Egret Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Swainson?s Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Ferruginous Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Golden Eagle Red Phalarope Bonaparte?s Gull Snowy Owl Tree Swallow Violet-green Swallow Barn Swallow - transcript hotline: Portland Oregon Audubon RBA (weekly) number: 503-292-6855 To report: Harry Nehls 503-233-3976 compiler: Harry Nehls coverage: entire state Hello, this is the Audubon Society of Portland Rare Bird Report. This report was made Thursday January 12. If you have anything to add call Harry Nehls at 503-233-3976. SNOWY OWLS are still being seen at the South Jetty of the Columbia River, at Yaquina Bay, along Alvadore Road north of Fern Ridge Reservoir, and along Perrydale Road west of Perrydale. RED PHALAROPES are still being seen along the coast, but apparently all have left the Willamette Valley. Up to 140 ?white-breasted? swallows were recently seen near Cape Blanco. Small groups of TREE SWALLOWS are being reported from many areas of Western Oregon with only a few VIOLET-GREEN and BARN SWALLOWS being seen. On January 7 a BARN SWALLOW was over White Salmon, WA in the Columbia River Gorge. On January 7, 30 GREAT EGRETS and 20 BONAPARTE?S GULLS were near Tillamook. A BROWN PELICAN was seen January 6 at Seaside. The next day one was at the mouth of the Columbia River. On January 8 a FERRUGINOUS HAWK was observed at the junction of Airlie and Sauerkrout Roads southwest of Monmouth. It has remained. Good numbers of TRUMPETER SWANS are still being seen in the same area. The SWAINSON?S HAWK continues to be seen near the SNOWY OWL along Alvadore Road. On January 7, 16 TURKEY VULTURES were seen around Fern Ridge Reservoir. The large hawk concentration continues around Fort Rock. On January 5, 16 FERRUGINOUS HAWKS and 41 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS were counted along with 63 RED-TAILED HAWKS, 68 BALD EAGLES, and 15 GOLDEN EAGLES. That?s it for this week. - end transcript -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060111/1cada5be/attachment.htm From jgeier at attglobal.net Thu Jan 12 04:21:16 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Thu Jan 12 06:38:06 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Airlie Whooper Swans? Message-ID: <43C649BC.6010406@attglobal.net> Hello folks, This recollection: "My recollection of the subject is that someone told someone that someone had lost the swans." is inaccurate. Specific evidence on these swans, as I have related to OBOL previously: Mike Lippsmeyer, an experienced s. Polk Co. birder who commutes on Hwy 99W and reports regularly for the local field notes, informed me about a year ago that he had stopped along Hwy 99W and herded these swans off the highway with a stick, as they were in danger of getting hit by a car. This was reported in the Corvallis Audubon Chat field notes that month. At that point Mike talked to their owner and appraised the deficient pen situation. Mike noted that the swans were not banded nor pinioned -- loosely quoting from memory, he said something like, "nothing but weak flight muscles and a love of corn is keep those birds in their pen" (I probably still have Mike's original report somewhere here and could look it up if needed). The owner told Mike he had recently acquired them from someone else. Mike and I have discussed looking into whether the person who previously owned the birds may have lived in the neighborhood as well. That could perhaps be relevant to the provenance of Whooper that was seen a couple of miles west of this location in the 1999-2000. That is an open question, but neither Mike nor I have had time to look into this. As Jeff Gilligan notes, it would be sort of a negative thing to debunk a formerly accepted "wild" bird which, as I recall, many people traveled 50-100 miles or more to see, in the belief that it was a wild bird. So it is hard for me to get too excited about sleuthing on that one -- I can think of a lot of more gratifying things to do with my time. However, there is no doubt that, as of last year, two Whooper Swans were being kept very loosely captive within a half-mile of the sightings from this winter, with no marks that would identify them as captive. It seems only responsible to point this out before more people start driving hundreds of miles to see them, in the belief that they are of wild origin. As someone who once raised exotic birds & gamebirds myself (back in Minnesota), I know a little bit about that market. Breeders depend to some extent on selling offspring to people who are not experienced in taking care of these birds. You really need to talk not just to the licensed breeders, who usually have spent money on their pens, but also to the people like this fellow up the road who thought it would be fun to own a couple of swans. I'll admit to not having spent much time reading the ABA listing rules, but it seems logical that an exotic bird that is known to be kept in captivity should be presumed an escape until proven otherwise, rather than the other way around. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From 5hats at peak.org Thu Jan 12 06:55:13 2006 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel Faxon) Date: Thu Jan 12 06:55:36 2006 Subject: [obol] lack of crossbills Message-ID: <001901c61788$3647e3f0$0000a398@your5rlp3a9516> OBOL, I have noted that a number of westside CBCs did not record Red Crossbills. That does not seem particularly surprising in light of the fact that in many places in 2005 there was a complete failure of the cone crop. I'm not quite so sure about the hemlock and spruce trees, but there were no Douglas fir cones at all, at least not in our area. Perhaps this situation was in keeping with the prolonged wet spring in which very little fruit set on cultivated fruit trees. Darrel -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060112/744d095d/attachment.htm From jgeier at attglobal.net Thu Jan 12 04:38:22 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Thu Jan 12 06:57:09 2006 Subject: [obol] Correction Message-ID: <43C64DBE.1050608@attglobal.net> Actually Mike said something more like, "Nothing but weak flight muscles and a love of corn is keep[ing] those birds in their pen." Mike is a good writer, and does not not habitually lose or misplace fragments of words like I do. Good birding, Joel From crmiller at bendnet.com Thu Jan 12 08:02:15 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Thu Jan 12 08:02:19 2006 Subject: [obol] N. Goshawk Behavior Message-ID: <20060112160217.7EBBF104599@smtp3.oregonstate.edu> Hi Obol: Last year from February through April we had a juvenile plumaged female Northern Goshawk visiting our backyard regularly. About two weeks ago, a female with adult plumage Northern Goshawk show up in our backyard. Since then it shows up occasionally. Yesterday I watched the Goshawk "kiting - hovering" over our brush pile. The brush pile was filled with about thirty California Quail who were hiding from the N. Goshawk. Has anyone else ever observed a N. Goshawk "kiting"? Marilyn Miller Bend, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060112/c8681be6/attachment.htm From jeffgill at teleport.com Thu Jan 12 10:03:01 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Thu Jan 12 09:02:57 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Airlie Whooper Swans? In-Reply-To: <43C649BC.6010406@attglobal.net> Message-ID: I disagree with the presumption that a bird that can reasonably be expected to occur as a vagrant be presumed to be an escaped bird absent evidence that it was held in captivity. Thanks Joel for the summary of the facts as you know them regarding the Airlie swans. Based o this evidence I would agree that there is sufficient evidence to doubt that these birds are of wild origin based on what we know now. I am not much interested in the ABA listing rules, but rather whether these birds should be considered by the OBRC. Jeff Gilligan. on 1/12/06 4:21 AM, Joel Geier at jgeier@attglobal.net wrote: > > Hello folks, > > This recollection: > > "My recollection of the subject is that someone told someone that > someone had lost the swans." > > is inaccurate. Specific evidence on these swans, as I have related to > OBOL previously: > > Mike Lippsmeyer, an experienced s. Polk Co. birder who commutes on Hwy > 99W and reports regularly for the local field notes, informed me about a > year ago that he had stopped along Hwy 99W and herded these swans off > the highway with a stick, as they were in danger of getting hit by a > car. This was reported in the Corvallis Audubon Chat field notes that > month. > > At that point Mike talked to their owner and appraised the deficient pen > situation. Mike noted that the swans were not banded nor pinioned -- > loosely quoting from memory, he said something like, "nothing but weak > flight muscles and a love of corn is keep those birds in their pen" (I > probably still have Mike's original report somewhere here and could look > it up if needed). The owner told Mike he had recently acquired them from > someone else. > > Mike and I have discussed looking into whether the person who previously > owned the birds may have lived in the neighborhood as well. > > That could perhaps be relevant to the provenance of Whooper that was > seen a couple of miles west of this location in the 1999-2000. That is > an open question, but neither Mike nor I have had time to look into > this. As Jeff Gilligan notes, it would be sort of a negative thing to > debunk a formerly accepted "wild" bird which, as I recall, many people > traveled 50-100 miles or more to see, in the belief that it was a wild > bird. So it is hard for me to get too excited about sleuthing on that > one -- I can think of a lot of more gratifying things to do with my time. > > However, there is no doubt that, as of last year, two Whooper Swans were > being kept very loosely captive within a half-mile of the sightings from > this winter, with no marks that would identify them as captive. It seems > only responsible to point this out before more people start driving > hundreds of miles to see them, in the belief that they are of wild origin. > > As someone who once raised exotic birds & gamebirds myself (back in > Minnesota), I know a little bit about that market. Breeders depend to > some extent on selling offspring to people who are not experienced in > taking care of these birds. You really need to talk not just to the > licensed breeders, who usually have spent money on their pens, but also > to the people like this fellow up the road who thought it would be fun > to own a couple of swans. > > I'll admit to not having spent much time reading the ABA listing rules, > but it seems logical that an exotic bird that is known to be kept in > captivity should be presumed an escape until proven otherwise, rather > than the other way around. > > Good birding, > Joel > > -- > Joel Geier > jgeier@attglobal.net > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From jeffgill at teleport.com Thu Jan 12 10:07:34 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Thu Jan 12 09:07:27 2006 Subject: [obol] Question about the Yamhill County Red-breasted Goose. Message-ID: Did anyone make a determiantion of the bird's age? Red-breasted Geese are not unreasonable candidates to occur in Oregon as natually occurring vagrants. As I understand it, ones that show up in Britain with Brant from northern Russia are presumed vagrants. Additional credence to that notion comes if the Red-breasted Goose is a first winter bird. Jeff Gilligan. From khanhbatran at hotmail.com Thu Jan 12 10:31:33 2006 From: khanhbatran at hotmail.com (khanh tran) Date: Thu Jan 12 10:31:36 2006 Subject: [obol] RE: Lack of crossbills Message-ID: Hi Darren, I heard and saw a small, vociferous flock of 12 RED CROSSBILLS during the Beaverton CBC on December, 31st at Tualatin Hills Recreational Park towards the very west end of the nature trail. I think Wink Gross has the data. Good birding, Khanh Tran (Portland, Oregon) Subject: lack of crossbills From: "Darrel Faxon" <5hats AT peak.org> Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 06:55:13 -0800 OBOL, I have noted that a number of westside CBCs did not record Red Crossbills. That does not seem particularly surprising in light of the fact that in many places in 2005 there was a complete failure of the cone crop. I'm not quite so sure about the hemlock and spruce trees, but there were no Douglas fir cones at all, at least not in our area. Perhaps this situation was in keeping with the prolonged wet spring in which very little fruit set on cultivated fruit trees. Darrel_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol From khanhbatran at hotmail.com Thu Jan 12 10:45:52 2006 From: khanhbatran at hotmail.com (khanh tran) Date: Thu Jan 12 10:45:55 2006 Subject: [obol] RE:OOPS, lack of crossbills Message-ID: Darrel, I apologize for spelling your name wrong :) Old age creeping up on me:( Khanh Tran From khanhbatran at hotmail.com Thu Jan 12 11:41:46 2006 From: khanhbatran at hotmail.com (khanh tran) Date: Thu Jan 12 11:41:49 2006 Subject: [obol] Red Breasted Goose-Possible escapee Message-ID: Hi Obolers, I hate to cast a shadow of doubt on the recent excitement and sighting of the possible wild red breasted goose. Today, I spoke and questioned a close friend of mine in Oregon City (who keeps exotic waterfowl and etc.) about the authenticity of the wild bird. He informed me that there are several breeders who keep these geese near the McMinnville area. One breeder by the name of Steve Langer did lose one bird recently and currently has a flock of 30 or so birds. Chris also stated that it would be more plausible if the bird was sighted near the coast with some wild brants. I could be wrong considering that I was duped about the Northern Hawk Owl during the April Fool's stint last year. Nevertheless, what a beautiful bird!!! Khanh Tran (Portland, Oregon) From jeffgill at teleport.com Thu Jan 12 12:50:12 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Thu Jan 12 11:50:15 2006 Subject: [obol] Red Breasted Goose-Possible escapee In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Thanks Khanh - that s the type of information that casts reasonable doubt on the possibility of the bird being a vagrant. I would suggest that if a Red-breasted Goose turns up with brant on the coast, or with Aleutian Canada Geese on the coast, that we give it serious consideration as being a vagrant. I am still curious though if anyone knows whether it is a first year bird, and the age of the bird that was lost. Another test regarding the posssibilty of Red-breasted Geese being vagrants is whether there are any records from remote areas in Alaska. I am not aware of that being the case. Jeff. on 1/12/06 11:41 AM, khanh tran at khanhbatran@hotmail.com wrote: > Hi Obolers, > > I hate to cast a shadow of doubt on the recent excitement and sighting of > the possible wild red breasted goose. > > Today, I spoke and questioned a close friend of mine in Oregon City (who > keeps exotic waterfowl and etc.) about the authenticity of the wild bird. > > He informed me that there are several breeders who keep these geese near the > McMinnville area. One breeder by the name of Steve Langer did lose one bird > recently and currently has a flock of 30 or so birds. > > Chris also stated that it would be more plausible if the bird was sighted > near the coast with some wild brants. > > I could be wrong considering that I was duped about the Northern Hawk Owl > during the April Fool's stint last year. > > Nevertheless, what a beautiful bird!!! > > Khanh Tran (Portland, Oregon) > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From philliplc at harborside.com Thu Jan 12 13:13:08 2006 From: philliplc at harborside.com (Phillip Pickering) Date: Thu Jan 12 13:43:17 2006 Subject: [obol] Boiler Bay Message-ID: <002e01c617bd$0a6a8a50$6401a8c0@byronq189eo067> 7:45-8:15 (1/12): Overcast with low cloud ceiling and heavy rain, wind S 20-30, 10-15 ft swells, visibility limited. Scoters only briefly up to 400/minute before flight stalled out. 900+ Red-throated Loons (steady S 20-80/min) 20+ Common Loons 3 Brandt's Cormorants 2 Pelagic Cormorants 3000+ White-winged Scoters (S) 3500+ Surf Scoters (a few on the water) 1 California Gull 25 Western Gulls 6 Glaucous-winged Gulls 100 Common Murres (S) 3 Marbled Murrelets (S) Phil philliplc@harborside.com From Luv4geese at aol.com Thu Jan 12 14:00:29 2006 From: Luv4geese at aol.com (Luv4geese@aol.com) Date: Thu Jan 12 14:00:33 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: obol Digest, Vol 27, Issue 12 Message-ID: <244.51e14c6.30f82b7d@aol.com> Ron here a copy of the digest of the bird list that I got on in case you like to read field notes of other birders. You can learn a lot from reading these. Elaine -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060112/6fbb27d9/attachment.htm From cncschneider at msn.com Thu Jan 12 14:32:54 2006 From: cncschneider at msn.com (Carl & Christine Schneider) Date: Thu Jan 12 14:32:56 2006 Subject: [obol] Townsend's Warblers Message-ID: Hi Obolinks Today I had a flock of 9 Townsend's warblers visit my feeders twice. Here is a list of the number of Townsend's warblers that I have seen since Sunday. Sunday 1/8/06 2 Monday 1/9/06 1 Tuesday 1/10/06 0 Wednesday 1/11/06 1 Thursday 1/12/06 9 Matthew Schneider Silverton, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060112/27b7be90/attachment.htm From whoffman at peak.org Thu Jan 12 15:34:31 2006 From: whoffman at peak.org (Wayne Hoffman) Date: Thu Jan 12 15:34:42 2006 Subject: [obol] Brown pelican Message-ID: <004701c617d0$bf9d47b0$d73d1c40@D48XBZ51> An immature Brown Pelican was in one of the rainwater pools along the South Jetty Road, Yaquina Bay, Tuesday about 12:30 PM. It looked miserable and out of place in the rain and wind. Wayne -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060112/267845c4/attachment.htm From whoffman at peak.org Thu Jan 12 15:37:16 2006 From: whoffman at peak.org (Wayne Hoffman) Date: Thu Jan 12 15:37:22 2006 Subject: [obol] First "spring" wildflower Message-ID: <004b01c617d1$1f8f0c30$d73d1c40@D48XBZ51> Today (Jan. 12) I observed a Skunk Cabbage with a large bud beginning to unfurl in a pool under alders in the Beaver Creek valley about 10 miles S. of Newport. Numerous Skunk Cabbages in the same spot had leaves up to 14 inches long. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060112/7123ef31/attachment.htm From celata at pacifier.com Thu Jan 12 16:03:12 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Thu Jan 12 16:02:06 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: First "spring" wildflower References: <004b01c617d1$1f8f0c30$d73d1c40@D48XBZ51> Message-ID: <43C6EE12.A1A165F6@pacifier.com> Hooker Willow is starting to bloom at the South Jetty. > Wayne Hoffman wrote: > > Today (Jan. 12) I observed a Skunk Cabbage with a large bud beginning to unfurl in a pool > under alders in the Beaver Creek valley about 10 miles S. of Newport. Numerous Skunk > Cabbages in the same spot had leaves up to 14 inches long. > > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From rkorpi at hotmail.com Thu Jan 12 16:18:12 2006 From: rkorpi at hotmail.com (Ray Korpi) Date: Thu Jan 12 16:18:15 2006 Subject: [obol] FW: Vancouver Area Falconers, Joseph Bechard Message-ID: All, A Clark student asked for my help with info on falconers. If anyone has any information to pass on to this person on falconers in the Vancouver/Portland area, please let him know (do not send these requests to me--I'm the middleman). Thanks Ray Korpi rkorpi@hotmail.com Clark COllege, Vancouver -----Original Message----- From: jbechard@lynx.purrsia.com [mailto:jbechard@lynx.purrsia.com] Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2006 2:10 PM To: Korpi, Ray Subject: Vancouver Area Falconers, Joseph Bechard Dear Mr. Korpi, As per your request, this is an email copy of my information request regarding Vancouver area falconers. I'm trying to find contact information for a local falconer that would be willing to speak with me. Further, if possible, I'd like to join the falconer on a hunt, or if that's not possible see their birds. Finally, if all goes well, I'd like to invite the falconer and his or her bird to join me during my speech on the 23 or 25th. Any help in this is greatly appreciated! Yours sincerely, Joseph B. Bechard From alderspr at peak.org Thu Jan 12 16:40:16 2006 From: alderspr at peak.org (Jim & Karan Fairchild) Date: Thu Jan 12 16:41:52 2006 Subject: [obol] First "spring" wildflower References: <004b01c617d1$1f8f0c30$d73d1c40@D48XBZ51> Message-ID: <003501c617da$3054a1c0$7d3433d0@oemcomputer> And today I had the first blooming snowqueen (Synthyris reniformis) in our woods- 6 mi SW of Philomath, Benton County. Hazels are also opening their male flowers. Karan Fairchild -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060112/33e39eb8/attachment.htm From m.denny at charter.net Thu Jan 12 16:48:57 2006 From: m.denny at charter.net (mike denny) Date: Thu Jan 12 16:49:05 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: First "spring" wildflower References: <004b01c617d1$1f8f0c30$d73d1c40@D48XBZ51> <43C6EE12.A1A165F6@pacifier.com> Message-ID: <000701c617db$2365d230$0886bd44@BLACKBIRD> Hello All, My first spring/winter bloom was a blooming vinca at Deschutes River SP on 9 Jan.. Later Mike ******************************************************************** Mike & MerryLynn Denny 1354 S. E. Central Ave. College Place, WA 99324 509.529.0080 (h) IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN BIRDING, YOU HAVEN'T LIVED! ******************************************************************* From jgeier at attglobal.net Thu Jan 12 17:00:19 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Thu Jan 12 17:03:37 2006 Subject: [obol] Mary's Peak (Benton Co.) today Message-ID: <43C6FBA3.5060105@attglobal.net> Hello folks, If anyone is wondering what it's like up on Mary's Peak in the Benton Co. Coast Range this time of year, one word: wild. Our border collie pup Heidi and I made the hike up the East Ridge trail from Conner Camp (where the vandalized gate has been fixed), then up to the peak, and back down to Conner Camp via the main road, with a side jaunt up West Point Spur Rd. I brought along snowshoes but they were not necessary. The maximum snow depth I encountered near the top was only about 4 inches, except a few small drifts. Winds were very high (the kind that you can lean into far enough that you'd fall over if it let up suddenly). I would say 45+ mph and steady. It was hard to breathe facing into the wind, like being on the back of a motorcycle without a helmet. A mix of snow, rain/sleet and fog limited visibility to about 200 ft, probably less up on the peak where it was really howling and I couldn't actually look up to see how far I could theoretically see. That is my description. Heidi's would be that it was great fun; she was rolling around in the snow, running circles around me and generally having a great time, even where I could barely walk. Humans are sort of pathetic critters. As for birds, there were the usual Coast Range denizens -- VARIED THRUSH, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, WINTER WREN, and STELLER'S JAY. A RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET that scolded me along the edge of an opening around 3000 ft was the only semi-surprise. I saw three sets of fresh GROUSE tracks crossing the road but would not hazard a guess as to whether Blue or Ruffed. The peak itself did not look very good for Snow Bunting or Rosy-finch this month; there was very little open ground aside from the rock outcrops. The West Point Spur area was just above the snow line and looked a lot better. There are vast meadows in between where the birds could be hanging out, if they have stayed around since November. I tried to scan a bit of this from the lee side of a tree in the saddle area along the road. Parker Creek Falls was very spectacular in full flow. It's a blast up there this time of year. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From hrndlark at juno.com Thu Jan 12 17:38:16 2006 From: hrndlark at juno.com (Mary Anne Sohlstrom) Date: Thu Jan 12 17:40:24 2006 Subject: [obol] First "spring" wildflower Message-ID: <20060112.173818.1704.1.hrndlark@juno.com> I had my first Red-wing Blackbirds flashing their epaulets this morning in flooded Browns Ferry Park, Tualatin. Mary Anne Sohlstrom hrndlark@juno.com On Thu, 12 Jan 2006 15:37:16 -0800 "Wayne Hoffman" writes: Today (Jan. 12) I observed a Skunk Cabbage with a large bud beginning to unfurl in a pool under alders in the Beaver Creek valley about 10 miles S. of Newport. Numerous Skunk Cabbages in the same spot had leaves up to 14 inches long. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060112/8ac9a172/attachment.htm From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Thu Jan 12 18:10:18 2006 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Thu Jan 12 18:11:19 2006 Subject: [obol] Book sale - short Message-ID: A few strays for sale. All prices include book rate shipping. All items are in Very Good condition except as noted. Alan Contreras 795 E 29th Ave EUGENE, OREGON 97405 acontrer@mindspring.com Gabrielson & Jewett. 1940. Birds of Oregon. Original printing including full-color Spotted owl plate, rebound in green hardcover, innards near-fine. $22 Salt & Salt. 1976. Birds of Alberta. 500 page hardbound with dust jacket in a format smaller than Big Sibley, with many color photos and paintings, and perhaps most useful, range maps including Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. $14 Hoffmann. 1923. Birds of the Pacific States. A gorgeous crisp copy, but with no dust jacket. 10th printing post-1955. $22 Munro (Shallenberger). 1978. Hawaii's birds. Extremely well illustrated 89-page color booklet includes excellent early Doug Pratt work. $7 Palmer, R. 1976 printing. Handbook of North American Birds. Volume 1, Loons through Flamingos. This is the mega-reference, 565-page hardbound with d.j. $29 I also have a whole lot of CBC issues of American Birds (maybe 35 years) available free for pickup in Eugene. -- Alan Contreras 795 E 29th Ave EUGENE, OREGON 97405 acontrer@mindspring.com -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer@mindspring.com From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Thu Jan 12 20:44:58 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Thu Jan 12 20:45:01 2006 Subject: [obol] Newport Snowy Owl Still Hunting Message-ID: <20060113044458.7059.qmail@web51801.mail.yahoo.com> You can usually tell when the snowy owl is about to take flight after a long roost because it leans forward, lifts its tail numerous times, walks around in place, and seems to "stretch" its legs for maybe 10-20 minutes beforehand...reminds me of watching a jogger stretch before they jog...and then it often takes a short flight (test flight?) before it takes a much longer flight to some survey spot for hunting. Tonight was no different...it was sitting on the top of a small building on the east side of the fish plant and then just after sunset it began its pre-flight behavior and then took a very short circular flight and landed back in the same spot...a couple of minutes after this it flew eastward and landed on top of a light pole on the road leading down to Hatfield's research vessel....stayed there about 2 minutes and then flew to the beach directly across the visitor center....I believe it was diverted from flying to the little building near the beginning of the nature trail because there was a truck with people there...about 5 minutes later, it flew to the railing of the water tanks for maybe 10 minutes before taking a wide circular sweep north over the bay flying very close to the water and then flying up and landing on a post...there was just enough light for me to watch it with binoculars while on it was on top of the water tanks and it was obvious it turned its head in the direction of EVERY bird sound that I could hear in the area and right when it took off there was a bird sound right in direction of its flight and where it flew low to the water...unfortunately I could not see well enough to see if it captured anything. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From philliplc at harborside.com Fri Jan 13 10:05:12 2006 From: philliplc at harborside.com (Phillip Pickering) Date: Fri Jan 13 10:05:08 2006 Subject: [obol] Boiler Bay Message-ID: <006001c6186b$e6497960$6401a8c0@byronq189eo067> 7:30-9:30 (1/13): Overcast with light rain, wind S 10-20, 10-15 ft swells. Scoter S flight quickly up to a sustained 600-1600/min. combined, dropping only gradually after 8:25. Still 100/min. moving when I left. I'm out of town the next two days, but if this is still going on next week I'll have more time to look around and see if they might be piling up somewhere locally. 700+ Red-throated Loons (S with as many as 150 on the water) 30+ Common Loons 1 Red-necked Grebe 10 Western Grebes 10 Brandt's Cormorants 30 Pelagic Cormorants 8 Canada Geese (S, looked like westerns) 12 Black Scoters 40000+ Surf Scoters (most in first hour, a few on the water) 27000+ White-winged Scoters 1 Mew Gull 2 California Gulls 250+ Western Gulls (feeding, S) 20 Glaucous-winged Gulls 2 Black-legged Kittiwakes 200+ Common Murres (S) 119 Marbled Murrelets (S, most in pairs with a few groups to 6) Phil philliplc@harborside.com From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Fri Jan 13 10:20:49 2006 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Fri Jan 13 10:20:51 2006 Subject: [obol] First "spring" wildflower In-Reply-To: <004b01c617d1$1f8f0c30$d73d1c40@D48XBZ51> Message-ID: <20060113182049.41663.qmail@web32605.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Coos County has had several natives flowering recently too. We noticed salal (Gaultheria shallon) blooming the first week of January. Also, on Jan. 8th, I saw numerous hairy manzanitas (Arctostaphylos columbiana), flowering at Eel Creek Dunes, across from Lakeside in northern Coos County. Wavy-leaf silk-tassel (Garrya elliptica) was flowering in late Decmeber (as usual). The non-native Australian acacias (Acacia dealbata) with their conspicous yellow flowers, are flowering all over the south coast now (of course some other nasty nonnatives like gorse and scotch broom are also flowering). The first male Rufous Hummers should show up on the south coast in about three weeks. The adult male COSTA'S HUMMER is still coming to Barb Griffin's feeders in North Bend also. Merry Springtime! (only 4 or 5 months of rain until summer) Tim R Coos Bay --- Wayne Hoffman wrote: > Today (Jan. 12) I observed a Skunk Cabbage with a > large bud beginning to unfurl in a pool under alders > in the Beaver Creek valley about 10 miles S. of > Newport. Numerous Skunk Cabbages in the same spot > had leaves up to 14 inches long.> _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Fri Jan 13 10:22:12 2006 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Fri Jan 13 10:22:16 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: First "spring" wildflower In-Reply-To: <43C6EE12.A1A165F6@pacifier.com> Message-ID: <20060113182212.34433.qmail@web32608.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Oh, Hooker's willow is also blooming on the south coast too, has been for about a week or 10 days. Tim R Coos Bay --- Mike Patterson wrote: > Hooker Willow is starting to bloom at the South > Jetty. > > > Wayne Hoffman wrote: > > > > Today (Jan. 12) I observed a Skunk Cabbage with a > large bud beginning to unfurl in a pool > > under alders in the Beaver Creek valley about 10 > miles S. of Newport. Numerous Skunk > > Cabbages in the same spot had leaves up to 14 > inches long. > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > _______________________________________________ > > obol mailing list > > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > -- > Mike Patterson > Astoria, OR > celata@pacifier.com > > SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current > information > on the 2005 irruption event: > http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From winkg at hevanet.com Fri Jan 13 10:24:39 2006 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Fri Jan 13 10:24:39 2006 Subject: [obol] Funky Junco (redux), NW Portland Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060113102110.02899268@pop.hevanet.com> Back in November I posted some video captures of a weird Dark-eyed Junco that I found on my dogwalk. Well, it's still around, and this morning my neighbor, under whose feeders the junco hangs out, sent me some much better photos. For your amusement and bemusement: http://www.hevanet.com/winkg/birdphotos/funkyjunco.htm Wink Gross Portland From deweysage at verizon.net Fri Jan 13 10:36:42 2006 From: deweysage at verizon.net (DJLauten and KACastelein) Date: Fri Jan 13 10:28:29 2006 Subject: [obol] Winter showers bringing spring flowers Message-ID: <43C7F33A.2060205@verizon.net> Folks, Well, ok, it ain't (sorry Floyd for the poor english : ) ) winter showers, it's more like a deluge, but we have leafing Fuscia in the backyard, flowering Camelia in the front yard, and several Rhodos in bloom. Almost all non-native, but nontheless, showing signs of spring. ANNA'S HUMMERS appear to already have fledglings. Floating away in Bandon, Coos Cty. Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein Bandon OR deweysage@verizon.net From paul.jacobsen at oregonstate.edu Fri Jan 13 11:24:51 2006 From: paul.jacobsen at oregonstate.edu (Jacobsen, Paul) Date: Fri Jan 13 11:27:05 2006 Subject: [obol] looking for brants Message-ID: <4D5DA98A54374044B7CC3F40A157B98B1161F6@thuja> I am planning to go coastal this weekend and wondered if people have been seeing BRANTS. Ideally, these birds would be located between Tillamook and Newport. We are just planning a mid-coast day trip and thought it would be nice to add these to the life list. Paul Jacobsen Dallas, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060113/14731eeb/attachment.htm From allenwineland at yahoo.com Fri Jan 13 13:00:31 2006 From: allenwineland at yahoo.com (Allen Wineland) Date: Fri Jan 13 13:00:33 2006 Subject: [obol] looking for brants In-Reply-To: <4D5DA98A54374044B7CC3F40A157B98B1161F6@thuja> Message-ID: <20060113210031.69157.qmail@web33010.mail.mud.yahoo.com> I observed a solitary Brant in Newport yesterday morning at approx. 10:00. It was feeding with a flock of gulls on the right hand side of the road to the south jetty about 300 feet from the toilet. It was my first Brandt and it is was unmistakable. Enjoy! "Jacobsen, Paul" wrote: I am planning to go coastal this weekend and wondered if people have been seeing BRANTS. Ideally, these birds would be located between Tillamook and Newport. We are just planning a mid-coast day trip and thought it would be nice to add these to the life list. Paul Jacobsen Dallas, OR _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. --------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos ? Showcase holiday pictures in hardcover Photo Books. You design it and we?ll bind it! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060113/a2b7ffed/attachment.htm From brrobb at comcast.net Fri Jan 13 13:01:42 2006 From: brrobb at comcast.net (Roger & Betty Robb) Date: Fri Jan 13 13:01:42 2006 Subject: [obol] Ferruginous Hawk, Trumpeter Swans Message-ID: <000801c61884$8e213b10$06331618@RROffice> I found the previously reported FERRUGINOUS HAWK on Airlee Road just east of Sauerkraut Road in southern Polk County. The bird was sitting in the field and then flew to perch on a fencepost. There were also 2 White-tailed Kites and a Rough-legged Hawk in the same field. I found only 4 TRUMPETER SWANS near the junction of Rt. 99 and Airlee/Suver Roads. Just north on the east side of Rt. 99 is a pond with the 2 "escaped" Whooper Swans - spectacular birds. Roger Robb Springfield, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060113/2e009660/attachment.htm From dpvroman at budget.net Fri Jan 13 14:02:28 2006 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis P. Vroman) Date: Fri Jan 13 14:06:36 2006 Subject: [obol] Earthworms, Yum Yum! Message-ID: <002401c6188d$1386e220$dc3e1c40@hppav> Today (01-13-06) observed an AMERICAN KESTREL having lunch in the rain along Upper River Rd (Jo Co, west of Grants Pass) at the top of a utility pole Appears about all the Kestrel could come up with in the water saturated fields was a nice fat Earthworm. Didn't take long to down it. Many years back, watched a male Kestrel eat a large BANANA SLUG! In fact, captured the bird and banded it soon after. Still had slim on it's face. Dennis (still raining, north of Grants Pass) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060113/eb4f5913/attachment.htm From jbw at pacifier.com Fri Jan 13 14:50:00 2006 From: jbw at pacifier.com (Barbara & John Woodhouse) Date: Fri Jan 13 15:25:40 2006 Subject: [obol] Earthworms Message-ID: We have video of a Redtailed Hawk running around in the field opposite us looking for all the world like a chicken it would appear to listen then run and dive onto an earthworm and heave it out of the ground and eat it. it did this several times. Barbara & John Woodhouse Tillamook From khanhbatran at hotmail.com Fri Jan 13 17:32:19 2006 From: khanhbatran at hotmail.com (khanh tran) Date: Fri Jan 13 17:32:21 2006 Subject: [obol] RE: Funky Junco Message-ID: Hi Wink, Any guesses as to what hybrid or is it just a partial 'leuco' phenomenon? My guesses lazuli bunting or even a more far-fetched species, chaffinch? Great photos !! Good birding, Khanh Tran From jgeier at attglobal.net Fri Jan 13 17:49:04 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Fri Jan 13 17:51:59 2006 Subject: [obol] Suver/Airlie/Camp Adair area raptors Message-ID: <43C85890.8090407@attglobal.net> Hello folks, For anyone visiting the Airlie/Suver Rd. area of s. Polk Co. this weekend to admire the Ferruginous hawk, Trumpeter Swans, etc., I should mention that a PRAIRIE FALCON is still being seen around the neighborhood, sometimes along De Armond Rd. (west of 99W along Airlie Rd.) and today along Robison Rd. by the National Guard rifle range near the s. end of De Armond Rd. (in Benton Co.). ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS are also regular around the latter area. A White-tailed Kite first found by Marcia Cutler and Paula Vanderheul at the rifle range during the Airlie CBC has also been hanging around, in addition to the others farther north and west. The only semi-usual raptor that has NOT been reported from this neighborhood in the past two weeks is Red-shouldered Hawk, which is surprising since one or two usually winter at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area (though with all the rain I guess not many people have been out). A Golden Eagle at the Vanderpool Tract (about 2 miles SE of Suver) on 29 Dec was the next most unusual raptor, after the Ferruginous Hawk (the others are N. Harrier, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed, Cooper's, & Sharp-shinned Hawks, Peregrine, Merlin & Am. Kestrel). I have not heard any Gyrfalcon reports yet this winter, so that might be something else to try for! A goshawk would not be too bad either. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From pamelaj at spiritone.com Fri Jan 13 19:08:07 2006 From: pamelaj at spiritone.com (pamela johnston) Date: Fri Jan 13 19:08:16 2006 Subject: [obol] spring in Carlton Message-ID: <002301c618b7$c0096200$726cf204@yourw5st28y9a3> Recently I have been watching the fluctuating water levels on a field off West Side Rd in Carlton. Today there were about 8 Tundra Swans, the highest number I have seen there, many Pintail, and down the road, young lambs with long tails still attached. Pamela Johnston From dan-gleason at comcast.net Fri Jan 13 20:30:51 2006 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Fri Jan 13 20:29:16 2006 Subject: [obol] RE: Funky Junco - response and more In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <52ACBA2B-7AB3-4F8E-8E62-1426FCDB9E8C@comcast.net> > Any guesses as to what hybrid or is it just a partial 'leuco' > phenomenon? > My guesses lazuli bunting or even a more far-fetched species, > chaffinch? > Khanh Tran ----------- Variants, such as this junco, are most easily explained by partial albinism. I don't think that there is any reason to speculate upon hybridization as there is really no evidence to support this idea. For hybrids to occur there must be a reasonable chance that the birds can have the opportunity to interact sexually. Juncos and Lazuli Buntings do have some partial overlap in habitat but differ greatly in song and behavior, especially reproductive behavior; they have little in common that would enable interbreeding. Even if they could interbreed, would it produce a viable embryo? The more distantly related one species is from another the less likely hybridization is to occur. Aside from other species of Juncos, the closest relatives of Dark- eyed Junco are sparrows in the genus Zonotrichia and there have been several documented reports of hybrids with White-throated Sparrows. The genetic evidence is less clear for hybridization with other types of sparrows and quite unlikely beyond that. The only species reported to hybridize with Lazuli Bunting is Indigo Bunting. Chaffinch, I think, can be completely ruled out. When would Chaffinch and Junco overlap during the breeding season? There are certainly scattered reports of Chaffinch in North America, especially in NE North America and there a few vagrant reports of Junco in Iceland and parts of northern Europe. However, it is extremely unlikely that these two species would ever occur together during the breeding season, find one another, be able to successfully breed and then produce a viable hybrid. Melanin, albinism and more....(a short discourse in a bit of avian biology) Total albinos are quite rare in most species of birds but partial albinos occur in a great many species of birds producing a wide variation in plumage patterns. Albinism results when a pigment cell (melanocyte) is unable to produce the amino acid Tyrosine or, more often, unable to produce Tyrosinase, an enzyme necessary in the process of converting Tyrosine to the pigment melanin. Other kinds of pigments are usually still produced and may show through without being masked by the darker melanin. There are two particle sizes of melanin granules produced in most normally-pigmented birds. The smaller melanin granules (called phaeomelanins) are more irregular in shape and produce lighter colors such as light brown, tan, reddish-brown or sometimes, even yellow. The larger, more regularly-shaped granules (eumelanin) are responsible for the darker browns and black. A Spotted Towhee has eumelanin causing the black of the head, back, wings and tail and phaeomelanin that produces the rusty sides. Lack of one of these types of melanin would produce an oddly colored individual. Lack of production of both types of melanin most often results in white in that region. There are many reasons that a cell or cell lineage may stop producing melanin. Sometimes there is a problem with the biochemical pathways involved, nutrition can play a role and even disease may cause a cell to stop producing pigment. Many times, these conditions are reversible and if all is once again normal at the time of molt, the next set of feathers produced may be normal. Sometimes the cells are permanently damaged and the bird will always produce white feathers in the region affected. Once a feather is in place, it cannot change its color except for changes caused by wear or external staining. Color is produced and laid down in the feather only as the feather develops. But even in a developing feather, the production of melanin may be started and stopped repeatedly. For example, look at a feather in the wing of a Hairy Woodpecker. It is black and white. As the black barbs of that feather were developing, melanin was produced. Then melanin production ceased for a period of time and restarted again later. The result is white barbs or a white spot formed during the cessation of melanin production in that feather. Melanin provides a bird with more than just coloration. Melanin granules, especially the larger phaeomelanin, that is embedded in the keratin matrix of the feather gives the feather more mechanical strength and makes it more resistant to wear from abrasion. Notice that the flight feathers (primaries and secondaries) of many birds are black or at least darker than the rest of the body. A Western Tanager has a yellow body and black wings, a White Pelican has black trailing edges to its wings, and many more examples. The extra strength given to these feathers makes them less susceptible to breakage and assures the bird a greater chance of success for a long migration. Non-migratory or short-distance migrants may lack the pigment is these feathers. A Great Egret is all white but it is not a long-distance migrant. As a side note -- Melanin is also indirectly responsible for the color blue in birds. The blue feathers of a bluebird, jay, Lazuli Bunting, etc. are not really blue; that is, they have no blue pigment and blue pigment is not produced in the feathers of birds. Try this experiment at your next opportunity. When you find a blue feather, such as one from a Scrub-Jay, hold it up to the light. Notice that it is now gray, not blue. Hold it back down and let the light reflect from it and you will find that it looks blue once again. The gray background color is a result of the melanin. These melanin granules are surrounded by the keratin sheath of the feather and within that sheath are tiny air vacuoles. If these vacuoles are small enough (approx. 0.0005 mm) then they scatter the blue wavelengths of light and you see blue (of various shades of blue, depending upon the particular wavelengths that are scattered) or green, as in many parrots. (Green pigments are very rare in birds as well, and when they occur, they quickly fade when exposed to light.) Dan Gleason ------------------------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason@comcast.net Author "Birds! From the Inside Out" Instructor - Field Ornithology, UO 541 345-0450 On Jan 13, 2006, at 5:32 PM, khanh tran wrote: > Hi Wink, > > Any guesses as to what hybrid or is it just a partial 'leuco' > phenomenon? > > My guesses lazuli bunting or even a more far-fetched species, > chaffinch? > > Great photos !! > > Good birding, > > Khanh Tran > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060113/18b73a71/attachment.htm From dan-gleason at comcast.net Fri Jan 13 20:48:44 2006 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Fri Jan 13 20:47:08 2006 Subject: [obol] error in previous post Message-ID: <1B267462-AB41-4057-A44F-C26493C86F59@comcast.net> Oops! I reread my post about the junco and my discussion about feather color and found an error. Unfortunately, I too often find such errors only after pressing send. In my discussion about development of color and melanin in feathers, I said: "Melanin granules, especially the larger phaeomelanin,..." That should read ... the larger EUMELANIN... Phaeomelanins are the smaller particles. Sorry about that. Dan ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason@comcast.net Author "Birds! From the Inside Out" Instructor - Field Ornithology, UO 541 345-0450 From steve at paradisebirding.com Fri Jan 13 22:12:29 2006 From: steve at paradisebirding.com (Steve Shunk) Date: Fri Jan 13 21:55:32 2006 Subject: [obol] Multnomah Pelagic Cormorant In-Reply-To: <20060113200007.EBD711364D6@lists.nws.oregonstate.edu> References: <20060113200007.EBD711364D6@lists.nws.oregonstate.edu> Message-ID: <1962.216.228.197.245.1137219149.squirrel@www1.outlawnet.com> All, While tooling around NE Portland on Thursday morning, I saw a PELAGIC CORMORANT fly over at low altitude adjacent to Chinook Landing park (Troutdale?). It seemed a little far east, so I thought I'd pass it along. It was flying approximately southeasterly. Steve Shunk -- Paradise Birding: Tours for Bird Lovers http://www.paradisebirding.com 541-408-1753 -- From steve at paradisebirding.com Fri Jan 13 22:37:05 2006 From: steve at paradisebirding.com (Steve Shunk) Date: Fri Jan 13 22:19:43 2006 Subject: [obol] Multnomah Pelagic Cormorant In-Reply-To: <7E2CB0ED-354D-4EB1-9921-9305FCDAC765@comcast.net> References: <20060113200007.EBD711364D6@lists.nws.oregonstate.edu> <1962.216.228.197.245.1137219149.squirrel@www1.outlawnet.com> <7E2CB0ED-354D-4EB1-9921-9305FCDAC765@comcast.net> Message-ID: <2005.216.228.197.245.1137220625.squirrel@www1.outlawnet.com> It was pretty strange. At first I thought it was a loon, but then I saw the white flank patches and distinctive head/bill profile. By the way, I saw your book for the first time the other day at South Slough. Very handy reference! I will pick it up the next chance I get. How come there hasn't been much fanfare for this?! ss -- Paradise Birding: Tours for Bird Lovers http://www.paradisebirding.com 541-408-1753 -- Dan Gleason > Wow. I'd say it was VERY far east. I've not seen a Pelagic Cormorant > even at the east end of Newport bay or the estuary at Florence. You > usually need to be right at the coastline. This also applies to > Brant's. I wonder how many inland records there might be. > > Dan Gleason > ------------- > Dan Gleason > dan-gleason@comcast.net > 541 345-0450 > > > On Jan 13, 2006, at 10:12 PM, Steve Shunk wrote: > >> All, >> While tooling around NE Portland on Thursday morning, I saw a PELAGIC >> CORMORANT fly over at low altitude adjacent to Chinook Landing park >> (Troutdale?). It seemed a little far east, so I thought I'd pass it >> along. >> It was flying approximately southeasterly. >> Steve Shunk >> -- >> Paradise Birding: Tours for Bird Lovers >> http://www.paradisebirding.com >> 541-408-1753 >> -- >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> obol mailing list >> obol@lists.oregonstate.edu >> http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol >> >> To unsubscribe, send a message to: >> obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > From tc at empnet.com Sat Jan 14 00:50:59 2006 From: tc at empnet.com (Tom Crabtree) Date: Sat Jan 14 00:51:01 2006 Subject: [obol] RE: Funky Junco - response and more References: <52ACBA2B-7AB3-4F8E-8E62-1426FCDB9E8C@comcast.net> Message-ID: <005501c618e7$a443da20$6500a8c0@tomwttwq0c6hrm> It's not leucistic at all, it's partially albinistic and most probably a pure junco at that. From smithdwd at hotmail.com Sat Jan 14 08:46:29 2006 From: smithdwd at hotmail.com (david smith) Date: Sat Jan 14 08:46:31 2006 Subject: [obol] Alvadore/Franklin Rd birds Message-ID: Friday at 10:00 the juv Swainson's Hawk was about 250yds NW of intersection, on a post. The Snowy Owl was on the barn. Thanks to Eugene birders for updates. Shouldn't they be several thousand miles apart this time of year? Also 100's(5?) Tundra Swans in the area. David Smtih From BStitesPDX at aol.com Sat Jan 14 13:56:47 2006 From: BStitesPDX at aol.com (BStitesPDX@aol.com) Date: Sat Jan 14 13:56:53 2006 Subject: [obol] Long-tailed Duck- Cascade Locks Message-ID: <13f.230f8c51.30facd9f@aol.com> OBOL This morning there was a LONG-TAILED DUCK in the boat basin at the Marine Park in Cascade Locks. It was the only bird swimming in amongst the moored sailboats. Regards, Bob Stites-Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060114/6d1de1d8/attachment.htm From mlstep at msn.com Sat Jan 14 15:38:44 2006 From: mlstep at msn.com (Margaret) Date: Sat Jan 14 15:38:05 2006 Subject: [obol] barred owl Minto Brown Message-ID: A barred owl was seen on the south side of Minto Brown park today around noon. The park is flooded at main entrance, so I parked on homestead road and walked on the paved path. The owl was perched on a tree by the new foot bridge. Pileated woodpeckers were calling loudly which drew my attention to the owl... -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060114/ce263fa8/attachment.htm From pamelaj at spiritone.com Sat Jan 14 15:56:50 2006 From: pamelaj at spiritone.com (pamela johnston) Date: Sat Jan 14 15:57:01 2006 Subject: [obol] Carlton trickery Message-ID: <001001c61966$321e4140$646cf204@yourw5st28y9a3> Today the water was lower at the swan site in Carlton, and all the dux, geese & swans had been replaced by a painted cutout of a coyote. Pamela Johnston From WeberHome at att.net Sat Jan 14 16:49:08 2006 From: WeberHome at att.net (Cliff & Joanne Weber) Date: Sat Jan 14 16:49:21 2006 Subject: [obol] Sauvie Island Message-ID: <20060115004919.795F717009D@smtp2.oregonstate.edu> OBOL, hello; After stopping at the store just over the bridge for some fried chicken and an annual parking permit ($11), we headed on over to Coon Point where we found some Sandhill Cranes, a few Red Tail Hawks, male and female Northern Harriers, and two Bald Eagles; plus the usual migratory waterfowl regattas; e.g. Pintails, Wigeons, Shovelers and such. Then, after stopping at the Reeder Beach store for hot cocoa and coffee, we proceeded to the observation shelter about a mile and a half north of the store. Wishing to see some Snow Geese, we weren't disappointed when some few hundred of them were spooked up off the waters of Sturgeon Lake to the west. Most of Sturgeon Lake is obscured from the Reeder Beach shelter so the spooking was good luck for us and made our day. Where: - Sauvie Island has only one access by car; a bridge approximately nine or ten miles out of Portland on Hwy 30 north. Thomas Portland Metro Area street map; page 535, square A5. Wild In The City; page 323. Be sure to pick up a Sauvie Island parking permit at the little store just across the bridge. Store used to have maps of the island, but we haven't checked lately. Restrooms? - Porta-Potty at Coon Point parking lot; and one at Reeder Beach Road observation shelter. Wheelchair Friendly? - Yes; both Coon Point dike, and Reeder Beach Road observation shelter have ramps. Cliff & Joanne Weber Beaverton From celata at pacifier.com Sat Jan 14 16:49:15 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sat Jan 14 16:50:42 2006 Subject: [obol] Del Rey Beach - 1/14/2006 Message-ID: <43C99BCE.139151A8@pacifier.com> I helped out with the dead bird counting with the COASST volunteers today. Odd distribution of dead stuff, most of what we found in the southern third of the mile long survey strip. Dead stuff: Western Grebe 3 Northern Fulmar 4 Cassin's Auklet 5 Notable live stuff: Peregrine Falcon 1 (flying in off the ocean with something it caught) Sanderling 100+ And this thing which was still moving, but obviously out of place. Anybody recognize it? http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/temp/tunicate.JPG -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From dlrobbo at comcast.net Sat Jan 14 16:59:23 2006 From: dlrobbo at comcast.net (Douglas Robberson) Date: Sat Jan 14 16:59:26 2006 Subject: [obol] Black Phoebe Message-ID: A Black Phoebe was seen from the observation blind in the north trail off Wintel Road at Ankeny NWR. Also a pair of Short-eared Owls was seen on Livermore Road north of Baskett Slough NWR. Lots of water everywhere on both refuges. Doug Robberson Tigard, OR From vernd at oregonfast.net Sat Jan 14 18:16:01 2006 From: vernd at oregonfast.net (Vernd) Date: Sat Jan 14 18:16:08 2006 Subject: [obol] re: Del Rey Beach Mysyery animal Message-ID: <000e01c61979$a185de40$c525a8c0@VERNDa1250n> Mike, The animal in the link in your post is the "Spooky Mystery Ocean Glob". Vern ( in beautiful FLOODED downtown Ada Oregon) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060114/e2ae0092/attachment.htm From mcmillerz at comcast.net Sat Jan 14 19:31:35 2006 From: mcmillerz at comcast.net (mcmillerz@comcast.net) Date: Sat Jan 14 19:31:37 2006 Subject: [obol] Trumpeter Swans Message-ID: <011520060331.1741.43C9C217000448B5000006CD2200748184969D0A040407030C03@comcast.net> Thanks to OBOLers who shared the info about the swans off Hwy 99 and Airlie Rd. Today my husband and I saw 5 Trunpeters on a grassy knoll at the X of Airlie Rd, and Rolling Hills Dr. (dead end). As we were enjoying watching them, another group of five more flew in right over our heads to join the others - so cool! We didn't catch sight of the Whoopers, though. This is my first posting, so I'm excited. to also share that we also observed a lone Greater White-Fronted Goose at the Coffin Butte ponds (just off Hwy 99 across from E.E. Wilson area) among a small group of Canada Geese- just the normal kind - I wouldn't even venture the subspecies I.D. We got very close to the GWF Goose and friends without disturbing them, so we could easily see the facial markings. Chris & Mike Miller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060115/095fd16f/attachment.htm From celata at pacifier.com Sat Jan 14 19:54:31 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sat Jan 14 19:52:48 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Del Rey Beach - 1/14/2006 References: <43C99BCE.139151A8@pacifier.com> <004901c6197c$f14e2fb0$0000a398@your5rlp3a9516> Message-ID: <43C9C726.6F8240D@pacifier.com> Actually, I did tell you all what I think it is. It's in the name I gave the file.... Based on the limited references I have on marine organisms, I believe this is a stalked tunicate (Possibly _Styela montereyensis_) http://bio.classes.ucsc.edu/bio161/KFE%20invert%20photos/S_montereyensis.html http://www.rosario.wwc.edu/inverts/Chordata_(Urochordata)/Class_Ascidiacea/Stolidobranchia/Styela_montereyensis.html Darrel Faxon wrote: > > Mike, > You are going to tell us, aren't you. I have no idea what that thing > is! > > Darrel > > > > And this thing which was still moving, but obviously out of > > place. Anybody recognize it? > > http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/temp/tunicate.JPG > > -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From peterpatricelli at comcast.net Sat Jan 14 21:00:01 2006 From: peterpatricelli at comcast.net (Peter Patricelli) Date: Sat Jan 14 21:00:03 2006 Subject: [obol] Website back up and new additions Message-ID: In the past week I have had to rescue my website from a major crash. That is now (hopefully) complete and I have also been able to get up recent additions of Barrow's Goldeneye, Eurasian Widgeon (from Lane Memorial Garden), Cackling geese in flight (from Lane Memorial Garden), and an immature Snow spotted right off hiway 99 in a large flock of Cacklers and a few Westerns this morning. http://www.flyfishingfotography.com/flyfishingfotography_new_002.htm Peter Patricelli From polkman07 at earthlink.net Sat Jan 14 21:07:45 2006 From: polkman07 at earthlink.net (bill tice) Date: Sat Jan 14 21:07:45 2006 Subject: [obol] Perrydale Owl still there Message-ID: <410-22006101557450@earthlink.net> Hi Folks, I took some friends to see the Snowy Owl near Perrydale and were successful. There was also a Prairie Falcon still in the vicinity. Bill Tice -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060114/3f5b2651/attachment.htm From shelmert at loswego.k12.or.us Sun Jan 15 00:05:32 2006 From: shelmert at loswego.k12.or.us (Shelmerdine, Timothy (Tim)) Date: Sun Jan 15 00:05:35 2006 Subject: [obol] SNOW, SWHA, FEHA yes on Sat, 1/14 Message-ID: Hello, all. I had time after working to go down to Lane County and spot the previously reported Snowy Owl sitting on the hood of the John Deere tractor behind the barn on Franklin Road, where it ends at Alvadore Road. The juvenile Swainson's Hawk was visible at the same location, sitting on a post along the fence line north of Franklin Road, behind and just west of the Snowy Owl barn. >From there I drove to Airlie area, looking for the Ferruginous Hawk reported to be in a field along Airlie Road just east of Sauerkraut Road. I did not arrive until 4:30, and the bird was not visible. Disappointed, I was out of my car checking out warblers in the conifers on the south side of the road, when I flushed the Ferruginous Hawk from one of the conifers. It flew almost overhead, giving great views of the belly and underwings. By the way, the (a) Prairie Falcon was perched on a telephone pole about a half mile east of Berry Creek Road. Finally, as it was getting quite dark (5:40), two Short-eared Owls flew right in and checked me out at Farmer Road (near Baskett Slough NWR) where the telephone lines cross the road, east of the railroad tracks. It was a fun couple of hours, but I look forward to getting out and finding something myself. Best, Tim From brrobb at comcast.net Sun Jan 15 12:04:14 2006 From: brrobb at comcast.net (Roger & Betty Robb) Date: Sun Jan 15 12:04:26 2006 Subject: [obol] Fern Ridge Area Birds Message-ID: <000801c61a0e$dc624590$06331618@RROffice> This morning about 175 yards west of the gate at the end of Royal Ave. I found a SWAMP SPARROW. The sparrow was actively calling from a low shrub on the south side of the road. Near the gate I had a BARN SWALLOW fly overhead. On Cantrell Road near the Fern Ridge HQ was a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. Previously reported birds included the SNOWY OWL near Alvadore, CLARK'S GREBE on Kirk Pond and EURASIAN WIDGEON at Lane Memorial Gardens. Roger Robb Springfield, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060115/db2ef37a/attachment.htm From roxanne.clark at gmail.com Sun Jan 15 12:07:38 2006 From: roxanne.clark at gmail.com (Roxanne Clark) Date: Sun Jan 15 12:07:40 2006 Subject: [obol] hummingbird behavior Message-ID: <630bd130601151207m75998316x84abb1240024bead@mail.gmail.com> Hi all, This is my first post, and my first winter in Oregon. I was just outside enjoying some sunlight and listening to an Anna's Hummingbird singing in the tree above me when I heard a noise that I can best describe as sounding something like a bottle rocket. I looked up in time to see what could only have been a hummingbird flying so fast I could barely see it, making that noise with each pass. It flew by the singing male four times, then the singing bird took off and the other bird didn't make another pass. Is this just aggression, or is it some sort of display? Also, saw my first Mountain Chickadee at the feeder today (I live in southeast Eugene). Cheers, Roxanne Clark -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060115/52a03483/attachment.htm From celata at pacifier.com Sun Jan 15 13:07:35 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sun Jan 15 13:06:45 2006 Subject: [obol] Columbia River Raptor Count - 1/15/2006 Message-ID: <43CAB97E.D5CD634E@pacifier.com> I ran the Columbia River raptor count this morning under partly sunny skies, and scattered showers. There were 4 SNOWY OWLS at the South Jetty this morning only one of which was easily viewable from the parking lot. BALD EAGLE numbers are building. I counted 10 from the Bughole dike. Raptors seen (in taxonomic order): White-tailed Kite 2 [1] Bald Eagle 16 Northern Harrier 8 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 [2] Red-tailed Hawk 19 American Kestrel 5 Peregrine Falcon 1 Barn Owl 2 Snowy Owl 4 [6] Shorebirds: Black-bellied Plover 6 [3] Killdeer 5 Least Sandpiper 31 [4] Dunlin 1064 [5] Footnotes: [1] 1 at Heron Av; 1 on Fish Rd [2] eating a starling [3] Bughole [4] SJCR [5] largest flock 1000 at Jackson Rd [6] all at parking lot C. Total number of species seen: 13 -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From areid at nu-world.com Sun Jan 15 16:01:25 2006 From: areid at nu-world.com (Alan Reid) Date: Sun Jan 15 16:01:27 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl Trespass Message-ID: <003201c61a2f$fe6513e0$0200a8c0@ReidDesktop> At the Alvadore SnowyOwl site this P.M. several people ignored the land owner's request that birders stay on the road. They were wandering around among the machinery and made the Owl fly at least twice. Alan Reid areid@nu-world.com 2 miles below Leaburg on the McKenzie Hwy. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060115/9b62a4f8/attachment.htm From linda at fink.com Sun Jan 15 16:27:55 2006 From: linda at fink.com (Linda Fink) Date: Sun Jan 15 16:27:58 2006 Subject: [obol] Polk Co. Ferruginous Hawk yes! Message-ID: <200601160027.k0G0RsKJ068353@mail.viclink.com> Thanks to Joel Geier's son, Will, the Woodhouses and Joel and Will and I were able to study the Ferruginous hawk today for some time as it sat atop a fir tree across the road from its usual field, just north of Sauerkraut Rd. on Airlie Rd. It finally flew back over its field and across Sauerkraut Rd., landing quite near the road, then flying to a fence post right along the road as we drove up Sauerkraut. A quite obliging hawk which we would have driven right past if it weren't for young Will's sharp eyes. There were raptors aplenty out on this lovely afternoon -- rough-legged hawks and harriers and red-tails and kestrels galore. We saw a large flock of alleged Trumpeter Swans (alleged by Joel) along Simpson Rd., and 16 alleged Tundras (alleged by me and grudgingly acceded to by Joel) off Hwy 99. We also saw several kites here and there along our route. Thanks go to our excellent tour guides, Joel and Will Geier. Lots of snow in the coast range hills today made for a lovely drive, at least part of the time in *sunshine*. Linda Fink From mlstep at msn.com Sun Jan 15 16:52:42 2006 From: mlstep at msn.com (Margaret Stephens) Date: Sun Jan 15 16:52:44 2006 Subject: [obol] Location of Minto Brown Park Message-ID: I was asked to be more specific as to where Minto Brown park is - it's in Salem on South River Road. From refugee2000 at qwest.net Sun Jan 15 17:11:08 2006 From: refugee2000 at qwest.net (Christopher Christie) Date: Sun Jan 15 17:11:13 2006 Subject: [obol] Bald Eagles and Bohemian Waxwings in Baker County Message-ID: <43CAF2AC.1020505@qwest.net> Hello Birders, Went over to Burnt River and Unity Reservoir in southern Baker County today on a raptor count. Results were somewhat disappointing with only 4 adult bald eagles noted and no rough-legged hawks or northern harriers (poor conditions, cloudy, light snow and wind). Did however see 20 Bohemian waxwings on Rouse Lane at the bridge over the S. Fk. Burnt River. When almost back home, in Bowen Valley south of Baker City, I counted 11 bald eagles (4 adult, 7 juvenile) on a half mile stretch of the Powder River. Chris in Baker City -- "The raging monster upon the land is population growth. In its presence, sustainability is but a fragile theoretical construct." - E.O. Wilson Wildflowers? http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?where-photographer=Christopher+Christie From john.gatchet at oc.npuc.org Sun Jan 15 17:28:04 2006 From: john.gatchet at oc.npuc.org (John Gatchet) Date: Sun Jan 15 17:28:06 2006 Subject: [obol] Polk County Ferruginous Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk Message-ID: Sorry for this late report, but I am finally able to get to my computer. This last Saturday, January 14, I and Mitch Ratzlaff observed a dark phase Ferruginous Hawk on West Perrydale Road. A very nice looking bird. The tail was white and the white crescents were visible on the underwing. The bird was in the last swale before West Perrydale Road ends. The location was on the north side of the road and the bird was at one point being harassed by a White-tailed Kite. There were two White-tailed Kites in the area and Rough-legged Hawks as well as a Red-tailed Hawk. The Snow Owl was viewable from Dejong and West Perry Dale Roads and was sitting close to the white bucket. Mitch saw a Prairie Falcon just beyond the Snow Owl spot where there is a 90 degree turn on West Perry Dale Road. We both saw 6 Western Bluebirds at this same spot. The Red-shoulder Hawk was in flight along West Perrydale Road about .3 miles west of the town of Perrydale. Heading South from Perrydale Road on Livermore Road we counted 120 American Pipits, several Horned Larks and 12 Great Egret. I found a Black Phoebe on Livermore Road about a mile before Basket Slough NWR. I birded along Airlie Road and missed the Ferruginous Hawk, but did find the Prairie Falcon near DeArmond Road. A Merlin was sitting on a utility pole along Airlie Road approximately .3 miles west of DeArmond Road. At the junction of Airlie and Sauerkraut Roads there was a Cooper's Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawks and White-tailed Kites. The were 7 Western Bluebirds at this location. There were two Trumpeter Swans near the junction of Highway 99 and Airlie Road. Along Airlee Road about .4 miles west of DeArmond Road I observed the largest flock of Western Bluebirds I have ever seen in Western Oregon. There were 22 birds. John F. Gatchet Gresham, OR From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Sun Jan 15 17:36:06 2006 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Sun Jan 15 17:36:09 2006 Subject: [obol] Benton County North raptor run Message-ID: <20060116013607.52730.qmail@web50910.mail.yahoo.com> Obolers, Today, I took advantage of the no rain weather and managed to complete a very successful raptor run on the Benton County North route. I spent 3 hours 45 minutes covering 47.4 miles and located the following birds: RTHA 76 AMKE 35 NOHA 2 RLHA 2 PRFA 1 COHA 1 I am pretty sure that the Prairie Falcon is the same bird that has been reported along Airlie Rd and in the Suver area and was probably the same bird that I found on this same route last month on Gilmour Rd off of Independence Hwy. Ray Harvey located it along Airlie Rd on his Polk County South raptor run yesterday. I should mention a special sighting that I made today along Rifle Range Rd, one car filled with Linda Fink, John and Barb Woodhouse, and Joel and Will Geier :) >From Linda's post to OBOL, looks like they too had a great day of raptoring in this area of the Willamette Valley :) Jeff Fleischer Albany __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From steve_dougill at hotmail.com Sun Jan 15 19:18:43 2006 From: steve_dougill at hotmail.com (Steve Dougill) Date: Sun Jan 15 19:18:46 2006 Subject: [obol] Prineville ECBC Raptor Run Message-ID: date 1/14/06; distance = 40 miles; 1330 - 1535; weather was slight rain / snow with slight snow on ground, temps about 32 degrees. 27 Red tailed Hawks 9 Kestrels 7 Harriers 1 imm Bald Eagle 1 adt Golden Eagle 1 Rough leg Hawk 2 Praire Falcon 1 Coopers Hawk Also, 17 Tundra Swans near Barnes Butte Reservoir From kit at darkwing.uoregon.edu Sun Jan 15 20:27:36 2006 From: kit at darkwing.uoregon.edu (Kit Larsen) Date: Sun Jan 15 20:27:32 2006 Subject: [obol] Florence Palm Warbler Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060115202631.01d6a550@pop.uoregon.edu> This morning, I saw a single PALM WARBLER with a flock of about 8 WESTERN BLUEBIRD on the road along the north fork of Siuslaw River in Florence, about a tenth of a mile up from the bridge. Kit Larsen Eugene From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Sun Jan 15 21:46:37 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Sun Jan 15 21:46:39 2006 Subject: [obol] Need Help With I.D. & some snowy owl comments Message-ID: <20060116054637.13152.qmail@web51813.mail.yahoo.com> Took a trip to Tillamook County this weekend spending time at several good bird spots....I've been searching several guides but I'm still having trouble identifying a couple of them and hope you guys can offer some suggestions: 1. On the bay side of the Bayocean Peninsula: got a close look at a little shorebird(?) in the water close to the edge...the shape, size, and color was very similar to a red phalarope (light gray and white winter plumage like we've been seeing lately) but it had a RED eye and the color pattern of the feathers was a bit more "mottled" and they looked more "ruffled" or maybe "tattered" would be a better word choice...the red eye was blood red (not orangish, not yellow, not dark, not light...just bright red) and I am referring to the iris not an eye ring and I'm sure of this because it was so close I could easily see the red eye with the naked eye and with binoculars got an excellent view. Also, I would say the eyes were rather small relative to its head size. I could not see the feet. 2. Nehalem Bay State Park: Right after sunset I was hiking from dune top to dune top and a hawk flew in from the east and then began to move south along the dune tops I had already explored...I had seen numerous banana slugs on the dune tops and I think it was eating them...it was quite acrobatic...it would fly low to the dune tops and then spiral up and then "nose dive" down toward the dunes....this hawk was VERY dark brown overall (definitely brownish hues not grayish hues) including its head and beak except there was a very distinctive SINGLE white band at the base of its tail....if it had subtle dark stripes on its tail, I did not notice them in the fading light and mostly I observed it without binoculars (it did get very close to me where I had frozen still)....but there were definitely no other obvious stripes. I thought it might be a northern harrier but the illustrations in my guides vary so much now I'm really confused. Now for your amusement: While driving north on 101 in the dairy farm country south of Tillamook I spotted a large white bird in stark contrast to the tall evergreen tree in which it was sitting at the top...I of course immediately got excited about the possibility of another snowy owl :-) As I got closer I began to see some dark barring on its chest and so I of course got more excited...juvenile snowy owl I thought! When I finally found a good place to pull over I was still pretty far from the bird but my heart sank when I began to focus in on it and saw it had a darkish head...but just to be darn sure I got the spotting scope out and found in my viewfinder an exceptionally beautiful peregrine falcon sitting fat and sassy....and whiter than I've seen before. Do you guys agree that Nehalem Bay State Park might be prime snowy owl habitat? Kind of reminds me of where the Newport snowy owl started out..."tundra-like" appearance from the air...dunes with a commanding 360 view of the ocean, beach, and the bay/spit and lots of snowy owl food around and good high places to sit by the bay to scout. I scanned for the snowy owl in the bay, trees, beach, dune tops, and possible survey spots (especially after sunset)...and I searched 20+ dunes for pellets and/or guano but found no snowy owl or evidence of one....and the beautiful full moon rising over the east mountains allowed for fairly good viewing after the last sunlight had faded. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Sun Jan 15 22:04:25 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Sun Jan 15 22:04:28 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl In California Message-ID: <20060116060425.14776.qmail@web51808.mail.yahoo.com> I know this is an Oregon list but I just got an email from some people I met from California who had driven to Newport to see the snowy owl (the first day I saw it) and add it to their life list....they have now spotted a snowy owl just 40 minutes from their home (they live near Sacramento I believe...definitely that part of the state) Friday and Saturday....they say the last time a snowy owl was seen there was 1978! When was the last time we had an irruption this extensive? __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From jeffgill at teleport.com Sun Jan 15 23:50:53 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sun Jan 15 22:50:47 2006 Subject: [obol] another letter to THE OREGONIAN. Message-ID: My earlier letter was published in The Oregonian on Saturday. The following is in response to a column on Sunday that mentions ways birders can be taxed to help pay for an agency that doesn't really do much fr birders. This is to comment on Bill Monroe's column on January 15, "Proposing solutions for Oregon's hunter decline." My reading of the column is that it is really about trying to find solutions for ODFW's financial situation, and the finding solutions for Oregon's hunter decline is related to that. My understanding of ODFW is that it hasn't changed markedly since it was named the Oregon Department of Fish and Game. Possible funding solutions that Mr. Monroe mentioned as having been discussed by an informal group included a "non-hunting license" for Sauvie Island, and a sales tax on things like bird seed and binoculars. I think that neither would have much financial impact. ODFW owns few reserves, and there is nothing about its land on Sauvie Island that is compelling to birders - although it is a nice, non-essential birding asset. There are though a few very low cost habitat improvements that could be made there that would make the ODFW land very attractive to birders in the non-hunting season - in ways that are not inconsistent with the primary purpose of the property as a waterfowl hunting area. Taxing binoculars or other birding equipment would be of little effect. Most birders purchase high-end optics from out of state discounters - and don't do so often, and any tax would only put local retailers at a greater disadvantage. Taxing bird food would be almost as useless. Can ODFW tax sugar for hummingbird feeders, or peanuts, or suet from the butcher, or seed from agricultural feed and seed stores? The idea of donations from birders is an unlikely source. The American Bird Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, and Ducks Unlimited are better choices for birders. ODFW is almost irrelvant to birders. It should welcome input from organizations such as the Oregon Field Ornithologists as to how it can partner with them. From tjanzen at comcast.net Sun Jan 15 23:42:29 2006 From: tjanzen at comcast.net (Tim Janzen) Date: Sun Jan 15 23:42:32 2006 Subject: [obol] another letter to THE OREGONIAN. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <026901c61a70$67657700$6600a8c0@TIMJ> Dear Jeff and OBOL, I agree with many of your comments below. I think that rather than having government create new taxes or fees that may or may not end up being beneficial to birders, I would prefer to see birders take the initiative and create their own projects. Options might include the following: 1. Purchasing land in SE Oregon that could be planted with trees and developed into birding oases or buying land there that already has a cluster of trees on it. 2. Purchasing pieces of land at various areas along the coast that could be developed into birding reserves. Shorebird scrapes could be a part of such locations. 3. Purchasing land that is excellent birding habit in counties that birders particularly enjoy birding in. 4. Leasing land for shorebird scrapes at the coast or paying ODFW to create some shorebird scrapes at prime locations. While I agree that the American Bird Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, and Ducks Unlimited are good organizations to support, it would seem to me that it would also be reasonable to have OFO, local Audubon societies, and birding clubs take ownership of areas of prime birding habitat here in Oregon. An example of this type of approach would be High Island, where Houston Audubon Society has purchased 4 tracts of land specifically because of their value as bird sanctuaries. I would suggest that rather than continuing to buy duck stamps it makes more sense for birders to collectively pool their money and purchase land that they can control long term and manage as they see fit to create good birding habitat. Perhaps OFO could create a fund that is specifically devoted to the purchase of land for birding sanctuaries. I would be willing to donate the first $100 and probably more if we were to identify some land that looks particularly promising as birding habitat somewhere in the state. Does anyone else want to contribute? Sincerely, Tim Janzen, Portland -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu [mailto:obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu] On Behalf Of Jeff Gilligan Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2006 11:51 PM To: OBOL Cc: Nick Lethaby Subject: [obol] another letter to THE OREGONIAN. My earlier letter was published in The Oregonian on Saturday. The following is in response to a column on Sunday that mentions ways birders can be taxed to help pay for an agency that doesn't really do much fr birders. This is to comment on Bill Monroe's column on January 15, "Proposing solutions for Oregon's hunter decline." My reading of the column is that it is really about trying to find solutions for ODFW's financial situation, and the finding solutions for Oregon's hunter decline is related to that. My understanding of ODFW is that it hasn't changed markedly since it was named the Oregon Department of Fish and Game. Possible funding solutions that Mr. Monroe mentioned as having been discussed by an informal group included a "non-hunting license" for Sauvie Island, and a sales tax on things like bird seed and binoculars. I think that neither would have much financial impact. ODFW owns few reserves, and there is nothing about its land on Sauvie Island that is compelling to birders - although it is a nice, non-essential birding asset. There are though a few very low cost habitat improvements that could be made there that would make the ODFW land very attractive to birders in the non-hunting season - in ways that are not inconsistent with the primary purpose of the property as a waterfowl hunting area. Taxing binoculars or other birding equipment would be of little effect. Most birders purchase high-end optics from out of state discounters - and don't do so often, and any tax would only put local retailers at a greater disadvantage. Taxing bird food would be almost as useless. Can ODFW tax sugar for hummingbird feeders, or peanuts, or suet from the butcher, or seed from agricultural feed and seed stores? The idea of donations from birders is an unlikely source. The American Bird Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, and Ducks Unlimited are better choices for birders. ODFW is almost irrelvant to birders. It should welcome input from organizations such as the Oregon Field Ornithologists as to how it can partner with them. _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From bcraig777 at comcast.net Mon Jan 16 00:44:52 2006 From: bcraig777 at comcast.net (Bruce) Date: Mon Jan 16 00:44:47 2006 Subject: [obol] another letter to THE OREGONIAN. In-Reply-To: <026901c61a70$67657700$6600a8c0@TIMJ> References: <026901c61a70$67657700$6600a8c0@TIMJ> Message-ID: <43CB5D04.4000801@comcast.net> Good idea. I can't contribute alot, but I would give what I can. Bruce Craig. Tim Janzen wrote: > Dear Jeff and OBOL, > I agree with many of your comments below. I think that rather than > having government create new taxes or fees that may or may not end up being > beneficial to birders, I would prefer to see birders take the initiative and > create their own projects. Options might include the following: > 1. Purchasing land in SE Oregon that could be planted with trees and > developed into birding oases or buying land there that already has a cluster > of trees on it. > 2. Purchasing pieces of land at various areas along the coast that could be > developed into birding reserves. Shorebird scrapes could be a part of such > locations. > 3. Purchasing land that is excellent birding habit in counties that birders > particularly enjoy birding in. > 4. Leasing land for shorebird scrapes at the coast or paying ODFW to create > some shorebird scrapes at prime locations. > > While I agree that the American Bird Conservancy, The Nature > Conservancy, and Ducks Unlimited are good organizations to support, it would > seem to me that it would also be reasonable to have OFO, local Audubon > societies, and birding clubs take ownership of areas of prime birding > habitat here in Oregon. An example of this type of approach would be High > Island, where Houston Audubon Society has purchased 4 tracts of land > specifically because of their value as bird sanctuaries. I would suggest > that rather than continuing to buy duck stamps it makes more sense for > birders to collectively pool their money and purchase land that they can > control long term and manage as they see fit to create good birding habitat. > Perhaps OFO could create a fund that is specifically devoted to the > purchase of land for birding sanctuaries. I would be willing to donate the > first $100 and probably more if we were to identify some land that looks > particularly promising as birding habitat somewhere in the state. Does > anyone else want to contribute? > Sincerely, > Tim Janzen, > Portland > > -----Original Message----- > From: obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu > [mailto:obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu] On Behalf Of Jeff Gilligan > Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2006 11:51 PM > To: OBOL > Cc: Nick Lethaby > Subject: [obol] another letter to THE OREGONIAN. > > My earlier letter was published in The Oregonian on Saturday. The following > is in response to a column on Sunday that mentions ways birders can be taxed > to help pay for an agency that doesn't really do much fr birders. > > > This is to comment on Bill Monroe's column on January 15, "Proposing > solutions for Oregon's hunter decline." My reading of the column is that it > is really about trying to find solutions for ODFW's financial situation, and > the finding solutions for Oregon's hunter decline is related to that. My > understanding of ODFW is that it hasn't changed markedly since it was named > the Oregon Department of Fish and Game. Possible funding solutions that Mr. > Monroe mentioned as having been discussed by an informal group included a > "non-hunting license" for Sauvie Island, and a sales tax on things like bird > seed and binoculars. I think that neither would have much financial impact. > ODFW owns few reserves, and there is nothing about its land on Sauvie Island > that is compelling to birders - although it is a nice, non-essential birding > asset. There are though a few very low cost habitat improvements that could > be made there that would make the ODFW land very attractive to birders in > the non-hunting season - in ways that are not inconsistent with the primary > purpose of the property as a waterfowl hunting area. Taxing binoculars or > other birding equipment would be of little effect. Most birders purchase > high-end optics from out of state discounters - and don't do so often, and > any tax would only put local retailers at a greater disadvantage. Taxing > bird food would be almost as useless. Can ODFW tax sugar for hummingbird > feeders, or peanuts, or suet from the butcher, or seed from agricultural > feed and seed stores? The idea of donations from birders is an unlikely > source. The American Bird Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, and Ducks > Unlimited are better choices for birders. ODFW is almost irrelvant to > birders. It should welcome input from organizations such as the Oregon Field > Ornithologists as to how it can partner with them. > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From Owlman19 at aol.com Mon Jan 16 04:31:02 2006 From: Owlman19 at aol.com (Owlman19@aol.com) Date: Mon Jan 16 04:31:13 2006 Subject: [obol] Falcated Duck Message-ID: I'm planning a trip to the West Coast from CT, and was wondering if the Falcated Duck is still being seen? Don B. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060116/6eaccf23/attachment.html From greg at thebirdguide.com Mon Jan 16 07:01:10 2006 From: greg at thebirdguide.com (Greg Gillson) Date: Mon Jan 16 07:03:30 2006 Subject: [obol] re: Need Help With I.D. & some snowy owl comments Message-ID: <20060116070110.nmpw61nvop1c4k8g@webmail.thebirdguide.com> 1. Horned Grebe 2. female Northern Harrier Greg Gillson Hillsboro, Oregon greg@thebirdguide.com http://thebirdguide.com From jgeier at attglobal.net Mon Jan 16 07:15:22 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Mon Jan 16 07:18:10 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Another Letter to the Oregonian Message-ID: <43CBB88A.1020705@attglobal.net> Hello folks, I take issue with a couple of things in Jeff's letter to the Oregonian. To start with, I see ODFW doing very relevant things for birders in my own neighborhood, e.g. wetland and native prairie restorations at E.E. Wilson, purchase and restoration of oak savannah habitat on the Coffin Butte tract, and management of some of the new Luckiamute parklands. I have never been to Sauvie Island so I have no idea what goes on there, and I don't get around to other places as much as some. But it sure seems like I hear a lot of good bird reports from the Fern Ridge, Ken Denman, Ladd Marsh, and Summer Lake WMAs, over the course of a year. I also wondered about this statement > Most birders purchase high-end optics from out of state discounters - > and don't do so often, and any tax would only put local retailers at a > greater disadvantage. Perhaps it should read, "Most birders who purchase high-end optics do so ..." since I would guess that most "birders" in Oregon probably do not own a set of high-end optics? I do not own a "high-end" set myself, but have purchased a variety of lower- to middle-end optics, all from local stores in Corvallis. Ditto my lower-end bird sound recording stuff, bird tapes, bird books, etc. Hmm, I think I smell a poll topic ... Perhaps the answer depends on the definition of "birder." If you take a narrow definition, I agree that class will probably never amount to much in terms of optics tax revenue, even if the state could somehow collect tax on interstate sales. To illustrate, let's suppose there are 250 elite-level birders in the state who own high-end optics such as Swarovskis, i.e. half the birders on this list. Let's say once per five years they spend $2000 on new optics, and let's say the state levied a 10% tax (which seems fairly high for political acceptibility). That would be $100,000 in optics sales, or $10,000 in birder tax revenue per year for ODFW. That's almost enough to cover half of the state health insurance cost for one field technician, if hunters & anglers are willing to pay the technician's salary. Let's face it, 250 keen birders are never going to be worth ODFW's attention in those terms. I bet I've seen that many license-purchasing hunters and anglers at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area, in a single weekend during the annual fee pheasant hunt. On the other hand, suppose there are 500,000 Oregonians who all engage in some type of "wildlife viewing," and each of them buys a $100 pair of binoculars at WBU, the local camera shop or GI Joe's, wherever, once per five years. That's $10,000,000 in optics sales, or $1 million in "wildlife viewing" tax revenue. That would be enough to buy a square mile of wildlife habitat every other year, in the Willamette Valley. Or -- and this seems to be to be a more productive angle -- suppose we were able to track all of the economic activity that is generated by birding in Oregon, including visiting birders (using a broad definition). Start with airport taxes for those who fly into PDX. Tally up their car rentals, restaurant meals, gasoline, lodging, gift purchases, guiding fees. If they come to the coast to take one of Greg Gillson's pelagics and see a few whales, but also duck into the art galleries in Cannon Beach and visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, count that too. Then take that money and apply what economists call "the multiplier" -- the number of times each dollar spent in an Oregon town circulates within the local economy, the same way timber dollars etc. do. If you do that (and it has been done statistically, in a 2001 USFWS study), you find out that birding/wildlife viewing accounts for an estimated $769 million per year, or over 21,000 jobs per year in Oregon's economy. Now you're talking real money! The problem for birders (and the broader wildlife-watching public) is how to direct some of that revenue back into wildlife habitat. Right now all of the fuel taxes, hotel/restaurant taxes, and income taxes on tourism-sector jobs go into the state general fund, rather than being identified as wildlife-generated revenue. Oregon birders would do far better to raise awareness of the magnitude of the wildlife watching economy in terms of job creation. Since there are a lot of competing interests in the state budget, we also need to get across the importance of wildlife habitat and viewing locations, as the fundamental resources that underly those jobs. This will get birders out of the realm of sounding like a small, dare I say, "elite" interest group who are only concerned with their own personal recreation, griping about poor service from underfunded agencies like ODFW. We need to make the more positive case that revenue spent on non-game wildlife habitat and viewing opportunities is a high-return investment, in a demographically growing pasttime which already produces real economic returns -- spelled J-O-B-S! -- to Oregon. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Mon Jan 16 08:04:05 2006 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Mon Jan 16 08:04:07 2006 Subject: [obol] another letter to THE OREGONIAN. In-Reply-To: <026901c61a70$67657700$6600a8c0@TIMJ> Message-ID: <20060116160405.58799.qmail@web32603.mail.mud.yahoo.com> For only 10 million, one of the premiere coastal Oregon birding spots could be yours (ours), the old Weyco site on the north spit of Coos Bay. Of course, it could be a great sewage disposal site too, which may indeed be its fate. It's fate is still in the air, as the Port of Coos Bay is still in negotiation with Weyerhaeuser on this one. I had to respond to Tim's e-mail. Good birding spots don't come cheap in most instances. Tim R Coos Bay --- Tim Janzen wrote: > Dear Jeff and OBOL, > I agree with many of your comments below. I think > that rather than > having government create new taxes or fees that may > or may not end up being > beneficial to birders, I would prefer to see birders > take the initiative and > create their own projects. Options might include > the following: > 1. Purchasing land in SE Oregon that could be > planted with trees and > developed into birding oases or buying land there > that already has a cluster > of trees on it. > 2. Purchasing pieces of land at various areas along > the coast that could be > developed into birding reserves. Shorebird scrapes > could be a part of such > locations. > 3. Purchasing land that is excellent birding habit > in counties that birders > particularly enjoy birding in. > 4. Leasing land for shorebird scrapes at the coast > or paying ODFW to create > some shorebird scrapes at prime locations. > > While I agree that the American Bird Conservancy, > The Nature > Conservancy, and Ducks Unlimited are good > organizations to support, it would > seem to me that it would also be reasonable to have > OFO, local Audubon > societies, and birding clubs take ownership of areas > of prime birding > habitat here in Oregon. An example of this type of > approach would be High > Island, where Houston Audubon Society has purchased > 4 tracts of land > specifically because of their value as bird > sanctuaries. I would suggest > that rather than continuing to buy duck stamps it > makes more sense for > birders to collectively pool their money and > purchase land that they can > control long term and manage as they see fit to > create good birding habitat. > Perhaps OFO could create a fund that is > specifically devoted to the > purchase of land for birding sanctuaries. I would > be willing to donate the > first $100 and probably more if we were to identify > some land that looks > particularly promising as birding habitat somewhere > in the state. Does > anyone else want to contribute? > Sincerely, > Tim Janzen, > Portland > > -----Original Message----- > From: obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu > [mailto:obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu] On > Behalf Of Jeff Gilligan > Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2006 11:51 PM > To: OBOL > Cc: Nick Lethaby > Subject: [obol] another letter to THE OREGONIAN. > > My earlier letter was published in The Oregonian on > Saturday. The following > is in response to a column on Sunday that mentions > ways birders can be taxed > to help pay for an agency that doesn't really do > much fr birders. > > > This is to comment on Bill Monroe's column on > January 15, "Proposing > solutions for Oregon's hunter decline." My reading > of the column is that it > is really about trying to find solutions for ODFW's > financial situation, and > the finding solutions for Oregon's hunter decline is > related to that. My > understanding of ODFW is that it hasn't changed > markedly since it was named > the Oregon Department of Fish and Game. Possible > funding solutions that Mr. > Monroe mentioned as having been discussed by an > informal group included a > "non-hunting license" for Sauvie Island, and a sales > tax on things like bird > seed and binoculars. I think that neither would > have much financial impact. > ODFW owns few reserves, and there is nothing about > its land on Sauvie Island > that is compelling to birders - although it is a > nice, non-essential birding > asset. There are though a few very low cost habitat > improvements that could > be made there that would make the ODFW land very > attractive to birders in > the non-hunting season - in ways that are not > inconsistent with the primary > purpose of the property as a waterfowl hunting area. > Taxing binoculars or > other birding equipment would be of little effect. > Most birders purchase > high-end optics from out of state discounters - and > don't do so often, and > any tax would only put local retailers at a greater > disadvantage. Taxing > bird food would be almost as useless. Can ODFW tax > sugar for hummingbird > feeders, or peanuts, or suet from the butcher, or > seed from agricultural > feed and seed stores? The idea of donations from > birders is an unlikely > source. The American Bird Conservancy, The Nature > Conservancy, and Ducks > Unlimited are better choices for birders. ODFW is > almost irrelvant to > birders. It should welcome input from organizations > such as the Oregon Field > Ornithologists as to how it can partner with them. > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From jeffgill at teleport.com Mon Jan 16 09:35:12 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Mon Jan 16 08:35:08 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Another Letter to the Oregonian In-Reply-To: <43CBB88A.1020705@attglobal.net> Message-ID: Joel and others: Do you pay to visit E.E. Wilson or Ladd Marsh? Would you? I haven't been to either site in years - so this is not a rhetorical question. We do pay a parking fee on Sauvie Island. It is currently worth it. The wildlife area there is off-limits to birders for the hunting season. That should be clear indication as to why it is there. On Sauvie Island the two best shorebird sites have been ruined by neglect or intentional policy. The former shorebird pond at Coon Point is now an over-grown area because the cows were removed years ago. When that was proposed by Portland Audubon, its naturalist called me in advance. I explained the consequences of that policy change. Cattle were left almost everywhere else on the "refuge" but there - one of the infrequent places where cattle benefit birding. The other lost gem is Race Track Lake. It was once like a very well used shorebird scrape, but is now chocked with vegeation. It could easily be restored by flooding out the or otherwise removing the vegeation (canary grass I think) and controling the water levels at appropriate seasons. Those who remember Meares Lake near Tillamook Bay when it was a superb shorbird spot have ODFW to blame for its current state. ODFW put in the water control devise so that the water level cannot drop or is not dropped during the shorebird migrations. I was on the board of Portland Audubon then and tried to convince ODFW into manipulating the lake level to attract shorebirds in season. The manager for the agency told me that his customers were fishermen and duck hunters. That was once a spot where one could see many hundreds of shorebirds at close range. As an example, Lesser Yellowlegs numbers sometimes approached 100 in the fall. ODFW keeps the water level consistently high so it can plant ready-to-catch fish. The planting of catchable-sized fish is just a way of making money off someone's hobby. It is not conservation. I suggest that they try to make money off our hobby as well. If they want to tax binoculars its fine with me. I won't be paying it. If some would like to pay higher end prices for mid-range binoculars, so someone else can shoot more elk ..... well go for it. The point of my letters to the editor is that if the ODFW wants more money from birders (and I am not sure it is getting any except from Portland area birders for the parking permits at Sauvie Island) then ODFW should do something for us in a way that also does something for birds. Jeff. on 1/16/06 7:15 AM, Joel Geier at jgeier@attglobal.net wrote: > Hello folks, > > I take issue with a couple of things in Jeff's letter to the Oregonian. > > To start with, I see ODFW doing very relevant things for birders in my > own neighborhood, e.g. wetland and native prairie restorations at E.E. > Wilson, purchase and restoration of oak savannah habitat on the Coffin > Butte tract, and management of some of the new Luckiamute parklands. > > I have never been to Sauvie Island so I have no idea what goes on there, > and I don't get around to other places as much as some. But it sure > seems like I hear a lot of good bird reports from the Fern Ridge, Ken > Denman, Ladd Marsh, and Summer Lake WMAs, over the course of a year. > > I also wondered about this statement > >> Most birders purchase high-end optics from out of state discounters - >> and don't do so often, and any tax would only put local retailers at a >> greater disadvantage. > > Perhaps it should read, "Most birders who purchase high-end optics do so > ..." since I would guess that most "birders" in Oregon probably do not > own a set of high-end optics? > > I do not own a "high-end" set myself, but have purchased a variety of > lower- to middle-end optics, all from local stores in Corvallis. Ditto > my lower-end bird sound recording stuff, bird tapes, bird books, etc. > > Hmm, I think I smell a poll topic ... > > Perhaps the answer depends on the definition of "birder." If you take a > narrow definition, I agree that class will probably never amount to much > in terms of optics tax revenue, even if the state could somehow collect > tax on interstate sales. > > To illustrate, let's suppose there are 250 elite-level birders in the > state who own high-end optics such as Swarovskis, i.e. half the birders > on this list. Let's say once per five years they spend $2000 on new > optics, and let's say the state levied a 10% tax (which seems fairly > high for political acceptibility). That would be $100,000 in optics > sales, or $10,000 in birder tax revenue per year for ODFW. > > That's almost enough to cover half of the state health insurance cost > for one field technician, if hunters & anglers are willing to pay the > technician's salary. > > Let's face it, 250 keen birders are never going to be worth ODFW's > attention in those terms. I bet I've seen that many license-purchasing > hunters and anglers at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area, in a single weekend > during the annual fee pheasant hunt. > > On the other hand, suppose there are 500,000 Oregonians who all engage > in some type of "wildlife viewing," and each of them buys a $100 pair of > binoculars at WBU, the local camera shop or GI Joe's, wherever, once per > five years. That's $10,000,000 in optics sales, or $1 million in > "wildlife viewing" tax revenue. That would be enough to buy a square > mile of wildlife habitat every other year, in the Willamette Valley. > > Or -- and this seems to be to be a more productive angle -- suppose we > were able to track all of the economic activity that is generated by > birding in Oregon, including visiting birders (using a broad definition). > > Start with airport taxes for those who fly into PDX. Tally up their car > rentals, restaurant meals, gasoline, lodging, gift purchases, guiding > fees. If they come to the coast to take one of Greg Gillson's pelagics > and see a few whales, but also duck into the art galleries in Cannon > Beach and visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, count that too. > > Then take that money and apply what economists call "the multiplier" -- > the number of times each dollar spent in an Oregon town circulates > within the local economy, the same way timber dollars etc. do. > > If you do that (and it has been done statistically, in a 2001 USFWS > study), you find out that birding/wildlife viewing accounts for an > estimated $769 million per year, or over 21,000 jobs per year in > Oregon's economy. Now you're talking real money! > > The problem for birders (and the broader wildlife-watching public) is > how to direct some of that revenue back into wildlife habitat. Right now > all of the fuel taxes, hotel/restaurant taxes, and income taxes on > tourism-sector jobs go into the state general fund, rather than being > identified as wildlife-generated revenue. > > Oregon birders would do far better to raise awareness of the magnitude > of the wildlife watching economy in terms of job creation. Since there > are a lot of competing interests in the state budget, we also need to > get across the importance of wildlife habitat and viewing locations, as > the fundamental resources that underly those jobs. > > This will get birders out of the realm of sounding like a small, dare I > say, "elite" interest group who are only concerned with their own > personal recreation, griping about poor service from underfunded > agencies like ODFW. > > We need to make the more positive case that revenue spent on non-game > wildlife habitat and viewing opportunities is a high-return investment, > in a demographically growing pasttime which already produces real > economic returns -- spelled J-O-B-S! -- to Oregon. > > Good birding, > Joel > > -- > Joel Geier > jgeier@attglobal.net > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From jeffgill at teleport.com Mon Jan 16 09:38:00 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Mon Jan 16 08:37:55 2006 Subject: [obol] another letter to THE OREGONIAN. In-Reply-To: <20060116160405.58799.qmail@web32603.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: on 1/16/06 8:04 AM, Tim Rodenkirk at garbledmodwit@yahoo.com wrote: > For only 10 million, one of the premiere coastal > Oregon birding spots could be yours (ours), the old > Weyco site on the north spit of Coos Bay. Of course, > it could be a great sewage disposal site too, which > may indeed be its fate. It's fate is still in the > air, as the Port of Coos Bay is still in negotiation > with Weyerhaeuser on this one. > > I had to respond to Tim's e-mail. Good birding spots > don't come cheap in most instances. > > Tim R > Coos Bay > > --- Tim Janzen wrote: > I think Tim was talking about buying a few unproductive acres of pastureland here and there and putting in shorebird scrapes. That wouldn't be expensive. Tim - I am with you on this idea. Jeff. From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Mon Jan 16 09:17:06 2006 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Mon Jan 16 09:16:48 2006 Subject: [obol] Cost of habitat Message-ID: Jeff is generally right on with his comments about the way agencies manage habitat: they do it to benefit the people paying the bills. This is not unusual, the U.S. just works that way. There are places where habitat management by agencies has resulted in significant improvement in habitat for nongame species. Certainly the vast array of diked shallow-water impoundments at Fern Ridge Reservoir and the West Eugene Wetlands (when is someone going to realize the incredible impact that Steve Gordon has had in preserving habitat?) is a plus. Would I pay $5 to walk the dikes at Fern Ridge? Absolutely. Do I pay right now to have access to the Siuslaw deflation plain? Yes, willingly. Many birders belong to the Free Lunch Club, which believes that whatever we want to do should be free. Sorry, the world doesn't work that way. I am not sure why policies are so lousy at Sauvie Island. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer@mindspring.com From jeffgill at teleport.com Mon Jan 16 10:39:57 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Mon Jan 16 09:39:50 2006 Subject: [obol] Cost of habitat In-Reply-To: Message-ID: on 1/16/06 9:17 AM, Alan Contreras at acontrer@MINDSPRING.COM wrote: the way agencies manage > habitat: they do it to benefit the people paying the bills. This is not > unusual, the U.S. just works that way. > > I would add a corolary to Alan's Therom: Agencies do for those who pay the bills, and have an option of not paying the bills. Before agreeing to pay, birders should have assurances that their interests are provided for. From jgeier at attglobal.net Mon Jan 16 09:54:03 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Mon Jan 16 09:56:52 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Another Letter to the Oregonian In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <43CBDDBB.6050803@attglobal.net> Hello Jeff & All, Yes, I expect I would be willing to pay to visit E.E. Wilson. Last year I bought a fishing license to take a kid fishing at E.E. Wilson and we did not catch any fish, so why not buy a birding license even if I don't expect to catch any birds? I do see a potential enforcement problem -- or would all the joggers, bicyclists, dog walkers etc. who use the place be expected to pay the same fee? I'm sure ODFW staffers don't want to start doing pat-down searches for concealed binoculars, or asking every WW II veteran who visits whether they are parked there for birding purposes or to pay their respects at the memorial park. I'd pay for a visit to Ladd Marsh too, as much as I get out there. A fee for the Summer Lake loop, most definitely. Our family willingly pays the fee for the Sacramento Valley refuge loops and Summer Lake can be just as good, or better depending on what you like to see. Philosophically, I would rather see such fees be voluntary, so these places remain open to those who can't afford the fees, or whose interest in wildlife has yet to be sparked. I have heard stories of ODFW mismanagement and I don't doubt that there have been some bad examples. However, I can see that locally, ODFW funds are being used to work on some of the problems you complain about about ODFW "allowing" at Sauvie Island -- something like a thousand cubic yards of canary grass sod/rhizomes were rolled up locally last year, and at least a hundred acres have been newly seeded with native wet prairie plants. They had Western Bluebirds nesting on one restoration last year, and I can look out my window at a brand-new wetland scrape which should be good for Solitary Sandpipers, yellowlegs etc. come spring. As for shorebird declines at old favorite spots, I recall there have been a number of causes suggested other than ODFW management. Someone brought up peregrines as the culprit. Someone once complained about the cleanup of dairies and fish processing plants at Tillamook Bay. Someone complained about development on Yaquina Bay. Some have pointed to continent-scale declines. Some have also suggested that the burgeoning number of public and private wetland restorations in the Willamette Valley has given shorebirds more choices. But this, and the whole nickel-and-dime optics tax discussion, is going off-track in my opinion. My point was that the most productive route for the birding community is to raise awareness of the magnitude of economic activity that comes from wildlife viewing, and its importance in the Oregon economy. People need to see enhancement of bird habitat on our public lands as an investment in Oregon. Revenue from wildlife watching -- in the amount of millions of dollars per year -- flows to the state's general fund. Revenue for investing in the future of this resource ought to come from the same place, in the same way that we (should) invest in our schools and other public infrastructure. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From celata at pacifier.com Mon Jan 16 10:19:55 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Mon Jan 16 10:19:56 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Cost of habitat References: Message-ID: <43CBE3B9.599DC13D@pacifier.com> I would also like to advocate for the often unpopular notion of habitat with limited or no access. Hunters are paying with the assumption of hunting access. If you read many of the responses to the Oregonian from hunter, they complain that the bag limits are too small, tags are too hard to get, seasons are too short, there are places where they can't go shoot stuff. I also suspect that increasing the ease with which one can go shoot things would not lead to a substantial increase in the number of hunters. Much of the birders talk is associated with not having access to "the right kind of habitat" or at "the right time of year" or creating habitat for "rare or hard to see species". These are all worthy ideas and excellent discussion points, but they ultimately suffer from the same flaws as the hunter-centric strategies. They are human focused and more specifically specialized user-group focused. I'm all for access and I fully understand that money talks and it is a much harder climb to convince human user-groups to donate money to places they can't use. But I feel obliged to advocate for the principal user-groups which would be the wildlife. I think it's appropriate to focus on wildlife first, access by people second. Sometimes access is inappropriate. If fish and wildlife folks do indeed consider their clients to be hunters and fishermen then I would argue that the agency has been mis-named. But I would also argue that jumping from hunters to birders may have an unsustainable half-life as well. Jeff Gilligan wrote: > > on 1/16/06 9:17 AM, Alan Contreras at acontrer@MINDSPRING.COM wrote: > > the way agencies manage > > habitat: they do it to benefit the people paying the bills. This is not > > unusual, the U.S. just works that way. > > > > > > I would add a corolary to Alan's Therom: Agencies do for those who pay the > bills, and have an option of not paying the bills. > > Before agreeing to pay, birders should have assurances that their interests > are provided for. > -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From phainopepla at yahoo.com Mon Jan 16 10:21:48 2006 From: phainopepla at yahoo.com (Michael Dossett) Date: Mon Jan 16 10:21:52 2006 Subject: [obol] Re:Cost of habitat Message-ID: <20060116182149.47568.qmail@web50302.mail.yahoo.com> I have to agree with what Alan says, but I feel compelled to add something. I haven't been here long enough and been out enough to know much about ODFW's policies and activities so I'll use something else as an example. Many of the best birding spots in Washington are on WDFW management areas. Birders must pay a nominal fee for a parking permit to these areas. I believe that it is $10, but it may have increased the last year or two. Hunters and fisherpersons must also have the same parking permit but recieve theirs for free with their $10 hunting or fishing lisence. Birders and hunters in essence are paying the same fees and these areas are managed for hunting and fishing first and foremost. This bothers me a little from the standpoint that we are all in essence buying a parking pass whil some are doing so for a nonextractive activity while others hunt for free. While birders and hunters pay the same fee, I'm not sure whether WDFW keeps these funds separate or not, but I'm not sure it makes a difference. There are so many more hunters and their lobby is so much stronger that its an easy numbers game to figure out. I can think of many examples some in both Washington and Oregon of how habitat has been managed or mismanaged for fish and game species to the detriment of many bird species and other wildlife... It is a complex issue, but I think the solution will only come when people's attitudes change. The current attitude is that habitat is only worth saving if it can be put to use. The notion of saving it for the sake of its existence or for passive recreational opportunities (some would say birding isn't passive, but it is more so than shooting the birds) is completely foreign to most people and just does not jive well with many others. Once attitudes begin to change perhaps we will see an expansion of and stronger support for ODFW's non-game wildlife programs. Michael Dossett Corvallis Phainopepla@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From alderspr at peak.org Mon Jan 16 10:24:49 2006 From: alderspr at peak.org (Jim & Karan Fairchild) Date: Mon Jan 16 10:51:42 2006 Subject: [obol] Linn Co. sandhill crane flock Message-ID: <004201c61acd$ece3ae80$513433d0@oemcomputer> Obolniks, A friend just called to report seeing a small flock of 6-8 SANDHILL CRANES visible from a public road between Albany and Lebanon off Hwy 20. I'm ot familiar with this area, but looking at DeLorme pg 60, B3, the following directions make some sense: Between the two towns, Hwy 20 crosses Spicer Drive (look for a Honey for Sale sign), which you can follow east onto Tennessee Road. Tennessee continues east, jogs south, east and south again. The cranes were seen in a field to the east of Tenessee Rd. on the near side of the South Santiam River. Karan Fairchild -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060116/fbbf293f/attachment.html From jeffgill at teleport.com Mon Jan 16 12:27:42 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Mon Jan 16 11:28:22 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Another Letter to the Oregonian In-Reply-To: <43CBDDBB.6050803@attglobal.net> Message-ID: Hello Joel and other birders. on 1/16/06 9:54 AM, Joel Geier at jgeier@attglobal.net wrote: > > I do see a potential enforcement problem -- or would all the joggers, > bicyclists, dog walkers etc. who use the place be expected to pay the > same fee? I'm sure ODFW staffers don't want to start doing pat-down > searches for concealed binoculars, or asking every WW II veteran who > visits whether they are parked there for birding purposes or to pay > their respects at the memorial park. If birder facilities are created (such as shorebird scrapes) access to those limited areas could be subject to fee without necessarily imposing a fee, or the same fee, on all other users of the refuge. > > I'd pay for a visit to Ladd Marsh too, as much as I get out there. A fee > for the Summer Lake loop, most definitely. I would too, but I would do so even more enthusiastically for better birding opportunities. > > I have heard stories of ODFW mismanagement and I don't doubt that there > have been some bad examples. For one thing, all State of Oregon government is expensive. One reason is the PERS retirement system. If ODFW is as bloated as BOLI, or as mis-managed as childrens' services division(not sure of the official name) there are other problems as well. I can look out my window at a brand-new wetland scrape which should > be good for Solitary Sandpipers, yellowlegs etc. come spring. Joel - you should be paying for that. Please tell us more about the new shorebird scrape and how it came to be. > > As for shorebird declines at old favorite spots, I recall there have > been a number of causes suggested other than ODFW management. Someone > brought up peregrines as the culprit. Someone once complained about the > cleanup of dairies and fish processing plants at Tillamook Bay. Someone > complained about development on Yaquina Bay. Some have pointed to > continent-scale declines. Those are reasons as well (except that I have never read about the cleanup of fish processing plants as a reason). The loss though of Meares Lake to shorebirds is a big blow. Would any of the other birders who birded there in the 1970s and early 1980s like to comment? > But this, and the whole nickel-and-dime optics tax discussion, is going > off-track in my opinion. Agreed - except that it is a proposal that was published in The Oregonian on Sunday. (By the way I consider any binocualrs priced at $250 or so to be high-end.) That binoculars are being considered to be taxed shows how bereft of practical ideas they are at present. Since I was limited in the number of words that i could use in a letter to the editor,I didn't even raise the issue as to what state bureaucracy would be charged with administering a sales tax that wouldn't even bring in much revenue. I also very much suspect that your retailer in Corvallis would support such a tax. > > My point was that the most productive route for the birding community is > to raise awareness of the magnitude of economic activity that comes from > wildlife viewing, and its importance in the Oregon economy. People need > to see enhancement of bird habitat on our public lands as an investment > in Oregon. So true. Perhaps the solution should come from the state's general revenue - but I doubt that it will happen soon. Jeff. > Good birding, > Joel > > -- > Joel Geier > jgeier@attglobal.net > From floati at earthlink.net Mon Jan 16 11:35:58 2006 From: floati at earthlink.net (Hydie Lown) Date: Mon Jan 16 11:36:03 2006 Subject: [obol] Cottage Grove Raptor Run Message-ID: <000b01c61ad4$14190210$f087f204@wrk01> Don and I took advantage of the break in the rain to do the January Cottage Grove Raptor Run yesterday morning (Jan 15). The route was amended slightly from last month but the results were remarkably similar. Red-tailed Hawk 11 American Kestrel 15 N. Harrier 2 Bald Eagle 1 ( in the exact same spot as last month) Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 State trooper wanting to know what we were doing 1 Total raptors 31 miles: 72, hours: 3 Hydie Lown -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060116/7ed7d9e3/attachment.html From jeffgill at teleport.com Mon Jan 16 13:29:08 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Mon Jan 16 12:29:02 2006 Subject: [obol] Proposed $220,000,000.00 for Portland wildlife habitat. Message-ID: >From The Oregonian today: "Voters get a chance to weigh in on a proposal to pay $220 million for 5,300 acres of wildlife habitat." "A series of forums will explore where new parks should be, what they should look like and whether voters are willing to pay for them." "A little more than a decade ago, voters approved a $136 million bond measure to buy natural areas..." "You're more likely to go birdwatching than play baseball in Metro's natural areas." See www.metro-region.org or attend one of the public forums. So...Sauvie Island is the only ODFW management area where birders currently pay to bird (park a car) and now the Portland area is again considering a huge fund for areas to watch and preserve wildlife. I will definitely vote for it. Do Portland area people love non-edible wildlife more than do the people in other parts of the state? (To respond to Alan in regard o Steve Gordon: The Eugene area and Oregon in general is extremely fortunate for the successful efforts that Steve made in his career to protect and develop habitats for watchable wildlife. In my opinion he is a "hall of famer" for Oregon birds.) Jeff. From smithdwd at hotmail.com Mon Jan 16 12:38:42 2006 From: smithdwd at hotmail.com (david smith) Date: Mon Jan 16 12:38:45 2006 Subject: [obol] Sauvie Island WTKITE and Snow Geese Message-ID: Late this morning there was an adult White Tail Kite 2.5 mi out Oak Isl Rd. It was 150 yds to the NW of the road perched above blackberry bushes. 2 Snow Geese were between the road and flooded area 3.2 mi out Sauvie Isl Rd. David Smtih From johnpam at ipns.com Mon Jan 16 13:02:56 2006 From: johnpam at ipns.com (JohnPam) Date: Mon Jan 16 13:00:39 2006 Subject: [obol] Anyone OBOLer Have Birding Info on Pacific Coast Oaxaca?-off topic Message-ID: Greetings Fellow Webfooters, Flattailers, Am planning a possible one-week trip to Huatulco & Puerto Escondido area in late Feb. Anyone on OBOL listserv do any birding at all on this wayyyy south portion of Mexico's Pacific Coast? Have located one guiding service in PE and have pretty much all books on Mexico birding from ABA, etc. (Also talking to Manuel Grosselet on Yahoo Mexico Birding Group. He is an enthusiastic Oaxacan guide and ornithologist but in Mexico City on a project right now.) This will be strictly coastal rocks, headlands, lagoons and probably back into mountains to coffee plantation level. Reply off list best. Sorry to be so far off topic but I will bet some OBOLer has been there. Many thanks, John Thomas Silverton From stewarte at metro.dst.or.us Mon Jan 16 13:45:43 2006 From: stewarte at metro.dst.or.us (Elaine Stewart) Date: Mon Jan 16 13:46:20 2006 Subject: [obol] cost of habitat and management policies (long) Message-ID: As a former ODFW biologist, and a current restoration ecologist managing publicly owned land, I can't resist throwing in my 2 cents here. First to respond about ODFW's priorities: that agency has few resources directed to on-the-ground management for non-game wildlife because it generally lacks funding for it or direction to do it. It's not a lack of will, it's a lack of means. ODFW has more biologists devoted to "non-game" or "wildlife diversity" than it had 20 years ago, but much of its effort is at a large scale such as the statewide conservation plan dedicated to incorporating fish and wildlife and habitat considerations into all state government activities. I agree this is not enough, and so do the people I know that are still with ODFW. But now, as in the past, the lion's share of the agency's wildlife budget comes from hunting licenses and excise taxes on hunting gear. Those funds have allowed ODFW to purchase land and to manage it for hunters, usually with corollary benefits for non-game wildlife. ODFW's only consistent source of funding for non-game comes from the Oregon tax check-off, and those revenues have declined as other worthy causes have been added to the list. A nationwide effort to put excise taxes on outdoor gear used by wildlife enthusiasts ran into monumental opposition and was squelched a few years back. One last point about ODFW: the agency biologists are directed where to put their time and energy; without direction and funding from top management, the governor and the legislature, many of them are relegated to doing their non-game work "on the side" or weaving it into other projects where they can. Now to the discussion about habitat: we all know that Oregon's wildlife requires a network of publicly and privately owned lands to survive. Organizations such as The Nature Conservancy do a fantastic job of purchasing high-value sites and restoring/preserving native plant communities on them. Ducks Unlimited also accomplishes a lot of great work, as do many other organizations. What these organizations have in common is sufficient expertise and funding to cope with the onslaughts to their sites, ranging from infestations of invasive species to loss of disturbance regimes (fire, flooding, etc.). I applaud any group of people, birders or others, who are interested and willing to buy land and become stewards. I just want to caution that it can be a significant ongoing expense and isn't as easy as it may appear. If you're ready to take on the challenge, more power to you. Many non-profits that are already in the business of buying and restoring land would be happy to work with you, and you may be able to raise funds for a purchase and then hand it off to one of them. From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Mon Jan 16 13:50:12 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Mon Jan 16 13:50:15 2006 Subject: [obol] re: Need Help With I.D. & some snowy owl comments Message-ID: <20060116215012.64504.qmail@web51811.mail.yahoo.com> Thank you Greg and to all who responded via private email...you have convinced me again the hawk was indeed a northern harrier....I think mostly because of the red eye, several of you have suggested a grebe for the other bird...the main problem I have with this possibility is the size is WAY off...the bird I saw was much smaller...in the size category of a red phalarope....I've been seeing red phalaropes all over and I think I have a pretty good feel for the size of them. Also, the gray on the bird I saw was VERY light and the pattern and shape was not like the illustrations of the horned grebe in my guides nor of any other grebe. Could there be immature grebes that are are much smaller than the adults and with a different plummage this time of year? Any chance that I could have been looking at a mutated phalarope or other bird? Leucistic bird? The feathers were rather odd looking. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From jeffgill at teleport.com Mon Jan 16 15:22:47 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Mon Jan 16 14:22:40 2006 Subject: FW: [obol] Re: New scrape at EE Wilson In-Reply-To: Message-ID: See below. From: Nick Lethaby -----Original Message----- From: Jeff Gilligan [mailto:jeffgill@teleport.com] Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 12:28 PM To: jgeier@attglobal.net; Oregon Birders OnLine Subject: Re: [obol] Re: Another Letter to the Oregonian I can look out my window at a brand-new wetland scrape which should > be good for Solitary Sandpipers, yellowlegs etc. come spring. Joel - you should be paying for that. Please tell us more about the new shorebird scrape and how it came to be. Nick>>> There is a much bigger issue than just creating a wetland. The real key is active management of the wetland so that the optimal conditions are present at the right time and so the habitat doesn't get degraded by vegetation progression etc. From jeffgill at teleport.com Mon Jan 16 15:26:48 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Mon Jan 16 14:26:42 2006 Subject: [obol] FW: Comments by WA State birder on recent thread of funding for ODFW. In-Reply-To: Message-ID: ---------- From: "Doug Schonewald" Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 12:45:30 -0800 To: , Joel/Jeff, I already receive way too much mail, so while I follow OBOL regularly (daily) I am not a subscriber. Consequently I am responding offline. There is already a tax upon the products that are being discussed. This excise tax, known as Pittman/Roberts was instituted to enhance habitat. It is levied against all items that could be used in the hunting sports. I believe this includes things like sleeping bags, tents, binoculars, scopes, firearms of any kind, bows, arrows, well you get the idea. Granted, it was originally enacted to promote consumptive sports, but habitat enhancement is still crucial to the viability of all wildlife. Unfortunately, this federally levied tax is not well known (at least to the general populace) and often the monies do not end up where they will do much good (habitat) at the state level. This is often due to the fact that the game department funds usually come from the general fund (controlled in most states by the legislature) and is doled out by the legislature. These Pittman/Roberts dollars are supposed to be dedicated to habitat enhancement, but legislatures often have a hard time letting a 'cash cow' go and in some instances the monies have been used for projects totally unrelated to wildlife. A first step here would be to find out how much Pittman/Roberts monies the state of Oregon receives, where it is deposited, and where it is used. Sometimes just routing this money to the correct use is enough to allow state agencies to do many of the projects you are discussing. You may find out that the Pittman/Roberts money is already being received and used for its intended purpose, you may not. Several of my close birding friends work, or have retire from, the WDFW. Watchable wildlife is a coming thing in the state of Washington. Meetings are being held, trails are being discussed (strictly for watchable wildlife), and other watchable wildlife opportunities will undoubtedly become a reality in the future. The existing infrastructure (parking lots, fencing, toilets, etc. are often utilized. The parking fees we pay fund this infrastructure and will fund the trails and land acquisitions as they occur. I am more than willing to pay this small extra fee as long as trails and facilities are the result. As for usage and who pays? Everyone that uses the facilities must pay. Walkers, joggers, hunters, birdwatchers, everyone. There are no free rides. Habitat enhancement, land acquisition, and facilities are expensive as are the maintenance costs. I've often been asked why hunters don't have to pay the $10 to park at a facility. It is a good question. I can only answer one way. If a fisherman goes full meal deal he will shell out about $42 - $58, a hunter will pay between $33 and $90 depending on what he is after, I'd rather pay $10 than the other options. We're going to have to pay to use the facility. Incidentally, the non-resident parking fee for the use of these facilities in Washington is still $10, the non-resident fee for fishermen/hunters can run from $40 to over $700. I sincerely hope that you find an answer to your dilemma and that habitat projects and watchable wildlife become a focus for the ODFW. It won't be cheap, but the rewards are large. I will continue to petition our department to expand their horizons to include watchable wildlife as a major focus in their future plans. Cheers Doug Schonewald Moses Lake, WA -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.14.19/231 - Release Date: 1/16/2006 From laurynstraat at yahoo.com Mon Jan 16 14:36:04 2006 From: laurynstraat at yahoo.com (lauryn garza) Date: Mon Jan 16 14:36:05 2006 Subject: [obol] NE PDX Raptors Message-ID: <20060116223604.38043.qmail@web51705.mail.yahoo.com> Hi OBOLers! A leisurely morning on my street soon turned exciting when the lone bird atop a tree was not a Crow, but a Merlin! I assume a female from the size, and it stayed long enough for me to get good views from a couple of angles. I watched it through binos for about 5 minutes when it took flight and flushed out a Cooper's Hawk! I reliably see COHA in my neighborhood, especially since there are numerous tall trees available. And next time you are shopping on NE Broadway, look up and you might see the Lloyd Center Red-tails! Happy Birding, Lauryn Garza (NE PDX) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From fyshjpsy at comcast.net Mon Jan 16 15:06:06 2006 From: fyshjpsy at comcast.net (fyshjpsy@comcast.net) Date: Mon Jan 16 15:06:11 2006 Subject: [obol] Bird fees and cat licenses Message-ID: <011620062306.24304.43CC26DD000D29B100005EF02205886172979C9F06089C9700@comcast.net> "From: Michael Dossett Subject: Re:Cost of habitat Many of the best birding spots in Washington are on WDFW management areas... Birders and hunters in essence are paying the same fees and these areas are managed for hunting and fishing first and foremost. This bothers me a little from the standpoint that we are all in essence buying a parking pass whil some are doing so for a nonextractive activity while others hunt for free... There are so many more hunters and their lobby is so much stronger that its an easy numbers game to figure out." 1. Actually, the purchasers of hunting and fishing licenses in WA do not get a free parking pass. The cost, which helps defray the costs of developing vehicle access, not wildlife management, is a nonvoluntary inclusion in the license fees. Anyone may still access those lands without fee by walking in. I lived in WA when this program began, and can report the access to recreation has greatly improved in some areas. 2. Habitat rehabilitation or management for the benefit of gamebirds generally benefits all the wildlife present. On lands controlled by the state of OR, those activities are funded by the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses and harvest permits, and through partnerships with various federal agencies, private individuals and organizations. Much federal funding comes from the Federal Wildlife in Wildlife Restoration Act and from the sale of Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps. Purchases and contributions resulting in those funds are voluntary, it doesn't seem unreasonable that individuals or organizations funding a project would want it to benefit their area of interest. "User fees" are a regular part of acess to outdoor recreation facilities in Oregon. Birders as a whole, I suspect, contribute fewer dollars for the direct benefit of wildlife than do some other groups. It is appropriate to acknowledge that we are consumers of outdoor recreation, and support annual access permits for state lands in addition to the Oregon tax check-offs, special license plates and private contributions resulting in dedicated funds for acquisition or rehabilitation of, and access to, non-game habitat. 3. There are many opportunities for individuals to volunteer their skills and sweat on habitat restoration projects with wildlife management agencies and private organizations. Most of us did not contribute directly to the destruction of habitat (I hope), but we do have the chance to be directly involved in correcting some of the problems. 4. Cat licenses? Go ahead, bring that up at your next City Council meeting. Neil Holcomb Philomath -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060116/feec8d02/attachment.html From deweysage at verizon.net Mon Jan 16 15:59:30 2006 From: deweysage at verizon.net (DJLauten and KACastelein) Date: Mon Jan 16 15:51:17 2006 Subject: [obol] Re:Cost of habitat In-Reply-To: <20060116182149.47568.qmail@web50302.mail.yahoo.com> References: <20060116182149.47568.qmail@web50302.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <43CC3362.6090902@verizon.net> Michael Dossett wrote: There are so many more > hunters and their lobby is so much stronger that its > an easy numbers game to figure out. > Folks, I'm not sure this is true. According to what I have seen, birders, depending on how one defines that term, is the second largest outdoor activity in the US. Golf I believe was number 1. I do not think that there are "so many more hunters" out there. I'd be curious to see some data here. However, it is true that hunters and fisherpeoples do have a very strong lobby, and that gets them results. This is partly because of the taxes that have been imposed on them. They pay, they have a right to say. However, I would like to also point out that they do not pay voluntarily. They pay because they have too. If they had to pay voluntarily, I don't think they would raise nearly as much money, nor would they be as politically strong. I have heard that in polls of hunters/fisherpeople, a significant amount of them do not even know they are paying these taxes, because the taxes are written into the cost of the product. In other words, the manufacturers pay the tax and add the cost to the product, the sportperson does not pay it at the register. Hence, they do not "know" they pay it. Apparently when asked if they would be willing to pay taxes for their activity, they balk. My point is that birders will never ever have any political clout until they start paying their way. The most influential political clout will come when birders start paying through their own incentive. In other words, when they get the politicians to realize that they want to pay on bird seed, binocs, etc etc, then the politicians will be much more willing to pass the tax and appropriately spend the monies. If birders sit back, wait for something to happen, even if it does happen, they still may have little voice in the outcome. With all that said, and I am loath to raise the issue because we get off into politics, and this is a bird orientated listserve, I, personnally, while happy to "pay my way", have serious issues with paying more for what I believe we already have the money to pay for, but we simply don't have the political will, foresight, logic, or intelligence to so. Put rather simply, we currently are paying for things like the Iraq conflict, like fighter planes and ships, nuclear arsenals, space war programs, etc etc etc, while good 'ole Mother Earth is collapsing around us (see todays news assessment by Professor Lovelock on the state of the planet, extremely sobering indeed). We spend well over 50% of our budget on defense, outspending the entire rest of the world. That is a correct statistic. In the meantime the planet is falling apart and our politicians apparently don't care. And we sit here and talk about opening our pocket books more to save a little more habitat. I think I've opened my pocket book enough. I'd prefer to have a more accountable, more logical, more environmentally friendly, more responsible government and politicians than we have now, instead of giving them more of my money so they can find more ways to waste it on beaucracy and pet projects. My two cents, sorry for the rant, and sorry for having such an ideological, insane view of the situation, but I thought I'd point out what I see as an obvious problem that isn't being discussed. Cheers Dave Lauten Bandon OR deweysage@versizon.net From phainopepla at yahoo.com Mon Jan 16 15:56:45 2006 From: phainopepla at yahoo.com (Michael Dossett) Date: Mon Jan 16 15:56:47 2006 Subject: [obol] Re:Bird fees and cat licenses Message-ID: <20060116235645.37535.qmail@web50308.mail.yahoo.com> Neil Holcomb wrote: "From: Michael Dossett Subject: Re:Cost of habitat >>Many of the best birding spots in Washington are on WDFW >>management areas... Birders and hunters in essence are paying >>the same fees and these areas are managed for hunting and >>fishing first and foremost. This bothers me a little from the >>standpoint that we are all in essence buying a parking pass >>while some are doing so for a nonextractive activity while >>others hunt for ree... There are so many more hunters and their >>lobby is so much stronger that its an easy numbers game to >>figure out." >1. Actually, the purchasers of hunting and fishing licenses in >WA do not get a free parking pass. The cost, which helps defray >the costs of developing vehicle access, not wildlife management, >is a nonvoluntary inclusion in the license fees. Anyone may >still access those lands without fee by walking in. I lived in >WA when this program began, and can report the access to >recreation has greatly improved in some areas. Sorry for arguing semantics, but I say the parking permit is free with a $10 resident hunting or fishing lisence. Neil calls it a nonvoluntary inclusion. Its the same thing. If everyone else has to pay $10 to park there, then what is the distinction? If we called it $10 for their parking permit then in essence their hunting permit or fishing lisence is free. I'm sorry I just don't see how a nonvoluntary inclusion is different when the price is the same. Its a nonvoluntary "free" inclusion. At the risk of this getting anymore off topic than it already is I think I'll leave that point where it is. The point of my post was that it seems that there is only a parking fee required at one of ODFW's management sites (Sauvie Island) whereas WA has it at all and it makes no difference in how these sites are managed. I think the reason why these spots are some of the best birding locations in Washington is simply because they are the best islands of habitat in an ever increasing ocean of development either urban or rural. I applaud the efforts of the Department of Fish and Wildlife to include non-game improvements where they can, but they are simply spread too thin with too little funding. >Habitat rehabilitation or management for the benefit of >gamebirds generally benefits all the wildlife present. I think this statement is a little too broad. Habitat preservation and rehabilitation is generally beneficial for all or most wildlife present. However, management by its very nature and definition is a directed activity focused on a very small subset of the overall biological diversity. It can be very beneficial to most organisms present but it can also be done to benefit some species at the cost of others depending on the circumstance and this is not at all unusual. Again, I think this is starting to get off topic. Bottom line is that if we want to see improvements in our non-game programs we're going to have to pay for it some way. While there is money going into the system, it is a drop in the bucket compared to other sources of funding and the emphasis on DFW programs is accordingly on game species. Michael Dossett Corvallis Phainopepla@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Mon Jan 16 16:13:57 2006 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Mon Jan 16 16:13:35 2006 Subject: [obol] Names and bird news Message-ID: A very interesting discussion of fees, who pays them and why, to which I will only add that the lovely words "piscators" or "pescadores" saves the necessity of constructing a politically correct catwalk around the aromatic word "fishermen." Somehow fishist does not quite work and fisherperson sounds like a character from Narnia. Plain old fisher is in use by a wood-weasel (come to think of it, wood-weasel is a great name). Fishwife could be a counterbalance, though it has distinctly different connotations than "fisherman" and calls up a vision of Mar... well, let us not call forth the beastie's ire, let's just say that the word has fallen from fashion and was never all that great. And hooker is spoken for, though I can think of at least...no, it is a new year and peace lieth upon the land. Hey, it's a contribution. In bird news, there is some kind of robin movement happening around Eugene, but I can't tell yet exactly what is going on. Could be the last winter seepage of migrants from the north or upslope, or the first stirrings of springlike wanderings. Redwings are tuning their pipes and the Brewer's Blackbirds are absolutely gorgeous right now - take a look at one. A favorite bird of mine, the Western Gracklet: native, adaptable, successful and elegant. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer@mindspring.com From maitreya at OregonVOS.net Mon Jan 16 16:39:44 2006 From: maitreya at OregonVOS.net (maitreya@OregonVOS.net) Date: Mon Jan 16 16:39:47 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Cost of habitat In-Reply-To: <43CC3362.6090902@verizon.net> References: <20060116182149.47568.qmail@web50302.mail.yahoo.com> <43CC3362.6090902@verizon.net> Message-ID: <39722.128.223.162.50.1137458384.squirrel@shemp.dialoregon.net> Well said. But what do you expect when you have a president who thinks he is Wyatt Earp. Only instead of Colt 45's he has Tomahawk Cruise Missiles for male enhancement devices, and at the price of only $2,000,000.00 per unit. If the United States Government chose to forego weapons procurement for one year, hundreds of billions of dollars could be made available to work on habitat preservation and restoration, and the balance of military power in the world would remain the same. > With all that said, and I am loath to raise the issue because we get off > into politics, and this is a bird orientated listserve, I, personnally, > while happy to "pay my way", have serious issues with paying more for > what I believe we already have the money to pay for, but we simply don't > have the political will, foresight, logic, or intelligence to so. Put > rather simply, we currently are paying for things like the Iraq > conflict, like fighter planes and ships, nuclear arsenals, space war > programs, etc etc etc, while good 'ole Mother Earth is collapsing around > us (see todays news assessment by Professor Lovelock on the state of the > planet, extremely sobering indeed). We spend well over 50% of our > budget on defense, outspending the entire rest of the world. That is a > correct statistic. In the meantime the planet is falling apart and our > politicians apparently don't care. And we sit here and talk about > opening our pocket books more to save a little more habitat. I think > I've opened my pocket book enough. I'd prefer to have a more > accountable, more logical, more environmentally friendly, more > responsible government and politicians than we have now, instead of > giving them more of my money so they can find more ways to waste it on > beaucracy and pet projects. My two cents, sorry for the rant, and sorry > for having such an ideological, insane view of the situation, but I > thought I'd point out what I see as an obvious problem that isn't being > discussed. Maitreya ?Each of us is in truth an idea of the Great Gull and an unlimited idea of freedom.? Jonathan Livingston Seagull From jgeier at attglobal.net Mon Jan 16 16:48:12 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Mon Jan 16 16:51:03 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Another Letter to the Oregonian In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <43CC3ECC.1090508@attglobal.net> Nick, The need for ongoing management of wetlands is of course obvious. Active management of wetlands is going on at E.E. Wilson year round, and the new pond is in addition to 30 or so others around the wildlife area where the staff are using a variety of methods to control succession, including dry-season disking, mowing, and/or burning depending on what else is there (i.e. listed plants vs. invasives). The money for the acquisitions and restorations comes from a variety of sources including duck/pheasant hunting groups which have donated directly to land acquisitions and habitat restoration/management, as well as federal grants and state hunting/fishing tag fees. Shorebirds are not the key focus. The key foci of the efforts there are several threatened/endangered plant species endemic to Willamette Valley wet prairies, an amphibian (red-legged frog) and a reptile (western pond turtle). Water levels are primarily managed to control the introduced bullfrog population which is a threat to both of the latter; i.e. the management is mainly focused on nongame species of concern, although not shorebirds. Only one pond (more of an impoundment) is managed for sport fishing; the remainder are off limits to fishing in an effort to control spread of live bait species. Nevertheless the wildlife area is known to host a substantial portion of western Oregon's Solitary Sandpipers in many years; the management regime often leaves ponds in optimal condition during peak passage and up to 10 at once have been found around the three square miles of the refuge. Joel Lethaby, Nick wrote: > Jeff: > > See below. > > Nick Lethaby > DSP/BIOS Product Manager > Software Development Systems > Texas Instruments > 805 562 5106 > nlethaby@ti.com > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Jeff Gilligan [mailto:jeffgill@teleport.com] > Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 12:28 PM > To: jgeier@attglobal.net; Oregon Birders OnLine > Subject: Re: [obol] Re: Another Letter to the Oregonian > > > I can look out my window at a brand-new wetland scrape which should > >>be good for Solitary Sandpipers, yellowlegs etc. come spring. > > > Joel - you should be paying for that. Please tell us more about the new > shorebird scrape and how it came to be. > > Nick>>> There is a much bigger issue than just creating a wetland. The > real key is active management of the wetland so that the optimal > conditions are present at the right time and so the habitat doesn't get > degraded by vegetation progression etc. > From llsdirons at msn.com Mon Jan 16 16:55:29 2006 From: llsdirons at msn.com (DAVID IRONS) Date: Mon Jan 16 16:55:33 2006 Subject: [obol] Townsend's Warbler survey Message-ID: Greetings, I have decided to extend the Townsend's Warbler survey another two weeks. The weather this past week has obviously been much more conducive to lengthy posting about outdoor recreation fees than sifting through passerine flocks. I am hopeful that there will be a few more sun breaks in the coming days and we can generate a few more reports. So far I've received a number of reports from around Eugene, a few coastal reports and scattered reports from the Willamette Valley. Reporting from Salem, Corvallis and Portland has been lighter than expected. To this point I've at least eight reports of groups of 12+ birds and three reports involving flocks of 20+. If you live in an urban or suburban area in the Willamette Valley I would encourage to take at least one walk around your local neighborhood and report you findings. In addition to Townsend's Warblers, searches have turned up four Orange-crowned Warblers and also a Hermit X Townsend's hybrid. Several observers have been giving me daily updates about flocks coming to their feeders. While this is interesting reading, it is not necessary. What I am most interested in are peak counts from sites and sampling of as many areas as possible. Thanks, Dave Irons From oganc at sbcglobal.net Mon Jan 16 17:08:10 2006 From: oganc at sbcglobal.net (Chet ogan) Date: Mon Jan 16 17:08:12 2006 Subject: [obol] another letter to THE OREGONIAN. In-Reply-To: <026901c61a70$67657700$6600a8c0@TIMJ> Message-ID: <20060117010810.92566.qmail@web80602.mail.yahoo.com> Birders, There are a lot of grants and funds available for habitat related projects. Money from these grants can be leveraged with other funds and in-kind support to get more money. NAWCA (North Am Waterfowl Cons Act) has a pot available every year, this used to apply only to wetland projects, but it is now available for riparian habitat projects. NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) has easement incentives that can be coupled with conservation funds for for projects. Oregon participates in Pacific Coast Joint Venture program that allows agency and local groups to work together for projects see http://pcjv.org/home2.html . Get out there and get involved through your local community, Audubon, joint venture, conservancy, or other groups to work on these projects. Be an advocate, put your mouth where your money is. Be active. As conservation chair for our local Audubpn, I attend the PCJV meetings, I am also a committee member on out community wetlands and creeks committee- other communiyies have open-space committees. I write letters supporting projects and grants. Chet Ogan --- Tim Janzen wrote: > Dear Jeff and OBOL, > I agree with many of your comments below. I think > that rather than > having government create new taxes or fees that may > or may not end up being > beneficial to birders, I would prefer to see birders > take the initiative and > create their own projects. Options might include > the following: > 1. Purchasing land in SE Oregon that could be > planted with trees and > developed into birding oases or buying land there > that already has a cluster > of trees on it. > 2. Purchasing pieces of land at various areas along > the coast that could be > developed into birding reserves. Shorebird scrapes > could be a part of such > locations. > 3. Purchasing land that is excellent birding habit > in counties that birders > particularly enjoy birding in. > 4. Leasing land for shorebird scrapes at the coast > or paying ODFW to create > some shorebird scrapes at prime locations. > > While I agree that the American Bird Conservancy, > The Nature > Conservancy, and Ducks Unlimited are good > organizations to support, it would > seem to me that it would also be reasonable to have > OFO, local Audubon > societies, and birding clubs take ownership of areas > of prime birding > habitat here in Oregon. An example of this type of > approach would be High > Island, where Houston Audubon Society has purchased > 4 tracts of land > specifically because of their value as bird > sanctuaries. I would suggest > that rather than continuing to buy duck stamps it > makes more sense for > birders to collectively pool their money and > purchase land that they can > control long term and manage as they see fit to > create good birding habitat. > Perhaps OFO could create a fund that is > specifically devoted to the > purchase of land for birding sanctuaries. I would > be willing to donate the > first $100 and probably more if we were to identify > some land that looks > particularly promising as birding habitat somewhere > in the state. Does > anyone else want to contribute? > Sincerely, > Tim Janzen, > Portland > > -----Original Message----- > From: obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu > [mailto:obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu] On > Behalf Of Jeff Gilligan > Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2006 11:51 PM > To: OBOL > Cc: Nick Lethaby > Subject: [obol] another letter to THE OREGONIAN. > > My earlier letter was published in The Oregonian on > Saturday. The following > is in response to a column on Sunday that mentions > ways birders can be taxed > to help pay for an agency that doesn't really do > much fr birders. > > > This is to comment on Bill Monroe's column on > January 15, "Proposing > solutions for Oregon's hunter decline." My reading > of the column is that it > is really about trying to find solutions for ODFW's > financial situation, and > the finding solutions for Oregon's hunter decline is > related to that. My > understanding of ODFW is that it hasn't changed > markedly since it was named > the Oregon Department of Fish and Game. Possible > funding solutions that Mr. > Monroe mentioned as having been discussed by an > informal group included a > "non-hunting license" for Sauvie Island, and a sales > tax on things like bird > seed and binoculars. I think that neither would > have much financial impact. > ODFW owns few reserves, and there is nothing about > its land on Sauvie Island > that is compelling to birders - although it is a > nice, non-essential birding > asset. There are though a few very low cost habitat > improvements that could > be made there that would make the ODFW land very > attractive to birders in > the non-hunting season - in ways that are not > inconsistent with the primary > purpose of the property as a waterfowl hunting area. > Taxing binoculars or > other birding equipment would be of little effect. > Most birders purchase > high-end optics from out of state discounters - and > don't do so often, and > any tax would only put local retailers at a greater > disadvantage. Taxing > bird food would be almost as useless. Can ODFW tax > sugar for hummingbird > feeders, or peanuts, or suet from the butcher, or > seed from agricultural > feed and seed stores? The idea of donations from > birders is an unlikely > source. The American Bird Conservancy, The Nature > Conservancy, and Ducks > Unlimited are better choices for birders. ODFW is > almost irrelvant to > birders. It should welcome input from organizations > such as the Oregon Field > Ornithologists as to how it can partner with them. > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From jgeier at attglobal.net Mon Jan 16 17:45:18 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Mon Jan 16 17:48:04 2006 Subject: [obol] On paying to look out my window Message-ID: <43CC4C2E.2000802@attglobal.net> Hello folks, I initially took this: > Joel - you should be paying for that. Please tell us more about the > new shorebird scrape and how it came to be. as a nice little joke (I was going to mention my property taxes and offer to rent out 1 m squares in my yard next spring) but since Jeff forwarded this serious-sounding comment I'm not so sure anymore: > Nick>>> There is a much bigger issue than just creating a wetland. The > real key is active management of the wetland so that the optimal > conditions are present at the right time and so the habitat doesn't > get degraded by vegetation progression etc. I guess I should confirm that there is a lot of active management of the new wet-prairie and wetland restorations in the works; anyone who walks around E.E. Wilson can see evidence of the full variety of methods employed, from disking down weeds and emergent vegetation, mowing, and controlled burns depending on the stage of the restoration and whether or not there are endemic plant species to worry about. However, there are other species to worry about (red-legged frogs, western pond-turtles, and several threatened/endangered wet-prairie plant species) so Nick's phrase "optimal conditions" becomes something of a multi-objective problem to achieve. One question comes up for me, with regard to the pay-per-view paradigm which some are advocating: When we someday get birders to pay for habitat modifications that favor their particular hobby, just like the hunters and anglers, what about the other species that are left out? Rare plants, amphibians, reptiles, odonates ... will each set of species need to have their own hobbyists to advocate for them? Or will there be a need to modify habitat for maximum vagrant potential, if birding dollars become trump? If optimum conditions for shorebirds don't agree with optimal conditions for Nelson's checkermallow, which wins? The demands of hunters and anglers might be benign by comparison. When their favorite game species are not in season, hunters mostly disappear from the picture. This leaves refuge managers relatively free to manage the habitat for non-game and possibly non-charismatic species, for much of the year. In contrast, we birders go at it -- and will have demands -- year round. I have birded (and lived for short periods) in the U.K., which Jeff mentions as a model of the pay-per-view idea. I also bird frequently in Sweden, which still holds to the idea that nature is a shared, common heritage. There the right to go out and appreciate nature has legal status as "the common (ordinary) right," with a reciprocal notion that everyone has an obligation to treat nature (and private property) with respect. Personally, I much prefer birding in Sweden, where appreciation of nature is a broadly held part of the culture, and it is free to all. Almost anyone you meet knows the names of the common bird species. There in the springtime, you can hear pop radio deejays discussing the difference between the songs of the Thrush Nightingale and the regular Nightingale. I have never heard anything like that on the radio in England. I am not ready to give up on the idea of a similar paradigm here in Oregon. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From jeffgill at teleport.com Mon Jan 16 19:01:07 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Mon Jan 16 18:01:01 2006 Subject: [obol] On paying to look out my window In-Reply-To: <43CC4C2E.2000802@attglobal.net> Message-ID: on 1/16/06 5:45 PM, Joel Geier at jgeier@attglobal.net wrote: > Hello folks, > > I initially took this: > >> Joel - you should be paying for that. Please tell us more about the >> new shorebird scrape and how it came to be. > > as a nice little joke (I was going to mention my property taxes and > offer to rent out 1 m squares in my yard next spring) but since Jeff > forwarded this serious-sounding comment I'm not so sure anymore: > Joel: I took that to mean that somehow you look out onto a scrape through a window from an office at the E.E. Wilson site. I haven't been to E.E. Wilson inmnay years, but I somewhat remember buildings being on it. Did you mean that you look at the scrape at E.E. Wilson from your property adjacent to it? As an aside, I have room on my property on Willapa Bay for a little scrape, which I plan to create this year. Jeff. From pamelaj at spiritone.com Mon Jan 16 18:36:49 2006 From: pamelaj at spiritone.com (pamela johnston) Date: Mon Jan 16 18:36:58 2006 Subject: [obol] cat licenses Message-ID: <005701c61b0e$dfc2b750$5601f304@yourw5st28y9a3> Cats in Multnomah Co. are supposed to be licensed, so you see it CAN happen. Now, when we come to compliance, it's not too hot, and enforcement is not actively pursued (just try picturing that one...), so it's not what you could call a roaring success. But it's the law, and gets enforced when the circumstances are favorable. Pamela Johnston formerly of Multnomah Co., now in Yamhill Co. From 4cains at charter.net Mon Jan 16 19:19:11 2006 From: 4cains at charter.net (4cains@charter.net) Date: Mon Jan 16 19:25:07 2006 Subject: [obol] Census Count: Youngs Bay, Clatsop County, Oregon on January 16, 2006 Message-ID: <200601170319.k0H3JBjC019898@rottweiler.furfly.com> This report was mailed for Lee Cain by http://birdnotes.net Date: January 16, 2006 Location: Youngs Bay, Clatsop County, Oregon Wind direction: SW Precipitation: drizzle at about 1400 hrs, from the new YB bridge causeway Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Red-breasted Merganser 1 [1] Footnotes: [1] male on west side of newer YB bridge Total number of species seen: 1 From jeffgill at teleport.com Mon Jan 16 21:12:35 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Mon Jan 16 20:12:31 2006 Subject: [obol] cat licenses In-Reply-To: <005701c61b0e$dfc2b750$5601f304@yourw5st28y9a3> Message-ID: on 1/16/06 6:36 PM, pamela johnston at pamelaj@spiritone.com wrote: > Cats in Multnomah Co. are supposed to be licensed, so you see it CAN happen. > Now, when we come to compliance, it's not too hot, and enforcement is not > actively pursued (just try picturing that one...), so it's not what you > could call a roaring success. But it's the law, and gets enforced when the > circumstances are favorable. > > Pamela Johnston > formerly of Multnomah Co., now in Yamhill Co. > > Cats can be legally, humanely trapped (so as not to cause injury) in Multnomah County and taken to the animal shelter. The owners then have a very short time to claim their cat, and get it licensed. This is especially useful if the birds near one's feeder are being killed by a cat. Since I have had my faithful terrier I haven't had a problem with cats at the feeder. Cats are banned from leaving the owners' yards in most parts of Green Valley, AZ. From danpvdb at yahoo.com Mon Jan 16 20:39:03 2006 From: danpvdb at yahoo.com (Dan van den Broek) Date: Mon Jan 16 20:39:06 2006 Subject: [obol] Private reserves and birders accommodations (destinations) Message-ID: <20060117043903.56691.qmail@web52510.mail.yahoo.com> Hello So many places around the world have accommodations that cater to birders. They have a garden full of hummingbird feeders, seed feeders and often some acreage of prime habitat. Why wouldn't this work in Oregon. Usually if a place is good at attracting vagrants it's good at attracting our regularly occurring bird species. Which would be of interest to out of state birders as well as us Oregon birders searching for vagrants or just out looking at birds. So can we get what we want by encouraging private reserves. If we could raise funds to create a shorebird scrape on the coast, then charge a fee for entrance, that could be a start. There could even be some sort of electronic pay station. Bed and Breakfast or other types of accommodations that cater to birder's/wildlife enthusiasts, built at a birding oasis near Malheur or other hot spots throughout the state may increase revenue to help maintain the location and could be a worthwhile way to raise money for new locations. How many existing accommodations throughout the state specifically cater to birders. I think Arizona has lots so why can't Oregon. We are a "birdy" enough state that some of the large tour companies lead tours here. I think that we could provide the infrastructure. We could even tap into grant money. It could be an Oregon chain of privately (not for profit?) owned birding locations and we pay for them by using them. Maybe they could be OFO endorsed. That is assuming that the shorebird scrape is better than anything else around and the oasis brings in vagrants and we could get the tour companies to stay there etc. Dan --------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos ? Showcase holiday pictures in hardcover Photo Books. You design it and we?ll bind it! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060116/19fe06a2/attachment.html From jwwdvm at comcast.net Mon Jan 16 20:55:19 2006 From: jwwdvm at comcast.net (John W. Williams) Date: Mon Jan 16 20:55:25 2006 Subject: [obol] Ft. Stevens Snowy Owls Message-ID: Four (and possibly five?) Snow Owls were still at the Parking Lot C area by the South Jetty of the Columbia River yesterday when I finally made it over to see them. John W. Williams Battle Ground, WA, USA www.featherphotography.com From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Mon Jan 16 21:23:45 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Mon Jan 16 21:23:47 2006 Subject: [obol] The Snowy Owl IS Still in Newport & Some Directions On Where To See It Message-ID: <20060117052345.65874.qmail@web51801.mail.yahoo.com> I'm posting this message because I've received numerous emails from people wondering if the snowy owl is still in Newport because they are planning a trip here...and from a few people who evidently came and missed it and were sorely disappointed. The snowy owl IS still here. It was seen last night around dusk hunting behind Hatfield Marine Science Center. It was also seen today at the old fish processing plant across the street from the Hatfield....this is the large property to the west of the Hatfield with a fence all around it and another fence inside the larger fence....just drive across the street from Hatfield and into the very large parking lot...the plant is on your right (north) side...can't miss it. You can locate Hatfield by following the signs from 101 or ask anyone in town...it is south and east of the Yaquina Bay Bridge...and very close to the Oregon Coast Aquarium....so you can follow those signs too. The owl is usually found on the property of the old fish plant during the day...at least for now...often sitting just behind the inner fence by a green hose...and also often sitting on top of some buildings on the east side of the property but it can be in other places too so don't give up if you don't see it at first....sometimes when it sits on the north side of the roof you can't see it from the parking lot and you'll need to drive along the east side of the property to see it. The property owners do not mind if people view it from outside the fence but THEY HAVE MADE IT VERY CLEAR THEY DO NOT WANT PEOPLE INSIDE THE FENCE SO PLEASE RESPECT THIS. Just after sunset the snowy owl is often seen hunting around the bay behind Hatfield flying to various high places (lightpoles, trees, buildings) so just scan around. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Mon Jan 16 23:09:09 2006 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Mon Jan 16 23:09:13 2006 Subject: [obol] Linn County raptor runs Message-ID: <20060117070909.80640.qmail@web50912.mail.yahoo.com> Obolers, In an effort to get some raptor surveys done between storm fronts, I covered two routes today here in Linn County. Viewing conditions were actually pretty good, with high cloud ceilings, not too much wind, and no precipitation. As I write this, it's pouring outside :( The two routes done today were the two new ones that I put together for this winter. The first covers the area between Lebanon and Scio (Linn Co. Unit 5) and the second covers the area between Crabtree and the north end of the county west of Scio (Crabtree - Shelburn). Following are the results for today: Linn Co. Unit 5 (69.2 miles - 3 hrs 50 min) RTHA 30 AMKE 39 NOHA 2 BAEA 1 AD RLHA 1 PRFA 1 Crabtree - Shelburn (46.5 miles - 2 hrs 55 min) RTHA 24 AMKE 22 NOHA 2 BAEA 2 (1A, 1S) PEFA 1 MERL 1 As you can see from the data, I managed to secure the falcon grand slam today :) I wished that I could have found a Gyrfalcon but no such luck. I first found the Peregrine on Cracker Neck Rd north of Crabtree. It was munching on a duck of some kind. I then found the Merlin no more than 10 minutes later along Densmore Rd. It was perched in the top of a roadside tree and offered great views. The Prairie Falcon came later in the day along Montgomery Dr south of Scio. It was perched atop a major power transmission line tower. I saw it about an hour and a half later (I assume it was the same bird) along Fish Hatchery Rd approximately 2.5 miles south of its first location. An unusual sighting today was a Red-tailed Hawk perched on a telephone pole. It looked as though someone had taken a roller full of white paint and ran it across its back from wing to wing. The rest of its plumage appeared normal. My heart jumped when I first saw it, thinking it might be a White-tailed Kite :) All in all, not a bad day of raptor counting. Now if this rain will just leave us alone (fat chance!) for a few more days this month, I can get my other 3 runs done! Jeff Fleischer Albany __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From rcbrumitt at comcast.net Mon Jan 16 23:12:30 2006 From: rcbrumitt at comcast.net (Clint Brumitt) Date: Mon Jan 16 23:12:55 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl Message-ID: <001f01c61b35$61cb7c20$9189c147@CB2> The Lane Co. snowy owl was seen this evening around 4 PM at the farm bordering Franklin and Alvadore Rd. The owl was sitting on top of the nearest Franklin Rd. It is still beautiful. Clint Brumitt -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060116/7eda6658/attachment.htm From khanhbatran at hotmail.com Mon Jan 16 23:45:44 2006 From: khanhbatran at hotmail.com (khanh tran) Date: Mon Jan 16 23:45:47 2006 Subject: [obol] Information Request for birding Costa Rica Message-ID: Hi Obolers, I would like to receive any helpful hints, tips, or information regarding birding hot spots, personal bird guides, and affordable accommodations for a two week trip. I have purchased pertinent field and travel guides but it is always nice to hear from personal experiences. I will more than likely stay in San Jose and will have a rental car. Please email me privately. This dreary weather is taking getting to be too much :( Thanks in advance, Khanh Tran (Portland, Oregon) From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Mon Jan 16 23:52:58 2006 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Mon Jan 16 23:53:01 2006 Subject: [obol] other Linn County good birds Message-ID: <20060117075258.45242.qmail@web50901.mail.yahoo.com> Obolers, While conducting my raptor surveys today I located 1 SNOW GOOSE in a flock of several hundred CANADA GEESE. These birds were located approximately half a mile south of Griggs Dr off of Bond Rd about 5 miles NE of Lebanon. I also located 12 WHITE-FRONTED GEESE mixed with about 60 CANADA GEESE. These birds were located along Hungry Hill Rd a couple miles north of the town of Crabtree. And, to add to the recent discussion about WESTERN BLUEBIRDS kiting, I saw a flock of 8 doing that very thing this afternoon. They were located along Miller Cemetery Rd just south of Shelburn. Jeff Fleischer Albany __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From a-r at centurytel.net Tue Jan 17 03:17:02 2006 From: a-r at centurytel.net (Diane Ashton Rollins & Kim W. Rollins) Date: Tue Jan 17 03:17:09 2006 Subject: [obol] Newport Snowy (pictures) Message-ID: <000b01c61b57$8ae20210$628dfea9@S1100382963> I had the opportunity to spend a little time at Newport Sunday. Of course after seeing Snowy Owls at Ft. Stevens at the end of December, seeing another one was on my list. Saw him across from Hatfield Centre. He was not in the Cherry Lot, he was hanging out around the building that is on the right if you go past the Hatfield Centre Entrance. Watched him for some time early afternoon on boxes then on the building in the enclosure there. Late in evening saw him move to go hunting from that building, to building by Bay then to one of the Hatfield Centre Buildings. We walked down nature trail as it was getting dark and observed him as he moved from the building to a tree by the Bay. From there he made big flight out over mud flat and bay, then circled and flew back toward Ocean and South Jetty. We were amazed at the rate of speed his flight increased to after he got lined out toward the jetty. Tremendous power and speed there. Very impressive. Here are a couple of the pictures I took that day. Files reduced in size for web viewing. http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54972153.jpg http://www.pbase.com/kwr_01/image/54972660.jpg A thank you to those who have posted before with reports of what he was doing. Kim Rollins Burns, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060117/edd617d2/attachment.htm From paul.jacobsen at oregonstate.edu Tue Jan 17 07:35:35 2006 From: paul.jacobsen at oregonstate.edu (Jacobsen, Paul) Date: Tue Jan 17 07:35:12 2006 Subject: [obol] newport birds Message-ID: <4D5DA98A54374044B7CC3F40A157B98B8547E4@thuja> I made it over to the coast to locate the BRANT that was missing from my list - thanks to all who provided suggestions as to where to find them. There was a single one along the south jetty of the Yaquina, and a flock of 50+ in the mud flats behind Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC). We also spotted, from the south jetty, BLACK SCOTERS, WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, and, of course, SURF SCOTERS. WESTERN GREBES were present, as well as three OLD SQUAWS, BUFFLEHEADS and COMMON LOONS. Thanks to the kind folks who let us see some of these through their spotting scope. When we went over to HMSC, we found the SNOWY OWL was located on the roof of one of the buildings. Again, thanks to the kind souls who let us have a good look through their spotting scope. Paul Jacobsen Dallas, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060117/ca7bec82/attachment.html From tweel at tillanet.com Tue Jan 17 08:18:09 2006 From: tweel at tillanet.com (Margaret) Date: Tue Jan 17 08:18:32 2006 Subject: [obol] Monday Arlie & Baskett Slough Message-ID: <00d101c61b81$a5c155c0$120d2b42@MARCEL2> A small group of Tillamook birders braved the cool rain and low light to visit Arlie and Baskett Slough Monday. Ferruginous hawk was near the Sauerkraut Rd in Arlie first on a fence then in the field. When in the field it blended in very well with the ground and could be easily missed when it is still in spite of its white underparts. Rough -legged hawks were at both Arlie and Baskett Slough and good studies of their markings. Blue-birds at both areas and black phoebe still at Livermore corner and snowy owl in field from Dejong Rd at Baskett-Slough. Many trumpeter swans at the corner of Arlie and 99W. We missed the prairie falcon but many kestrels, red-tailed hawks, harriers F & M , a cooper's hawk and white-tailed kite, sharp-shin, meadowlarks, pipits, bald eagles, etc. Michelle Simper made a complete list of who and where. Thanks to everyone who gave such good directions. Marg Tweelinckx Cape Meares From philliplc at harborside.com Tue Jan 17 10:21:19 2006 From: philliplc at harborside.com (Phillip Pickering) Date: Tue Jan 17 10:21:14 2006 Subject: [obol] Boiler Bay etc Message-ID: <007101c61b92$d0915b40$6401a8c0@byronq189eo067> Started at Boiler Bay from 7:30-8:00 in light rain. S scoter flight quickly built to sustained 300-600/minute, ~70% White- winged. 8:10 Beverly Beach: similar movement visible but from that spot the funnel was 1-1.5 miles out and barely detectable in the drizzle 8:25-8:40 tried in a couple spots off Newport but visibility was <1 mile and no movement detected. 9:15 Boiler Bay: White-wings still moving at sustained 40-100/min. plus over 100 Red-throated Loons spread out on the water. 9:30 Spanish Head: visibility < 1 mile, no movement visible No significant rafting of either Surf or W-w seen anywhere. Phil philliplc@harborside.com From dlrobbo at comcast.net Tue Jan 17 10:50:18 2006 From: dlrobbo at comcast.net (Douglas Robberson) Date: Tue Jan 17 10:50:22 2006 Subject: [obol] Tualatin Riverkeepers 2006 Lectures Series Message-ID: Tualatin Riverkeepers 2006 Lecture Series By popular demand, Tualatin Riverkeepers is excited to offer our 2006 Lecture Series. Learn about local avian wildlife, how to photograph flora and fauna like a pro, and everything you?ve always wanted to know about the Tualatin River and more. Each lecture includes a guided field trip and is FREE for members, $15 for non-members. Individual/family memberships start at only $35. Contact us at info@tualatinriverkeepers or (503) 620-7507 to register for these events. Waterfowl of the Tualatin River Watershed with local bird instructor Doug Robberson Class: February 7, Tuesday 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm Sherwood Senior Center Walk: February 11, Saturday 8 am to 11 am Fernhill Wetlands, near Forest Grove Photographing Nature in the Watershed with local nature photographer Michael Wilhelm Class: March 7, Tuesday 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm Sherwood Senior Center Walk: March 11, Saturday 8 am to 11 am Location TBD History of the Tualatin River Watershed with TRK co-founder Rob Baur Class: April 4, Tuesday 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm Sherwood Senior Center Walk: April 8, Saturday 8 am to 11 am Lower Tualatin River (Van Tour) Doug Robberson Tigard, OR From margieparis1 at mac.com Tue Jan 17 12:25:07 2006 From: margieparis1 at mac.com (Margie Paris) Date: Tue Jan 17 12:25:12 2006 Subject: [obol] Hermit-Townsend's hybrid? Message-ID: <5B663D6C-0646-4383-9561-90AA8F73995B@mac.com> Dear Obol, I've got an interesting warbler at my suet feeder today. Its face looks like a Hermit -- clean yellow. But it has white (and a few dark) feathers on its crown! It appears to have no streaking on its belly or sides, although it's so wet that I can't tell for sure. Perhaps a Hermit-Townsend's hybrid? Whatever it is, it's hungry! Best regards, Margie Paris Margie Paris 2394 Charnelton Street Eugene, OR 97405 (541) 484-0763 margieparis1@mac.com From andy.frank at kp.org Tue Jan 17 12:48:47 2006 From: andy.frank at kp.org (Andy Frank) Date: Tue Jan 17 12:49:00 2006 Subject: [obol] Sauvie Island W-T Kite and Rough-legged Hawk Message-ID: <000601c61ba7$6a7d1af0$6400a8c0@homefih7ejbwju> Today at about 1030 Iain Tomlinson and I relocated the White-tailed Kite reported yesterday by David Smith. It was off Oak Island Road on Sauvie Island. There is a large field on the left where the road makes almost a 90 degree turn to the right and the Kite was in a tree on the far side of the field. It was a great spot for raptors as in another tree was a Rough-legged Hawk and also visible at that spot were Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, American Kestrel and Merlin. Andy Frank -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060117/9b5da732/attachment.htm From dawn_grafe at fws.gov Tue Jan 17 13:31:50 2006 From: dawn_grafe at fws.gov (dawn_grafe@fws.gov) Date: Tue Jan 17 13:20:01 2006 Subject: [obol] Birding and Blues Festival Message-ID: This comes from Gary Lesniak with the Birding and Blues Foundation... Dawn Grafe US Fish and Wildlife Service Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex 2127 SE Marine Science Drive Newport, OR 97365 The 3rd Annual Pacific City Birding and Blues Festival will take place from Friday, February 24th through Sunday, February 26th, 2006. For three days discover secrets about the intriguing bird life and wildlife along the spectacular Oregon coast. There will be seven guided nature hikes and 10 interactive daytime seminars. Each evening after an ocean sunset, try some fine restaurant fare, check out the art galleries, and warm your soul with blues in the night. There will be six different music offerings in town from which to choose. We have selected knowledgeable seminar presenters who will speak to the interests of both new and experienced birders and wildlife lovers. We are proud to have Tony Angell, noted naturalist and artist, who will discuss the topic of his new book, In the Company of Crows and Ravens: why these amazingly intelligent birds have fascinated us throughout all human history. Centered at the Kiawanda Community Center, other indoor daytime sessions include secrets for successful birding, tackling problems of backyard bird habitat, conservation tales of the arctic duck, the land of the exotic Japanese Crane, the call of open ocean birding, the special wildlife world of our Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and professional tips on both wildlife photography and nature art sketching. Outdoor activities include six guided field trips at nearby Bob Straub State Park, Whalen Island, and the Nestucca Bay Wildlife Refuge. Plus new to the lineup, we have a limited, special all-day Friday Three Capes Birding Tour with a professional bird guide. The night air will be alive with soulful blues music. This year we are proud to feature the renown harmonica bluesman, Paul deLay and his 5 piece band with two performances on Saturday night. New to our lineup is The Inn at Cape Kiwanda Blues Benefit Concert featuring Ben Rice and the Youth of Blues Band. This is an all-ages Friday night dance to support our local Nestucca High School Additionally, many of the area?s restaurants, pubs, and galleries are scheduling their own live blues, art shows, and food. In addition to the featured two nights of community center dances mentioned above, you will find Blues and Brews at the Pelican Pub Friday night with our festival favorite Lloyd Jones and his Trio. If you are up for more, check for additional music at the Delicate Palate Bistro and at the Pacific City Tidewater Lounge. So mark your calendars. In February join the flock in Pacific City. Come and enjoy the 2006 Birding and Blues Festival on the beautiful Oregon Coast. The festival is a joint project of the Pacific City/Nestucca Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Tillamook County Futures Council, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Sitka Center for Arts and Ecology with cooperation from the Chimtimini Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. It is supported by a grant from the Economic Development Council of Tillamook County and donations from over 25 contributing individuals and businesses including the Tillamook Headlight Herald and KMUN/KTIL public radio. Pre-registration begins in January. From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Tue Jan 17 14:52:32 2006 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Tue Jan 17 14:52:33 2006 Subject: [obol] Bird Surveyor Positions Available for work on Military Lands Message-ID: <20060117225232.77633.qmail@web32601.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Job info in case anyone is interested. Do not respond to me, see the position description for info. Tim R Coos Bay > -----Original Message----- > From: Western Partners In Flight > [mailto:WPART-L@LISTSERV.UARK.EDU]On > Behalf Of Fischer, Richard A ERDC-EL-MS > Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2006 12:50 PM > To: WPART-L@LISTSERV.UARK.EDU > Subject: Bird Surveyor Positions Available for work > on Military Lands > > EXPERIENCED SURVEYORS (5) needed from late March to > early May 2005, to > study habitat use of small passerine migrants at > high density stopover > sites on military installations with large volumes > of migrants. Positions > will be available for both a western and an eastern > installation. Must be > able to identify either eastern or western birds by > sight and sound. All > positions will assist with data entry and any > additional research > activities. All individuals are required to work 7 > days a week, have the > ability to work and ive well with others, and > tolerate heat and biting > insects. Pay rate will be $1,500/ month and housing > will be provided. Send > letter of interest including available dates, > resume, and phone numbers and > email addresses of 3 references to Emily Cohen by > email: > emlcohen@hotmail.com. Applications will be accepted > until positions filled. > > 118 College Drive, Box 5018 > Department of Biological Sciences > University of Southern Mississippi > Hattiesburg, MS 39406 > 601-266-4394 > > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From sarahp at ci.hillsboro.or.us Tue Jan 17 15:20:58 2006 From: sarahp at ci.hillsboro.or.us (Sarah Pinnock) Date: Tue Jan 17 15:21:01 2006 Subject: [obol] Love is in the Air, or at Least in the Cottonwood Tree Message-ID: This afternoon around 3:00pm the pair of Bald Eagles at Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve were observed mating in the top of a black cottonwood tree at the south end of the Preserve. Way cool. Sarah Pinnock Wetlands Education Specialist Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve _ ( '< / ) ) // " " -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060117/7c5825b4/attachment.html From PTWEET2005 at msn.com Tue Jan 17 16:40:32 2006 From: PTWEET2005 at msn.com (NANCY FRASER) Date: Tue Jan 17 16:40:35 2006 Subject: [obol] Spring Volunteer Training Workshop Message-ID: Prescott Bluebird Recovery Project Spring Volunteer Training Workshop Saturday, February 18, 2006 9:00 am to 12:00 noon Champoeg State Heritage Area Visitors' Center The Prescott Bluebird Recovery Project is looking for volunteers to monitor Western Bluebird trails. We will train you and assign you a trail under the tutelage of a licensed bird bander. Established bluebird trails are primarily in Yamhill, Washington and Clackamas Counties. Monitoring season is from April through August, and you will spend a minimum of 3-4 hours per week, perhaps driving some distances to the nesting areas. This is a wonderful opportunity to commune with nature and assist in the continued recovery project of this very endearing native songbird. Please check our website www.prescottbluebird.com for additional information including directions to Champoeg. Please rsvp by calling our recorded line (503.245.8449). Nancy Fraser Spring Volunteer Training Workshop Coordinator Prescott Bluebird Recovery Project -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060117/de5de4cd/attachment.html From polkman07 at earthlink.net Tue Jan 17 16:49:02 2006 From: polkman07 at earthlink.net (bill tice) Date: Tue Jan 17 16:48:54 2006 Subject: [obol] Polk County 1/17 Message-ID: <410-2200613180492359@earthlink.net> Hi Folks, I had the day off so in the afternoon took a spin around the usual places locally. There were 2 Greater Yellowlegs near the barn at Livermore Rd. The Black Phoebe was not there though, as it virtaully never is when I go looking for it. There was a Prairie Falcon near the North end of Livermore Rd, and there were remnants of that large flock of Water Pipits there also. The Snowy Owl was about another 200 yards north of the white bucket where it usually is. I drove to the residents house in that large field and asked permission to look at it from their driveway. They were aware of it and requested no one walk in the field as it is really wet. Went looking for the dark phase Ferruginous Hawk reported by John Gatchet without success. I also scouted around for the Red-shouldered Hawk he saw but no luck there either. I returned via Livermore Rd and saw a Short-eared Owl near the north end and the Black Phoebe about 1/2 mile from the south end. Along Colville Rd there was a Western Grebe. Anyone else tired of this rain yet??? Bill Tice -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060117/8369d2c2/attachment.htm From winkg at hevanet.com Tue Jan 17 18:03:19 2006 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Tue Jan 17 18:04:23 2006 Subject: [obol] Common Yellowthroat, Sauvie Island Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060117175750.028ff250@pop.hevanet.com> There was a large flock of WHITE-CROWNED and GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS along Reeder Road near Wilson Beach (about a mile N of Rentenaar Rd) on Sauvie Island today. Try as I might, I couldn't find any rare sparrows among them--only a few LINCOLN'S SPARROWS and a lot of SONG SPARROWS. However, hanging out with the sparrow flock was a female COMMON YELLOWTHROAT. Wink Gross Portland From bcombs at dialoregon.net Tue Jan 17 20:01:46 2006 From: bcombs at dialoregon.net (bcombs@dialoregon.net) Date: Tue Jan 17 20:01:47 2006 Subject: [obol] Western Tanager Message-ID: <1338.64.28.49.165.1137556906.squirrel@shemp.dialoregon.net> Today I had the remarkable experience of viewing a WESTERN TANAGER near and on my neighbor's fence. It was eating berries from a nightshade plant in a weedy area. I am not set up to upload photos to a web page, but can e-mail the small (12kb) JPEG file I created from a rather large RAW file if anyone would like to see it. I have 10 photos, and this one was the best, once it was cropped and saved as a JPEG image. From jmcrlsn at yahoo.com Tue Jan 17 21:32:36 2006 From: jmcrlsn at yahoo.com (Jim Carlson) Date: Tue Jan 17 21:32:39 2006 Subject: [obol] NE Oregon Weekend Message-ID: <20060118053236.27732.qmail@web31703.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Becky (and my sister Pam and her husband Pete) visited NE Oregon over the weekend. We sort of paralleled Paul Sullivan and the Portland Audubon field trip trading info and recommendations for eating places. Both 10 Depot Street and Foley's Station are great places to eat in La Grande. I suspect Paul will report on his tour eventually and they did see birds we didn't see. We started in La Grande Saturday morning and found a few tree sparrows near the HQ/Office of Ladd Marsh SWMA on Pierce. It started to rain soon after so we headed to Wallowa County picking up a merlin on Lower Cove Rd on the way. The town of Wallowa produced the first Bohemian waxwings of the trip with cedars. We tried Golf Course Road but it was raining in the area by then, little snow on the ground and NO birds. Towards late afternoon it started to snow and continued most of the evening until about 9, leaving about 2" on the ground. Dinner at Terminal Gravity brew pub (they do bottle the IPA for sale in the valley-pretty good). Sunday morning dawned without precip so we went on down to Joseph to check on the farmlands. We ran into the end of the Sullivan train on Dobbins Road (also called Prairie Creek Road south of the road to Imnaha east of Joseph) shortly after they found some gray partridge. We saw some of those and after they went on to the south, we backtracked to the cemetery and flushed two separate flocks of partridge. We then went over to Klages Road where we found the ferruginous hawk Paul had found on the CBC just north of Bicentennial. Shortly after, we came across a mixed flock of snow buntings and horned larks (about 800-1000 birds). At the north end of Klages, we turned east on Crow Creek Rd and had a flock of 100 gray crowned rosy finches within the first 1/2 mile before OK gulch. No luck on the snowy owl. The views of the Wallowas were spectacular at times, never completely out of the clouds but still impressive. Heading back toward Enterprise on Crow Creek we turned north on swamp creek (or elk mtn rd). We found another group of gray partridge and a flock of 11 tree sparrows. We saw more Bohemian waxwings in Joseph, a couple of northern shrikes, lots of rough-leggeds, a male Barrow's goldeneye at Pete's pond, and at the fish hatchery and finally the two blue jays near NE 3rd ave not far from our motel (the Ponderosa-"where you sleep like a log"). The blue jays took some pygmy owl tooting to bring them out. On the way back Monday we did have a prairie falcon and another ferruginous hawk in Union county. We did not see any common redpolls or lapland longspurs and we couldn't find the Harris sparrow reported from Gekkler near Pierce in La Grande. Otherwise we had a great trip. The trip back was a little hairy over the blue mountains (icy roads with cars and trucks off the highway some over the guardrails-4wd and good traction tires are essential this time of year. Good birding Jim Carlson jmcrlsn@yahoo.com --------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos ? Showcase holiday pictures in hardcover Photo Books. You design it and we?ll bind it! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060117/3b44bd54/attachment.htm From cyncay at comcast.net Tue Jan 17 21:50:45 2006 From: cyncay at comcast.net (Cynthia Talbott-Nelson) Date: Tue Jan 17 21:50:41 2006 Subject: [obol] FW: [pacerparents] Keep your eyes out for Grandma Message-ID: <005d01c61bf3$227f2a80$0200a8c0@CYNCAY> Hello All While everyone is out and about looking at the birds would you please keep in mind Grandma Tazu; who is still missing. Thanks Cindy Talbott-Nelson _____ From: pacerparents@yahoogroups.com [mailto:pacerparents@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Genita Costello Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 12:12 PM To: pacerparents@yahoogroups.com Cc: 'Louisa Levin' Subject: [pacerparents] Keep your eyes out for Grandma Dear Friends and Neighbors - Grandma Tazu is still missing and we need your help please. For those who know this lovely woman, she is "grandma" to all. We need to enlist the help of everyone. With more sets of keen, alert eyes looking for Grandma Tazu - we know we can find her. Here are some ways you can help: * Share this email liberally with folks in the area. * When you are driving about - please really "look" around you. * Print this picture and keep it in your car If you know the Bigelow family (Grandma Tazu lives with her daughter, Susan Bigelow and grandson, Cale Bigelow) and want to be involved in the active-organized search, please contact me. Thank you for your help and consideration. Sandi Swinford, family friend 503-781-0092 _____ Tazu Higashi goes by "Grandma" Missing since Tuesday, January 10th Last seen in Lake Oswego shopping center (Fuddruckers, UPS store, GI Joes) 4'11", Japanese, 79 years old Driving a Silver Dodge Caravan 2005 license plate 476 BVG with handicap parking tag, studded tires, no rims. May have taken a wrong turn off nearby exits (Tualatin, Wilsonville, Stafford, Donald, Aurora, Woodburn) Needs medication Please call police or detective Lee Fergeson 503-635-0238 dispatch. Please call (503) 624-4804 HOME. E-mail Link: bringgrandmahome@yahoo.com Areas to Search: Krispy Kreme - SE 82nd Avenue McLoughlin Blvd. Providence Hospital Good Samaritan Hospital Sellwood Oregon City Columbia Gorge Outlet Convention Center Hawthorne District SPONSORED LINKS U s bank home mortgage U s patent search _____ YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS * Visit your group "pacerparents " on the web. * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: pacerparents-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service . _____ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060117/13509710/attachment.html From cyncay at comcast.net Tue Jan 17 21:57:16 2006 From: cyncay at comcast.net (Cynthia Talbott-Nelson) Date: Tue Jan 17 21:57:22 2006 Subject: [obol] FW: Searching for Grandma Message-ID: <006801c61bf4$0b432dc0$0200a8c0@CYNCAY> OBOL Here is the latest info on Grandma Tazu, apparently focusing on the other side of the Willamette. _____ From: Tazu Higashi [mailto:bringgrandmahome@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2006 8:21 PM To: Cynthia Talbott-Nelson Subject: Re: Searching for Grandma thank you Cynthia - I am a family friend/helper manning the emails. The most recent focus is east side in the range around 181st to Troutdale - but the area is open. So, thank you for keeping a look out. Every set of eyes helps. Thank you. Sandi -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060117/eb9f14b8/attachment.html From bigfishy at att.net Wed Jan 18 06:23:36 2006 From: bigfishy at att.net (bigfishy@att.net) Date: Wed Jan 18 06:23:39 2006 Subject: [obol] DC Cormorants Message-ID: <011820061423.13523.43CE4F68000348D4000034D3216037631697089C070009070D@att.net> I have seen up to 2 dozen DC Cormorants sitting in a tree 30-40 feet up at Creswell Ponds (near the airport, and visible from I-5). Is this common behavior? Rains-a-plenty, Bob Fish -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060118/a4a96895/attachment.htm From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Wed Jan 18 06:47:18 2006 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Wed Jan 18 06:47:20 2006 Subject: [obol] Coos Cty1/17/2006 Message-ID: <20060118144718.76967.qmail@web32604.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Went out for a PM dog walk out on the south end of the north spit of Coos Bay. It was hot and dry, I wonder when this drought will end? Anyhow, we did find one of the two SHORT-EARED OWLS seen on the Coos CBC. No sign of the Horned Larks but I think they may still be around. I haven't seen the Snow Bunting out there in a couple weeks, and the last time I did see it, it was flying high to the south so it may be gone or relocated to who knows where. Happy Birding all, Tim R Coos Bay __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From jgeier at attglobal.net Wed Jan 18 08:07:00 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Wed Jan 18 08:15:34 2006 Subject: [obol] Wintering Wilson's Warbler reported in Eugene 13 Jan Message-ID: <43CE67A4.9090708@attglobal.net> Hello folks, To go along with Barb Combs' Western Tanager in Eugene, yesterday I received another notable report via regular postcard: Last Friday (13 Jan 06) Gerald Morsello found a wintering WILSON'S WARBLER with a small B-c Chickadee & R-c Kinglet flock in the 1600 block of Lawrence Street. He heard the call note, then eventually saw it working through a hedge at 5 ft distance. He described it as being in full adult male plumage. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From sjag2 at juno.com Wed Jan 18 09:09:23 2006 From: sjag2 at juno.com (sjag2) Date: Wed Jan 18 09:09:47 2006 Subject: [obol] Townsend's Warblers around Portland Message-ID: <026f01c61c51$eea1aee0$a95f9643@fastbox> Hi folks, Apparently there are more than average numbers of Townsend's Warblers in and around Portland this winter. Watching a male feed on the ground like a Junco yesterday morning at work I decided to ask my co-workers in other stores and it turns out that many of us are hearing from customers who are reporting or asking about the identity of a new bird and Townsend's W. is the bird of the season. I do not know of comparable large groupings like we are hearing about from the Eugene area, the reports are mostly of a bird or two at suet feeders or just around. Steve Jaggers From refugee2000 at qwest.net Wed Jan 18 10:18:33 2006 From: refugee2000 at qwest.net (Christopher Christie) Date: Wed Jan 18 10:18:40 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: On paying to look out my window Message-ID: <43CE8679.4000503@qwest.net> I'm with Joel on this one. The commodification of nature and public land ecosystems is not a road I will go down or cooperate with. Instead of charging people to restore the damage caused in many cases by others, so that birders and naturalists might enjoy something that resembles a natural and rewarding birding experience, why not allow the passive restoration of thousands of acres of public riparian ecosystems by simply removing livestock from them? The whole idea of charging citizens $10 for a walk in their own damaged woods while charging ranchers $1.79 for a full month's destructive tromping around by a cow and her calf strikes me as more than a little out of balance. Among other things, such a move would greatly serve the interests of birds and riparian dependent species while decreasing the impacts associated with birders flocking to a few favored areas. Chris in Baker City Joel Geier Wrote: <> -- "True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring." Martin Luther King Jr. Wildflowers? http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?where-photographer=Christopher+Christie -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060118/45035cf7/attachment.htm From prigge1 at mindspring.com Wed Jan 18 10:29:31 2006 From: prigge1 at mindspring.com (Allen Prigge) Date: Wed Jan 18 10:29:30 2006 Subject: [obol] Western Tanager, Eugene Message-ID: <000c01c61c5d$20d9aab0$281af304@alrup5ujaxzzmc> Dave Clark, Goldeneye Taxidermy, 4411 Hilton Drive, Eugene saw a Western Tanager in his yard yesterday afternoon. One wonders if it was the same individual seen by Barbara Combs. I called Dave about 10:00 am, 6/18/06, to ask if he had seen the tanager again. He had not. Al Prigge -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060118/acfbdc23/attachment.html From dan-gleason at comcast.net Wed Jan 18 10:34:04 2006 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Wed Jan 18 10:32:18 2006 Subject: [obol] DC Cormorants In-Reply-To: <011820061423.13523.43CE4F68000348D4000034D3216037631697089C070009070D@att.net> References: <011820061423.13523.43CE4F68000348D4000034D3216037631697089C070009070D@att.net> Message-ID: Bob, This is quite normal for Double-crested Cormorants. This time of year, these birds are often in large numbers here in the valley. Look along the river in the trees by Delta Ponds near Valley River Center here in Eugene and you may find 200+ birds there on occasion. In some areas, such as at Fern Ridge Reservoir, nests are constructed in trees. If there are many birds, the amount of guano produced may kill the trees. Double-crested Cormorants are the only cormorants in North America that are found on inland waterways. The majority of birds are coastal and most breeding occurs along the coast but the number of cormorants seen inland certainly increases during the winter. There are many isolated breeding colonies of these birds at inland sites as well. Tree-roosting as a group, occurs most frequently during the early morning hours and at dusk. During the day, the birds are actively feeding and may be seen in trees most often as individuals or very small groups. Before and after the prime feeding times it is typical to congregate into groups in a common roosting area. Along the coast, rocky cliffs may serve this purpose well but inland and onshore, trees better fit this behavior. Being high in the trees rather than on the ground reduces the potential of attack from ground-dwelling predators. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason@comcast.net 541 345-0450 On Jan 18, 2006, at 6:23 AM, bigfishy@att.net wrote: > I have seen up to 2 dozen DC Cormorants sitting in a tree 30-40 > feet up at Creswell Ponds (near the airport, and visible from > I-5). Is this common behavior? > > Rains-a-plenty, > Bob Fish > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From fyshjpsy at comcast.net Wed Jan 18 10:56:45 2006 From: fyshjpsy at comcast.net (fyshjpsy@comcast.net) Date: Wed Jan 18 10:56:48 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: cost of habitat and management policies Message-ID: <011820061856.17403.43CE8F6D00056A05000043FB2206998499979C9F06089C9700@comcast.net> From: "Elaine Stewart" Subject: [obol] cost of habitat and management policies "As a former ODFW biologist, and a current restoration ecologist managing publicly owned land, I can't resist throwing in my 2 cents here." First to respond about ODFW's priorities: that agency has few resources directed to on-the-ground management for non-game wildlife because it generally lacks funding for it or direction to do it. It's not a lack of will, it's a lack of means." "From: Joel Geier Subject: [obol] On paying to look out my window However, there are other species to worry about (red-legged frogs, western pond-turtles, and several threatened/endangered wet-prairie plant species) so Nick's phrase "optimal conditions" becomes something of a multi-objective problem to achieve." Thank you, Elaine and Joel, for pointing out some of the complicating factors of this problem. Every wildlife agency or organization, whether government or private, depends on funding to accomplish its aims. No agency or organization has adequate resources to accomplish all its goals, so programs and actions must be prioritized. Voluntary contributions of money and labor are very important in this regard, and enable leveraging of the available dollars. Most states fund management only through sales of hunting and fishing licenses, access permits and the like. In OR we are lucky enough to have an income tax checkoff dedicated to the non-game programs as well. Some agencies also profit from items sold at gift shops, and may use some of this money for wildlife related outreach or management programs. These funding sources are all voluntary in nature, one can simply choose to participate or not. Contributing to federal funding via the Federal Wildlife Restoration Act (aka Pittman/Robertson Act) and the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps (Duck Stamps) is voluntary. The only items taxed under Pittman/Robertson are firearms, ammunition and archery equipment, nothing else. If you don't want to pay the tax, don't buy the item. You are likely paying duties, tariffs or excise tax on your optics, clothing, and field guides because they were made overseas but you can bet that money doesn't go to wildlife. Duck Stamps are a great investment, every dollar goes directly to wildlife. Most of the funds are used for acquisition, maintenance and rehabilitation of habitat related to migratory birds (not just ducks), the stamps are artwork in their own right, and they get you admitted to many USFWS managed areas. OR has similar stamps for the benefit of upland game species and waterfowl. If you don't want one, don't buy one. Avian and mammalian species on the T & E lists worldwide are far outnumbered by plants, invertebrates, amphibians and fish. Should we leave the folks who enjoy these life-forms out of the equation? Absolutely not. We should work to expand funding sources which benefit all wildlife. How to get the dollars on the ground is another question. How about OR instituting a "Habitat Stamp" program, with the resulting funds dedicated to habitat acquisition, access and rehabilitation programs? Voluntary, and if you don't want to fund habitat through government programs, put your dollars with a private organization you want to support, then volunteer your time and sweat as well. I recognize this is likely "preaching to the choir"; it's time for everyone to acknowledge their personal impact on the environment. Humans are no different from any other organism; our mere presence is an alteration of the previous conditions and may have unforeseen consequences regardless of any other actions. Sometimes we lose sight of that as birders. We do play, we ought to pay. So should every dog-walker, jogger and cyclist using wildlife habitat. Should we work for government accountability regarding how our money is spent and acknowledge that critical habitat may not be publicly accessible in order to protect it? Absolutely. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060118/4b0fa207/attachment.html From steve at paradisebirding.com Wed Jan 18 13:17:50 2006 From: steve at paradisebirding.com (Steve Shunk) Date: Wed Jan 18 12:42:55 2006 Subject: [obol] Birding and Blues Friday tour 2-24 In-Reply-To: <20060116200009.B618E1362C5@lists.nws.oregonstate.edu> References: <20060116200009.B618E1362C5@lists.nws.oregonstate.edu> Message-ID: <1404.71.36.108.240.1137619070.squirrel@www1.outlawnet.com> All, I wanted to add to Dawn's announcement below of the Birding and Blues Festival that, to kick off the event, I will be leading an all-day tour of the Three Capes birding loop on Friday, 2/24. Attendance is limited for this part of the event, and registration details can be found at http://www.birdingandblues.com/. I hope to see some of you on the coast that weekend! Steve Shunk -- Paradise Birding: Tours for Bird Lovers http://www.paradisebirding.com 541-408-1753 -- Message: 3 Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2006 13:31:50 -0800 From: dawn_grafe@fws.gov Subject: [obol] Birding and Blues Festival To: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 This comes from Gary Lesniak with the Birding and Blues Foundation... Dawn Grafe US Fish and Wildlife Service Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex 2127 SE Marine Science Drive Newport, OR 97365 The 3rd Annual Pacific City Birding and Blues Festival will take place from Friday, February 24th through Sunday, February 26th, 2006. For three days discover secrets about the intriguing bird life and wildlife along the spectacular Oregon coast. There will be seven guided nature hikes and 10 interactive daytime seminars. Each evening after an ocean sunset, try some fine restaurant fare, check out the art galleries, and warm your soul with blues in the night. There will be six different music offerings in town from which to choose. We have selected knowledgeable seminar presenters who will speak to the interests of both new and experienced birders and wildlife lovers. We are proud to have Tony Angell, noted naturalist and artist, who will discuss the topic of his new book, In the Company of Crows and Ravens: why these amazingly intelligent birds have fascinated us throughout all human history. Centered at the Kiawanda Community Center, other indoor daytime sessions include secrets for successful birding, tackling problems of backyard bird habitat, conservation tales of the arctic duck, the land of the exotic Japanese Crane, the call of open ocean birding, the special wildlife world of our Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and professional tips on both wildlife photography and nature art sketching. Outdoor activities include six guided field trips at nearby Bob Straub State Park, Whalen Island, and the Nestucca Bay Wildlife Refuge. Plus new to the lineup, we have a limited, special all-day Friday Three Capes Birding Tour with a professional bird guide. The night air will be alive with soulful blues music. This year we are proud to feature the renown harmonica bluesman, Paul deLay and his 5 piece band with two performances on Saturday night. New to our lineup is The Inn at Cape Kiwanda Blues Benefit Concert featuring Ben Rice and the Youth of Blues Band. This is an all-ages Friday night dance to support our local Nestucca High School Additionally, many of the area???s restaurants, pubs, and galleries are scheduling their own live blues, art shows, and food. In addition to the featured two nights of community center dances mentioned above, you will find Blues and Brews at the Pelican Pub Friday night with our festival favorite Lloyd Jones and his Trio. If you are up for more, check for additional music at the Delicate Palate Bistro and at the Pacific City Tidewater Lounge. So mark your calendars. In February join the flock in Pacific City. Come and enjoy the 2006 Birding and Blues Festival on the beautiful Oregon Coast. The festival is a joint project of the Pacific City/Nestucca Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Tillamook County Futures Council, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Sitka Center for Arts and Ecology with cooperation from the Chimtimini Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. It is supported by a grant from the Economic Development Council of Tillamook County and donations from over 25 contributing individuals and businesses including the Tillamook Headlight Herald and KMUN/KTIL public radio. Pre-registration begins in January. From archmcc at qwest.net Wed Jan 18 13:05:28 2006 From: archmcc at qwest.net (Arch McCallum) Date: Wed Jan 18 13:00:52 2006 Subject: [obol] raptors and honkers nw of Eugene Message-ID: <6.1.1.1.0.20060118125707.025d0598@pop.eugn.qwest.net> Hello All, There were 2 White-tailed Kites visible from the Fern Ridge parking lot at the west end of Royal Avenue at 9:30 this morning. Better yet, one was audible. I hope this is a pair and we will get to see and hear their full courtship in weeks to come. I went from there up to Alvadore and Franklin. No large white bird on rooftops at that hour (10 am), but the rain-soaked Swainson's Hawk was visible from Alvadore on the fence north of the owl's barn. Another observer was drawing a bead on it with a long lens, so maybe will have a closeup photo soon. No swans in the usual place on Meadowview, but a small group of at least 20 were near the corner of Meadowview and Hwy 99. With them were a few large Canadas and 19 Greater Whitefronts (some faces were not seen). Good birding, Arch McCallum From philliplc at harborside.com Wed Jan 18 13:49:36 2006 From: philliplc at harborside.com (Phillip Pickering) Date: Wed Jan 18 13:49:40 2006 Subject: [obol] Boiler Bay Message-ID: <02c201c61c79$146a5010$6401a8c0@byronq189eo067> 7:30-8:00 (1/18): Was barely able to start before getting hammered by a prolonged squall line. Scoters sputtering, S only up to 150/minute, but with narrow horizon to horizon raft of 6000+ on the water. Birds near enough to ID were 90%+ surf, but unable to ID most. Most apparently drifting north at somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 mile an hour. Phil philliplc@harborside.com From dan at heyerly.com Wed Jan 18 13:56:52 2006 From: dan at heyerly.com (Dan Heyerly) Date: Wed Jan 18 13:57:07 2006 Subject: [obol] raptors NW of Eugene . . .and some geese Message-ID: <20060118215412.B6B0B56C3A2@pixel.son-net.com> At approximately 1015am this morning, both the Snowy Owl and the Swainson?s Hawk were visible in the same binocular field looking southwest from Alvadore Rd. approximately ? mile or less north of Franklin Rd. The SWHA was on a fence post just west of the three large tanks to the NW of the large barn. The SNOW was right next to the large tanks on a smaller tank between the large tanks and a corner fence post. It was low to the ground and just slightly ?whiter? than the small tank it was perched on. Approximately 20 Greater White-fronted Geese were grazing in a field, with some Tundra Swans, SW of the corner of Meadowview Rd. and Hwy. 99N. The geese were still there at approximately 11am as well. Dan Heyerly ?Working? out west of town! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060118/bede77d2/attachment.html From mmarvin at spiritone.com Wed Jan 18 15:27:47 2006 From: mmarvin at spiritone.com (Marcia Marvin) Date: Wed Jan 18 15:26:30 2006 Subject: [obol] Slate-colored Junco, SW Portland Message-ID: OBOL, My neighborhood juncos were joined by some newbies this morning, one of which was of the slate-colored variety. It was pretty uniformly dark gray above with little or no demarcation indicating a hood, and pale below. It appeared several times earlier today, mostly on the ground, occasionally on the tray feeder. It appears to be more timid than the "regulars." I have not seen it this afternoon, but haven't been looking as often either. Marcia -- Marcia Marvin * mmarvin@spiritone.com * SW Portland, OR, USA From bigrocketman3 at webtv.net Wed Jan 18 16:38:58 2006 From: bigrocketman3 at webtv.net (Steve McDonald) Date: Wed Jan 18 16:39:00 2006 Subject: [obol] Eugene Area Hummingbird Message-ID: <28276-43CEDFA2-9053@storefull-3331.bay.webtv.net> I'm no expert on hummingbirds, but I recognized a very bright, coppery-red throat on a small hummer that scouted my yard yesterday. This bird had dark greenish upperparts. He was especially interested in my large camelia trees and perched in them for awhile. He matches the picture and description of an Allen's. Is this possible here, this time of year? A flock of about 50 Brewer's blackbirds has adopted my driveway. For good reason, as I keep it stocked with seed for the doves and juncos. About 2/3 of them are males. I see about 200 elsewhere nearby. This is the first time I've seen this species in the neighborhood, although they're abundant in the area overall. They were jumpy at first, but now come within 10 feet of me in a chair, if I'm motionless. The heavy rains have washed many small, red worms out on the sidewalks and streets lately, and these blackbirds are feasting on them, between cars. Two days ago, a very large Cooper's Hawk strafed a neighbor's yard and carried a dove to a maple tree. Within plain sight, it stripped and devoured it. Recently, a small Osprey circled over my yard, chirping loudly, the same way they often do when leading their young on training flights. I live 1.5 miles from the nearest river. A flock of 50 Rock Pigeons has discovered the large amount of seed and grain two neighbors put out. For a couple of months, a Mourning Dove has been a full-time member of the flock. It circles, dives and follows the pigeons through all their aerobatics. It's not an escaped Ring-necked Dove, as I've seen it close enough to make a good ID. There's hundreds of other Mourning Doves around, but it prefers to fly with the pigeons. There was an odd junco with the driveway flock yesterday. It had the black head of a male, but was otherwise a dark, sooty chocolate color. Steve McDonald From Jfitchen at aol.com Wed Jan 18 17:12:17 2006 From: Jfitchen at aol.com (Jfitchen@aol.com) Date: Wed Jan 18 17:12:24 2006 Subject: [obol] Mult White-tailed Kite--Yes. Message-ID: <19c.43a15d1e.31004171@aol.com> Hello Obol, The Sauvie Island WHITE-TAILED KITE was "in residence" today between about 10:30 and 11:00 a.m. this morning. The bird was preening on a row of brambles ~300 yards north of the 90-degree bend at MP 2.5 on Oak Island Road. Many thanks to David Smith for finding this tough [Code 4] species in Multnomah County. Cheers, John Fitchen Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060118/10516f20/attachment.htm From ErikKnight05 at comcast.net Wed Jan 18 18:01:25 2006 From: ErikKnight05 at comcast.net (ErikKnight05@comcast.net) Date: Wed Jan 18 18:02:20 2006 Subject: [obol] nesting Great Horned Owl Message-ID: <011920060201.4876.43CEF2F50004D77B0000130C2200762302CACF9B08090702B505079DBA@comcast.net> OBOL, I found a GREAT HORNED OWL on its nest today at Tualatin Hills Nature Park in Beaverton. The nest is visible on the north side of the Vine Maple/Eliott trail junction. All trails except Creek are open, though waterproof boots are advisable if walking any of the non-paved trails. -- Erik Knight Portland, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060119/1ffd82f6/attachment.htm From brrobb at comcast.net Wed Jan 18 19:11:13 2006 From: brrobb at comcast.net (Roger & Betty Robb) Date: Wed Jan 18 19:11:37 2006 Subject: [obol] Short-eared Owl Message-ID: <000801c61ca6$01372d60$06331618@RROffice> This evening (5:00) I found 1 Short-eared Owl at the end of Royal Ave. at Fern Ridge. There were also 15-20 Northern Harriers and 3 White-tailed Kites. Roger Robb Springfield, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060118/3b460159/attachment.html From monroemolly at hotmail.com Wed Jan 18 20:23:34 2006 From: monroemolly at hotmail.com (Molly Monroe) Date: Wed Jan 18 20:23:36 2006 Subject: [obol] Photo contest In-Reply-To: <20060117200010.10FA31362C4@lists.nws.oregonstate.edu> Message-ID: For all you talented photographers out there in OBOL land: All - Oregon Sea Grant and Oregon Coast magazine are inviting photographers of all ages, amateur and professional alike, to help us reveal the authentic, vivid, changing place that is the Oregon coast. Although Sea Grant people and their immediate families are ineligible, please forward information about the contest to others: http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/photocontest.html _ ( '< / ) ) ~Be the change you wish to see for the world~ //" " From jmcrlsn at yahoo.com Wed Jan 18 20:52:01 2006 From: jmcrlsn at yahoo.com (Jim Carlson) Date: Wed Jan 18 20:52:05 2006 Subject: [obol] NE Oregon weekend Message-ID: <20060119045201.26771.qmail@web31706.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Becky (and my sister Pam and her husband Pete) visited NE Oregon over the weekend. We sort of paralleled Paul Sullivan and the Portland Audubon field trip trading info and recommendations for eating places. Both 10 Depot Street and Foley's Station are great places to eat in La Grande. I suspect Paul will report on his tour eventually and they did see birds we didn't see. We started in La Grande Saturday morning and found a few tree sparrows near the HQ/Office of Ladd Marsh SWMA on Pierce. It started to rain soon after so we headed to Wallowa County picking up a merlin on Lower Cove Rd on the way. The town of Wallowa produced the first Bohemian waxwings of the trip with cedars. We tried Golf Course Road but it was raining in the area by then, little snow on the ground and NO birds. Towards late afternoon it started to snow and continued most of the evening until about 9, leaving about 2" on the ground. Dinner at Terminal Gravity brew pub (they do bottle the IPA for sale in the valley-pretty good). Sunday morning dawned without precip so we went on down to Joseph to check on the farmlands. We ran into the end of the Sullivan train on Dobbins Road (also called Prairie Creek Road south of the road to Imnaha east of Joseph) shortly after they found some gray partridge. We saw some of those and after they went on to the south, we backtracked to the cemetery and flushed two separate flocks of partridge. We then went over to Klages Road where we found the ferruginous hawk Paul had found on the CBC just north of Bicentennial. Shortly after, we came across a mixed flock of snow buntings and horned larks (about 800-1000 birds). At the north end of Klages, we turned east on Crow Creek Rd and had a flock of 100 gray crowned rosy finches within the first 1/2 mile before OK gulch. No luck on the snowy owl. The views of the Wallowas were spectacular at times, never completely out of the clouds but still impressive. Heading back toward Enterprise on Crow Creek we turned north on swamp creek (or elk mtn rd). We found another group of gray partridge and a flock of 11 tree sparrows. We saw more Bohemian waxwings in Joseph, a couple of northern shrikes, lots of rough-leggeds, a male Barrow's goldeneye at Pete's pond, and at the fish hatchery and finally the two blue jays near NE 3rd ave not far from our motel (the Ponderosa-"where you sleep like a log"). The blue jays took some pygmy owl tooting to bring them out. On the way back Monday we did have a prairie falcon and another ferruginous hawk in Union county. We did not see any common redpolls or lapland longspurs and we couldn't find the Harris sparrow reported from Gekkler near Pierce in La Grande. Otherwise we had a great trip. The trip back was a little hairy over the blue mountains (icy roads with cars and trucks off the highway some over the guardrails-4wd and good traction tires are essential this time of year. Good birding Jim Carlson jmcrlsn@yahoo.com --------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos Ring in the New Year with Photo Calendars. Add photos, events, holidays, whatever. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060118/669bd3fd/attachment.htm From mariam at easystreet.com Wed Jan 18 20:58:06 2006 From: mariam at easystreet.com (Maria Michalczyk) Date: Wed Jan 18 20:58:08 2006 Subject: [obol] Turkey Vulture In-Reply-To: <000c01c61c5d$20d9aab0$281af304@alrup5ujaxzzmc> Message-ID: Hello all, Today I saw a Turkey vulture...I was so surprised...It was by OMSI in Portland. I guess it was going to check out the nature trail. Maria Maria Michalczyk People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, People may Accuse you of Selfish, Ulterior motives: Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be Honest and Frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway. Mother Teresa -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060118/70f15d37/attachment.html From bennywayne at yahoo.com Wed Jan 18 21:40:25 2006 From: bennywayne at yahoo.com (Ben Young) Date: Wed Jan 18 21:40:28 2006 Subject: [obol] Ankeny NWR "Arctic" Peregrine + Black Phoebe Message-ID: <20060119054025.93851.qmail@web52005.mail.yahoo.com> This afternoon from 1500 to 1645 hrs, Rich Swartzentruber and I had the pleasure of taking eight of our science students from North Salem High School to Ankeny NWR for an afternoon of birding. Highlights for the students included first-ever sightings of Bald Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks, Hooded Mergansers, and a Belted Kingfisher. Other "treats" that I was glad my students had a chance to observe included a Northern Harrier nearly picking off a female Northern Pintail from the water, not to mention the spectacle of the Dunlin swarm that we witnessed from the Pintail Marsh overlook. With the evening light at our backs and the birds flying in front of a backdrop of a prominent rainbow spanning the dark sky to the east, we were afforded breathtaking views of the several thousand Dunlin. Other notable birds included a single Eurasian Wigeon at Eagle Marsh and a Black Phoebe at Pintail Marsh. Canvasback numbers continue to increase (rough estimate of 30 birds). The bird of the trip for me was a juvenile "Arctic" Peregrine (F. p. tundrius) that was seen from the Pintail Marsh overlook while perched on a snag. Field marks were consistent with Wheeler's description of juvenile tundrius in his 2003 edition of Raptors of Western North America. Most similar to Plate 569 in that text. Its narrow black malar, pale tawny auriculars, lores, and forehead, and a pale tawny supercilium separated by a narrow dark eyeline were conspicuous on the head, as were the bluish/light greenish cere and lightly streaked tawny underparts. According to Wheeler, a "very uncommon" subspecies. Attempted to digiscope a few pictures that turned out pretty dark. Was a great day to be outside and see my students get excited about birds. Ben Young Salem, OR --------------------------------- Yahoo! Photos Got holiday prints? See all the ways to get quality prints in your hands ASAP. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060118/401d4f81/attachment.html From winkg at hevanet.com Wed Jan 18 21:49:12 2006 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Wed Jan 18 21:49:13 2006 Subject: [obol] Pittock, NW Portland, week ending 01/18/06 Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060118214035.02a59af8@pop.hevanet.com> Here is the summary of my morning dogwalks from NW Seblar Terrace to the Pittock Mansion for the week 01/12/06 to 1/18/06. Species in ALL CAPS were neither seen nor heard during the previous week. Additional information about my dogwalk may be found at http://www.hevanet.com/winkg/dogwalkpage.html We did the walk 5 days this week. Species # days found (peak #, date) Canada Goose 1 (18, 1/14) COOPER'S HAWK 1 (1, 1/18) RED-TAILED HAWK 1 (1, 1/13) MEW GULL 1 (30, 1/17) GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL 1 (1, 1/17) Band-tailed Pigeon 2 (2, 1/12) MOURNING DOVE 1 (1, 1/18) Anna's Hummingbird 4 (2) Downy Woodpecker 2 (3, 1/13) Hairy Woodpecker 1 (1, 1/14) Pileated Woodpecker 3 (2, 1/18) Golden-crowned Kinglet 4 (10) Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 (1, 1/17) Winter Wren 5 (2) American Robin 5 (5, 1/14) Varied Thrush 2 (1, 1/12 & 13) Bushtit 1 (? [heard only], 1/17) Black-capped Chickadee 5 (20) Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1 (2, 1/12) Red-breasted Nuthatch 3 (2) Brown Creeper 1 (1, 1/12) Steller's Jay 5 (5, 1/17) Western Scrub-Jay 5 (2) American Crow 2 (3, 1/17) Hutton's Vireo 1 (1, 1/12) House Finch 4 (8, 1/14) PINE SISKIN 3 (15, 1/18) Spotted Towhee 3 (3) FOX SPARROW 1 (1, 1/13) Song Sparrow 5 (10) Dark-eyed Junco 5 (20, 1/12) In neighborhood but not found on dogwalk: Lesser Goldfinch Misses (birds found at least 3 days during previous 2 weeks but not found this week): Bewick's Wren Wink Gross Portland From johnpam at ipns.com Wed Jan 18 22:10:50 2006 From: johnpam at ipns.com (JohnPam) Date: Wed Jan 18 22:08:26 2006 Subject: [obol] 4 Snowy Owls On South Jetty Today 10 AM Message-ID: Still saw 4 Snowy Owls north/northeast of parking lot C, Ft Stevens State Park, today at 10 AM. The birds were incredible enough to wow my non-birder friends along this time. Travelled the Columbia River on Washington side (Hwy 4 via Longview) coming and going from Columbia mouth and saw 2 very active White-tailed Kites at first road, Steamboat Slough Rd, of Julia Butler Hensen Refuge for White-Tailed Deer. Stunning views of them hunting and hovering in late afternoon sun breaks. Guess I should be reporting this on Tweeters but you folks might be interested. John Thomas Silverton From ptsulliv at spiritone.com Wed Jan 18 22:19:04 2006 From: ptsulliv at spiritone.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Wed Jan 18 22:44:35 2006 Subject: [obol] Results of Audubon Birding Weekend in Wallowa county Message-ID: <004a01c61cc3$ce41b150$5cc063d8@dell307ac3e2b6> OBOL: This past weekend 22 fine folks joined me for an Audubon Birding Weekend (sponsored by Audubon Society of Portland) in Wallowa county. On Saturday we had overcast skies, which turned to snowing in late afternoon. We began with -- 100 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS in Joseph Then we met Steve Shunk and got a tip on where to find -- 2 BLUEJAYS and a MERLIN in Enterprise. A trip out Golf Course Road yielded only a GOLDEN EAGLE. Then we went out the north highway to the edge of the timber and found -- WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER -- PILEATED WOODPECKER -- CLARK'S NUTCRACKER A trip west of Joseph in the snow in late afternoon yielded unsatisfying views of Gray Partridges. On Sunday, with fresh snow all over the landscape, hoarfrost on branches, and the Wallowa mountains peeking through the clouds, we headed east of Joseph and found -- multiple groups of GRAY PARTRIDGE -- many Redtails, Rough-legs, a PRAIRIE FALCON, BALD EAGLES -- PYGMY NUTHATCHES Then on Klages Road we came upon ~ 100 Horned Larks, and later another 250 ~ 200 - 800 SNOW BUNTINGS which got up and swirled above us against a dark cloud, blinking on and off, black and white, as snow began to fall. It was a magic moment. Continuing up OK Gulch we found -- 5 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS We searched in vain for the Snowy Owl I found with Chuck & Dorothy Gates on the CBC last month. That day we saw a Rough-legged Hawk on a fencepost, but on our return trip past the spot, we found the Snowy Owl. This time we found nothing on the trip out, but found a Golden Eagle on the return trip. Back in Joseph we found -- another dark MERLIN Above Wallowa Lake in the snowfall we found a -- DIPPER Back at Pete's Pond in Enterprise at dusk we found -- BARROW'S GOLDENEYE -- a pair of CANVASBACKS On Monday we followed the directions of Jim Carlson and went out Crow Creek Rd. to find ~ 100 GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCHES We searched in vain for Common Redpolls and Ferruginous Hawk. All-in-all a glorious weekend in Wallowa county. The next Audubon Birding Weekend will be going to Clatsop county Feb. 18-19. Paul T. Sullivan Audubon Birding Weekends (503) 646-7889 http://www.audubonportland.org/trips_classes_camps/adult_programs/birding_weekendsfolder/index_html From hnehls at teleport.com Wed Jan 18 23:31:33 2006 From: hnehls at teleport.com (Harry Nehls) Date: Wed Jan 18 23:28:30 2006 Subject: [obol] RBA: Portland, OR 1-19-06 Message-ID: - RBA * Oregon * Portland * January 19, 2006 * ORPO0601.19 - birds mentioned Redhead Long-tailed Duck Brown Pelican Pelagic Cormorant Great Egret Turkey Vulture White-tailed Kite Northern Harrier Swainson?s Hawk Ferruginous Hawk Snowy Owl Short-eared Owl BLUE JAY Barn Swallow Mountain Chickadee Western Bluebird Bohemian Waxwing Palm Warbler Common Yellowthroat Wilson?s Warbler Western Tanager Swamp Sparrow Purple Finch - transcript hotline: Portland Oregon Audubon RBA (weekly) number: 503-292-6855 To report: Harry Nehls 503-233-3976 compiler: Harry Nehls coverage: entire state Two BLUE JAYS wintering in Fossil continue to be seen. Two are also being seen in Enterprise. Up to five SNOWY OWLS are still being seen at the South Jetty of the Columbia River and one is still at the Hatfield Science Center on Yaquina Bay. The SNOWY OWL is still along West Perrydale Road west of Perrydale where a dark phase FERRUGINOUS HAWK was seen January 14. The SNOWY OWL north of Fern Ridge Reservoir at Alvadore is still seen along with the nearby SWAINSON?S HAWK. On January 15 a PALM WARBLER was with a flock of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS in Florence. A BROWN PELICAN was seen January 12 at the South Jetty of Yaquina Bay. Over 100 GREAT EGRETS are now being seen in Scappoose Bottoms. On January 17 a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT was on the east side of Sauvie Island along Reeder Road at Walton Beach. A WHITE-TAILED KITE is now being seen on the Island at the sharp curve along Oak Island Road. On January 16 a REDHEAD was on Force Lake in North Portland. A surprising PELAGIC CORMORANT was seen January 12 along the Columbia River at Chinook Landing in Troutdale. A TURKEY VULTURE was in mid-town Portland January 18. The FERRUGINOUS HAWK at Airlie and Sauerkraut Roads southwest of Monmouth is still being seen. On January 15 a SWAMP SPARROW and a BARN SWALLOW were along Royal Avenue on the east side of Fern Ridge Reservoir, and a CLARK?S GREBE was on Kirk Pond near the dam. About 20 HARRIERS and a SHORT-EARED OWL were at Royal Avenue the evening of January 18. An adult male WILSON?S WARBLER was in Eugene January 13. A WESTERN TANAGER was in Eugene January 17, and a MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE was reported from Eugene January 15. A LONG-TAILED DUCK was seen January 14 on the Columbia River at Cascade Locks. Four PURPLE FINCHES are still being seen at the Prineville Cemetery. A BOHEMIAN WAXWING was in Bend January 12. A flock was along Burnt River in southwestern Baker County January 15. They are still common the Wallowa Valley. That?s it for this week. - end transcript -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060118/12bc6c20/attachment.html From forobol at msn.com Wed Jan 18 23:34:54 2006 From: forobol at msn.com (Al Ahlgrim) Date: Wed Jan 18 23:34:51 2006 Subject: [obol] Clackamas Raptors Message-ID: I did a solo run of the Canby-Molalla route today. All it took to get me going this morning was one sunbeam on my face! (maybe a little coffee too) Below are the results: Bald Eagle 1 Red-tailed Hawk 15 N. Harrier 2 Kestrels 25 Cooper's 1 On a related note: Nancy Wallwork let me know that she and Elmer Specht located a Rough-legged Hawk in the Molalla area on Cramer Rd, just North of Eby Rd. today. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060118/60b6939f/attachment.htm From celata at pacifier.com Thu Jan 19 07:40:30 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Thu Jan 19 07:39:55 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Del Rey mystery critter References: <5085-43C73184-2277@storefull-3131.bay.webtv.net> <43C97F98.CEC292B8@pacifier.com> Message-ID: <43CFB2E8.FEBB883C@pacifier.com> As you may recall, I posted a photo of a mystery critter found during the dead bird surveys on Del Rey Beach. http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/temp/tunicate.JPG I claimed it was a tunicate (sea squirt) based on what I thought I saw. Several people sent me their opinions as well. Two folks thought it was a Sipunculid or Peanut Worm. http://people.wwc.edu/staff/cowlda/KeyToSpecies/Sipuncula/PhascolosomaAgasiziiDLCSanSimeon4-99.jpg I spent quite a bit of time googling peanut worms and I don't think it was a peanut worm. One person suggested a sea cucumber called Molpadia intermedia which I dutifully google.... tail's too short, but I the search led me to a second "tailed" cucumber in the online version of Kozloff's Key to Marine Invertbrates (1974) called Paracaudina chilensis: http://www.rimi.or.jp/image/d_namako/sironamako.jpg It looks like I'll be changing the file name, 'cuz I'm pretty sure this is it. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From steve at paradisebirding.com Thu Jan 19 08:54:38 2006 From: steve at paradisebirding.com (Steve Shunk) Date: Thu Jan 19 08:19:43 2006 Subject: [obol] Paradise Birding Wallowa Weekend In-Reply-To: <004a01c61cc3$ce41b150$5cc063d8@dell307ac3e2b6> References: <004a01c61cc3$ce41b150$5cc063d8@dell307ac3e2b6> Message-ID: <5011.64.146.93.242.1137689678.squirrel@www1.outlawnet.com> Greetings all, Paradise Birding also led a tour to Wallowa County this weekend. Paul covered much of what we saw, but I have a few additions. The highlight for this birder (and all seven birders with me) was the flock of what we estimated at 300 SNOW BUNTINGS on Klages Rd. This was quite a sight, especially when they occasionally flew like a wave of shorbirds across the field. Definitely the largest flock I have ever seen. The next "specialty bird" highlight was a flock of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS Paul turned us onto in downtown Joseph. After driving around just about everywhere in Joseph proper, we finally saw the flock of about 120 birds fly into at tree near a berry-laden Mountain Ash in the center of town. We watched them at extremely close range for about 15-20 minutes, and then the flock was supplemented by another 180+ BOHEMIANS. Another great spectacle. One of the most amazing things about the BOHEMIANS was counting the number of Mtn Ash berries each individul bird could toss back before leaving the scene. One bird took in 10 berries in less than a minute before retreating to a larger tree nearby (and these are not small berries)! We found two medium-sized AMERICAN TREE SPARROW flocks, one north on Crow Ck Rd and the other somewhere in the hills that escapes me now. Our only NORTHERN SHRIKE of the trip was a few mils north of Enterprise on Hwy 3. As Paul mentioned, we found two BLUE JAYS in Enterprise, along with a MERLIN. We saw a second MERLIN on the south side of Joseph. Other raptors during the weekend were abundant, with many ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS and BALD EAGLES adding to the dozens of RED-TAILED HAWKS and HARRIERS. We also found three PRAIRIE FALCONS, at least six GOLDEN EAGLES, and two SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, one of which flushed a flock of about 6 WILSON'S SNIPE from a small flooded field near Crow Ck Rd. We enjoyed three PILEATED WOODPECKERS, one at Wallowa Lake, one in the forests N of Enterprise, and one in the town of Enterprise. The latter bird entered a roost cavity in a power pole along an irrigaton canal south of downtown Enterprise. We missed the partridges but found a flock of WILD TURKEYS We had at least ten DIPPERS during the weekend, including the three or four we saw in the Wallowa River canyon north of the valley. Best birds on Wallowa Lake were two female BARROW'S GOLDENEYES and a HORNED GREBE, but we also found a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL that responded to my prompting with a single toot. The lake area also hosted a number of CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS. In addition to the birds mentioned by Paul on the ponds in Enterprise, the mill pond also hosted NORTHERN PINTAIL and RUDDY DUCK. Our weekend ended on Monday morning with Mike and MerryLynn Denny in Walla Walla County. Mike showed us an owl roost than held at least 10 BARN OWLS and a couple GREAT-HORNED OWLS. We searched in vain for the local Snowy Owl, but we saw well over 50 RED-TAILED HAWKS in the area as well as an immature FERRUGINOUS HAWK. To wrap up the tour, Mike and MerryLynn showed us a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL along Mill Creek. It was a good weekend! Steve Shunk -- Paradise Birding: Tours for Bird Lovers http://www.paradisebirding.com 541-408-1753 -- Paul T. Sullivan > OBOL: > > This past weekend 22 fine folks joined me for an Audubon Birding Weekend > (sponsored by Audubon Society of Portland) in Wallowa county. > > On Saturday we had overcast skies, which turned to snowing in late > afternoon. We began with > -- 100 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS in Joseph > Then we met Steve Shunk and got a tip on where to find > -- 2 BLUEJAYS and a MERLIN in Enterprise. > A trip out Golf Course Road yielded only a GOLDEN EAGLE. Then we went out > the north highway to the edge of the timber and found > -- WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER > -- PILEATED WOODPECKER > -- CLARK'S NUTCRACKER > A trip west of Joseph in the snow in late afternoon yielded unsatisfying > views of Gray Partridges. > > On Sunday, with fresh snow all over the landscape, hoarfrost on branches, > and the Wallowa mountains peeking through the clouds, we headed east of > Joseph and found > -- multiple groups of GRAY PARTRIDGE > -- many Redtails, Rough-legs, a PRAIRIE FALCON, BALD EAGLES > -- PYGMY NUTHATCHES > Then on Klages Road we came upon > ~ 100 Horned Larks, and later another 250 > ~ 200 - 800 SNOW BUNTINGS which got up and swirled above us against a dark > cloud, blinking on and off, black and white, as snow began to fall. It > was > a magic moment. > Continuing up OK Gulch we found > -- 5 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS > We searched in vain for the Snowy Owl I found with Chuck & Dorothy Gates > on > the CBC last month. That day we saw a Rough-legged Hawk on a fencepost, > but > on our return trip past the spot, we found the Snowy Owl. This time we > found nothing on the trip out, but found a Golden Eagle on the return > trip. > Back in Joseph we found > -- another dark MERLIN > Above Wallowa Lake in the snowfall we found a > -- DIPPER > Back at Pete's Pond in Enterprise at dusk we found > -- BARROW'S GOLDENEYE > -- a pair of CANVASBACKS > > On Monday we followed the directions of Jim Carlson and went out Crow > Creek > Rd. to find > ~ 100 GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCHES > > We searched in vain for Common Redpolls and Ferruginous Hawk. > > All-in-all a glorious weekend in Wallowa county. > > The next Audubon Birding Weekend will be going to Clatsop county Feb. > 18-19. > > Paul T. Sullivan > Audubon Birding Weekends > (503) 646-7889 > http://www.audubonportland.org/trips_classes_camps/adult_programs/birding_weekendsfolder/index_html > > From kit at darkwing.uoregon.edu Thu Jan 19 08:21:08 2006 From: kit at darkwing.uoregon.edu (Kit Larsen) Date: Thu Jan 19 08:21:13 2006 Subject: [obol] Eugene Wed morning birding Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060119080025.01c7bb10@pop.uoregon.edu> We birded the Delta Ponds along Goodpasture Island Rd in Eugene, finding a three-hour spell of weather without rain. The river level at the ponds near Valley River turned the dikes into islands, giving a sense of how different this area was before the up river dams brought some control to the winter rains. The southern ponds accessible with the new bike path allowed us to find a GREAT-HORNED OWL in the same location we found one last winter (perhaps the same bird). The small heron rookery has four nests, with three Great-blue Heron in attendance, one standing on a nest. A BLACK PHOEBE chirped among the vegetation below. It was a good day for finding mammals: a muskrat allowed us good views of its tail; several nutria were working the waters; three raccoons showed us they knew how to swim as well as the ducks; a dead possum lined the road; and we saw both Eastern Fox Squirrel and Western Grey Squirrel. The rookery to the east of Delta Hwy has nine nests. Both Double-crested Cormorants and Great-blue Heron were at the nests. In Malheur, they nest in the same rookery. Perhaps they will do so here. With Paul Sherrell, Roger Robb, and Dennis Arendt Kit Larsen Eugene From tlove at linfield.edu Thu Jan 19 09:31:26 2006 From: tlove at linfield.edu (tlove@linfield.edu) Date: Thu Jan 19 09:31:36 2006 Subject: [obol] Deschutes, Jefferson, Wasco Co. highlights mid-Jan Message-ID: <50847.71.111.180.68.1137691886.squirrel@www.linfield.edu> Deschutes Co.: Following a lead from Marilyn Miller, I (re?)found a large flock of AMER ROBINS, with some CEDAR WAXWINGS and STARLINGS on 16 Jan a few miles north of Bend on 97, eating Juniper berries across from Hilltop Mobile Court. My search for a Bohemian Waxwing seen a few days earlier with such a mixed flock proved fruitless ;->, but the birds were actively swirling around and a cold, stiff south wind hampered the effort. Jefferson Co.: ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK south of Madras, GOLDEN EAGLE being harassed by a RED-TAILED HAWK in the rimrock country near Lyle Gap NE of Madras. Wasco Co.: A NORTHERN SHRIKE near Shaniko Jct., another ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK north of there along 197, and an adult GOSHAWK with a nearby flock of TURKEYS in Tygh Valley. No BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES anywhere that I could find. Only birds at Mt. Bachelor on 15 Jan were 4 NORTHERN RAVENS . Tom Love tlove@linfield.edu From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Thu Jan 19 14:06:34 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Thu Jan 19 14:06:38 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Del Rey mystery critter Message-ID: <20060119220634.66887.qmail@web51802.mail.yahoo.com> Do you still have the specimen? If so, could you make a longitudinal cut just deep enough to go through the body wall and then open it up and take a pic...I could easily get you in the right phylum :-) It doesn't look right to be a tunicate....I can't see the other side of the animal but a solitary tunicate would have 2 siphons. It looks more like a sipuculid than a sea cucumber to me. You might want to look up Phascolosoma agassizii (and other species of that genus). Did you look for tubefeet....much easier to see in water? If you find tubefeet (more on the ventral surface than the dorsal...although they can be modified into papillae on the dorsal surface), then it's definitely a sea cucumber...also if it's a sea cucumber it will have 5 rows of longitudinal muscles (each row can one or two strands)....both sipunculids and sea cucumbers have outer circular muscles and then rows of longitudinal muscles inside these in the body wall but sipuculids will not have the 5 distinct rows. If you don't see any tubefeet you could still be dealing with a detritus feeding sea cucumber which can lack tubefeet...but then the tentacular feeding will be smaller...less frilly...pinnate....so you can check that on the one you thought it might be...also the body wall will be thinner on a detritus feeding sea cucumber than a sipuculid....in fact, if you held the animal in your hand....you could squeeze much harder on a sipuculid than a sea cucumber without squashing it. If you don't see the 5 rows of longitudinal muscles (and tubefeet), I'd start looking closer at sipuculids...and a close look at the outside and inside of the introvert (anterior part that looks like siphon). I have a huge reference collection on invertebrates so once you check these things and especially if you dissect it I could probably get it to species for you with certainty. Mike Patterson wrote: "As you may recall, I posted a photo of a mystery critter found during the dead bird surveys on Del Rey Beach. http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/temp/tunicate.JPG I claimed it was a tunicate (sea squirt) based on what I thought I saw. Several people sent me their opinions as well. Two folks thought it was a Sipunculid or Peanut Worm. http://people.wwc.edu/staff/cowlda/KeyToSpecies/Sipuncula/PhascolosomaAgasiziiDLCSanSimeon4-99.jpg I spent quite a bit of time googling peanut worms and I don't think it was a peanut worm. One person suggested a sea cucumber called Molpadia intermedia which I dutifully google.... tail's too short, but I the search led me to a second "tailed" cucumber in the online version of Kozloff's Key to Marine Invertbrates (1974) called Paracaudina chilensis: http://www.rimi.or.jp/image/d_namako/sironamako.jpg It looks like I'll be changing the file name, 'cuz I'm pretty sure this is it." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From dpvroman at budget.net Thu Jan 19 16:07:11 2006 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis P. Vroman) Date: Thu Jan 19 16:11:29 2006 Subject: [obol] 2nd N.Grants Pass raptor count Message-ID: <000501c61d55$7fd307c0$cd321c40@hppav> Today (01-19-06) the 2nd North Grants Pass raptor count was accomplished. Total of 3.25 hrs; 38 miles; weather: overcast (mid-level) to partly cloudy Found were: Red-tailed Hawk - 18 American Kestrel - 4 Bald Eagle - 4 (all adults; 1 pair) Red-shouldered Hawk - 2 White-tailed Kite - 3 Merlin - 1 Peregrine Falcon - 1 Osprey - 1 Others along the route: TURKEY VULTURE 1, GADWALL 4, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE 2 and 1 male EURASIAN WIGEON. With the 1st for the yr species found today; have 104 for the county so far. Dennis (north of Grants Pass) From 4cains at charter.net Thu Jan 19 17:30:24 2006 From: 4cains at charter.net (Lee and Lori Cain) Date: Thu Jan 19 17:23:42 2006 Subject: [obol] Wireless Rd (Astoria) Barn Swallows, Ross's Goose Message-ID: <000e01c61d61$16f18cc0$b9f9be42@hbhsb01> Evan and I found 3 BARN SWALLOWS on Stoner Rd (south of Astoria) today at about 1600 hrs. Then on Wireless Rd proper we found a juvenile ROSS'S GOOSE hanging with a mixed flock of CANADA and CACKLING GEESE. As if that wasn't cool enough, Evan spotted the local GREAT BLUE HERON herd in a tight high altitude flock of about 45 individuals, apparently coming from the Columbia River to the north and flying over the ridge towards the Old Young's Bay Bridge. As they approached the bridge (where there is a group of pilings that they like to communally roost on in the evenings), individuals began dropping out of the flock in death-defying spirals, much the way geese will when losing altitude quickly. This went on for about 1 1/2 minutes unitl all were down on the pilings. Quite a sight! Other birds of note were 1 PEREGRINE FALCON, 2 WHITE-TAILED KITES, 3 RED-TAILED HAWKS; no shorebirds. Lee Cain Aquatic Biology/Integrated Science Astoria High School http://www.astoriaschools.org/ASD/ahs/AHS%20Science/all.htm >//////> >//////> >//////> From m.denny at charter.net Thu Jan 19 17:51:53 2006 From: m.denny at charter.net (mike denny) Date: Thu Jan 19 17:54:01 2006 Subject: [obol] Bohemian Waxwings along S. FK. Walla Walla River Message-ID: <001a01c61d64$16c4d010$0886bd44@BLACKBIRD> Hello All, This morning while doing the Northern Umatilla County Winter Raptor Survey with Ginger and Rodger Shoemake we came across a large flock of robins, Cedar Waxwings and Bohemian Waxwings along Day Rd. off the South Fork Walla Walla River Rd. east of Milton -Freewater, Umatilla Co.. Also discovered six Savannah Sparrows along Stateline Rd. and one along Fruitvale Rd. in Umatilla Co.. Are these birds wintering or returning? Later Mike ******************************************************************** Mike & MerryLynn Denny 1354 S. E. Central Ave. College Place, WA 99324 509.529.0080 (h) IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN BIRDING, YOU HAVEN'T LIVED! ******************************************************************* From 4cains at charter.net Thu Jan 19 18:45:54 2006 From: 4cains at charter.net (Lee and Lori Cain) Date: Thu Jan 19 18:39:11 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Wireless Ross's Goose (maybe not) Message-ID: <001801c61d6b$a266f380$b9f9be42@hbhsb01> Before anybody gets too excited..... As a matter of fact, Evan and I were just now trying to review what we saw and I was having some doubts....need another look. First I thought Snow, then I used the rather funky Bushnell spotting scope I bought for the lab a while back; thru that the bill seemed small (and very dark) so I called it Ross's. But it was the body size that makes me doubt Ross's...seemed too big, and the neck too long. Will look for it on the way in to work tomorrow. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Patterson" To: "Lee and Lori Cain" <4cains@charter.net> Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 5:57 PM Subject: Re: Wireless Rd (Astoria) Barn Swallows, Ross's Goose > I saw the goose, too. I think it's a Snow Goose. The bill seems > pretty substantial.... Lee Cain Aquatic Biology/Integrated Science Astoria High School http://www.astoriaschools.org/ASD/ahs/AHS%20Science/all.htm >//////> >//////> >//////> From rriparia at charter.net Thu Jan 19 20:38:21 2006 From: rriparia at charter.net (rriparia@charter.net) Date: Thu Jan 19 20:38:41 2006 Subject: [obol] Lapland Longspurs, Lower Klamath NWR Message-ID: <22305037.1137731901784.JavaMail.root@fepweb07> OBOL, Last Sunday, Jan. 15, about 100 Lapland Longspur were seen or heard in about 3 mixed flocks that included Horned Larks. These were seen in the Straits Drain units of the Lower Klamath Refuge, and is between Stateline and Township Rds, south of Klamath Falls. Males appeared much more stunning than just a month ago. Since Feb. brings raptor and waterfowl enthusiasts to the Klamath Basin, I thought that I'd mention this. The flocks were difficult to observed carefully as numerous harriers kept them moving. This would be near the same location as several Snow Buntings were seen earlier in the winter. They have not been reported recently, however. Kevin Spencer rriparia@charter.net From khanhbatran at hotmail.com Thu Jan 19 21:31:11 2006 From: khanhbatran at hotmail.com (khanh tran) Date: Thu Jan 19 21:31:14 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Thank you for information on birding Costa Rica Message-ID: Hi Obolers, I wanted to THANK YOU for all who graciously provided valuable, informative hints and suggestions for my future trip. You are very kind!! I apologize for not getting back with a personal reply. I am still overwhelmed with the information and have not had a chance to filter through all of the submissions. Please don't hesitate to send me more. :) Once again, thank you for making a dreary week, warm and bright. My best and regards, Khanh Tran (Portland, Oregon) From Hhactitis at aol.com Thu Jan 19 22:05:53 2006 From: Hhactitis at aol.com (Hhactitis@aol.com) Date: Thu Jan 19 22:05:59 2006 Subject: [obol] Corvallis Saw-whet Owls Message-ID: <27a.37743b2.3101d7c1@aol.com> Hello OBOLites, during an extended midnight walk last night I heard the primary calls of two dueting SAW-WHET OWLS from the wooded hillside about a quarter mile west of the bikepath that connects Harrison and Circle Blvds (this is the area where a Red-shouldered Hawk hung out a couple of winters ago). Much nearer to me, emanating from a few isolated conifers in the ash swale, I heard as couple of sharp kew calls and a distinctive kwit, which I suspect were made by the same species (these calls came in response to my own Saw-whet imitation). And upon my return, a BARN OWL gave its hissing hunting call overhead near my place. I was surprised not to hear any Great-horned Owls. Any day now ... Happy owling Hendrik ___________________________ Hendrik G. Herlyn 2855 NW Tyler Ave Corvallis, OR 97330 (541) 754-1220 hhactitis@aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060120/4c2b579a/attachment.html From mariam at easystreet.com Thu Jan 19 22:09:49 2006 From: mariam at easystreet.com (Maria Michalczyk) Date: Thu Jan 19 22:09:49 2006 Subject: [obol] Varied thrush In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > Hello --Spotted a varied thrush today in our yard here in S. Salem. Maria Maria Michalczyk People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, People may Accuse you of Selfish, Ulterior motives: Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be Honest and Frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway. Mother Teresa From willclemons at yahoo.com Fri Jan 20 00:22:25 2006 From: willclemons at yahoo.com (bill clemons) Date: Fri Jan 20 00:22:28 2006 Subject: [obol] Baskett Slough Harlan's, and Airlie Ferruginous Message-ID: <20060120082225.77919.qmail@web30801.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Thursday I went back to the Baskett Slough and Airlie areas, primarily to reexamine two raptors. 1. The Dark Ferruginous reported on West Perrydale Road in the swale 2.4 miles west of the intersection of West Perrydale Road and De Jong Road: Carol Ledford and I had stopped there Saturday (1-14-06) after being told of a Dark Ferruginous in that location. At that time we had seen what we took to be a Harlan's Hawk (race of Red-tailed) in that location. Having never seen either a Harlan's or a Dark Phase Ferruginous before, I was to timid to post my belief that we had seen a Harlan's rather than a Dark Ferruginous. Today I again watched for about a half hour, what was clearly a Harlan's race of Red-tailed Hawk. I'm not saying that there is no Dark Ferruginous there, just that I only saw a Harlan's. I also bumped into Carol Karlen, Marilyn van Dyk, and Kathy Patterson who were on one of their usual "raptor runs." They told me that they had also seen a Harlan's in that spot and further that they had seen it in that same spot on more than one earlier "raptor run." Thank you ladies. 2. The 1st year Ferruginous Hawk reported near Airlie Road and Sauerkraut Road: The bird is still there and I got a better look at it (from ~ 100 yds) but that look was cut too short when it decided to fly off to the east about a half mile and I missed seeing where it lit. Oh well, I guess that is one of the reasons that keeps us going back into the beautiful out of doors. Next time. What I saw was very nice. I did not see the Snowy Owl on West Perrydale Road Thursday, but looked at a lot of white stuff in fields. I spent about 20 minutes at the northerly end of Livermore Road watching a beautiful adult Dark Rough-legged Hawk as it hunted, hovered, banked, and made quick turns and stooped. The bird while closer to Perrydale Road, was best seen from Livermore, as a Perrydale viewpoint would have had too many farm buildings blocking your view. Further down Livermore, I saw a Prairie Falcon on top of the twin utility poles about a half mile north of Smithfield Road. All in all, it was a very good day to be out chasing raptors. Lots of Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks et al. bill clemons SW of Portland in Mtn Park willclemons@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From ptsulliv at spiritone.com Fri Jan 20 07:35:44 2006 From: ptsulliv at spiritone.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Fri Jan 20 08:20:56 2006 Subject: [obol] Fw: Wallowa county Snow Buntings Message-ID: <002101c61ddd$7d19d260$afc063d8@dell307ac3e2b6> OBOL: I had the exchange below with Dave Irons and thought it was worth sharing with OBOL. I have been part of CBC counts of 100's of Snow Buntings in Wallowa county -- sometimes in blizzards. I've seen them swarming around the hay put down by ranchers to feed cows. The fresh hay, the black cows, and the wings of the birds were the only things in the landscape that weren't white. Even the grins of the birders were white. I used to travel back to Minnesota for Christmas when my folks were still living. Traveling across Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, and southwestern Minnesota I would come upon flocks of Snow Buntings which had come to the roadside for grit. They would rise up before your passing car like the bow wave before a boat, swirl on either side of you, and settle again behind you. I have stopped and watched these swarms -- 100's of birds -- swirl, eddy, resettle, rise again, from roadbed to roadside to field to fence line, restless as a flock of shorebirds in the passing traffic. This can go on, intermittently, for miles. They are birds of the open fields with stubble and seeds. Snow in the fields brings them to roadsides for grit. Good birding, everyone, Paul T. Sullivan "...my list, as embellished as it is, reveals nothing about the enjoyment that I have had being outdoors. And how could it? A mere bird checklist can no more reflect my outdoor experiences that a menu can capture the many subtle flavors, aromas, and other sensory experiences of a delicious and satisfying meal." James B. Ferrari, BirdWatcher's Digest, Jan/Feb '05, p. 45 ----- Original Message ----- From: "DAVID IRONS" To: Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 11:24 PM Subject: Re: Wallowa county Snow Buntings > Paul, > > I can only imagine what even 200 Snow Buntings must look like. A "Wow" is > certainly in order. I've never seen more than maybe 20 at a time. I > looked in Birds of Oregon and the largest flock they list is 450 from > somewhere near Enterprise in 2001. If the total was anywhere near Jim > Carlson's estimates it would be a record for Oregon as far as I know. > > Thanks for the clarfication, > > Dave > > >>From: "Paul T. Sullivan" >>To: "DAVID IRONS" >>Subject: Re: Wallowa county Snow Buntings >>Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 20:49:00 -0800 >> >>Dave, >> >>Klages Rd. is a that runs north from the Imnaha Hwy east of Joseph. >>DeLorme p. 87, C8. >> >>Estimates of the size of the Snow Bunting flock varied. On the low end, I >>saw 200+. Others in my group said there were 500. Others said a group >>went over the hill. Jim Carlson said there were 800-1000. It was a >>swarm, and a great spectacle against the impending dark cloud. Then the >>snow began.... Wow! >> >>Good birding, >> >>Paul >>----- Original Message ----- From: "DAVID IRONS" >>To: >>Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 12:20 AM >>Subject: RE: [obol] Results of Audubon Birding Weekend in Wallowa county >> >> >>>Paul, >>> >>>I can't tell from this post whether you had 200 or 800 Snow Buntings. >>>Also where is the relative location of the Snow Bunting sightings >>>(nearest town would be great). I want to include this sighting(s) in my >>>Winter Report for NAB. >>> >>>Thanks, >>> >>>Dave Irons >>> >>>>From: "Paul T. Sullivan" >>>>To: "obol" >>>>CC: EOR list >>>>Subject: [obol] Results of Audubon Birding Weekend in Wallowa county >>>>Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 22:19:04 -0800 >>>> >>>>OBOL: >>>> >>>>This past weekend 22 fine folks joined me for an Audubon Birding Weekend >>>>(sponsored by Audubon Society of Portland) in Wallowa county. >>>> ... >>>>On Sunday, with fresh snow all over the landscape, hoarfrost on >>>>branches, and the Wallowa mountains peeking through the clouds, we >>>>headed east of Joseph and ...on Klages Road we came upon ... >>>>~ 200 - 800 SNOW BUNTINGS which got up and swirled above us against a >>>>dark cloud, blinking on and off, black and white, as snow began to fall. >>>>It was a magic moment. ... >>>>Paul T. Sullivan From deweysage at verizon.net Fri Jan 20 08:41:31 2006 From: deweysage at verizon.net (DJLauten and KACastelein) Date: Fri Jan 20 08:33:17 2006 Subject: [obol] Fw: Wallowa county Snow Buntings In-Reply-To: <002101c61ddd$7d19d260$afc063d8@dell307ac3e2b6> References: <002101c61ddd$7d19d260$afc063d8@dell307ac3e2b6> Message-ID: <43D112BB.3000109@verizon.net> I'll second Paul's comments on the Snow Buntings. We used to live in Wisconsin and flocks of hundreds and hundreds would do exactly what Paul decribed. We had the joy of having upwards of 50 winter each winter in our landlord's/neighbors driveway/barn. They fed them cracked corn. I'll never forgot how each morning heading out to feed the birds you could hear the bunting chattering away. Pure pleasure and joy. Why do white birds attract us so much? Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein Bandon OR deweysage@verizon.net Paul T. Sullivan wrote: > OBOL: > > I had the exchange below with Dave Irons and thought it was worth > sharing with OBOL. > > I have been part of CBC counts of 100's of Snow Buntings in Wallowa > county -- sometimes in blizzards. I've seen them swarming around the > hay put down by ranchers to feed cows. The fresh hay, the black cows, > and the wings of the birds were the only things in the landscape that > weren't white. Even the grins of the birders were white. > > I used to travel back to Minnesota for Christmas when my folks were > still living. Traveling across Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, and > southwestern Minnesota I would come upon flocks of Snow Buntings which > had come to the roadside for grit. They would rise up before your > passing car like the bow wave before a boat, swirl on either side of > you, and settle again behind you. I have stopped and watched these > swarms -- 100's of birds -- swirl, eddy, resettle, rise again, from > roadbed to roadside to field to fence line, restless as a flock of > shorebirds in the passing traffic. This can go on, intermittently, for > miles. They are birds of the open fields with stubble and seeds. Snow > in the fields brings them to roadsides for grit. > > Good birding, everyone, From m.denny at charter.net Fri Jan 20 13:16:54 2006 From: m.denny at charter.net (mike denny) Date: Fri Jan 20 13:29:49 2006 Subject: [obol] Northern Umatilla Co. Winter Raptor Survey Message-ID: <002001c61e06$d7814c50$0886bd44@BLACKBIRD> Hello All, Once again Ginger and Rodger Shoemake and MerryLynn and I did our rounds in search of raptors from east of Milton-Freewater to out west of Umapine, Umatilla Co.. We located the following species and numbers....... Red-tailed Hawk.........210 Northern Harrier.........27 American Kestrel........53 Prairie Falcon..............4 Coopers Hawk.............1 Golden Eagle................1 Unknown buteo.............8 Barn Owl.......................2 Great Horned Owl.........2 Other species of interest.......... Brewers Blackbird........1200+ Savannah Sparrow.........7 Bohemian Waxwings....80+ That is it. This was a enjoyable day with great company. No rain, light wind and some sun! Later Mike ******************************************************************** Mike & MerryLynn Denny 1354 S. E. Central Ave. College Place, WA 99324 509.529.0080 (h) IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN BIRDING, YOU HAVEN'T LIVED! ******************************************************************* From dawn_grafe at fws.gov Fri Jan 20 15:02:08 2006 From: dawn_grafe at fws.gov (dawn_grafe@fws.gov) Date: Fri Jan 20 14:50:13 2006 Subject: [obol] Black-legged kittiwake in Newport Message-ID: Steve Shunk was out looking for the Newport Snowy Owl and found a BLACK LEGGED KITTIWAKE on a small stretch of beach by the HMSC visitor center. When I joined him to view the bird it was resting on a narrow beach located between the dock for the R/V Wecoma and the fruit processing facility. It appears to have an injured leg so please keep a good distance. I did not locate the owl but it was seen the previous evening in that vicinity. Dawn Grafe US Fish and Wildlife Service Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex From kevinkei at webformixair.com Fri Jan 20 20:31:23 2006 From: kevinkei at webformixair.com (Kevin Smith) Date: Fri Jan 20 20:30:36 2006 Subject: [obol] SNOWY OWLS and MORE Message-ID: <43D1B91B.403@webformixair.com> Kei and I jusr got back from Fort Stevens and surrounding area. Stayed two nights in Seaside at the re-modling Comfort Inn for only $60/night. Very nice! Looking out the door of our 'patio' I photo'd Red-breasted Mergansers, Hooded Mergansers, Buffleheads, Clark's Grebes and more. We followed some excelent directions to Parking Lot C at Fort Stevens and found FOUR SNOWY OWLS !! Got good photos both Thrsday and today (Friday). Looks like one male and three females, probably juveniles. Then on to Warrenton Airport and two beautiful WHITE-TAILED KITES doing some pre-mating flying. FANTASTIC!! While there we also saw what we think is a SNOW GOOSE (juvenile) in a flock of many, many Canada Geese. On the way over we stopped in Independance to visit the kids and found one very lonely SNOWY OWL near Perrydale (Go north on Perrydale Rd from Hwy 22 west of Basket Slough. Turn west on West Perrydale Rd and go about two miles. On the north side of the rd you will see wayyyyyyyyyyyy out in a larrrrrrrrrrrrge field a white bucket. The SNOWY OWL must think it is another owl because that is where it has been sitting for at least three weeks now.) Take a good high powered scope to see the bird. LOTS of FUN!! Kevin & Kei -- Kevin Smith Crooked River Ranch, Oregon From gorgebirds at juno.com Fri Jan 20 23:26:18 2006 From: gorgebirds at juno.com (Wilson Cady) Date: Fri Jan 20 23:28:58 2006 Subject: [obol] Clark County W.B. Nuthatches Message-ID: <20060120.232620.2472.0.gorgebirds@juno.com> With Friday being a sunny day in Clark County it triggered the "Slender-billed' White-breasted Nuthatches on Lady Island into song. While I was working on this privately owned island, which is in the Columbia River at Camas, Clark County, WA, I could hear at least a half dozen of these birds calling from the cottonwood forest. This was in just a few acre section of this 400 acre island so I imagine that the total nuthatch population on the island is much larger than I had previously thought. If I can find the time I will check some other parts of the island to see if the birds are evenly distributed across it. Wilson Cady Washougal, WA From cgates at empnet.com Sat Jan 21 01:18:58 2006 From: cgates at empnet.com (Charles R. Gates) Date: Sat Jan 21 01:19:15 2006 Subject: [obol] Help! SE Asia Bird ID Message-ID: A person contacted me with the following message: Hi Chuck: I'm a parent volunteer and also a professional magazine photographer. Dorothy said you might be able to identify the attached bird, or send it to someone who could identify it. It was shot in Eastern China but probably isn't native to China. Could be from Southeast Asia, Borneo, Papua New Guinea, etc. Any help would be appreciated. I think it may be a flycatcher but I've checked hundreds of species and couldn't find it. Best, Buddy Buddy Mays Travel Stock Photography 541-330-6180 www.buddymays.com If you would like to take a crack at identifying this bird, let me know and I'll send you a photo. Chuck Gates Prineville From conserve at tidelink.net Sat Jan 21 08:35:37 2006 From: conserve at tidelink.net (Conservation For The Oregon Coast) Date: Sat Jan 21 08:35:39 2006 Subject: [obol] Towhee+Peanut=happiness Message-ID: <43D262D9.2040902@tidelink.net> Good morning all! My wife and I just had the enjoyment of a new discovery. The in the shell peanuts so treasured by our local Steller's Jay congregation has been taken to by a Spotted Towhee. He has been observed carrying them into the shelter belt that runs along one edge of our property. Has anyone else seen this activity? My "Birds Of Oregon" book has very limited information on diet and could not find an online reference to in the shell peanuts being eaten. Have a good morning! Jason in Lakeside -- Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. -- John Muir, The Yosemite (1912). http://conserve.tidelink.net -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: conserve.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 387 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060121/7f760bc3/conserve.vcf From deweysage at verizon.net Sat Jan 21 09:27:24 2006 From: deweysage at verizon.net (DJLauten and KACastelein) Date: Sat Jan 21 09:19:09 2006 Subject: [obol] Coos Cty Singing Screech Owl Message-ID: <43D26EFC.3050100@verizon.net> 1/20 Bandon Coos Cty Kathy heard a WESTERN SCREECH OWL was singing in the yard last evening. Cheers Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein Bandon OR deweysage@verizon.net From Hhactitis at aol.com Sat Jan 21 11:42:06 2006 From: Hhactitis at aol.com (Hhactitis@aol.com) Date: Sat Jan 21 11:42:13 2006 Subject: [obol] more Corvallis owls Message-ID: <27e.46f3bb6.3103e88e@aol.com> Howdy OBOLites, call it insomnia, call it owling fever ... anyway, last night I took another lengthy walk and checked some Corvallis parks for owls. Avery Park was owlless, as was the totally flooded north end of Willamette Park. But walking down Crystal Lake Drive (which parallels Willamette Park), I heard the duet of two GREAT-HORNED OWLS, coming from the south end of Willamette Park. And at the end of Crystal Lake Drive, a hissing BARN OWL flew overhead. With the incessantly calling Great Horneds, I didn't have much hope for any smaller owls. But after about half an hour the big ones finally shut up, and withing minutes a WESTERN SCREECH-OWL was reponding to my hooting. I held a meaningful conversation with it for a while, bringing it in really close without ever seeing the little bugger. He was singing just east of the restroom building at the litttle camp ground at the southend of Willamette Park, a traditional spot for this species. Finally, I left the poor thing alone and started the long trudge back home, again striking out in Avery Park and elsewhere along the way. But a three-owl-night is never a bad thing! Happy nightbirding Hendrik ___________________________ Hendrik G. Herlyn 2855 NW Tyler Ave Corvallis, OR 97330 (541) 754-1220 hhactitis@aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060121/5bb2d786/attachment.htm From mimz607 at epud.net Sat Jan 21 11:51:13 2006 From: mimz607 at epud.net (mimz) Date: Sat Jan 21 11:51:19 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Alvadore Owl Still There? & GHOwl Message-ID: <005601c61ec4$09996930$9d1e6c0c@Maff> Is it still at the usual? Also heard two GH Owls across the swollen river at Marshall Island Unit on the Willamette in N Eugene. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060121/c27f2bef/attachment.html From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Sat Jan 21 12:36:25 2006 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Sat Jan 21 12:36:28 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Alvadore Owl Still There? & GHOwl In-Reply-To: <005601c61ec4$09996930$9d1e6c0c@Maff> Message-ID: <20060121203625.29682.qmail@web32601.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi All, I have a friend in Eugene who would like to go see the Alvadore Snowy, but I never saved the instructions. Could someone please post them one more time... Thanks!!! Tim R Coos Bay --- mimz wrote: > Is it still at the usual? > > Also heard two GH Owls across the swollen river at > Marshall Island Unit on the Willamette in N Eugene. > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From glmarshall at onemain.com Sat Jan 21 12:49:43 2006 From: glmarshall at onemain.com (Georgia) Date: Sat Jan 21 12:48:58 2006 Subject: [obol] Wild Turkeys at Black Butte Ranch Message-ID: <001801c61ecc$369c1c40$6800a8c0@SecondPC> My family has a vacation home at Black Butte Ranch west of Sisters. We border national forest land that comprises an excellent stand of old ponderosa pines. We feed birds when there and often scatter cracked corn on the ground to attract juncos and other ground feeders. Last weekend, much to our surprise, four wild turkeys appeared and began consuming the cracked corn. Snow did not seem to deter them; they scratched through it. Have others been seeing turkeys around bird feeders? Georgia Leupold Marshall -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060121/dfb5d0d6/attachment.htm From jeffgill at teleport.com Sat Jan 21 15:00:43 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sat Jan 21 14:00:35 2006 Subject: [obol] Comcast going birding on Sauvie Is. Sunday. Message-ID: I am going "birding" with Comcast TV on Sunday shortly after 10 AM. My mission is to propagandize for birding facilities, opportunities, and birdable habitat. If anyone "happens" to be out here it will be helpful - with the mission in mind. Jeff. From kcboddie at bendnet.com Sat Jan 21 15:26:46 2006 From: kcboddie at bendnet.com (kim boddie) Date: Sat Jan 21 15:28:23 2006 Subject: [obol] Strang Goose Message-ID: <003901c61ee2$270f15a0$02a5b242@kcboddie> I found a strange looking Canada - Canada/X goose in Alfalfa today while doing my Raptor Route. It had a white body, dark brown neck with normal Canada white chin. It was with a large flock of Canada geese with no other odd balls. It was the same size and shape as the other birds, even the bill was identical. They were grazing in a hay field along Horsell Rd 3/4 mile east of Johnson Ranch Rd. I also saw the Albino House Sparrow at the Alfalfa Store. The two birds could have been cousins. --kim Bend -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060121/a89ae17a/attachment.html From m.denny at charter.net Sat Jan 21 16:46:16 2006 From: m.denny at charter.net (mike denny) Date: Sat Jan 21 16:48:25 2006 Subject: [obol] Birding in the sun! Message-ID: <001301c61eed$40ec53b0$0886bd44@BLACKBIRD> Hello All, Today was a whole new experience for us this winter and that was a day in the sun. We located the following species between 10:00 and 4:15......... Barn Owl.....................20 birds Great Horned Owl......3 birds Long-eared Owl..........2 birds N. Rough-legged Hawk...4 birds Prairie Falcon..............4 birds Harlins Hawk...............2 birds Red-tailed Hawk..........100+ N. Harrier......................38 birds Bohemian Waxwing......32 birds Say's Phoebe...................1 bird Brewers/Red-winged Blackbird flock 60/40..........2200 birds on Edwards Rd. Umatilla Co. Brown Headed Cowbirds......25+ on Rencken Rd. Umatilla Co. The Stateline/Frog Hollow Snowy Owl is no longer in the area. Last seen on 10 Jan. 2006. Thats it. Later Mike ******************************************************************** Mike & MerryLynn Denny 1354 S. E. Central Ave. College Place, WA 99324 509.529.0080 (h) IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN BIRDING, YOU HAVEN'T LIVED! ******************************************************************* From sparrowhawk at opusnet.com Sat Jan 21 17:42:16 2006 From: sparrowhawk at opusnet.com (Karen and Stuart Sparkman) Date: Sat Jan 21 17:47:39 2006 Subject: [obol] Salem C. Goldeneye Message-ID: <002001c61ef5$141fffa0$0200a8c0@domain.actdsltmp> Dear Obolisks, Today as I walked my dog Cooper at Cascade Gateway Park in Salem, we spotted a male COMMON GOLDENEYE on the back pond. This is a rather unusual (though not truly rare) species to see in Salem. Accompanying him were AM. WIGEONS and a couple pair of GADWALLS, which are not at all hard to find in Salem in the winter if you know where to look. Cascade Gateway Park is near the intersection of Rte 22 (MIssion St.) and I-5 in southeast Salem. The entrance is off of Turner Road, near the new Wal-Mart Supercenter (holding my tongue here, not to stray off topic) which I will never patronize as long as I live. In former years Cascade Gateway had a more secluded feel, particularly in the winter, and was a decent place to bird, but the main pond (Walter Wirth Lake) is regularly stocked with trout by ODFW and these days anglers are nearly a constant presence. This is not to denounce anglers' rights as park constituents, merely to point out that the birds (such as Green Herons and wintering Hooded Mergs I used to see there years ago) do not appear to relish the company. A motley glot of mixed-parentage geese who receive regular handouts of Wonder BreadTM from stay-in-the-car "nature" observers probably aren't a help either. To be fair, this is likely one of the few places in the mid-valley where disabled anglers can easily fish, and I have no problem with such a facility being provided for local folks. Families are at the lake a lot, and I'm sure many kids will fondly remember fishing there for the first time. But a birder can't help but selfishly lament a little the loss of a decent birding spot. The back pond where the COGO was seen is more secluded from parkgoers, although the autos on the freeway that are whizzing by you loudly are impossible to ignore, particularly in the winter when the leaves are off the trees. This site in the back part of the park has also earned a reputation for various illicit activities of an unsavory nature, so if you feel compelled to go, don't go alone. This is all just a long-winded way of offering a site disclaimer and warning you to bird there at your own risk. My apologies for this very late post, but last Saturday (January 14) during a Polk County raptor run, Karen and I saw three BARN SWALLOWS winging their way over the large duck hunting pond on the west side of Livermore Road, just south of Perrydale. Good Birding, Stuart Sparkman Salem -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060121/5475cfde/attachment.htm From 4cains at charter.net Sat Jan 21 18:15:32 2006 From: 4cains at charter.net (Lee and Lori Cain) Date: Sat Jan 21 18:08:49 2006 Subject: [obol] Young's Bay Eurasian Wigeons Message-ID: <000501c61ef9$b95e68e0$b9f9be42@hbhsb01> As we were heading east on Hwy 202 for a family drive just past Tidepoint Restaurant on Young's Bay, at about 1400 hrs today, Evan asked me to stop the car, whereupon he promptly spotted 3 male EURASIAN WIGEON amongst American Wigeon and Mallards in the cove there. I don't think we have had more than two at a time in the past. Lee Cain Aquatic Biology/Integrated Science Astoria High School http://www.astoriaschools.org/ASD/ahs/AHS%20Science/all.htm >//////> >//////> >//////> From celata at pacifier.com Sat Jan 21 18:28:26 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sat Jan 21 18:28:24 2006 Subject: [obol] Interesting gulls on the Necanicum Estuary Message-ID: <43D2ED93.9203EFFD@pacifier.com> That crowd of wednesday birders from Eugene turned up on the North Coast this morning and invited me along. We spent a good bit of time on the Necanicum Estuary looking at gulls. There were 2 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES in among the gulls, pretty good numbers of HERRING GULLS and at least one THAYER'S GULL. We also saw a Herring x Glacous-winged and a Glaucous x Glaucous- winged Gull. This second bird had us going because, except for the all dark eye and very faint traces of gray in the primaries it looked like a pure adult Glaucous. We found a real Glaucou Gull at Wireless Rd later in the day. Four SNOWY OWLS at SJCR. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From sjag2 at juno.com Sat Jan 21 19:41:03 2006 From: sjag2 at juno.com (sjag2) Date: Sat Jan 21 19:41:06 2006 Subject: [obol] Airlie Road, Basket Slough area -today (Polk County) Message-ID: <021601c61f05$add62d30$d7d69643@fastbox> Hello, The first year Ferg. Hawk, at least three White Tailed Kites, a Merlin, two Rough Legged Hawks and a small group of W. Blue Birds put on a show along Airlie rd. and Sauerkraut rds. this morning. Another Kite was just S. off of Airlie along Berry Creek Rd. in a Christmas tree farm. The Ferruginous Hawk is in very interesting plumage. So much white when in flight or perched if chest and wing tips showing. It was working the fields N. of Airlie and E of Sauerkraut. But was oftern on the ground. Thanks to the Ray's (nice folks with the Chemeketa sticker on their car) who first got us on the bird. We were able to pass it along to the recently arrived Tom MacNamara. The kites seemed everywhere along there and the Merlin and a Kite flew together S. to N. along Sauerkraut for about 300 yards looking as if they were buddies-no chase or posturing, just flying along about 10 yds. apart. We did not find the Snowy Owl, but there were Western Bluebirds and two Rough Legged Hawks in the vicinity Perrydale rd. The rain set in and we did not see much on Livermore rd. A big THANK YOU to the spotters and posters of these birds! Steve Jaggers From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Sat Jan 21 20:45:04 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Sat Jan 21 20:45:07 2006 Subject: [obol] Yaquina Head Message-ID: <20060122044504.99299.qmail@web51803.mail.yahoo.com> Spent some time at Yaquina Head today. The lighthouse restoration project is definitely underway. The lighthouse is completely surrounded by scaffolding all the way to the top of the tower and there is a fence to prevent people from walking to the popular observation platform behind the lighthouse....of course this is the best place to view the nesting murres/cormorants etc... The sign says it will re-open in the spring but I am hearing summer or even fall is more realistic. The good news is if you walk about half-way up Salal Hill you get a good view of the rocks behind the lighthouse and from the top you can see even more rock surface/angles but you're further away. It will be interesting to see if the murres stay when the sand blasting begins. There were no murres on the rocks today and the rangers say they haven't seen them on the rocks yet this year but have seen some in the water. There was a mature bald eagle hanging out on Colony Rock (last year there were so many eagle attacks the murres had hardly any chicks) for about 45 minutes being admired by several people until it was chased off by a gull with the gull in hot pursuit for quite a distance...those gulls have GUTS! Saw another gull dropping a 5 inch mussel onto the parking lot...took 4 times to crack it enough for the gull to get the meat inside....gulls are also SMART! sort of a tool user. Also, the wandering tattler we saw on the CBC is still hanging out on the south side. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From luk916 at hotmail.com Sat Jan 21 21:00:47 2006 From: luk916 at hotmail.com (Luke Redmond) Date: Sat Jan 21 21:00:49 2006 Subject: [obol] Scappoose Bottoms Short-eared Owl, etc. 1/21 Message-ID: OBOL, I took five ornithology students on a voluntary trip to Scappoose Bottoms for a couple of hours this afternoon. We saw quite a few birds throughout the area. At the corner of Honeyman and Dike Roads there was a Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, Bald Eagle, Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, and a very distant (400-500 meters), very dark buteo that looked to be a Rough-legged Hawk. Through my scope it looked a very dark, but cold brown on the head and underparts, except for the tail which appeared mostly light gray or white (the light wasn't the best). The bill also looked relatively small, but this may have been due to the distance. At this spot we also saw Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets and several hundred gull, mostly Mew but I didn't want to bore the students with trying to pick out anything else (I did talk a little about the joys/difficulties of gull ID). While parked on Honeyman about a mile west of Dike Rd. looking at waterfowl, two men in a truck pulled up and asked if we knew about the owls. They didn't say what kind of owl, but I figured they were talking about the short-eareds. The students heard what they said also and got very excited. For most of them it was the first time they had been birding, and several said they had never even seen a live owl in the wild, so the pressure was on. At the Short-eared Owl corner on Honeyman we saw several Northern Harriers, two American Kestrels, and five Sandhill Cranes, but no owls. At 5:15 a Great-horned Owl started calling in the distance which got us excited, but I knew this wasn't exactly what we were after. A couple of minutes later I did see two Short-eared Owls through my scope but they were all the way in the NE corner of the field (~500 meters I'm guessing). I stepped aside to let the students look and some said they saw something, but it wasn't the best of looks. It quickly got dark and the owls never got closer so we decided to head home. About thirty meters down the road I saw a Great-horned Owl in the woods on the left side of road. Braking quickly (yet avoiding a rear-end collision with the students in the car behind me), we quietly got out and set up the scope and passed binoculars around for a 20 meter look at a great-horned perched in a tree. The three students that hadn't seen an owl in the wild can now say they have. Good birding. Luke Redmond From nelsoncheek at charter.net Sat Jan 21 22:28:02 2006 From: nelsoncheek at charter.net (WALTER NELSON) Date: Sat Jan 21 22:26:38 2006 Subject: [obol] Lincoln Co. Raptor Run Message-ID: <4ladli$1n78snq@mxip02a.cluster1.charter.net> Today Walt Nelson, Wayne Hoffman and Rebecca Cheek did the Lincoln Co. Raptor Run. The route covers the area from Alsea Bay to Siletz Bay, and along the Siletz and Yaquina Rivers - 120 miles and 8 hrs. Weather was cloudy and dark all day, but only a few light showers. Happily, we found more birds than expected; many were on treetops drying out between rain showers. Red-tailed Hawk 22 Am. Kestrel 5 N. Harrier 1 Bald Eagle 21 (16 adults, 5 subadults) White-tailed Kite 3 Peregrine Falcon 2 Merlin 1 Cooper's Hawk 4 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 Accipiter sp. 1 We could not find the Newport Snowy Owl, despite searching around HMSC and the South Jetty areas. Drat. Still it was a great day! Rebecca Cheek South Beach, OR 97366 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060121/50d884f7/attachment.htm From kcboddie at bendnet.com Sun Jan 22 00:42:36 2006 From: kcboddie at bendnet.com (kim boddie) Date: Sun Jan 22 00:43:45 2006 Subject: [obol] Fw: Christmas Valley Raptor Route 1-20-06 Message-ID: <001101c61f2f$cd9b9f90$4fa4b242@kcboddie> ----- Original Message ----- From: kim boddie To: OBOL sightings ; COBOL sightings Cc: wrightcathi@aol.com ; Bil Gawlowski Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 8:06 PM Subject: Christmas Valley Raptor Route 1-20-06 today (Fri. Jan. 20th) Cathy Wright and Bill Gawlowski (both from the High Desert Museum) and I drove the Christmas Valley raptor Route. We left Bend a 0700 in a snow storm, had breakfast in La Pine and arrived at Ft. Rock St. Park at 0900. We checked out several birds, a warm restroom and headed for the route. 0950 we started the route at 35 degrees under cloudy skies which changed back and forth from cloudy to snow to clear throughout the day. Winds were cold at 0-10 MPH. temps stayed in low 30s. The bird numbers (90) were lower than last month with the rough-legged hawks more than previous years at 30. One of the highlights was seeing 215 Mule deer (201) together in one field. We also saw 7 coyotes and 1 N. Shrike. Raptors seen: Species Route outside Route Red-tailed Hawk 34 7 Am. Kestrel 0 1 N. Harrier 8 0 Bald eagle 2A, 1S 2A, 1S Golden Eagle 2 2 Rough-legged Hawk 30 1 Ferruginous Hawk (all light) 7 1 Unid Buteo 2 0 Prairie Falcon 3 0 (non atFt. Rk.) Great Horned Owl 1 1 Cant wait for next month --kim Boddie Bend -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060122/62c75c76/attachment.html From kcboddie at bendnet.com Sun Jan 22 01:02:18 2006 From: kcboddie at bendnet.com (kim boddie) Date: Sun Jan 22 01:03:14 2006 Subject: [obol] Bend - Alfalfa Raptor Survey Message-ID: <001b01c61f32$8ea34b50$4fa4b242@kcboddie> today, Carolyn and I drove the Bend- Alfalfa Raptor Route between 10:05 and 1:45. The weather was high clouds, light winds and temps. between 32 and 38 degrees F. We had the highest no. of Red-Tails , Rough- legged hawks, and Am. Kestrels than any day in the last 2 years. Horsell Rd in Alfalfa had 37 birds in about 2 miles and most of those were in the last mile. Three pair of Red-Tails were on and or building nests. We also saw the Alfalfa store albino House Sparrow and a white Canada Goose (separate message) Raptors Counted: Red-tailed hawks - 58; Am. Kestrel - 18; N. Harrier - 1; Bald Eagle - 1A;; Rough-legged Hawk - 8; Ferruginous Hawk - 1; Prairie Falcon - 2; Sharp-shinned Hawk - 4. --kim Bend -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060122/c99dc8f2/attachment.htm From n7pjp1 at cascadeaccess.com Sun Jan 22 08:58:56 2006 From: n7pjp1 at cascadeaccess.com (George Redmond) Date: Sun Jan 22 09:05:13 2006 Subject: [obol] Bird Watching Message-ID: <000801c61f75$220649f0$c601a8c0@George> OBOL: I was wondering if anyone has any good bird viewing areas around the Estacada area? George Redmond N7PJP Estacada, OR. n7pjp1@cascadeaccess.com All Emails checked by Norton Anti Virus -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060122/742fd9ac/attachment.htm From steve at aeroexperiments.org Sun Jan 22 09:13:19 2006 From: steve at aeroexperiments.org (Steve Seibel) Date: Sun Jan 22 09:13:25 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy owl near Alvadore amd Franklin roads? Message-ID: <1137949999.43d3bd2f78b5e@webmail.aeroexperiments.org> The last post regarding this owl that I've been able to find on OBOL was Jan 16, has anyone seen it since in this vicinity? Thanx From steve at aeroexperiments.org Sun Jan 22 09:15:11 2006 From: steve at aeroexperiments.org (Steve Seibel) Date: Sun Jan 22 09:15:14 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy owl at Alvadore+Frankklin road? Message-ID: <1137950111.43d3bd9f09962@webmail.aeroexperiments.org> The last reference to a Snowy Owl in this vicinity that I've found on OBOL was on Jan 16, has anyone seen it since? Thanx From celata at pacifier.com Sun Jan 22 10:13:59 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sun Jan 22 10:13:06 2006 Subject: [obol] Comment on a recent article in Auk Message-ID: <43D3CB56.733B60DB@pacifier.com> http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/mbalame/archives/003573.html -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From tanager at nu-world.com Sun Jan 22 10:33:37 2006 From: tanager at nu-world.com (Anne & Dan Heyerly) Date: Sun Jan 22 10:35:40 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl Message-ID: <000a01c61f82$5db83280$0200a8c0@domain.actdsltmp> I saw and posted the SNOW being at the Alvadore Rd. & Franklin Rd. site on Jan. 18, 2006. I have not been out there since, although I know Anne was out there on the 19th and did NOT see it. The Swainson's Hawk was there that day however (the 19th). Dan Heyerly Eugene -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060122/025d8385/attachment.html From contopus at telus.net Sun Jan 22 10:55:02 2006 From: contopus at telus.net (Wayne C. Weber) Date: Sun Jan 22 11:16:29 2006 Subject: [obol] Vancouver, BC RBA for January 19, 2006 Message-ID: <00ed01c61f85$5a401b60$6500a8c0@bc.hsia.telus.net> This is the Vancouver Natural History Society's Rare Bird Alert for Thursday, January 19th, sponsored in part by Wild Birds Unlimited, with stores in Vancouver and North Vancouver. This message was updated at 9:00 pm on January 19th . The Rare Bird Alert telephone number is (604) 737-3074. Sightings for Tuesday, January 17th: A SNOWY OWL was present along 34th Ave near MacDonald in Vancouver. A male TOWNSEND'S WARBLER continues to visit a suet feeder in northeast Port Coquitlam. 2 MARBLED MURRELETS were observed at Lighthouse Marine Park in Point Roberts, Washington. The WILLET was seen near the base of the Tsawwassen ferry jetty in Delta. Sightings for Monday, January 16th: Another male TOWNSEND'S WARBLER continues at the 3000 block of Spuraway in Coquitlam Sightings for Saturday, January 14th: 14 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS were present on the south side of the Roberts Bank coal port jetty in Delta A HERMIT THRUSH was observed at Jericho Beach Park, Vancouver In Delta the following birds were observed: At the end of 72nd Street 10 SNOWY OWLS, 4 SHORT-EARED OWLS, 2 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, and 2 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS were reported. The grey phase GYRFALCON was seen along 104th Street and also 88th Street. Also at 104th Street were a WESTERN GULL, 2 WESTERN SANDPIPERS, and 3 MARBLED GODWITS. The WILLET and 3 SNOW BUNTINGS were present on the Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty, Delta. Sightings for Wednesday, January 11th: An EARED GREBE was seen from the White Rock Pier. At Blackie Spit in Surrey, 3 MARBLED GODWITS were present. The WILLET and 3 SNOW BUNTINGS were present on the Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty. Sightings for Tuesday, January 10th: The GOLDEN EAGLE continues at 184th Street and 44th Ave. in south Surrey. The grey phase GYRFALCON was seen in Delta along 88th Street and also along 112th Street where it was chasing Mallards. Of interest on January 26th, from 3 to 5 pm, Dick Cannings will be at Wild Birds Unlimited at 3879 Oak Street signing copies of his new book, "Birds of Southwestern British Columbia". If you have any questions about birds or birding in the Vancouver area, please call Wayne at 604-597-7201, or Viveka at 604-531-3401, or Larry at 604-465-1402. Thank you for calling the Vancouver Rare Bird Alert, and good birding. For further information about birding in the Vancouver area, log onto the Vancouver Natural History Society's website at www.naturalhistory.bc.ca/VNHS/ This message was recorded and transcribed by Mark Wynja, and forwarded by Wayne Weber. Wayne C. Weber Delta, BC contopus@telus.net From jgeier at attglobal.net Sun Jan 22 13:09:04 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Sun Jan 22 13:11:41 2006 Subject: [obol] Probable Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Sublimity (17-18 Jan) Message-ID: <43D3F470.5000401@attglobal.net> Hello folks, Sorry for the late notice as I received a partial report on this bird, just as I was getting set to fly down to southern California for a funeral, and the photos came later. Another person who looked at the photos in the interim thought it was a Red-naped Sapsucker or possible hybrid. However, after looking at the photos this morning, I think it is a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. It was seen and photographed both on 17 Jan & 18 Jan. The observer described himself as "not a bird watcher". However he was astute enough to notice it was something unusual, and took some terrific photographs (I will share them if I can get permission). He was not happy about having the bird in his yard, as he was convinced it would be the death of his maple tree. As of 18 Jan he was talking about hanging out glittery objects around the tree to discourage it. So I'm not expecting that he will be keen on visitors, and anyway he may have convinced the bird to go elsewhere. However, the bird is likely to still be somewhere around Sublimity which is not a very big town. If someone does relocate it, I would recommend maximum sensitivity, in case the person whose yard it's in might not be happy about having the bird there. Looking in Bent's /Life Histories of North American Woodpeckers/ just now, it seems that his concerns about his tree might be valid. If I go over there myself, I might think about taking along a nice sapling or shrub from a local nursery. Good birding, Joel P.S. An interesting bird in southern California was a Gray Flycatcher which has spent much of January well north of its normal winter range, in the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve. -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com Sun Jan 22 13:38:01 2006 From: woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com (J. Simmons) Date: Sun Jan 22 13:38:04 2006 Subject: [obol] International travel w/ scope? Message-ID: <20060122213801.84494.qmail@web31507.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Obolonians, I will be flying to Toronto on business Jan. 30 and plan to stay a couple of extra days to bird. I'd like to take my scope and tripod. The tripod I'm hoping to fit into my suitcase. But I was thinking of just carrying-on my scope with another carry-on. It's large--a Pentax 80mm in it's form-fitting nylon case with handles. The objective lense can be removed to make it a bit shorter. During birding I may also drive a rental car across to NY, then back to Toronto. Any obvious problems with the scope as a carry-on item? Any likely problems with U.S. or Canadian customs? Anything I'm overlooking? Jamie Simmons woodpecker97330@yahoo.com Corvallis __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From sparrowhawk at opusnet.com Sun Jan 22 15:25:01 2006 From: sparrowhawk at opusnet.com (Karen and Stuart Sparkman) Date: Sun Jan 22 15:30:14 2006 Subject: [obol] Forestry article: Oregonian Message-ID: <002901c61fab$12125da0$0200a8c0@domain.actdsltmp> Dear Obolisks, This is peripherally about birds, but has an important big-picture connection to a multitude of wildlife management issues. Many in Oboland may find an article on the front page of today's Oregonian's Metro/Northwest section compelling. Anyone who has ever suspected OSU forest researchers to be a little too cozy with the forest industry will definitely have an interest in this article's contents. Apparently a group of OSU forestry professors petitioned the journal Science to NOT print a research paper by an OSU graduate student that concludes that salvage logging after the 2002 Biscuit fire actually hindered the land's ability to recover from the burn, and restoration would have occurred more quickly in the absence of human activity. Their attempt was unsuccessful, as the research article was published in Science on Friday. The essential point of interest of the article is not the debate over whether salvage logging is GOOD or BAD (for any out there with a black/white world view), but the attempt to block a legitimate scientific viewpoint from making its way to attention of the greater scientific community. The article calls into question whether such a move on the part of these allegedly pro-salvage academicians will damage the reputation of the OSU's School of Forestry and call into question its policies on academic freedoms. I highly recommend anyone interested in forest policy issues to read "Article sparks scholastic spat" by the Oregonian's Michael Milstein. Stuart Sparkman Salem -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060122/83dd20f1/attachment.html From jbw at pacifier.com Sun Jan 22 15:00:50 2006 From: jbw at pacifier.com (Barbara & John Woodhouse) Date: Sun Jan 22 15:36:30 2006 Subject: [obol] Tillamook East Raptor Run Message-ID: Tillamook East runs from Yellow fir Rd in the south to Fred Myer in the North. Starting temp. 30F ending 48F Miles 62 Time 4.45 Cold Frosty Sunny no wind. RTHA 23 AMKE 13 WTKI 11 PEFA 1 That is an all time high for Kites on this run previous high 4. It will be interesting to see if the West Tillamook count is down as a lot of those fields have been under water. Barbara & John Woodhouse Tillamook From WeberHome at att.net Sun Jan 22 15:56:23 2006 From: WeberHome at att.net (Cliff & Joanne Weber) Date: Sun Jan 22 15:56:39 2006 Subject: [obol] Cedar Canyon/Killin Wetlands Message-ID: <20060122235637.B7B891040E2@smtp3.oregonstate.edu> OBOL, hello! Just as we feared, Cedar Canyon/Killin Wetlands is a huge lake right now on both sides of the road from all the recent rain. There were a few Hooded Mergansers out on the water but other than that, there's really not really much to tell. No Swans, nor anything else, out in the flooded corn field alongside Hwy 26. The field is maybe 2? miles past North Plains, just a teensy bit west of the Dersham Road exit, and on the left side of the Hwy if you're traveling towards the coast. This is usually a really good spot to see Tundras; but no dice today. Cedar Canyon/Killin Wetlands is a bust right now, but it's such a great place in the Spring to watch American Bittern and Wilson's Snipe that we figure directions to it would be appropriate. Where? ? Approximately 27 miles west of Portland via Hwy 26 and Hwy 6, and 2.5 miles past the town of Banks, at the intersection of NW Killin Road and NW Cedar Canyon Road. Thomas Portland Metro street maps: page 531, square D5. Exploring The Tualatin River Basin: page 15. Restrooms? ? No. We strongly advise making a pit stop at McDonald's in the town of North Plains before connecting with Hwy 6. Wheelchair Friendly? ? Somewhat risky. Birding is usually done from the shoulders of Cedar Canyon Road. Although traffic is light, and usually courteous; the road is up on a dike, maybe ten feet above marsh level; from which wheelers could easily roll off and land on their keester down in reeds and bushes. Cliff & Joanne Weber Beaverton From kevinkei at webformixair.com Sun Jan 22 16:21:26 2006 From: kevinkei at webformixair.com (Kevin Smith) Date: Sun Jan 22 16:20:34 2006 Subject: [obol] Culver Raptor Route Message-ID: <43D42186.7000107@webformixair.com> Kei and I did the Culver Raptor Route today with the following results: 17 Red-tailed Hawks 10 American Kestrels 6 Northern Harriers 1 Rough-legged Hawk 1 unidentified Buteo and one sparrow in a flock of White-Crowned and Golden-Crowned and House Sparrows which looked like a Harris' Sparrow, but not quite. It looked very much like the one in Sibley's page 493 with the black face. I didn't get a long look or photo although I did stay quite a long time. Kevin -- Kevin Smith Crooked River Ranch, Oregon From jbw at pacifier.com Sun Jan 22 15:56:47 2006 From: jbw at pacifier.com (Barbara & John Woodhouse) Date: Sun Jan 22 16:32:23 2006 Subject: [obol] Tillamook West Raptor run. Message-ID: Well I was proved wrong over the White Tailed Kites Michelle counted 18 on her run so Tillamook had 29 Kites today. Tillamook West Run goes from Alderbrook Rd and 101 in the North and round the Bays and back to Les Schwaab in the south. Miles 47 Time 4 hrs 40 mins Observers Michelle Simper, Cheyanne Simper. RTHA 28 AMKE 4 NOHA 6 BAEA 2 immature 4 adult WTKI 18 PEFA 1 COHA 3 SHHA 1 BAOW 2 Posted For Michelle Simper Barbara Woodhouse Tillamook From jbw at pacifier.com Sun Jan 22 15:59:12 2006 From: jbw at pacifier.com (Barbara & John Woodhouse) Date: Sun Jan 22 16:34:48 2006 Subject: [obol] Black Phoebes Message-ID: While michelle Simper was doing her Raptor Run today she saw 2 Black Phoebes on Goodspeed Rd between the Hump backed Bridge and the first Right angled turn. I wonder if we might have a breeding pair there. Barbara Woodhouse Tillamook From marciafcutler at comcast.net Sun Jan 22 17:43:26 2006 From: marciafcutler at comcast.net (Marcia F. Cutler) Date: Sun Jan 22 17:43:29 2006 Subject: [obol] Newport 1/21/06 Message-ID: <000601c61fbe$6856bcc0$e2f9a843@MC2> Obolers, Highlights from yesterday?s trip to Newport with Paula Vanderheul: Long-tailed Duck ? 1 pair seen in raft of Scaup and Surf Scoters at the end of the road to the Liquid Gas Plant (observed from the gate area). About a half-hour later we saw a female Long-tailed Duck with a few Surf Scoters near the Finger Rocks area of the South Jetty. When we came back that way (about another ?-hour later) she had been joined by a male Long-tailed Duck. We think we saw 2 separate pairs of Long-tailed Ducks, but there may have only been one pair. Black-bellied Plover ? 3 at Idaho Flats Marbled Godwit ? 1 loosely associating with the B-b Plovers at Idaho Flats Peregrine Falcon ? 1 seen when we were behind the Marine Science Center. It was flying over the bay and eventually landed on the top of a ladder on the west side of the Liquid Gas Plant. A small cluster of gulls (less than 20) behind the Marine Science Center was highly diverse, containing: 2 Herring Gulls (at least) 1 Thayer?s Gull 2+ Western Gulls 1+ Glaucous-winged Gull 1 Ring-billed Gull 2+ California Gulls 2 Mew Gulls In contrast, the gull parking lot on the South Jetty appeared to have only Western and Glaucous-winged Gulls plus mixtures thereof. We did not see the Snowy Owl, despite checking around the fruit processing plant and spending more than an hour from before 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. looking for it. Marcia F. Cutler -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060122/ac4b5626/attachment.html From davect at bendnet.com Sun Jan 22 17:54:02 2006 From: davect at bendnet.com (David Tracy) Date: Sun Jan 22 17:54:07 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Forestry article: Oregonian Message-ID: <019501c61fbf$e321b710$6601a8c0@ACERLAPTOP> Actually, there may be more than a peripheral tie-in to Oregon birds. One of Oregon's finest birders, OSU grad student Joe Fontaine is the second listed author of the article appearing in Friday's edition of Science. Congratulations are in order for the outstanding work Joe and the other authors did in researching and publishing their paper in what is considered the gold-standard of academic journals. The article is indeed making waves at OSU and beyond. I've seen articles on the major wire services and on the networks. NPR did a story it back when the first brievia piece was published on the Science webpage. No wonder there is a lot of attention being paid, it raises eyebrows when voices from within the OSU College of Forestry other than the typical, pro-industry crowd get their views aired in such a public way. Here's a link to today's article in the Oregonian: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/113790031615971.xml&coll=7 There was also an article in Friday's Oregonian, a front page piece, above the fold. It has some additional background: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1137729313106480.xml&coll=7 Dave David Tracy davect@bendnet.com Bend, OR Subject: Forestry article: Oregonian From: "Karen and Stuart Sparkman" Date: Sun, 22 Jan 2006 15:25:01 -0800 Dear Obolisks, This is peripherally about birds, but has an important big-picture connection to a multitude of wildlife management issues. Many in Oboland may find an article on the front page of today's Oregonian's Metro/Northwest section compelling. Anyone who has ever suspected OSU forest researchers to be a little too cozy with the forest industry will definitely have an interest in this article's contents. Apparently a group of OSU forestry professors petitioned the journal Science to NOT print a research paper by an OSU graduate student that concludes that salvage logging after the 2002 Biscuit fire actually hindered the land's ability to recover from the burn, and restoration would have occurred more quickly in the absence of human activity. Their attempt was unsuccessful, as the research article was published in Science on Friday. The essential point of interest of the article is not the debate over whether salvage logging is GOOD or BAD (for any out there with a black/white world view), but the attempt to block a legitimate scientific viewpoint from making its way to attention of the greater scientific community. The article calls into question whether such a move on the part of these allegedly pro-salvage academicians will damage the reputation of the OSU's School of Forestry and call into question its policies on academic freedoms. I highly recommend anyone interested in forest policy issues to read "Article sparks scholastic spat" by the Oregonian's Michael Milstein. Stuart Sparkman Salem_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave AT lists.oregonstate.edu. From Jadybrwn at aol.com Sun Jan 22 18:16:54 2006 From: Jadybrwn at aol.com (Jadybrwn@aol.com) Date: Sun Jan 22 18:16:59 2006 Subject: [obol] Alvadore Snowy Owl may be gone Message-ID: <25.6fcb9f3f.31059696@aol.com> I check on the owl from time to time living near by in Alvadore but I have not seen it since the 16th. so Dan and Ann sighting on the 18th. may be it. I couldn't always find it in the middle of day although I could most of the time, but in dusk from sundown to dark it was always easy. I went down with my neighbors and watched from sundown to dark and nobody was seeing it I talked to and there was several other people there when we got there. And that was tonight on January 22nd. Dave Brown -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060122/571469c9/attachment.htm From kcboddie at bendnet.com Sun Jan 22 18:34:43 2006 From: kcboddie at bendnet.com (kim boddie) Date: Sun Jan 22 18:35:10 2006 Subject: [obol] CO Audubun Ft. Rock Trip Message-ID: <007701c61fc5$933d6310$ada5b242@kcboddie> Today, 1/22, seven of us drove to the Ft. Rock Basin to see what we could see. We saw a lot of raptors. We did not keep a count but I estimate the number was around 100 birds from 9 species. They were Bald & Golden Eagles ( many adult and sub adult of each) Am. Kestrels, Prairie Falcons, (Red-tail, Rough Legged, & Ferruginous Hawks), N. Harrier, and GH Owl. I have never seen so many Ferruginous Hawks in one day, sometimes 3 & 4 at a time. One of the highlights was watching a mature Prairie Falcon consume a small rodent right in front of us. One of our party was a first time birder, I think we have her hooked. --kim Bend -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060122/2c8817ec/attachment.html From jeffgill at teleport.com Sun Jan 22 19:55:05 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sun Jan 22 18:54:59 2006 Subject: [obol] A Gyrfalcon on Sauvie's I. - December 2005. Message-ID: I met a birder and photogapher (Steven Halpern) on the island today while I was with the Comcast film crew promoting birders' interests. He showed me a few of his very good bird photos that he has taken on the island. I was surprised by the excellent single photo of a gray Gyrlacon that he had photographed from below a few weeks ago. He said it was photographed near the observation platform on the east side of the island. My old map of the island does not have that facilitity on it - but I think it is in Multnomah County. Having seen the species in both Multnomah and Columbia Counties, I don't feel as deprived as I might, but I haven't seen one for my Suavie's Island list. Jeff Gilligan From jeffgill at teleport.com Sun Jan 22 20:20:53 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sun Jan 22 19:20:48 2006 Subject: [obol] Eucalyptus species to attract vagrants Message-ID: Flowering eucalyptus trees are valuable attractants in California to wintering and fall migrant warblers, vireos, orioles, etc. The flowers attract insects that then attract birds - especially in late fall or winter when insect resources may be scarce. Hummingbirds and perhaps others use the nectar as well. (The rumors of the flowers of eucalypts being harmful to native birds is not proven and highly questionable. If that was the case hardly anything could survive migrating through California.) In pursuit of fall and winter blooming species of eucalypts, I stopped at the extraordinary Cistus Nursery on Sauvie's Island today. (I have previously obtained a Black Sally Gum, E. stellulata, and two species of bottelbrush that are doing well on the shores of Willapa Bay, Washington.) I was interested in additional specimens that would be useful for the purpose of attracting migrants. One of the very knowledgeable owners (Mr. Hogan I believe) provided the following information regarding the flowering period of several hardy eucalyptus species. E. stellulata: early winter E. perinninnu: December through February. E. neglecta: September, October and April E. gunnii: November to April The planting of these species in yards, gardens, etc. in western Oregon would likely result in some good bird finds, as well as the pleasure of seeing some beautiful trees. Their use along the coast might result in alot of good finds. I would suggest a few in city parks that are not devouted to natural vegetation. Small planting of a variety of species at a place like the north spit of Coos Bay would likely become a birding hot spot. The Cistus Nursery stocks plants from the colder range of the species. This is done by growing them from seeds that were produced in Australia at high elevations or the colder reaches of Tasmania. This results in the trees having a greater chance prospering here. Jeff Gilligan From forobol at msn.com Sun Jan 22 19:25:53 2006 From: forobol at msn.com (Al Ahlgrim) Date: Sun Jan 22 19:25:42 2006 Subject: [obol] Clackamas Prairie Falcon etc Message-ID: We did the Canby-Molalla Raptor Route again today. We were accompanied by Joine Shroyer. Highlights included the Rough-legged Hawk reported a few days ago by Nancy Wallwork and Elmer Specht at Eby and Cramer Road and a Prairie Falcon along Sconce Road. Following is list in no special order. We had no Harriers today on the route. We also had an uncommon sighting of a Bald Eagle perched along Township Road. Thanks Joline. Kestrels 25 Red-tailed Hawk 13 Rough-legged 1 Bald Eagle 1 Prairie Falcon 1 Al and Tari Ahlgrim -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060122/530543ce/attachment.html From sylviabird at worldnet.att.net Sun Jan 22 19:41:42 2006 From: sylviabird at worldnet.att.net (Sylvia Maulding) Date: Sun Jan 22 19:42:23 2006 Subject: [obol] Newport Snowy Owl Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.20060122194142.00a981c8@postoffice.worldnet.att.net> Hello OBOL This afternoon (1/22) at 3:30 the SNOWY OWL was perched on the roof of the long building along the MSC trail. This is just south of the cement tank. At about 3:00 there were two female LONG-TAILED DUCKS at the South Jetty. We also saw one male WHITE-WINGED SCOTER and three male and two female BLACK SCOTERS in the area also, along with five HARLEQUIN DUCKS. Sylvia Maulding (sylviabird@worldnet.att.net) Springfield OR http://sylviabird.home.att.net From alderspr at peak.org Sun Jan 22 19:39:11 2006 From: alderspr at peak.org (Jim & Karan Fairchild) Date: Sun Jan 22 19:44:23 2006 Subject: [obol] Forestry article: Oregonian References: <002901c61fab$12125da0$0200a8c0@domain.actdsltmp> Message-ID: <003f01c61fcf$5388bf80$3b3433d0@oemcomputer> Obolniks and Stuart, The published article included coauthors whose work did include bird research in these study sites. Donato et al may be publishing other results which could include effects on bird populations and abundances within this 'case study.' My understanding is that Dan Donato did this research for his masters. Congrats to Dan for getting published in SCIENCE! I would be happy to forward to those interested relevant .pdf files. Please reply to me personally offline, Jim Fairchild alderspr@peak.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060122/d791b74f/attachment.htm From fschrock at macnet.com Sun Jan 22 19:48:39 2006 From: fschrock at macnet.com (Floyd Schrock) Date: Sun Jan 22 19:48:34 2006 Subject: [obol] Glaucous gulls, Yamhill Co. Message-ID: <003d01c61fcf$e58137a0$0b01a8c0@desktop> Today (1-22-06) there was a large congregation of gulls on the flooded fields of Grand Island in Yamhill Co. six miles south of Dayton. There were two GLAUCOUS GULLS in the mix, one second-winter bird and one adult. I took a long-distance photo of the adult (with mediocre results) which can be seen at http://empids.blogspot.com/. There's also a photo there of the TOWNSEND'S WARBLER that is eating a lot of suet in my back yard. Again, not a very good photo, but maybe good enough for someone to help me decide if it's a spring adult female or a first fall male. ===================== Floyd Schrock McMinnville, Oregon USA fschrock@macnet.com --- [This E-mail Scanned for viruses by Online Northwest] From frankdanl at yahoo.com Sun Jan 22 20:06:22 2006 From: frankdanl at yahoo.com (frank lospalluto) Date: Sun Jan 22 20:06:24 2006 Subject: [obol] Ft. Klamath/Agency Lake Raptor Run 1/22/06 Message-ID: <20060123040622.13933.qmail@web36713.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Obol: Agency Lake/Ft .Klamath Raptor Run Start temp. : -10C End: -06C Cloud cover: 20% Wind :1 (Beaufort Scale) Precip. : None Ground snow covered. Estimated depth range: 10cm-90cm RTHA 52 RLHA 9 RSHA 1(juv) AMKE 2 NOHA 3 BAEA 16 (13a,3s) GOEA 1 PEFA 1 PRFA 3 UNID BUTEO 1 The Red-Shouldered Hawk was a juvenile bird in Hagelstein Park.( Same bird as Dave Haupt saw during holidays?) Other good birds : Northern shrike at Wood River Wetlands,singing Canyon Wren at quarry on Shady Pine Rd. Also heard singing Bewick?s Wrens and singing Townsend?s Solitaires! frank __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From Slobird at aol.com Sun Jan 22 20:48:00 2006 From: Slobird at aol.com (Slobird@aol.com) Date: Sun Jan 22 20:48:16 2006 Subject: [obol] Eucalyptus species to attract vagrants Message-ID: <242.5a1e39b.3105ba00@aol.com> Jeff Gilligan wrote (no flaming here) about using eucs and bottlebrush as attractants for birds to over-winter in western Oregon. He is correct that these winter flowering species hold migrants later in the season, thereby increasing the possibility of over wintering. They also support vagrants thru the winter, much like the Northern Parula outside my office in the State Park I manage in Morro Bay, CA. As to attracting additional insects, true again. But most of what is attracted to the flowers are non-native insects (honey bees and lerps or cilids). And the birds just love the lerps! But most of the flying insects become inactive at cooler temps, something I see even this far south. Our native pines (Monterey and Bishops) during winter months have a very active insect constituency that provides great forage for wintering birds... Eucs and bottlebrush do attract birds. But managing a number of State Parks in this county has led to management challenges that Jeff just nicked the surface of. Eucs (primarily blue gums, but there are about a half-dozen species we're trying to eradicate) are the single biggest threat to the survival of native habitats in the parks here. We have lost hundreds of acres to these non-native species and added close to twenty endangered species in the areas taken over by eucs. Jeff is correct that there isn't hard science showing that eucs kill native birds, but there is a lot of documented evidence that eucs are destroying prodigious amounts of native bird habitat in California. The two links I have attached below (the first from Point Reyes Bird Observatory's Rich Stallcup and the second from Audubon Magazine) list some of the anecdotal evidence as to the effects of eucs on native birds. I'm not saying don't plant eucs or bottlebrush. I am just cautioning you to think about only planting those species in a landscape situation (never in wild areas). And to use plants that are incapable of self-seeding and also have the smallest of flowers to preclude the impacts to birds you'll read about in the links below. I have to say, I wish I could get the hard freezes that happen every once in a while in western Oregon, as that would effectively wipe out the euc forests along the coast, but I don't... _FOCUS 108: Deadly Eucalyptus_ (http://www.prbo.org/OBSERVER/Observer108/Focus108.2.html) (_http://www.prbo.org/OBSERVER/Observer108/Focus108.2.html_ (http://www.prbo.org/OBSERVER/Observer108/Focus108.2.html) _Audubon: Incite_ (http://magazine.audubon.org/incite/incite0201.html) (_http://magazine.audubon.org/incite/incite0201.html_ (http://magazine.audubon.org/incite/incite0201.html) ) I'm off to Coos Bay tomorrow for meetings on Snowy Plovers, but what I really want to see are those Snowy Owls up at Fort Stevens. Thanks to all of you for the great directions. Greg Smith Morro Bay, CA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060122/8c084d21/attachment.htm From khanhbatran at hotmail.com Sun Jan 22 20:48:23 2006 From: khanhbatran at hotmail.com (khanh tran) Date: Sun Jan 22 20:48:25 2006 Subject: [obol] South Jetty at the Columbia River Birds (Clatsop Co) Message-ID: Hi Obolers, I spent this non-rainy weekend with some birder friends and observed the following birds. At the Hammond's Boat Basin, there was one female LONG TAILED DUCK scooting along the calm waters within 10 feet from the parking lot. I was able to take some good photos of the duck but was hoping for a male. There seems to be more females than males this winter. There was also one beautiful juvenile, BLACK LEGGED KITTIWAKE, and one RED NECKED GREBE near the boat dock. The four SNOWY OWLS near Parking Lot C were all present. Unfortunately, there was one harassing photographer, who flushed the the owls at least four times. Someone responded to perpetrator's the irresponsible act, by leaving a note on the person's car. The day before, I observed the one of the owls chasing a mixed flock of shorebirds consisting of dunlins, leasts, and black bellied plovers. Several immature BALD EAGLES were perched along the pier. At parking lot D during low tide, there was a large flock of 800-1000 DUNLINS. I haven't seen this much shorebird activity at this area in the last couple months. Good birding, Khanh Tran (Portland, Oregon) From jeffgill at teleport.com Sun Jan 22 22:47:53 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sun Jan 22 21:48:13 2006 Subject: [obol] Eucalyptus species to attract vagrants In-Reply-To: <242.5a1e39b.3105ba00@aol.com> Message-ID: Thanks for the comments. I haven't seen a volunteer eucalypt in Oregon or Washington - so I don't think that they will be a threat to native habitat. I also don't think that any of the large- flowered ones do well up here. Jeff Gilligan. on 1/22/06 8:48 PM, Slobird@aol.com at Slobird@aol.com wrote: Jeff Gilligan wrote (no flaming here) about using eucs and bottlebrush as attractants for birds to over-winter in western Oregon. He is correct that these winter flowering species hold migrants later in the season, thereby increasing the possibility of over wintering. They also support vagrants thru the winter, much like the Northern Parula outside my office in the State Park I manage in Morro Bay, CA. As to attracting additional insects, true again. But most of what is attracted to the flowers are non-native insects (honey bees and lerps or cilids). And the birds just love the lerps! But most of the flying insects become inactive at cooler temps, something I see even this far south. Our native pines (Monterey and Bishops) during winter months have a very active insect constituency that provides great forage for wintering birds... Eucs and bottlebrush do attract birds. But managing a number of State Parks in this county has led to management challenges that Jeff just nicked the surface of. Eucs (primarily blue gums, but there are about a half-dozen species we're trying to eradicate) are the single biggest threat to the survival of native habitats in the parks here. We have lost hundreds of acres to these non-native species and added close to twenty endangered species in the areas taken over by eucs. Jeff is correct that there isn't hard science showing that eucs kill native birds, but there is a lot of documented evidence that eucs are destroying prodigious amounts of native bird habitat in California. The two links I have attached below (the first from Point Reyes Bird Observatory's Rich Stallcup and the second from Audubon Magazine) list some of the anecdotal evidence as to the effects of eucs on native birds. I'm not saying don't plant eucs or bottlebrush. I am just cautioning you to think about only planting those species in a landscape situation (never in wild areas). And to use plants that are incapable of self-seeding and also have the smallest of flowers to preclude the impacts to birds you'll read about in the links below. I have to say, I wish I could get the hard freezes that happen every once in a while in western Oregon, as that would effectively wipe out the euc forests along the coast, but I don't... FOCUS 108: Deadly Eucalyptus (http://www.prbo.org/OBSERVER/Observer108/Focus108.2.html Audubon: Incite (http://magazine.audubon.org/incite/incite0201.html) I'm off to Coos Bay tomorrow for meetings on Snowy Plovers, but what I really want to see are those Snowy Owls up at Fort Stevens. Thanks to all of you for the great directions. Greg Smith Morro Bay, CA _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060122/1bf7ceeb/attachment.htm From dan-gleason at comcast.net Sun Jan 22 23:21:02 2006 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Sun Jan 22 23:19:08 2006 Subject: [obol] Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - damage In-Reply-To: <43D3F470.5000401@attglobal.net> References: <43D3F470.5000401@attglobal.net> Message-ID: <6C653028-CA64-4ED0-AACB-2BD417953716@comcast.net> Regarding sapsuckers and damage: There is much anecdotal discussion of sapsuckers killing trees and this includes information in Bent and other old references. However, there is almost no scientific evidence that this is the case. Even today, sapsuckers are often portrayed as the villains of the orchards with no sound basis for doing so. It is true that they drill holes and live off of the sap but it would be to their distinct disadvantage to kill the trees that they feed upon. They drill just deep enough for the sap to begin flowing. If left alone, a sap well will quickly heal and scar over. Sapsuckers are diligent and continue to work at the holes to keep them flowing. When a hole no longer flows freely, they usually begin working just above that hole to create a fresh sap well. There is some evidence that on small willow saplings (1-2 inches in diameter) the holes may merge together is such a way that the tree may die. This is, however, a rare event (and disputed by some researchers) and most trees are not killed by this process. Sapsuckers may live on a diet of 100% sap for long periods of time. Very little is known about their physiology or about how and why they select certain trees. To portray this behavior as harmful is a very narrow and human-oriented view. Sap wells of sapsuckers are an important part of the ecosystem. In the east, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is closely tied to sapsuckers, often nesting very near to the workings of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and following the sapsuckers from tree to tree to feed from the wells. Other birds and insects are also attracted to the sap wells. Downy Woodpeckers frequently drink from sapsucker wells as this takes less effort than creating their own wells (which they also do occasionally). Red-breasted Sapsuckers are more attracted to conifers then are Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers but they also utilize aspen and other deciduous trees. Early in the spring, sapsuckers drill lines of small, circular holes. These penetrate into the xylem tissue (conducting fluids up the stem) so that the sapsucker may feed upon the sap carried by this tissue. Later, as the leaves begin to emerge in the deciduous trees, such as aspen, the birds typically switch their habits and begin making shallower holes that penetrate only into the phloem, just beneath the bark. The phloem carries the nutrients created in the leaves and may contain up to 25% sucrose whereas xylem sap may only 2-3% sucrose. The holes made in the phloem tend to be larger and more rectangular than the small round xylem wells. In any event, the sapsucker is very dependent upon the nutrients from the sap and maintains the holes. Killing the trees would be counterproductive to the birds, forcing them to continually seek new habitat. Many other woodpeckers will drink from sap wells of sapsuckers and a few sometimes make their own sap wells. Acorn Woodpeckers and American Three-toed Woodpeckers routinely make sap wells of their own. They are not as numerous or as neatly spaced as those of sapsuckers, however. One additional note: Sapsucker is a poor term. These birds cannot suck the sap from the trees. The tip of their tongues are modified and have a soft, feathery appearance and this structure helps lap the sap that is flowing from the sap well. Since they don't have need to drill deep into the wood in search of food, they have the shortest tongues of all woodpecker species. Being so dependent upon sap, also makes sapsuckers, as a group, among the most migratory of all woodpeckers. Dan Gleason --------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason@comcast.net Author "Birds! From the Inside Out" Instructor - Field Ornithology, University of Oregon 541 345-0450 On Jan 22, 2006, at 1:09 PM, Joel Geier wrote: > Hello folks, > > Sorry for the late notice as I received a partial report on this > bird, just as I was getting set to fly down to southern California > for a funeral, and the photos came later. Another person who looked > at the photos in the interim thought it was a Red-naped Sapsucker > or possible hybrid. However, after looking at the photos this > morning, I think it is a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. It was seen > and photographed both on 17 Jan & 18 Jan. > > The observer described himself as "not a bird watcher". However he > was astute enough to notice it was something unusual, and took some > terrific photographs (I will share them if I can get permission). > > He was not happy about having the bird in his yard, as he was > convinced it would be the death of his maple tree. As of 18 Jan he > was talking about hanging out glittery objects around the tree to > discourage it. So I'm not expecting that he will be keen on > visitors, and anyway he may have convinced the bird to go elsewhere. > > However, the bird is likely to still be somewhere around Sublimity > which is not a very big town. If someone does relocate it, I would > recommend maximum sensitivity, in case the person whose yard it's > in might not be happy about having the bird there. > > Looking in Bent's /Life Histories of North American Woodpeckers/ > just now, it seems that his concerns about his tree might be valid. > If I go over there myself, I might think about taking along a nice > sapling or shrub from a local nursery. > > Good birding, > Joel > > P.S. An interesting bird in southern California was a Gray > Flycatcher which has spent much of January well north of its normal > winter range, in the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve. > > -- > Joel Geier > jgeier@attglobal.net > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From jeffgill at teleport.com Mon Jan 23 10:09:33 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Mon Jan 23 09:09:27 2006 Subject: [obol] FW: Gyrfalcons In-Reply-To: <2ca.24a1e0f.310662ed@aol.com> Message-ID: I added the "(2005)"s - which I believe is certainly the year because of the relationship of this post to the post from yesterday regarding the Gyrfalcon. Tim Bickler is a duck hunter and birder. Jeff. ---------- From: TimBickler@aol.com Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2006 11:48:45 EST To: jeffgill@teleport.com Subject: (no subject) Jeff, I saw what may have been the same Gyrfalcon on, I believe, December 27 (2005) on the Mudhen Unit on the Eastside of Sauvie I. Also a gray phase one on the Umatilla Reservation in November (2005), not more than a quarter mile from where I had one in November of 2004. Tim -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060123/214ea44d/attachment.html From markhamm at charterinternet.com Sun Jan 22 20:22:21 2006 From: markhamm at charterinternet.com (Mark Hamm) Date: Mon Jan 23 09:20:44 2006 Subject: [obol] Plat I Sutherlin Message-ID: <000c01c61fd4$9b6d57c0$6110b944@mark> Been reading OBOL for around a month, very useful. Noticed few Douglas county post so thought I'd make one. Plat I reservoir is about 5 miles east of Sutherlin. On 1/22 saw my first BALD EAGLE and WHITE-TAILED KITE. Also HOODED MERGANSER (3), several W BLUE BIRDS, RW BLACKBIRDS and W MEADOWLARKS. While driving around the reservoir my wife spotted a 'hawk' in a cage in someones yard. It appeared to be a Praire Falcon, there were several other raptors in cages and many other birds in cages. May be a feather collector, while look into it. Mark Hamm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060122/2539204c/attachment.htm From averill at easystreet.com Mon Jan 23 10:47:00 2006 From: averill at easystreet.com (Katy Averill) Date: Mon Jan 23 10:47:09 2006 Subject: [obol] Sapsucker holes Message-ID: <20060123184703.75C6B6DC00C@smtp.easystreet.com> Our local red breasted sapsuckers seem very fond of the old English walnut trees in our neighborhood and have left rows of holes in them for at least the past 55 years. None of these trees seem to have suffered. However, we lost the main trunk (3" diameter) of a young tree a few years ago just above a neat row of holes that we had watched a sapsucker make. And we are aware of rhododendron trunks of similar size which have died above a neat row of probable sapsucker holes. Katy in SW Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060123/47030816/attachment.html From davegarcia at charter.net Mon Jan 23 11:11:10 2006 From: davegarcia at charter.net (Dave Garcia) Date: Mon Jan 23 11:11:18 2006 Subject: [obol] Geography Message-ID: <016801c62050$c8407da0$0d64ba44@shalom> Too often I read detailed descriptions of birding trips listing specific roads or sites that mean nothing to me without more context. Please, at least, tell us what county you're talking about. Dave Garcia -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060123/6692496e/attachment.html From linda at fink.com Mon Jan 23 13:46:43 2006 From: linda at fink.com (Linda Fink) Date: Mon Jan 23 13:46:47 2006 Subject: [obol] accipiter id help! Message-ID: <200601232146.k0NLkfqV061229@mail.viclink.com> I thought I was getting better at Cooper's vs Sharp-shinned id. But today's bird has stumped me. It sat at the top of our big snag for a very long time -- long enough I should have been able to figure out what it was. In the first place, I assume that a slightly-smaller-than-crow-sized accipiter on top of the big snag is a Cooper's because Sharpies seem to like lower perches. But this accip had a notched tail. However, it looked to me like the outside tail feathers were a bit shorter than the rest, which points to Cooper's. So I thought maybe it had lost its middle tail feathers. But it seems an odd time of year to be molting. However I could see no white band at all at the end of the tail, which seems to indicate well worn feathers. The head seemed flatter, like Cooper's, although not so much flatter that I could say it was flat, if you know what I mean. (Hmm, this is sounding decidedly non-intelligent. Words are failing me.) When the bird finally turned to face me, it was an adult by the orange belly streaking. The tail seemed more square than round but still with those shorter outer tail feathers. When it took off, it flew almost directly toward me and dove into the trees beside me, so I couldn't see if it had the wrist-forward flight of the Sharp-shinned vs. the straighter angle of the Cooper's. It did seem quick and fast, but I haven't watched enough flying Coops and Sharpies to say if it was quick and fast like a Sharpie or just quick and fast like an accipiter. In short, I have no idea what this particular accipiter was. Size, I would guess, was of a female Sharpie or a male Coop. In other words, size was no help at all. Next time I see this particular bird, what should I look for? Or should I pretend not to see it like I do with gulls? Linda Fink, bewildered in Grand Ronde linda@fink.com From kimdelo at yahoo.com Mon Jan 23 15:13:56 2006 From: kimdelo at yahoo.com (Kimdel Owen) Date: Mon Jan 23 15:13:58 2006 Subject: [obol] Redmond-Tumalo raptor run Message-ID: <20060123231356.95720.qmail@web50212.mail.yahoo.com> I did the Redmond-Tumlo raptor route last Thursday, the 19th. It took me 3hrs 45 mins to complete the 59.5 miles. The following raptors were seen: Red-tailed Hawk - 19 American Kestral - 4 Northern Harrier - 1 Bald Eagle - 2 Prairie Falcon - 2 also seen at Eagle Crest sewer ponds: Greater White-fronted Goose - 2 Cackling Goose - 5 "Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? On the rock he dwells and makes his home in the fastness of the rocky crag. There he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it afar off." Kimdel Owen Redmond, OR __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From d_maxs at hotmail.com Mon Jan 23 15:41:38 2006 From: d_maxs at hotmail.com (D.Max Smith) Date: Mon Jan 23 15:41:41 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owls, gulls and dead seabirds Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060123/cb3a9f9e/attachment.htm From alderspr at peak.org Mon Jan 23 07:31:54 2006 From: alderspr at peak.org (Jim & Karan Fairchild) Date: Mon Jan 23 17:13:30 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Sapsucker - damage and death References: <43D3F470.5000401@attglobal.net> <6C653028-CA64-4ED0-AACB-2BD417953716@comcast.net> Message-ID: <000201c62083$6a68de60$5a3433d0@oemcomputer> Dan and obolniks, Thank you for the very informative message! More anecdotal information: We have a large, old, almost savannah-form big-leaf maple in our yard; southern exposure, hilltop, kind of a strange spot. Sapsuckers have managed to girdle most of of the crown twice in the past twenty years. The tree is still alive, mostly because it is still vigorous enough to resprout below the girdlings. If the resprouting is dense enough, at least the girdling (which happens nearly every year) area becomes less accessible to the returning sapsuckers. Eventually, the resprouting has become new crown, but again can be girdled. Working on a forest seed nursery genetics project (USFS PNW Corvallis lab) years ago, we noted sapsuckers were able to selectively find ALL of the randomly planted replicate scion stock grafted to certain rootstock types over several hundred acres. I understand no seed collection from this scion/rootstock match became available for research because sapsuckers girdled and killed these above the graft. So there is likely more to the story. I've come to believe that some individual tree saps (not just tree species) taste better than others, and that the intersection of individual tasty trees and sapsuckers with limited palates are unfortunate paths of random variation and natural selection. By the way, we really enjoy our sapsuckers, even if they are rather successful at girdling limbs, and they provide much for others as you describe. We even had a red-naped sapsucker visit, and I made the unfortunate gaff originally IDing it as a yellow-bellied sapsucker here on OBOL! Jim Fairchild 6 mi SW of Philomath, Bnton County From 5hats at peak.org Mon Jan 23 17:26:39 2006 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel Faxon) Date: Mon Jan 23 17:27:03 2006 Subject: [obol] Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - damage References: <43D3F470.5000401@attglobal.net> <6C653028-CA64-4ED0-AACB-2BD417953716@comcast.net> Message-ID: <001d01c62085$3da26570$0000a398@your5rlp3a9516> Obol, The only tree I ever saw that was actually killed by sapsuckers (in this case Red-breasted) was a holly tree which had grown to about 6' in diameter and 10 ' in height. It was so pciked marked with sapsucker drillings that it simply did not survive. These birds do some damage to my apple trees occasionally, but I have never known a case where it seemed to affec the overall health of the tree. DArrel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dan Gleason" To: Cc: Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2006 11:21 PM Subject: [obol] Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - damage > Regarding sapsuckers and damage: > > There is much anecdotal discussion of sapsuckers killing trees and this > includes information in Bent and other old references. However, there is > almost no scientific evidence that this is the case. Even today, > sapsuckers are often portrayed as the villains of the orchards with no > sound basis for doing so. It is true that they drill holes and live off > of the sap but it would be to their distinct disadvantage to kill the > trees that they feed upon. > > They drill just deep enough for the sap to begin flowing. If left alone, > a sap well will quickly heal and scar over. Sapsuckers are diligent and > continue to work at the holes to keep them flowing. When a hole no longer > flows freely, they usually begin working just above that hole to create a > fresh sap well. There is some evidence that on small willow saplings (1-2 > inches in diameter) the holes may merge together is such a way that the > tree may die. This is, however, a rare event (and disputed by some > researchers) and most trees are not killed by this process. > > Sapsuckers may live on a diet of 100% sap for long periods of time. Very > little is known about their physiology or about how and why they select > certain trees. To portray this behavior as harmful is a very narrow and > human-oriented view. Sap wells of sapsuckers are an important part of the > ecosystem. In the east, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is closely tied to > sapsuckers, often nesting very near to the workings of Yellow-bellied > Sapsuckers and following the sapsuckers from tree to tree to feed from > the wells. Other birds and insects are also attracted to the sap wells. > Downy Woodpeckers frequently drink from sapsucker wells as this takes > less effort than creating their own wells (which they also do > occasionally). > > Red-breasted Sapsuckers are more attracted to conifers then are > Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers but they also utilize aspen and other deciduous > trees. > > Early in the spring, sapsuckers drill lines of small, circular holes. > These penetrate into the xylem tissue (conducting fluids up the stem) so > that the sapsucker may feed upon the sap carried by this tissue. Later, > as the leaves begin to emerge in the deciduous trees, such as aspen, the > birds typically switch their habits and begin making shallower holes that > penetrate only into the phloem, just beneath the bark. The phloem carries > the nutrients created in the leaves and may contain up to 25% sucrose > whereas xylem sap may only 2-3% sucrose. The holes made in the phloem > tend to be larger and more rectangular than the small round xylem wells. > In any event, the sapsucker is very dependent upon the nutrients from the > sap and maintains the holes. Killing the trees would be counterproductive > to the birds, forcing them to continually seek new habitat. > > Many other woodpeckers will drink from sap wells of sapsuckers and a few > sometimes make their own sap wells. Acorn Woodpeckers and American > Three-toed Woodpeckers routinely make sap wells of their own. They are > not as numerous or as neatly spaced as those of sapsuckers, however. > > One additional note: Sapsucker is a poor term. These birds cannot suck > the sap from the trees. The tip of their tongues are modified and have a > soft, feathery appearance and this structure helps lap the sap that is > flowing from the sap well. Since they don't have need to drill deep into > the wood in search of food, they have the shortest tongues of all > woodpecker species. > > Being so dependent upon sap, also makes sapsuckers, as a group, among the > most migratory of all woodpeckers. > > Dan Gleason > > --------------- > Dan Gleason > dan-gleason@comcast.net > Author "Birds! From the Inside Out" > Instructor - Field Ornithology, University of Oregon > 541 345-0450 > > > > On Jan 22, 2006, at 1:09 PM, Joel Geier wrote: > >> Hello folks, >> >> Sorry for the late notice as I received a partial report on this bird, >> just as I was getting set to fly down to southern California for a >> funeral, and the photos came later. Another person who looked at the >> photos in the interim thought it was a Red-naped Sapsucker or possible >> hybrid. However, after looking at the photos this morning, I think it is >> a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. It was seen and photographed both on 17 >> Jan & 18 Jan. >> >> The observer described himself as "not a bird watcher". However he was >> astute enough to notice it was something unusual, and took some terrific >> photographs (I will share them if I can get permission). >> >> He was not happy about having the bird in his yard, as he was convinced >> it would be the death of his maple tree. As of 18 Jan he was talking >> about hanging out glittery objects around the tree to discourage it. So >> I'm not expecting that he will be keen on visitors, and anyway he may >> have convinced the bird to go elsewhere. >> >> However, the bird is likely to still be somewhere around Sublimity which >> is not a very big town. If someone does relocate it, I would recommend >> maximum sensitivity, in case the person whose yard it's in might not be >> happy about having the bird there. >> >> Looking in Bent's /Life Histories of North American Woodpeckers/ just >> now, it seems that his concerns about his tree might be valid. If I go >> over there myself, I might think about taking along a nice sapling or >> shrub from a local nursery. >> >> Good birding, >> Joel >> >> P.S. An interesting bird in southern California was a Gray Flycatcher >> which has spent much of January well north of its normal winter range, >> in the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve. >> >> -- >> Joel Geier >> jgeier@attglobal.net >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> obol mailing list >> obol@lists.oregonstate.edu >> http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol >> >> To unsubscribe, send a message to: >> obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From jgeier at attglobal.net Mon Jan 23 18:02:25 2006 From: jgeier at attglobal.net (Joel Geier) Date: Mon Jan 23 18:09:49 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - damage Message-ID: <43D58AB1.6020605@attglobal.net> Thanks Dan, Katy, Darrel, and Jim for the interesting observations on sapsuckers and their putative impacts on trees! I have not heard back from the fellow who was the unwilling host of the sapsucker in question. I had an errand to run in Scio yesterday and did a bit of a weave through Sublimity, hoping to spot either the bird or the maple tree in question, but no such luck. I can confirm Jim's comment: "I've come to believe that some individual tree saps (not just tree species) taste better than others ..." as in my early teen years, my cousin and I tapped nearly every maple-like tree around our farm in Minnesota, including the box-elders, trying to get enough sap to make maple syrup. There was a real difference in the taste of the sap from different trees, particularly when we let it sit and ferment in the buckets too long, or in the trees where we experimentally tried back-grouting around our spouts with caulking compound (I do not recommend this method). However, the judges at the county fair were sufficiently impressed by our effort that they gave my cousin a blue ribbon, even though the product bore no resemblance to what most people would call maple syrup. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier jgeier@attglobal.net From Di4tbirds at aol.com Mon Jan 23 18:27:18 2006 From: Di4tbirds at aol.com (Di4tbirds@aol.com) Date: Mon Jan 23 18:27:25 2006 Subject: [obol] 500 Herring gulls Message-ID: <208.1158fef4.3106ea86@aol.com> Obolers, Took a trip to Florence in the Sun yesterday. Nothing unusual except for a large flock, 500, of Herring gulls sitting together in shallow water near the Crab dock on the south jetty. They were busy preening, bathing and loafing and definetly together. Other gull species, Glaucous- winged, Westerns, and confused birds were a short way off but not with the Herrings. I checked with "Birds of Oregon" and found that storms may bring large flocks to shore. I don't remember seeing a concentration of Herring gulls here before. I was looking for Rock Sandpipers at Bob's Creek which I did not find. Also, not many cormorants around. Diane Horgan -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060123/c1877eda/attachment.html From sjag2 at juno.com Mon Jan 23 18:50:49 2006 From: sjag2 at juno.com (sjag2) Date: Mon Jan 23 18:51:48 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl on Sauvie Is. Portland, late report. Message-ID: <075701c62090$fc9c77d0$d7d69643@fastbox> Hi folks, I just found out that a week ago Sunday, the 15th, some folks I know noticed a Snow Owl on the West side of the island, North of the county line along the dike with the slough on the left (West) and fields on the right (East). They saw the owl out in one of the fields in that vicinity. I do not know them real well but the report seemed good. Steve Jaggers From lcottrel at kfalls.net Mon Jan 23 19:01:11 2006 From: lcottrel at kfalls.net (Larry Cottrell) Date: Mon Jan 23 19:01:23 2006 Subject: [obol] Swan Lake/Poe Valley Raptor Runs Message-ID: <001001c62092$712bd590$e3321c40@usermj5tjr71vq> We did the Swan Lake/Poe Valley Runs on Thurs. 19 Jan. Our numbers were down some from last month but still high for the weather conditions we have been having. We started at 11:15 am finishing at 3:45 pm.,driving122.6 mi. Weather was cold, partly cloudy, temp. in the low 30's, light southerly winds. RTHA-336 HARLAN'S-13 AMKE-13 NOHA-7 BAEA-14- 4 IMM. 10 AD. GOEA-5 ALL AD. RLHA-5 FEHA-11 FALC- 8 ALL PRAIRIE FALCONS There was 1- 3" of snow on the ground throughout the run. Karen Cottrell -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060123/87991033/attachment.htm From brrobb at comcast.net Mon Jan 23 19:36:12 2006 From: brrobb at comcast.net (Roger & Betty Robb) Date: Mon Jan 23 19:36:15 2006 Subject: [obol] Alvadore Snowy Owl Message-ID: <000801c62097$53108560$06331618@RROffice> Has anyone seen the Alvadore Snowy Owl recently? I have birding friends visiting from Arizona who would like to see the bird. Thanks for any help. Roger Robb Springfield, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060123/cb45808b/attachment.html From marciafcutler at comcast.net Mon Jan 23 19:48:09 2006 From: marciafcutler at comcast.net (Marcia F. Cutler) Date: Mon Jan 23 19:48:12 2006 Subject: [obol] Benton Co. Say's Phoebe Message-ID: <001b01c62098$fe87ac60$e2f9a843@MC2> This morning Paula Vanderheul and I found a Say's Phoebe by the Corvallis Airport. From 99W turn west onto Airport Rd then take the first road to the left (Plumley). This road heads south until it runs into the fence surrounding the airport runways. We saw the Say's Phoebe working along this fence line just to the east of Plumley. Marcia F. Cutler -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060123/fdc599dc/attachment.htm From johnpam at ipns.com Mon Jan 23 19:52:31 2006 From: johnpam at ipns.com (JohnPam) Date: Mon Jan 23 19:49:48 2006 Subject: [obol] Townsend's Warbler at School Feeder Message-ID: Classroom Feederwatch students at Robert Frost School feeder today saw excellent views of a Townsend's Warbler eating at the school suet feeder. At one point there were 2 warblers (the second showed up briefly, it could have been either a Townsend's female or a Yellow-rumped Warbler). The Townsend's was in a mixed flock of Black-capped Chickadees with at least one Ruby Crowned Kinglet with some Dark-eyed Juncos nearby. Pam Reid, Linda Rindy, and the Fourth Graders Silverton, Oregon From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Mon Jan 23 22:06:51 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Mon Jan 23 22:06:54 2006 Subject: [obol] Newport Snowy Owl Back In the Dunes Today Message-ID: <20060124060651.89933.qmail@web51809.mail.yahoo.com> After checking around Hatfield and the fish plant and finding no snowy owl I decided to check out the dunes again. Found the snowy owl in a tree on the highest ridge in the back dunes pretty far south of the south jetty (about even with the second sign post). After working my way through the dunes to get close enough to see in detail what it was doing, a plane flying very low scared the owl away...I was working my way up to the top of the ridge to try to relocate it when it came back to the tree. A harrier hawk harassed the owl several times while I watched it including some swift "nose dives" directly at the owl but at the last minute pulling away. Sitting on top of the dunes waiting for the owl to fly, there was a nice sunset and I saw a green glow/small green flash! 7 minutes after sunset, the owl took a long flight across the dunes and landed at the top of one of its old favorite roosting spots much further north and west...haven't seen it there in about a month. I wish I could identify birds by sound because as the owl flew over the dunes there was an immediate symphony of bird sounds. It was only a few minutes before the northern harrier was harassing it again with more frequent "nose dive" attacks. As much as the hawk was attacking, the owl didn't seem to do much about it and finally the hawk just gave up and found its own spot in the middle of the dunes. As the sky got darker, the owl moved to the first sign post and then after a couple of minutes it flew out between the jetties very low to the water and then up again and then landed at the very end of the north jetty...it was very dark but I think I saw it catch something. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From areid at nu-world.com Mon Jan 23 22:43:20 2006 From: areid at nu-world.com (Alan Reid) Date: Mon Jan 23 22:43:23 2006 Subject: [obol] Geography References: <016801c62050$c8407da0$0d64ba44@shalom> Message-ID: <002a01c620b1$776cd840$0200a8c0@ReidDesktop> Amen! Alan Reid areid@nu-world.com 2 miles below Leaburg on the McKenzie Hwy. ----- Original Message ----- From: Dave Garcia To: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Sent: Monday, January 23, 2006 11:11 AM Subject: [obol] Geography Too often I read detailed descriptions of birding trips listing specific roads or sites that mean nothing to me without more context. Please, at least, tell us what county you're talking about. Dave Garcia ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060123/a7336e20/attachment.html From forobol at msn.com Mon Jan 23 22:55:41 2006 From: forobol at msn.com (Al Ahlgrim) Date: Mon Jan 23 22:55:45 2006 Subject: [obol] Airlie Road Ferruginous POLK Message-ID: I did locate the Airlie Road Ferruginous Hawk this afternoon. Much brighter white parts than I expected. It wasn't easy. It took about 45 minutes of searching the area before it arrived at the second fence row east of Sauerkraut Rd on north side of Airlie Rd. Also, two White-tailed Kites, 1 Rough-legged, 1 Peregrine, numerous Red-tails, Harriers and Kestrels. The area is a BIG BIRD paradise. For those who didn't catch earlier reports or directions: Airlie Road runs west from Hwy 99W about 7 miles south of the Monmouth. Al Ahlgrim, Oregon City -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060123/ad112fbb/attachment.htm From lconrad at adelphia.net Mon Jan 23 23:19:04 2006 From: lconrad at adelphia.net (Lori Conrad) Date: Mon Jan 23 23:19:16 2006 Subject: [obol] Geography References: <016801c62050$c8407da0$0d64ba44@shalom> <002a01c620b1$776cd840$0200a8c0@ReidDesktop> Message-ID: <019201c620b6$758142a0$121ca745@S0026192605> My sentiments exactly! More details, PLEASE! Lori ----- Original Message ----- From: Alan Reid To: Dave Garcia ; obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Sent: Monday, January 23, 2006 10:43 PM Subject: Re: [obol] Geography Amen! Alan Reid areid@nu-world.com 2 miles below Leaburg on the McKenzie Hwy. ----- Original Message ----- From: Dave Garcia To: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Sent: Monday, January 23, 2006 11:11 AM Subject: [obol] Geography Too often I read detailed descriptions of birding trips listing specific roads or sites that mean nothing to me without more context. Please, at least, tell us what county you're talking about. Dave Garcia ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060123/e5552e8e/attachment.htm From bigrocketman3 at webtv.net Mon Jan 23 23:53:48 2006 From: bigrocketman3 at webtv.net (Steve McDonald) Date: Mon Jan 23 23:53:50 2006 Subject: [obol] West Eugene Wetlands Message-ID: <21306-43D5DD0C-11609@storefull-3332.bay.webtv.net> I did a bus and walking tour of several areas today, starting at Stewart Ponds and ending at Fern Ridge Dam. At Stewart Ponds, there were 100 Green-winged Teal. They are beginning to do their courtship antics and for the next month, this is a good place to watch this interesting activity. There were also 40 N. Shovelers, 30 Am. Wigeons, 30 Mallards, 12 Gadwalls, 6 Ring-necked drakes, 3 Bufflehead females and 1 yearling Gr. Scaup drake. Also 30 W. Canada Geese, 5 Taverner's Geese and 2 Wilson's Snipe. I saw 4 N. Flickers perched in the same small tree. In Amazon Creek, above and below Danebo Ave., there were 14 Common Goldeneye females and 1 Barrow's Goldeneye drake. The white spots were evident on his upper sides as he flew by. I couldn't make out any Barrow's females, but they were moving very fast, the light was dim and I couldn't swear that there weren't any. You could see evidence that just a few days ago, the water was about 10 feet higher. At West Lawn Memorial Park, there were 20 Am. Wigeons and 1 Eurasian drake. On the lawn at the back were 2,500 Taverner's Geese. On Fern Ridge Reservoir, just above the dam, there were zero birds. The reservoir is at an unprecedented high level for January, being no more than 1 foot below full pool. This has obviously made the open water on the lake of little interest for waterfowl. The geese and swans that ordinarily roost on exposed spits of land within the lake when it's drained down for the Winter, have gone elsewhere. The rush of released water in the river below, has driven the herons and egrets away, as well. There were several dozen D.C. Cormorants in the pond below the dam and 3 Common Mergansers were in the river. A Clark's Grebe and 50 W. Canada Geese were also in the pond. Two other birders said they'd seen 2 eagles nearby. I saw 3 Great Egrets hunting in a flooded field as I went by Meadowlark Prairie. Next to the downtown LTD bus station, a Rock Pigeon was perching on a plastic owl, placed on a building to scare its kind away. Steve McDonald From bigrocketman3 at webtv.net Tue Jan 24 00:14:53 2006 From: bigrocketman3 at webtv.net (Steve McDonald) Date: Tue Jan 24 00:14:56 2006 Subject: [obol] RE: Sapsucker Damage Message-ID: <21305-43D5E1FD-15702@storefull-3332.bay.webtv.net> Our giant silver maple was sapsucker central, during the 45 years before it was downed by 80 mph winds. There were thousands of sapsucker holes all over the multiple trunks and despite this, it reached a 5.5-foot diameter size at its base. Some of its horizontal limbs were 20 inches thick. Apparently, the sapsuckers took no more than the tree could spare. Since there were hardly any holes drilled in our many other trees, I believe the presence of this unlimited fountain of sap, drew the birds away from the smaller trees and protected them. Steve McDonald From bigfishy at att.net Tue Jan 24 06:13:38 2006 From: bigfishy at att.net (bigfishy@att.net) Date: Tue Jan 24 06:13:41 2006 Subject: [obol] backyard birds Message-ID: <012420061413.7157.43D63611000CACEC00001BF5216028106097089C070009070D@att.net> We had another flurry of activity from a variety of birds in our back yard. 3 Townsends Warblers, 8-10 DE Juncos which included 1 "Slate Colored", 1 Hermit Thrush, 2 Ruby Crowned Kinglets, 2 resident Scrub Jays, Many Starlings, at least 2 Spotted Towhees, 1 House Sparrow, Several American Robins. We also have a Red Breasted Sapsucker who visits our Filbert Tree regularly, our tree seems to be just fine. >From Creswell, OR Bob Fish -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060124/8604d3a7/attachment.html From dpvroman at budget.net Tue Jan 24 06:45:35 2006 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis P. Vroman) Date: Tue Jan 24 06:49:41 2006 Subject: [obol] 2nd south GP raptor count Message-ID: <002201c620f4$dd122220$eb361c40@hppav> Yesterday (01-23-06), the 2nd south Grants Pass area raptor survey was done. Total of 3.0 hours, 26.7 miles; weather: partly overcast to overcast (mid-level) Observed were: 15 Red-tailed Hawk 5 American Kestrel 1 Bald Eagle (adult) 1 Red-shouldered Hawk (5 on 1st count) 6 White-tailed Kite 1 Merlin 5 Cooper's Hawk (perhaps following the Robins into the valley) 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk Dennis (north of Grants Pass) From deweysage at verizon.net Tue Jan 24 07:45:41 2006 From: deweysage at verizon.net (DJLauten and KACastelein) Date: Tue Jan 24 07:37:28 2006 Subject: [obol] Coos Cty Message-ID: <43D64BA5.7000508@verizon.net> 1/23 Coos Bay North Spit Coos Cty The SNOW BUNTING and at least 4 HORNED LARK were on the Snowy Plover nesting areas in the afternoon of 1/23 at Coos Bay North Spit. 15 SNOWY PLOVERS were on the beach. We walked the entire plover nesting area and couldn't find the nemesis SHORT-EARED OWL. I am completely confident that Tim Rodenkirk has conspired with all OBOLers to keep telling me and Kathy that these birds really exist, really show up and winter in Coos Cty, and are being seen on a fairly regular basis out there. The collective howls of laughter by OBOLers are and were being heard as we vainly search the area for the so called owls. Keep pulling my leg, I really enjoy it..... : ) Cheers Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein Bandon OR deweysage@verizon.net From johnpam at ipns.com Tue Jan 24 07:56:40 2006 From: johnpam at ipns.com (JohnPam) Date: Tue Jan 24 07:53:58 2006 Subject: [obol] Warblers, GB Herons & More At Torvend Rd Pond Monday Message-ID: Torvend Rd Pond, west of Silverton, conservatively had 25-30 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS flycatching from trees, ground, brush out over the pond 3 PM Monday afternoon. To say the least, this group surprised me. Some looked like they were getting into breeding plumage. There were 13 GREAT BLUE HERONS standing around the 18 stick nests with one picking at sticks in one nest so obviously "love is in the air." DC CORMORANT, HOODED MERGANSER, PIED-BILLED GREBE, NORTHERN SHOVELLER, etc. also present. Flood has been so high the duck blind up on poles on opposite shore has collapsed. But I still heard shooting off in the distance...somewhere. Pudding River still flooding out of banks and directly interacting with the immediate pond beside the road. Late Report: another birder told me he has seen a BALD EAGLE & possibly a pair at this site last week. Pam e-mailed me to let me know about the TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS at Mrs. Rindy's 4th grade Classroom FeederWatch station at Robert Frost Elementary. Dropped by and got nice views of them. Even got a digital photo or two through the school window. Pretty cool treat for the 4th graders! John Thomas & Pam Reid Silverton From deweysage at verizon.net Tue Jan 24 08:18:13 2006 From: deweysage at verizon.net (DJLauten and KACastelein) Date: Tue Jan 24 08:10:48 2006 Subject: [obol] Selasphorus hummer Message-ID: <43D65345.9050807@verizon.net> 1/24 Bandon Coos Cty We had a male Selasphorus (likely Allen's)hummingbird just show up at our feeder north of Bandon. Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein Bandon OR deweysage@verizon.net From cncschneider at msn.com Tue Jan 24 09:49:59 2006 From: cncschneider at msn.com (Carl & Christine Schneider) Date: Tue Jan 24 09:50:01 2006 Subject: [obol] Back Yard Birds Marion county Message-ID: Yesterday (1/23/06) I had at least ten Townsend's warblers, one Yellow-rumped warbler one Brown creeper, one Bewick's wren, five Chestnut-backed chickadees, two Black-capped chickadees, two Downy woodpeckers, two Varied thrushes, ten Dark-eyed juncos, two Ruby-crowned kinglets, and two Red-breasted nuthatches visiting my feeders and/or flitting around the backyard. Matthew Schneider Silverton, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060124/91817991/attachment.html From surfbird at harborside.com Tue Jan 24 10:17:21 2006 From: surfbird at harborside.com (Diane Pettey) Date: Tue Jan 24 10:17:28 2006 Subject: [obol] Lane Co. Coast COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD (VERY late report) Message-ID: <003c01c62112$6b928450$05de6ed8@yourfsyly0jtwn> I was told of a confirmed sighting of a COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD visiting a feeder on Oceana Drive, Florence from about 16 December through 4 January. regards, Diane Pettey Florence, OR surfbird@harborside.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060124/cc095fff/attachment.htm From nelsoncheek at charter.net Tue Jan 24 10:17:34 2006 From: nelsoncheek at charter.net (WALTER NELSON) Date: Tue Jan 24 10:17:36 2006 Subject: [obol] Possible BLUE GROSBEAK Near Florence Message-ID: <4ma84e$l51cr9@mxip28a.cluster1.charter.net> I just had a report of a singing male BLUE GROSBEAK seen yesterday afternoon (01/23) at a deflation plain overlook just north of Florence. The bird was well seen twice by Shirley and Jim Theilen of Yachats, who are intermediate birders and are familiar with that species from Colorado. Shirley was a bit hazy on the name of the location (Hammond's overlook? Something beginning w/ "H"), but Obolites familiar with the area should be able to find by her description of the location - please post to the list if you know the name of the place. Hopefully somebody can refind the bird. Shirley says it is the first west turn off Hwy 101 south of Darlingtonia Wayside; says there is a brown sign at the hwy and there is a campground, but you keep driving to the end of the road where there is a paved parking lot w/restrooms and a paved walking trail up over a rise and onto a deck/observation platform overlooking the creek and deflation plain. They saw the bird on the path (just around the first turn) out to the observation platform and took time to study it through binocs - saw the blue head, breast and tail, brown wing bars, and they heard it sing - checked their birdsong CD when they returned home and said the song also matched Blue Grosbeak. As they returned from the observation deck the bird had been scared into the brush by a passing group of people, but the Theilens waited for a few minutes and the bird reappeared, so they had another look to verify their first sighting. Shirley also said there were 2 SNOWY PLOVERS at the edge of the creek, viewed from the platform. ______________________ Rebecca Cheek 14399 S. Coast Hwy South Beach, OR 97366 541-867-4699 nelsoncheek@charter.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060124/d251e122/attachment.html From surfbird at harborside.com Tue Jan 24 10:17:45 2006 From: surfbird at harborside.com (Diane Pettey) Date: Tue Jan 24 10:17:50 2006 Subject: [obol] Lane Co. Coast OSPREY - 1/23/06 Message-ID: <004801c62112$79a285e0$05de6ed8@yourfsyly0jtwn> Yesterday, Anne Caples reported an OSPREY flying over South Jetty Road, Florence. regards, Diane Pettey surfbird@harborside.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060124/25c0a7e4/attachment.htm From surfbird at harborside.com Tue Jan 24 10:25:57 2006 From: surfbird at harborside.com (Diane Pettey) Date: Tue Jan 24 10:26:04 2006 Subject: [obol] Lane Co. Coast TRUMPETER SWANS - 1/24/06 Message-ID: <007501c62113$9f3c1d10$05de6ed8@yourfsyly0jtwn> This morning, on a scouting trip for tomorrow's Outward Ventures class, I observed three TRUMPETER SWANS, about 6.5 miles up North Fork (Siuslaw River) Road, Florence. They were first reported to me about a week ago as Tundra Swans by a co-worker. regards, Diane Pettey Florence, OR surfbird@harborside.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060124/5f2066d5/attachment.htm From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Tue Jan 24 10:27:33 2006 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Tue Jan 24 10:26:50 2006 Subject: [obol] Possible BLUE GROSBEAK Near Florence In-Reply-To: <4ma84e$l51cr9@mxip28a.cluster1.charter.net> Message-ID: This is the platform overlook at the end of the Sutton Creek Rd. It is called Holman Vista. The road only goes there, so it should be no problem to find the location. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer@mindspring.com > From: WALTER NELSON > Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 10:17:34 -0800 > To: > Subject: [obol] Possible BLUE GROSBEAK Near Florence > > I just had a report of a singing male BLUE GROSBEAK seen yesterday afternoon > (01/23) at a deflation plain overlook just north of Florence. The bird was > well seen twice by Shirley and Jim Theilen of Yachats, who are intermediate > birders and are familiar with that species from Colorado. Shirley was a bit > hazy on the name of the location (Hammond's overlook? Something beginning w/ > "H"), but Obolites familiar with the area should be able to find by her > description of the location - please post to the list if you know the name > of the place. Hopefully somebody can refind the bird. > > > > Shirley says it is the first west turn off Hwy 101 south of Darlingtonia > Wayside; says there is a brown sign at the hwy and there is a campground, > but you keep driving to the end of the road where there is a paved parking > lot w/restrooms and a paved walking trail up over a rise and onto a > deck/observation platform overlooking the creek and deflation plain. They > saw the bird on the path (just around the first turn) out to the observation > platform and took time to study it through binocs - saw the blue head, > breast and tail, brown wing bars, and they heard it sing - checked their > birdsong CD when they returned home and said the song also matched Blue > Grosbeak. As they returned from the observation deck the bird had been > scared into the brush by a passing group of people, but the Theilens waited > for a few minutes and the bird reappeared, so they had another look to > verify their first sighting. > > > > Shirley also said there were 2 SNOWY PLOVERS at the edge of the creek, > viewed from the platform. > > ______________________ > > Rebecca Cheek > 14399 S. Coast Hwy > South Beach, OR 97366 > 541-867-4699 > nelsoncheek@charter.net > > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From surfbird at harborside.com Tue Jan 24 12:22:04 2006 From: surfbird at harborside.com (Diane Pettey) Date: Tue Jan 24 12:22:10 2006 Subject: [obol] Lane Coast BLUE GROSBEAK - NO... Message-ID: <003701c62123$d7c016e0$0ade6ed8@yourfsyly0jtwn> For over an hour (1100-12 noon), I searched for the Blue Grosbeak reported at Holman Vista trail, at the end of Sutton Creek Road, north of Florence. Nada. Consolation prize was a beautiful OSPREY and three BARN SWALLOWS. Sixty degrees, sunny! regards, Diane Pettey Florence, OR surfbird@harborside.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060124/cede2431/attachment.htm From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Tue Jan 24 12:29:55 2006 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Tue Jan 24 12:29:22 2006 Subject: [obol] No grosbeak Message-ID: Diane Pettey checked for the Sutton overlook Blue grosbeak mid-day Tuesday and could not find it. However, that is not a "singing" time of day, so it could still be around. There is plenty of semi-open shrub-and-scrub habitat around there. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer@mindspring.com From winkg at hevanet.com Tue Jan 24 16:20:49 2006 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Tue Jan 24 16:21:06 2006 Subject: [obol] Sauvie Island Kite and Goshawk Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060124154447.028e8090@pop.hevanet.com> Today around noon, while Andy Frank and I watched the WHITE-TAILED KITE at "the big right turn" on Oak Island Rd, an immature NORTHERN GOSHAWK landed briefly in a tree about a 100 yds out. It flew off to the distant trees to the north. The Kite moved around quite a bit, at one point coming within 50 yds of the road. It has retained some buffy, juvenile plumage on its breast. "The big right turn" is at 45.6988395N, 122.8347189W. We also found a MERLIN sitting nicely beside Sauvie Island Rd on the west side of the island. Andy, who keeps better track of such things, informs me that it was in Multnomah County. Wink Gross Portland From dondewitt at hotmail.com Tue Jan 24 17:33:00 2006 From: dondewitt at hotmail.com (Don DeWitt) Date: Tue Jan 24 17:33:02 2006 Subject: [obol] South Eugene Mockingbird still around Message-ID: OBOL, Dennis Arendt and I started and finished our hike of Mt. Pisgah today by looking for the NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD (previously posted multiple times) in Alan Contreras's neighborhood. Nothing unusual to report from the pretty much foggy and not very birdy hike, but we did get to see the Mockingbird. It was alternately flying around and perching, mid-way down the alley south of 29th Street, in the block between Alder and Kincaid. Also hanging around the same area are both AMERICAN and LESSER GOLDFINCHES and various sparrows including a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, tan-striped type. Don DeWitt, Eugene From deweysage at verizon.net Tue Jan 24 18:51:37 2006 From: deweysage at verizon.net (DJLauten and KACastelein) Date: Tue Jan 24 18:43:21 2006 Subject: [obol] Lane Co. Coast OSPREY - 1/23/06 In-Reply-To: <004801c62112$79a285e0$05de6ed8@yourfsyly0jtwn> References: <004801c62112$79a285e0$05de6ed8@yourfsyly0jtwn> Message-ID: <43D6E7B9.9060208@verizon.net> There was an OSPREY flying over the mouth of the Umpqua River, Winchester Bay, Douglas Cty, yesterday also. Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein Bandon OR deweysage@verizon.net Diane Pettey wrote: > Yesterday, Anne Caples reported an OSPREY flying over South Jetty Road, > Florence. > > regards, > Diane Pettey > surfbird@harborside.com > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From festuca at olywa.net Tue Jan 24 19:03:18 2006 From: festuca at olywa.net (Anderson / Chaney) Date: Tue Jan 24 19:03:26 2006 Subject: [obol] FW: [pacificseabirds] PRBO Looking for Research Assistant Message-ID: <20060125030325.509331280C2@smtp1.oregonstate.edu> See below Jon (barely birding anymore.) Anderson Olympia, Washington festuca@olywa.us _____ From: pacificseabirds@lists.fws.gov [mailto:pacificseabirds@lists.fws.gov] On Behalf Of Dan Robinette Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 2:07 PM To: pacificseabirds@lists.fws.gov Subject: [pacificseabirds] PRBO Looking for Research Assistant PRBO Conservation Science is seeking a research assistant to work at its Vandenberg Field Station just north of Point Conception in California. Please visit the PSG jobs web page for more details. www.pacificseabirdgroup.org/index.php?f=jobs&t=Jobs%20Listing&s=1 Dan Robinette Vandenberg Seabird Program Manager PRBO Vandenberg Field Station 205 N. H St., Suite 217 Lompoc, CA 93436 (805) 735-7300 (805) 735-8817 fax drobinette@prbo.org www.prbo.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060124/ba3464e3/attachment.htm From festuca at olywa.net Tue Jan 24 19:06:40 2006 From: festuca at olywa.net (Anderson / Chaney) Date: Tue Jan 24 19:06:48 2006 Subject: [obol] FW: [pacificseabirds] Volunteer seabird research positions in Alaska... Message-ID: <20060125030646.4C03A12811C@smtp1.oregonstate.edu> Even more fun.. Check it out! Jon. A OlyWA _____ From: pacificseabirds@lists.fws.gov [mailto:pacificseabirds@lists.fws.gov] On Behalf Of Andy M Ramey Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 1:28 PM To: PacificSeabirds@lists.fws.gov Subject: [pacificseabirds] Volunteer seabird research positions in Alaska... Volunteer seabird research positions in Alaska: Watch, interact, and handle pelagic seabirds like no other field camp in Alaska. Spend your summer assisting with a long term seabird population ecology study at Middleton Island, Alaska. Located in the Gulf of Alaska, Middleton Island supports colonies of pelagic cormorant, glaucous winged gull, black-legged kittiwake, thick-billed murre, common murre, rhinoceros auklet, and tufted puffin. Work as part of a small international crew monitoring the breeding biology of these species at this remote site. Positions begin in early May and continue through mid August. Expect to spend your time monitoring breeding parameters of colonial nesting pelagic seabirds on both an abandoned radar tower colony and on natural breeding habitat. Tower monitoring includes feeding, nest site attendance, weighing and measuring birds, and banding. Activities on natural breeding habitats include cliff productivity monitoring, burrow monitoring, walking plots, weighing and measuring chicks, banding, counts, and more. Expect to work long hours in inclement weather. Receive paid roundtrip airfare to Anchorage, Alaska (and onto Middleton Island) from anywhere in the United States, food and lodging while volunteering for the project, $5/day per diem, and approximately one day off per week. Living arrangements are semi-primitive. First Aid/CPR certification required. Interested parties should send cv and at least two references to Andy Ramey (aramey@usgs.gov), USGS-Alaska Science Center, 1011 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, AK 99503. Email applications encouraged. Positions will be filled as qualified applicants are identified. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060124/da601505/attachment.htm From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Tue Jan 24 20:32:25 2006 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Tue Jan 24 20:32:27 2006 Subject: [obol] Linn County Unit 4 raptor run Message-ID: <20060125043225.51078.qmail@web50902.mail.yahoo.com> Obolers, Spent most of the day today surveying the Linn County Unit 4 raptor route as part of the East Cascades Bird Conservancy's Winter Raptor Project. This route is bordered on the north by Highway 228/Brownsville/Halsey, on the west by the Willamette River, on the east by the foothills of the Cascades south of Brownsville, and on the south by Priceboro road just north of the Lane/Linn County border. I spent 8 hours surveying 139.3 miles of transects. For the first hour, I enjoyed peering through patches of fog but for the most part, had a wonderful drive on a fairly clear day. Fog also was present for the last 45 minutes as well. Following are the birds that were observed: Red-tailed Hawk 143 American Kestrel 114 Northern Harrier 74 Bald Eagle 28 (17 adults - 11 subadults) GOLDEN EAGLE 1 Rough-legged Hawk 3 Prairie Falcon 2 Cooper's Hawk 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Unknown accipiter 1 SHORT-EARED OWL 1 TOTAL 369 Best birds of the day were the Golden Eagle (an immature bird that was perched on a snag east of Center School Rd), the Short-eared Owl(watched it catch a vole at 3:30 PM from an annual ryegrass field along Weatherford Rd), and two seperate Prairie Falcons (one on Nicewood Dr and one on Priceboro Dr). Two of the Rough-legged Hawks were in the same location as last month at the intersection of Lake Creek Dr and Waggener Rd. Jeff Fleischer Albany __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Tue Jan 24 21:13:37 2006 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Tue Jan 24 21:13:39 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Possible BLUE GROSBEAK Near Florence Message-ID: <20060125051337.15557.qmail@web51805.mail.yahoo.com> I think it may be Holman Vista at Sutton Beach. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Wed Jan 25 07:05:49 2006 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Wed Jan 25 07:05:52 2006 Subject: [obol] Coos/Curry Birds 1/21-1/24/06 Message-ID: <20060125150550.31461.qmail@web32612.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Millicoma Marsh, 1/21, Audubon Field trip, AM: 1- CLAY-COLORED SPARROW (the other one may still be around but we only saw one) 3- WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS (I had 6 the day before) New River, southern Coos County, along the coast, 1/22, AM: 4- BARN SWALLOWS (all together headed north) Jack Thomas reports seeing a GYRFALCON (dark phase) out on the north spit of Coos Bay on 1/22 also. Gold Beach area, 1/23, early AM: checked the always busy, Seavey bird feeding set-up and had a total of 5 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS at once, nothing rare though. Tropical Brookings, 1/23, late AM, temp in the 70's (short-sleeve shirt weather until sunset): 1- NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD, found while walking a few neighborhoods, saw this bird on the corner of Kindel St. & Memory Lane. Winchuck River, south of Brookings near the CA border, 1/23, PM: 1- TURKEY VULTURE (about time for the first migrants but could have just been a bird wandering over from CA for the day also) Floras Lake area, northern Curry Co., 1/24, AM: 1- SWAMP SPARROW 1- PALM WARBLER (at the Blue Silos on the way in) Back to work! Tim R Coos Bay __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From wulfbird at gmail.com Wed Jan 25 08:51:36 2006 From: wulfbird at gmail.com (D. D.) Date: Wed Jan 25 08:51:40 2006 Subject: [obol] Commonwealth Lake Park - Wash. Co. 01/24/06 Message-ID: Hello Obol, (Please read an important question below) These past two sunny days have afforded wonderful afternoons of photography at Commonwealth Lake in Beaverton. Here is a list of species I observed over the past two days. Red-Tailed Hawk - 1 Belted Kingfisher - Male - 1 Great Blue Herons - 2 Buffleheads - Male and Female - 2 Double-crested Cormorants - 3 Western Scrub Jays - 3 Pied-billed Grebes - 4 Ring-billed Gulls - 10 American Coots - 9 Common Merganser - 1 Brewer's Blackbird - 2 Male and Female pairs Canada Geese - Dozens, coming and going American Widgeons - Dozens Mallards - Dozens My question: I have observed an American Coot with a damaged foot at the lake. It can still swim and walk, albeit with some difficulty. It seems that it has been surviving for a few weeks, as a few people at the park had noticed it previously. Is this something a wildlife rehabilitator (Audubon Society?) would have interest in? Or will nature take its course? Have a great week! Damian -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060125/8e56f532/attachment.html From linda at fink.com Wed Jan 25 08:56:44 2006 From: linda at fink.com (Linda Fink) Date: Wed Jan 25 08:56:48 2006 Subject: [obol] thanks for the accipiter posts Message-ID: <200601251656.k0PGuKZg041772@mail.viclink.com> Wow! Lots of folks wrote to give me accipiter advice, but none was what I had not already researched. I knew about the blacker cap on the Cooper's but could not tell on this bird. Lighting was not the best. The one point I had forgotten at the time is the skinny pencil legs on the Sharpie. I will look at legs next time. Mostly I learned who my Advanced Birding book would consider the really good birders -- the ones who told me you can't always tell. Thanks to everyone who took the time to try to educate me. Linda Fink, still bewildered but happy to know others are, too From deweysage at verizon.net Wed Jan 25 09:16:32 2006 From: deweysage at verizon.net (DJLauten and KACastelein) Date: Wed Jan 25 09:09:57 2006 Subject: [obol] Lane Cty Barn Swallow, Snowy Plovers, Blues Grosbeak? Message-ID: <43D7B270.4040602@verizon.net> 1/24 We finished our annual winter Snowy Plover surveys yesterday. While out at Tahkenitch Creek Douglas Cty we saw one BARN SWALLOW. Unfortunately we left the house before Rebecca sent her message about the BLUE GROSBEAK. We were right there yesterday, surveying that area for plovers. Had we known about said Grosbeak we would have put in an effort to look for it, but alas, we didn't know until we got home. As far as SNOWY PLOVERS go, we had the best winter survey ever. We found a total of 137-144 plovers between Sutton Creek Lane Cty and New River Coos Cty. I believe that is the highest winter total ever by about 35 birds or so. We had a minimum of 46 unbanded plovers, which is a very high amount. Very interesting, especially considering the nasty weather they just dealt with for a month. Cheers Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein Bandon OR deweysage@verzion.net From woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com Wed Jan 25 09:25:26 2006 From: woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com (J. Simmons) Date: Wed Jan 25 09:25:29 2006 Subject: [obol] Need 2 Eastern bird songs; free download source? Message-ID: <20060125172526.99256.qmail@web31504.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Is anyone aware of where I might find bird songs to download off the internet. I thought I recalled mention of a free source, but a Google search didn't find what I need. I need only 2 (by Sunday): Red-bellied and Red-headed woodpeckers Thanks! Jamie Simmons Corvallis __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From wulfbird at gmail.com Wed Jan 25 09:37:31 2006 From: wulfbird at gmail.com (D. D.) Date: Wed Jan 25 09:37:34 2006 Subject: [obol] Need 2 Eastern bird songs; free download source? In-Reply-To: <20060125172526.99256.qmail@web31504.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20060125172526.99256.qmail@web31504.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Jamie, Here is a Red-Bellied Woodpecker http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/Song/h4090so.mp3 Here is a Red-headed Woodpecker http://www.birds.cornell.edu/bow/rehwoo/rehwoo.wav This page has both: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/bow/rehwoo/ Cheers, Damian On 1/25/06, J. Simmons wrote: > > Is anyone aware of where I might find bird songs to download off the > internet. I thought I recalled mention of a free source, but a > Google search didn't find what I need. > > I need only 2 (by Sunday): > > Red-bellied and Red-headed woodpeckers > > Thanks! > > Jamie Simmons > Corvallis > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060125/6f00c8d6/attachment.html From dpowers at georgefox.edu Wed Jan 25 10:56:55 2006 From: dpowers at georgefox.edu (Don Powers) Date: Wed Jan 25 10:53:11 2006 Subject: [obol] Comment on a recent article in Auk In-Reply-To: <43D3CB56.733B60DB@pacifier.com> References: <43D3CB56.733B60DB@pacifier.com> Message-ID: <75D3C7C7-B45B-4E41-BE56-82ADFEF579EE@georgefox.edu> "Why does it take a species that, from an evidentiary point of view, barely rises above the level of Sasquatch, to motivate people toward habitat protection?" What an absolutely ridiculous statement. When was anything about the search for Sasquatch published in Science? Give the authors a little more credit. In actuality the arguments made in this critique are regurgitations of what is said each and every time a single species becomes the focus of conservation efforts. Ever heard of the spotted owl? I'll bet whole bucket full of flora and fauna have benefited (as much as is possible in our society) from the focus on this species. Remember the California Condor? If they were dense-forest, swamp-birds that could not easily be seen then they probably would now be extinct (BTW I was opposed to the condor project in the beginning). In an ideal world we would actually exhibit intelligence and begin the task of preservation well before anything was threatened, but in reality it takes a hot button in this day and age to move resources (the power of public opinion!). Thanks for the soap box. Sorry if I'm off topic a bit. Cheers, Don ------------ Donald R. Powers, Ph.D. Professor & Chair Biology & Chemistry Department George Fox University 414 N. Meridian St. #6116 Newberg, OR 97132 (503) 554-2705 dpowers@georgefox.edu On Jan 22, 2006, at 10:13 AM, Mike Patterson wrote: > http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/mbalame/archives/003573.html > > -- > Mike Patterson > Astoria, OR > celata@pacifier.com > > SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information > on the 2005 irruption event: > http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From David.Mellinger at oregonstate.edu Wed Jan 25 12:14:11 2006 From: David.Mellinger at oregonstate.edu (Dave Mellinger) Date: Wed Jan 25 12:14:13 2006 Subject: [obol] Newport on Monday: brant, meadowlarks Message-ID: <43D7DC13.5060102@oregonstate.edu> Monday 1/23/06, ~3 pm, near the marine science center in Newport: Two BRANT were near the Wecoma dock (north part of the science center), foraging in the shallow cove near Eric Horvath's purple martin houses. And two WESTERN MEADOWLARKS were at the fruit-packing plant across the street from the science center. Dave David.Mellinger@oregonstate.edu From bigrocketman3 at webtv.net Wed Jan 25 12:37:22 2006 From: bigrocketman3 at webtv.net (Steve McDonald) Date: Wed Jan 25 12:37:25 2006 Subject: [obol] More West Eugene Wetlands Message-ID: <5509-43D7E182-539@storefull-3338.bay.webtv.net> In an attempt to get some pictures of the Barrow's Goldeneye I saw Monday on Amazon Creek, I returned to the area yesterday afternoon. There wasn't a goldeneye in sight-----they may have just been passing through. I did see 5 Hooded Merganser females on the creek, near Terry St. Farther down in Meadowlark Prairie, both branches of the creek were crawling with hundreds of Green-winged Teal. They were giving their ringing chirps and buzzing around in their courtships. The usual collection of Mallards, Am. Wigeons, Gadwalls and N. Shovelers were spotted all along the creek and in flooded fields. A couple of Pie-billed Grebes played hide-and-seek with me, as I walked along the adjacent bikepath. A Red-tailed Hawk came flying by, low and fast, just like a Goshawk. It dropped to the ground and hopped around for some time in the high grass. Then, it flew up with a rodent in its grasp. Several fearless Red-winged Blackbirds sang right above me, in small trees and on light poles. At Stewart Ponds, there were 1,500 Taverner's Geese and many thousands more circled around the area near sunset. A Great Egret was surrounded by about 500 ducks and 40 Dunlin in the marsh. Four Common Pheasants, including a loudly squawking rooster, flew up near me. This once common sight is something rarely seen around here these days. This raises a question, has anyone seen any of the Sechuan Pheasants the ODFW has raised and released in recent years? I've seen just one, about 8 years ago. Or are such birds non-entities on this group? Steve McDonald From kspinks at thprd.com Wed Jan 25 13:05:12 2006 From: kspinks at thprd.com (Kyle Spinks) Date: Wed Jan 25 13:05:42 2006 Subject: [obol] Commonwealth Lake Park - Wash. Co. 01/24/06 Message-ID: Thanks, Damian. Your bird list will go into the files for the park. We track species that pass through or live in our parks and your help is greatly appreciated. Commonwealth waterfowl suffer injuries every year for a variety of reasons, including (but not limited to) attacks by dogs/cats, attacks by coyotes (and other natural area predators), attacks by other waterfowl, attacks by humans, and getting hit by vehicles. In all cases, unless I can actually catch the injured animal, we let nature take it's course. That is, if it can run, fly, or swim away from me, then it's on its own (in most cases, I'm the guy that is sent out to try and capture an injured animal). I know this may sound somewhat cold-hearted, but there's only 4 of us in the Natural Resources Department that manage about 900 acres of natural areas in the District...we just don't have the staff/resources to spend a lot of time trying to catch injured animals that really don't want to be caught. Audubon has toyed with the idea of having someone on hand to try and capture such animals (I did it myself a few times when volunteering at the Care Center), but the job is ultimately very time-consuming and rarely did we ever catch an animal. In general, if the animal can be caught, we always recommended a method (usually over the phone) for a person to capture the injured animal safely and asked that the person bring the animal to the Care Center for treatment. Thanks, Kyle Spinks Natural Resources Technician Tualatin Hills Park & Rec. Dist. 5500 SW Arctic Drive, E. Annex, Ste 2 Beaverton, Oregon 97005 503 629-6305 x2952 Fax: 503-629-6307 Cell: 503-780-7631 >>> "D. D." 1/25/2006 8:51:36 AM >>> Hello Obol, (Please read an important question below) These past two sunny days have afforded wonderful afternoons of photography at Commonwealth Lake in Beaverton. Here is a list of species I observed over the past two days. Red-Tailed Hawk - 1 Belted Kingfisher - Male - 1 Great Blue Herons - 2 Buffleheads - Male and Female - 2 Double-crested Cormorants - 3 Western Scrub Jays - 3 Pied-billed Grebes - 4 Ring-billed Gulls - 10 American Coots - 9 Common Merganser - 1 Brewer's Blackbird - 2 Male and Female pairs Canada Geese - Dozens, coming and going American Widgeons - Dozens Mallards - Dozens My question: I have observed an American Coot with a damaged foot at the lake. It can still swim and walk, albeit with some difficulty. It seems that it has been surviving for a few weeks, as a few people at the park had noticed it previously. Is this something a wildlife rehabilitator (Audubon Society?) would have interest in? Or will nature take its course? Have a great week! Damian From johnfredd at yahoo.com Wed Jan 25 14:35:00 2006 From: johnfredd at yahoo.com (John Deshler) Date: Wed Jan 25 14:35:03 2006 Subject: [obol] Western Grebe courtship: Where and When? Message-ID: <20060125223500.48216.qmail@web32501.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Howdy all, Can someone tell me where and when I might best be able to observe grebes running across the water in their well-known courtship ritual?? I'm in Portland and will drive far and wide for that great spectacle. Thanks in advance. Cheers, John Deshler __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From linda at fink.com Wed Jan 25 14:47:53 2006 From: linda at fink.com (Linda Fink) Date: Wed Jan 25 14:47:57 2006 Subject: [obol] Grand Ronde white birds Message-ID: <200601252247.k0PMlpGH077910@mail.viclink.com> The lovely white-winged redtailed hawk that wintered in Grand Ronde (Polk Co.) last year and this has altered his hunting perches a bit, possibly because of competition -- an "ordinary" Red-tail now often sits on the double power lines next to the Nazarene Church on Grand Ronde Rd. that were White Wings favorite spots last year. This past Sunday, White Wing was alongside Hwy 18 a short distance west of the Grand Ronde Rd. intersection. Today, on my return from the post office, I saw White Wing on a tall fir on the east side of Grand Ronde Rd., just north of the Nazarene Church/power lines. If you're passing through Grand Ronde on your way to the coast and want to see White-tailed Kites, they are pretty faithfully in their respective areas this January. One is almost always on a small fir at the west edge of the field that is on the southwest corner of Grand Ronde Rd. and Hwy 22 (Yamhill Co. but very close to Polk county). If not in the fir, it is hunting over that field. Another pair is often in the field that is just east and south of that intersection. Best viewing for that pair is by driving south from that intersection on Grand Ronde Rd., then turning east on Tyee Rd. and proceeding until you see the white birds on deciduous trees in the field that is fast disappearing behind tribal construction projects. Another single kite is often in or near the hedgerow alongside the field that borders Hwy 22 at what we locals call Dead Man's Corner. It's the sharp 90 degree turn near Valley Junction. (That field incorporates both Polk and Yamhill counties.) To scan that field's hedgerow, pull into the new gravel road on the east side of Hwy 22. Three kites are almost always just south of Hwy 18 (as you're headed toward Lincoln City) -- Polk County -- but you will probably have to stop and pull off the road to find them. Best viewing is by pulling off on the south side of the road across from Grand Ronde Gift Shop (formerly the Whole Earth Pump and Hardware). If you're headed toward the coast, you'll have to pull in to the big gift shop parking lot on the north side of the highway and then walk or drive across the road and back a bit east to the private driveway that borders that field. From there you should be able to pick out the kites, wherever they're perched or hunting. (Several of you said you liked more detailed directions when people post, so this time you got 'em!) Linda Fink From dan at heyerly.com Wed Jan 25 15:12:06 2006 From: dan at heyerly.com (Dan Heyerly) Date: Wed Jan 25 15:12:22 2006 Subject: [obol] Eugene No. Mockingbird 01/25/2006 Message-ID: <20060125230858.8408856C367@pixel.son-net.com> January 25, 2006 I was "in the general area" of the NOMO while working today and decided to see if I could navigate through the huge puddles in the alley south of E. 29th Ave. between Kincaid & Alder Streets in East Eugene. About halfway through the block there is kind of an open area on the west side of the alley, and there is a travel trailer parked. Don't ask me how they got it in there. Anyway, about 40-feet away to the south of the trailer there is a holly tree near what appears to be the property line of that lot. As I drove (floated?) into the opening, the NOMO flew from the ground into the holly tree flashing both its wingbars and tail corners. Thanks for the updates Alan and Don. Dan Heyerly In Soggy Eugene -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060125/bc3f8c4f/attachment.htm From jeffgill at teleport.com Wed Jan 25 16:13:58 2006 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Wed Jan 25 15:13:51 2006 Subject: [obol] FW: Western Bluebirds (Marion County). In-Reply-To: <23c.5c856fa.31092d5f@aol.com> Message-ID: ---------- From: TimBickler@aol.com Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 14:37:03 EST To: jeffgill@teleport.com Subject: Bluebirds Jeff, For what it is worth, I saw a group of 10-12 western bluebirds, all males, at the edge of a flooded field about 3-4 miles upriver from St. Paul. I have been at this farm many times in the last 10 years and have not seen bluebirds there. It is in Marion County. The farm does have a fair amount of oak trees on it, and I have always associated wintering western bluebirds in the Valley with oak stands, particularly in Polk County. These birds were feeding in deitrus caused by the receding water line, probably picking bugs. The farm also has wintering short eared owls, which may nest there for all I know, since I am rarely there in the spring and summer. The owls are there most years but I didn't see them yesterday, probably because the ditches in which they hang out are flooded. It also often has hundreds of meadowlarks wintering. So, there it is, a report from a denizen of the sloughs and flooded fields. Tim -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060125/e562bb37/attachment.html From rcbrumitt at comcast.net Wed Jan 25 15:16:16 2006 From: rcbrumitt at comcast.net (Clint Brumitt) Date: Wed Jan 25 15:16:25 2006 Subject: [obol] Western Grebe courtship: Where and When? References: <20060125223500.48216.qmail@web32501.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <003901c62205$58f68690$9189c147@CB2> I have seen the Western and Clark Grebe displays on Klamath Lake as late as mid-June. I believe they start in early May. Others may have a more definitive starting time.. If you go to Klamath, be sure to plan on seeing more than Grebes. Clint Brumitt ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Deshler" To: Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 2:35 PM Subject: [obol] Western Grebe courtship: Where and When? > > Howdy all, > > Can someone tell me where and when I might best be > able to observe grebes running across the water in > their well-known courtship ritual?? > > I'm in Portland and will drive far and wide for that > great spectacle. > > Thanks in advance. > > Cheers, > > John Deshler > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol@lists.oregonstate.edu > http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol > > To unsubscribe, send a message to: > obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. > From brrobb at comcast.net Wed Jan 25 15:32:19 2006 From: brrobb at comcast.net (Roger & Betty Robb) Date: Wed Jan 25 15:32:42 2006 Subject: [obol] Snowy Owl & Prairie Falcon, Lane County Message-ID: <000801c62207$96174260$06331618@RROffice> This morning Betty, Dwight & Carol Hooker and I found the SNOWY OWL at Alvadore sitting on farm machinery. We also found a PRAIRIE FALCON harassing the ducks at Stewart Pond. Roger Robb Springfield, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060125/049deb7b/attachment.html From khanhbatran at hotmail.com Wed Jan 25 15:58:08 2006 From: khanhbatran at hotmail.com (khanh tran) Date: Wed Jan 25 15:58:11 2006 Subject: [obol] Re: Lane Cty Barn Swallow, Snowy Plovers, Blues Grosbeak? Message-ID: Dave and Kathy, Would have been nice if you got the message about the blue grosbeak before you left or was able to check up-to-date, recent recordings via telephone instead of waiting to get home to a computer. This leads me to ask the following question: Has there ever been a "birdbox" message recording number for Oregon where birders can leave phone recordings as soon as they sight something for others to retrieve? I know Washington and California have "bird box" alerts besides their weekly bird alert reports. Of course, success of implementing this would depend on the participation from birders but I think there are enough serious and kind Oregonian birders who would love to share their sightings with others. All it takes is a few minutes to leave all the pertinent information such as where the bird was seen, date, and time. Even after the initial sighting, a 'yes' or 'no' is definitely helpful. There has been numerous times where I was close to an area where an interesting or rare bird was sighted but was not informed or able to have computer access to check OBOL. Also, the rare bird alert is recorded once a week so any recent updates may be postponed until the following week. I don't know the cost and time to maintain something like this. Would appreciate any insights. Good birding, Khanh Tran From crmiller at bendnet.com Wed Jan 25 16:00:49 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Wed Jan 25 16:01:03 2006 Subject: [obol] Lake County Birding Message-ID: <20060126000100.72B2910475B@smtp3.oregonstate.edu> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Lake County 1 24 06.doc Type: application/msword Size: 31232 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060125/b9e95e6d/LakeCounty12406.doc From kimdelo at yahoo.com Wed Jan 25 16:12:50 2006 From: kimdelo at yahoo.com (Kimdel Owen) Date: Wed Jan 25 16:12:52 2006 Subject: [obol] Redmond-Terrebonne raptor run Message-ID: <20060126001250.12572.qmail@web50212.mail.yahoo.com> I did the Redmond-Terrebonne raptor route this morning under mostly clear skies. Winds were about 10-15 mph. The route covers 45 miles and took 2.5 hours. The following raptors were seen: Red-tailed Hawk - 26 American Kestral - 8 Bald Eagle - 4 Prairie Falcon - 1 "Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? On the rock he dwells and makes his home in the fastness of the rocky crag. There he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it afar off." Kimdel Owen Redmond, OR __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From pamelaj at spiritone.com Wed Jan 25 18:27:46 2006 From: pamelaj at spiritone.com (pamela johnston) Date: Wed Jan 25 18:28:00 2006 Subject: [obol] Red-tails scavenging, again Message-ID: <000401c62220$1ba69e40$2c06f304@yourw5st28y9a3> Recently I have seen two more incidents of Red-tailed Hawks scavenging from carcasses. Each was on a road-killed deer on Willis Road outside McMinnville. Pamela Johnston From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Wed Jan 25 18:43:30 2006 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Wed Jan 25 18:43:33 2006 Subject: [obol] Linn County Unit 2 raptor run Message-ID: <20060126024330.48131.qmail@web50903.mail.yahoo.com> Obolers, Took advantage of the clearing fog today to get out and do another route for the East Cascades Bird Conservancy Winter Raptor Project. I normally do my surveys solo but today I was fortunate to have the company of one Kim Boddie from Bend. If you keep up with the Project reports, Kim conducts the Christmas Valley and Bend-Alfalfa route surveys. Under cloudy and intermittent sprinkles and spray today, the two of us had a successful survey. The Linn County Unit 2 route is bordered on the north by Highway 20, on the west by the Willamette River, on the south by Highway 34, and on the east by the Santiam River. We spent a total of 5 hours and 35 minutes covering 110.7 miles of transects. Following is the list of birds that we say today: Red-tailed Hawk 75 American Kestrel 76 Northern Harrier 5 Bald Eagle 17 (9 Ad, 7 Sub Ad, 1 unknown) Merlin 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 TOTALS 175 Thanks Kim for your much appreciated company and help today ! :) Jeff Fleischer Albany __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From bigrocketman3 at webtv.net Wed Jan 25 18:58:47 2006 From: bigrocketman3 at webtv.net (Steve McDonald) Date: Wed Jan 25 18:58:49 2006 Subject: [obol] Townsend's Warbler Message-ID: <5854-43D83AE7-939@storefull-3336.bay.webtv.net> Today, at my place near Eugene, I had a Townsend's Warbler, a Black-capped Chickadee and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet join the usual mob of juncos, sparrows, towhees, blackbirds and jays. The warbler seemed delighted to find my "Giant" Sequoia Tree (6 feet tall). It dropped down from a large fir and spent some time combing through all its branches. I assume it was going after the many tiny spiders that live there. I appreciated this bright little bundle of energy on an otherwise dreary day. Steve McDonald From marciafcutler at comcast.net Wed Jan 25 19:30:36 2006 From: marciafcutler at comcast.net (MARCIA CUTLER) Date: Wed Jan 25 19:30:42 2006 Subject: [obol] Benton Co. Raptor Run Message-ID: <009f01c62228$dfffb030$e2f9a843@MC2> Paula Vanderheul and I did this month's raptor run today in Benton Co. The area covered is from south of Corvallis to the southern end of the county between Bellfountain Rd and the Willamette River. Heavy rains a week ago Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday have resulted in several closed roads in the area. Finley NWR was closed at the Finley Rd. entrance (east side) and below headquarters (west side). In addition the area from Eureka Rd. to Old River Rd and Bundy intersection was closed. Despite this, we feel we had a pretty successful day. We traveled 101 miles in 7 3/4 hrs. Here are our results: Red-tailed Hawk - 85 American Kestrel - 59 Northern Harrier - 32 Bald Eagle - 2 adult; 1 immature; 2 others Rough-legged Hawk - 6, incl. 2 dark forms Cooper's Hawk - 2 Unidentified Hawks - 3 Also: Common Ravens - 9 Great Blue Herons - 33 Great Egrets - more than 50 off Irish Bend Rd. plus 5 others nearby Tundra Swans - 64 in 3 groups: - 6 on west side of 99W about 1/2 mile north of Airport Rd. (just north of Hendrix Heating); - 23 off Irish Bend Rd. with the Great Egrets and some gulls - 35 off Old River Rd. between Stow Pit Rd. and Goracke - more than 300 gulls (Ring-billed) off E. Ingram Island Rd. - 1 swallow (more in a separate posting) Marcia F. Cutler -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060125/1a6ab68d/attachment.htm From marciafcutler at comcast.net Wed Jan 25 19:45:07 2006 From: marciafcutler at comcast.net (MARCIA CUTLER) Date: Wed Jan 25 19:45:08 2006 Subject: [obol] Swallow - Benton Co. Message-ID: <00ac01c6222a$e6e75950$e2f9a843@MC2> Today while doing the raptor run, Paula Vanderheul and I saw a swallow at the end of Dorr Rd (off Smith Loop). At the time, I felt it was a Northern Rough-winged Swallow, but after consulting some books, I'm not sure. The swallow was seen under dark gray skies flying around a field, house and garage and eventually right by us before disappearing. Its back was uniformly darkish, but not necessarily black. The head was entirely brown and didn't contrast much with the back. The rest of the undersides was a buffy color, not white, closer to a very light brown. The tail was not forked, but extended a bit at the tips - it was hard to see the tail shape against a dark sky. If this was fall, I'd think the bird was an immature Barn Swallow. Would an immature Barn Swallow at this time of year still look the same? (i.e. no orangy tinge to the breast and just a hint of a forked tail) Marcia F. Cutler -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060125/b035f13d/attachment.html From b.meiering at att.net Wed Jan 25 20:17:30 2006 From: b.meiering at att.net (Brian Meiering) Date: Wed Jan 25 20:17:35 2006 Subject: [obol] Your long eared owl sightings request Message-ID: <000601c6222f$6cda9730$5014490c@sharonbrian> Anyone who has any historical data regarding the species in Oregon? I am interested in the species as a whole and would like to gather some historical sightings/data on the matter...particularly regarding birds sighted west of the cascades. All sightings, all dates. Please send me your stories and what_not...the more specific the better! Please forward to myself and the post in kind. Thanks, Brian Meiering -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060125/2290b8c0/attachment.html From sharonh at seasurf.net Wed Jan 25 20:43:50 2006 From: sharonh at seasurf.net (Sharon & Don Haller) Date: Wed Jan 25 20:24:21 2006 Subject: [obol] Pileated in front yard. Message-ID: <43D85386.5040900@seasurf.net> Monday morning as I was leaving for work I saw a pileated woodpecker on the pine snag next to our front yard. This is definitely a first as a yard bird for us. (We do get bald eagles, great blue herons and great horned owls fairly regularly in a very large spruce of the NW corner of our front yard, overlooking downtown Astoria.) The other out-of-the-ordinary yard notes are what we were fairly sure was an orange crowned warbler that was visiting our feeder regularly for a while, and, as note elsewhere, the large number of townsends warblers, and the almost complete absence of siskins--one only throughout fall to date. As to location, we are about a third of the way from the Patterson's home towards the house where the Bullocks Orilole has been wintering. Clear? Yours for erratic capitalization and punctuation, Don Haller From winkg at hevanet.com Wed Jan 25 20:50:53 2006 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Wed Jan 25 20:51:13 2006 Subject: [obol] Pittock, NW Portland, week ending 01/25/06 Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20060125204257.0292ad38@pop.hevanet.com> Here is the summary of my morning dogwalks from NW Seblar Terrace to the Pittock Mansion for the week 01/19/06 to 1/25/06. Species in ALL CAPS were neither seen nor heard during the previous week. Additional information about my dogwalk may be found at http://www.hevanet.com/winkg/dogwalkpage.html We did the walk 6 days this week. Species # days found (peak #, date) DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT 1 (1, 1/23) TUNDRA SWAN 1 (1+ [heard only], 1/22) Canada/Cackling Goose 2 (180, 1/25) Band-tailed Pigeon 2 (5, 1/25) Anna's Hummingbird 4 (4, 1/23) Downy Woodpecker 1 (1, 1/21) Hairy Woodpecker 3 (3, 1/25) NORTHERN FLICKER 3 (1) Pileated Woodpecker 1 (1, 1/21) Golden-crowned Kinglet 5 (20, 1/23) Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 (2, 1/19) BEWICK'S WREN 2 (1, 1/23 & 25) Winter Wren 4 (2, 1/25) American Robin 5 (20, 1/23) Varied Thrush 3 (5, 1/22) Bushtit 2 (25, 1/20) Black-capped Chickadee 6 (25, 1/23 & 25) Chestnut-backed Chickadee 4 (5) Red-breasted Nuthatch 4 (4) Brown Creeper 1 (2, 1/23) Steller's Jay 5 (10, 1/25) Western Scrub-Jay 2 (1, 1/21 & 22) American Crow 4 (6) EUROPEAN STARLING 5 (4, 1/25) Hutton's Vireo 3 (1) House Finch 6 (20, 1/25) Pine Siskin 4 (25, 1/25) Spotted Towhee 4 (3) Fox Sparrow 1 (2, 1/25) Song Sparrow 6 (15) Dark-eyed Junco 5 (30, 1/20) In neighborhood but not found on dogwalk: Cooper's Hawk Wink Gross Portland From jwwdvm at comcast.net Wed Jan 25 21:07:19 2006 From: jwwdvm at comcast.net (John W. Williams) Date: Wed Jan 25 21:07:47 2006 Subject: [obol] Ridgefield NWR Today In-Reply-To: <200509171900.j8HJ046a011794@mxout2.cac.washington.edu> Message-ID: Birds at the River S Unit today included Common Merganser, Northern Shrike, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Short-billed (I think) Dowitcher. A large flock of Tundra Swans was on Rest Lake. Good birding, John Williams Battle Ground, WA, USA www.featherphotography.com From steve at paradisebirding.com Wed Jan 25 22:53:54 2006 From: steve at paradisebirding.com (Steve Shunk) Date: Wed Jan 25 22:57:15 2006 Subject: [obol] Very Late Coast Report: SLATY-BACKED GULL Message-ID: Hello all, I apologize for the late report, but I am a bit buried these days. I ran down the coast last week from Astoria to Newport between Tuesday and Friday. Business duties kept me from too much birding, but I did lead a private tour in the Astoria area Tuesday. We sought and found 4 SNOWY OWLS at Ft Stevens, one across from Lot B and three at Lot C, as well as 2 PEREGRINE FALCONS on the trestle near Lot B. More importantly, however, we found a probable adult SLATY-BACKED GULL that we observed at very close range on the beach just a few hundred feet N of the jetty. I do not have time for a full report, but here are some details: same size and nearly the same mantle/upperwing color as nearby Western Gulls, but smaller, narrower bill with almost straight lower mandible with clean red spot. Dirty head and bright yellow eye. Fairly bright pink legs. Fairly broad white tips to secondaries (observed on the beach), and slightly lighter primary tips than Westerns (as seen in flight). I have never seen this species, but I vocally recorded my observations on my MP3 player, then checked Sibley and Geo at the car, and Grant and Olsen once I got home. We got superb looks, i.e. full-frame in my Leica scope with morning light at our backs. Moving on, we were excited to find what may have been THE northernmost WRENTITS in the world, a big highlight for my Louisiana clients. My highlight from Wednesday was returning to Seaside Cove to photograph (at very close range) the BLACK SCOTERS we had seen the prior evening. They were feeding just off the beach. Most impressive on Thursday were at least 21 drake EURASIAN WIGEONS in the duck flock on the southern edge of Tillamook proper. That's all I could count with my scope and window-mount from the west side of the highway in the driving rain with trucks flying by. These fields hosted thousands of ducks, mostly WIGEON, MALLARD, and PINTAIL. Later, at Depoe Bay, I found 8 OYSTERCATCHERS loafing below the seawall, with about 6 SURFBIRDS and dozens of BLK TURNSTONES foraging nearby. On Friday, I saw the most stunning drake LONG-TAILED DUCK at the South Jetty of Yaquina Bay that I have ever seen in my life. He was right below me a ways past the end of the pavement. There were quite a few RED-NECKED GREBES inside the jetties. Later in the afternoon, I was looking for the Snowy Owl near Hatfield MSC (which I did not find) and I came upon an adult BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE loafing on one of the little beaches near Hatfield. Too mad I had used all my film on the Scoters! Off to California tomorrow to study Slaty-backed Gulls at Half Moon Bay! Steve Shunk -- Stephen Shunk Paradise Birding: Tours for Bird Lovers Sisters, OR http://www.paradisebirding.com 541-549-8826 (home) 541-408-1753 (cell) 541-549-8937 (fax) -- From hnehls at teleport.com Wed Jan 25 23:50:55 2006 From: hnehls at teleport.com (Harry Nehls) Date: Wed Jan 25 23:47:44 2006 Subject: [obol] RBA: Portland, OR 1-26-06 Message-ID: - RBA * Oregon * Portland * January 26, 2006 * ORPO0601.26 - birds mentioned Trumpeter Swan Great Egret Osprey Wandering Tattler Herring Gull Snowy Owl Selasphorus Hummingbird Say?s Phoebe BLUE JAY Black-billed Magpie Barn Swallow Bohemian Waxwing Tree Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Snow Bunting BLUE GROSBEAK - transcript hotline: Portland Oregon Audubon RBA (weekly) number: 503-292-6855 To report: Harry Nehls 503-233-3976 compiler: Harry Nehls coverage: entire state Hello, this is the Audubon Society of Portland Rare Bird Report. This report was made Thursday January 26. If you have anything to add call Harry Nehls at 503-233-3976. On January 23 a BLUE GROSBEAK was reported near the overlook at Sutton Beach, north of Florence. A BLUE JAY is now being seen in the Rogue Valley around Talent. Four SNOWY OWLS are still being seen at the South Jetty of the Columbia River, one is at Yaquina Bay, and another is being seen at Alvadore north of Fern Ridge Reservoir. It appears that BARN SWALLOWS are again moving north into Oregon during January. Several sightings were reported during the week. A few OSPREYS are also apparently on the move with sightings along the coast and elsewhere where not reported earlier. An ALLEN?S or RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD was near Bandon January 24. On January 24 three TRUMPETER SWANS were identified east of Florence. On January 22 a flock of 500 HERRING GULLS were near Florence at the South Jetty of the Siuslaw River. The wintering TATTLER north of Newport at Yaquina Head continues to be seen. The MAGPIE wintering in northeast Portland continues to be reported. On January 22 two GLAUCOUS GULLS were among a large flock of gulls at Grand Island south of Dayton. A SAY?S PHOEBE was seen January 23 near the Corvallis Airport. On January 25, 55 GREAT EGRETS were seen off Irish Bend Road southeast of Finley NWR. On January 19 a flock of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS was in northern Umatilla County east of Milton-Freewater. Seven SAVANNAH SPARROWS were also in the area. Good numbers of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS are still being seen in the Wallowa Valley. That?s it for this week. - end transcript -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060125/9688ecbb/attachment.htm From qtnice at juno.com Thu Jan 26 00:12:36 2006 From: qtnice at juno.com (Quinton T Nice) Date: Thu Jan 26 00:15:22 2006 Subject: [obol] More West Eugene Wetlands Message-ID: <20060126.001237.388.0.qtnice@juno.com> OBOL, I have seen several of the Sechuan pheasants in recent years in the foothills along the north side of Highway 18 between Sheridan and McMinnville (Yamhill county). At least I'm assuming that's what they are since they are darker and lack the white neck ring of the "regulars." I would take a wild guess that if you cruised Masonville and Muddy Valley Roads for a while you would see about a 50/50 mixture of the two types. Quinton Nice Willamina, Oregon From crmiller at bendnet.com Thu Jan 26 08:30:30 2006 From: crmiller at bendnet.com (Marilyn Miller) Date: Thu Jan 26 08:30:36 2006 Subject: [obol] Western Grebe courtship: Where and When? In-Reply-To: <20060125223500.48216.qmail@web32501.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20060126163034.B27CF17000A@smtp2.oregonstate.edu> I have seen the Grebe courtship at Hart Lake, near Plush, at the base of Hart Mountain, Lake County, Southeast Oregon. Marilyn Miller Bend, Oregon -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu [mailto:obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu] On Behalf Of John Deshler Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 2:35 PM To: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Subject: [obol] Western Grebe courtship: Where and When? Howdy all, Can someone tell me where and when I might best be able to observe grebes running across the water in their well-known courtship ritual?? I'm in Portland and will drive far and wide for that great spectacle. Thanks in advance. Cheers, John Deshler __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol@lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol To unsubscribe, send a message to: obol-leave@lists.oregonstate.edu. From sjag2 at juno.com Thu Jan 26 09:13:04 2006 From: sjag2 at juno.com (sjag2) Date: Thu Jan 26 09:14:16 2006 Subject: [obol] tourism and birding-eagles and link Message-ID: <001801c6229b$c63d28d0$e2509643@fastbox> Hi folks, A couple of aticles in USA Today on line edition on birding and the positive impact of the dollars spent in viewing birds. The link to the second article is in the body of the first article. Our "own" Tom Snetsinger is quoted in the second one. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2006-01-26-eagle-watching_x.htm?csp=28 Steve Jaggers From borealowl at comcast.net Thu Jan 26 09:22:00 2006 From: borealowl at comcast.net (Michael Marsh) Date: Thu Jan 26 09:22:06 2006 Subject: [obol] Bud Anderson's Accipiter ID Tips Message-ID: <012620061722.12995.43D9053800069DFD000032C32200750330049901040E0A9D010D@comcast.net> OBOL'ers: Below I've pasted in a post Bud Anderson, WA raptor researcher and bander, sent to Tweeters last year to assist someone who had frequent close views of a 'problem' accipiter. He mentions salient ID points that are not covered in either of my two Hawk guides or my dozen or so field guides. He has given me permission to post this to OBOL. Thought it might help all of us, as there is currently a 'problem' accipiter in Grand Rond. Good birding, Mike Michael Marsh Portland, OR BorealOwl@Comcast.net ----------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Bud E-mail" To: "Tweeters" Subject: [Tweeters] Hawk ID Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:18:57 -0800 Hi Bill and Tweeters, This is a classic first year female Sharpie. Nice photo. Coopers vs. Sharpie To me, the thing to look at first is the quality of the breast streaking. In Sharpie, the distinctive breast streaking is broad (wide), layered (i.e. forming chains) and extensive. Cooper's streaking is much different. In COHAs there are usually fewer streaks and they are usually longer and shaped like an extended or stretched-out teardrop. Very elegant. Most often, the background color in COHAs is pure white with the streaking dark brown creating a strong contrast. SSHAs often have a more rufous appearing breast. When you look at the two side by side, it seems COHAs are much whiter on the breast, more white than dark. In SSHAs, it is usually (not always) the opposite, i.e. more dark than light. The "indented" forehead of the SSHA is clearly represented in this picture. COHAs don't have "foreheads". Instead they have a smooth, continuous slope from the arc of the bill up through the cere into the crown. SSHAs never do. Their profiles are very different. This bird also has a white eyestripe, common in imm. SSHAs. The tarsus of this bird is the size of a wooden matchstick, typical of SSHAs, although some male COHAs also show this feature (never females). But the toes are extremely long, especially the middle one, perfect for catching small birds. COHAs eat more mammals and have a significantly thicker and proportionately shorter middle toe. Adult or Immature Pretty straightforward. Yellow eye equals immature. Brown back is immature. Rufous feather edgings are an immature feature. Streaking on breast instead of barring is an immature character. Ageing accipiters is easily done in most cases. Male or female The eye size dictates female. Males have much larger eyes in proportion to the head than females. They are like big saucers. I know this will catch some flack but I've handled literally hundreds of migrant SSHAs over the years and, in hand, it always checks out. Hopes this helps, Bud Anderson Falcon Research Group Box 248 Bow, WA 98232 (360) 757-1911 bud AT frg.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060126/7e3d6c31/attachment.html From Randy.Moore at oregonstate.edu Thu Jan 26 11:12:48 2006 From: Randy.Moore at oregonstate.edu (Moore, Randy) Date: Thu Jan 26 11:13:10 2006 Subject: [obol] Spring! barn swallows at BSNWR Polk Co. References: <20060125200010.1A02C1362C4@lists.nws.oregonstate.edu> Message-ID: <919822066E530A4F86B5BD240A9D03666291E0@nash-exchange.fwl.oregonstate.edu> Hi all, It's starting! It's one of the saving graces of the Pacific Northwest winter that signs of spring start really early. While on an expedition to find streaked horned larks at Baskett Slough yesterday, I happened upon a flock of 10 Barn Swallows feeding busily over one of the many ponds along the southern stretch of Livermore Road. For those of you who are interested, the lark search was succesful; about 85 birds in 2 flocks in the same area as the swallows. One of the males was doing his flight display while singing at the north end of Livermore, another sign of the approach of spring. Don't forget, horned lark surveys will begin late this spring, so contact me if you're interested in taking part! cheers, randy Randy Moore 104 Nash Hall Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331-3803 ph. 541-737-5063 fax 541-737-3590 E-mail randy.moore@oregonstate.edu ________________________________ From: obol-bounces@lists.oregonstate.edu on behalf of obol-request@lists.oregonstate.edu Sent: Wed 1/25/2006 12:00 PM To: obol@lists.oregonstate.edu Subject: obol Digest, Vol 27, Issue 25 Send obol mailing list submissions to obol@lists.oregonstate.edu To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to obol-request@lists.oregonstate.edu You can reach the person managing the list at obol-owner@lists.oregonstate.edu When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of obol digest..." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060126/922ce055/attachment.htm From celata at pacifier.com Thu Jan 26 13:35:18 2006 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Thu Jan 26 13:33:54 2006 Subject: [obol] Rufous Hummingbird arrival reports Message-ID: <43D9406B.45DE0A@pacifier.com> Other commitments will keep me from collecting and archiving Rufous Hummingbird arrival data this season. The good folks at Journey North are still interested in the data and you are encouraged to report to them. http://www.learner.org/jnorth/humm/index.html I hope to put together a synthesis of the data collected since 2000 for publication. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR celata@pacifier.com SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information on the 2005 irruption event: http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html From bdgleason at comcast.net Thu Jan 26 13:58:14 2006 From: bdgleason at comcast.net (Barbara Gleason) Date: Thu Jan 26 13:58:31 2006 Subject: [obol] Hybird Townsend's-Hermit Warbler - South Eugene Message-ID: <55a432cc25fcff0091a71642dc10030f@comcast.net> Folks, Dan's computer is on the blink so we're posting from mine. Among our many Townsend's Warblers (7-12 at a time each day) we just had a hybrid Towsend's x Hermit Warbler. The bird had no facial markings, just yellow throughout the face with the crown somewhat darker. The sides were light but not as white as a Hermit and it had pale streaking, characteristic of Townsend's not Hermit. A nice bird to see contrasted with the many male and female Townsend's that are regular here, on Lorane Highway, in town Eugene. By the way, Dan's new column in Eugene's Register-Guard appears today in the Home and Garden section, in a new column titled "Backyard Habitats." Appropriately enough, it deals with Townsend's Warblers, too! (Not sure yet how to find it online, though!) ---- BGleason Design & Illustration CraneDance Publications www.bgleasondesign.com _ Graphic Design, Book Publishing ( '< Scientific & Commercial Illustration / ) ) bdgleason@comcast.net //" " Ph: 541-345-3974 P.O. Box 50535, Eugene OR 97405 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 1197 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/private/obol/attachments/20060126/7cbfa2cd/attachment.bin From d_maxs at hotmail.com Thu Jan 26 15:44:30 2006 From: d_maxs at hotmail.com (D.Max Smith) Date: Thu Jan 26 15:44:32 2006 Subject: [obol] Kittiwake Message-ID: Obolers, After seeing a few posts of Black-legged Kittiwakes, I checked my field guide and