From carolk at viclink.com Sat Jan 1 09:41:07 2011 From: carolk at viclink.com (Carol Karlen) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 07:41:07 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] First bird... Message-ID: OBOL: Our first bird of the New Year is again the ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD at Carol's feeder at 7:35 AM on 1-1-11! Carol also heard the wings of a dove. May that be a good sign for the New Year. The White-throated Sparrow is also present! Good birding, everyone, Carol Karlen & Paul Sullivan From gaviaimmer at live.com Sat Jan 1 11:17:36 2011 From: gaviaimmer at live.com (Matthew) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 09:17:36 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Silverton CBC Priliminary Results Message-ID: Hi Birders, The 25th Silverton CBC had a decent showing with around 21 participants, 8 feeders watchers (5 have yet to report), and a preliminary species count of 92. The weather was nice but cold (low of 24, high of 35) and the higher elevation sectors had 6-8 inches of snow. Also feeder watchers proved their importance with only 3 counters having reported two species that were missed in the field were found at feeders. Highlights included 1 EURASIAN WIGEON -- 5th record 1 RUFFED GROUSE -- 1st record in 5 years. Used to be more common 2 MOUNTAIN QUAIL-- 5th record 18 DUNLIN -- 5th record 7 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES -- 2nd record, but I believe they are here to stay 10 SAVANNAH SPARROWS -- Highest count in over 10 years 3 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS -- Decent number of a hard to find species 4 BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD -- Only found about half the time Biggest misses Green Heron -- A single individual that has been hanging around the Oregon Garden couldn't be found. Northern Shoveler -- Waterfowl are hard to come by on the Silverton CBC Canvasback -- Waterfowl are hard to come by on the Silverton CBC Barn Owl -- Tough one to find Purple Finch -- How did we miss this one? An almost miss was NORTHERN HARRIER. We only found one! Matthew Schneider Silverton, Oregon Silverton CBC Assistant Compiler -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jblowers at ix.netcom.com Sat Jan 1 11:48:03 2011 From: jblowers at ix.netcom.com (Joseph Blowers) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 09:48:03 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] First Bird Message-ID: My first bird of the year, seen from my front window in the pre-dawn gloom, was a Varied Thrush. Second was a quartet of Song Sparrows and third was a Townsend's Warbler at the suet feeder. Joe Blowers From brandon.green18 at gmail.com Sat Jan 1 12:22:51 2011 From: brandon.green18 at gmail.com (Brandon Green) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 10:22:51 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] First bird... Message-ID: The first bird that I saw this morning was a diseased Pine Siskin. Given that I've been fighting a cold for over a month now, I don't see that as a particularly auspicious way to begin the year. Brandon Eugene From kolwicz at minetfiber.com Sat Jan 1 12:50:13 2011 From: kolwicz at minetfiber.com (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) Date: Sat, 01 Jan 2011 10:50:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] First Bird of the Year. . . Message-ID: <4D1F7765.2020306@minetfiber.com> Well, since others have started this and I think I have a pretty good entry: my first bird this morning was an immature Cooper's Hawk, sitting on one leg for about a half hour on a grape arbor, just looking around. Happy New Year, Frank in Monmouth From withgott at comcast.net Sat Jan 1 12:51:33 2011 From: withgott at comcast.net (Jay Withgott) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 10:51:33 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] no YT warbler yet... Message-ID: Happy New Year, Birders! David Smith and I each searched the neighborhood a bit this morning for the potential Yellow-throated Warbler, but no dice. It was even windier and colder than yesterday. Very nice consolation prizes were a MERLIN that twice swooped near the yard of interest (no yellow feathers were seen trailing from its bill) and a flock of 44 SNOW GEESE flying over. A single Merlin has wintered in Multnomah Village each of the past several winters, but I've only had Snow Geese go over once or twice before. ... My first-bird-of-the-year was Junco, and Susan's was (envy this!) Varied Thrush. Jay Withgott SW Portland From 4cains at charter.net Sat Jan 1 13:21:49 2011 From: 4cains at charter.net (Lee & Lori Cain) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 11:21:49 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] FBOY Message-ID: <981E08E51CCC415A97B4C154813A3D03@CainFamilyHP> A Black-bellied Plover was my first bird voice of the year...ploo-eee overhead at about 7:00 am. Lee Cain Astoria, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Jfitchen at aol.com Sat Jan 1 14:04:38 2011 From: Jfitchen at aol.com (Jfitchen at aol.com) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 15:04:38 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] Mult White Pelicans Message-ID: Hello Obol, Bob Stites just called to tell me he saw three AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS at Broughton Beach flying east (up-river) toward the Sea Scout Base. The birds veered to the south and flew across PDX. Most, if not all, of that flight path is clearly within the Portland CBC circle. [Wink: Is that a count-week first?] Hope they hang around overnight. Cheers, John Fitchen Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wildtrout5 at comcast.net Sat Jan 1 16:49:40 2011 From: wildtrout5 at comcast.net (wildtrout5 at comcast.net) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 22:49:40 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Mult White Pelicans Message-ID: <217878249.537627.1293922180189.JavaMail.root@sz0070a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> I was also there looking for the immature surf scoters (they were present with the large flock of scaup) and saw the three white pelicans.? They looked like they were making their approach for a landing at PDX.? Also, there were?two loons up near Marine Drive and 158th.? One looked to be a common but the other wouldn't hold still and headed downstream rapidly, mostly underwater.? Also. the harlequin ducks were present at Eagle Creek along with nice views of both Barrow's and common goldeneyes near the mouth. David Leal -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ensatina3 at hotmail.com Sat Jan 1 17:49:24 2011 From: ensatina3 at hotmail.com (Bobbett Pierce) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 18:49:24 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] w-t sparrow morphs Message-ID: The tan-striped WHITE-THROATED SPARROW continues to come to my feeding stations, and todaya white-striped variety showed up as well. Quite a difference! Lona PierceWarren, Columbia County -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sylviam at clearwire.net Sat Jan 1 18:39:00 2011 From: sylviam at clearwire.net (Sylvia Maulding) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 16:39:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Turkey Vultures, Eugene Message-ID: This afternoon about 3:00, Paul Sherrell and I found 18 TURKEY VULTURES all kettled together at the corner of Royal and Fisher Rds. -- Sylvia Maulding Springfield, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tmacport99 at hotmail.com Sat Jan 1 18:49:26 2011 From: tmacport99 at hotmail.com (Tom McNamara) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 16:49:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Yellow-throated... Message-ID: "Many are called but few are chosen" might be heard: "many are cold but few are frozen".... I was somewhere in between. When, that is, I was looking for the Yellow-throated warbler this afternoon. No, by the way, I didn't see it. The overall location, with a feeders in several yards and decent amount of bushes and trees, seemed fairly birdy but the exoticism quotient was low. One song sparrow may have been from the subspecies ornette colemanii what with his radical riffs on the otherwise straightforward melospiza offering, pretty fun to hear. Note to self for tomorrow: bring Even More layers, especially windblocker. good birding Tom ps. Firstbird: Anna's -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rfadney at hotmail.com Sat Jan 1 19:04:38 2011 From: rfadney at hotmail.com (R. Adney Jr.) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 17:04:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Our First Birds Message-ID: Our were a herd of about 30 juncos at the feeders and two Rufous hummers fighting over the nectar feeder! We also raptored Linn County, finding a total of: 8 Bald Eagles (1 juve) 28 Red Tails 15 Kestrals 2 Peregrine Falcons harassing a flock of Pintails at Ankeny 4 Northern Harriers 1 Coopers Hawk Rich Adney http://avianpics.blogspot.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/adneyvisualarts/ Look for a new website coming Soon! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rawieland at gmail.com Sat Jan 1 20:08:16 2011 From: rawieland at gmail.com (Rainer Wieland) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 18:08:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cliff Swallows in Vancouver Message-ID: At the end of Lower River Road where you can look into Ridgefield NWR there is open water with many swans, mergasnsers, geese, ducks, and a few gulls. This afternoon just before sunset there were 8-10 Cliff Swallows skimming over the water. Sent from my iPhone near North Portland, OR From whoffman at peak.org Sat Jan 1 20:23:16 2011 From: whoffman at peak.org (Wayne Hoffman) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 18:23:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cliff Swallows in Vancouver References: Message-ID: <7A3C1657A9024818817ED54702803FF3@D48XBZ51> A week or so ago, someone posted a report of a mixed flock of Tree Swallows and Violet-green Swallows. until this year all the Dec.-Jan. swallow occurrences I am aware of in the Pacific Northwest were of Tree or Barn swallows. So it appears the phenomenon has spread beyond these two species. I really think increasing number of winter swallow occurrences need further investigation. Something is changing for them, and I doubt that it is good news, even if it does give us a potential for more species on our CBCs. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rainer Wieland" To: Sent: Saturday, January 01, 2011 6:08 PM Subject: [OBOL] Cliff Swallows in Vancouver > At the end of Lower River Road where you can look into Ridgefield NWR > there is open water with many swans, mergasnsers, geese, ducks, and a few > gulls. This afternoon just before sunset there were 8-10 Cliff Swallows > skimming over the water. > > Sent from my iPhone near North Portland, OR > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > From jeffgill at teleport.com Sat Jan 1 21:00:36 2011 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sat, 01 Jan 2011 19:00:36 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cliff Swallows in Vancouver In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I am not saying that the identification is incorrect. That written, a flock of Cave Swallows is more likely at this season north of either species' normal winter range. I am basing this primarily on records from the eastern US. Was Cave Swallow considered in making the identification? Jeff Gilligan Currently at the Salton Sea, CA On 1/1/11 6:08 PM, "Rainer Wieland" wrote: > At the end of Lower River Road where you can look into Ridgefield NWR there is > open water with many swans, mergasnsers, geese, ducks, and a few gulls. This > afternoon just before sunset there were 8-10 Cliff Swallows skimming over the > water. > > Sent from my iPhone near North Portland, OR > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From tlove at linfield.edu Sat Jan 1 21:03:44 2011 From: tlove at linfield.edu (Thomas Love) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 19:03:44 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] central OR Cascades crossbills Message-ID: <48AAF0D003D67944931DDDC72D022F1225D7A27C@exchangedb.wfo.linfield.edu> I am trying to learn to sort out RED CROSSBILL vocalizations. I had a group of six Type 1 or 2 at Sunriver stables on Wednesday, 29 Dec, and a group of four of what I think were Type 4 birds at Mt. Bachelor in the Sunrise lodge area on Th, 30 Dec. Also present in the zero-degree conditions at Mt. Bachelor were a half dozen NORTHERN RAVENS and two GRAY JAYS. The high 20s back here in Portland feels positively balmy. Tom Love -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From adrian.hinkle at gmail.com Sat Jan 1 21:16:25 2011 From: adrian.hinkle at gmail.com (Adrian Hinkle) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 19:16:25 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eagle Creek, Multnomah County Message-ID: On our way through the gorge today we briefly stopped at the mouth of Eagle Creek. During the 15 minutes that we were there we saw a few Common Mergansers, 6 Barrow's and 20 Common Goldeneye, 1 first-year Horned Grebe, and a female RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. After that we drove upriver and spotted the pair of HARLEQUIN DUCKS between the fish hatchery and the foot bridge. Merry Merganser and Happy Harlequin! Adrian and Christopher Hinkle Em Scattaregia -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Sat Jan 1 21:47:36 2011 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Sat, 01 Jan 2011 19:47:36 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Coquille Valley CBC results Message-ID: Preliminary results of the Coquille Valley CBC show 155 species, our second-highest, on a gorgeous sunny day on the coast. We still have a few feeders out, but they are not likely to add any species. Highlights include Osprey, Harris's Sparrow, Red-naped Sapsucker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Lapland Longspur, Palm Warbler, Tree Swallow, Clark's Grebe, Say's Phoebe, Barred Owl, Lesser Goldfinch, Red Phalarope and Evening Grosbeak. Notable misses include Canvasback, Northern Shrike, Mountain Quail, Ruddy Turnstone. None of these are annual in the circle; Canvasback was seen count week. Seen the day before the count but not on count day were Nashville Warbler and American Tree Sparrow. The possible Slaty-backed Gull was not seen on count day. I will post more details on Monday. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer at mindspring.com Oregonreview.blogspot.com From Oropendolas at aol.com Sat Jan 1 21:56:42 2011 From: Oropendolas at aol.com (Oropendolas at aol.com) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 22:56:42 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] Lane Co. Raptor Route Unit 2 Message-ID: <351c6.19473e62.3a51517a@aol.com> Hello All, Laura Johnson, Tanya Bray and I surveyed the Lane Co. Unit 2 today. The 82 mile route took 5.5 hours and 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. There are above average numbers of Red-tails and Kestrels along the route, but not many White-tailed Kites around this winter. Red-tailed Hawk - 53 American Kestrel - 53 Northern Harrier - 10 White-tailed Kite - 2 Red-shouldered Hawk - 1 Bald Eagle - 6A, 3S Rough-legged Hawk - 2 Merlin - 1 Cooper's Hawk - 2 Our First Birds of the Year: John - Bushtit Laura - Crow Tanya - Kestral Happy New Year Birds, John Sullivan & Laura Johnson Springfield, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sat Jan 1 22:19:41 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 04:19:41 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Yellow-throated Warbler searching NO!, North Portland CBC scouting Message-ID: Later in the morning (after Jay and David's search) we spent about an hour scouring the neighborhood where the probably Y-T Warbler was seen on Tuesday. Ditto the cold and wind reports. Not exactly ideal passerine birding conditions. We saw lots of the usual suspects and some nice feeding stations, but had no Parulids of any ilk. We spent the remainder of the day in the Hayden Island/Marine Drive area scouting our Portland CBC sector. Highlights included a Snow Goose that is hanging out with Canadas in the slough along Bridgeton Rd. (right below the night-heron roost trees). We've now seen this bird in this area twice in mid-afternoon and today the group was "staging" just off the deck of one of the houseboats as if they were waiting for an anticipated feeding. Shawneen found saw two Black-crowned Night-Herons in the roost trees. She dropped me off at the intersection of Gantenbein Rd. and Marine Dr. and I had an Orange-crowned Warbler along the slough at this intersection. This is the second Orange-crowned that we've found in our area this week. Later in afternoon, I walked Broughton Beach from the Sea Scout Base to the county boat ramp and didn't see much. I did have three Surf Scoters together (in the count circle), but no Short-eared Owls. All the scaup were bunched up tight along the north shore of the river (in Clark County, WA and outside of the count circle). At various other spots along the river we had multiple Common Goldeneyes, Horned Grebes, and at least one Common Loon. We did not encounter the American White Pelicans seen by others. Late in the day we noticed a big feeding cluster of gulls and lots of splashing just upstream from the Glen Jackson (I-205) bridge. Upon closer inspection we found a very large sea lion repeatedly surfacing and thrashing about amidst the swarm of gulls. Dave Irons and Shawneen Finnegan -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rhettwilkins at gmail.com Sun Jan 2 03:39:29 2011 From: rhettwilkins at gmail.com (Rhett Wilkins) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 01:39:29 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] The Art of Birding Message-ID: Hi OBOL, I couldn't sleep this evening and found myself writing this poem. At the great risk of being really cheesy, I figured I'd share it with you all who share my love for birding. The Art of Birding Part of me wants to see A birding kind of me Where man communes with beast Which brings him inner peace A simple kind of free The truth is something else I realize to myself That the birds are but a part You could say they are the heart Of a greater kind of art It?s the draw of my binoc The wave against the rock It?s the quick I.D. in flight That gives my craft its might It?s the glory of a flock It?s the rain upon my lens The knowledge of the hens It?s the songs and calls by ear The keeping of my gear It?s the listing of the wrens It?s the homework done at night The starting at first light It?s the bird nerds that abound The lost and then the found It?s a jay and it?s a kite It?s the checking every day For an OBOL RBA It?s the fellowship that comes With a group that surely hums With a passion, some would say I suppose that I was wrong And I knew it all along It isn?t just escape >From the world of red tape Birding is my song Good Birding, and Happy New Year! Rhett Wilkins boundtobird.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sun Jan 2 05:40:55 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 11:40:55 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] The Art of Birding In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Greetings All, Having just carved myself out of bed at 3:15AM to head out owling for today's Portland Christmas Bird Count, I found Rhett's account of what it means to be a birder. At 51 years of age, going birding is about the only thing that will get me out of bed with a smile on my face and a spring in my step at this otherwise ridiculous hour. Surely some part of Rhett's verse rings true with each member of this community. What makes perfect sense to each of us, often seems utterly insane to those who haven't been hooked by the joys of watching birds. The Northern Saw-whets and Western Screech-Owls await, the coffee is made and my partner is stirring, time to hit the trail. Dave Irons Portland, OR Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 01:39:29 -0800 From: rhettwilkins at gmail.com To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] The Art of Birding Hi OBOL, I couldn't sleep this evening and found myself writing this poem. At the great risk of being really cheesy, I figured I'd share it with you all who share my love for birding. The Art of Birding Part of me wants to see A birding kind of me Where man communes with beast Which brings him inner peace A simple kind of free The truth is something else I realize to myself That the birds are but a part You could say they are the heart Of a greater kind of art It?s the draw of my binoc The wave against the rock It?s the quick I.D. in flight That gives my craft its might It?s the glory of a flock It?s the rain upon my lens The knowledge of the hens It?s the songs and calls by ear The keeping of my gear It?s the listing of the wrens It?s the homework done at night The starting at first light It?s the bird nerds that abound The lost and then the found It?s a jay and it?s a kite It?s the checking every day For an OBOL RBA It?s the fellowship that comes With a group that surely hums With a passion, some would say I suppose that I was wrong And I knew it all along It isn?t just escape >From the world of red tape Birding is my song Good Birding, and Happy New Year! Rhett Wilkins boundtobird.blogspot.com _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ronaldgp at onlinemac.com Sun Jan 2 10:05:04 2011 From: ronaldgp at onlinemac.com (Ronald G. Peterson) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 08:05:04 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] FOY Message-ID: <002901cbaa96$d1c81c40$755854c0$@com> For once, my first bird of the year is _not_ a House Sparrow or Rock Pigeon! Instead, it is a Northern Shoveler on the way to Baskett Slough. 54 other species made for a happy new year's day. Ron Peterson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From holly.reinhard at gmail.com Sun Jan 2 10:15:57 2011 From: holly.reinhard at gmail.com (Holly Reinhard) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 08:15:57 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] The Art of Birding In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Happy New Year, Obolites, Thanks for posting this awesome poem, Rhett. It definitely hits home with me. It can be hard to describe and explain to my non-birder friends the spark, the passion that birding gives me. This poem, I think, does a great job at that. My first bird of the year was an American Robin as Jessie Leach and I drove from Coos Bay to Bandon to partake in the Coquille CBC yesterday. It was a great day, with over 50 species for our little team of three. Good birding, all!! Holly Reinhard Corvallis, OR On Sun, Jan 2, 2011 at 3:40 AM, David Irons wrote: > Greetings All, > > Having just carved myself out of bed at 3:15AM to head out owling for > today's Portland Christmas Bird Count, I found Rhett's account of what it > means to be a birder. At 51 years of age, going birding is about the only > thing that will get me out of bed with a smile on my face and a spring in my > step at this otherwise ridiculous hour. Surely some part of Rhett's verse > rings true with each member of this community. What makes perfect sense to > each of us, often seems utterly insane to those who haven't been hooked by > the joys of watching birds. The Northern Saw-whets and Western Screech-Owls > await, the coffee is made and my partner is stirring, time to hit the > trail. > > Dave Irons > Portland, OR > > ------------------------------ > Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 01:39:29 -0800 > From: rhettwilkins at gmail.com > To: obol at oregonbirds.org > Subject: [OBOL] The Art of Birding > > > Hi OBOL, > > I couldn't sleep this evening and found myself writing this poem. At the > great risk of being really cheesy, I figured I'd share it with you all who > share my love for birding. > > The Art of Birding > > Part of me wants to see > A birding kind of me > Where man communes with beast > Which brings him inner peace > A simple kind of free > > The truth is something else > I realize to myself > That the birds are but a part > You could say they are the heart > Of a greater kind of art > > It?s the draw of my binoc > The wave against the rock > It?s the quick I.D. in flight > That gives my craft its might > It?s the glory of a flock > > It?s the rain upon my lens > The knowledge of the hens > It?s the songs and calls by ear > The keeping of my gear > It?s the listing of the wrens > > It?s the homework done at night > The starting at first light > It?s the bird nerds that abound > The lost and then the found > It?s a jay and it?s a kite > > It?s the checking every day > For an OBOL RBA > It?s the fellowship that comes > With a group that surely hums > With a passion, some would say > > I suppose that I was wrong > And I knew it all along > It isn?t just escape > From the world of red tape > Birding is my song > > Good Birding, and Happy New Year! > > Rhett Wilkins > boundtobird.blogspot.com > > _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dnkmunson at gmail.com Sun Jan 2 11:17:44 2011 From: dnkmunson at gmail.com (Don & Karen Munson) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 09:17:44 -0800 (Pacific Standard Time) Subject: [OBOL] FOY Message-ID: <4D20B338.00000F.04036@OFFICE> During yesterday's Coquille Valley CBC while I was attempting to induce a response from a Western Screech Owl a SORA (FOY) spoke to me from a nearby wetland. It was the beginning of a beautiful day and some interesting bird finds. Another job well done AC Don Munson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ensatina3 at hotmail.com Sun Jan 2 11:30:27 2011 From: ensatina3 at hotmail.com (Bobbett Pierce) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 12:30:27 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] FOY yard oddball Message-ID: Very uncommon in my yard (a half-dozen sightings in 25 years) -- this morning a maleLESSER GOLDFINCH in a sunflower feeder -- easy and warm birding thru the kitchen window. Lona Pierce, Warren in Columbia County -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ninerharv2 at msn.com Sun Jan 2 11:52:18 2011 From: ninerharv2 at msn.com (ninerharv2 at msn.com) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 17:52:18 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] FOY In-Reply-To: <4D20B338.00000F.04036@OFFICE> References: <4D20B338.00000F.04036@OFFICE> Message-ID: <416509396-1293990739-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-1877709149-@bda2562.bisx.prod.on.blackberry> Given that I was owling for the Coquille Valley count, it comes as no surprise that my FOY was an owl. Northern Pygmy on Two Mile road. Thanks to all who participated in the CBC including our feeder counters. Harv Schubothe Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: "Don & Karen Munson" Sender: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 09:17:44 To: OBOL Subject: [OBOL] FOY _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From pointers at pacifier.com Sun Jan 2 11:54:45 2011 From: pointers at pacifier.com (Lyn Topinka) Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2011 09:54:45 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] FOY yard oddball In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: gosh, that's the one bird we missed yesterday !!! ... last year now it was our first bird of the year and the "flock" spent nearly all day on the thistle sock ... last year we normally had a small flock all winter ... this year however our flock is down to about 4 birds and they just didn't show yesterday ... however --- for the past 2 years we've had one male Townsends Warbler ... this year we've got FOUR Townsend's and they were our FIRST birds of the year !!!!!!!! ... they stayed really busy at the 2 suet blocks and the one seed block all day long ... the mature male chases the young male, and we've got 2 females ... we're hoping all four stay all winter long ... nice to watch ... Lyn Vancouver, Washington At 09:30 AM 1/2/2011, Bobbett Pierce wrote: >Very uncommon in my yard (a half-dozen sightings in 25 years) -- >this morning a male >LESSER GOLDFINCH in a sunflower feeder -- easy and warm birding thru >the kitchen window. > >Lona Pierce, Warren in Columbia County > >_______________________________________________ >OBOL mailing list >OBOL at oregonbirds.org >http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Lyn Topinka http://EnglishRiverWebsite.com http://ColumbiaRiverImages.com http://RidgefieldBirds.com From kolwicz at minetfiber.com Sun Jan 2 12:30:23 2011 From: kolwicz at minetfiber.com (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2011 10:30:23 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Evening Grossbeaks. . . Message-ID: <4D20C43F.1090302@minetfiber.com> . . .are back after abandoning my feeders for the duration of the CBC count. I hope they went to become part of someone else's list. Frank in Monmouth From sandycab1 at comcast.net Sun Jan 2 12:34:16 2011 From: sandycab1 at comcast.net (Sandy C) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 10:34:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] FBOY Message-ID: FBOY for me was an Evening Grosbeak out here in West Eugene Sandy Cabraser photo available at sandycab1 at comcast.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From SJJag at comcast.net Sun Jan 2 13:52:16 2011 From: SJJag at comcast.net (SJJag at comcast.net) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 19:52:16 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] foy oddball yard bird-Ring-necked Pheasant Message-ID: <1759584801.588808.1293997936902.JavaMail.root@sz0081a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Not in a bird count circle but what a surprise a few min. ago when I startled a pheasant into flight from the wooded hillside behind the house, certainly a yard bird first in the three years here. Steve Jaggers Milwaukie, Or. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rfadney at hotmail.com Sun Jan 2 14:19:53 2011 From: rfadney at hotmail.com (R. Adney Jr.) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 12:19:53 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Our First Birds In-Reply-To: <336978.81056.qm@web45316.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: , <336978.81056.qm@web45316.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: I am trying to get a photo of the Rufous, we are getting several hummers, of which most are Annas. We have had a very aggressive Rufous visits us in the summer and it seems to have stayed on this winter. I think this is a female due to the amount of green on the back and only slight rufous flanks and tail. It keeps attacking the Annas at our feeder. Just like in the summer, this little one is very skittish so I haven't got a good shot of it yet. When I have the camera I never see it, but boy put the camera down and whoosh it'll fly by! Rich Adney http://avianpics.blogspot.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/adneyvisualarts/ Look for a new website coming Soon! Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 20:41:21 -0800 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Subject: Re: [OBOL] Our First Birds To: rfadney at hotmail.com Are you sure you hsve Rufous, that would be way cool! This time of year almost all humemrs are Annas. Tim From: R. Adney Jr. To: OBOL Sent: Sat, January 1, 2011 5:04:38 PM Subject: [OBOL] Our First Birds Our were a herd of about 30 juncos at the feeders and two Rufous hummers fighting over the nectar feeder! We also raptored Linn County, finding a total of: 8 Bald Eagles (1 juve) 28 Red Tails 15 Kestrals 2 Peregrine Falcons harassing a flock of Pintails at Ankeny 4 Northern Harriers 1 Coopers Hawk Rich Adney http://avianpics.blogspot.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/adneyvisualarts/ Look for a new website coming Soon! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andydfrank at gmail.com Sun Jan 2 14:24:36 2011 From: andydfrank at gmail.com (Andy Frank) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 12:24:36 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] LOCAL RBA: PORTLAND BLACK SCOTER Message-ID: David Irons found a first year male BLACK SCOTER at Broughton Beach in NE Portland this morning as part of the Portland CBC. It was located about 1/4 mile east, between the two sets of wooden pilings in the river. It was with 4 SURF SCOTERS. The Portland CBC is shaping up as a remarkably good one. Besides those birds, other very good birds found so far include TUFTED DUCK seen also from Broughton Beach but in Clark County; EARED GREBE, COMMON and BARROW'S GOLDENEYES from West Hayden Island; and ACORN WOODPECKER at the Delta Park fields. Andy Frank -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kolwicz at minetfiber.com Sun Jan 2 14:26:16 2011 From: kolwicz at minetfiber.com (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2011 12:26:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Crows and sunflower Message-ID: <4D20DF68.8040400@minetfiber.com> For the first time ever I have a couple of crows eating sunflower seeds under my tube feeders. Along with the Acorn Woodpecker that was here a couple of weeks ago, does that mean that this is looking like a tough winter for them? Frank in Monmouth From rflores_2 at msn.com Sun Jan 2 14:33:56 2011 From: rflores_2 at msn.com (Bob Flores) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 12:33:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] tufted duck, Barrows goldeneye Clark Co, WA Message-ID: Following direction from those in Oregon, looking across the river, I found a tufted duck and two Barrow's goldeneyes along the shoreline of the Columbia River. To find the flock go to the last building of the Water Resources Building and park walk across the road you drove in on and walk east on the paved trail. You will come to some Condos and when you are closest to the river (SW corner of Condo Area) the birds are just yards downstream. For those with GPS tech. here is the coordinates. N 45 36.735, W 122 37.083. There was mention of a surf scoter being seen from the Oregon side. I did not find this bird. Bob Flores Ridgefield, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From celata at pacifier.com Sun Jan 2 15:21:31 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2011 13:21:31 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Estuary Report - 1/2/2011 Message-ID: <4D20EC5B.2050907@pacifier.com> Columbia Estuary Report - 1/2/2011 The BLACK PHOEBE continues to be seen at the Netul Landing of Ft Clatsop. A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was in Warrenton at Heron Ave. Many BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES and a likely ANCIENT MURRELET were seen at Seaside Cove. Seven SNOW GEESE were reported at Wireless Rd. The 2nd winter GLAUCOUS GULL is also still present there. Remarkable concentrations of VARIED THRUSHES are being reported. A flock of at least 30 was feeding along Ridge Rd near DeLaura. Flocks are also reported larger than usual numbers of EVENING GROSBEAKS coming to feeders. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From smithdwd at hotmail.com Sun Jan 2 16:38:49 2011 From: smithdwd at hotmail.com (david smith) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 22:38:49 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] BLACK SCOTER continues Message-ID: The Columbia River Black Scoter continues at 1:45 this pm. It was near the shore with a dozen Scaup just down from the yellow gate across from the PDX Fire Station, 1/4+ mile east of Broughton Beach. Thanks Dave, Bob, and Andy. D Smith -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Sun Jan 2 16:55:19 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 14:55:19 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Birds 1/2/2011 Message-ID: <315799.57499.qm@web45306.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Alan Contreras, Dave Lauten and I all tried for the RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER that Don Munson found on the Coquille Valley CBC without luck. That is only the 2nd record of that species in the county- there are no records of YB Sapsucker, a species Alan C. thought might be equally or maybe even a greater possibility than a Red-naped I imagine it could still show up again as it is probably wintering in the area, so we'll need to just keep checking (the park has a bunch of fruit trees planted next door at a residence). On the way out to Judah Parker County Park where this bird was found, I saw the PALM WARBLER Don Munson also found on the count. Two nice finds by Don! We had 5 TREE SWALLOWS at Johnson Mill Pond in Coquille on the count plus a single found a few miles away. There have been a dozen plus at Myrtle Point Marsh also going on two weeks now. Very strange. We have never had this species overwinter in the valley as these birds seem to be doing. Their earliest arrivals in the valley are often around the first or second week in February. I can't imagine these birds are back six weeks early either? Also found on the count (actually a few days before the count and again on the count) was a SAY'S PHOEBE in the same spot Dave Irons, Lars Norgren and Co. found one two years ago. No bird was found last winter but I bet it was around then also. This would only be the 3rd overwinter record for Coos Co. another new winter phenomena. Just to make things even weirder, Eric Clough had two TURKEY VULTURES in the Coquille Valley this past Wednesday, that's about a month earlier than they normally show up. All in all, an unusual set of coincidences? Merry 2011! Tim R Coos Bay PS: Marilyn Miller would be especially pleased at my first bird of 2011. At 3AM, before I heard any owls on my owling run, I heard several Canada Geese calling. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Sun Jan 2 17:15:41 2011 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2011 15:15:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Black Scoter Message-ID: Portland CBC - 1 Bandon CBC - 0 This ain't natural ! -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer at mindspring.com Oregonreview.blogspot.com From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Sun Jan 2 17:41:40 2011 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2011 15:41:40 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Coast birds Message-ID: I did some light birding en route home from Bandon today. Most interesting was a flock of about 2,000 Common Murre fairly close off Bob Creek, north Lane County, with some loons and corms mixed in. This is not a normal location for large murre flocks. They did not seem to be feeding, just floating and preening. Also there was one Brown Pelican. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer at mindspring.com Oregonreview.blogspot.com From haller1234 at msn.com Sun Jan 2 18:34:17 2011 From: haller1234 at msn.com (DON SHARON HALLER) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 16:34:17 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] First egregious misidentification of 2011 Message-ID: At 2:20 this afternoon I saw what I think was a Swainson's Thrush. Location was in the Irving woods at the westernmost end of the long boardwalks near the cathedral tree. (off Irving Avenue in Astoria) Silent, seemed very faded. Distance 15 to 40 ft for about 45 secondssNot a hermit thrush. Good binos, fair light. The publications I have access to don't have any appearances on Oregon this far into winter. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sheilach1 at frontier.com Sun Jan 2 18:47:08 2011 From: sheilach1 at frontier.com (Sheila Chambers) Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2011 16:47:08 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] A speck in the sky Message-ID: <4D211C8C.8020101@frontier.com> At long last we had a sunny day, I had almost forgotten what the sun looked like. A male ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD was up high in the sky a mere speck screeching and grating his love "song", then down he flew, wings invisible as he dove emitting a loud sharp 'chink" at the bottom of his J shaped dive to impress some female in the bushes. Do they really like that? At the feeders were the "usual suspects", a SCRUB JAY, WHITE-CROWN, GOLD-CROWN, FOX, LINCOLN, and SONG SPARROWS, SPOTTED TOWHEE, ROBINS, OREGON JUNCO'S, HOUSE FINCHES, BLACK-CAPPED, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES, HOUSE SPARROWS but fewer as I trap them out, an occasional PURPLE FINCH, STELLER'S JAY, PINE SISKINS, and carefully searching the shrubs and trees for last summers leftover bounty, a HERMIT THRUSH. Looks like spring is on it's way, a neighbors daffodils are already blooming and the days at long last are slowly getting longer. I still think the new year should begin on Dec. 22, the winter solstice. Happy new year OBOL'rs Sheila in soggy Brookings, Or. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From loinneilceol at yahoo.com Sun Jan 2 19:37:07 2011 From: loinneilceol at yahoo.com (Leith McKenzie) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 17:37:07 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] First egregious misidentification of 2011 Message-ID: <553871.77119.qm@web30407.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Just because Swainson's Thrush is not usually present in winter does not mean anything. All ecosystems and the natural histories of all species of birds are in flux. Having said that I am curious to know how you ruled out Hermit Thrush, or for that matter Gray-cheeked Thrush. Maitreya On Sun Jan 2nd, 2011 4:34 PM PST DON SHARON HALLER wrote: > > > > >At 2:20 this afternoon I saw what I think was a Swainson's Thrush. Location was in the Irving woods at the westernmost end of the long boardwalks near the cathedral tree. (off Irving Avenue in Astoria) Silent, seemed very faded. Distance 15 to 40 ft for about 45 secondssNot a hermit thrush. Good binos, fair light. The publications I have access to don't have any appearances on Oregon this far into winter. > From oschmidt at att.net Sun Jan 2 19:47:23 2011 From: oschmidt at att.net (Owen Schmidt) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 17:47:23 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tuesday night is Birders Night Message-ID: <588E3BA6-C9AB-4FAB-89C3-8162B7949AD2@att.net> ....... January 4th, 7:30 pm, Portland Audubon House, 5151 NW Cornell Road. Bird quiz, potpourri, bring your bird photos and videos to share. All are welcome; free. oschmidt at att.net Sunday, January 2, 2011 From gorgebirds at juno.com Sun Jan 2 19:56:04 2011 From: gorgebirds at juno.com (Wilson Cady) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 01:56:04 GMT Subject: [OBOL] [Tweeters] tufted duck, Barrows goldeneye Clark Co, WA Message-ID: <20110102.175604.22536.0@webmail07.vgs.untd.com> I was in the Vancouver Lake lowlands looking for year-birds when call from Jim Danzenbaker and then Bob Flores alerted me to the TUFTED DUCK and BARROW;S GOLDENEYE on the Columbia. I left the lowlands since a bird in hand is better than etc. I easily found the birds right where Bob described and passed the alert onto Les Carlson. By the time Les arrived the flock had been flushed by an eagle and were now upstream of the next peninsula along the trail. They joined a flock consisting of several thousand LESSER SCAUP with a few GREATER SCAUP and both GOLDENEYES and a few WESTERN GREBES. After a lot of standing and glassing these actively feeding bird we found a Tufted Duck that seemed to have a shorter tuft than the one I had seen just downstream. Some walkers along the this paved trail mentioned that yesterday there was a BLACK SWAN in the boat works basin just east of Marine Park. Wilson Cady Skamania County, WA ---------- Original Message ---------- From: "Bob Flores" To: , "obol" Cc: Subject: [Tweeters] tufted duck, Barrows goldeneye Clark Co, WA Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 12:33:56 -0800
Following direction from those in Oregon, looking across the river, I found a tufted duck and two Barrow's goldeneyes along the shoreline of the Columbia River.  To find the flock go to the last building of the Water Resources Building and park walk across the road you drove in on and walk east on the paved trail.  You will come to some Condos and when you are closest to the river (SW corner of Condo Area) the birds are just yards downstream.  For those with GPS tech. here is the coordinates. N 45 36.735, W 122 37.083.
  
There was mention of a surf scoter being seen from the Oregon side.  I did not find this bird.
 
Bob Flores
Ridgefield, WA
-------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gorgebirds at juno.com Sun Jan 2 19:58:38 2011 From: gorgebirds at juno.com (Wilson Cady) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 01:58:38 GMT Subject: [OBOL] tufted duck, Barrows goldeneye Clark Co, WA Message-ID: <20110102.175838.22536.1@webmail07.vgs.untd.com> I was in the Vancouver Lake lowlands looking for year-birds when call from Jim Danzenbaker and then Bob Flores alerted me to the TUFTED DUCK and BARROW''S GOLDENEYE on the Columbia. I left the lowlands since a bird in hand is better than etc. I easily found the birds right where Bob described and passed the alert onto Les Carlson. By the time Les arrived the flock had been flushed by an eagle and were now upstream of the next peninsula east along the trail. They had joined a flock consisting of several thousand LESSER SCAUP with a few GREATER SCAUP and both GOLDENEYES and a few WESTERN GREBES. After a lot of standing and glassing these actively feeding bird we found a Tufted Duck that seemed to have a shorter tuft than the one I had seen just downstream. Some walkers along the this paved trail mentioned that yesterday there was a BLACK SWAN in the boat works basin just east of Marine Park. Wilson Cady Skamania County, WA ---------- Original Message ---------- From: "Bob Flores" To: , "obol" Subject: [OBOL] tufted duck, Barrows goldeneye Clark Co, WA Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 12:33:56 -0800
Following direction from those in Oregon, looking across the river, I found a tufted duck and two Barrow's goldeneyes along the shoreline of the Columbia River.  To find the flock go to the last building of the Water Resources Building and park walk across the road you drove in on and walk east on the paved trail.  You will come to some Condos and when you are closest to the river (SW corner of Condo Area) the birds are just yards downstream.  For those with GPS tech. here is the coordinates. N 45 36.735, W 122 37.083.
 
There was mention of a surf scoter being seen from the Oregon side.  I did not find this bird.
 
Bob Flores
Ridgefield, WA
-------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From loinneilceol at yahoo.com Sun Jan 2 20:18:02 2011 From: loinneilceol at yahoo.com (Leith McKenzie) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 18:18:02 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Our First Birds Message-ID: <286.35445.qm@web30402.mail.mud.yahoo.com> By all means try for good pictures of the Rufous Hummingbird. One possibility is that it might be a hybrid RufousXAnna's, which we have shown to occur in Oregon. One of the big questions about RufousXAnna's hybrids is whether the offspring of this pairing are migratory or not. On Sun Jan 2nd, 2011 12:19 PM PST R. Adney Jr. wrote: > >I am trying to get a photo of the Rufous, we are getting several hummers, of which most are Annas. We have had a very aggressive Rufous visits us in the summer and it seems to have stayed on this winter. I think this is a female due to the amount of green on the back and only slight rufous flanks and tail. It keeps attacking the Annas at our feeder. Just like in the summer, this little one is very skittish so I haven't got a good shot of it yet. When I have the camera I never see it, but boy put the camera down and whoosh it'll fly by! > >Rich Adney > >http://avianpics.blogspot.com/ >http://www.flickr.com/photos/adneyvisualarts/ >Look for a new website coming Soon! > > > > >Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 20:41:21 -0800 >From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com >Subject: Re: [OBOL] Our First Birds >To: rfadney at hotmail.com > > > >Are you sure you hsve Rufous, that would be way cool! This time of year almost all humemrs are Annas. >Tim >From: R. Adney Jr. >To: OBOL >Sent: Sat, January 1, 2011 5:04:38 PM >Subject: [OBOL] Our First Birds > > > > > > > >Our were a herd of about 30 juncos at the feeders and two Rufous hummers fighting over the nectar feeder! > >We also raptored Linn County, finding a total of: >8 Bald Eagles (1 juve) >28 Red Tails >15 Kestrals >2 Peregrine Falcons harassing a flock of Pintails at Ankeny >4 Northern Harriers >1 Coopers Hawk > > >Rich Adney > >http://avianpics.blogspot.com/ >http://www.flickr.com/photos/adneyvisualarts/ >Look for a new website coming Soon! > > > > > > > > From ErikKnight05 at gmail.com Sun Jan 2 20:41:51 2011 From: ErikKnight05 at gmail.com (ErikKnight05 at gmail.com) Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2011 02:41:51 GMT Subject: [OBOL] Census Count: William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Benton County, Oregon on January 02, 2011 Message-ID: <201101030241.p032fp6M004196@rottweiler.donbaccus.com> This report was mailed for Erik Knight by http://birdnotes.net Date: January 2, 2011 Location: William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Benton County, Oregon Wind direction: S Prevailing wind speed: < 1 km/h gusting to: 6-11 km/h Percentage of sky covered by clouds: 30% Precipitation: none from 12:21PM to 4:31PM. small herd of Roosevelt Elk seen South of Cabell Marsh Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Canada Goose Cackling Goose Tundra Swan 10 American Wigeon 600 Mallard 1000 Northern Shoveler 35 Northern Pintail 1500 Green-Winged Teal 800 Ring-necked Duck 260 Lesser Scaup 3 Ring-necked Pheasant 2 [1] California Quail 6 Pied-billed Grebe 2 Double-crested Cormorant 9 Great Blue Heron 4 Great Egret 2 Bald Eagle 4 [2] Northern Harrier 8 Red-tailed Hawk 13 Rough-legged Hawk 2 [3] American Kestrel 6 American Coot 1 Killdeer 21 Belted Kingfisher 1 Acorn Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 8 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Black Phoebe 1 [4] Steller's Jay 3 Western Scrub-Jay 3 American Crow 1 Common Raven 1 [5] Black-capped Chickadee White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Brown Creeper 1 Winter Wren 4 Marsh Wren 3 Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Western Bluebird 13 Hermit Thrush 1 American Robin 50 Varied Thrush 1 European Starling Yellow-rumped Warbler Spotted Towhee 15 Song Sparrow 14 Golden-crowned Sparrow 20 Dark-eyed Junco 50 Footnotes: [1] NE Prairie [2] adults & 2nd year bird [3] single birds seen along Bruce Road and North of Bruce Road. [4] hanging out near ponds behind refuge headquarters [5] East of Woodpecker Loop Trail Total number of species seen: 49 From philliplc at charter.net Sun Jan 2 21:27:51 2011 From: philliplc at charter.net (Phil Pickering) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 19:27:51 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Yaquina Head Ancients Message-ID: <30A4F34257BC4183A0E189B6804E4E92@byron68119237c> This morning during the Yaquina Bay CBC 8:00-10:00 AM Ram Papish and I had very conservatively 125 Ancient Murrelets off the Yaquina Head lighthouse. This includes an actual count of 86 on the water in scattered groups most within 400 yards, along with some minor south movement further out. I had not seen numbers concentrated at this spot before. Phil From namitzr at hotmail.com Sun Jan 2 21:44:29 2011 From: namitzr at hotmail.com (Russ Namitz) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 19:44:29 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Coos geese Message-ID: Arrived back in Coos Bay from the holidays just before dark and decided to check out Catching Slough for wintering geese. The SNOW GOOSE is still there as are about a dozen CACKLING GEESE hanging with a flock of Canada Geese. Of note were about 40 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, one of which appeared a bit larger, darker bellied and had a more extensive white facial pattern suggesting the Tule subspecies (Anser albifrons elgasi). Good birding, Russ Namitz Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From foglark at att.net Sun Jan 2 21:48:22 2011 From: foglark at att.net (David Fix & Jude Power) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 19:48:22 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Centerville (CA) CBC Message-ID: <841188.30010.qm@web80011.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> The Centerville Beach To King Salmon CBC was done today. This takes in South Humboldt Bay and the Eel R. delta.?The weather was nice. Write-ins at the countdown were Harlequin Duck, Brown Pelican, Cattle Egret, Northern Fulmar, Prairie Falcon, Whimbrel, Rock Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Phalarope, Glaucous Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Marbled Murrelet, Ancient Murrelet, Long-eared Owl (a roost of 4 along the lower Salt R. encountered by, of all things,?one of the boat teams) Say's Phoebe, Barn Swallow, House Wren (supposedly with details), Nashville Warbler, Palm Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Lark Sparrow, Sump Sparrow, Bullock's Oriole, and Hooded Oriole. The preliminary total was 187 species. David Fix Arcata, California??? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rick.lumen at gmail.com Sun Jan 2 22:35:09 2011 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 20:35:09 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Acorn Woodpecker on Harrington Road Message-ID: I spent about an hour today looking for the Prairie Falcon on Harrington Road, but came up empty. I did however see an Acorn Woodpecker and some California Quail. The Acorn Woodpecker was on the 5th or 6th power line pole west of Dersham Road. The California Quail were at the end of Harrington Road to the east among the farm buildings on the south side of the road. Acorn Woodpecker pictures link: http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/acorn-woodpecker.html Rick Wilsonville -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From winkg at hevanet.com Sun Jan 2 22:53:20 2011 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 20:53:20 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Portland CBC preliminary results Message-ID: The Portland CBC enjoyed a spectacular day. We tallied 122 species, breaking the previous record 120 set 2 years ago. The Eagle Eye Award for best bird is awarded to prodigal Portland son Dave Irons for finding a first year male BLACK SCOTER off Broughton Beach. As far as anyone knows, this is the first Black Scoter in Multnomah County. Congratulations, Dave! What a way to come back! Other great birds: TUFTED DUCK (new for the Portland CBC), GREATER YELLOWLEGS, WESTERN SANDPIPER, ACORN WOODPECKER, GLAUCOUS GULL, TREE SWALLOW, SURF SCOTER (previously "count week" only). A probable YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER was found by Dave Irons and Shawneen Finnegan. Photos to be studied to determine exact parentage. Owling was slower than expected, but an extraordinary 5 BARRED and 3 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS were located. The only egregious miss was Cedar Waxwing. After bursting on the scene last year, Eurasian Collared-Doves were AWOL. Other less surprising misses were: Redhead, Ring-necked Pheasant, Rough-legged Hawk, Virginia Rail, Dunlin, Barn and Short-eared Owls, Savannah Sparrow, and Red Crossbill. Many thanks to all the participants and especially my hard-working area leaders: John Fitchen, Pat Muller, Lynn Herring, Lori Hennings, Char Corkran and Sam Pointer. Wink Gross, compiler Portland CBC -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 5hats at peak.org Sun Jan 2 23:34:21 2011 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 21:34:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] scaup flock Message-ID: <4D7E52449D4C44F994881BFFC5BEE942@DarrelPC> Obolites, This afternoon at D Lake in Lincoln City I saw a flock of scaup that must have numbered close to a thousand birds. While I did not find a Tufted Duck among them, it might be suggested that others in the area be aware of the possibility. Best viewing sites are from East Devil's Lake Road, at the park and boat ramp toward the north end of the lake, at D. Lake State Park docks, more toward the south end, and a couple other spots where there are pullouts where you can see between houses. Keep in mind that the flock(s) move around quite a bit in response to various types of boat traffic on the lake. So be prepared to have to follow a number of birds to another location to look at them. Darrel & Laura -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sun Jan 2 23:52:42 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 05:52:42 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Portland CBC preliminary results In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Wink, Upon arriving home tonight, I dredged up the Mlodinow et al. article (Birding 38:6) that I'd mentioned at the countdown this evening. Questions of parentage were raised because some present felt that a first winter Yellow-bellied Sapsucker would always show a brown and white juv. head pattern during the entirety of its first winter. As I recalled from previous readings of their paper, Mlodinow et al. debunk this notion, thus I think it's reasonable to conclude that there is no good reason to think that today's bird was a hybrid. The article discusses molt timing in Red-naped (juvs molt into adult-like plumage primarily on the summering grounds) and Yellow-belled Sapsuckers (molt from juv. to adult-like plumage on the wintering grounds). By mid-Oct all Red-naped Sapsuckers show significant red on the nape and otherwise assume the appearance of an adult. Note that a substantial minority of male Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers show some reddish/pinkish coloration (usually very limited) on the nape. By this date (middle of the winter season) a pure Red-naped would show little if any evidence of retained juvenile plumage. Conversely, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at this season can appear to be in full juvenile plumage, full adult-like plumage, or somewhere along a continuum between these two extremes. Our bird would appear to fall squarely in the middle. It had a mostly adult-like head pattern, but the black throat frame was only starting to show. The pattern of barring on the back was typical for a Yellow-bellied in terms of the extent of light-colored barring (extended all the way across the back with a weak, narrow trough of black down the middle) and the barring had a golden or "buttery" yellow cast to it. Further, the flanks were heavily barred, looking mostly dusky brown with a little bit of a golden tinge (the typical pattern shown by juv. Yellow-bellied). Finally, and this is a subtle feature, the face pattern was white dominant rather than black dominant. To my eye, and in the comparison face pattern shots in the Birding article, this look is consistent with Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and not typical of Red-naped. In my opinion, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is no less likely (I would argue actually more likely) in w. Oregon during the winter than Red-naped Sapsucker. Many of the "Red-naped" Sapsuckers reported west of the Cascades ultimately prove to be Red-naped Sapsucker X Red-naped Sapsucker intergrades. Whereas the overlap/hybridization zone of these Red-naped and Red-breasted is fairly extensive and hybrids/intergrades are somewhat common, the contact zone between Red-naped and Yellow-bellied is limited and this cross is rather uncommon (admittedly, a bird of this parentage would be harder to detect). I saw nothing on this bird that led me to believe it was a hybrid/intergrade and I don't think that the various images we have show anything that is outside the known variation (see Mlodinow article) in first-winter Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Unless someone can offer solid evidence (based on the review of Jim Danzenbaker's forthcoming images) that this bird is of mixed parentage, I think this bird should be treated as a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and reported as such in the Portland CBC tally. I would hope that folks take the opportunity to go look for and see this bird and hopefully get some better images. I will not have an opportunity to search for it again until at least Thursday and probably not until next weekend. This is a great chance to study and get a better handle on the subtleties involved in separating Yellow-bellied and Red-naped Sapsuckers during their first year. The Children's Arboretum is a nice little patch of habitat. The easiest access is to take Marine Dr. east from Delta Park, turn south on 13th St (runs along the west side of Columbia Edgewater Country Club). Turn right (west) on Meadow Dr., which is the third street south of Marine Dr. After just a few hundred feet, a modest gravel road peels off to the left (southwest). Take this gravel road until you come to a gate at the entrance of the Children's Arboretum (This is a Portland Parks Dept. property). From the gate walk in about 50-75 yds and bear slightly to the left. There is a stand of assorted pines/cedars/and other non-native conifers with some tall sweet gums mixed in. The bird was originally found here. Presumably the same bird I found was also seen by Shawneen Finnegan and Jim Danzenbaker in a yard along 13th St. just south of the intersection of Meadow and 13th St. Jim and Shawneen can provide more accurate directions to this locale. Kudos to Wink and his team for organizing yet another successful Portland CBC and to John Fitchen (my area leader) for creating order out of what seemed to be the chaos at first glance. I don't know how many people showed up at the Delta Park Elmer's this morning, but it seemed like about 50+. I can remember not so long ago when the entire count circle didn't have that many birders prowling about on count day. It's no wonder the species counts are 15-20 birds higher than they were in my youth. It was a joy to be doing a CBC in Portland for the first time in 20 years today. Dave Irons Happily counting birds in Portland once again! From: winkg at hevanet.com Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 20:53:20 -0800 To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Portland CBC preliminary results The Portland CBC enjoyed a spectacular day. We tallied 122 species, breaking the previous record 120 set 2 yearsago. The Eagle Eye Award for best bird is awarded to prodigal Portland son Dave Irons for finding a first year male BLACK SCOTER off Broughton Beach. As far as anyone knows,this is the first Black Scoter in Multnomah County. Congratulations, Dave! What a way to come back! Other great birds: TUFTED DUCK (new for the Portland CBC),GREATER YELLOWLEGS, WESTERN SANDPIPER, ACORN WOODPECKER,GLAUCOUS GULL, TREE SWALLOW, SURF SCOTER (previously "countweek" only). A probable YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER was foundby Dave Irons and Shawneen Finnegan. Photos to be studiedto determine exact parentage. Owling was slower than expected, but an extraordinary 5 BARRED and 3 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS were located. The only egregious miss was Cedar Waxwing. After burstingon the scene last year, Eurasian Collared-Doves were AWOL.Other less surprising misses were: Redhead, Ring-necked Pheasant, Rough-legged Hawk, Virginia Rail, Dunlin, Barnand Short-eared Owls, Savannah Sparrow, and Red Crossbill. Many thanks to all the participants and especially my hard-working area leaders: John Fitchen, Pat Muller, LynnHerring, Lori Hennings, Char Corkran and Sam Pointer. Wink Gross, compilerPortland CBC _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ac7zg at frontier.com Mon Jan 3 02:02:42 2011 From: ac7zg at frontier.com (Don Nelson) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 08:02:42 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Acorn Woodpecker on Harrington Road In-Reply-To: <1235114010.644471.1294040871322.JavaMail.root@cl07-host01.dlls.pa.frontiernet.net> Message-ID: <584210482.644504.1294041762109.JavaMail.root@cl07-host01.dlls.pa.frontiernet.net> Rick -- Try again, early in the morning. I've seen it there for the past 3 weeks each time I've been by in the morning. It roosts overnight in the dead snag - most often on the branch shown in pictures (url below) On Jan 1, there were two Acorn Woodpeckers in the Oaks south of the road at the first jog of Harrington Road west of Dersham Rd? The Prairie Falcon was in the conifer (look for the dead snag on top) and the power poles to the east.? It is very skittish -- exiting the car causes it to fly to the south and land somewhere in the field just to north of that stand of oaks you can see in the distance (its pretty conistent) . It returns within a half hour .?? To make images, you?may need a car/SUV/truck with a sunroof and a very long lens - it doesn't seem to tolerate a close approach (I was always a pole distance away on the images below - never got closer). To see some images from yesterday: pbase.com/donnelson/falcons Don Nelson ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Leinen" To: "OBOL OnLine" , "Portland Area Birds" Sent: Sunday, January 2, 2011 8:35:09 PM Subject: [OBOL] Acorn Woodpecker on Harrington Road I spent about an hour today looking for the Prairie Falcon on? Harrington Road, but came up empty. ?I did however see an Acorn Woodpecker and some California Quail. ?The Acorn Woodpecker was on the 5th or 6th power line pole west of? Dersham Road. ?The California Quail were at the end of Harrington Road to the east among the farm buildings on the south side of the road. Don Nelson ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Leinen" To: "OBOL OnLine" , "Portland Area Birds" Sent: Sunday, January 2, 2011 8:35:09 PM Subject: [OBOL] Acorn Woodpecker on Harrington Road I spent about an hour today looking for the Prairie Falcon on? Harrington Road, but came up empty. ?I did however see an Acorn Woodpecker and some California Quail. ?The Acorn Woodpecker was on the 5th or 6th power line pole west of? Dersham Road. ?The California Quail were at the end of Harrington Road to the east among the farm buildings on the south side of the road. Acorn Woodpecker pictures link:? http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/acorn-woodpecker.html Rick Wilsonville _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Mon Jan 3 02:08:56 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 00:08:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Acorn Woodpecker on Harrington Road In-Reply-To: <584210482.644504.1294041762109.JavaMail.root@cl07-host01.dlls.pa.frontiernet.net> References: <584210482.644504.1294041762109.JavaMail.root@cl07-host01.dlls.pa.frontiernet.net> Message-ID: <746E3A0C-A181-4149-A4E9-3FFD387F76AC@earthlink.net> In my experience this Prairie Falcon is very tame, but I've never gotten out of the car. I've driven to within a few yards of a utility pole it perches on. A binocular is extraneous. Lars Norgren On Jan 3, 2011, at 12:02 AM, Don Nelson wrote: > Rick -- Try again, early in the morning. I've seen it there for the past 3 weeks each time I've been by in the morning. It roosts overnight in the dead snag - most often on the branch shown in pictures (url below) > > > On Jan 1, there were two Acorn Woodpeckers in the Oaks south of the road at the first jog of Harrington Road west of Dersham Rd > > The Prairie Falcon was in the conifer (look for the dead snag on top) and the power poles to the east. It is very skittish -- exiting the car causes it to fly to the south and land somewhere in the field just to north of that stand of oaks you can see in the distance(its pretty conistent). It returns within a half hour. To make images, you may need a car/SUV/truck with a sunroof and a very long lens - it doesn't seem to tolerate a close approach (I was always a pole distance away on the images below - never got closer). > > To see some images from yesterday: > pbase.com/donnelson/falcons > > > Don Nelson > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Richard Leinen" > To: "OBOL OnLine" , "Portland Area Birds" > Sent: Sunday, January 2, 2011 8:35:09 PM > Subject: [OBOL] Acorn Woodpecker on Harrington Road > > I spent about an hour today looking for the Prairie Falcon on Harrington Road, but came up empty. I did however see an Acorn Woodpecker and some California Quail. The Acorn Woodpecker was on the 5th or 6th power line pole west of Dersham Road. The California Quail were at the end of Harrington Road to the east among the farm buildings on the south side of the road. > > Acorn Woodpecker pictures link: http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/acorn-woodpecker.html > > Rick > Wilsonville > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ac7zg at frontier.com Mon Jan 3 02:14:33 2011 From: ac7zg at frontier.com (Don Nelson) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 08:14:33 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Acorn Woodpecker on Harrington Road In-Reply-To: <746E3A0C-A181-4149-A4E9-3FFD387F76AC@earthlink.net> Message-ID: <816943515.644533.1294042473199.JavaMail.root@cl07-host01.dlls.pa.frontiernet.net> Maybe its the very big lens it is afraid of ;-) Don Nelson ----- Original Message ----- From: "Norgren Family" To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Monday, January 3, 2011 12:08:56 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Acorn Woodpecker on Harrington Road In my experience this Prairie Falcon is very tame, ?but I've never gotten out of the car. I've driven to within a few yards of a utility pole it perches on. ?A binocular is extraneous. ?Lars Norgren On Jan 3, 2011, at 12:02 AM, Don Nelson wrote: Rick -- Try again, early in the morning. I've seen it there for the past 3 weeks each time I've been by in the morning. It roosts overnight in the dead snag - most often on the branch shown in pictures (url below) On Jan 1, there were two Acorn Woodpeckers in the Oaks south of the road at the first jog of Harrington Road west of Dersham Rd? The Prairie Falcon was in the conifer (look for the dead snag on top) and the power poles to the east.? It is very skittish -- exiting the car causes it to fly to the south and land somewhere in the field just to north of that stand of oaks you can see in the distance(its pretty conistent). It returns within a half hour.?? To make images, you?may need a car/SUV/truck with a sunroof and a very long lens - it doesn't seem to tolerate a close approach (I was always a pole distance away on the images below - never got closer). To see some images from yesterday: pbase.com/donnelson/falcons Don Nelson ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Leinen" < rick.lumen at gmail.com > To: "OBOL OnLine" < obol at oregonbirds.org >, "Portland Area Birds" < portland-area-birds at googlegroups.com > Sent: Sunday, January 2, 2011 8:35:09 PM Subject: [OBOL] Acorn Woodpecker on Harrington Road I spent about an hour today looking for the Prairie Falcon on? Harrington Road, but came up empty. ?I did however see an Acorn Woodpecker and some California Quail. ?The Acorn Woodpecker was on the 5th or 6th power line pole west of? Dersham Road. ?The California Quail were at the end of Harrington Road to the east among the farm buildings on the south side of the road. Acorn Woodpecker pictures link:? http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/acorn-woodpecker.html Rick Wilsonville _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 5hats at peak.org Mon Jan 3 09:14:08 2011 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 07:14:08 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] D Lake directions Message-ID: Obolites, In reference to looking through the scaup flock at D Lake in Lincoln City: I should have given better directions to the park toward the north end of the lake. After turning from U.S. 101 on to East Devil's Lake Road, take the first (and only) street leading west after you can first see the lake. The park and boat landing are at the end of the street. The boat landing offers views to the north end of the lake, and the picnic area on the other side offers views to the south. Darrel -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From linda at fink.com Mon Jan 3 11:02:42 2011 From: linda at fink.com (Linda Fink) Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2011 09:02:42 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Evening Grosbeak researcher will be up end of February Message-ID: <4D220132.4010500@fink.com> Anyone having flocks of Evening Grosbeaks frequenting their feeders, please let Aaron Haiman know. anhaiman at ucdavis.edu He will be at Blythe Eastman's in Grand Ronde from Feb. 23-27 mist netting and banding. Linda Fink -- http://lindafink.blogspot.com/ From mrchickadee at gmail.com Mon Jan 3 11:32:07 2011 From: mrchickadee at gmail.com (Miss Jacqui) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 09:32:07 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] - Has anyone heard about this? Message-ID: Redwing black birds - (dead) falling out of sky... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40885546/ns/us_news-environment/ -- Jacqui Parker Portland, OREGON ........... "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those that mind, don't matter, and those who matter, don't mind." -- Dr Seuss ( '< < ? ) / ) ) ( (\) // " " ? ? \\ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com Mon Jan 3 11:55:04 2011 From: shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com (Shawneen Finnegan) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 09:55:04 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Monday AM: Black Scoter is on WA side of Columbia River Message-ID: Jim Danzenbaker is just called. The BLACK SCOTER is currently on the Washington side of the Columbia River directly across from Broughton Beach (9:45 AM). There is a spit just to the east of the large orange-signed channel markers where he is standing. The Black Scoter and two of the Surf Scoters (female types) are near these channel markers. He also saw the Tufted Duck earlier in the same area. The Black Scoter is near the scaup flock, though not as close to the shoreline as the scaup which are hugging the shoreline. Shawneen Finnegan Portland, OR From kolwicz at minetfiber.com Mon Jan 3 12:00:57 2011 From: kolwicz at minetfiber.com (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2011 10:00:57 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Flicker chipping ice Message-ID: <4D220ED9.5070505@minetfiber.com> The frozen birdbath in my yard was being chipped repeatedly by a Northern Flicker, is this something usual? Frank From 2cbird at hughes.net Mon Jan 3 12:23:31 2011 From: 2cbird at hughes.net (craigco) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 10:23:31 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] - Has anyone heard about this? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <006301cbab73$58b92af0$0a2b80d0$@net> The same happened in an eastern Oregon town a number of years ago. A huge cattle feeding operation poisoned the tens of thousands of starlings & blackbirds that were eating & messing in the feed grain. They flew ten miles & fell out of the sky onto the town. Oops. Northern Shrike in my yard this morning. CraigCorder Cheney WA 2cbird att hughes dott nett From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Miss Jacqui Sent: Monday, January 03, 2011 9:32 AM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] - Has anyone heard about this? Redwing black birds - (dead) falling out of sky... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40885546/ns/us_news-environment/ -- Jacqui Parker Portland, OREGON ........... "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those that mind, don't matter, and those who matter, don't mind." -- Dr Seuss ( '< < ' ) / ) ) ( (\) // " " " " \\ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jdanielfarrar at gmail.com Mon Jan 3 12:45:04 2011 From: jdanielfarrar at gmail.com (Daniel Farrar) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 10:45:04 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Florence Mocker Message-ID: The MOCKINGBIRD is still around in Florence on Glenada Dr. It has gotten quite a bit more secretive. I could not find it this weekend, but it briefly perched up on the tele wire this AM. -- Daniel Farrar Dunes City, Oregon jdanielfarrar at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tc at empnet.com Mon Jan 3 13:09:47 2011 From: tc at empnet.com (Tom Crabtree) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 11:09:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Shrike ID Message-ID: <37EDC2BF41E84366BFD09DD8E6B89130@0128037> Since there was a recent thread on OBOL of a mystery shrike, I thought the group might enjoy the fact that a similar mystery shrike appeared on Long Island this fall, leading to a spirited discussion which turned into an ID clinic summarized here by David Sibley. http://www.sibleyguides.com/2010/12/a-perplexing-shrike/#more-4107 Tom Crabtree, Bend -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Michael_Green at fws.gov Mon Jan 3 14:51:54 2011 From: Michael_Green at fws.gov (Michael_Green at fws.gov) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 12:51:54 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Request for reporting marked shorebirds Message-ID: See request below. Also note that all marked birds should be reported online at the bird banding lab website http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/homepage/call800.htm Mike Green U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Migratory Birds and Habitat Programs 911 NE 11th Avenue Portland, Oregon 97232 503-872-2707/FAX 503-231-2019 PIF Western Working Group, Chair www.wwgpif.org Arctic Shorebird Demographic Network Color-marked Shorebird Resighting Report The Arctic Shorebird Demographic Network (ASDN) is an international collaboration between shorebird biologists who are currently conducting a multi-year study to examine mechanisms behind declines of North American Arctic- breeding shorebirds. The Network collaborators? are color-marking shorebirds at 7 sites in Alaska (Yukon Delta, Nome, Cape Krusenstern, Point Barrow, Ikpikpuk River, Prudhoe Bay and the Canning River) and 4 sites in Canada (Mackenzie Delta, East Bay and Coates Island in the northern portion of Hudson Bay, and Churchill). We would be delighted to receive reports of color-marked shorebirds observed away from the breeding grounds. Please look for marked birds of the following species and fill out the following resighting report: American Golden-plover Pluvialis dominica Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus Bar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres Dunlin Calidris alpina Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus Red Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus All ASDN birds are marked with a white (Canada) or dark green (USA) flag and a color band. The engraved flags will have a 3 letter code of letters or numbers, written in white on the green flags or written in black on the white flags, and an additional color band (e.g. red, dark blue, orange, dark green, yellow) below the flag. Most birds will also have three unique color bands on the opposite leg to further facilitate individual identification during the breeding season, as well as a US Geological Survey/Canadian Wildlife Service metal band with a unique serial number. Contact hrivergates at gmail.com for forms to fill out if you resight one of these birds. [They were included in the original email, but I deleted them, not wanting to burden the listserv -- Mike Green] Inquires about the Arctic Shorebird Demographics Network can be directed to: River Gates, Network Field Coordinator, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management 1011 East Tudor Rd. MS201 Anchorage, Alaska, USA (907) 786-3563. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From winkg at hevanet.com Mon Jan 3 16:36:46 2011 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 14:36:46 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Squirrel eats Thrush? Message-ID: <16AB340C-B9F9-4D61-9A25-969A0CAC63DB@hevanet.com> A bizarre sight from yesterday's Portland CBC was seeing a squirrel (I think Western Gray, the habitat was mixed oak-conifer) carrying a dead Varied Thrush. I didn't know squirrels ate adult birds, and Wikipedia doesn't mention birds as food of the Western Gray. Anybody know if this is normal? Wink Gross Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mpasurf at hotmail.com Mon Jan 3 16:51:40 2011 From: mpasurf at hotmail.com (matthew alexander) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 22:51:40 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Squirrel eats Thrush? In-Reply-To: <16AB340C-B9F9-4D61-9A25-969A0CAC63DB@hevanet.com> References: <16AB340C-B9F9-4D61-9A25-969A0CAC63DB@hevanet.com> Message-ID: I have never seen a squirrel eat a bird. However, many times I've seen California ground squirrels eat freshly killed squirrels. On more than one occasion I witnessed a squirrel being dispatched by a car, followed quickly by a second squirrel running into the road and dragging the dead squirrel off the road. After the second time I saw that happen, I pulled over to watch the scenario unfold, and sure enough, the second squirrel would begin to gnaw on the road kill squirrel and even be joined by another squirrel. Cannibalistic little fellows, or just meat lovers depending on your point-of-view. Matthew Alexander From: winkg at hevanet.com Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 14:36:46 -0800 To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Squirrel eats Thrush? A bizarre sight from yesterday's Portland CBC was seeing a squirrel (I think Western Gray, the habitat was mixed oak-conifer) carrying a dead Varied Thrush. I didn't know squirrels ate adult birds, and Wikipedia doesn't mention birds as food of the Western Gray. Anybody know if this is normal? Wink Gross Portland _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dan-gleason at comcast.net Mon Jan 3 16:55:53 2011 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 14:55:53 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Squirrel eats Thrush? In-Reply-To: <16AB340C-B9F9-4D61-9A25-969A0CAC63DB@hevanet.com> References: <16AB340C-B9F9-4D61-9A25-969A0CAC63DB@hevanet.com> Message-ID: This is not normal for Western Gray Squirrel. However, Beechy (California) Ground Squirrel is known to eat carrion on occasion. I was lucky enough to obtain a photo of one feeding on a dead pigeon that had been run over by a car in the parking lot for the Bolas Chica wetlands (Southern California). Did the squirrel you saw have a large, bushy tail? Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason at comcast.net 541 345-0450 On Jan 3, 2011, at 2:36 PM, Wink Gross wrote: > A bizarre sight from yesterday's Portland CBC was seeing a > squirrel (I think Western Gray, the habitat was mixed > oak-conifer) carrying a dead Varied Thrush. I didn't know > squirrels ate adult birds, and Wikipedia doesn't mention > birds as food of the Western Gray. Anybody know if this > is normal? > > Wink Gross > Portland > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From celata at pacifier.com Mon Jan 3 17:57:38 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:57:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] On Safari: Astoria Waterfront Message-ID: <4D226272.4030708@pacifier.com> I went on walk-about today to check for anomalous _Catharus_, get my 2011 motorless birding list jump-started. and to just generally enjoy a sunny January morning. I've documented my adventures at: http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/18147/ And for the record, I saw no small brown thrushes of any description at the spot reported on yesterday, so I guess I'll let the mystery be. And my motorless birding list for 2011 is 42. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From greg at thebirdguide.com Mon Jan 3 17:59:06 2011 From: greg at thebirdguide.com (Greg Gillson) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 15:59:06 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Pacific NW Birder: Hermit Thrush in Winter Message-ID: http://nwbackyardbirder.blogspot.com/2011/01/hermit-thrush-in-winter.html Greg From zingie at aol.com Mon Jan 3 20:22:28 2011 From: zingie at aol.com (Simone) Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2011 21:22:28 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Lost falconry American Kestrel (male) in Ridgefield In-Reply-To: <8CD79CBCD911B75-19BC-7667@webmail-d049.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CD79CBCD911B75-19BC-7667@webmail-d049.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <8CD79CD5E5DF035-19BC-78C2@webmail-d049.sysops.aol.com> Hi all, Please keep an eye out for a lost male American Kestrel. He is a falconry bird named Ocius and was last seen being chased by another male kestrel on highway 501 (Pioneer Street) in Ridgefield, WA about an hour before dusk on 1/2/11. He will come to anyone with a piece of food (raw meat) and responds to the command "UP!". He is wearing anklets and jesses (small strips of leather). Please call Oliver May at 360-600-8425 or omayo at soon.com if you spot him or hear anything. Thanks. Simone Lupson-Cook Seattle, WA zingie at aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fschrock at gmail.com Mon Jan 3 20:26:10 2011 From: fschrock at gmail.com (Floyd Schrock) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 18:26:10 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Pacific NW Birder: Hermit Thrush in Winter In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I also photographed a Hermit Thrush just yesterday. It was in the Coast Range west of Willamina, Yamhill Co. The photo is not as "close-up" as Greg's, nor as well-lit, nor as sharp, but it does show a bird that is much "grayer" on the underparts. < http://empids.blogspot.com/ > So, that has made me curious about the various subspecies of Hermit Thrush we are likely to see in these parts. Does anyone know of a good reference source with illustrations of the subspecies? I apologize if it has already been mentioned, and I missed it. ==================== Floyd Schrock McMinnville, Oregon USA http://empids.blogspot.com ==================== On Mon, Jan 3, 2011 at 3:59 PM, Greg Gillson wrote: > http://nwbackyardbirder.blogspot.com/2011/01/hermit-thrush-in-winter.html > > Greg > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > -- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From celata at pacifier.com Mon Jan 3 20:33:01 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2011 18:33:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Pacific NW Birder: Hermit Thrush in Winter Message-ID: <4D2286DD.3090604@pacifier.com> Here's a thing I wrote on Hermit Thrush subspecies last January http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/14136/ > Re: Pacific NW Birder: Hermit Thrush in Winter > From: Floyd Schrock > Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 18:26:10 -0800 > > I also photographed a Hermit Thrush just yesterday. It was in the > Coast Range west of Willamina, Yamhill Co. The photo is not as > "close-up" as Greg's, nor as well-lit, nor as sharp, but it does > show a bird that is much "grayer" on the underparts. > < http://empids.blogspot.com/ > So, that has made me curious about > the various subspecies of Hermit Thrush we are likely to see in > these parts. Does anyone know of a good reference source with > illustrations of the subspecies? I apologize if it has already been > mentioned, and I missed it. > > ==================== > Floyd Schrock > McMinnville, Oregon USA > http://empids.blogspot.com > ==================== -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From diana.byrne at comcast.net Mon Jan 3 21:45:16 2011 From: diana.byrne at comcast.net (diana.byrne at comcast.net) Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 03:45:16 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Rock Sandpipers at Barview Jetty; Ancient Murrelets at Boiler Bay In-Reply-To: <1760166667.645571.1294112430714.JavaMail.root@sz0169a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Message-ID: <223701545.645737.1294112716917.JavaMail.root@sz0169a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> There were 2 Rock Sandpipers hanging out with the Black Turnstones at the western end of Barview Jetty (North of Garibaldi), photos & video at http://cannonbeachbirder.blogspot.com/2011/01/rock-sandpiper.html There were also a few Ancient Murrelets at Boiler Bay, in groups of 2 to 6 floating on the water only about 200 feet out (but they kept diving often), photo at http://cannonbeachbirder.blogspot.com/2011/01/ancient-murrelet.html -Diana Byrne NW Portland & Cannon Beach -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sheilach1 at frontier.com Mon Jan 3 22:28:01 2011 From: sheilach1 at frontier.com (Sheila Chambers) Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2011 20:28:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Will wonders never cease? Message-ID: <4D22A1D1.5010703@frontier.com> I can't believe it, another sunny day! So I did some shopping and stopped by the port to see what's up. Out to sea were a couple of PACIFIC LOONS and some GULLS but the sun in my face turned them into silhouettes. In the tidal wash of the Chetco river were two WESTERN GREBES and one male BUFFLEHEAD. A cat lady was out feeding the feral cats at the south jetty and the gulls watched warily.She said they are neutered but I would think that by providing food and shelter for abandoned cats, it just invites other people to abandon their cats there knowing someone will take care of them. I would rather see them caught and taken to the animal shelter where they could be adopted or put to sleep if too wild or simply not wanted. Too bad for the poor cats that people let them lose to fend for themselves, they get pregnant and the kittens are abandoned. On my way back home, I heard another make ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRD doing it's J dive wooing of another female. At home things were unchanged with the exception of a STELLER'S JAY and the SONG SPARROW I caught yesterday and which got loose in the house. I caught it later and released it onto some berry bushes.I was glad to see it didn't get eaten during the night. I dread the return of winter after this little taste of spring! Sheila in soggy Brookings, Or. where the hummingbirds try to sing and dance at the same time. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From foglark at att.net Mon Jan 3 23:01:27 2011 From: foglark at att.net (David Fix & Jude Power) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 21:01:27 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] recent Humboldt County CA sightings Message-ID: <359973.42481.qm@web80013.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> From: Elias Elias To: nwCalBird ; BIRDWEST at listserv.arizona.edu Sent: Mon, January 3, 2011 7:50:21 PM Subject: [nwcalbird] Northwest CA Bird Alert 20110103 ? This is the transcript of new messages on the Northwest California Bird Alert. This report is paraphrased for?brevity. If you wish to hear the entire report, please call the Bird Alert at 707-822-5666, or sign up for email delivery of the audio file: http://groups.google.com/group/northwest-california-bird-alert To view a spreadsheet of historic reports, click the following: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8CTW8CrMnpiMmRlNjg4MzctNTkzYi00ZGNlLWE2MmEtYTM1ZjM3ZDg5ZTcy&hl=en Species, Date, Location & County, Number/species note, Observer Palm Warbler, 1/2/2011, Ferndale Bottoms HUM, 2 / Fernbridge parking lot, Scott Carey, Matt Wachs, Daryl Coldren White-throated Sparrow, 1/2/2011, Ferndale Bottoms HUM, 1 / Fernbridge parking lot, Scott Carey, Matt Wachs, Daryl Coldren Palm Warbler, 1/2/2011, Ferndale Bottoms HUM, 1 / Ferndale sewage ponds, Scott Carey, Matt Wachs, Daryl Coldren Northern Saw-whet Owl, 1/2/2011, Ferndale Bottoms HUM, 1 /? Scott Carey, Matt Wachs, Daryl Coldren Pacific Golden-Plover, 1/2/2011, Loleta HUM, 18 / n.side Cannibal Island Road, between Seven Mile Slough Rd. and Cock Robin I. Rd., Jude Power, David Fix Palm Warbler, 1/3/2011, Arcata Marsh HUM, 1 / , George Ziminski Long-eared Owl, 1/2/2011, Ferndale Bottoms HUM, 4 / along the Salt River, Gary Bloomfield Cattle Egret, 1/3/2011, Arcata Bottoms HUM, 1 / Miller Lane and Heindon Road, George Ziminski Elias Elias Arcata CA 707-633-8833 walkie-talkie __._,_.___ Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity: * New Members 1 Visit Your Group Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest ? Unsubscribe ? Terms of Use . __,_._,___ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ptsulliv at spiritone.com Mon Jan 3 23:15:24 2011 From: ptsulliv at spiritone.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 21:15:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Listing Results for 2010 Message-ID: <5C1820BC1E49432CA91489BAE43A3910@dell307ac3e2b6> It is time to begin collecting Oregon 2010 listing results. I'd like to encourage everyone to participate, so we can make the final published report as complete and up to date as possible. Simply fill in the table below with your total numbers as of Dec 31, 2010 and send them to me at ptsulliv at spiritone.com If you want to do a paper copy, simply print the form, fill it in, and send it to me by regular mail at : Paul T. Sullivan, 4470 SW Murray Blvd. #26, Beaverton, OR 97005 --------------------------------- The threshold for your numbers to be published are as follows: Oregon Life List: 300 Oregon Year List: 250 County Life and 2010 Year list: 100 -------------------------------- Life 2010 _____ _____ Oregon State Oregon counties: _____ _____ Baker _____ _____ Benton _____ _____ Clackamas _____ _____ Clatsop _____ _____ Columbia _____ _____ Coos _____ _____ Crook _____ _____ Curry _____ _____ Deschutes _____ _____ Douglas _____ _____ Gilliam _____ _____ Grant _____ _____ Harney _____ _____ Hood River _____ _____ Jackson _____ _____ Jefferson _____ _____ Josephine _____ _____ Klamath _____ _____ Lake _____ _____ Lane _____ _____ Lincoln _____ _____ Linn _____ _____ Malheur _____ _____ Marion _____ _____ Morrow _____ _____ Multnomah _____ _____ Polk _____ _____ Sherman _____ _____ Tillamook _____ _____ Umatilla _____ _____ Union _____ _____ Wallowa _____ _____ Wasco _____ _____ Washington _____ _____ Wheeler _____ _____ Yamhill _____ _____ Your chosen 15-mile circle Please include a description of where your circle is located. Thanks, Paul T. Sullivan From manzed_99 at yahoo.com Mon Jan 3 23:59:46 2011 From: manzed_99 at yahoo.com (Dennis Manzer) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 21:59:46 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] ROUGH LEGGED HAWK Washington County Message-ID: <924833.1819.qm@web50406.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Greetings! ? ???? 01/03/11? I was cruising along Hahn Rd. west of Mountaindale & came upon a very cooperative?ROUGH LEGGED HAWK perched for quite some time in an ash swale maybe 150 yds S?off the road.? The area overlooks sheet water (mostly ice today)?lowlands.? There were at least?4, maybe 6,?RED-TAILED HAWKS?& 2 BALD EAGLES (1 ad & 1 sub)?in the area as well.? A cow elk & calf yearling also were present. ? ???? This site is approx 3 raptor miles north of where the previously reported PRAIRIE FALCON has been seen.? Not seen by me today.? The grasslands surrounding the PRFA area could be pretty inviting to any rough legged visitors as well. ? ???? The roadside brush at Killin wetlands W of Banks yielded a COOPER'S HAWK, numerous GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, BLACK -CAPPED CHICKADEES, & a merry band of BUSHTITS.? Of course the water was high, but about 3.5' - 4' lower than usual for this time of year.? There was a nice assortment of ducks, but I found no vagrants. ? Cheers! Dennis ? Yours for better birding! Dennis E. Manzer Beaverton, OR 97006 manzed_99 at yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com Tue Jan 4 01:43:35 2011 From: woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com (Jamie S.) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 23:43:35 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] E.E. Wilson, Benton, Jan 3 (YBSA, SWSP, etc.) Message-ID: <963160.22313.qm@web161610.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Hendrik Herlyn and I spent this sunny and frigid afternoon wandering the streets and trails of E.E. Wilson (we went to the northernmost e-w road via the Angling Pond, east to the ne corner, then back west, then south on the road that ends just northeast of HQ.)? We finished off the day with a stop at the pond below Coffin Butte Landfill. Highlights: EE Wilson: YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER - we had clear views of him at about 11:55 and 3:30 in the 2nd tall tree west of the HQ driveway entrance--his favorite tree. SWAMP SPARROW - 1 bird seen very briefly but well-heard on the northwest side of the Canal Pond. Northern Shrike - 1 south along road across from HQ driveway (area where previously found). Bird was about twice as far south of main EE Wilson road as first crossroad (gated on east side). (3:35) White-throated Sparrow - 4 throughout the area, along with many Fox Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrows, and Spotted Towhees. Below Coffin Butte landfill, in pond on left just after entering landfill road: Thayer's Gull - 1 adult Herring Gull - 3 adults Glaucous-winged Gull - about 130 Great Egret - 1 Hooded Merganser - 7 (including males displaying) Jamie Simmons Corvallis From gnorgren at earthlink.net Tue Jan 4 07:25:41 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 05:25:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] EE Wilson Message-ID: I would be inclined to call the mystery walnut by HQs "our" favorite tree, as it's the easiest place to see the YB Sapsucker. In the bird's time budget it doesn't figure significantly, but the tree's proximity to the road and lack of brush at its base make it an easy place to be observed. Rich Hoyer and I spent 80 minutes there last month and never saw the bird there. I've visited the area three times in the past twelve months and observed the YBSS for at least twenty- five minutes on the cottonwoods a bit further west on the south side of the road. Lars Norgren From dnkmunson at gmail.com Tue Jan 4 10:26:39 2011 From: dnkmunson at gmail.com (Don & Karen Munson) Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 08:26:39 -0800 (Pacific Standard Time) Subject: [OBOL] Brookings Mockingbird Message-ID: <4D234A3F.000005.00776@OFFICE> The MOCKINGBIRD originally reported on 12/28 is still present. Don Munson Brookings, Curry County -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From n7ts at comcast.net Tue Jan 4 13:35:08 2011 From: n7ts at comcast.net (Tim Sellers) Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 11:35:08 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Multnomah County Blue Bird Message-ID: I was working this morning near a vacant subdivision (SE 171 & SE Division Street) and spotted a Western Blue Bird working brush for insects. Seemed sout of place. ( 2 blocks north of SE Division on west side of street). Tim Sellers Gladstone, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From glenn_rie at yahoo.com Tue Jan 4 15:51:09 2011 From: glenn_rie at yahoo.com (Rie Luft) Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 13:51:09 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Squirrel eats Thrush? In-Reply-To: <16AB340C-B9F9-4D61-9A25-969A0CAC63DB@hevanet.com> References: <16AB340C-B9F9-4D61-9A25-969A0CAC63DB@hevanet.com> Message-ID: <820303.43425.qm@web110304.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> The Audubon Wildlife Care Center gets a number of calls each year on this very matter, usually concerning a squirrel attacking nestlings with the parents in a frenzy. Rie Luft, Portland ________________________________ From: Wink Gross To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Mon, January 3, 2011 2:36:46 PM Subject: [OBOL] Squirrel eats Thrush? A bizarre sight from yesterday's Portland CBC was seeing a squirrel (I think Western Gray, the habitat was mixed oak-conifer) carrying a dead Varied Thrush. I didn't know squirrels ate adult birds, and Wikipedia doesn't mention birds as food of the Western Gray. Anybody know if this is normal? Wink Gross Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From joel.geier at peak.org Tue Jan 4 16:18:34 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:18:34 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area: 4 or 5(!) Swamp Sparrows, N. Shrike continues Message-ID: <1294179514.1831.454.camel@clearwater1> -------- Forwarded Message -------- From: joel.birdnotes at peak.org To: joel.birdnotes at peak.org Subject: Census Count: E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area (main tract), Benton County, Oregon on January 04, 2011 Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:31:06 GMT This report was mailed for Joel Geier by http://birdnotes.net Date: January 4, 2011 Location: E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area (main tract), Benton County, Oregon Low temperature: 25 degrees fahrenheit High temperature: 32 degrees fahrenheit Wind direction: Variable Prevailing wind speed: < 1 km/h gusting to: 1-5 km/h Percentage of sky covered by clouds: 100% Precipitation: haze or fog Mid-day walk around headquarters area, angling & canal ponds and wooded areas to south of the latter. A few fine snowflakes falling at times, but no accumulation of snow. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker not seen. Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Northern Pintail 15 [1] Great Blue Heron 1 Great Egret 1 Bald Eagle 1 [2] Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 Red-tailed Hawk 5 American Kestrel 1 Killdeer 1 Glaucous-winged Gull 1 [3] Great Horned Owl 1 [4] Belted Kingfisher 1 Downy Woodpecker 2 Northern Flicker 15 Northern Shrike 1 [5] Western Scrub-Jay 10 Common Raven 1 Black-capped Chickadee 20 Bushtit 10 Red-breasted Nuthatch 2 White-breasted Nuthatch 3 Bewick's Wren 7 [6] Winter Wren 1 [7] Marsh Wren 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 5 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5 Western Bluebird 8 [8] Hermit Thrush 3 [9] American Robin 15 Varied Thrush 8 European Starling 10 Spotted Towhee 25 Savannah Sparrow 2 [10] Fox Sparrow 20 [11] Song Sparrow 30 Lincoln's Sparrow 3 Swamp Sparrow 4 [12] White-throated Sparrow 1 [13] Golden-crowned Sparrow 50 Dark-eyed Junco 20 Red-winged Blackbird [14] Brewer's Blackbird Footnotes: [1] Flock flew over. [2] Flew south along west side of refuge in early morning, subadult. [3] Immature bird flew over toward landfill. [4] Roosting in conifer grove by old boy scout site. [5] Hunting in area south of HQ. Initially seen atop tall Doug-fir. [6] One missing tail. [7] Presumably Pacific Wren. [8] Flew east into wildlife area. [9] Around canal pond. [10] In BPA prairie restoration. [11] All Sooty form. [12] At least 4, possibly 5 along NW side of Canal Pond. Two (or one single bird?) seen in sequence sitting up & calling in brambles on either side of one bird that was foraging on the ground. One heard about 50 yards to the west at the same time, then later one encountered in grass about 75 yards to north (heard first while down in grass, then sat up on tussock, and finally flew north in to closed-to-public area where it sat up again). [13] Foraging on ground with Golden-crowned flock, north side of display pond by HQ. [14] Mixed blackbird flock flew over in fog, not sure of ID. Total number of species seen: 41 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kevinsmithnaturephotos at gmail.com Tue Jan 4 18:13:08 2011 From: kevinsmithnaturephotos at gmail.com (Kevin Smith) Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2011 16:13:08 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Culver Raptor Route Message-ID: <4D23B794.1040207@gmail.com> Larry Day and I did the Culver Raptor Route today. Not as many birds as last month's 111, but still quite good. No Peregrines this month. Temperature at the start was 14 degrees, but ended up a balmy 34. A veritable heat wave ;-) . Partly cloudy. Light breeze. 47 Red-tailed Hawks 9 American Kestrels 11 Northern Harriers 5 Bald Eagles (3 adults, 2 juveniles) 8 Rough-legged Hawks 1 Ferruginous hawk 2 Great horned Owls 86 birds total for an average of 3.31 birds per mile -- Kevin Smith Crooked River Ranch, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: kevinsmithnaturephotos.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 107 bytes Desc: not available URL: From joel.geier at peak.org Tue Jan 4 19:30:18 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:30:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] EE Wilson sapsucker's tree Message-ID: <1294191018.1847.18.camel@clearwater1> Hi Lars & all, I agree that the walnut tree is perhaps more "our" favorite tree for Yellow-bellied Sapsucker viewing, than the sapsucker's favorite tree. However, it's a tree that the bird returns to on a very regular basis, at least in decent weather when that tree catches some late afternoon sunshine. There are quite a few sap wells visible on this tree and I suspect that the bird checks these on a daily basis. Also, on several occasions the bird has flushed out of the more brushy lower parts of the tree, after escaping detection by birders who were looking at that tree. Lars will remember one such case. I've seen this happen 5 or 6 times now, including at the end of the Airlie CBC on Sunday. Around 4:30 PM while returning for the countdown, I encountered Jarod Jebousek, Molly Monroe and Matt Blakely Smith who'd been staking out this spot for I don't know how long, but it sounded like at least 15 minutes by the time I got there. As I was talking to them, I saw the sapsucker flush out of the tree -- who knows where it was hiding in there. If flew southeast toward the red-cedars by the residence (though Jarod thought it went into a Douglas-fir near those cedars). I've also seen the sapsucker go back and forth between said walnut tree and the line of four Doug fir trees closer to HQ, and across the road to the tangled maples which it can also spend some time in without being detected. I've checked the cottonwoods that Lars mentions several times and have never found the sapsucker there -- though one time I saw it on one of the isolated cottonwoods about 50 yards SE of that cluster. It's also ranged well south of the residence (blue house), out in the scrubby hawthorns and apple trees. Bottom line, the bird does like most sapsuckers do, which is to work a circuit of favored trees with sap wells -- some of which we've identified, and most of which we probably haven't yet. It has a lot of trees to choose from, and may well visit 30 or 50 trees on a regular basis. One thing I'll say with confidence, it's devilishly hard to find on rainy days. Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis From khanhbatran at hotmail.com Tue Jan 4 19:32:22 2011 From: khanhbatran at hotmail.com (khanh tran) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 01:32:22 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Updated VIDEOS: Bohemian Waxwings and Northern Saw-Whet Owl by ktbirding.com Message-ID: Hi all and Happy New Year! Here are two updated VIDEOS from my recent,winter birding trip to Northcentral WA (Okanogan and Douglas Co). Hope you can join me on a future birding trip to see some fun wintering birds. For those interested, I have included a recent trip report below: This past weekend, Bill Bradford, Lora Minty and I (Portland, Oregon) returned from a great, 3.5 day trip to the Okanogan and Waterville Plateau. Couldn't ask for better weather in terms of sunny skies but it was extremely cold with single digits on several occasions. This may have suppressed some bird activity but we were very pleased with our results and number of birds seen. We had quality looks at all of the birds so that made it special. Overall birding was productive. Noticeably absent were redpolls, Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins, and crossbills of either species. Winter is just starting and with more birder coverage in the next several weeks, I am optimistic that those species may be found. Always a treat to bird in the Magical Okanogan. It's tough not to have a fun time even if you dipped on a few target species. Scenery, sunrise and sunsets are so vibrant and amazing. HIGHLIGHTS FROM TRIP: A cooperative adult Goshawk allowing prolong looks in glorious light, 200 Bohemian Waxwings feeding and buzzing with a few feet of us, and hundreds of snow buntings swirling and feeding in snowy field close-up. Brightly colored pine grosbeaks males glowing against the blue skies and sunny light. More VIDEOS to come as time permit and Hope you enjoy! I apologize about the wind and car noise. INSTRUCTIONS FOR WATCHING VIDEOS: Make sure you watch in 720p or HIGHER for better resolution. Allow up to 15 seconds for videos to process depending on computer speed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aVVRTz10IM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWFAV9DCjWM ************************LIST OF SPECIES*************** CLARKE'S GREBE: One bird near Chief Joseph Dam near Murphy Rd (Douglas County) Sharp Shinned, Cooper's Hawk: Several birds on the Okanogan Highlands and Waterville Plateau. NORTHERN GOSHAWK: (2 birds total): One gorgeous adult near Sun Lodge in Winthrop. Perched for 20 minutes in good light. Immature on Cameron Lake Rd. Rough legged Hawk: (Less than 12 birds) Mostly on Waterville Plateau and a few on Okanogan Highlands. Golden Eagle: (6 birds total) 1 on Bolster Rd, 3 Havillah, 2 birds on Hwy2 near town of Douglas. Merlin: (2 birds total) One pursuing songbirds near town of Okanogan and perched in Mansfield. GYRFALCON: One gray morph along Cameron Lake Rd. Prairie Falcon: One bird near Hwy 97 near Selah Exit Gray Patridge: (62 birds total): 28 on Mary Ann Creek Rd, 13 near town of Withow, 12 on Davies,7 on Cameron Lake Rd, 2 along H NE. Ruffed Grouse: (7 birds total): 5 along Mary Ann Creek Rd, 1 Bolster, and one Davies SHARP TAILED GROUSE: (30 birds total) 22 birds along summit of Brideport Rd, 6 on Happy Hill Rd, and two along lower end of Bridgeport Rd. Neat vocalization. SNOWY OWL: 1 cooperative bird on G NE in Mansfield, WA. NORTHERN PYGMY OWL: (7 birds total): 3 birds in 20 minutes on Bolster Rd, 1 Havillah, 1 Sun Lodge, 1 Buzzard Lake Rd, and one near Limebelt Rd near Conconully. NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL: (2 birds total) At Bridgeport State Park. Cripping views of one bird perched in open. Great Horned OWL: (Up to 6 birds total): Okanogan Highlands and Conconully with Sharp tailed Grouse feeding close by. RED BREASTED SAPSUCKER: A brightly colored male feeding on Crabapples on Nealey Rd. A rare, winter and code 5 bird for Okanogan Co. Pileated Woodpecker: One up high in Mary Ann Creek Rd Northern Shrike: (About 30 birds total) on the Okanogan Highlands, Waterville Plateau, and Hwy 97. Townsend's Solitaire: One aggressive bird chasing a flock of 200 Bohemian Waxwings near Riverside. HERMIT THRUSH: One bird along Riverside Cut-off Rd. BOHEMIAN WAXWING: (About plus 400 birds total in several flocks) 200 near Riverside feeding, 70 near Tonasket along Hwy 97, 60 at Bridgeport State Park, 80 birds along Crumbacher Rd, 20 near town of Bridgeport. AMERICAN TREE SPARROW: (4 birds total) 2 birds along Cameron Lake Rd and 2 near Havillah Rd SNOW BUNTINGS: (About a 1000 birds total): Some in large flocks and allowed prolong close up views: 600 near Cameron Lake Rd, 350 near Nealey Rd, about 50 birds on Waterville Plateau near G NE. A few close to breeding plumage. GRAY CROWNED ROSYFINCHES: (About 20 birds total): Staked out feeders were empty but found several small groups along Nealey Rd and Mary Ann Creek Rd. PINE GROSBEAKS: (Up to 25 birds total): Vociferous flock, feeding 5 feet from us along Mary Ann Creek Rd. About 10 males in the bunch and a few russet forms. Easily one of our favorite birds of the trip! Good birding, Khanh Tran www.ktbirding.com From joel.geier at peak.org Tue Jan 4 19:35:49 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:35:49 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Signs of spring! Message-ID: <1294191349.1847.24.camel@clearwater1> Hi again, Last night around 3 AM I was awakened by some outlandish sounds outside. I went outside hoping for a Barred Owl, but eventually figured out that it was a GREAT HORNED OWL making some of the weird courtship noises that they do. I think Larry McQueen once explained it as a female owl giving a juvenile-type begging call, as part of the pair-bonding process. After sunrise, one of our wintering ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS (a new phenomenon for us, this winter) did a couple of display dives. That last was after I thawed out the hummingbird feeder. Before I did that, they weren't in any sort of springtime mood. Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From manzed_99 at yahoo.com Tue Jan 4 19:38:35 2011 From: manzed_99 at yahoo.com (Dennis Manzer) Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 17:38:35 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Jackson Bottom Wetlands tagged red-tailed hawk Message-ID: <875777.43936.qm@web50402.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Greetings! ???? ???? 01/04/11 3:15 p.m.? I found an adult red-tailed hawk bearing blank orange patagial markers today.? I got clean looks at its right side which was unmistakably blank.? I moved my position for best vantage whenever the hawk changed perches but only ever got fleeting glimpses of its left side which seemed to be blank as well. ? ???? I first spied it perched high in the cottonwoods at the S end of the Clean Water Services building adjacent to the wetlands ed center.? It flew to the tallest tree just off the observation deck at the ed center.? Next it flew into a tree & then another across the river.? All the while affording only right side views cleanly, but occasionally exposing its left side.? Its final perch was on a utility pole?adjacent to the Tualatin River bridge at its NW edge.? It perched facing away from me & I was unable to detect any identifying codes from either side, both appearing to be blank.? It departed on a WNW course out of view behind the hazelnut orchard. ? ???? Does anyone know how to trace the history of a bird wearing?blank orange?patagial markers? ? ???? Other birds found included BEWICK'S WREN, SPOTTED TOWHEE, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, both?f &?m but not a pair, and a DOWNY WOODPECKER (m) plus many of the other commonly occurring spp. for this time of year. ? Cheers! Dennis? Yours for better birding! Dennis E. Manzer Beaverton, OR 97006 manzed_99 at yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sh at stockpix.com Tue Jan 4 20:00:27 2011 From: sh at stockpix.com (Steven Holt) Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2011 18:00:27 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Squirrel eats Thrush? Message-ID: <4D23D0BB.4050404@stockpix.com> California Ground Squirrels will also eat of all things Northern Elephant Seal. I've seen them chew on and eat leathery old dead seals. Have not seen them scavenging fresher meat. I'm curious, was the thrush fresh - floppy/limp or did it look stiffer like it was found dead? This could be indicative, but is certainly not clear proof of active predation as opposed to opportunistic scavenging. Best, Steve Steven Holt http://stockpix.com (541) 266-0436 sh at stockpix.com 93559 Easy Creek Ln. Coos Bay, OR 97420 From greenfant at hotmail.com Tue Jan 4 21:44:03 2011 From: greenfant at hotmail.com (Stefan Schlick) Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 22:44:03 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] OBOL, Portland Area Birds and now sialia: Information infrastructure for the future ... Message-ID: Fairly recently, Greg Gillson and I created Portland Area Birds to further encourage local posting. Volume and membership for our little list is increasing weekly. It can be found at http://groups.google.com/group/portland-area-birds. Many of you likely have seen sialia, a supersite pulling daily postings from 25 some Yahoo and Google Groups for California into one easy-to-use forum to view (not post) what's going on in the state. See http://digest.sialia.com/?region=2 for California. Dave Ranney, the creator of sialia, has now expanded sialia to cover all of the US, in much of the way Jack Siler did it with birdingonthe.net. The new sialia can be found at http://digest.sialia.com/. I just registered Portland Area Birds with sialia and posted a brief message on Portland Area Birds. It is already visible on sialia. What does that mean for Oregon? First off, all local OR list owners can easily get their lists into sialia as well by sending a brief email to Dave (dave at sialia dot com). This may include COBOL, Yamhill Birders, Mid Valley Birding, LCBNO (Lincoln Co), Oregon Rare Birds, Klamath Basin Bird News and others that I'm not aware of. It also lends itself to the creation of new groups in state. Second, the beauty with the new sialia is that you don't have to register for anything (unless you decide that you want to post; then you can register with the local group just like before), but have one-stop-shop access to all lists available in Oregon. This way you can be sure not to miss anything important that didn't make it to OBOL or Oregon Rare Birds. And no, I'm not working for sialia ... Stefan Schlick Hillsboro, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Tue Jan 4 22:00:36 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 20:00:36 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Bald Eagle Survey Results 1/4/2011 Message-ID: <603584.59259.qm@web45311.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Jim Heaney and I took advantage of the non-rainy weather to do the Coos Bay mid-winter Bald Eagle survey a few days early. The overall raptor totals are always much lower on the coast than inland, but we had a nice diversity anyhow. This is an older route and although it is over 70 miles, much of the route has no habitat for eagles (if we could redesign the route we would!). It was cloudy all day with patches of fog, temps between 30 and 48F. Here are our raptor totals: 5- BALD EAGLES (8 was our best year) 11- RED-TAILED HAWKS 6- WHITE-TAILED KITES 3- NORTHERN HARRIERS 2- RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS 1- OSPREY 1- PEREGRINE FALCON 1- AMERICAN KESTREL 1- COOPER'S HAWK 1- SHARP-SHINNED HAWK We also saw a SNOWY EGRET in Empire. Merry 2011! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From winkg at hevanet.com Tue Jan 4 23:54:40 2011 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 21:54:40 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Squirrel eats Thrush? Message-ID: <3A409DBC-D748-453F-A49A-6D5A8C515DD7@hevanet.com> In response to several inquiries: the squirrel in question had a large bushy tail and carried the dead Varied Thrush up a tree. It was on the Nike campus in Beaverton in a grove of mature oaks. I think it was clearly NOT a ground squirrel. As I said earlier, I think it was a Western Gray, but my instinct was to identify the bird, not the mammal. :^) Couldn't tell if the thrush was freshly dead, but it appeared the feathers were in good condition so it hadn't been lying around for very long. Wink Gross Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Wed Jan 5 01:34:56 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 23:34:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Squirrel eats Thrush? In-Reply-To: <3A409DBC-D748-453F-A49A-6D5A8C515DD7@hevanet.com> References: <3A409DBC-D748-453F-A49A-6D5A8C515DD7@hevanet.com> Message-ID: <6BF35F16-4AEF-472D-BDF3-A330CC5582C0@earthlink.net> The likelihood of someone seeing Spermophilus beecheyi (the Graydigger) in Washington County during the CBC season is extremely low. They are hibernating at the moment, although I should probably use a different term, such as seasonal dormancy since this subterranean inactivity begins in mid-summer in parts of Oregon. It generally is initiated when the squirrel becomes too fat to avoid predation, not in response to heat, drought, or lack of food(Verts and Carraway, 1998). My own experience is that they begin to emerge in February in the northern Willamette Basin. I am impressed that multiple people suggested the Graydigger as a possible solution to this remarkable anecdote . They routinely frequent small openings in the forest and are not averse to climbing trees. Our property was logged about half a year before we bought it and hosted both ground squirrels and Mountain Quail for three years . Natural plant succession soon led to the disappearance of both. I don't doubt for a heartbeat that a Silver Gray Squirrel would eat meat when presented with the opportunity. As a group squirrels are great opportunists. I also imagine that Obol list subscribers are not immune from a panoply of purely human prejudices. Many of us have no problem eating beef, but would never dream of eating horse or whale. There is absolutely no biological basis for these distinctions, it's purely cultural. My father's Russian professor at OSU in 1962 had no problem eating hare, but was horrified when she discovered that she had just been served rabbit. She was Armenian. We tend to equate ground squirrels with rats. They can carry tularemia and bubonic plague. It doesn't surprise us to see them dining on carrion. But when it comes to tree squirrels, latent and not-so-latent anthropomorphism kicks in. There is a disturbing quality to their consumption of species we are trying to attract to our feeders. Ultimately, the subconscious is trying to tell us that we are indeed very like that squirrel. When children sing a song I learned in nursery school, we only find it cute when we don't understand it,"Alouette, gentille alouette! Allouette, je te plumerai!" This song is all about preparing the "nice Skylark" for the pot. Lars Norgren On Jan 4, 2011, at 9:54 PM, Wink wrote: > In response to several inquiries: the squirrel in question > had a large bushy tail and carried the dead Varied Thrush up > a tree. It was on the Nike campus in Beaverton in a grove of > mature oaks. I think it was clearly NOT a ground squirrel. > As I said earlier, I think it was a Western Gray, but my > instinct was to identify the bird, not the mammal. :^) > > Couldn't tell if the thrush was freshly dead, but it appeared > the feathers were in good condition so it hadn't been lying > around for very long. > > Wink Gross > Portland > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Wed Jan 5 01:40:05 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 23:40:05 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] RFI--Where do I report alphanumeric bands? Message-ID: <8FA4130C-FC24-4DCF-B19F-CDE281A916B2@earthlink.net> Twice in the past week I have succeeded in reading neck bands on Tundra Swans. I just saw an address to report shorebird bands to. Is there a different, perhaps dedicated, one for swans and or geese? I know I will soon lose track of these numbers, so I'd better send them in now. Lars From ac7zg at frontier.com Wed Jan 5 02:01:25 2011 From: ac7zg at frontier.com (Don Nelson) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 08:01:25 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] RFI--Where do I report alphanumeric bands? In-Reply-To: <1029400346.679680.1294214396127.JavaMail.root@cl07-host01.dlls.pa.frontiernet.net> Message-ID: <1473607834.679685.1294214485909.JavaMail.root@cl07-host01.dlls.pa.frontiernet.net> www.reportband.gov There's been a bunch of Tundras up in Ridgefield. I reported about 12 back in November. www.trumpeterswansociety.org/csp-trumpeter-watch.html www.trumpeterswansociety.org/wordpress.com/2010/11/26/wanted-marked-tundra-swan-reports-wintering-birds-from-alaska Don Nelson ----- Original Message ----- From: "Norgren Family" To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Tuesday, January 4, 2011 11:40:05 PM Subject: [OBOL] RFI--Where do I report alphanumeric bands? ?? ?Twice in the past week I have succeeded in reading neck bands on Tundra Swans. I just saw an address to report shorebird bands to. Is there a different, perhaps dedicated, one for swans and or geese? I know I will soon lose track of these numbers, so I'd better send them in now. Lars _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Don Nelson ----- Original Message ----- From: "Norgren Family" To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Tuesday, January 4, 2011 11:40:05 PM Subject: [OBOL] RFI--Where do I report alphanumeric bands? ?? ?Twice in the past week I have succeeded in reading neck bands on Tundra Swans. I just saw an address to report shorebird bands to. Is there a different, perhaps dedicated, one for swans and or geese? I know I will soon lose track of these numbers, so I'd better send them in now. Lars _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 5hats at peak.org Wed Jan 5 10:37:46 2011 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 08:37:46 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Squirrel eats Thrush? In-Reply-To: <6BF35F16-4AEF-472D-BDF3-A330CC5582C0@earthlink.net> References: <3A409DBC-D748-453F-A49A-6D5A8C515DD7@hevanet.com> <6BF35F16-4AEF-472D-BDF3-A330CC5582C0@earthlink.net> Message-ID: <9C440A4E918B4BBF831A2A0682E12F6F@DarrelPC> Lars, Wow! You must be old as dirt! I will bet kids haven't sung that song in school for forty years. Darrel From: Norgren Family Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2011 11:34 PM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: [OBOL] Squirrel eats Thrush? The likelihood of someone seeing Spermophilus beecheyi (the Graydigger) in Washington County during the CBC season is extremely low. They are hibernating at the moment, although I should probably use a different term, such as seasonal dormancy since this subterranean inactivity begins in mid-summer in parts of Oregon. It generally is initiated when the squirrel becomes too fat to avoid predation, not in response to heat, drought, or lack of food(Verts and Carraway, 1998). My own experience is that they begin to emerge in February in the northern Willamette Basin. I am impressed that multiple people suggested the Graydigger as a possible solution to this remarkable anecdote . They routinely frequent small openings in the forest and are not averse to climbing trees. Our property was logged about half a year before we bought it and hosted both ground squirrels and Mountain Quail for three years . Natural plant succession soon led to the disappearance of both. I don't doubt for a heartbeat that a Silver Gray Squirrel would eat meat when presented with the opportunity. As a group squirrels are great opportunists. I also imagine that Obol list subscribers are not immune from a panoply of purely human prejudices. Many of us have no problem eating beef, but would never dream of eating horse or whale. There is absolutely no biological basis for these distinctions, it's purely cultural. My father's Russian professor at OSU in 1962 had no problem eating hare, but was horrified when she discovered that she had just been served rabbit. She was Armenian. We tend to equate ground squirrels with rats. They can carry tularemia and bubonic plague. It doesn't surprise us to see them dining on carrion. But when it comes to tree squirrels, latent and not-so-latent anthropomorphism kicks in. There is a disturbing quality to their consumption of species we are trying to attract to our feeders. Ultimately, the subconscious is trying to tell us that we are indeed very like that squirrel. When children sing a song I learned in nursery school, we only find it cute when we don't understand it,"Alouette, gentille alouette! Allouette, je te plumerai!" This song is all about preparing the "nice Skylark" for the pot. Lars Norgren On Jan 4, 2011, at 9:54 PM, Wink wrote: In response to several inquiries: the squirrel in question had a large bushy tail and carried the dead Varied Thrush up a tree. It was on the Nike campus in Beaverton in a grove of mature oaks. I think it was clearly NOT a ground squirrel. As I said earlier, I think it was a Western Gray, but my instinct was to identify the bird, not the mammal. :^) Couldn't tell if the thrush was freshly dead, but it appeared the feathers were in good condition so it hadn't been lying around for very long. Wink Gross Portland _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fbisaacs at peak.org Wed Jan 5 13:45:06 2011 From: fbisaacs at peak.org (Frank Isaacs) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 11:45:06 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Off-Topic & Long - New Golden Eagle Nest Monitoring Project For Oregon - Call For Historical Data Message-ID: <16ee96b61b94f8651989811fdd2496c8@peak.org> New Golden Eagle Nest Monitoring Project For Oregon - Call For Historical Data To Everyone Interested In Or Having Knowledge Of Golden Eagle Nests In Oregon, The primary purpose of this e-mail is to solicit 1992-2010 historical information on golden eagle nest locations in Oregon. This is the first phase of a new golden eagle monitoring project that is being implemented primarily because of rapid development of energy resources in golden eagle habitat. Please forward this to anyone you know that might be interested and is not already on this mailing list and to all agency district/field biologists. Oregon Eagle Foundation, Inc. (OEF) is working with Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 1 (USFWS) and Bureau of Land Management, Oregon State Office (BLM) to establish a golden eagle nest monitoring project in Oregon. Our objective is to determine distribution, size, and productivity of the breeding population. We are hoping that other funders and cooperators will be joining this effort soon. The project has three primary phases that will be implemented as funding becomes available: Phase 1 - Solicit and summarize historical (1992-2010) data on nest locations to create a legacy data set (the primary subject of this e-mail). This data set will compliment previous legacy data collection and reporting that covered 1965-1991. Phase 2 - Inventory historical and new nest locations to determine current location and status of nests (details in future e-mail as soon as funding is secured). Phase 3 - Coordinate monitoring of nesting for occupation and nesting outcome (details in future e-mail as soon as funding is secured). HISTORICAL DATA REQUEST (Phase 1) DETAILS PURPOSE - The 1965-2010 legacy data will be the starting point for statewide inventory and monitoring with the long-term goal of determining population trends for the state. REQUEST - If you or your organization has knowledge of the location(s) of?golden eagle nests in Oregon during 1992-2010, both occupied and unoccupied, please send those locations and corresponding nest histories AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to: Frank Isaacs OEF Secretary 24178 Cardwell Hill Dr Philomath, OR 97370-9735 or fbisaacs at peak.org. Also, if you know of someone with knowledge of golden eagle nests that would not receive this request through e-mail, please send Frank their contact information. CAVEATS - We realize that this information is stored in many different formats and that some of you have scant information while others have many records. If you can't send the information by regular mail or e-mail I will schedule a visit to record that information in person. We are aware of the delicate nature of this information and will keep the records confidential. Our results will be provided to the funders for management purposes. We feel that the potential benefits to golden eagles far outweigh the chances of the data being used to harm the species. Please feel free to call or send e-mail to Frank if you want to discuss this project before providing your data. All contributions will be cataloged as they are incorporated into the statewide database and acknowledged in future reports and publications. FORMAT - The basic information we need for each nest is 1) location, 2) nest substrate, and 3) history of use by year. Location can be provided by a dot on a map, a legal location (Township, Range, Section, 1/4, 1/16), or GPS coordinates (UTMs or Lat-Long) including Datum (NAD27 or NAD83/WGS84). Nest substrates are cliff, tree, or manmade structure. History of use can be written descriptions or codes with accompanying definitions for each year that information about a nest was collected. Nests with locations but no recorded history should also be reported. We don't want to make the data transfer difficult so feel free to send the data as scans or hard copies of existing documents, or existing digital databases or spreadsheets. If you have data but can't send it, let Frank know so that he can arrange to visit and copy the data in person. Feel free to call Frank at 541-929-7154 if you want to discuss data format and transfer. TIMEFRAME - Current knowledge on the number and distribution of golden eagle nests in Oregon is based on similar data requests that covered the period from 1965-1991. Consequently, we are focusing this request on the period from 1992 through 2010 to update the 1965-1991 records and add locations that were not reported previously or have been discovered since 1991. SUMMARY - We are starting a statewide golden eagle nest monitoring project and will begin by gathering historical information on golden eagle nest locations and use during 1992-2010. Please send the following information for each golden eagle nest you know about: LOCATION, SUBSTRATE, HISTORY OF USE (see above for details) to Frank Isaacs, OEF Secretary.? Future e-mails will focus on planning and implementing Phases 2 & 3 and will solicit cooperators and volunteers from among your ranks to help with those efforts. Thanks for whatever you can do to help achieve the goals of this project. Happy New Year! - Frank ---------------------------------------------------- Frank B. Isaacs 24178 Cardwell Hill Dr. Philomath, OR 97370 541-929-7154 fbisaacs at peak.org ---------------------------------------------------- From oropendolas at aol.com Wed Jan 5 14:45:50 2011 From: oropendolas at aol.com (oropendolas at aol.com) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 15:45:50 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] Mockingbird, North Eugene Message-ID: <8CD7B30AC37FBD2-176C-14570@webmail-m007.sysops.aol.com> Hello All, During my lunch break today I found the previously reported (absent during the Eugene CBC) NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD on Awbrey Lane. It was in a row of blackberries on the north side of Awbrey, east side of the Visco plant (big letters KTC on the building). This is about halfway between Hwy 99 and Prairie Road. Good Birding, John Sullivan Springfield, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbarendt at comcast.net Wed Jan 5 15:05:31 2011 From: dbarendt at comcast.net (Dennis Arendt) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 13:05:31 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eugene's Wednesday birders Message-ID: <17D9AAFD7A1F4F32BDC1C2F6DC480D3B@DennisArendtPC> Eugene?s Wednesday birders went to Golden Garden Park in the Bethel area of Eugene, west of Beltline and north of Barger. This is an old gravel pit area with large ponds, lots of scrubby brush and open fields with a few trees. There are paths and a running trail. Much of the open area was crowded with chest high Queen Ann?s Lace. Here is our list for the day. 150 Cackling Goose (many more were flying over) 300 Canada Goose (many uncounted as they flew over from the west) 50 Gadwall 8 American Wigeon 6 Mallard 20 Northern Shoveler 3 Green-winged Teal 1 Hooded Merganser (a female in one of the ditches) 1 Common Merganser (a female on the pond) 1 Ruddy Duck (a male on the pond) 6 Pied-billed Grebe 3 Double-crested Cormorant 1 Great Blue Heron 1 Bald Eagle (an adult) 3 Northern Harrier 2 Red-tailed Hawk 3 American Kestrel 1 Peregrine Falcon (briefly chased the dowitchers) 40 American Coot 1 Greater Yellowlegs 15 Long-billed Dowitcher 12 Wilson's Snipe (all together at the edge of one pond) 1 Glaucous-winged Gull 2 Rock Pigeon 4 Northern Flicker (one red naped, red/black whiskered, red shafted male) 3 Western Scrub-Jay 5 American Crow 2 Black-capped Chickadee 25 Bushtit 3 Bewick's Wren 1 Marsh Wren 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 American Robin 1 Varied Thrush 20 European Starling 14 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Spotted Towhee 1 Fox Sparrow 12 Song Sparrow 3 Lincoln's Sparrow 12 Golden-crowned Sparrow 20 Dark-eyed Junco 45 Western Meadowlark (often they stayed out of sight in the grassy fields) 1 House Sparrow Participants: Fred Chancey, Don Schrouder, Dave Brown, Paul Sherrell and Dennis Arendt -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From aeduston at hevanet.com Wed Jan 5 15:40:16 2011 From: aeduston at hevanet.com (A Duston) Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:40:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Sapsuckers in East Portland - correction Message-ID: <4D24E540.2020504@hevanet.com> I posted my 2010 "yard list" a short time ago, complete with an error ..... I definitely saw a Red-breasted Sapsucker, last winter - in January and February. It hung around for several weeks, solving the excess sap problem in our deodar cedar, ha. I saw another sapsucker, which was not as red-headed, and which seemed to have more stripes on it. But the light was not good, so I couldn't be sure. I wrote recorded both birds on my working list, and later crossed out the Red-naped, lacking further definitive sightings. I can say with conviction that I saw 2 different birds, but not exactly who appeared so briefly. Did not take pictures beyond a few failed flat-light attempts - my camera and my photographing abilities are limited. Thanks to the person who alerted me to this. Henceforth I will triple-check my handwriting, and get a really good dark felt pen for corrections! :-) Anne D. in east Portland near Glendoveer Golf Course From pamelaj at spiritone.com Wed Jan 5 16:16:50 2011 From: pamelaj at spiritone.com (pamela johnston) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 14:16:50 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Marion Co Great Egrets Message-ID: <8660B9B882C14A068B87D6E4FAB194D2@yourw5st28y9a3> About 1PM today I saw 7 Great Egrets in a field on the east side of Hwy 219, just south of the Willamette. For Yamhill Co GREG, I suggest taking a look along Wilsonville Rd. They've got to cross the river eventually. Pamela Johnston From sylviam at clearwire.net Wed Jan 5 16:26:48 2011 From: sylviam at clearwire.net (Sylvia Maulding) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 14:26:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eugene White Pelican, Eur. Wigeon Message-ID: Midday today I saw one male EURASIAN WIGEON on Kirk Pond with a large flock of AMERICAN WIGEON. >From Fern Ridge Dam I saw one AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN out on the lake. -- Sylvia Maulding Springfield, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer at mindspring.com Wed Jan 5 16:53:34 2011 From: acontrer at mindspring.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 14:53:34 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Ash-throat in corvallis Message-ID: I heard second hand of ash-throated fly in Corvallis today. No more info. Dusky-capped is possible this time of year. Alan Contreras Sent from my iPhone From mmarvin at spiritone.com Wed Jan 5 17:07:22 2011 From: mmarvin at spiritone.com (Marcia Marvin) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 15:07:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] First song of the year AND Off topic - sunglasses while birding Message-ID: OBOL - This morning, on my way to the kitchen right after I got up, I heard my first song of the year (it's above freezing here today and raining). It was a first draft by a young song sparrow, rather inept and coming through the front door from low in the bushes, but he's on his way, and it was a nice reminder of spring. --- Never a fan of sunglasses, I am told that age and infirmity are requiring that I wear them. Can one see through binos with dark glasses on? Any suggestions for the best way to solve this problem? Prescription sunglasses, flip ups, really bright binoculars, birding in the shade, other ideas? Since this is not a bird question, please reply directly to me. Thanks for any help you can offer. Marcia -- Marcia Marvin * mmarvin at spiritone.com * SW Portland, OR, USA From steve at paradisebirding.com Wed Jan 5 17:19:25 2011 From: steve at paradisebirding.com (Stephen Shunk) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 15:19:25 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Santiam CBC Results Message-ID: Hello all, Three teams of fun-seeking birders spent New Year's Day scouring both sides of the Pacific Crest for the 15th annual Santiam Pass Christmas Bird Count. Our final counts for species (27 species/32 avg) and total individuals (347 birds/514 avg) were both a bit below average, possibly owing to the deep snow limiting access to most parts of the circle. Our most unusual species were GADWALL *(Anas strepera), *with* *5 counted this year and only a single bird found in 1 prior year, and WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER *(Spryrapicus thyroideus), *with* *one bird found for only the 3rd year in 15. We also tallied our second highest record for AMERICAN DIPPER, with 9 birds compared to a high of 16 in 2001. Our two biggest misses were not that "big", with PILEATED WOODPECKER (*Dryocopus pileatus),* and RED CROSSBILL (*Loxia curvirostra) *both missed for only the 5th time in 15 years. Suttle and Clear lakes gave us enough open water to support high counts of 3 duck species: AMERICAN WIGEON (*Anas americana), *with 36 birds, only counted in 2 prior years; RING-NECKED DUCK *(Aythya collaris)*, with 50 tallied, this only the 7th year in 15; and LESSER SCAUP *(Aythya affinis), *with 24 counted this year against an average of 8.5. CANADA GOOSE *(Branta canadensis), *STELLER'S JAY *(Cyanocitta stelleri)*, and DARK-EYED JUNCO *(Junco hyemalis) *were all found in above average numbers, with the goose found for only the 7th year and the junco the 8th year of 15. Deep snow probably also accounted for below-average numbers of many forest birds, including the following: RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH (24 this count, 43 avg) MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE (23, 38 avg) GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET (10, 31 avg) BROWN CREEPER (4, 8 avg) HAIRY WOODPECKER (2, 7 avg) AMERICAN COOT and COMMON MERGANSER tallies were also well below average at 10 vs. 54 avg. and 1 vs. 11 avg., respectively. I'm not sure where all the mergansers went, but both Common and Hooded mergansers were present on Suttle and Blue lakes in good numbers before the lakes began to freeze over (both lakes were probably less than 3 percent open on count day). It was a great New Year's Day in the Cascades! Steve Shunk P.S. Sorry I left the scientific names off the last few birds, but I just got tired of looking them up ;) -- Stephen Shunk Paradise Birding Sisters, OR USA www.paradisebirding.com 541-408-17 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From loinneilceol at yahoo.com Wed Jan 5 17:26:35 2011 From: loinneilceol at yahoo.com (Leith McKenzie) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 15:26:35 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] First song of the year AND Off topic - sunglasses while birding In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <688167.26406.qm@web30404.mail.mud.yahoo.com> I have birded since 1999 while wearing my photo-gray prescription glasses.? (The lenses darken in reaction to the light level).? In bright sun, these glasses are extremely dark sun glasses.? This does not pose a problem for birding.? The human eye and neurological systems can easily adapt to viewing through dark lenses. I suggest to use only gray shaded sunglasses, whether photo-gray or full-on sunglasses, which will preserve the colors of the birds. Also it is worth the money to buy lenses that are made of optical glass which are measurably sharper (albeit heavier) than the best plastic/polycarbonate lenses.? Because of my severe astigmatism, my uncorrected vision is 20/40 and my corrected vision is 20/13, so birding with my "dark glasses" actually gives me a huge advantage when birding by sight. Maitreya ? ?Each of us is in truth an idea of the Great Gull and an unlimited idea of freedom.? Jonathan Livingston Seagull --- On Wed, 1/5/11, Marcia Marvin wrote: From: Marcia Marvin Subject: [OBOL] First song of the year AND Off topic - sunglasses while birding To: "OBOL" Date: Wednesday, January 5, 2011, 3:07 PM OBOL - This morning, on my way to the kitchen right after I got up, I heard my first song of the year (it's above freezing here today and raining).? It was a first draft by a young song sparrow, rather inept and coming through the front door from low in the bushes, but he's on his way, and it was a nice reminder of spring. --- Never a fan of sunglasses, I am told that age and infirmity are requiring that I wear them.? Can one see through binos with dark glasses on?? Any suggestions for the best way to solve this problem?? Prescription sunglasses, flip ups, really bright binoculars, birding in the shade, other ideas? Since this is not a bird question, please reply directly to me. Thanks for any help you can offer. Marcia -- Marcia Marvin * mmarvin at spiritone.com * SW Portland, OR, USA _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From richarmstrong at comcast.net Wed Jan 5 18:04:50 2011 From: richarmstrong at comcast.net (rich armstrong) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 16:04:50 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Ash-Throated Flycatcher in S Corvallis Message-ID: <73E20465F9D34B208FA6FBF9DC59BF6C@armstrong> 1. an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was reported in south corvallis yesterday - see below. 2. i saw the bird this morning and i was fairly confident it was ash-throated, but i am not a myiarchus expert. 3. doug robinson saw the bird later in morning and he also thinks it is ash-throated. 4. since this is not a rare bird for oregon, these posts went to the midvalley listserve, but in case others are interested, and especially since it is very rare for this time of the year, here it is for obol. 5. this is a couple miles south of downtown corvallis off 99w - go east on rivergreen to hathaway. Rich Armstrong 541-753-1978 ----- Original Message ----- From: rich armstrong To: birding at midvalleybirding.org Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2011 11:01 AM Subject: [birding] Ash-Throated Flycatcher in S Corvallis 1. amazingly after 2 hours of driving and walking around butterfield and rivergreen and shoreline, i found the ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER! 2. it was in the yard at 3184 hathaway and then flew behind the house and i didn't see in the next few minutes. 3. it is definitely a myiarchus flycatcher and certainly looked ash-throated to me. 4. nanette is out of state and has the camera, and i would be hopeless with a camera anyway. 5. thanks to nate & shannon & molly for finding and reporting. Rich Armstrong 541-753-1978 ----- Original Message ----- From: Molly Monroe To: birding at midvalleybirding.org Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2011 1:23 PM Subject: [birding] Ash-Throated Flycatcher in S Corvallis Some friends with a newborn passed this on today. Not sure if they're up for visitors but let me know if you'd like more details. They are on the west side of the Butterfield Wetlands near Willamette Landing so that may be a good place to look. We briefly had an Ash-throated Flycatcher in the yard in South town Corvallis. It came in for a few minutes and has moved down the road. If it hangs around in the neighborhood I will keep you posted. -Nate and Shannon Richardson _ ( '< / ) ) //"Endangered species are sensitive indicators of how we are treating the planet and we should be listening carefully to their message ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ birding mailing list birding at midvalleybirding.org http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ birding mailing list birding at midvalleybirding.org http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gneavoll at comcast.net Wed Jan 5 21:04:12 2011 From: gneavoll at comcast.net (gneavoll at comcast.net) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 03:04:12 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Eurasian Wigeon still at Portland's Westmoreland Message-ID: <2039988211.728923.1294283052525.JavaMail.root@sz0103a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Sparkling EURASIAN WIGEON pair still at Westmoreland Lake, grazing with American Wigeon flock, around 3 p.m. today (Wednesday, 1/5/11). George Neavoll S.W. Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jmeredit at bendnet.com Wed Jan 5 21:29:08 2011 From: jmeredit at bendnet.com (judy) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 19:29:08 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fw: [COBOL] ECAS Wed birders, no Barred Owl, no Swamp, etc. Message-ID: ECAS Wednesday birders, 16 of us, took a route to seek special birds from the past week. We started at Twin Bridges and were unable to find the previously reported Barred Owl. Pete Low was leaving as we arrived and had heard a Great-horned Owl around there so that may be an issue for the Barred Owl. Next we went to Tetherow Crossing and spent more than an hour watching brush along the frozen edges of the river and the seeded spot. While we did see a mix of sparrows, including one Lincoln's that was curiously dark, we all agreed that we did NOT see the Swamp Sparrow. And staying with the trend, we dipped on the White-throated Sparrow at the Dougill residence. But our luck changed as Sherrie Pierce led us to Fireman's Pond and to the many ducks including the Eurasian Wigeon that was discovered there Sunday on the Redmond CBC. Next some of us continued on to Prineville Sewer Ponds and mitigation area where we enjoyed 3 Short-eared Owls and one immature Surf Scoter. We all managed to have a great time despite dipping on several of the wished for birds. Reports on Birdnotes.net Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Canada Geese - hundreds around Prineville Gadwall Eurasian Wigeon - Fireman's pond, Redmond American Wigeon Mallard Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-Winged Teal Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup SURF SCOTER - Prineville SP Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Mallard Common Merganser California Quail Great Blue Heron Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk - Tetherow Crossing Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk -Prineville American Kestrel Prairie Falcon American Coot Rock Dove Mourning Dove Short-eared Owl - Prineville - could be more, we left quickly to give them peace. Belted Kingfisher Northern Flicker Steller's Jay Western Scrub-Jay Black-billed Magpie Common Raven Canyon Wren - at Tetherow Marsh Wren - Mitigation area - 2 Mountain Chickadee Bushtit Townsend's Solitaire American Robin Varied Thrush European Starling Spotted Towhee Song Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow - 3 at Tetherow White-crowned Sparrow Golden-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco House Finch American Goldfinch Species total 49 Birders today, Eric Jensen, Theresa Bastian, Kim Clark, Chris Schneekloth, Cindy Zalunardo, George Jameson, Howard Horvath, Mike Golden, Marion Davidson, Sherrie Pierce, Kim Kathol, Mary Oppenheimer, Jim Weishaupt, Chuck Rich, Don Sutherland, Judy Meredith REMEMBER, start time from now on is 8 a.m. Good birding, Judy jmeredit at bendnet.com From winkg at hevanet.com Wed Jan 5 23:17:41 2011 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 21:17:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Pittock, NW Portland, week ending 01/05/11 Message-ID: Here is the summary of my morning dogwalks from NW Seblar Terrace to the Pittock Mansion for the week 12/30/10 to 01/05/11. Species neither seen nor heard the previous week are in ALL CAPS. Additional information about my dogwalk, including an archive of weekly summaries and a checklist, may be found at http://www.hevanet.com/winkg/dogwalkpage.html We did the walk 5 days this week. Species # days found (peak #, date) CACKLING GOOSE 1 (?[heard only], 12/31) COOPER'S HAWK 1 (1, 1/4) RED-TAILED HAWK 2 (1, 12/31 & 1/3) Anna's Hummingbird 3 (3) Downy Woodpecker 1 (1, 1/4) HAIRY WOODPECKER 1 (1, 12/31) Pileated Woodpecker 3 (1) Steller's Jay 4 (4, 12/31) American Crow 2 (3, 1/4) Black-capped Chickadee 5 (12, 1/4) Chestnut-backed Chickadee 4 (5) Red-breasted Nuthatch 3 (5) Brown Creeper 1 (1, 1/4) Pacific Wren 3 (3) Golden-crowned Kinglet 3 (4) Hermit Thrush 2 (1, 12/31 & 1/5) American Robin 3 (3) Varied Thrush 5 (6) European Starling 4 (3) Spotted Towhee 5 (5) Song Sparrow 5 (11, 12/31) Dark-eyed Junco 5 (12, 12/31) House Finch 5 (7) PINE SISKIN 2 (1, 1/1 & 5) Lesser Goldfinch 1 (1, 1/3) Misses (birds found at least 3 days during previous 2 weeks but not found this week): Red-breasted Sapsucker, Northern Flicker Wink Gross Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From donalbri at teleport.com Thu Jan 6 01:15:41 2011 From: donalbri at teleport.com (Don Albright) Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 23:15:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Lewis' Woodpecker--Yamhill County Message-ID: <1B41679BCC3F43D388E0CE0AB14AA80A@ownerPC> For anyone wanting to add a LEWIS' WOODPECKER to their 2011 Yamhill County list, there's still one hanging out at my mom's place east of Dayton. The bird has been present reliably at the location since October 18, 2010. Directions to the site: Take Highway 221 (Wallace Road) south out of Dayton. On the south edge of Dayton, as the road is climbing a hill, take Neck Road to the left. One mile down Neck Road there is a wholesale nursery with a group of greenhouses on the left side of the road. This is my mom's place. There is a gravel parking area alongside the road in front of the greenhouses. Feel free to stop here. The Lewis' Woodpecker spends most of its time atop one of the two power poles near the road here--one power pole is across the road from the greenhouses, and the other is just a few feet down the driveway from the road. The woodpecker is also occasionally in the English walnut tree next to the road by the parking area, or atop one of the nearby Douglas-firs. On two occasions in November, I saw two Lewis' Woodpeckers together at this location, but since then I've only seen the one. Don Albright Newberg, Oregon donalbri at teleport.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hnehls6 at comcast.net Thu Jan 6 01:25:46 2011 From: hnehls6 at comcast.net (Harry Nehls) Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2011 23:25:46 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] RBA: Portland, OR 1-06-11 Message-ID: - RBA * Oregon * Portland * January 6, 2011 * ORPO1101.06 - birds mentioned Snow Goose TUFTED DUCK Harlequin Duck Surf Scoter Black Scoter Common Goldeneye Barrow?s Goldeneye Common Merganser Red-breasted Merganser American White Pelican Turkey Vulture Sandhill crane SLATY-BACKED GULL Ancient Murrelet Acorn Woodpecker Ash-throated Flycatcher Tree Swallow Cliff Swallow Nashville Warbler YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER Common Yellowthroat American Tree Sparrow - 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 6. I you have anything to add call Harry Nehls at 503-233-3976. On December 27 a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER was reported from SW Portland. It could not be relocated. A possible SLATY-BACKED GULL was seen December 31 in Bandon. On December 31 a TREE SPARROW was at Bandon Marsh and a NASHVILLE WARBLER was in Bandon. Up to 12 TREE SWALLOWS were seen during the week at Myrtle Point Marsh. Five were in Coquille January 2. Two TURKEY VULTURES were in the Coquille Valley December 29. The YELLOWTHROAT at Millicoma Marsh was seen again December 30. At least 125 ANCIENT MURRELETS were seen January 2 off Yaquina Head. On January 1 a flock of 8-10 CLIFF SWALLOWS were along Lower River Road near the Ridgefield NWR. At least 2000 SNOW GEESE and about 50 SANDHILL CRANES are now in the Sauvie Island/Ridgefield NWR area. On December 31 three WHITE PELICANS were near Woodland, WA. The next day three were along the Columbia River near the Portland Airport. On January 2 a BLACK SCOTER, four SURF SCOTERS, a TUFTED DUCK, and both goldeneyes were in the same area. The Delta Park ACORN WOODPECKER continues to be seen. On January 4 an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was seen in Corvallis. A WHITE PELICAN was seen January 5 at Fern Ridge Reservoir. At the mouth of Eagle Creek near Bonneville Dam January 1 were COMMON MERGANSERS, BARROW?S and COMMON GOLDENEYES, HARLEQUIN DUCKS, and a RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. On December 30 a male SURF SCOTER was on the Deschutes River near Maupin. The SURF SCOTER on the Prineville Sewage Ponds continue to be seen. That?s it for this week. - end transcript -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kspinks at thprd.org Thu Jan 6 12:19:48 2011 From: kspinks at thprd.org (Kyle Spinks) Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2011 10:19:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Koll Wetlands water levels References: <4D25960B020000450000F976@mail.thprd.org> <4D259744020000450000F979@mail.thprd.org> Message-ID: <4D259744020000450000F979@mail.thprd.org> Hi all, Many of you have noted the lower water level at the Koll Center Wetlands (Creekside) lake in Beaverton. The water level was lowered because of the erosion that's occurring at the weir structure at the southwest corner of the park. During the greater than normal rains last spring and starting earlier in fall 2010, the fill surrounding the old culvert eroded away and there is now a fairly deep rut that's been created along the side of the culvert. In addition, the various critters (nutria, beaver, otters) that climb to the lake from Fanno Creek have created a second, rutted channel that also is eroding when the water level increases. THPRD Natural Resources staff decided to lower the water level in the lake to minimize further erosion at the outfall until a repair job on the culvert and berm can be funded. Thanks, Kyle Spinks, Park Ranger Park Ranger Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District Natural Resources Department 5500 SW Arctic Drive, Suite 2 Beaverton, Oregon 97005 503-629-6305 x2952 DISCLAIMER: This email is a public record of the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District and is subject to public disclosure unless exempt from disclosure under Oregon Public Records Law. This email is subject to the State Retention Schedule. From slcarpenter at gmail.com Thu Jan 6 13:28:03 2011 From: slcarpenter at gmail.com (Scott Carpenter) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 11:28:03 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Koll Wetlands water levels In-Reply-To: <4D259744020000450000F979@mail.thprd.org> References: <4D25960B020000450000F976@mail.thprd.org> <4D259744020000450000F979@mail.thprd.org> <4D259744020000450000F979@mail.thprd.org> Message-ID: For those who haven't been by Koll Center Wetlands lately, the low water levels have left quite a bit of exposed mud along with very shallow pockets of water. This should be a good thing with respect to shorebird habitat, a scarce commodity in Washington County. I haven't seen any Dunlin there yet this winter, but am still hopeful. If the water levels stay at their current level through the spring, I would expect to see decent numbers of peeps and other shorebirds there during migration. Scott Carpenter Portland On Thu, Jan 6, 2011 at 10:19 AM, Kyle Spinks wrote: > Hi all, > Many of you have noted the lower water level at the Koll Center Wetlands > (Creekside) lake in Beaverton. The water level was lowered because of the > erosion that's occurring at the weir structure at the southwest corner of > the park. During the greater than normal rains last spring and starting > earlier in fall 2010, the fill surrounding the old culvert eroded away and > there is now a fairly deep rut that's been created along the side of the > culvert. In addition, the various critters (nutria, beaver, otters) that > climb to the lake from Fanno Creek have created a second, rutted channel > that also is eroding when the water level increases. THPRD Natural > Resources staff decided to lower the water level in the lake to minimize > further erosion at the outfall until a repair job on the culvert and berm > can be funded. > Thanks, > Kyle Spinks, Park Ranger > > > Park Ranger > Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District > Natural Resources Department > 5500 SW Arctic Drive, Suite 2 > Beaverton, Oregon 97005 > 503-629-6305 x2952 > > > DISCLAIMER: This email is a public record of the Tualatin Hills Park & > Recreation District and is subject to public disclosure unless exempt from > disclosure under Oregon Public Records Law. This email is subject to the > State Retention Schedule. > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > -- Scott Carpenter Portland, Oregon -------------------------- http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/ http://www.facebook.com/scottcarpenterphotography -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcsbird at comcast.net Thu Jan 6 13:54:18 2011 From: dcsbird at comcast.net (Don Schrouder) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 11:54:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Prairie Falcon/Eugene Message-ID: <0D502B73-E1AE-433C-9752-98E0B1EB4C74@comcast.net> While driving north on Greenhill between Royal and Barger after leaving the Meadowlark Prairie on a bird photography expedition this morning I caught sight of a large brown falcon flying south on the west side of the highway. Proceeding to the round-a-bout and doing a quick 360, I drove back south on Greenhill and relocated the bird sitting on a leafless tall cottonwood at the north-east corner of Greenhill and Royal. After getting a good look through the scope and confirming it was a PRAIRIE FALCON, I was preparing to lock the car and walk south to get a better light angle for a picture when it abruptly flew on south towards the Meadowlark Prairie/Greenhill Humane Society area. This bird has been around the area for a while but I don't believe it was found on our recent Christmas count. Good to know it is still in the area. Don Schrouder/Eugene/Lane County dcsbird at comcast.net From ensatina3 at hotmail.com Thu Jan 6 15:26:45 2011 From: ensatina3 at hotmail.com (Bobbett Pierce) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 16:26:45 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Honeyman Road loop Message-ID: A murky day to birdwatch, but I took the Dike/Honeyman Road loop late this morning near Scappoose in Columbia County.Some ponds were shrouded with low fog, so duck numbers I could actually see were low -- the usual suspects. In one fieldby Bernet's farm -- 13 GREAT-BLUE HERONS were concentrated.Lots of CACKLERS along the route, plus a group of DUSKIES off of Ring-a-ring Road. Three duskies had red neckbands withwhite lettering.Gulls included GLAUCOUS WING, RINGBILL, and MEW. EGRETS scattered all over.Lots of hawks in the gloom perched on trees -- some were definitely REDTAILS, but also got good look at two ROUGH-LEGGED. Many KESTRELS on the powerlines.More than 100 SWANS on gravel-pit lake near the airport -- maybe somebody could find a TRUMPETER among them. I didn't stop to try to ID LBBs along the road in the thickets, but did see juncos, etc.KILLDEER standing around in most fields with the geese, and one KINGFISHER flew by. Lona Pierce -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From alderspr at peak.org Thu Jan 6 15:42:56 2011 From: alderspr at peak.org (alderspr at peak.org) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 13:42:56 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Benton Co white goose Message-ID: Hi all- Currently there is a large flock (couple thousand or so) of mixed Canada and cackling geese just at the edge of the OSU campus, that includes one white goose. With the optics I have here at work, I can't tell what kind. They're in the vicinity of the sheep barns that are at 35th St and Campus Way. An easy way to see them is walk out the bike path toward Oak Cr. Or, they can be seen from 35th St, across from the Horticultural Crops Research building. Karan Fairchild From tamickel at riousa.com Thu Jan 6 16:31:02 2011 From: tamickel at riousa.com (Tom & Allison Mickel) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 14:31:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Delta ponds, Eugene Message-ID: <001501cbadf1$66ad7b40$340871c0$@com> OBOL, With the bright sunshine this morning, I decided to bike over to the Delta Ponds and Alton Baker Park and see what birds might be around. The best bird was a GREEN HERON found on the far shore of the pond with the elevated walkway - a bird that was missed on the Eugene CBC. I also found two BLACK PHEOBE, one along the edge of the pond east of the paved parking area on the east side of Goodpasture Island road (near the radio tower) and the other at the edge of the western most pond where the bike path is between the ponds and the river. Both were constantly calling, making finding them quite easy. Other than that, just the usual waterfowl, etc. Tom Mickel Eugene From marciafcutler at comcast.net Thu Jan 6 17:15:32 2011 From: marciafcutler at comcast.net (Marcia F. Cutler) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 15:15:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Ash-throated Flycatcher Message-ID: I was one of several people (Jamie Simmons, Hendrik Herlyn, Nate Richardson and ?) who saw the Corvallis Ash-throated Flycatcher late this morning. It was moving around a lot and was first seen by Nate Richardson at his house on Goodnight Ave. I located it a bit later, around 11:30 a.m. in a tree along the path that goes through Butterfield wetlands which starts on Goodnight. It was only about 4 houses or so in. It then flew a bit west to Summerfield staying briefly by a house that backs on to the path before heading further west. We were able to see it stop briefly in one or two trees as it headed westward. Despite several people searching the neighborhood, it was not relocated by 1 p.m. When I first saw it, the bird had a small round object in its bill, probably a berry of some sort. Though the bill was open, I had a side view and it was backlit, so I can't say if there was any bright coloring inside the mouth (apparently this is a distinguishing mark for a Nuttall's Flycatcher). I was able to take some pictures of the bird with my point and shoot camera. These are posted on Flickr at htpp://www.flickr.com/photos/22633256 at N08/sets/72157625638774359/ I've cropped them and lightened the shadows so some details can be better seen. If anyone wants the original files I can send them to you. Marcia F. Cutler Corvallis From pointers at pacifier.com Thu Jan 6 17:23:46 2011 From: pointers at pacifier.com (Lyn Topinka) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 15:23:46 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] BETTER link --- Re: Ash-throated Flycatcher In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1799.130.118.152.25.1294356226.squirrel@webmail.iinet.com> http://www.flickr.com/photos/22633256 at N08/sets/72157625638774359/ > I was one of several people (Jamie Simmons, Hendrik Herlyn, Nate > Richardson and ?) who saw the Corvallis Ash-throated Flycatcher late this > morning. It was moving around a lot and was first seen by Nate Richardson > at his house on Goodnight Ave. I located it a bit later, around 11:30 > a.m. in a tree along the path that goes through Butterfield wetlands which > starts on Goodnight. It was only about 4 houses or so in. It then flew a > bit west to Summerfield staying briefly by a house that backs on to the > path before heading further west. We were able to see it stop briefly in > one or two trees as it headed westward. Despite several people searching > the neighborhood, it was not relocated by 1 p.m. > > When I first saw it, the bird had a small round object in its bill, > probably a berry of some sort. Though the bill was open, I had a side > view and it was backlit, so I can't say if there was any bright coloring > inside the mouth (apparently this is a distinguishing mark for a Nuttall's > Flycatcher). I was able to take some pictures of the bird with my point > and shoot camera. These are posted on Flickr at > htpp://www.flickr.com/photos/22633256 at N08/sets/72157625638774359/ > I've cropped them and lightened the shadows so some details can be better > seen. If anyone wants the original files I can send them to you. > > Marcia F. Cutler > Corvallis > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > Lyn Topinka http://englishriverwebsite.com/ http://columbiariverimages.com/ http://ridgefieldbirds.com/ From birdernaturalist at me.com Thu Jan 6 17:39:17 2011 From: birdernaturalist at me.com (Rich Hoyer) Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:39:17 -0700 Subject: [OBOL] Ash-throated Flycatcher In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <6009810F-B349-4749-8AED-3076677DCA91@me.com> Hi All, Just a quick note on separating Nutting's from Ash-throated: The lining of the mouth is not a very good field mark. It's virtually impossible to see for one, and which part of the inside of the mouth you see, and whether the color is exactly pink or orange is a tricky call. Those two colors in bird bare parts can be surprisingly similar. Apart from the fact that voice is instantly diagnostic (has anyone heard it or tried to get recordings, even with a point-and-shoot video function?), the best field marks are the color of the edges of primaries and secondaries and the intensity of the yellow of the lower belly. Ash-throated has contrastingly pale white to cream secondaries and a pale belly, while Nutting's secondaries are cinnamon (outer) to yellowish (innner), not contrasting strongly with the rufous primaries, and has a richer yellow belly. Good Birding, Rich --- Rich Hoyer Tucson, Arizona Senior Leader for WINGS http://wingsbirds.com my blog: http://birdernaturalist.blogspot.com fabulous bloggers: http://birdingblogs.com --- On Jan 6, 2011, at 4:15 PM, Marcia F. Cutler wrote: > I was one of several people (Jamie Simmons, Hendrik Herlyn, Nate > Richardson and ?) who saw the Corvallis Ash-throated Flycatcher late > this morning. It was moving around a lot and was first seen by Nate > Richardson at his house on Goodnight Ave. I located it a bit later, > around 11:30 a.m. in a tree along the path that goes through > Butterfield wetlands which starts on Goodnight. It was only about 4 > houses or so in. It then flew a bit west to Summerfield staying > briefly by a house that backs on to the path before heading further > west. We were able to see it stop briefly in one or two trees as it > headed westward. Despite several people searching the neighborhood, > it was not relocated by 1 p.m. > > When I first saw it, the bird had a small round object in its bill, > probably a berry of some sort. Though the bill was open, I had a > side view and it was backlit, so I can't say if there was any bright > coloring inside the mouth (apparently this is a distinguishing mark > for a Nuttall's Flycatcher). I was able to take some pictures of > the bird with my point and shoot camera. These are posted on Flickr > at htpp://www.flickr.com/photos/22633256 at N08/sets/72157625638774359/ > I've cropped them and lightened the shadows so some details can be > better seen. If anyone wants the original files I can send them to > you. > > Marcia F. Cutler > Corvallis > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From andydfrank at gmail.com Thu Jan 6 19:06:21 2011 From: andydfrank at gmail.com (Andy Frank) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 17:06:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Portland birds today Message-ID: I took advantage of the nice weather today and tried to repeat my route from the Portland CBC and was mostly successful in refinding the good birds with the exception of not seeing any scoters. My scope is not the best and I could easily have missed any that were on the Washington side of the Columbia River where there were at least 500 scaup. Here are my stops with highlights seen: Broughton Beach along East Marine Drive: 1 EARED GREBE, 2 WESTERN GREBE, both SCAUP, 1 male COMMON GOLDENEYE, 10 AMERICAN PIPITS. At NE Bridgeton was 1 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON. West Hayden Island: COMMON and BARROW'S GOLDENEYE East Hayden Island: COMMON LOON, WESTERN GREBE, 1 SNOW GOOSE Delta Park: 1 ACORN WOODPECKER midway on NE Union Court. The bird had previously been seen at the north and south ends of Union Court but not midway, but it looks like they (or now it) can be anywhere along there. Force Lake: still iced over but there was one GREAT EGRET Vanport: nesting GREAT HORNED OWL and 23 CANVASBACK with 15 male, 8 female On Fremont Bridge were 2 PEREGRINE FALCONS. Total species 58. Distance travelled 35 miles. Andy Frank -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rakestraw.john at yahoo.com Thu Jan 6 19:49:49 2011 From: rakestraw.john at yahoo.com (John Rakestraw) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 17:49:49 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Portland Tufted Ducks Message-ID: <818911.324.qm@web65313.mail.ac2.yahoo.com> Both the Tufted Duck and the Tufted X scaup hybrid were on the Columbia River between the Broughton Beach access and the next marina on Thursday afternoon. Also present was an Eared Grebe and several female Common Goldeneyes. The most interesting non-bird sighting was a waterspout traveling down the river. I have seen some big dust devils in Kansas, but this was my first waterspout. There wasn't a great deal of water in the funnel, but it left an impressive wake. John Rakestraw Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Thu Jan 6 19:57:58 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 17:57:58 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Birds 1/6/2011 Message-ID: <79981.3118.qm@web45308.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Jim Heaney and I did the Bandon to Coquille mid-winter Bald Eagle Survey today (the route goes from the north jetty at Bandon to 42N and then comes straight back along 42S, unfortunately missing good habitat further south in the valley). Weather was beautiful sunny, 36-51F, with some fog in the valley from about 9:30 to 11AM. We missed a couple of pairs of Bald Eagles at their nest sites but found 2 adults building a new nest that has not been documented before- cool! Raptor highlights: 6- BALD EAGLES (5 adults and an immature) 15- RED-TAILED HAWKS 9- RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS 7- AMERICAN KESTRELS 6- NORTHERN HARRIERS 5- WHITE-TAILED KITES 2- PEREGRINE FALCONS 2- MERLINS 1-COOPER'S HAWK 1- ACCIPITER SP. Other birds of interest: 16- TUNDRA SWANS 4- SWAMP SPARROWS (all at one spot along Hwy 42N, one was calling and flew up to the road) 4- TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS (all feeding along the Hwy on the ground at one spot) At Millicoma Marsh late afternoon the overwintering COMMON YELLOWTHROAT was easily found calling at the fresh water pond there. Merry 2011! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From di4tbirds at comcast.net Thu Jan 6 20:03:43 2011 From: di4tbirds at comcast.net (di4tbirds at comcast.net) Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 02:03:43 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Delta Ponds today White-fronted Goose, Lesser Yellowlegs Message-ID: <1216945855.786175.1294365823342.JavaMail.root@sz0050a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Obol, I walked around Delta Ponds on this beautiful sun-filled morning. There were two White-fronted geese in the big pond on east side of Goodpasture Island Road. There were two Lesser Yellowlegs in the ponds behind the office buildings. They were easily seen from the second bridge. I did not see any Black Phoebes. Diane -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From namitzr at hotmail.com Thu Jan 6 20:04:48 2011 From: namitzr at hotmail.com (Russ Namitz) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 18:04:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] First Bird of the Year Message-ID: #1 = HARRIS'S SPARROW at a private feeder in Bandon. I thought I'd wait for a good one before I started counting. :) This bird has been here since at least the Coquille CBC (1/1/11) and probably before. Good birding, Russ Namitz Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From range.bayer at gmail.com Thu Jan 6 20:07:12 2011 From: range.bayer at gmail.com (Range Bayer) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 18:07:12 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Lincoln Co. Trumpeter (?) Swan at South Beaver Creek Message-ID: Hi, Laimons Osis reports that the reported Tundra Swan on the Sunday Jan.2 Yaquina Bay Christmas Bird Count is now at Seal Rock Stables (which is a flooded pasture at about Milepost 1.6 on the west side of South Beaver Creek Road) and is closer for viewing than it was on Jan. 2. Laimons describes it: "There is no yellow visible in the beak. The lower beak has slight reddish color to it. The broad black lores had a fairly straight edge so the bird could be Trumpeter but more eyes need to look at it. It didn't look huge. The swan was in the company of wigeon that took advantage of the plant debris brought up by the swan." -- Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon From joel.geier at peak.org Thu Jan 6 20:38:30 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:38:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [Fwd: Coffin Butte Greater Scaup, EEW N. shrike & Y-b Sapsucker continue] Message-ID: <1294367910.1905.24.camel@clearwater1> -------- Forwarded Message -------- From: Joel Geier Reply-to: joel.geier at peak.org To: MidValley Birds Subject: Coffin Butte Greater Scaup, EEW N. shrike & Y-b Sapsucker continue Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:37:51 -0800 Hi all, Sorry for the slow posting as my DSL line has been screwed up since mid-afternoon, still not fully functional but at least messages are creeping through now. On a lunchtime walk at E.E. Wilson today, I saw the adult NORTHERN SHRIKE a couple of times in the area south of headquarters. The first time (on my outbound walk around 11 AM) it was hunting at the east edge of the safety zone for the skeet shooting area (and actually flew into some of the treetops in that area, briefly, near the port-a-potty). When I saw it again on my way home, it was hunting out in the middle of the second "block" south of Camp Adair Rd., between the skeet shooting area and the road that runs south from HQ. I spent some time scrounging around the area where Tim Rodenkirk had reported an apparent Red-naped Sapsucker a few weeks ago, to the E and NE of the big old oak that marks the townsite of Wells(dale), but once again I couldn't find any sort of sapsucker in the area. I did bump into Bill Proebsting who mentioned having seen the YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER an hour or two earlier in the walnut tree sometimes referred to as the sapsucker's favorite tree. As I passed by there on my way home, I saw the sapsucker working the brushy lower part of the tree, then work its way up one trunk, then another, probing into sap wells. After about 15 minutes I decided that I had other sap wells of my own to check so left the bird there. Today's weather was very sunny, which fits with the normal pattern for seeing this bird spending time on that tree. Yesterday a couple of male GREATER SCAUP were swimming with one male LESSER SCAUP on the upper pond at Coffin Butte Regional Landfill. They puzzled me for a while since I thought any group of 3 scaup should be a single species, but two of them were clearly more fat-cheeked, broad-billed, and generally heavier looking than the third. Their head profiles were also different but as they were actively diving and on alert (in reaction to seeing me & Heidi standing across the road, though we were trying our best to be innocuous-looking), it took a while for me to convince myself that two of them were in fact Greater Scaup. For the first winter in some years, the Coffin Butte wetlands didn't yield a Cinnamon Teal in the first 5 days of January. Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From joel.geier at peak.org Thu Jan 6 21:30:57 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2011 19:30:57 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [birding] Coffin Butte Greater Scaup, EEW N. shrike & Y-b Sapsucker continue In-Reply-To: <1294367865.1905.23.camel@clearwater1> References: <1294367865.1905.23.camel@clearwater1> Message-ID: <1294371057.1905.49.camel@clearwater1> P.P.S. While watching the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at leisure and in full sunshine today, I noticed that it still has a very pronounced dark stripe down the middle of its back, which is not just a matter of posture. I wonder if this might account for the apparent Red-naped Sapsucker that Tim Rodenkirk reported just east of the headquarters area a couple/few weeks ago, since he was going by a view of the back and didn't see the throat. This bird does give the impression of two rows of barring on the back, which was a feature that Tim noted on his bird. No red on the nape, but I've found this to be a deceptive feature on this bird -- on wet days one can get a fleeting impression of red on the nape, as was also the case last winter. It's still a puzzling bird in some ways ... lots of buffy immature plumage still, even though it's presumably a 2nd-winter bird. I still wonder a bit about its ancestry. To quote Ted Floyd on a similar sapsucker being seen in Nevada, "They're all hybrids anyway!" Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffgill at teleport.com Thu Jan 6 21:44:23 2011 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2011 19:44:23 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] OBOL is everywhere. Message-ID: A few days ago I was walking along the edge of an oasis property in Welton, Arizona (western Arizona near Yuma) when I noticed someone on a bike watching me and a birder from Massachusetts with whom I was birding. We had permission to be on the property, but just in case we were a foot or two over the line I asked if we were on his property. He responded no, but that he was wondering what we were looking for. I explained birds in general (we had just seen a Yellow Warbler). The guy on the bike noted my baseball cap and asked if was from Oregon. After I responded affirmatively, he asked if I was on OBOL....It turned out that he was Ken Goldwater, a Myrtle Creek birder who is on OBOL and is wintering in Welton. From withgott at comcast.net Thu Jan 6 21:43:08 2011 From: withgott at comcast.net (Jay Withgott) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 19:43:08 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Ash-throated Flycatcher In-Reply-To: <6009810F-B349-4749-8AED-3076677DCA91@me.com> References: <6009810F-B349-4749-8AED-3076677DCA91@me.com> Message-ID: Rich beat me to it. Forget about the mouth lining; the call note is the best field mark. Nutting's usually gives a sharp yet slightly husky "wheek!" If you're familiar with Ash-throated calls, it will sound subtly but noticeably different. The color and contrast of the secondary edgings are to my eye the easiest (read: least difficult!) plumage field mark to distinguish, and Rich gives a good description. From Marcia's photos, I'd say that the secondary edgings look whitish enough and contrast with the primary edgings enough that it looks like an Ash-throated -- but the details are too blurry to be absolutely sure, and these colors can change in appearance somewhat with lighting and angle. An additional field mark to look for is the tip of the underside of the tail. In Ash-throated, the tips of all the retrices are dark brown, whereas in Nutting's the orangey inner edgings extend to the tips of the retrices (usually), resulting in some orange color reaching the tip of the tail where the central retrices are visible. Howell & Webb's Guide to the Birds of Mexico & C. Am. illustrates this nicely. Marcia's photos also show a pretty peaky-headed bird, and Nutting's tends to be flatter-headed (and I think also to have a thicker/blunter/rounder-tipped bill?, though Rich or others can correct me on this). Anyway, the photos do look most like Ash-throated, but if the observers so far have not been looking for these other field marks, it's important to do so. Rich and I are only mentioning all this since Nutting's (or Dusky-capped, which this bird isn't) are reasonable possibilities for a wintertime vagrant. Jay Withgott, Portland At 4:39 PM -0700 1/6/11, Rich Hoyer wrote: >Hi All, > >Just a quick note on separating Nutting's from Ash-throated: > >The lining of the mouth is not a very good field mark. It's >virtually impossible to see for one, and which part of the inside of >the mouth you see, and whether the color is exactly pink or orange >is a tricky call. Those two colors in bird bare parts can be >surprisingly similar. > >Apart from the fact that voice is instantly diagnostic (has anyone >heard it or tried to get recordings, even with a point-and-shoot >video function?), the best field marks are the color of the edges of >primaries and secondaries and the intensity of the yellow of the >lower belly. Ash-throated has contrastingly pale white to cream >secondaries and a pale belly, while Nutting's secondaries are >cinnamon (outer) to yellowish (innner), not contrasting strongly >with the rufous primaries, and has a richer yellow belly. > >Good Birding, > >Rich >--- >Rich Hoyer >Tucson, Arizona >Senior Leader for WINGS >http://wingsbirds.com > >my blog: http://birdernaturalist.blogspot.com >fabulous bloggers: http://birdingblogs.com >--- > >On Jan 6, 2011, at 4:15 PM, Marcia F. Cutler wrote: > >>I was one of several people (Jamie Simmons, Hendrik Herlyn, Nate >>Richardson and ?) who saw the Corvallis Ash-throated Flycatcher >>late this morning. It was moving around a lot and was first seen >>by Nate Richardson at his house on Goodnight Ave. I located it a >>bit later, around 11:30 a.m. in a tree along the path that goes >>through Butterfield wetlands which starts on Goodnight. It was >>only about 4 houses or so in. It then flew a bit west to >>Summerfield staying briefly by a house that backs on to the path >>before heading further west. We were able to see it stop briefly >>in one or two trees as it headed westward. Despite several people >>searching the neighborhood, it was not relocated by 1 p.m. >> >>When I first saw it, the bird had a small round object in its bill, >>probably a berry of some sort. Though the bill was open, I had a >>side view and it was backlit, so I can't say if there was any >>bright coloring inside the mouth (apparently this is a >>distinguishing mark for a Nuttall's Flycatcher). I was able to >>take some pictures of the bird with my point and shoot camera. >>These are posted on Flickr at >>htpp://www.flickr.com/photos/22633256 at N08/sets/72157625638774359/ >>I've cropped them and lightened the shadows so some details can be >>better seen. If anyone wants the original files I can send them to >>you. >> >>Marcia F. Cutler >>Corvallis >> >> >> >>_______________________________________________ >>OBOL mailing list >>OBOL at oregonbirds.org >>http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > >_______________________________________________ >OBOL mailing list >OBOL at oregonbirds.org >http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Thu Jan 6 21:49:40 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 19:49:40 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] [birding] Coffin Butte Greater Scaup, EEW N. shrike & Y-b Sapsucker continue Message-ID: <178000.50194.qm@web45309.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Joel, Where I saw the other sapsucker was actually quite aways from where I finally relocated the YB Sapsucker which was south of the road. The sapsucker I saw was NE of Hdqs. and flew off to the north. I suppose it could have double backed and flew across the road? However, the sapsucker I saw fly off to the north had a pronounced red nape which I saw quite well. There was a Red-naped Sapsucker found on the Coquille Valley CBC east of Bandon. I've looked for that bird twice and cannot relocate it although the old orchard it was found in is just loaded with sapsucker sign. I will keep looking since there are only two other records of this species in Coos Co., neither of which I observed. Keep looking, something else good is bound to show up there one way or another! Have fun, Tim ________________________________ From: Joel Geier To: MidValley Birds Cc: Oregon Birders OnLine ; Tim Rodenkirk Sent: Thu, January 6, 2011 7:30:57 PM Subject: Re: [birding] Coffin Butte Greater Scaup, EEW N. shrike & Y-b Sapsucker continue P.P.S. While watching the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at leisure and in full sunshine today, I noticed that it still has a very pronounced dark stripe down the middle of its back, which is not just a matter of posture. I wonder if this might account for the apparent Red-naped Sapsucker that Tim Rodenkirk reported just east of the headquarters area a couple/few weeks ago, since he was going by a view of the back and didn't see the throat. This bird does give the impression of two rows of barring on the back, which was a feature that Tim noted on his bird. No red on the nape, but I've found this to be a deceptive feature on this bird -- on wet days one can get a fleeting impression of red on the nape, as was also the case last winter. It's still a puzzling bird in some ways ... lots of buffy immature plumage still, even though it's presumably a 2nd-winter bird. I still wonder a bit about its ancestry. To quote Ted Floyd on a similar sapsucker being seen in Nevada, "They're all hybrids anyway!" Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gorgebirds at juno.com Thu Jan 6 21:57:39 2011 From: gorgebirds at juno.com (Wilson Cady) Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 03:57:39 GMT Subject: [OBOL] Skamania Birds & Klickitat RS Hawk Message-ID: <20110106.195739.13159.0@webmail06.vgs.untd.com> After receiving an email last night from Stuart Johnston alerting me to some good birds found during a waterfowl survey in the Columbia Gorge, I decided to work on my county year lists. My first stop was at the Franz Lake NWR overlook along Highway 14, here among the hundreds of TUNDRA SWANS a TRUMPETER SWAN was calling while CANVASBACKS loafed in the open spots in the partially frozen lake. At Rock Creek Cove in Stevenson, the REDHEADs (1 male, 2 females) that Stuart had found were easily spotted from the highway along with a male EURASIAN WIGEON. A PEREGRINE FALCON was perched in one of the snags on the island. At Home Valley Park, an EARED GREBE was in the Columbia River, viewed from the Wind Surfing beach were first found yesterday. With the ease of re-finding the birds seen the day before I decided to push my luck and leave Skamania County and try for a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK seen at the Bingen Pond in Klickitat County. I circled the pond a couple of times and checked the forested areas on the east side of the marina without seeing the bird. As I was leaving this spot Stuart drove up and directed me back to check the east side of the marina while he searched from the west side where he quickly spotted the bird perched in an alder along the east shore of the marina cove,, a new Klickitat County bird for me. Wilson Cady Skamania County, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From barrymckenzie at comcast.net Thu Jan 6 22:35:11 2011 From: barrymckenzie at comcast.net (Barry McKenzie) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 20:35:11 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eugene Birder's Night: Monday, Jan 10 Message-ID: OBOL- Eugene Birder's Night is Monday, Jan 10 (second Monday of each Month) at 7pm. AGENDA: usual bird chat, then...??? >>>special notice: even for those of us who love birds more than college football, it's pretty hard to swim against the tide here in Eugene...there may a record low turnout on Jan 10. WHO: all are welcome LOCATION : Sacred Heart Hospital (downtown), 1255 Hilyard St; Conference Room A (across the hall from the Auditorium). Directions to Conference Room A: -enter main Lobby from Hilyard St -turn Left and walk down hall (past the cafeteria) to end of hall -turn Right and walk down hall (past Dining Room) to end of hall -turn Right and walk a few steps, then Left down the hall toward the Auditorium -Conference Room A (labelled simply Conference Room) is on the Right (across from a bank of telephones on the Left side of the hall) Parking: Parking lot structure (across Hilyard from the Lobby) charges $1/hour (I think). Street parking is not available on Hilyard per se, but is found on 13th, 12th (West of Patterson), and Patterson streets (street parking free after 6pm). Map is at this link: http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en-us&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=sacred+heart+hospital+eugene,+or&fb=1&split=1&cid=0,0,17378354515337851834&sa=X&oi=local_result&resnum=1&ct=image Note: we will have reliable access to audio/video support from this point on, so those wishing to bring a disc or laptop to show interesting images, etc should feel free to do so. For a lengthly presentation, please give me a heads-up so we can avoid conflicts. Barry McKenzie Eugene -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From foglark at att.net Fri Jan 7 00:25:18 2011 From: foglark at att.net (David Fix & Jude Power) Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2011 22:25:18 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Fw: [nwcalbird] Del Norte Co. - O. Titmouse, Hooded & Orchard Oriles, and Cr. Caracara: Message-ID: <809034.85439.qm@web80005.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> An update from Del Norte County. David Fix Arcata, California? ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Alan Barron To: NWCalbird Sent: Thu, January 6, 2011 6:04:05 PM Subject: [nwcalbird] Del Norte Co. - O. Titmouse, Hooded & Orchard Oriles, and Cr. Caracara: ? Hello Birders, Sky Lloyd reported today that the OAK TITMOUSE has returned to her front yard feeder at 646 B Street in Crescent City and the adult male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE is still there also. I checked on the oriole apple tree in the town of Smith River along North Street halfway between Brookings and Wallace Streets twice today. In the afternoon I saw a female ORCHARD ORIOLE. When I first arrived Gary Maschmeyer was there and said 2 ORCHARD ORIOLES were there togather earlier. When I looked again around 3:30pm I saw the ORCHARD ORIOLE and it was promptly driven out of the tree by the imm. male HOODED ORIOLE that was found on our CBC. Meanwhile Lucas Brug gave me a call and reports the imm. male and a new female HOODED ORIOLE were at the tree. On the way home at 4:44pm I saw the CRESTED CARACARA. Along Hwy 101 about 1/4 mile south of the Dr. Fine Bridge over the Smith River, there are 2 roadkill animals. A large Raccoon and a Striped Skunk (a foot apart) are on the east side of the 101 on the slim shoulder. Traffic zooms by the feeding Caracara only 2 feet away. There is no place to pull over here for a look though so be alert for traffic. Enjoying the continuing stream of orioles ------- Alan D. Barron __._,_.___ Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity: * New Members 1 Visit Your Group Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest ? Unsubscribe ? Terms of Use . __,_._,___ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From SJJag at comcast.net Fri Jan 7 13:09:55 2011 From: SJJag at comcast.net (SJJag at comcast.net) Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 19:09:55 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Townsend's Warbler on my shoulder Message-ID: <545501307.888331.1294427395622.JavaMail.root@sz0081a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> A? pretty special moment!? I know it happens with some species now and then, chickadees or?grey jays when food is held in the hand. This was quite the surprise. We have had a delightfully large group of these guys this past week or so, 9 was the highest count at one time! Nice color at the feeders during these grey days. Today I was repairing part of the feeder array when 5 showed up, two or three came in close, 2-3 feet when suddenly one landed briefly on my shoulder.Whew! Good Birding Steve Jaggers Milwaukie, Or. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From joel.geier at peak.org Fri Jan 7 15:27:19 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Fri, 07 Jan 2011 13:27:19 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Trumpeter Swans, kite, rough-legged hawks in Airlie/Maple Grove area, Polk Co. Message-ID: <1294435639.1905.188.camel@clearwater1> -------- Forwarded Message -------- From: Joel Geier Reply-to: joel.geier at peak.org To: MidValley Birds Subject: [birding] Trumpeter Swans, kite, rough-legged hawks in Airlie/Maple Grove area, Polk Co. Date: Fri, 07 Jan 2011 13:20:24 -0800 Hi all, Just so happens that I had to go to Independence for a watershed council meeting. There were no swans on the field that Rich mentions (Suver Junction) when I went by on my way north at around 9:45 AM. On my way back just now, I took a different route so I suppose there might be swans on that field now (1:00 PM). I did find a flock of 24 TRUMPETER SWANS along the west part of Simpson Road, in a field down in the floodplain of the Luckiamute River. Only one of those swans was a juvenile. Two more adult Trumpeters and about 30 TUNDRA SWANS were in a field at the west end of Simpson Rd. (where Simpson Rd. tees into Airlie Rd., just south of Maple Grove. I also checked the field on the west side of Maple Grove which used to be a regular wintering spot for the main Trumpeter flock (around 1995-2000). There were no swans there, or anywhere else along Airlie Rd. from Maple Grove to De Armond Rd. The low ratio of juvenile to adult Trumpeter Swans (1:25) is very worrisome. It suggests that last spring's nesting season may have been near-complete wash for the Airlie/Suver trumpeter swan flock. Hopefully there are more Trumpeters with a few kids, somewhere else around the neighborhood. I didn't look too hard for raptors, but one WHITE-TAILED KITE was perched way back along fenceline, a couple of fields south of where Sauerkraut Road tees into Airlie Rd. (north of Berry Creek). I saw a couple of ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS between there and De Armond Rd., and another Rough-legged where De Armond bends east and runs into Robison Rd. by the National Guard rifle range (Polk/Benton County line). Lots of NORTHERN HARRIERS in this area. A few AMERICAN PIPITS were walking along with a big AMERICAN ROBIN flock that was feeding on wet grassy ground just inside the rifle range fence. Happy birding, Joel On Fri, 2011-01-07 at 12:13 -0800, rich armstrong wrote: > i got a 2nd hand report that there were 50 swans at the corner of 99w > and airlie rd north of e e wilson. this has been a traditional field > for trumpeter swans in past years, so maybe they are there again. > Rich Armstrong > 541-753-1978 > __ -- Joel Geier Camp Adair north of Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cathy.nowak at state.or.us Fri Jan 7 17:03:45 2011 From: cathy.nowak at state.or.us (Cathy Nowak) Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 15:03:45 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Union County VIRGINIA RAIL Message-ID: Birders: In something of a flash-back to summer, I saw a VIRGINIA RAIL cross Hot Lake Lane (why? To get to the other side...) this afternoon. It was crossing from Ladd Marsh to a roadside ditch that has some open water. This is the same area where the American bittern has been observed a few times since December 17. I believe we got a Virginia rail in the same area on the CBC last weekend as we typically do. It was a first winter sighting for me and still seems weird to see one when most of our world is frozen. I also found a FERRUGINOUS HAWK on Pierce Rd near Hwy 203 just adjacent to the Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area. We don't see many of these hawks in the county but this year we have had 2 or 3 show up. Good Birding! M. Cathy Nowak Certified Wildlife Biologist (r) Fish and Wildlife Biologist ODFW Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area 59116 Pierce Road La Grande, OR 97850 541-963-4954 Cathy.Nowak at state.or.us "For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by anything that lives; one is either born a naturalist or one never becomes one." Jean Delacour -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gneavoll at comcast.net Fri Jan 7 17:27:46 2011 From: gneavoll at comcast.net (gneavoll at comcast.net) Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 23:27:46 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Harlan's Hawk at Ridgefield NWR In-Reply-To: <92810874.832707.1294442460540.JavaMail.root@sz0103a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Message-ID: <875079916.832933.1294442866322.JavaMail.root@sz0103a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Magnificent HARLAN'S HAWK continues to be seen at Ridgefield NWR on Columbia River lowlands of Clark County. Almost coal black bird, with some white touches, sitting on roadside post near turn by Marker #13, as it often is, around 11 a.m. today (1/7/11). George Neavoll S.W. Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcoggswell at hotmail.com Fri Jan 7 18:59:03 2011 From: dcoggswell at hotmail.com (Donald Coggswell) Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 16:59:03 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Barrow's Goldeneye - Columbia Co. Message-ID: This afternoon there was a male Barrow's Goldeneye on the Columbia R. just off Dibblee Beach downriver from Rainier. Don -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer at mindspring.com Fri Jan 7 21:55:25 2011 From: acontrer at mindspring.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 19:55:25 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tygh Valley CBC Results References: <98AF8C2E0F894E48BC16C25D8538484D@home> Message-ID: <1D5B9478-540C-47E5-B0EF-8FAEF52FD579@mindspring.com> A new count in an undercovered area. Alan Contreras Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: > > From: J Hayes > Sent: Friday, January 07, 2011 2:44 PM > Subject: Tygh Valley CBC Results > > Hello, all. The Tygh Valley CBC was held Dec. 29, 2010 in weather conditions that swung wildly from sun and blue skies (and a bit of a breeze) to blizzard-like whiteout conditions. Thirteen observers in five parties hit the roads and trails on an appropriately wintry day and tallied 7849 birds of 88 species and one form. Highlights include HARRIS'S SPARROW, Surf Scoter, Gray Partridge, Ferruginous Hawk, Lewis's Woodpecker and Savannah Sparrow. We found a good representation of waterfowl and raptors, all three nuthatches and low to moderate numbers of thrushes. Many thanks to all those who braved the weather to spend the day counting birds - this is one of those "destination" CBC's recently discussed on OBOL, as all of us had to travel at least an hour to participate. > > Canada Goose 1453 [N. (Yel-sh.) Flicker 1 > Tundra Swan 10 N. Shrike 3 > Gadwall 9 Steller's Jay 1 > Am. Wigeon 142 W. Scrub-Jay 106 > Mallard 411 Black-b. Magpie 147 > N. Pintail 6 Am. Crow 36 > Am. Green-w. Teal 4 Com. Raven 186 > Ring-n. Duck 69 Horned Lark 287 > Lesser Scaup 48 Black-c. Chickadee 11 > Surf Scoter 1 Mountain Chickadee 19 > Bufflehead 20 Bushtit 8 > Com. Goldeneye 33 Red-br. Nuthatch 14 > Hooded Merganser 8 White-br. Nuthatch 1 > Com. Merganser 57 Pygmy Nuthatch 2 > Ruddy Duck 30 Bewick's Wren 4 > Gray Partridge 16 Am. Dipper 1 > Ring-n. Pheasant 8 Golden-cr. Kinglet 1 > Wild Turkey 78 Ruby-cr. Kinglet 10 > California Quail 209 W. Bluebird 3 > Pied-b. Grebe 3 Mountain Bluebird 12 > Horned Grebe 4 Townsend's Solitaire 56 > Gr. Blue Heron 6 Hermit Thrush 2 > Bald Eagle 19 Am. Robin 53 > N. Harrier 29 Varied Thrush 20 > Cooper's Hawk 3 Eur. Starling 493 > [Accipiter, sp.] 1 Spotted Towhee 11 > Red-tailed Hawk 72 Savannah Sparrow 4 > Ferruginous Hawk 1 Fox Sparrow 1 > Rough-legged Hawk 18 Song Sparrow 38 > Golden Eagle 9 White-thr. Sparrow 1 (tan-striped) > Am. Kestrel 9 Harris's Sparrow 1 > Merlin 2 White-cr. Sparrow 223 > Prairie Falcon 4 Golden-cr. Sparrow 125 > Am. Coot 70 Dark-eyed Junco ("Oregon") 1260 > Killdeer 1 Red-w. Blackbird 280 > Rock Pigeon 28 W. Meadowlark 80 > Eur. Collared-Dove 17 Brewer's Blackbird 998 > Mourning Dove 60 Brown-h. Cowbird 12 > W. Screech-Owl 2 House Finch 178 > Great Horned Owl 1 Pine Siskin 1 > N. Pygmy-Owl 3 Lesser Goldfinch 12 > Belted Kingfisher 1 Am. Goldfinch 20 > Lewis's Woodpecker 1 Evening Grosbeak 3 > Downy Woodpecker 6 House Sparrow 107 > Hairy Woodpecker 2 > N. (Red-sh) Flicker 34 > _______________________________________________ > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pamelaj at spiritone.com Fri Jan 7 22:00:51 2011 From: pamelaj at spiritone.com (pamela johnston) Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 20:00:51 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Slate Junco, Yamhill Co Message-ID: <9095DB22BD49403B86B1258D51184C22@yourw5st28y9a3> Yesterday a Slate Junco was at the eponymous town of Yamhill, feeding on the ground with some Oregon Juncos and a Song Sparrow. Mike and Kay Fagan and I saw it by a recycling bin while visiting the sewage ponds and trail. Pamela Johnston From gerkill at oregoncoast.com Sat Jan 8 11:53:17 2011 From: gerkill at oregoncoast.com (Lewis Creek Glassworks, LLC) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 09:53:17 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Western Bluebirds Message-ID: We saw a flock of about 30 Western bluebirds around noon on Friday 1/7 at the Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge. They were foraging on the ground in a cow pasture to the west of the hiking trail, a few hundred yards from where it ends. They subsequently flew off toward the North. Ger & Kate -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sat Jan 8 12:10:06 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 18:10:06 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Barrow's Goldeneye - Columbia Co. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Is it me, or does there suddenly seem to be a lot Barrow's Goldeneyes along the lower reaches of the Columbia River. At least 9 were found during the recent Portland CBC. This species was formerly extremely rare in the Portland area. The overall numbers of diving ducks (mostly scaup) along the Columbia between Hayden Island and Troutdale now number well into the thousands. In addition to both species of scaup (mostly Lessers around Portland), numbers of Common Goldeneyes and now apparently Barrow's Goldeneyes also seem to be increasing, not to mention apparently over-wintering scoters. Several folks have asked what has changed, for which I don't have an answer. I know that exotic aquatic vegetation (Eurasian Milfoil) and invasive mussels have been mentioned in some reports relating to these increases, so it may be as simple as food availability. At any rate, waterfowling along Marine Drive and Hayden Island is way more entertaining than it used to be. Shawneeen and I recently talked to the Hinkle brothers about trying to conduct some sort of thorough survey of the waterfowl along this stretch of the river before the end of the winter season. Anyone else interested in this endeavor can send me a private e-mail. Dave Irons Portland, OR From: dcoggswell at hotmail.com To: obol at oregonbirds.org; henry at formandstructure.net Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 16:59:03 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Barrow's Goldeneye - Columbia Co. This afternoon there was a male Barrow's Goldeneye on the Columbia R. just off Dibblee Beach downriver from Rainier. Don _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jmeredit at bendnet.com Sat Jan 8 12:29:07 2011 From: jmeredit at bendnet.com (judy) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 10:29:07 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Barrow's Goldeneye - Columbia Co. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: And, I think, there are fewer than usual in central Oregon, FROZEN lakes and ponds, so perhaps the birds moved to available open water? Also Hatfield got shot up Nov and Dec so one less spot for them, as it is usually open and hospitable. We could compare this last CBC season counts with past averages I guess. Just one theory. Judy From: David Irons Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2011 10:10 AM To: dcoggswell at hotmail.com ; OBOL obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] Barrow's Goldeneye - Columbia Co. Is it me, or does there suddenly seem to be a lot Barrow's Goldeneyes along the lower reaches of the Columbia River. At least 9 were found during the recent Portland CBC. This species was formerly extremely rare in the Portland area. The overall numbers of diving ducks (mostly scaup) along the Columbia between Hayden Island and Troutdale now number well into the thousands. In addition to both species of scaup (mostly Lessers around Portland), numbers of Common Goldeneyes and now apparently Barrow's Goldeneyes also seem to be increasing, not to mention apparently over-wintering scoters. Several folks have asked what has changed, for which I don't have an answer. I know that exotic aquatic vegetation (Eurasian Milfoil) and invasive mussels have been mentioned in some reports relating to these increases, so it may be as simple as food availability. At any rate, waterfowling along Marine Drive and Hayden Island is way more entertaining than it used to be. Shawneeen and I recently talked to the Hinkle brothers about trying to conduct some sort of thorough survey of the waterfowl along this stretch of the river before the end of the winter season. Anyone else interested in this endeavor can send me a private e-mail. Dave Irons Portland, OR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: dcoggswell at hotmail.com To: obol at oregonbirds.org; henry at formandstructure.net Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 16:59:03 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Barrow's Goldeneye - Columbia Co. This afternoon there was a male Barrow's Goldeneye on the Columbia R. just off Dibblee Beach downriver from Rainier. Don _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tlove at linfield.edu Sat Jan 8 12:29:13 2011 From: tlove at linfield.edu (Thomas Love) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 10:29:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Portland area diving ducks Message-ID: <48AAF0D003D67944931DDDC72D022F1226096FA2@exchangedb.wfo.linfield.edu> My guess is that a contributing factor at least is that Goldeneyes, perhaps also scaup and associates, have been frozen out of a lot of their traditional east-side haunts, given the colder, snowier winter we're having in the PNW generally. The stranger piece of this is the presence of all three scoters, but maybe that's a product of more observers plus Patagonia effect. Tom Love -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marciafcutler at comcast.net Sat Jan 8 13:30:32 2011 From: marciafcutler at comcast.net (Marcia F. Cutler) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 11:30:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [birding] Skepticism and Ash-throated Flycatcher In-Reply-To: References: , <6AF8F118-D590-440D-93AC-3448D20A5017@gmail.com> Message-ID: <36DC450F-94D7-41B3-A417-85AF1AC9A1AC@comcast.net> Just a few random comments - I did not hear the bird vocalize. Actually, even if I did, it might not have made much of a difference unless the call notes are quite strikingly different, since I have not even seen many Ash-throated Flycatchers and am unfamiliar with their call note, let alone that of the Nutting's Flycatcher. This sighting was originally posted on the Mid-valley Birding list. One of the reasons this list was started and still going is that many local people like to look at birds and are interested in finding out about the birds in their area. However, many of the discussions on OBOL are at a different level than they are interested in (e.g. - long lists, birds away from the local area, extended discussion of tricky ID questions and the overall volume). Actually, it is for this reason that I've moved the discussion about skepticism off the Mid-Valley list serve and onto OBOL as the main participants are on OBOL and this discussion better suits the OBOL list serve. However, this leaves the problem of passing note-worthy local sightings on to OBOL. Joel Geier and Dave Irons have been the best about doing this and I should make more of an effort to do so. Unfortunately notice of some noteworthy birds has not made it out to the wider birding community in a timely fashion particularly about birds that were one-day or less wonders. Finally a short essay I've entitled "How Not to See a Bird" Step 1. Prepare to see a rare or unusual bird by exchanging cell phone numbers with other birders who will also be in the area looking for the elusive bird and take your camera in the event that you should be lucky enough to see it, since there have been no pictures of the bird yet. Step 2. Be the person who actually finds the bird. Take just long enough to make sure that this is the target bird. Step 3. Then pull out your cell phone from whichever pocket it may be in, look up the phone number(s) you need to dial and then dial. Wait for an answer at the other end. Then try to describe where you are. Hopefully the bird hasn't moved while all this is going on. Repeat step 3 as necessary. Step 4. Turn your camera on (mine has a very finicky "on" button arrangement). By this time the bird has probably moved. In my case, luckily not far away and others were on it. Get close enough to take a picture but not too close so that you flush the bird. Find it in your view finder then try to zoom on to it so that you can get a picture where you can actually see the bird. Take as many pictures as you can, adjusting the photo settings while you're at it to the appropriate type. Step 5. Follow others as they track the bird from location to location. You will usually be lagging since the bird probably disappeared while you were looking through the camera's viewfinder and you will not have a good idea where it flew too. Immediately take more pictures after others have told you where the bird is and you've managed to find it. Repeat Step 5 as much as possible. Step 6. After downloading the pictures on to your computer, trashing those totally out of focus or where you got the bush or tree that the bird had just been in, select the photos that need enlargement/cropping so that you can actually see the bird. Crop, lighten shadows and do any other editing that will allow you to see the bird. Post the bird pictures on your selected website and then send out an e-mail to the list serve(s) with the link to the picture site. Step 7. Phew!, you are now able to spend a little time observing the bird (photos that is)! Cheers, Marcia F. Cutler Corvallis On Jan 8, 2011, at 12:11 AM, David Irons wrote: > Greetings All, > > I'm still curious to know if anyone has heard the flycatcher vocalize? I don't recall seeing this mentioned, but I may have missed discussion of calls in one of the many posts about this bird. Rich Hoyer and Jay Withgott rightly pointed out that hearing a call note is probably the easiest way to eliminate Nutting's as a possibility. > > Returning to the original discussion point, the use of "guilty until proven innocent" and "innocent until proven guilty" strikes me as inappropriate in this context. In the minds of most, the words guilt and innocence are associated with the outcome of criminal proceedings. Since misidentifying a bird is hardly criminal, suggesting that some of us are assigning guilt to those who make the occasional mistake or make them feel as though they are guilty seems to be a bit of a stretch. I certainly don't recall feeling guilty when I've goofed up the ID of a bird. By contrast, there is no "innocence" that comes from getting it right. It's just birding, not something that will determine where one takes their meals over the next several years. > > In its species account for Ash-throated Flycatcher, Birds of Oregon: A General Reference, suggests that there are a "few winter reports, and none confirmed after November." Using this as a baseline, the following post (forwarded to this list by Molly Monroe) begs a few questions. > > "We briefly had an Ash-throated Flycatcher in the yard in South town Corvallis. It came in for a few minutes and has moved down the road. If it hangs around in the neighborhood I will keep you posted." > > Even without the most rudimentary description of the bird from those who saw it, many subscribers to this list were intrigued by this report. A few of those likely thought, "I need to go check this out." The more difficult question to answer is, how many of the subscribers to this listserv understand the significance of a mid-winter Ash-throated Flycatcher in the Willamette Valley? My post was intended to point out that the mid-winter report of this species in Oregon is very unusual and to further share with the overall community that a possibility existed (perhaps remote) that this bird might be a Nutting's or Dusky-capped Flycatcher. I suspect for at least a few, or perhaps many, these possibilities were a revelation. Nutting's Flycatcher does not appear in most North American field guides and the range maps for Dusky-capped suggest that it is not to be expected within 1500 miles of Corvallis, Oregon. Further, the phenomenon of reverse migration is unknown to or at least poorly understood by all but the most fanatical birders. > > I would have hoped that my post inspired a few folks, who may have otherwise eschewed the opportunity to chase this bird, to go see it. In fact, I've received two private e-mails from folks whose hopes were raised by the possibilities that were suggested in that post. What if this bird had turned out to be a one or two-day wonder and only a small group of the most dedicated Benton County listers went to check it out. Imagine then that the bird is ultimately identified as a Nutting's Flycatcher (a first state record and a rare bird anywhere in the U.S.). I suspect that many on this listserv would be more interested in enhancing their knowledge and maybe having the opportunity to see such a rare bird close to home rather than dissecting the motivations and and language choices of those who occasionally raise questions about reports that require more thorough documentation. > > To my way of thinking, the sharing of knowledge and expanding the horizons of other birders is a way to "build the community." If building the community is the ultimate goal, how come no one in this forum saw fit to share the presence of this bird with a broader statewide audience via OBOL? I guess there may be some folks who have never met me personally who consider my posts to be "crap" while others find something useful. Each individual comes to this forum with a unique voice and mine is just one of many. It would be nice to think that my way of communicating (usually just saying what's on my mind) appeals to every single one of you, but it would be naive to think that is the case. Communities are made up of varied voices and varied viewpoints and enhanced by a diversity of opinion and lively discourse. > > I don't hold the keys to the gate of this community and compared to many I am an infrequent poster to this list. Am I to feel welcomed when one of the prominent members of this community offers a lecture on what books I should read and how I should conduct affairs that have no relevance to my original post? ...and in the same e-mail that person tells me he is getting "crap" from "certain birders" when he reports a rare bird. I monitor this listserv as much as anything to glean sightings for the NAB columns I write. Many of the interesting birds reported here do not get reported to OBOL or other reporting streams that I follow. Occasionally, I'm inspired to join a conversation of interest, but as an outsider who lives beyond this community's definition of the "Mid-Valley" those opportunities are relatively few. > > I would hope to meet each of you face to face at some point and perhaps then we can create a sense of community that cannot be achieved via this impersonal method of communication. > > Dave Irons > Portland, OR > > > > Subject: Re: [birding] Skepticism and Ash-throated Flycatcher > From: w.douglas.robinson at gmail.com > Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 14:22:14 -0800 > CC: birding at midvalleybirding.org > To: llsdirons at msn.com > > Hi Dave, > > I appreciate that you replied publicly to discuss the issue. The main point that has kind of been missed here in your response, however, is the community-building issue. This is not really about your right to be skeptical; it is more than that. > > By coming across as saying first: "you may be wrong in your identification," what is being perceived by people who find interesting birds but don't know you or very many of the most active birders in the state is that they are being called out and doubted. It is not that the skepticism is unwarranted. It is. It is the "guilty until proven innocent" feel to the comments, instead of what people want or need to hear--"innocent until proven guilty"--to keep them engaged. > > We all know that the birders with the best skills cannot be everywhere at once, so we miss a ton of really interesting sightings. We drive right by amazing birds all the time, never knowing they are present. But, more eyes are looking than we know about. It is those folks who rarely report sightings that we are talking about here. When they do find something and immediately are met with negativism, they respond by withdrawing and not sharing anything else in the future. Why share again when you get treated that way? This what folks tell me about why they do not participate much. > > In fact, I, myself, have been that way. I am a professional, PhD-level ornithologist, who has traveled the world, seen thousands of bird species, written dozens of papers on birds, and I get crap from certain birders when I find something rare. In the past, that has made me keep things to myself and do my own projects I am interested in. Other less experienced folks encounter that kind of crap and we lose them from future participation in our birding community. > > So what happens is that you think you (and it is not just you, of course, there are several other "skeptical" types that jump on board regularly on OBOL) are helping make sure that some possibility that is EVEN COOLER (Nutting's Flycatcher, etc) is considered, but it does not come across that way at all. > > If you are thinking of building a business around birds, I recommend taking a look at a book by Dave Logan called Tribal Leadership. He does a nice job of showing how human groups (most of his are businesses but it applies to any interest group) interact at 5 levels, from Stage 1 (life sucks for me and everybody else in this group) to Stage 5 (the highest performing, self-less groups that achieve greatness). Many groups operate at Stage 3, which is characterized by "I am better than you" behaviors (academia is largely stuck here, so I know the field marks of Stage 3 very well). This is the kind of thing that is communicated by the messages that you and several others send out about "unlikely" sightings. It comes across as "I know more than you", even though I was not there and did not see your rare bird, I still know more than you. To most normal people, that is extremely insulting. > > The beauty of the birding community is that we can get to Stage 4 if we try. That is the stage where groups think "WE are great, and we can do great things TOGETHER." We can do a better job of describing the diversity of birds in Oregon, as a group of engaged birding community members. We can therefore find more exciting things like rarities, out-of-season occurrences, etc. If everyone knows they are not going to get slammed when they report something unusual to a group of people they do not know very well but who nevertheless ought to be really interesting in a sighting, they are more likely to contribute on a sustained level, and the overall productivity goes up and can stay high. The sad thing about Stage 4 is that it is very ephemeral because once the "I am great and you are not" attitude flares up, Stage 4 slides back down to Stage 3 very quickly. > > So, this is a long-winded way of saying: No one sees a problem with the skepticism. The importance of skepticism is a non-issue. Bird identification is not easy, and everyone knows that already. The issue is that there are better and more supportive ways of encouraging people to make sure they get the identification right. Assume the person is right first, then encourage acquisition of more information...just in case the report of something really cool turns out to be even more special. > > Cheers > Doug > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > birding mailing list > birding at midvalleybirding.org > http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgates326 at gmail.com Sat Jan 8 14:07:26 2011 From: cgates326 at gmail.com (Charles R. Gates) Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2011 12:07:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Crook Birds Message-ID: <4D28C3FE.3080304@gmail.com> I did a little birding around Prineville today. Wednesday, Judy Meredith informed me that her group had located an immature SURF SCOTER at the Prineville Sewer Ponds. I didn't locate it later that day but the bird was present today. Judy gets credit for the only January Surf Scoter sighting in Central Oregon in the last decade or so (maybe ever!). I also found two WESTERN GREBES on Ochoco Reservoir. There have been two other January sightings of this species (in the last 8 years) but both of them came from Lake Billy Chinook in Jefferson County. I believe both of these are Crook County firsts for the month of January (If you know differently, let me know). -- Chuck Gates Crook County High School NAMC State Coordinator - East Cascades Bird Conservancy Online Oregon Birding Site Guide - birdingoregon.info 541-923-1320 From gnorgren at earthlink.net Sat Jan 8 14:18:10 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 12:18:10 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] diving ducks Message-ID: Out of sight is out of mind. What is going on in Canada where these birds nest? One or more good hatches up there could be very significant. Also the bottom of the river. I believe the exotic vegetation has been around awhile, but the mollusks are pretty new. Also what is the dredging protocol? The Army Corps of Engineers or some other agency does this. Probably a lot less upstream of the mouth of the Willamette. But activities well downstream might lead to temporary disruption of food supply. The reports of scoters has been widespread in inland Oregon this fall, including one on the Tygh Valley CBC. Weather last year was much colder in early December, presumably leading to considerably more frozen standing water to our east and north. Lars Norgren From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Sat Jan 8 14:27:24 2011 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2011 12:27:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Skepticism and Ash-throated Flycatcher In-Reply-To: <36DC450F-94D7-41B3-A417-85AF1AC9A1AC@comcast.net> Message-ID: In early January, 1996, there was a report to OBOL of a Dusky-capped Flycatcher in Newport. The observer's name was not known outside of Newport. Most OBOLoids either ignored the report or assumed it was an Ash-throated ("that's nice"). As it happened, I had a meeting in Newport the next day, and cruised the residential neighborhood looking for a myiarchus. I found it close to the original site, and it called a few times, a brutally distinctive whistle. So I passed the word and some other people got to see, record and enjoy what remains Oregon's only record of that species. It is perfectly natural for anyone familiar with the possibilities of what might occur to react to a mid-winter "Ash-throated" with "I wonder what it really is?" It is true that many birders are not interested in determining what a bird really is, and that's fine. It's a personal decision, and there are many ways to enjoy birds. But skepticism of a report like this should be viewed as normal, impersonal, predictable, necessary for some purposes and not a big deal. Remember, this January photo set is the first ever taken, to my knowledge, of a mid-winter myiarchus flycatcher in Oregon, other than the Newport Dusky-capped. Another way to put it is that until last week, there were more proven records of Dusky-capped in Oregon in winter than of Ash-throats (and none of Nutting's, which may be as likely in January). It would not be outrageous to say that Ash-throated is the LEAST likely of those three to be in Oregon in winter. Some years ago I saw a printed photo of an Ash-throated from the Florence area in winter, but the photo seems to have disappeared and I don't recall the exact dates. This is a really great find of statewide interest. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer at mindspring.com Oregonreview.blogspot.com From richarmstrong at comcast.net Sat Jan 8 14:42:01 2011 From: richarmstrong at comcast.net (rich armstrong) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 12:42:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Ash-Throated Flycatcher in S Corvallis References: <73E20465F9D34B208FA6FBF9DC59BF6C@armstrong> Message-ID: <0B655A8EF8E948DEA8935365A7548696@armstrong> 1. the presumed ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was seen 1st on 1/4 2. it was seen 1/5 but also missed by others later in the day. when i saw the bird it did not make a sound at all. 3. it was seen by quite a few on 1/6. nobody reported hearing the bird. 4. there are no reports positive or negative on 1/7 as far as i know. 5. today, i took the corvallis audubon field trip to the area from 8-845 and again from 1115-1145 with no success. there were others looking as well with no success. Rich Armstrong 541-753-1978 ----- Original Message ----- From: rich armstrong To: OBOL Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2011 4:04 PM Subject: [OBOL] Ash-Throated Flycatcher in S Corvallis 1. an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was reported in south corvallis yesterday - see below. 2. i saw the bird this morning and i was fairly confident it was ash-throated, but i am not a myiarchus expert. 3. doug robinson saw the bird later in morning and he also thinks it is ash-throated. 4. since this is not a rare bird for oregon, these posts went to the midvalley listserve, but in case others are interested, and especially since it is very rare for this time of the year, here it is for obol. 5. this is a couple miles south of downtown corvallis off 99w - go east on rivergreen to hathaway. Rich Armstrong 541-753-1978 ----- Original Message ----- From: rich armstrong To: birding at midvalleybirding.org Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2011 11:01 AM Subject: [birding] Ash-Throated Flycatcher in S Corvallis 1. amazingly after 2 hours of driving and walking around butterfield and rivergreen and shoreline, i found the ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER! 2. it was in the yard at 3184 hathaway and then flew behind the house and i didn't see in the next few minutes. 3. it is definitely a myiarchus flycatcher and certainly looked ash-throated to me. 4. nanette is out of state and has the camera, and i would be hopeless with a camera anyway. 5. thanks to nate & shannon & molly for finding and reporting. Rich Armstrong 541-753-1978 ----- Original Message ----- From: Molly Monroe To: birding at midvalleybirding.org Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2011 1:23 PM Subject: [birding] Ash-Throated Flycatcher in S Corvallis Some friends with a newborn passed this on today. Not sure if they're up for visitors but let me know if you'd like more details. They are on the west side of the Butterfield Wetlands near Willamette Landing so that may be a good place to look. We briefly had an Ash-throated Flycatcher in the yard in South town Corvallis. It came in for a few minutes and has moved down the road. If it hangs around in the neighborhood I will keep you posted. -Nate and Shannon Richardson _ ( '< / ) ) //"Endangered species are sensitive indicators of how we are treating the planet and we should be listening carefully to their message ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ birding mailing list birding at midvalleybirding.org http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ birding mailing list birding at midvalleybirding.org http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From celata at pacifier.com Sat Jan 8 14:59:48 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2011 12:59:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Lower Columbia Birders trip - 1/8/2011 Message-ID: <4D28D044.8090008@pacifier.com> We had unsettled weather with plenty of showers today, but managed to tease out a few good birds. There are still 7 SNOW GEESE at Wireless Rd. We saw 2 GLAUCOUS GULLS out in the crab fields, one most probably the same 2nd winter bird that's been seen there since before Christmas and a 3rd winter bird first noted today. An EASTERN FOX SPARROW (probably _zaboria_) was with SOOTY FOX SPARROWS and SONG SPARROWS at the Netul Landing, Ft Clatsop. At least one and possibly two PALM WARBLERS were with a big raucous group of BUSHTITS at Warrenton Sewage Ponds. If the weather moderates, I will try for photos, tomorrow... Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Snow Goose 7 [1] Canada Goose Cackling Goose Wood Duck Gadwall American Wigeon Mallard Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-Winged Teal Canvasback Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Bufflehead Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Ruddy Duck Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe 2 Western Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Red-tailed Hawk Peregrine Falcon American Coot Black-bellied Plover 11 Killdeer Dunlin Mew Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Thayer's Gull Western Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Glaucous Gull 2 [2] Eurasian Collared-Dove 1 Anna's Hummingbird 1 Belted Kingfisher Northern Flicker Steller's Jay Western Scrub-Jay American Crow Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Chestnut-backed Chickadee Bushtit Brown Creeper 1 Bewick's Wren 1 Marsh Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush 1 American Robin Varied Thrush European Starling Orange-crowned Warbler 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Palm Warbler 1 [3] Fox Sparrow [4] Song Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow 1 Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird Brewer's Blackbird House Finch Pine Siskin House Sparrow Footnotes: [1] Wireless Rd [2] Wireless Rd; 1 2nd winter, 1 3rd winter [3] possibly 2 at Warrento Sewage Ponds associated with large BUSHTIT flock [4] Including an EASTERN-TYPE at Netul Landing, Ft Clatsop Total number of species seen: 71 -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From jack_williamson at me.com Sat Jan 8 16:09:54 2011 From: jack_williamson at me.com (Jack Williamson) Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:09:54 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Barred Owl - Tryon Creek State Park - YES! Message-ID: This morning before dawn I bundled up, grabbed my bins, camera and coffee, and headed to Tryon to see if I could find the Barred Owl. It was my 10th attempt overall but first predawn effort. I sat at the bottom of the ravine near Obie Bridge for an hour listening intently until some other guy hiked by me in a determined manner with camera and tripod. His approach looked more productive than just sitting there hoping for something to happen. Besides, I was getting cold. So once Kieri and I got to the top of the Cedar Trail, I began to study every tree in view in detail. As I panned over the third tree, I spotted an unusual clump in a notch about three-fourths the way up a mature Cedar. After 10 minutes of struggling to get a better view I was able to say - YES! This experience was gratifying not only because the hard work finally paid-off, but also on account of my coming away with the realization that my skills as a birder were in fact developing. While I was waiting for it to get light-enough to take a picture, five people came by at different times each asking what I was looking at. When I told them a Barred Owl and offered them my bins for a look - only one of the five people could locate the bird. Wow -what a great pastime! - Jack From jeffharding at centurytel.net Sat Jan 8 16:47:08 2011 From: jeffharding at centurytel.net (Jeff Harding) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 14:47:08 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Scio Prairie Falcon (Linn County) Message-ID: <2D10E4E77FC94AA288D11986A4E55032@laptop> Bill Thackaberry and I ran the ECAS Winter Raptor Survey route 5 today, and found a Prairie Falcon on Oupor Road, south of Scio, Linn County. This was after finding two Peregrine Falcons on Brewster Road earlier. Here are all the numbers: Red-tailed Hawk 24 American Kestrel 27 Northern Harrier 4 Bald Eagle Adults 7 Bald Eagle Immatures 1 Peregrine Falcon 2 Prairie Falcon 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 64 miles 5 hours Good Birding, Jeff -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rakestraw.john at yahoo.com Sat Jan 8 17:09:33 2011 From: rakestraw.john at yahoo.com (John Rakestraw) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 15:09:33 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] tufted hybrid? Message-ID: <400612.56420.qm@web65313.mail.ac2.yahoo.com> Forgive me if this has already been discussed on OBOL, but I am looking for feedback on the short-tufted Tufted Duck currently residing on the Columbia River near the Portland airport. Here are the reasons I am invoking the "H" word: The bird's back is dark gray, not blackThe sides are dingy, although this is common in young TuftedsThe bill is identical to that of a Greater Scaup, without the prominent black tip of a TuftedThe tuft, though short, is very thick and stiff. I would expect the tuft on a molting Tufted to be thin and whispy.? A few photos can be seen at http://johnrakestraw.net Cheers, John Rakestraw Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Sat Jan 8 18:19:20 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 16:19:20 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] CO0LUMBIA AYTHYID Message-ID: <4D65581E-79CE-4672-B9F5-4FD286ED2D55@earthlink.net> An earlier posting of this duck was quite eye-catching to me, but the holidays got in the way. I get a Ring-neck hit. The tuft is just so up there. Also note the bright white at the front of paddle=box or side-coverts. Of course Ring=neck is a poor explanation for the paler than expected back. What if it's a back-cross rather than an F1 hybrid? Lars Norgren From gorgebirds at juno.com Sat Jan 8 19:10:38 2011 From: gorgebirds at juno.com (Wilson Cady) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 01:10:38 GMT Subject: [OBOL] diving ducks Message-ID: <20110108.171038.26412.1@webmail09.vgs.untd.com> The Columbia River dredging to deepen the shipping channel was finished last year. This might explain an increase in birds above the mouth of the Willamette River if the feeding areas downstream had been disturbed and reduced the number of mollusks. But that should be accompanied by a decreased number of diving ducks downstream of Portland, for which I no information. Since the birds we are observing are along the shoreline and not over the deep water of the shipping channel, which is narrow, I doubt that a food loss is a cause. I haven't observed what these birds are feeding on and wonder if the population of the exotic Asian clam in the river has reached a point where the birds are responding to an increased food supply. I birded up the Columbia River Gorge last Friday and although the ponds and small lakes are still rimmed with ice, the Columbia River still provides enough habitat and food that I encountered flocks of hundreds of scaup and goldeneye from Washougal to Bingen. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife conducts winter waterfowl surveys and I assume that they are also done in Oregon. This winter's information from each section of the Columbia River compared to prior years would give a trend line that would show what the wintering duck population has been doing over a period of time. Wilson Cady Skamania County, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jack_williamson at me.com Sat Jan 8 19:12:40 2011 From: jack_williamson at me.com (Jack Williamson) Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2011 17:12:40 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cooper's or Sharp-Shinned? Message-ID: <566AE172-0F91-4FBC-AD48-980336A1E4A8@me.com> In an earlier post today I was feeling pretty good about myself for sleuthing-out a Barred Owl. And now I am feeling taken down a notch and put back in my proper place as a beginner :-) I stepped into the backyard a couple of hours ago to get a picture of the Goldfinch we've finally coaxed to our feeders and while I was doing that an Accipiter flew into the tree I was standing under. I snapped a bunch of pictures and was certain we had a Cooper's. It was quite slender, long-tailed, with pretty decent-sized legs, and rather long head and neck. When it flew to another tree, the images taken from the new angle convinced me that it must be a Sharpie. In flight tail feathers looked squared not rounded, legs appeared ultra-thin, the tail, head, and neck looked shorter than at first. It did not call, but even if it had I would not haven been able to use its voice as a distinguishing characteristic or, for that matter, represent the sound in writing. When it flew off in attack of birds in the adjacent yard its wingbeats appeared to me to be stiff and flat rather than quick and snappy. My guess at this point is that the bird was a Cooper's. Having said all that, I would really appreciate it if someone would look at the images and point out field marks I've either over looked or misinterpreted. Thanks in advance for you help, Jack http://picasaweb.google.com/Jack.Williamson.Jr/CooperSOrSharpShinned?feat=directlink -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Sat Jan 8 19:20:50 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 17:20:50 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Jack's hawk Message-ID: <137620A5-F0E8-4AE8-93E5-3BD9D3BAE31A@earthlink.net> It's a Sharpie. I've never had such a good look at an adult myself. Extremely attractive bird. It has a tiny beak, in one profile it reminds me of a parakeet. A Cooper's would have a much bigger beak, almost joining the crown, w/o much forehead,. Lars From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Sat Jan 8 19:47:47 2011 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2011 17:47:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [Oregon Rare Birds] 01/08/11 - Union County : RUSTY BLACKBIRD In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Yup, nice photo. The 4th in Oregon this fall-winter, by my count (Eugene, Tiller, Josephine County), clearly a movement this year. Paul Sullivan's crew found one near Enterprise in winter, 2005. I'll be up there with friends over MLK weekend; we may look for your bird, most likely Sunday morning. I came across a similar good blackbird flock between Medford and Phoenix, Oregon on Christmas morning, but no Rusty. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer at mindspring.com Oregonreview.blogspot.com > From: Trent Bray > Reply-To: Trent Bray > Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 20:24:55 -0500 (EST) > To: Rarebird , > , > Cc: > Subject: [Oregon Rare Birds] 01/08/11 - Union County : RUSTY BLACKBIRD > > Birders - > > Today (01/08), at 1:00 P.M., I found a male RUSTY BLACKBIRD with other > blackbirds near the intersection of Gekeler and Red Pepper Roads. This is > the > first documented RUSTY BLACKBIRD from Union County, OR that I am aware of > and only the 9th Oregon State record if accepted. Here is the best photo I > snapped showing lots of field marks and apparently most importantly the > rufous edged tertials. > > http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx176/thebobolink/RUBL.jpg > > After lunch, I took a break from working on CBC files on the computer, and > went out to look for a Snow Bunting, which had been reported on Union > County's CBC last Sunday, Jan 3rd (more on that very soon). Near the NE > corner > of Gekeler and Red Pepper Roads I saw a sizable flock of blackbirds working > around some cattle which had recently been fed. While scanning through > the flock of blackbirds, I noticed a very rusty backed individual. Suddenly > the majority of the flock picked up and flew west over the road. I scoped > the few blackbirds left over and found the usual individuals: European > Starlings, Brewer's Blackbirds, a possible Brown-headed Cowbird, and a single > Red-winged Blackbird. Numerous field guides mention fall variant Brewer's > Blackbirds which look similar to Rusty Blackbirds. I have seen hundreds of > these odd Brewer's and tried time and time again to make them Rustys. The > rusty backed individual I saw was just different. Frustrated that the > majority of blackbirds flew off and I didn't bring a field guide, I sat in > the > truck and waited. Then my patience paid off. Slowly the blackbirds > started back to the original spot I had seen them. Then I saw the odd ball > again. I grabbed my camera, took a bunch of photos and made a few phone > calls. > I watched the bird for a half hour or so, then went home and looked > through my photos on the monitor and poured through the pertinent literature. > This is my 267 species in Union County. What a great start to 2011! > > Good birding, > > - Trent > > The Bobolink - Linking Birders & Birds > 1102 Washington Ave. > La Grande, OR 97850 > (541) 963 - 2888 > avitours at aol.com > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Oregon Rare Birds" group. > To post to this group, send email to oregon-rare-birds at googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > oregon-rare-birds+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/oregon-rare-birds?hl=en From jblowers at ix.netcom.com Sat Jan 8 20:09:41 2011 From: jblowers at ix.netcom.com (Joseph Blowers) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 18:09:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tufted Hybrid Message-ID: I would have to agree with John. I got a brief look at the bird back in December. Today I got a much more satisfactory look at it. It's back is darker than all of the scaup in the flock, both greater and lesser, but it is still distinctly gray. Its back is also faintly barred in a similar manner to a scaup's back. I'm leaning more toward calling this one a hybrid than I was back in December. Joe Blowers Forgive me if this has already been discussed on OBOL, but I am looking for feedback on the short-tufted Tufted Duck currently residing on the Columbia River near the Portland airport. Here are the reasons I am invoking the "H" word: The bird's back is dark gray, not black The sides are dingy, although this is common in young Tufteds The bill is identical to that of a Greater Scaup, without the prominent black tip of a Tufted The tuft, though short, is very thick and stiff. I would expect the tuft on a molting Tufted to be thin and whispy. A few photos can be seen at http://johnrakestraw.net Cheers, John Rakestraw Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Sat Jan 8 20:20:49 2011 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 18:20:49 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Cooper's or Sharp-Shinned? In-Reply-To: <566AE172-0F91-4FBC-AD48-980336A1E4A8@me.com> References: <566AE172-0F91-4FBC-AD48-980336A1E4A8@me.com> Message-ID: <450044.9467.qm@web39703.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Jack, I think this is a sharp-shinned hawk. In photo 6, (with the view of the birds legs and feet from underneath), what I see is a long thin tarsus, ending with long spindly toes----coops have a thicker leg and toes. Oh, and by the way, I'd guess this to be an adult female. No doubt, this bird is an adult, because of its grey feathers---these would be brown on an immy of both species The chest is also adult, as is that beautiful red "bug" eye-----which appears to me to be in a rounded head-----a coops eye seems to be more underneath an eyebrow, and the head more squareish. On both species the immys have a vertically streaked chest, with yellow eyes. (I have an immy female sharpie here daily, now for over a month, and have witnessed her capture numerous small birds.) And what makes me think it's a female?----because you wouldn't have sent this e-mail if it was a male-----male sharpies are really dinks, and not easily confused with any other accipter. That's my two cents. Best regards, Dick Musser ________________________________ From: Jack Williamson To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Sat, January 8, 2011 5:12:40 PM Subject: [OBOL] Cooper's or Sharp-Shinned? In an earlier post today I was feeling pretty good about myself for sleuthing-out a Barred Owl. And now I am feeling taken down a notch and put back in my proper place as a beginner :-) I stepped into the backyard a couple of hours ago to get a picture of the Goldfinch we've finally coaxed to our feeders and while I was doing that an Accipiter flew into the tree I was standing under. I snapped a bunch of pictures and was certain we had a Cooper's. It was quite slender, long-tailed, with pretty decent-sized legs, and rather long head and neck. When it flew to another tree, the images taken from the new angle convinced me that it must be a Sharpie. In flight tail feathers looked squared not rounded, legs appeared ultra-thin, the tail, head, and neck looked shorter than at first. It did not call, but even if it had I would not haven been able to use its voice as a distinguishing characteristic or, for that matter, represent the sound in writing. When it flew off in attack of birds in the adjacent yard its wingbeats appeared to me to be stiff and flat rather than quick and snappy. My guess at this point is that the bird was a Cooper's. Having said all that, I would really appreciate it if someone would look at the images and point out field marks I've either over looked or misinterpreted. Thanks in advance for you help, Jack http://picasaweb.google.com/Jack.Williamson.Jr/CooperSOrSharpShinned?feat=directlink -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From withgott at comcast.net Sat Jan 8 20:34:18 2011 From: withgott at comcast.net (Jay Withgott) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 18:34:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Ash-throated Fly and regional listserves Message-ID: *** Marcia Cutler wrote: "This sighting was originally posted on the Mid-valley Birding list. ? this leaves the problem of passing note-worthy local sightings on to OBOL. ? Unfortunately notice of some noteworthy birds has not made it out to the wider birding community in a timely fashion particularly about birds that were one-day or less wonders." *** Thanks to Marcia and others, the apparent Ash-throat DID make it to OBOL in fairly short order, but plenty of other Oregon sightings do not. Thus, I'd like to remind OBOLites of Stefan Schlick's helpful posting of 4 January (pasted in below), in which he helped us see how postings on regional listserves can be pulled together into one place, so that potential rarities reported only on regional listserves will not be missed by interested folks elsewhere in the state. This solution (called "Sialia") appears to do the job very well, although it makes for a lot of information to wade through. I applaud those who run the regional listserves for their admirable initiative and good work, but I also have to voice some trepidation and regret over the rise of so many regional listserves. Before moving here I lived several years in California, which was so balkanized into numerous regional listserves that the statewide listserve, CALBIRDS, had become a kind of dead-man-walking, rarely used and rarely having much of interest. As the editor of Northern Calif. reports for Golden Gate Audubon's newsletter (a kind of mini-NAB column) I had to keep my finger on perhaps a dozen listserves, which came to be utterly exhausting. When I moved to Oregon I found OBOL refreshing, and through it I learned a great deal about the various corners of our state fairly quickly and easily. I suppose decentralization may be necessary as the number of birders grows, and that it is a sign of a bigger and healthier birding community in Oregon. And if the regional listserves really do accomplish what Marcia describes and draw in people who would not be interested in OBOL, then that's certainly a good thing. Clearly there must be demand for the regional listserves if they are growing and multiplying. But I wonder how many of us join them for essentially defensive reasons, simply so as not to risk missing something really good in our area that might not make it onto OBOL? I did this myself recently when I joined "Portland-area-birds". I'll pipe down now since I'm doubtless on the losing side of the debate and the wrong side of history, progress, etc. But I guess I'd just like to urge folks to help keep our statewide listserve healthy by cross-posting sightings and discussions of wide interest as much as possible. I wouldn't want to see OBOL lose its convenient functionality as the one central repository of birding discussion for our state. ? And thank you, Alan, for forwarding Trent's Union County Rusty Blackbird report to OBOL just now. I see from it that there is apparently now a Google group called "Oregon Rare Birds". So now I guess I need to sign up for this one, too?. Jay Withgott, Portland STEFAN'S 4 January posting: From: Stefan Schlick To: OBOL Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 22:44:03 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] OBOL, Portland Area Birds and now sialia: Information infrastructure for the future ... Fairly recently, Greg Gillson and I created Portland Area Birds to further encourage local posting. Volume and membership for our little list is increasing weekly. It can be found at http://groups.google.com/group/portland-area-birds. Many of you likely have seen sialia, a supersite pulling daily postings from 25 some Yahoo and Google Groups for California into one easy-to-use forum to view (not post) what's going on in the state. See http://digest.sialia.com/?region=2 for California. Dave Ranney, the creator of sialia, has now expanded sialia to cover all of the US, in much of the way Jack Siler did it with birdingonthe.net. The new sialia can be found at http://digest.sialia.com/. I just registered Portland Area Birds with sialia and posted a brief message on Portland Area Birds. It is already visible on sialia. What does that mean for Oregon? First off, all local OR list owners can easily get their lists into sialia as well by sending a brief email to Dave (dave at sialia dot com). This may include COBOL, Yamhill Birders, Mid Valley Birding, LCBNO (Lincoln Co), Oregon Rare Birds, Klamath Basin Bird News and others that I'm not aware of. It also lends itself to the creation of new groups in state. Second, the beauty with the new sialia is that you don't have to register for anything (unless you decide that you want to post; then you can register with the local group just like before), but have one-stop-shop access to all lists available in Oregon. This way you can be sure not to miss anything important that didn't make it to OBOL or Oregon Rare Birds. And no, I'm not working for sialia ... Stefan Schlick Hillsboro, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jack_williamson at me.com Sat Jan 8 20:39:34 2011 From: jack_williamson at me.com (Jack Williamson) Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2011 18:39:34 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cooper's or Sharp-Shinned? In-Reply-To: <450044.9467.qm@web39703.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <566AE172-0F91-4FBC-AD48-980336A1E4A8@me.com> <450044.9467.qm@web39703.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <635B4B30-F8C5-4FC2-AA99-901AF2E66CE4@me.com> Thank you Richard. Yours and several others feedback is exactly what I was hoping for! I have learned a ton this evening. Now that's fun!! Thanks again everyone. Btw - the tally so far is 6 votes in favor of the Sharpie (all with slightly different emphasis of various field marks) and 0 for the Coopers. I cannot remember the last time I truly enjoyed the experience of being wrong ;-) Jack On Jan 8, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Richard and Marilyn Musser wrote: Hi Jack, I think this is a sharp-shinned hawk. In photo 6, (with the view of the birds legs and feet from underneath), what I see is a long thin tarsus, ending with long spindly toes----coops have a thicker leg and toes. Oh, and by the way, I'd guess this to be an adult female. No doubt, this bird is an adult, because of its grey feathers---these would be brown on an immy of both species The chest is also adult, as is that beautiful red "bug" eye-----which appears to me to be in a rounded head-----a coops eye seems to be more underneath an eyebrow, and the head more squareish. On both species the immys have a vertically streaked chest, with yellow eyes. (I have an immy female sharpie here daily, now for over a month, and have witnessed her capture numerous small birds.) And what makes me think it's a female?----because you wouldn't have sent this e-mail if it was a male-----male sharpies are really dinks, and not easily confused with any other accipter. That's my two cents. Best regards, Dick Musser From: Jack Williamson To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Sat, January 8, 2011 5:12:40 PM Subject: [OBOL] Cooper's or Sharp-Shinned? In an earlier post today I was feeling pretty good about myself for sleuthing-out a Barred Owl. And now I am feeling taken down a notch and put back in my proper place as a beginner :-) I stepped into the backyard a couple of hours ago to get a picture of the Goldfinch we've finally coaxed to our feeders and while I was doing that an Accipiter flew into the tree I was standing under. I snapped a bunch of pictures and was certain we had a Cooper's. It was quite slender, long-tailed, with pretty decent-sized legs, and rather long head and neck. When it flew to another tree, the images taken from the new angle convinced me that it must be a Sharpie. In flight tail feathers looked squared not rounded, legs appeared ultra-thin, the tail, head, and neck looked shorter than at first. It did not call, but even if it had I would not haven been able to use its voice as a distinguishing characteristic or, for that matter, represent the sound in writing. When it flew off in attack of birds in the adjacent yard its wingbeats appeared to me to be stiff and flat rather than quick and snappy. My guess at this point is that the bird was a Cooper's. Having said all that, I would really appreciate it if someone would look at the images and point out field marks I've either over looked or misinterpreted. Thanks in advance for you help, Jack http://picasaweb.google.com/Jack.Williamson.Jr/CooperSOrSharpShinned?feat=directlink -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From whoffman at peak.org Sat Jan 8 21:18:47 2011 From: whoffman at peak.org (Wayne Hoffman) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 19:18:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cooper's or Sharp-Shinned? References: <566AE172-0F91-4FBC-AD48-980336A1E4A8@me.com><450044.9467.qm@web39703.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <635B4B30-F8C5-4FC2-AA99-901AF2E66CE4@me.com> Message-ID: <76A97A55C0094C0CA1DD36850C84F821@D48XBZ51> Hi - I agree with everybody else that this is a Sharpshin, and I concluded that it must be a female by the same logic as Richard. Great photos, by the way. When I was learning to bird, in the 1960s, and even into the 1970s, quite a few prominent ornithologists considerd these two accipiters very difficult to tell apart in the field. Since then, of course, a lot of time has gone into analyzing museum specimens, photos, and even live birds in the hand at banding stations, and so we know a whole lot more about how to tell them apart. So you do not need to feel bad about being unsure, this is not a trivial identification. It is better to be unsure than sure but wrong. If you get opportunities to see enough of both species, you may get very good at telling them apart at first look, but for most people that takes a lot of experience. I lived in the Florida Keys for 11 years, and spent a lot of time hawkwatching, and saw hundreds to thousands of accipiters each fall, and dozens more in winter and spring. Most were Sharp-shins, but we saw just enough Cooper's to get the differences down. I had a birding friend in Florida, Page Brown, who was a retired stock broker. He regularly described stock brokers as "seldom right but never in doubt". It is a good line to remember - if we are being honest with ourselves, we will admit that we cannot correctly identify all the birds we see. As we get better as birders, the ones we do not identify will more and more be the brief looks at distant ones in bad light, etc. but they will always exist. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: Jack Williamson To: Richard and Marilyn Musser Cc: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2011 6:39 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Cooper's or Sharp-Shinned? Thank you Richard. Yours and several others feedback is exactly what I was hoping for! I have learned a ton this evening. Now that's fun!! Thanks again everyone. Btw - the tally so far is 6 votes in favor of the Sharpie (all with slightly different emphasis of various field marks) and 0 for the Coopers. I cannot remember the last time I truly enjoyed the experience of being wrong ;-) Jack On Jan 8, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Richard and Marilyn Musser wrote: Hi Jack, I think this is a sharp-shinned hawk. In photo 6, (with the view of the birds legs and feet from underneath), what I see is a long thin tarsus, ending with long spindly toes----coops have a thicker leg and toes. Oh, and by the way, I'd guess this to be an adult female. No doubt, this bird is an adult, because of its grey feathers---these would be brown on an immy of both species The chest is also adult, as is that beautiful red "bug" eye-----which appears to me to be in a rounded head-----a coops eye seems to be more underneath an eyebrow, and the head more squareish. On both species the immys have a vertically streaked chest, with yellow eyes. (I have an immy female sharpie here daily, now for over a month, and have witnessed her capture numerous small birds.) And what makes me think it's a female?----because you wouldn't have sent this e-mail if it was a male-----male sharpies are really dinks, and not easily confused with any other accipter. That's my two cents. Best regards, Dick Musser ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Jack Williamson To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Sat, January 8, 2011 5:12:40 PM Subject: [OBOL] Cooper's or Sharp-Shinned? In an earlier post today I was feeling pretty good about myself for sleuthing-out a Barred Owl. And now I am feeling taken down a notch and put back in my proper place as a beginner :-) I stepped into the backyard a couple of hours ago to get a picture of the Goldfinch we've finally coaxed to our feeders and while I was doing that an Accipiter flew into the tree I was standing under. I snapped a bunch of pictures and was certain we had a Cooper's. It was quite slender, long-tailed, with pretty decent-sized legs, and rather long head and neck. When it flew to another tree, the images taken from the new angle convinced me that it must be a Sharpie. In flight tail feathers looked squared not rounded, legs appeared ultra-thin, the tail, head, and neck looked shorter than at first. It did not call, but even if it had I would not haven been able to use its voice as a distinguishing characteristic or, for that matter, represent the sound in writing. When it flew off in attack of birds in the adjacent yard its wingbeats appeared to me to be stiff and flat rather than quick and snappy. My guess at this point is that the bird was a Cooper's. Having said all that, I would really appreciate it if someone would look at the images and point out field marks I've either over looked or misinterpreted. Thanks in advance for you help, Jack http://picasaweb.google.com/Jack.Williamson.Jr/CooperSOrSharpShinned?feat=directlink ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kit at uoregon.edu Sat Jan 8 21:22:01 2011 From: kit at uoregon.edu (Kit Larsen) Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2011 19:22:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Florence and Lane Co coast Message-ID: <201101090321.p093LsJl030150@smtp.uoregon.edu> Thursday, Jan 6 - The Florence Mockingbird was on the wire on its usual spot on Glenada Rd, just south of the Hwy 101 bridge over the Siuslaw. A Black-headed Grosbeak visited a feeder in the same vicinity. There are no reports of this species on any Florence CBC. I could not relocate the Barred Owl that we found in the Alder Dunes campground (near site 22) on the Florence CBC last Dec 18. At Bob Creek, there were 168 Surfbirds and 7 Black Turnstone. Kit Larsen Eugene, OR From jack_williamson at me.com Sat Jan 8 21:39:56 2011 From: jack_williamson at me.com (Jack Williamson) Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2011 19:39:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cooper's or Sharp-Shinned? In-Reply-To: <76A97A55C0094C0CA1DD36850C84F821@D48XBZ51> References: <566AE172-0F91-4FBC-AD48-980336A1E4A8@me.com> <450044.9467.qm@web39703.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <635B4B30-F8C5-4FC2-AA99-901AF2E66CE4@me.com> <76A97A55C0094C0CA1DD36850C84F821@D48XBZ51> Message-ID: Wayne, Thank you for the helpful and entertaining insight. Page's statement is funnier than most late-night one-liners I've heard in a lone time! Jack On Jan 8, 2011, at 7:18 PM, Wayne Hoffman wrote: Hi - I agree with everybody else that this is a Sharpshin, and I concluded that it must be a female by the same logic as Richard. Great photos, by the way. When I was learning to bird, in the 1960s, and even into the 1970s, quite a few prominent ornithologists considerd these two accipiters very difficult to tell apart in the field. Since then, of course, a lot of time has gone into analyzing museum specimens, photos, and even live birds in the hand at banding stations, and so we know a whole lot more about how to tell them apart. So you do not need to feel bad about being unsure, this is not a trivial identification. It is better to be unsure than sure but wrong. If you get opportunities to see enough of both species, you may get very good at telling them apart at first look, but for most people that takes a lot of experience. I lived in the Florida Keys for 11 years, and spent a lot of time hawkwatching, and saw hundreds to thousands of accipiters each fall, and dozens more in winter and spring. Most were Sharp-shins, but we saw just enough Cooper's to get the differences down. I had a birding friend in Florida, Page Brown, who was a retired stock broker. He regularly described stock brokers as "seldom right but never in doubt". It is a good line to remember - if we are being honest with ourselves, we will admit that we cannot correctly identify all the birds we see. As we get better as birders, the ones we do not identify will more and more be the brief looks at distant ones in bad light, etc. but they will always exist. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: Jack Williamson To: Richard and Marilyn Musser Cc: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2011 6:39 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Cooper's or Sharp-Shinned? Thank you Richard. Yours and several others feedback is exactly what I was hoping for! I have learned a ton this evening. Now that's fun!! Thanks again everyone. Btw - the tally so far is 6 votes in favor of the Sharpie (all with slightly different emphasis of various field marks) and 0 for the Coopers. I cannot remember the last time I truly enjoyed the experience of being wrong ;-) Jack On Jan 8, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Richard and Marilyn Musser wrote: Hi Jack, I think this is a sharp-shinned hawk. In photo 6, (with the view of the birds legs and feet from underneath), what I see is a long thin tarsus, ending with long spindly toes----coops have a thicker leg and toes. Oh, and by the way, I'd guess this to be an adult female. No doubt, this bird is an adult, because of its grey feathers---these would be brown on an immy of both species The chest is also adult, as is that beautiful red "bug" eye-----which appears to me to be in a rounded head-----a coops eye seems to be more underneath an eyebrow, and the head more squareish. On both species the immys have a vertically streaked chest, with yellow eyes. (I have an immy female sharpie here daily, now for over a month, and have witnessed her capture numerous small birds.) And what makes me think it's a female?----because you wouldn't have sent this e-mail if it was a male-----male sharpies are really dinks, and not easily confused with any other accipter. That's my two cents. Best regards, Dick Musser From: Jack Williamson To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Sat, January 8, 2011 5:12:40 PM Subject: [OBOL] Cooper's or Sharp-Shinned? In an earlier post today I was feeling pretty good about myself for sleuthing-out a Barred Owl. And now I am feeling taken down a notch and put back in my proper place as a beginner :-) I stepped into the backyard a couple of hours ago to get a picture of the Goldfinch we've finally coaxed to our feeders and while I was doing that an Accipiter flew into the tree I was standing under. I snapped a bunch of pictures and was certain we had a Cooper's. It was quite slender, long-tailed, with pretty decent-sized legs, and rather long head and neck. When it flew to another tree, the images taken from the new angle convinced me that it must be a Sharpie. In flight tail feathers looked squared not rounded, legs appeared ultra-thin, the tail, head, and neck looked shorter than at first. It did not call, but even if it had I would not haven been able to use its voice as a distinguishing characteristic or, for that matter, represent the sound in writing. When it flew off in attack of birds in the adjacent yard its wingbeats appeared to me to be stiff and flat rather than quick and snappy. My guess at this point is that the bird was a Cooper's. Having said all that, I would really appreciate it if someone would look at the images and point out field marks I've either over looked or misinterpreted. Thanks in advance for you help, Jack http://picasaweb.google.com/Jack.Williamson.Jr/CooperSOrSharpShinned?feat=directlink _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From joel.geier at peak.org Sat Jan 8 21:54:27 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2011 19:54:27 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Regional list-serves, Trent Bray, Jim & Rita Coleman, Kirtland's Warblers, and Anna's Hummingbirds in La Grande Message-ID: <1294545267.2100.125.camel@clearwater1> Hi Jay & all, First off, I was happy to encounter Oregon birders' names in a couple of media outlets today. First, the Corvallis Gazette-Times carried an article about Anna's Hummingbirds in La Grande, featuring Trent Bray who as some of us recall was once a Corvallis birder. Second, while running errands in Corvallis today, I tuned into National Public Radio and heard a Radio Lab episode that included a segment about the recovery of Kirtland's Warblers in Michigan -- featuring Oregon birders Jim & Rita Coleman (hope I remembered the names right). It also carried some commentary on the human costs which are sobering. Not so happily, the same Radio Lab episode included another segment about the Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana, a copper/molybdenum mine which is mostly known these days for being deadly to Snow Goose flocks that happen to land in its reddish, sulphuric-acidic waters full of dissolved metals. Something that I feel a unique sense of guilt for, since the name "Berkeley Pit" comes from my alma mater, and I actually visited the pit with a U.C. Berkeley mining engineering field trip in 1982, right around the time that they turned the pumps off and allowed it to start filling with groundwater which became acidic due to interactions with the exposed rock surfaces, and then dissolved trace metals from the country rock to make for a doubly toxic soup. But to come back around to Jay's comments on local/regional list-serves: Personally I think these serve a vital function that OBOL doesn't serve very well, anymore. A local/regional list-serv provides a more welcoming environment for hundreds of birders who would never consider posting to OBOL. Today's flare-up of emotions on the Mid-Valley list was a really rare event, and that in itself serves to illustrate the difference. These local list-servs are ordinarily a safe place for less-than-elite birders to let us know what they've found. I don't think that "Balkanization" of the Oregon birding scene is such a bad idea. That's speaking as the grandson of a World War One, Austro-Hungarian Empire Army veteran who knows a bit about literal "Balkanization." I think Balkanization gets a worse rap than it deserves, and the separate nations of Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and whatever became of Montenegro are far better off under their respective current regimes, than when my ancestors in imperial Vienna were trying to keep them in order. I can't help but think back to 1985, when I took a train ride across Austria and, with my very limited knowledge of German, managed to stir up an intergenerational debate among my compartment mates, some of whom still regarded the Lusitania incident as a bogus plot (and who's around today to to say that it wasn't?). Totally irrelevant to the topic here, but I can't miss repeating an unforgettable question that was posed to me on that train by a demure 11-year-old-Austrian girl: "Stimmt es, da? alle Amerikanischer sind dick?" You don't want to hear my answer. But back on topic, I foresee discussions on high-speed trains in Oregon 20 years from now, when long-time OBOL adherents will complain about the rise of the neo-Balkan provinces of La Grande, Corvallis, and Portland. IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (hope that's enough exclamation points to get everyone's attention) Rare bird reports will filter out. Maybe folks in Beaverton or Sandy will miss a few due to delays in reporting, but they probably would have missed them anyway, since birds do move on when they feel like it. Local birders might screw up one or two calls where statewide experts could have steered them better, but SO WHAT???? That's just the nature of birding, folks. It's not science and it's not even religion, even if it sometimes feels like the latter. So please take it in stride. Bottom line, a statewide list only serves the interests of a few [----] statewide listers. I've purposely left out the adjectives that spring most readily to mind, but I'll admit they're not complimentary. Most of us are only concerned with birds that we can see in our own neighborhoods, or on a short drive, and/or within our own bioregion. Statewide listers always have the option of subscribing to as many lists as they like. For my part, I'll try to forward on reports that seem likely to be of interest to birders from outside the mid-Willamette Valley. But frankly, I don't expect that 95% of you statewide are going to be interested in 95% of our local sightings, and a small fraction of you will even complain about such mundane reports. Let's appreciate local list-servs for what they do, which is to expand the observer network far beyond what OBOL provides. Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jmeredit at bendnet.com Sat Jan 8 21:59:07 2011 From: jmeredit at bendnet.com (judy) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 19:59:07 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fw: [COBOL] Greater Scaup at Hatfield Friday Message-ID: <2503769C7E4A4A9896C066D6DA0C8E59@home> So this is likely of marginal interest to many on OBOL, but I will forward it. It is a good bird for our area, although it is common on the coast and west side. So I would tend to only post it to COBOL. Today?s discussion by Jay Withgott offered several points in favor of posting our usual local news to OBOL more often. I agree that I don?t want to read every ?sub-list? but they do exist because some locals won?t post to OBOL or even read OBOL. enuf said. From: judy Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2011 7:48 PM To: cobol Subject: [COBOL] Greater Scaup at Hatfield Friday Guess who reports this - yes, Lew Rems found a GREATER SCAUP yesterday at Hatfield, at the 2nd pond. This is a bird that shows up annually or so around the area but can be harder to find some years. Birders might be interested to know that the water is being managed differently again. Sometime early this week the water into the first pond was shut off and was being sent again to the back pond. Lew reports that most of the ducks that have been at the first pond have now moved to the back. The first pond is freezing over except for a portion on the western edge. Lew also found a Wood Duck at the 2nd pond and the usual assortment of wintering ducks. He did not see the Prairie Falcon that had been around intermittently but the adult Bald Eagle was there. Good birding, Judy Meredith mailto:jhmeredit at bendnet.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ COBOL mailing list COBOL at lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/cobol To unsubscribe, send a message to: COBOL-request at lists.oregonstate.edu with the word "unsubscribe" in the body. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From d_villa at mail.com Sat Jan 8 22:19:33 2011 From: d_villa at mail.com (d_villa at mail.com) Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2011 23:19:33 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Regional list-serves, Trent Bray, Jim & Rita Coleman, Kirtland's Warblers, and Anna's Hummingbirds in La Grande In-Reply-To: <1294545267.2100.125.camel@clearwater1> References: <1294545267.2100.125.camel@clearwater1> Message-ID: <8CD7DCB8D6E7A6B-53C-3D200@web-mmc-d04.sysops.aol.com> Joel, once again I appreciate your insights and agree that local listservs have a purpose, but I disagree with the statement that: Bottom line, a statewide list only serves the interests of a few [----] statewide listers. I've only subscribed for a few months, and I've learned a ton -- including which birds that are common in one place are quite rare in another (like the scrub jays I took for granted in Salem, but rarely see here on the coast), seasonal frequencies of different birds, and the sharing of historical knowledge and experiences as well. I also learn from the various discussions about tricky ID (I often save the ones that are particularly instructive). I don't read every post - usually I can tell from the subject line if it's of interest to me -- but that is not always geographical! Thank you to everyone who participates, debates, teaches, and questions. It's a wonderful experience, at least for me. (I also subscribe to our local LCBNO listserv :o) dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast -----Original Message----- From: Joel Geier To: Oregon Birders OnLine Sent: Sat, Jan 8, 2011 7:54 pm Subject: [OBOL] Regional list-serves, Trent Bray, Jim & Rita Coleman, Kirtland's Warblers, and Anna's Hummingbirds in La Grande Hi Jay & all, First off, I was happy to encounter Oregon birders' names in a couple of media outlets today. First, the Corvallis Gazette-Times carried an article about Anna's Hummingbirds in La Grande, featuring Trent Bray who as some of us recall was once a Corvallis birder. Second, while running errands in Corvallis today, I tuned into National Public Radio and heard a Radio Lab episode that included a segment about the recovery of Kirtland's Warblers in Michigan -- featuring Oregon birders Jim & Rita Coleman (hope I remembered the names right). It also carried some commentary on the human costs which are sobering. Not so happily, the same Radio Lab episode included another segment about the Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana, a copper/molybdenum mine which is mostly known these days for being deadly to Snow Goose flocks that happen to land in its reddish, sulphuric-acidic waters full of dissolved metals. Something that I feel a unique sense of guilt for, since the name "Berkeley Pit" comes from my alma mater, and I actually visited the pit with a U.C. Berkeley mining engineering field trip in 1982, right around the time that they turned the pumps off and allowed it to start filling with groundwater which became acidic due to interactions with the exposed rock surfaces, and then dissolved trace metals from the country rock to make for a doubly toxic soup. But to come back around to Jay's comments on local/regional list-serves: Personally I think these serve a vital function that OBOL doesn't serve very well, anymore. A local/regional list-serv provides a more welcoming environment for hundreds of birders who would never consider posting to OBOL. Today's flare-up of emotions on the Mid-Valley list was a really rare event, and that in itself serves to illustrate the difference. These local list-servs are ordinarily a safe place for less-than-elite birders to let us know what they've found. I don't think that "Balkanization" of the Oregon birding scene is such a bad idea. That's speaking as the grandson of a World War One, Austro-Hungarian Empire Army veteran who knows a bit about literal "Balkanization." I think Balkanization gets a worse rap than it deserves, and the separate nations of Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and whatever became of Montenegro are far better off under their respective current regimes, than when my ancestors in imperial Vienna were trying to keep them in order. I can't help but think back to 1985, when I took a train ride across Austria and, with my very limited knowledge of German, managed to stir up an intergenerational debate among my compartment mates, some of whom still regarded the Lusitania incident as a bogus plot (and who's around today to to say that it wasn't?). Totally irrelevant to the topic here, but I can't miss repeating an unforgettable question that was posed to me on that train by a demure 11-year-old-Austrian girl: "Stimmt es, da? alle Amerikanischer sind dick?" You don't want to hear my answer. But back on topic, I foresee discussions on high-speed trains in Oregon 20 years from now, when long-time OBOL adherents will complain about the rise of the neo-Balkan provinces of La Grande, Corvallis, and Portland. IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (hope that's enough exclamation points to get everyone's attention) Rare bird reports will filter out. Maybe folks in Beaverton or Sandy will miss a few due to delays in reporting, but they probably would have missed them anyway, since birds do move on when they feel like it. Local birders might screw up one or two calls where statewide experts could have steered them better, but SO WHAT???? That's just the nature of birding, folks. It's not science and it's not even religion, even if it sometimes feels like the latter. So please take it in stride. Bottom line, a statewide list only serves the interests of a few [----] statewide listers. I've purposely left out the adjectives that spring most readily to mind, but I'll admit they're not complimentary. Most of us are only concerned with birds that we can see in our own neighborhoods, or on a short drive, and/or within our own bioregion. Statewide listers always have the option of subscribing to as many lists as they like. For my part, I'll try to forward on reports that seem likely to be of interest to birders from outside the mid-Willamette Valley. But frankly, I don't expect that 95% of you statewide are going to be interested in 95% of our local sightings, and a small fraction of you will even complain about such mundane reports. Let's appreciate local list-servs for what they do, which is to expand the observer network far beyond what OBOL provides. Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From campbell at peak.org Sat Jan 8 22:39:46 2011 From: campbell at peak.org (M & R Campbell) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 20:39:46 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Some Peoria area birds Message-ID: <07A855D2A1904D8BB11522C28B31D772@maryPC> This week in review: There was a NORTHERN SHRIKE at Snag Boat Bend, Jan. 1. This was presumably the same Shrike that had me and John Sullivan coming and going--literally--as each of us, at one time or another, were absolutely sure that it very well could possibly certainly be a Loggerhead, until we decided that it wasn't. This time it was easily accessible near the viewing blind, and I was able to walk to within 30 feet of it. Despite its darkish plumage, wide eye stripe, and a habit of fluffing itself up into a portly little guy, I could clearly see a longish bill and light lower mandible. The bill's length seemed to change, though, depending on how puffed up the bird was. And this time, despite the close look, I didn't see the partial arc under the eye that we had seen before, though a scope. A very irritating little bird. There was also a juvenile RED-SHOULDERED HAWK at Sang Boat. I couldn't relocate the Say's Phoebe that I found there during the Corvallis CBC. A PRAIRIE FALCON was just north of Davis Road, Jan. 2. There was one SHORT-EARED OWL near Davis Road later that evening. A large (500+) flock of gulls was beside McLagan road, and has been in the area recently. The majority were RING-BILLED and MEW GULLS and immature pink-footed gulls--mostly HERRING, I think. I didn't have my scope, so I wasn't able to pick out anything more interesting than a single CALIFORNIA GULL. About 400 TUNDRA SWANS have been using the field just north of American Drive between the big curve and the pulp mill. I stopped to scope it once, but found no Trumpeter Swans. Thursday, Jan. 6, there were two male EURASIAN WIGEONS on the Halsey Sewage Ponds. Also, after years of sewage pond patrol, I finally found two honest-to-god, big Round-headed, Broad-Billed, Fat and Fluffy GREATER SCAUP there, in Linn county. (Note: The Halsey ponds are not open to public viewing, and some City of Halsey employees have been hostile to birders--well, to me, anyway. So, if you want to avoid possible unpleasant ramifications, you either have to stand on your car--if you bird by car--or you have to be very tall. --or, better, be very tall and stand on your car.) Traveling out into the Greater Peoria Area, this morning I found the YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER at E.E. Wilson. It was conveniently located in the scrubby Ash, two trees west of the Headquarters' entrance. I spent the next two hours walking back and forth along the canal until I found one silent SWAMP SPARROW on the north side of the Angling Pond. On my way out I stopped by the Gull Pond at Coffin Butte, where there were many Herring-ish Gulls, Glaucous-Winged Gulls, and at least one very likely THAYER'S GULL. This would have been several hours after Doug Robinson found an adult and an immature Western Gull on the same pond, and not long before Joel Geier found an immature Western Gull on that pond. Obviously, they were off flying around while I was there. My FOY was a Great Horned Owl. You have to get up early to make sure you don't get stuck with a starling. Randy Campbell Peoria -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sat Jan 8 23:20:20 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 05:20:20 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] tufted hybrid? In-Reply-To: <400612.56420.qm@web65313.mail.ac2.yahoo.com> References: <400612.56420.qm@web65313.mail.ac2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: John et al., This bird appears to be a pretty straight-forward Tufted Duck X scaup hybrid. I'm in total agreement with the features you mention in the post below and believe they are all consistent with what a hybrid should show. Additionally, I think that the head shape -- rather square instead of very rounded -- is scaup-like and atypical for a "pure" Tufted. These are nice photos. If you want to send me a couple high resolution files (0.5MB or greater) they will be a nice addition to the winter North American Birds report. Dave Irons Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 15:09:33 -0800 From: rakestraw.john at yahoo.com To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] tufted hybrid? Forgive me if this has already been discussed on OBOL, but I am looking for feedback on the short-tufted Tufted Duck currently residing on the Columbia River near the Portland airport. Here are the reasons I am invoking the "H" word: The bird's back is dark gray, not blackThe sides are dingy, although this is common in young TuftedsThe bill is identical to that of a Greater Scaup, without the prominent black tip of a TuftedThe tuft, though short, is very thick and stiff. I would expect the tuft on a molting Tufted to be thin and whispy. A few photos can be seen at http://johnrakestraw.net Cheers, John Rakestraw Portland _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From range.bayer at gmail.com Sat Jan 8 23:45:02 2011 From: range.bayer at gmail.com (Range Bayer) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 21:45:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Lincoln Co.: Beaver Creek Swan and Cliff & a probable Barn Swallow Message-ID: Hi, Laimons Osis reports that he today (Jan. 8) scanned North Beaver Creek with his scope and "saw three Cliff Swallows and a probable Barn Swallow. The 3 Cliff Swallows had landed in a snag so I got good scope views. The white forehead was obvious." The swan that may be a Tundra was also present today but had moved from Seal Rocks Stables (wet pasture at about Milepost 1.6 on the west side of South Beaver Creek Road) to near the abandoned Grange Hall area along North Beaver Creek in response to hunters. -- Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Sun Jan 9 00:21:47 2011 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 22:21:47 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Linn County Mid Winter Bald Eagle Survey Message-ID: <960879.23538.qm@web39409.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Obolers, Today, I completed my Mid Winter Bald Eagle Survey here in Linn County. This was the fifth winter since I established this route for the program. The area covered includes all parts of the valley floor south of Hwy 228/American Drive to the Linn / Lane County line from the Willamette River east to the Cascade foothills south of Brownsville, the roads east of I-5 to the foothills north of Hwy 228 to Hwy 34, and roads north of Hwy 34 to Spicer Dr from I -5 east to Langmack Rd which is located a few miles west of Lebanon. The route tapes out at 177.5 miles in length and it took right at 8 hours to cover today. I start the route at the intersection of I-5 and Diamond Hill Rd near the south end of the county and finish at the intersection of Columbus St and Ellingson Rd near the south edge of Albany. Weather was in the low 30s to low 40s with some patchy fog early in the route east of I-5 in the Coburg Rd/Priceboro Rd/Powerline Rd area. Otherwise I enjoyed very good viewing conditions throughout the day except for about half an hour of intermittent rain in the last hour of the route which did not adversely effect viewing conditions. Following are the results of the last five winters of surveys for this route: 1-15-07 23 adults, 32 subadults 1-12-08 68 adults, 55 subadults, 2 Golden Eagles 1-10-09 51 adults, 77 subadults 1-08-10 71 adults, 100 subadults, 1 Golden Eagle 1-08-11 78 adults, 40 subadults As you can see quite clearly, I found noticeably less birds today than the peak of last winter. Not sure why the decrease but I did notice significantly fewer sheep flocks around the route than in the past two winters and there seemed to be noticeably fewer sheep carcasses laying around in the fields. Sheep are either in healthier condition this winter or ranchers are cleaning up the carcasses and not leaving them in the fields. Also, I noticed much lower numbers of Common Ravens around the route which compete directly with the eagles for all that yummy mutton! Another explanation for the lack of sheep could be that other areas of the valley outside of southern Linn County may be being grazed and drawing eagles to those areas. I am thinking mainly of Lane County and southern Benton County as possible areas for the birds that typically roost in the foothills south of Brownsville which make up the birds that I count each winter. Also quite evident was the extreme drop in the number of subadult birds that were recorded. Again, not sure why but it made me wonder what kind of production Bald Eagles had in the western part of North America this past year. For these numbers to grow over the last four winters like they have and then to drastically drop this winter is something to question by the state coordinators of this project. A few other interesting observations were made throughout the day. Along Cartney Rd between Hwy 99 E and Rowland Rd about 5 miles south of Halsey, I located a pair of PEREGRINE FALCONS, male and female, that were hopping around in the tops of ash and oak trees north of the road. They would independently take short sorties away from the trees but then return in less than a minute to land close to their mate. I watched them do this three different times before they ultimately flew off to the west fairly close together. They were beautifully marked birds and the size difference between them was quite noticeable. Along Substation Rd a few miles north of Harrisburg, I came across a flock of about 200 TUNDRA SWANS. One of them had a blue neck collar that I was able to read the number off of so I will be submitting that information to the bird banding lab to see what I get as a banding history. There were also hundreds more swans in the American Drive area where they have been seen in past winters. Uncharacteristically, there were no swans in the Lake Creek Drive area east of I-5 where they have spent past winters. I was also struck by the many different locations that I observed WESTERN MEADOWLARKS today and I saw a flock of about 150 AMERICAN PIPITS along County Rd 211 near where Burrowing Owls wintered several years ago. Besides the specifics mentioned above, this was a great day to enjoy LOTS of other birds of prey along the route path. I did not count them but will be doing so in the next week or so as part of the East Cascades Winter Raptor Survey Project. All in all, a pretty worthwhile day today in the field! There aren't too many places in Oregon where in a days time you can see nearly 120 BALD EAGLES! :) Jeff Fleischer Albany -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sun Jan 9 00:45:53 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 06:45:53 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Regional list-serves -- some thoughts in support of OBOL In-Reply-To: <8CD7DCB8D6E7A6B-53C-3D200@web-mmc-d04.sysops.aol.com> References: <1294545267.2100.125.camel@clearwater1>, <8CD7DCB8D6E7A6B-53C-3D200@web-mmc-d04.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: Greetings All, In addition to appreciating Dawn's comments, I would add that OBOL plays a vital role when it comes to building a statewide community. For it to be suggested that a statewide list "only serves the interests of a few" seems a bit odd since OBOL has subscriber list that is about triple the membership of Oregon's only statewide organization for birders (Oregon Field Ornithologists). I seriously doubt that all these folks are subscribing and staying subscribed to OBOL in order to be unserved. Regional list-serves may provide a forum where some feel more comfortable, but I don't think OBOL is the house of horrors that it is occasionally portrayed to be. When we fragment the online reporting of birds (rare or otherwise) we increase the workload for those who endeavor to compile field notes and capture the bigger picture context of what is going on statewide. I always feel badly when I realize that a significant sighting has slipped through the cracks and not made it into my seasonal NAB column. When you find a rare bird, or a significant local nesting record, or turn up a record early or late migrant, I like to make sure you are credited with such discoveries and that those discoveries are recorded for posterity. Those who research these columns for future articles and books are equally appreciative. OBOL has been and continues to be the best depository for important bird reports from Oregon. When I discuss important bird reports, my focus is in no way limited to chaseable rarities that I and others might want to tick off. Those are great, but recording things like interesting hybrids (uncountable), pelagic birds inland, record numbers of common birds, and out-of-season birds (like the Ash-throated Flycatcher in Corvallis this week) are often even more important in my opinion. In recent years, several species that are common breeders in southeast Oregon have started breeding west of the Cascades. One such example is American White Pelican, which just last summer established a breeding colony along the lower reaches of the Columbia River, the first such nesting colony west of the Cascades. The ranges of some species/subspecies are shrinking. Researchers at OSU are locating and monitoring scores of nesting pairs of "Streaked" Horned Larks in Benton County, one of their last strongholds. The breeding range of this beautiful endangered subspecies (among the most colorful of all Horned Larks) is now mostly confined to the Willamette Valley and some of the islands along the lower Columbia River. Simultaneously, the breeding ranges of other species are expanding. Gadwall, which was not known to breed in Coos County as recently 2005, may now be the most common breeding duck on the North Spit of Coos Bay. I enjoyed seeing this for myself late last summer. We can thank Andrew Emlen, Mike Patterson, Randy Moore, Doug Robinson, and Tim Rodenkirk for making this community aware of such developments. I would rather not feel like I have to subscribe to a host of lists in order to make sure that I don't miss an important report and others have shared similar sentiments. At the same time I can appreciate that other birders don't want to have to wade through a bunch of reports from far away places to find those that reference sites close to where they live. A conundrum to be sure, for which there is currently no easy answer. Dave Irons Portland, OR To: joel.geier at peak.org; obol at oregonbirds.org Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 23:19:33 -0500 From: d_villa at mail.com Subject: Re: [OBOL] Regional list-serves, Trent Bray, Jim & Rita Coleman, Kirtland's Warblers, and Anna's Hummingbirds in La Grande Joel, once again I appreciate your insights and agree that local listservs have a purpose, but I disagree with the statement that: Bottom line, a statewide list only serves the interests of a few [----] statewide listers. I've only subscribed for a few months, and I've learned a ton -- including which birds that are common in one place are quite rare in another (like the scrub jays I took for granted in Salem, but rarely see here on the coast), seasonal frequencies of different birds, and the sharing of historical knowledge and experiences as well. I also learn from the various discussions about tricky ID (I often save the ones that are particularly instructive). I don't read every post - usually I can tell from the subject line if it's of interest to me -- but that is not always geographical! Thank you to everyone who participates, debates, teaches, and questions. It's a wonderful experience, at least for me. (I also subscribe to our local LCBNO listserv :o) dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast -----Original Message----- From: Joel Geier To: Oregon Birders OnLine Sent: Sat, Jan 8, 2011 7:54 pm Subject: [OBOL] Regional list-serves, Trent Bray, Jim & Rita Coleman, Kirtland's Warblers, and Anna's Hummingbirds in La Grande Hi Jay & all, First off, I was happy to encounter Oregon birders' names in a couple of media outlets today. First, the Corvallis Gazette-Times carried an article about Anna's Hummingbirds in La Grande, featuring Trent Bray who as some of us recall was once a Corvallis birder. Second, while running errands in Corvallis today, I tuned into National Public Radio and heard a Radio Lab episode that included a segment about the recovery of Kirtland's Warblers in Michigan -- featuring Oregon birders Jim & Rita Coleman (hope I remembered the names right). It also carried some commentary on the human costs which are sobering. Not so happily, the same Radio Lab episode included another segment about the Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana, a copper/molybdenum mine which is mostly known these days for being deadly to Snow Goose flocks that happen to land in its reddish, sulphuric-acidic waters full of dissolved metals. Something that I feel a unique sense of guilt for, since the name "Berkeley Pit" comes from my alma mater, and I actually visited the pit with a U.C. Berkeley mining engineering field trip in 1982, right around the time that they turned the pumps off and allowed it to start filling with groundwater which became acidic due to interactions with the exposed rock surfaces, and then dissolved trace metals from the country rock to make for a doubly toxic soup. But to come back around to Jay's comments on local/regional list-serves: Personally I think these serve a vital function that OBOL doesn't serve very well, anymore. A local/regional list-serv provides a more welcoming environment for hundreds of birders who would never consider posting to OBOL. Today's flare-up of emotions on the Mid-Valley list was a really rare event, and that in itself serves to illustrate the difference. These local list-servs are ordinarily a safe place for less-than-elite birders to let us know what they've found. I don't think that "Balkanization" of the Oregon birding scene is such a bad idea. That's speaking as the grandson of a World War One, Austro-Hungarian Empire Army veteran who knows a bit about literal "Balkanization." I think Balkanization gets a worse rap than it deserves, and the separate nations of Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and whatever became of Montenegro are far better off under their respective current regimes, than when my ancestors in imperial Vienna were trying to keep them in order. I can't help but think back to 1985, when I took a train ride across Austria and, with my very limited knowledge of German, managed to stir up an intergenerational debate among my compartment mates, some of whom still regarded the Lusitania incident as a bogus plot (and who's around today to to say that it wasn't?). Totally irrelevant to the topic here, but I can't miss repeating an unforgettable question that was posed to me on that train by a demure 11-year-old-Austrian girl: "Stimmt es, da? alle Amerikanischer sind dick?" You don't want to hear my answer. But back on topic, I foresee discussions on high-speed trains in Oregon 20 years from now, when long-time OBOL adherents will complain about the rise of the neo-Balkan provinces of La Grande, Corvallis, and Portland. IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (hope that's enough exclamation points to get everyone's attention) Rare bird reports will filter out. Maybe folks in Beaverton or Sandy will miss a few due to delays in reporting, but they probably would have missed them anyway, since birds do move on when they feel like it. Local birders might screw up one or two calls where statewide experts could have steered them better, but SO WHAT???? That's just the nature of birding, folks. It's not science and it's not even religion, even if it sometimes feels like the latter. So please take it in stride. Bottom line, a statewide list only serves the interests of a few [----] statewide listers. I've purposely left out the adjectives that spring most readily to mind, but I'll admit they're not complimentary. Most of us are only concerned with birds that we can see in our own neighborhoods, or on a short drive, and/or within our own bioregion. Statewide listers always have the option of subscribing to as many lists as they like. For my part, I'll try to forward on reports that seem likely to be of interest to birders from outside the mid-Willamette Valley. But frankly, I don't expect that 95% of you statewide are going to be interested in 95% of our local sightings, and a small fraction of you will even complain about such mundane reports. Let's appreciate local list-servs for what they do, which is to expand the observer network far beyond what OBOL provides. Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Sun Jan 9 01:17:31 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 23:17:31 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Regional listserves Message-ID: <820DD00A-12AB-4FB2-9AF5-F182A50FBDB8@earthlink.net> I have no intention of participating in the balkanization of Obol and see no advantage in it what-so-ever. There are days when only a handful of postings are made for the whole state. I'm beginning to suspect that's sometimes because so much is being shunted onto the local lists. I have noted with alarm a number of very interesting postings that show up hours or days later on Obol than their original appearance. Jay, Dawn, and Dave Irons have already made great points that resonate with me. When someone sees a Green Heron in January three hours by automobile from my home, I certainly don't intend to chase it, but I'm very much interested in its existence. I sure as hell am not going to chase it electronically by hopping through half a dozen regional lists. I have to share this computer with close to half a dozen people at least as strong- willed as myself and can rarely get on it when I want to to check Obol. I thought civilization was supposed to help us achieve a more cosmopolitan worldview. Why the @#*& are people so eager to wallow in provincialism? Lars Norgren From loinneilceol at yahoo.com Sun Jan 9 01:51:34 2011 From: loinneilceol at yahoo.com (Leith McKenzie) Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 23:51:34 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Regional list-serves -- some thoughts in support of OBOL Message-ID: <618993.26598.qm@web30406.mail.mud.yahoo.com> OBOL is a good thing, it serves the interests of science very well. The notion that one should refrain from posting if one is not of the birding elite is nonsense. All observers should post anything they find interesting. The experienced members of the community do not mind this at all. Those of us who are very experienced should write our emails in ways that do not squish anybody. Everyone should keep it in balance. In 1994 when I found the third EASTERN PHOEBE record for Oregon, many experts were sceptical, especially since the bird was observed in November. At that time, I made an accurate report of the bird without any consideration whatsoever of what the members of the birding elite thought. That was good scentific procedure. The elite birders are occasionally wrong. Please post your sightings on OBOL. Maitreya On Sat Jan 8th, 2011 10:45 PM PST David Irons wrote: > >Greetings All, > >In addition to appreciating Dawn's comments, I would add that OBOL plays a vital role when it comes to building a statewide community. For it to be suggested that a statewide list "only serves the interests of a few" seems a bit odd since OBOL has subscriber list that is about triple the membership of Oregon's only statewide organization for birders (Oregon Field Ornithologists). I seriously doubt that all these folks are subscribing and staying subscribed to OBOL in order to be unserved. > >Regional list-serves may provide a forum where some feel more comfortable, but I don't think OBOL is the house of horrors that it is occasionally portrayed to be. When we fragment the online reporting of birds (rare or otherwise) we increase the workload for those who endeavor to compile field notes and capture the bigger picture context of what is going on statewide. I always feel badly when I realize that a significant sighting has slipped through the cracks and not made it into my seasonal NAB column. When you find a rare bird, or a significant local nesting record, or turn up a record early or late migrant, I like to make sure you are credited with such discoveries and that those discoveries are recorded for posterity. Those who research these columns for future articles and books are equally appreciative. > >OBOL has been and continues to be the best depository for important bird reports from Oregon. When I discuss important bird reports, my focus is in no way limited to chaseable rarities that I and others might want to tick off. Those are great, but recording things like interesting hybrids (uncountable), pelagic birds inland, record numbers of common birds, and out-of-season birds (like the Ash-throated Flycatcher in Corvallis this week) are often even more important in my opinion. In recent years, several species that are common breeders in southeast Oregon have started breeding west of the Cascades. One such example is American White Pelican, which just last summer established a breeding colony along the lower reaches of the Columbia River, the first such nesting colony west of the Cascades. The ranges of some species/subspecies are shrinking. Researchers at OSU are locating and monitoring scores of nesting pairs of "Streaked" Horned Larks in Benton County, one of their last strongholds. The breeding range of this beautiful endangered subspecies (among the most colorful of all Horned Larks) is now mostly confined to the Willamette Valley and some of the islands along the lower Columbia River. Simultaneously, the breeding ranges of other species are expanding. Gadwall, which was not known to breed in Coos County as recently 2005, may now be the most common breeding duck on the North Spit of Coos Bay. I enjoyed seeing this for myself late last summer. We can thank Andrew Emlen, Mike Patterson, Randy Moore, Doug Robinson, and Tim Rodenkirk for making this community aware of such developments. > >I would rather not feel like I have to subscribe to a host of lists in order to make sure that I don't miss an important report and others have shared similar sentiments. At the same time I can appreciate that other birders don't want to have to wade through a bunch of reports from far away places to find those that reference sites close to where they live. A conundrum to be sure, for which there is currently no easy answer. > >Dave Irons >Portland, OR > > > > >To: joel.geier at peak.org; obol at oregonbirds.org >Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 23:19:33 -0500 >From: d_villa at mail.com >Subject: Re: [OBOL] Regional list-serves, Trent Bray, Jim & Rita Coleman, Kirtland's Warblers, and Anna's Hummingbirds in La Grande > > > > Joel, once again I appreciate your insights and agree that local listservs have a purpose, but I disagree with the statement that: > > > > > > >Bottom line, a statewide list only serves the interests of a few [----] statewide listers. > > > > I've only subscribed for a few months, and I've learned a ton -- including which birds that are common in one place are quite rare in another (like the scrub jays I took for granted in Salem, but rarely see here on the coast), seasonal frequencies of different birds, and the sharing of historical knowledge and experiences as well. I also learn from the various discussions about tricky ID (I often save the ones that are particularly instructive). I don't read every post - usually I can tell from the subject line if it's of interest to me -- but that is not always geographical! > > > >Thank you to everyone who participates, debates, teaches, and questions. It's a wonderful experience, at least for me. (I also subscribe to our local LCBNO listserv :o) > > > > > > > > > > > > > >dawn > >Lincoln City/Nelscott > > > >Blogging About the Coast > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >-----Original Message----- > > >From: Joel Geier > > >To: Oregon Birders OnLine > > >Sent: Sat, Jan 8, 2011 7:54 pm > > >Subject: [OBOL] Regional list-serves, Trent Bray, Jim & Rita Coleman, Kirtland's Warblers, and Anna's Hummingbirds in La Grande > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >Hi Jay & all, > > > > > > > >First off, I was happy to encounter Oregon birders' names in a couple of media outlets today. > > > > > > > >First, the Corvallis Gazette-Times carried an article about Anna's Hummingbirds in La Grande, featuring Trent Bray who as some of us recall was once a Corvallis birder. > > > > > > > >Second, while running errands in Corvallis today, I tuned into National Public Radio and heard a Radio Lab episode that included a segment about the recovery of Kirtland's Warblers in Michigan -- featuring Oregon birders Jim & Rita Coleman (hope I remembered the names right). It also carried some commentary on the human costs which are sobering. > > > > > > > >Not so happily, the same Radio Lab episode included another segment about the Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana, a copper/molybdenum mine which is mostly known these days for being deadly to Snow Goose flocks that happen to land in its reddish, sulphuric-acidic waters full of dissolved metals. Something that I feel a unique sense of guilt for, since the name "Berkeley Pit" comes from my alma mater, and I actually visited the pit with a U.C. Berkeley mining engineering field trip in 1982, right around the time that they turned the pumps off and allowed it to start filling with groundwater which became acidic due to interactions with the exposed rock surfaces, and then dissolved trace metals from the country rock to make for a doubly toxic soup. > > > > > > > >But to come back around to Jay's comments on local/regional list-serves: Personally I think these serve a vital function that OBOL doesn't serve very well, anymore. A local/regional list-serv provides a more welcoming environment for hundreds of birders who would never consider posting to OBOL. Today's flare-up of emotions on the Mid-Valley list was a really rare event, and that in itself serves to illustrate the difference. These local list-servs are ordinarily a safe place for less-than-elite birders to let us know what they've found. > > > > > > > >I don't think that "Balkanization" of the Oregon birding scene is such a bad idea. That's speaking as the grandson of a World War One, Austro-Hungarian Empire Army veteran who knows a bit about literal "Balkanization." I think Balkanization gets a worse rap than it deserves, and the separate nations of Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and whatever became of Montenegro are far better off under their respective current regimes, than when my ancestors in imperial Vienna were trying to keep them in order. > > > > > > > >I can't help but think back to 1985, when I took a train ride across Austria and, with my very limited knowledge of German, managed to stir up an intergenerational debate among my compartment mates, some of whom still regarded the Lusitania incident as a bogus plot (and who's around today to to say that it wasn't?). Totally irrelevant to the topic here, but I can't miss repeating an unforgettable question that was posed to me on that train by a demure 11-year-old-Austrian girl: "Stimmt es, da? alle Amerikanischer sind dick?" You don't want to hear my answer. But back on topic, I foresee discussions on high-speed trains in Oregon 20 years from now, when long-time OBOL adherents will complain about the rise of the neo-Balkan provinces of La Grande, Corvallis, and Portland. > > > > > > > >IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (hope that's enough exclamation points to get everyone's attention) > > > > > > > >Rare bird reports will filter out. Maybe folks in Beaverton or Sandy will miss a few due to delays in reporting, but they probably would have missed them anyway, since birds do move on when they feel like it. Local birders might screw up one or two calls where statewide experts could have steered them better, but SO WHAT???? That's just the nature of birding, folks. It's not science and it's not even religion, even if it sometimes feels like the latter. > > > > > > > >So please take it in stride. Bottom line, a statewide list only serves the interests of a few [----] statewide listers. I've purposely left out the adjectives that spring most readily to mind, but I'll admit they're not complimentary. Most of us are only concerned with birds that we can see in our own neighborhoods, or on a short drive, and/or within our own bioregion. Statewide listers always have the option of subscribing to as many lists as they like. For my part, I'll try to forward on reports that seem likely to be of interest to birders from outside the mid-Willamette Valley. But frankly, I don't expect that 95% of you statewide are going to be interested in 95% of our local sightings, and a small fraction of you will even complain about such mundane reports. Let's appreciate local list-servs for what they do, which is to expand the observer network far beyond what OBOL provides. > > > > > > > >Happy birding, > > > >Joel > > > > > > > >-- > > > >Joel Geier > > > >Camp Adair area north of Corvallis > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >_______________________________________________ > > >OBOL mailing list > > >OBOL at oregonbirds.org > > >http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > > > > > > > > > > >_______________________________________________ >OBOL mailing list >OBOL at oregonbirds.org >http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From acontrer at mindspring.com Sun Jan 9 03:50:35 2011 From: acontrer at mindspring.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 01:50:35 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Lincoln Co.: Beaver Creek Swan and Cliff & a probable Barn Swallow In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <7C4CE22C-B58C-49CB-A755-046B825070E5@mindspring.com> I'm astonished at the recent Cliff Swallow reports-at least three separate ones, i think. Why are they here? Did the ten days of pineapple express and related northward flow in California simply blow them here? Are they related to other odd swallow events, such as the wintering flock of tree swallows in the Coquille Valley? Alan Contreras Sent from my iPhone On Jan 8, 2011, at 9:45 PM, Range Bayer wrote: > Hi, > > Laimons Osis reports that he today (Jan. 8) scanned North Beaver > Creek with his scope and "saw three Cliff Swallows and a probable Barn > Swallow. The 3 Cliff Swallows had landed in a snag so I got good > scope views. The white forehead was obvious." > > The swan that may be a Tundra was also present today but had > moved from Seal Rocks Stables (wet pasture at about Milepost 1.6 on > the west side of South Beaver Creek Road) to near the abandoned > Grange Hall area along North Beaver Creek in response to hunters. > -- > Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From joel.geier at peak.org Sun Jan 9 06:25:09 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 04:25:09 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Regional list-servs Message-ID: <1294575909.3816.79.camel@clearwater1> Greetings all, The rhetoric of my preceding post exceeded my actual beliefs in a few particulars. I do believe that a statewide list has some intrinsic value that goes beyond state listing. To go back to my analogy, I'd have to admit that imperial Vienna did serve as a cultural crossroads that produced some remarkable art and music, probably far beyond what we would have seen from the little land of Austria on its own. However, there were a few drawbacks to the situation, if you happened to be a Czech or a Slovak (see e.g. Jaroslav Ha?ek's novel, "The Good Soldier Svejk"). Birders who choose to subscribe to local list-servs don't have any obligation to post to a statewide list, just as a matter of convenience to those who for whatever reason -- chasing rarities, intellectual curiosity, whatever -- want to track every bird sighting in the state. For a few of the more outspoken voices on OBOL to say, "OBOL isn't really such a scary place," doesn't change the perception of the hundreds of birders who have voted with feet (well, with their mouse clickers) to participate in COBOL, Mid-Valley, Inland Northwest, and other regional lists (including some regions like Rogue-Umpqua which have never had much connection to OBOL). To come at this from another direction, why do we have separate state lists like OBOL and Tweeters? If it's about understanding regional ornithology, why is a bird report from Heppner or Joseph or Lakeview intrinsically any more interesting to a birder in Boring, than a report from Washtucna or Early Winters or Winnemucca? Wouldn't there be better exchange of information if we just had one huge list-serv for Washington, Oregon, Idaho, northern California, and British Columbia? And then why not bring in Nevada and southern California, Arizona? Heck, why not all of North America, with automated simultaneous translations of all postings into French, English, Spanish, Cree, and Navajo? The answer of course is that we birders have different interests depending on where we live and what patches of this earth we happened to get attached to, for whatever irrational reason. None of us is cosmopolitan in our curiosity, in an absolute sense. None of us could handle the torrent of information that we'd be getting with a continent-wide list. Ultimately, far fewer birders, in total, would end up participating actively. The same issues come up, when comparing local lists to statewide lists. Like it or not, many birders prefer to be on local lists around this state -- roughly as many as subscribe to OBOL, and far more than actively participate in OBOL discussions by posting reports there. Sure, OBOL has 1000 subscribers, but it would be interesting to see a count of how many different subscribers actually reported their sightings on OBOL last month. Maybe 10%? I'd guess that percentage-wise participation is much higher on COBOL and other regional lists. But again, it really doesn't matter. Birders choose to participate in whatever list suits them, for their own purposes. The resulting flow of information might be fragmented and inconvenient for some, but it works. More or less. A wintering apparent ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, a possible HERMIT WARBLER (or hybrid? or Black-throated Green Warbler?), and a possible CASSIN'S VIREO are three birds in Corvallis that I've heard about in the past few days that might not have been posted at all, if OBOL were the only channel available. Now you all have that information too, if you've read this far. Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Sun Jan 9 07:43:53 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 05:43:53 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Swallow Conundrum & Coos Birds 1/8/2011 Message-ID: <721468.7008.qm@web45308.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I am thinking the same way as Alan Contreras- what is up with the Cliff Swallow reports? When I saw the first one I thought it was maybe a mis-ID, I contacted the person who found them and he sounded absolutely sure on the ID. Of course, once someone reports the first of any species for the year others often start reporting them- is that the case here? Are we really having Cliff Swallows showing up in multiple locations in January? This is unprecedented if so. BARN SWALLOWS started showing up in mid-winter several years back, and that remains a mystery and numbers have varied from year to year. On the south coast we had 4 Barns on the Port Orford CBC on 26 December, that is the only record this winter I am aware of. As for the TREE SWALLOWS, we have never had more than a single bird here in December/January until this year when we had flocks of 12+ in Myrtle Point show up in late December and a flock of 4-6 nearby at Johnson Mill Pond in Coquille. This was a first, at least for Coos County. I checked the valley yesterday and could find no Tree Swallows though so I don't think you can really call these "overwintering" birds nor are they probably early migrants, which we see in the Coquille Valley as early as the first or second week in February most years (the very first arrivals that is). So, to have any other than Tree or Barns in mid-winter is highly unusual. In Coos we normally don't see Cliffs until March... I was in Bandon on 8 January and saw the HARRIS'S SPARROW at the private feeder there. Nearby I found a large flock of siskins with 4 LESSER GOLDFINCHES. I went to look for the RN Sapsucker found east of Bandon on the Coquille Valley CBC for the third time and didn't see or hear anything sapsucker-like once again (dang sapsuckers). In the Coquille Valley the overwintering SAY'S PHOEBE (third such record) was out and about at the ranch buildings below the Picture Valley turnoff (between Coquille and Myrtle Point). I looked hard for Tree Swallows but couldn't find any. It was sunny and mid-40's while I was looking so maybe the swallows were feeding really high up and I missed them but I was looking high up also. Oh, by the way, on the Coquille Valley CBC, Joe and Coleman Metzler decided to bike the Arago area (it was a beautiful sunny day). This is an area of open pastures mainly, south of Coquille and a bit NW of Myrtle Point- off the main highways with not much traffic. In their area alone they had 120 BLACK PHOEBES- Wow!! They also had 4 RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS (one is normally hard to find on the count) and numerous other woodpeckers. I saw Joe yesterday so I had to mention this. Sounds like biking certain areas on a CBC could be highly advantageous (given you had decent weather to do so). Merry 2011! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From AVITOURS at aol.com Sun Jan 9 08:48:08 2011 From: AVITOURS at aol.com (AVITOURS at aol.com) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 09:48:08 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] 01/02/11 - Union County's Final CBC Results for 2010 Message-ID: <8507c.4e8c8c29.3a5b24a8@aol.com> Birders - Last night (01/07), at Ten Depot's Bar, in La Grande, OR., four Union County CBC participants and two interested birders met and talked about the 2010 Union County CBC, which was held on January 2nd, 2011. We injected 102 $ into the local economy while talking about birds, eating food, drinking beer, and having fun. Here is the participant's summary with the final tallies for the 2010 Union County CBC: Greetings Union County CBC participants and other interested birders, Once again, that was fun! Twenty-four participants crushed the record by 10 species! It appears to have been a very birdy day from all routes. We had good weather and a hand full of pre-scouted birds which were relocated on count day. Thanks for all of the hard ?work?. The following is a list of count records, good birds, and other CBC data: Union County?s (ORCU) 35th Christmas Bird Count (CBC), 2nd January, 2011 Records realized after compilation (in taxonomicish order): * The first AMERICAN BITTERN: 1 * The first FERRUGINOUS HAWK: 1 * The first PACIFIC WREN: 1 (see below :) ** * The most SHARP-SHINNED HAWK: 8 (6 in 2008) * The most NORTHERN HARRIER: 98 (93 in 2007) * The most SHORT-EARED OWL: 5 (4 in 1984) * The most GREAT HORNED OWL: 16 (13 in 2006) * The most COMMON RAVEN: 242 (222 in 2007) * The most AMERICAN PIPIT: 16 (1 in 1981) * The most YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER: 4 (3 in 1993) * The most SPOTTED TOWHEE: 3 (2 in 1976) * The most LINCOLN?S SPARROW: 3 (2 in 2007) * The most AMERICAN GOLDFINCH: 400 (316 in 2003) * Tied the most PIED-BILLED GREBE: 2 (2 in 1997) * Tied the most NORTHERN GOSHAWK (2 in 1984) * Tied the most PILEATED WOODPECKER: 2 (2 in 1995) * Tied the most SNOW BUNTING: 1 (1 in 2007) Other good birds (observations out of 35 years): * 3 REDHEAD observed 13 years * 2 PIED-BILLED GREBE observed 5 years * 2 NORTHERN GOSHAWK observed 8 years * 2 VIRGINIA RAIL observed 10 years * 5 SHORT-EARED OWL observed 10 years * 2 WESTERN SCREECH-OWL observed 11 years * 1 NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL observed 14 years * 2 PILEATED WOODPECKER observed 6 years * 2 CLARK?S NUTCRACKER observed 6 years * 3 PYGMY NUTHATCH observed 3 years * 1 PACIFIC WREN (WINTER WREN was observed 10 years)** * 16 AMERICAN PIPIT observed 2 years * 4 YELLOW-RMPED WARBLER observed 3 years * 3 SPOTTED TOWHEE observed 12 years * 3 LINCOLN?S SPARROW observed 4 years * 1 SNOW BUNTING observed 2 years * 4 BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD observed 5 years Most numerous species: * 2,642 MALLARDS * 1,814 EUROPEAN STARLING * 1,122 CALIFORNIA QUAIL * 843 DARK-EYED JUNCO * 581 HOUSE SPARROW * 427 ROCK PIGEON * 400 AMERICAN GOLDFINCH Count week birds included: 6 TUNDRA SWAN ( 2 Tundra Swan, 4 Bewick?s Tundra Swan), 6 BUFFLEHEAD, 1 HOODED MERGANSER, 2 AMERICAN COOT, 1 RING-BILLED GULL, 1 BLUE JAY, 2 WESTERN MEADOWLARK, 2 EVENING GROSBEAK and a putative male BARROW?S x COMMON GOLDENEYE hybrid. Biggest misses included (observations out of 35 years): AMERICAN COOT had been observed 26 years, BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS had been observed 22 years, CEDAR WAXWINGS had been observed 23 years & WESTERN MEADOWLARK had been observed 26 years. Total number of species: 87 Total number of individuals: 11,529 The 2011 Union County CBC is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, December 31st. Good Birding in 2011! - Trent Bray, Union County Christmas Bird Count Compiler The Bobolink - Linking Birders & Birds 1102 Washington Ave. La Grande, OR 97850 (541) 963 - 2888 avitours at aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fabflockfinder at gmail.com Sun Jan 9 09:51:47 2011 From: fabflockfinder at gmail.com (Elias Elias) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 07:51:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Lewis' Woodpecker--Yamhill County In-Reply-To: <1B41679BCC3F43D388E0CE0AB14AA80A@ownerPC> References: <1B41679BCC3F43D388E0CE0AB14AA80A@ownerPC> Message-ID: <4B78E737-5CBE-42D9-A033-65EB6AB6B075@gmail.com> Celia Cage and I successfully chased this bird at around 1100 on Saturday 1/8/11. Directions were excellent. (45.22446, -123.05334 for those GPS inclined) The beautiful bird, which was a lifer for Celia, spent a majority of the time we were there shuttling acorns around. We only had it in our sights for a minority of our time there but were able to get good looks none-the-less. It was easy to pick out from the also-shuttling-acorn Steller's Jays. Elias Arcata CA Walkie talkie 707-633-8833 On Jan 5, 2011, at 23:15, "Don Albright" wrote: > For anyone wanting to add a LEWIS' WOODPECKER to their 2011 Yamhill County list, there's still one hanging out at my mom's place east of Dayton. The bird has been present reliably at the location since October 18, 2010. > > Directions to the site: Take Highway 221 (Wallace Road) south out of Dayton. On the south edge of Dayton, as the road is climbing a hill, take Neck Road to the left. One mile down Neck Road there is a wholesale nursery with a group of greenhouses on the left side of the road. This is my mom's place. There is a gravel parking area alongside the road in front of the greenhouses. Feel free to stop here. The Lewis' Woodpecker spends most of its time atop one of the two power poles near the road here--one power pole is across the road from the greenhouses, and the other is just a few feet down the driveway from the road. The woodpecker is also occasionally in the English walnut tree next to the road by the parking area, or atop one of the nearby Douglas-firs. > > On two occasions in November, I saw two Lewis' Woodpeckers together at this location, but since then I've only seen the one. > > Don Albright > Newberg, Oregon > donalbri at teleport.com > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From joel.geier at peak.org Sun Jan 9 10:53:03 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 08:53:03 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Regional lists and field notes Message-ID: <1294591983.3816.110.camel@clearwater1> Just to address Dave Irons' concern: > When we fragment the online reporting of birds (rare or otherwise) we > increase the workload for those who endeavor to compile field notes > and capture the bigger picture context of what is going on statewide. The original reason for the MidValley list was in part to support local field notes, since the "copy all on a long list of e-mails" approach was getting unmanageable for me as the local field notes compiler. Having this local list has actually increased the accuracy of local field notes, since it was easy to miss reports of interest such as these: > When you find a rare bird, or a significant local nesting record, or > turn up a record early or late migrant, ... among the intractable mess on OBOL. I've since handed off that chore, but the Corvallis Audubon field notes compilers who've kept up the task rely on the MidValley list as the primary place for reports, and do an excellent job of highlighting exactly the kinds of reports that Dave worries about missing. I know that Chuck Gates does something similar with COBOL for East Cascades Audubon Society, and Range Bayer does a very thorough job for Yaquina Bay Birders and Naturalists' network, while Tom Winters keeps tally for the Grant County Bird Club's reporting network, etc. I suggest relying on those local Audubon and bird club sources for regional compilations. These local compilers all work hard at what they do, and it seems a pity if someone has to duplicate their effort. Dare I even mention birdnotes and eBird as places where birders can help out overworked regional compilers? Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis From forrest.english at gmail.com Sun Jan 9 11:20:32 2011 From: forrest.english at gmail.com (Forrest English) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 09:20:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Regional lists and field notes In-Reply-To: <1294591983.3816.110.camel@clearwater1> References: <1294591983.3816.110.camel@clearwater1> Message-ID: I'm gonna fall in the local list camp on this one. OBOL is interesting to see what is being seen statewide (or more accurately, on the coast, in the Willamette Valley and on occasional forays to the eastside), but it really can't replace the local list. Augment sure, but no way does everyone want an entire states worth of bird lists e-mails (ok a few of you do, but yikes). Regional lists give a much finer grain, and seem to have an atmosphere more interested in less rare birds, but that still have a regional interest, or hell, events that folks just thought were neat. If I were just subscribed to OBOL, I'd never know what the heck was going on because almost no one from Jackson, Josephine or Klamath counties posts to OBOL (but they do to RV-Birds or KBBN). That said I've tried to convince our regional compiler to look at the eBird arrivals/departures pages as there is regularly information there that didn't get sent to the list, and often birds are several weeks before or after someone saw one and mentioned it to the list. Generally not very rare birds, but quite different dates none the less. I've not gotten any response on that one I'm afraid. Which is too bad, I find it much easier to scan a list sorted by date, species or location (my choice), than I imagine it must be to sort through mailing list posts for a month or longer period of messages. Searching it might be easier, except misspellings and other fun things enter the mix. Guess I'll keep trying. Anyway, I think that both state and local lists have their place, and yes they overlap, and that's fine. On Sun, Jan 9, 2011 at 8:53 AM, Joel Geier wrote: > Just to address Dave Irons' concern: > > > When we fragment the online reporting of birds (rare or otherwise) we > > increase the workload for those who endeavor to compile field notes > > and capture the bigger picture context of what is going on statewide. > > The original reason for the MidValley list was in part to support local > field notes, since the "copy all on a long list of e-mails" approach was > getting unmanageable for me as the local field notes compiler. > > Having this local list has actually increased the accuracy of local > field notes, since it was easy to miss reports of interest such as > these: > > > When you find a rare bird, or a significant local nesting record, or > > turn up a record early or late migrant, ... > > among the intractable mess on OBOL. I've since handed off that chore, > but the Corvallis Audubon field notes compilers who've kept up the task > rely on the MidValley list as the primary place for reports, and do an > excellent job of highlighting exactly the kinds of reports that Dave > worries about missing. I know that Chuck Gates does something similar > with COBOL for East Cascades Audubon Society, and Range Bayer does a very > thorough job for Yaquina Bay Birders and Naturalists' network, while > Tom Winters keeps tally for the Grant County Bird Club's reporting > network, etc. > > I suggest relying on those local Audubon and bird club sources for > regional compilations. These local compilers all work hard at what they > do, and it seems a pity if someone has to duplicate their effort. > > Dare I even mention birdnotes and eBird as places where birders can help > out overworked regional compilers? > > Good birding, > Joel > > -- > Joel Geier > Camp Adair area north of Corvallis > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > -- Forrest English -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From celata at pacifier.com Sun Jan 9 11:23:46 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 09:23:46 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] change, control issues and the value of rare stuff Message-ID: <4D29EF22.5020305@pacifier.com> Every year in late December, I get together with members of my family and we fight about geo-politics, belief-systems and dimly remembered transgressions of the past, then we exchange presents and go shopping. Some call it Christmas, others Festivus. I call it celebrating diversity. There's something about the short-days of the winter solstice that bring out the grumpy old man in many of us. Last January, I volunteered to set up a local list called Swalalahos to facilitate networking among local naturalist in the lower Columbia Region. Not because there are no larger list servers. Not because I was dis-satisfied or disgruntled about anything. I set it up, because the technology exists and I could. It has swelled to 28 members,though if you check you'll see 29 because one member has joined twice under two different addresses and yes, I told him he could put both addresses under one account, but sometimes it's easier to accept someone's eccentricities than to try and change them. If you check the membership against the email postings, only about 25% of the folks who've signed up ever post stuff. It's easy for those of us who are serial posters to say, "just post something, we don't bite." The reality is (except to small children and dogs), I'm a scary person. I don't mean to be scary. I don't think of myself as scary. People who know me well often say, "yeah, he seemed scary at first, but now..." And I hang out with other folks who are kind of scary and we have scary discussions about stuff we think is important. Sometimes we sound angry while we discuss stuff. Sometimes we are angry. It's intimidating. I do not blame folks for wanting to find a place where they can get away and have a quiet chat about chickadees and goldfinches. And I also understand the desire to want to say, "I saw an Ash-throated Flycatcher" without the third degree from some scary, faceless guy in Astoria. I share my esteemed colleague Mr. Irons' deep and abiding interest in avian distributional biology. My interest in tracking the this stuff is important to me, and sometimes I can get caught up in the moment and forget that there are other ways of seeing this stuff. As much as I might really want to know, the world will not end if a stray _Myiarchus_ fails to chirp in front of a person with the knowledge and skill necessary to tell that flycatcher what it is... I wish that folks could over-come their shyness about sharing. I also wish my sister would lighten up about her issues. I accept that neither is likely happen, nor should it have to. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From dnkmunson at gmail.com Sun Jan 9 12:06:38 2011 From: dnkmunson at gmail.com (Don & Karen Munson) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 10:06:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Brookings area pelicans Message-ID: Three BROWN PELICANS southbound were observed from Lone Ranch SP, north of Brookings, yesterday. Don Munson Brookings, Curry County -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From d_villa at mail.com Sun Jan 9 12:29:20 2011 From: d_villa at mail.com (d_villa at mail.com) Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 13:29:20 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Brookings area pelicans In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8CD7E4243D4BA46-53C-40289@web-mmc-d04.sysops.aol.com> We had two southbound here in Lincoln City yesterday and Range reported six at Newport -- a smallish southward movement of some stragglers hoping to escape the latest upcoming freezing weather? dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast - A rainy day walk around the bay - birds were undaunted! -----Original Message----- From: Don & Karen Munson To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Sun, Jan 9, 2011 10:06 am Subject: [OBOL] Brookings area pelicans Three BROWN PELICANS southbound were observed from Lone Ranch SP, north of Brookings, yesterday. Don Munson Brookings, Curry County _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Sun Jan 9 13:18:18 2011 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 11:18:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] The Curmudgeon on lists, crustiness and field notes (long) Message-ID: The Curmudgeon thinks the discussion of bird-related lists and their purposes is quite useful and would like to encourage it to continue for at least a modest period. I once told Portland birder John Crowell, a very good observer and former field notes editor for American Birds, that he was getting old and crusty. He responded by saying "And the older I get the crustier I get." It's true, I have a witness, Bill Thackaberry was there at the time, at Malheur HQ maybe five years ago. Using John as our baseline, we can establish a Birder Crustiness Scale (the BCS ranking) containing 100 centicrowells. This will fix John forever in Oregon birding history and provide us with a scale upon which to rank individuals. Rankings are so very important, you know--just see the listing results we publish every year. We need someone with the right technical skills and a reputation for the utmost probity (Jeff Harding, busy this week?) to volunteer to gather the votes, as of course we can't rank ourselves, at least not without additional votes for a reality check. Any Oregon birder can assign a crustiness score (1 the lowest, 100 the highest) in centicrowells to any other Oregon birder. Results to be published in, er, a venue yet to be named after consultation with legal counsel. This leads (really) directly to the role and utility of e-mail lists. Back when John Crowell and Harry Nehls were the regional editors for American Birds field notes (the late 1960s and 1970s), whoever edited field notes for AB got them because observers wrote them up on paper each season and mailed them to the editors. Maybe two or three items came in by phone, but the bulk of the material was typed or handwritten (really) and mailed in a paper envelope bearing a postage stamp. Yup. For the February, 1976 issue, covering fall, 1975, there were 100 observers cited for western Oregon, western Washington and western BC. Of these, maybe 30 were from western Oregon. Eastern Oregon was in a different region but had few observers. I see about 15 familiar names there, but some also reported from the west side, so we had at most forty people in all of Oregon reporting birds for purposes of published field notes outside their own local area. There were hundreds of people looking at birds locally all the time, but only 40 or so gathered their data and provided it to AB. Local newsletters published more, and a lot of information simply melted away, unpublished. What were these published field notes in American Birds for? Their primary purpose was to provide an overview of changes in bird distribution and abundance in a particular region over time. When aggregated, each issue of American Birds did this for all of the U.S. and Canada. As North American Birds, it still does this, with the addition of Mexico, the Caribbean and some seepage in Middle America. This function can only be done by people with considerable knowledge of the birds of their region, and it requires access to enough data from which to paint an accurate picture. Today, no one will write up seasonal reports of their field notes. Once they post to OBOL or their local list online, they are done. We now have far more birders in Oregon, many of whom are diligent and obtain all sorts of useful data, but von Bredow's cavalry, to bow to Joel's preference for European history, couldn't get forty Oregon observers to write up and submit their field notes four times a year to the NAB regional editor. Ain't gonna happen. If we assume that there is still value in the publishing of field notes with commentary by experienced editors (I do), we need to recognize that the editor's task is now vastly more complex and daunting than it was even fifteen years ago. Oregon bird sightings are now resident on OBOL, several large regional e-mail lists (one of which contains records from two other states), eBird, BirdNotes and a few large local newsletters. The volume is enormous, there is overlap, there is wide variation in screening practices and there are, for unusual records, often no details at all, leaving the volunteer editor, if I may speak for His Most Crusty, the choice of ignoring the report, tracking down more information item by item or just guessing whether it ought to be included naked. For this reason, those of us who think there is value in assembling and publishing field notes with some commentary are concerned about the trend of posting bird information SOLELY to local lists. We need to make the editor's job easier, not harder. Copy OBOL on your reports. That will help. Take a moment to check a basic reference on Oregon birds to find out the status of a bird as you decide where to post it. That will help, too. As editor of Oregon Birds, I have the task of encouraging a large number of local writers to generate an annual summary of highlights from their regions. The question of whether there needs to be this "middle" level of something resembling field notes is a valid one, and the OFO board has discussed it several times. For now, we have cut back considerably on field notes, believing that NAB will include much that is useful and that much else can be found in eBird and Birdnotes by people doing research. For now, we offer annual illustrated highlights for the enjoyment of our members, partly because the other venues rarely include images. If you renew or join OFO by February, you'll get the glorious full-color 2010 highlights. http://www.oregonbirds.org/ Best wishes for a great winter birding season. -- Alan Contreras Preliminary BCS of 72 centicrowells EUGENE, OREGON acontrer at mindspring.com Oregonreview.blogspot.com From daheyerly at yahoo.com Sun Jan 9 13:42:38 2011 From: daheyerly at yahoo.com (Dan Heyerly) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 11:42:38 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] RBA: EASTERN PHOEBE - Brookings Message-ID: <144227.62660.qm@web44806.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Russ Namitz just called and asked me to post this. Location? Winchuck River mouth in front of the blue house. Dan Heyerly Sent from my iPhone From daheyerly at yahoo.com Sun Jan 9 15:38:53 2011 From: daheyerly at yahoo.com (Dan Heyerly) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 13:38:53 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Late report - NOT a chaseable bird anyway Message-ID: <430668.41329.qm@web44807.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Tree Swallow, also not a rare bird, Douglas County, a few miles upstream from Reedsport on Friday, Dec. 31, 2010. One bird hawking insects over the Umpqua River seen by Anne. Sent from my iPhone From dhewitt37 at gmail.com Sun Jan 9 16:13:10 2011 From: dhewitt37 at gmail.com (David Hewitt) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 14:13:10 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Regional list-serves Message-ID: I can't resist chiming in... Joel lost me a bit with the historical Europe stuff, but I agree completely with his last points. There is a very real need for regional lists, like ours in the Klamath Basin, in part for what they do to build the regional birding community. I'd bet 80% or more of our members have little to no interest in OBOL, but they are perfectly happy members of (if not regular contributors to) the Klamath Basin list. Our list is expressly NOT only about bird sightings, and trust me there is a bunch of postings that no one on OBOL but cross-participants care about. Doesn't mean it isn't useful and I think our regional community is perhaps stronger now than ever, in part because of the list. As for the rare/interesting bird sightings on regional lists, most birders do not see their hobby as a job, and they don't work for regional editors. It is not part of their hobby to "have to" report stuff anywhere, let alone have to learn what the appropriate outlet is before they grab the binoculars, go in the field, and risk seeing something that someone in the "elite" hundreds of miles away will want to know about. I know that state and regional editors like Alan, Dave, and Kevin (Klamath) do an incredible job and don't get paid for it (or even properly rewarded in other ways). But doing that "job" is a choice, and if it means hard work without compensation, it must be worth the personal gains. Like other things we all do in similar situations outside of birding. One point here is that birding and bird reporting are changing with technology, as Alan has described. So bird report editing has to adapt as well. Editors have to be willing to spend more time browsing information on the internet if they want to be sure to include every single "important" sighting. The answer is definitely NOT to squash regional lists in favor of statewide ones. Things are too fragmented now, for some unquestionably good reasons, to ever think that shepherding things back to statewide lists will keep all the sheep in the fold enough to serve that purpose. Fortunately, there are excellent tools working for the editors, just as some tools are viewed as working against them. Sialia, or The Birding Lists Digest, is certainly one such tool. I signed our list up to it as soon as I heard about it. The other is eBird [Joel and I part ways a bit here ;) ]. We and the birds would all be better off if we urged more complete reporting to eBird and joined the cause of reviewing and checking the data. Although reporting to eBird is to some extent "have to" work referred to above, there is also plenty of benefit to the user. People like eBird because they can use it to help them and they can submit what they like without any fear. Certainly some of their blunders get flagged in review, but then they just hear from one nice and helpful person about it and at least the data point gets attention it deserves. For regional or statewide sightings editors, looking at records from a database in a user-friendly way is far far better than skimming/searching text in listservs (whose archives occasionally get vaporized; sh*t happens). The data quality filtering in eBird is a job well-suited for these editors, and they'd hear about sightings ASAP. Like Joel, I do my part to help out the editors and listers by watching for and forwarding stuff of statewide interest in the Klamath Basin that is reported to our list (I think of it as part of my "job"). I also encourage our members to do so in our guidelines (#1 here: https://sites.google.com/site/klamathbasinbirdnews/home/guidelines-for-kbbn-participation), but I don't expect them to "have to". OBOL is a lot to digest, even in digest format. Personally, I just skim the headlines and see if there is anything of interest. Being in the Basin, there just isn't enough of interest on OBOL to make the participation worth the effort beyond that, except of course when a Ruby-throated Hummingbird shows up at your feeder. Sincerely, Dave Hewitt Klamath Falls Owner and Co-manager, Klamath Basin Bird News (over 100 strong and growing) Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2011 19:54:27 -0800 From: Joel Geier To: Oregon Birders OnLine Subject: [OBOL] Regional list-serves, Trent Bray, Jim & Rita Coleman, Kirtland's Warblers, and Anna's Hummingbirds in La Grande Message-ID: <1294545267.2100.125.camel at clearwater1> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Hi Jay & all, First off, I was happy to encounter Oregon birders' names in a couple of media outlets today. First, the Corvallis Gazette-Times carried an article about Anna's Hummingbirds in La Grande, featuring Trent Bray who as some of us recall was once a Corvallis birder. Second, while running errands in Corvallis today, I tuned into National Public Radio and heard a Radio Lab episode that included a segment about the recovery of Kirtland's Warblers in Michigan -- featuring Oregon birders Jim & Rita Coleman (hope I remembered the names right). It also carried some commentary on the human costs which are sobering. Not so happily, the same Radio Lab episode included another segment about the Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana, a copper/molybdenum mine which is mostly known these days for being deadly to Snow Goose flocks that happen to land in its reddish, sulphuric-acidic waters full of dissolved metals. Something that I feel a unique sense of guilt for, since the name "Berkeley Pit" comes from my alma mater, and I actually visited the pit with a U.C. Berkeley mining engineering field trip in 1982, right around the time that they turned the pumps off and allowed it to start filling with groundwater which became acidic due to interactions with the exposed rock surfaces, and then dissolved trace metals from the country rock to make for a doubly toxic soup. But to come back around to Jay's comments on local/regional list-serves: Personally I think these serve a vital function that OBOL doesn't serve very well, anymore. A local/regional list-serv provides a more welcoming environment for hundreds of birders who would never consider posting to OBOL. Today's flare-up of emotions on the Mid-Valley list was a really rare event, and that in itself serves to illustrate the difference. These local list-servs are ordinarily a safe place for less-than-elite birders to let us know what they've found. I don't think that "Balkanization" of the Oregon birding scene is such a bad idea. That's speaking as the grandson of a World War One, Austro-Hungarian Empire Army veteran who knows a bit about literal "Balkanization." I think Balkanization gets a worse rap than it deserves, and the separate nations of Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and whatever became of Montenegro are far better off under their respective current regimes, than when my ancestors in imperial Vienna were trying to keep them in order. I can't help but think back to 1985, when I took a train ride across Austria and, with my very limited knowledge of German, managed to stir up an intergenerational debate among my compartment mates, some of whom still regarded the Lusitania incident as a bogus plot (and who's around today to to say that it wasn't?). Totally irrelevant to the topic here, but I can't miss repeating an unforgettable question that was posed to me on that train by a demure 11-year-old-Austrian girl: "Stimmt es, da? alle Amerikanischer sind dick?" You don't want to hear my answer. But back on topic, I foresee discussions on high-speed trains in Oregon 20 years from now, when long-time OBOL adherents will complain about the rise of the neo-Balkan provinces of La Grande, Corvallis, and Portland. IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (hope that's enough exclamation points to get everyone's attention) Rare bird reports will filter out. Maybe folks in Beaverton or Sandy will miss a few due to delays in reporting, but they probably would have missed them anyway, since birds do move on when they feel like it. Local birders might screw up one or two calls where statewide experts could have steered them better, but SO WHAT???? That's just the nature of birding, folks. It's not science and it's not even religion, even if it sometimes feels like the latter. So please take it in stride. Bottom line, a statewide list only serves the interests of a few [----] statewide listers. I've purposely left out the adjectives that spring most readily to mind, but I'll admit they're not complimentary. Most of us are only concerned with birds that we can see in our own neighborhoods, or on a short drive, and/or within our own bioregion. Statewide listers always have the option of subscribing to as many lists as they like. For my part, I'll try to forward on reports that seem likely to be of interest to birders from outside the mid-Willamette Valley. But frankly, I don't expect that 95% of you statewide are going to be interested in 95% of our local sightings, and a small fraction of you will even complain about such mundane reports. Let's appreciate local list-servs for what they do, which is to expand the observer network far beyond what OBOL provides. Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis From prigge1 at mindspring.com Sun Jan 9 16:58:35 2011 From: prigge1 at mindspring.com (Allen Prigge) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 14:58:35 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Bonaparte's Gulls (2) Message-ID: <55BCCFF02A094C888DE72AF9309BBC36@alrup5ujaxzzmc> Thank you Dan Heyerly for your late posting about Tree Swallows. It encourages me to note that on January 2 (Eugene CBC Count Day) Bill Hunter and I found two Bonaparte's Gulls in a puddle along Franklin Rd., Lane County. They probably are harder to come by at this time of year than Tree Swallows. Unfortunately, Frankling Rd. is not in the Eugene Count Circle. I have no comments re regional list serves. AAP __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5772 (20110109) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From n7ts at comcast.net Sun Jan 9 17:01:21 2011 From: n7ts at comcast.net (Tim Sellers) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 15:01:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Clackamas County Red Shouldered Hawk Message-ID: <9348BBC95A6047EAAB173233A893B0DE@workstation> Al Ahlgrim and I located a Red Shouldered Hawk west of Canby this morning in the Barlow area on Anderson Road. Tim Sellers Gladstone, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From drheath82 at frontier.com Sun Jan 9 17:11:19 2011 From: drheath82 at frontier.com (David Heath) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 15:11:19 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] New condo bird Message-ID: <002001cbb052$87107280$95315780$@com> Condo bird #72 is a Golden-crowned Kinglet. Probably actually a couple of them, but only got good looks at one. Not rare, but a nice find on a chilly day. David Cedar Mill, WashCo -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From whoffman at peak.org Sun Jan 9 17:13:22 2011 From: whoffman at peak.org (Wayne Hoffman) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 15:13:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Local RBA - hybrid Goldeneye in Yaquina Bay Message-ID: Hi - A drake Common X Barrow's Goldeneye was feeding near the base of the Yaquina Bay South Jetty today, Jan 9. It was just north of the red gate that sometimes closes the jetty road at night. One female closely associated with it, and another nearby appeared typical Common Goldeneyes, although I do not know that I would easily recognize a female hybrid. The drake had a teardrop-shaped white facial spot, not as tall as a Barrow's' crescent, and the amount ofwhite on the folded wing was intermediate - more than typical for Barrow's, less than normal for Common. Several details of plumage were different from the one that spent a few weeks on Yaquina Bay in Dec. 2009-Jan. 2010, so I suspect this is a different bird. The white teardrop is a little smaller and a little different in shape, and the amount and distribution of white on the wing coverts is a little different. On the other hand, that bird should have replaced all its feathers at least once since than, so who knows? If this bird moves over to the Port Docks where last winter's bird mainly hung out, I may re-assess. Wayne -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From whoffman at peak.org Sun Jan 9 17:42:45 2011 From: whoffman at peak.org (Wayne Hoffman) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 15:42:45 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Lincoln Co.: Beaver Creek Swan and Cliff & a probable Barn Swallow References: <7C4CE22C-B58C-49CB-A755-046B825070E5@mindspring.com> Message-ID: <5809528164C54C829FB6DB56320DF573@D48XBZ51> Hi - I really think we need to take a hard look at the swallows-in-winter phenomenon in depth, and from a whole northwest perspective. This is not just Oregon - it is happening in western Washington too. How about northern California? - I do not know what's going on there. Cliff Swallows have been considered the species with the most date-specific migration (although the monks at Capistrano are notorious for creative interpretation of arrival dates). They are much closer relatives of Barn Swallows than of Tree Swallows, and I suspect the same causes apply to their winter appearances. The other remarkable thing this winter is the appearance of Violet-green Swallow reports. I do not recall them for previous winters - have I just missed them? They are more closely related to Tree Swallows but normally winter a lot farther south. If someone could assemble all the winter reports from the OBOL archives and Tweeters archives, and see whether there are equivalent archives in California, maybe we could learn something from the patterns. My sense is that there is mostly a gap between early Nov. and late Dec. with few or no reports, and then a spate starting the last week of Dec. and extending 2-3 weeks into Jan. I think, but have not checked the data, that westside CBCs have a higher chance of getting swallows the later they are in the count period. So, I think this is an early returns phenomenon, not a lingerer phenomenon. I suspect enough sightings have accumulated by now, that someone could try looking for associations with particular weather patterns - pineapple expresses, etc. It may be more fruitful to try to correlate our swallow reports with weather events in NW Mexico than with weather here. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alan Contreras" To: "Range Bayer" Cc: "Lincoln Co. Birding & Nature Observing" ; "Oregon Birders OnLine" Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2011 1:50 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Lincoln Co.: Beaver Creek Swan and Cliff & a probable Barn Swallow > I'm astonished at the recent Cliff Swallow reports-at least three separate > ones, i think. Why are they here? Did the ten days of pineapple express > and related northward flow in California simply blow them here? Are they > related to other odd swallow events, such as the wintering flock of tree > swallows in the Coquille Valley? > > Alan Contreras > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jan 8, 2011, at 9:45 PM, Range Bayer wrote: > >> Hi, >> >> Laimons Osis reports that he today (Jan. 8) scanned North Beaver >> Creek with his scope and "saw three Cliff Swallows and a probable Barn >> Swallow. The 3 Cliff Swallows had landed in a snag so I got good >> scope views. The white forehead was obvious." >> >> The swan that may be a Tundra was also present today but had >> moved from Seal Rocks Stables (wet pasture at about Milepost 1.6 on >> the west side of South Beaver Creek Road) to near the abandoned >> Grange Hall area along North Beaver Creek in response to hunters. >> -- >> Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OBOL mailing list >> OBOL at oregonbirds.org >> http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > From khanhbatran at hotmail.com Sun Jan 9 17:56:06 2011 From: khanhbatran at hotmail.com (khanh tran) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 23:56:06 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Updated VIDEOS: Northern Pygmy Owl, Snow Buntings, and Gray Partridge by ktbirding.com Message-ID: Greetings all! Here are a few more updated videos.... Please make sure to watch in 720p or higher. Allow videos (up to 15 seconds) for processing depending on computer speed. Hope you enjoy! Khanh Tran www.ktbirding.com *************Featured Videos****************** NORTHERN PYGMY OWL giving me the stink eye: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTuuS3EHftI SNOW BUNTING flock landing and feeding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6fg4nsWyWk Closer view of flock hopping and feeding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVrU6UTw5Xk GRAY PARTRIDGE walking in snow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8ttiRkXEfc For those who missed the previously uploaded ones earlier in the week: NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWFAV9DCjWM BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aVVRTz10IM From puma at smt-net.com Sun Jan 9 18:07:43 2011 From: puma at smt-net.com (Pat Waldron) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 16:07:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] The Curmudgeon on lists, crustiness and field notes (long) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <29FB0BAD-6613-40B0-8275-F4E583637B37@smt-net.com> Dear Folks, I would like to give a special THANKS to HARRY NEHLS, who analyzes OBOL about every week, and summarizes RBA for all of Oregon, and also states what area the rare birds are located. This is valuable information, and his notes are "free", and UN-crusty. I would hope that folks who make lists, keep lists, save his notes yearly for immigration and migration changes. HARRY does a great service to all in Oregon. Pat Waldron East of Scio On Jan 9, 2011, at 11:18 AM, Alan Contreras wrote: > The Curmudgeon thinks the discussion of bird-related lists and their > purposes is quite useful and would like to encourage it to continue > for at > least a modest period. > > I once told Portland birder John Crowell, a very good observer and > former > field notes editor for American Birds, that he was getting old and > crusty. > He responded by saying "And the older I get the crustier I get." > It's true, > I have a witness, Bill Thackaberry was there at the time, at > Malheur HQ > maybe five years ago. > > Using John as our baseline, we can establish a Birder Crustiness > Scale (the > BCS ranking) containing 100 centicrowells. This will fix John > forever in > Oregon birding history and provide us with a scale upon which to rank > individuals. Rankings are so very important, you know--just see > the listing > results we publish every year. > > We need someone with the right technical skills and a reputation > for the > utmost probity (Jeff Harding, busy this week?) to volunteer to > gather the > votes, as of course we can't rank ourselves, at least not without > additional > votes for a reality check. Any Oregon birder can assign a > crustiness score > (1 the lowest, 100 the highest) in centicrowells to any other > Oregon birder. > Results to be published in, er, a venue yet to be named after > consultation > with legal counsel. > > This leads (really) directly to the role and utility of e-mail > lists. Back > when John Crowell and Harry Nehls were the regional editors for > American > Birds field notes (the late 1960s and 1970s), whoever edited field > notes for > AB got them because observers wrote them up on paper each season > and mailed > them to the editors. Maybe two or three items came in by phone, > but the > bulk of the material was typed or handwritten (really) and mailed > in a paper > envelope bearing a postage stamp. Yup. > > For the February, 1976 issue, covering fall, 1975, there were 100 > observers > cited for western Oregon, western Washington and western BC. Of > these, > maybe 30 were from western Oregon. Eastern Oregon was in a > different region > but had few observers. I see about 15 familiar names there, but > some also > reported from the west side, so we had at most forty people in all > of Oregon > reporting birds for purposes of published field notes outside their > own > local area. There were hundreds of people looking at birds locally > all the > time, but only 40 or so gathered their data and provided it to AB. > Local > newsletters published more, and a lot of information simply melted > away, > unpublished. > > What were these published field notes in American Birds for? Their > primary > purpose was to provide an overview of changes in bird distribution and > abundance in a particular region over time. When aggregated, each > issue of > American Birds did this for all of the U.S. and Canada. > > As North American Birds, it still does this, with the addition of > Mexico, > the Caribbean and some seepage in Middle America. This function > can only be > done by people with considerable knowledge of the birds of their > region, and > it requires access to enough data from which to paint an accurate > picture. > > Today, no one will write up seasonal reports of their field notes. > Once they > post to OBOL or their local list online, they are done. We now have > far more > birders in Oregon, many of whom are diligent and obtain all sorts > of useful > data, but von Bredow's cavalry, to bow to Joel's preference for > European > history, couldn't get forty Oregon observers to write up and submit > their > field notes four times a year to the NAB regional editor. Ain't gonna > happen. > > If we assume that there is still value in the publishing of field > notes with > commentary by experienced editors (I do), we need to recognize that > the > editor's task is now vastly more complex and daunting than it was even > fifteen years ago. Oregon bird sightings are now resident on OBOL, > several > large regional e-mail lists (one of which contains records from two > other > states), eBird, BirdNotes and a few large local newsletters. > > The volume is enormous, there is overlap, there is wide variation in > screening practices and there are, for unusual records, often no > details at > all, leaving the volunteer editor, if I may speak for His Most > Crusty, the > choice of ignoring the report, tracking down more information item > by item > or just guessing whether it ought to be included naked. > > For this reason, those of us who think there is value in assembling > and > publishing field notes with some commentary are concerned about the > trend of > posting bird information SOLELY to local lists. We need to make the > editor's > job easier, not harder. Copy OBOL on your reports. That will help. > Take a > moment to check a basic reference on Oregon birds to find out the > status of > a bird as you decide where to post it. That will help, too. > > As editor of Oregon Birds, I have the task of encouraging a large > number of > local writers to generate an annual summary of highlights from their > regions. The question of whether there needs to be this "middle" > level of > something resembling field notes is a valid one, and the OFO board has > discussed it several times. > > For now, we have cut back considerably on field notes, believing > that NAB > will include much that is useful and that much else can be found in > eBird > and Birdnotes by people doing research. For now, we offer annual > illustrated highlights for the enjoyment of our members, partly > because the > other venues rarely include images. > > If you renew or join OFO by February, you'll get the glorious full- > color > 2010 highlights. > > http://www.oregonbirds.org/ > > Best wishes for a great winter birding season. > > > -- > Alan Contreras > Preliminary BCS of 72 centicrowells > > EUGENE, OREGON > acontrer at mindspring.com > > Oregonreview.blogspot.com > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From gnorgren at earthlink.net Sun Jan 9 18:17:45 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 16:17:45 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Winter Swallows Message-ID: <700F0F3A-3196-4A9E-A579-6E52FC11928C@earthlink.net> I recall Tree Swallows on the Sauvie Island CBC about 1973. The 2006 Coos Bay CBC got a single Tree Swallow, but more were seen in the neighborhood a few days earlier, and also at Fern Ridge. This was in the wake of a powerful weather system that took electric power out of all of Tillamook County. The winds were very warm and out of the south or south-southwest in nw Oregon. The Coos Bay CBC was the first Sunday of the count period that year. I recall similar spikes in Tree Swallow reports in December during the past half decade, probably all after really big cyclonic disturbances. But the Tree Swallows were gone in short order. The present situation involves a broader range of dates. The Cliff Swallows are another matter. I am assuming Tree Swallows are present in central California in small numbers in winter, but Cliff Swallows are not. On two occasions I found Tree Swallows at a pond near Roy (Washington County) in mid-February, only to have them disappear for weeks after. On one occasion very hard frost followed the temporary presence of five birds. It seems they are inclined to scout the limits of available food, and retreat if need be. This same species is hard to find after early July in the same areas, while Barn and Violet-green Swallows grow in numbers until late September or early October. I recall Wayne Weber finding a species of swallow other than Tree on the Great Backyard Bird Count, perhaps last year. That was at the far north end of Puget Sound. While last year saw very low temperatures in early December, January was the warmest in Seattle since records began about 120 years ago, averaging four or five degrees Fahrenheit above the norm. Lars Norgren From range.bayer at gmail.com Sun Jan 9 18:34:30 2011 From: range.bayer at gmail.com (Range Bayer) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 16:34:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Lincoln Co.: Beaver Creek swan on Jan. 9--Tundra Swan Message-ID: Hi, The identity of the swan at Beaver Creek reported by Laimons Osis has been in question. It has moved between South and North Beaver Creek the past few days. Wayne Hoffman got a good look at it today and wrote the following: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Wayne Hoffman Date: Sun, Jan 9, 2011 at 3:18 PM Subject: Re: Seal Rock Stables at South Beaver Creek swan on Jan. 7 Hi ?- I finally caught up with this swan today at [Seal Rock Stables along South Beaver Creek Road, which is a flooded pasture at about Milepost 1.6 on the west side of South Beaver Creek Road], and scoped it and took a bunch of photos. ?It is a Tundra Swan, but quite intermediate in some characters. First, it does have yellow spots in front of its eyes, on both sides, but they are extremely small - I think the smallest I have ever seen. Second, the shape of the edge of the feathering on the sides of the bill is kind of funky, but more like Tundra than Trumpeter. ?Third, the forehead feathering does not come to a point as it should in Trumpeter. ?And finally, as swans go, this bird does not look exceptionally big or long-bodied. Wayne ===================== Thanks Wayne! Range Bayer, Newport From celata at pacifier.com Sun Jan 9 18:39:56 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 16:39:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] When is a Fox Sparrow not a Fox Sparrow? Message-ID: <4D2A555C.3090805@pacifier.com> http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/18205/ -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From celata at pacifier.com Sun Jan 9 18:57:18 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 16:57:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Weekend photo dump Message-ID: <4D2A596E.7090809@pacifier.com> Including: "Eastern-form" Song Sparrow, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Townsend's Warbler http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbalame/ -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From richarmstrong at comcast.net Sun Jan 9 18:58:51 2011 From: richarmstrong at comcast.net (rich armstrong) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 16:58:51 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Corvallis rarities References: <73E20465F9D34B208FA6FBF9DC59BF6C@armstrong> <0B655A8EF8E948DEA8935365A7548696@armstrong> Message-ID: <8C0F521FAD86446D876E04CD30D2D1C1@armstrong> just in case some obolites are interested this weekend corvallis has 1. an immature BULLOCK'S ORIOLES in north corvallis seen both weekend days - pictures were taken 2. a CASSIN'S VIREO - pictures taken 3. PRAIRIE FALCON in linn county near peoria 4. NORTHERN SHRIKE in linn near peoria 5. YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER continues at e e wilson in usual tree 6. SWAMP SPARROW (have been as many as 4) at e e wilson 7. the ash-throated flycatcher has not been seen saturday or sunday despite people looking i will try to post out of season rarities to obol (there are usually nowhere near this many) as well as always posting to midvalley listserve. Rich Armstrong 541-753-1978 ----- Original Message ----- From: rich armstrong To: OBOL Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2011 12:42 PM Subject: [OBOL] Ash-Throated Flycatcher in S Corvallis 1. the presumed ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was seen 1st on 1/4 2. it was seen 1/5 but also missed by others later in the day. when i saw the bird it did not make a sound at all. 3. it was seen by quite a few on 1/6. nobody reported hearing the bird. 4. there are no reports positive or negative on 1/7 as far as i know. 5. today, i took the corvallis audubon field trip to the area from 8-845 and again from 1115-1145 with no success. there were others looking as well with no success. Rich Armstrong 541-753-1978 ----- Original Message ----- From: rich armstrong To: OBOL Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2011 4:04 PM Subject: [OBOL] Ash-Throated Flycatcher in S Corvallis 1. an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was reported in south corvallis yesterday - see below. 2. i saw the bird this morning and i was fairly confident it was ash-throated, but i am not a myiarchus expert. 3. doug robinson saw the bird later in morning and he also thinks it is ash-throated. 4. since this is not a rare bird for oregon, these posts went to the midvalley listserve, but in case others are interested, and especially since it is very rare for this time of the year, here it is for obol. 5. this is a couple miles south of downtown corvallis off 99w - go east on rivergreen to hathaway. Rich Armstrong 541-753-1978 ----- Original Message ----- From: rich armstrong To: birding at midvalleybirding.org Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2011 11:01 AM Subject: [birding] Ash-Throated Flycatcher in S Corvallis 1. amazingly after 2 hours of driving and walking around butterfield and rivergreen and shoreline, i found the ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER! 2. it was in the yard at 3184 hathaway and then flew behind the house and i didn't see in the next few minutes. 3. it is definitely a myiarchus flycatcher and certainly looked ash-throated to me. 4. nanette is out of state and has the camera, and i would be hopeless with a camera anyway. 5. thanks to nate & shannon & molly for finding and reporting. Rich Armstrong 541-753-1978 ----- Original Message ----- From: Molly Monroe To: birding at midvalleybirding.org Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2011 1:23 PM Subject: [birding] Ash-Throated Flycatcher in S Corvallis Some friends with a newborn passed this on today. Not sure if they're up for visitors but let me know if you'd like more details. They are on the west side of the Butterfield Wetlands near Willamette Landing so that may be a good place to look. We briefly had an Ash-throated Flycatcher in the yard in South town Corvallis. It came in for a few minutes and has moved down the road. If it hangs around in the neighborhood I will keep you posted. -Nate and Shannon Richardson _ ( '< / ) ) //"Endangered species are sensitive indicators of how we are treating the planet and we should be listening carefully to their message -------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ birding mailing list birding at midvalleybirding.org http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ birding mailing list birding at midvalleybirding.org http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sun Jan 9 19:42:01 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 01:42:01 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] FW: [birding] More pics of the Cassin's Vireo in Corvallis In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Greetings All, I just walked in the door after a day of birding on Sauvie Island and found this and other posts referencing a Cassin's Vireo found at or near Corvallis today. These posts went out to the Mid-Valley listserv. Nice photos of a definite Cassin's, these taken by Doug Robinson. Birds of Oregon: A General Reference lists just one winter record, but as I recall there have been a couple other reports over the years. Seems odd that this species isn't found more regularly during winter in Oregon since they are among the earliest spring migrants. In California Cassin's are rare in winter and based on the reports I see not a whole lot more regular than Blue-headed Vireo, which is also rare but annual in winter along the California coast. In my opinion, Doug's photos clearly eliminate Blue-headed. The gray on the head is not particularly dark and the contrast between the gray head and whitish throat is not crisp or conspicuous. The "Solitary" Vireo complex (Blue-headed, Cassin's, and Plumbeous) go through a complete (prebasic) molt in Fall and don't undergo much (if any) of a prealternate molt in Spring, thus their plumage is brightest in Fall. Cassin's generally look more worn and dull in Spring. A fun discovery. I always thought that Brookings was Oregon's "banana belt," but perhaps Corvallis deserves a look given that there has been an Ash-throated Flycatcher and a Cassin's Vireo there in the past week. Dave Irons Portland, OR > From: w.douglas.robinson at gmail.com > Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 14:56:16 -0800 > To: birding at midvalleybirding.org > Subject: [birding] More pics of the Cassin's Vireo in Corvallis > > Thanks to Lisa for sharing the sighting of the Cassin's Vireo. I was able to find it this morning in the sunshine and get more pictures. > > http://picasaweb.google.com/W.Douglas.Robinson/CassinSVireo# > > Have fun! > Doug > _______________________________________________ > birding mailing list > birding at midvalleybirding.org > http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Sun Jan 9 19:46:58 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 17:46:58 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Birds 1/9/2011 Message-ID: <406270.18764.qm@web45312.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Late PM out in the Catching Slough Pastures on the east side of Coos Bay I found the largest flock of GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE I have ever seen here in the winter, 116 birds. I didn't have time to check for a Tulessp. that Russ Namitz had reported out there before they all flew way out in the pasture. I also saw one ALEUTIAN CACKLING GOOSE with the flock and the SNOW GOOSE was also with a flock of about 150 CANADA GEESE. In Curry Co. this morning I saw the overwintering SAY'S PHOEBE and about 20 TUNDRA SWANS on the way into the lake. Tomorrow I will be hoping to see some DUCKS in all their glory! Happy 2011, Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jt_johnson at comcast.net Sun Jan 9 19:58:02 2011 From: jt_johnson at comcast.net (Jim Johnson) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 17:58:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] MacGillivray's Warbler, Vancouver, Washington Message-ID: <001601cbb069$d129bfe0$737d3fa0$@net> I had one of those "huh?" moments this afternoon. While walking the dog in the Vancouver Lake wildlife area (toward the end of La Frambois Road, off of Fruit Valley Road in west Vancouver, Washington) I heard a repeated "smack, smack" call coming from a Himalayan blackberry hedge. After some pishing, a yellow bird popped out, flew toward me, and perched for some good looks. As I was bringing the binoculars to my eyes, I was expecting to see a Common Yellowthroat even though the call wasn't quite right. Much to my surprise it turned out to be a female or immature male MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER. I was able to watch it for about 20 seconds before it tired of me and popped over the blackberry hedge, not to be seen or heard again. This was at about 3:45 p.m. today. It was a plump warbler with a dull grayish hood, darker lores, and pale gray throat, bold white eye arcs, bright yellow belly and undertail coverts, and unmarked olive-green back and wings. After seeing the face that went with the voice, I realized that the call was quite typical of MacGillivray's Warbler, but it didn't register since it was quite out of context for the season. If anybody wants to go looking for it, here's a map on Google maps: http://tinyurl.com/2dvhlud You'd want to park on La Frambois Road where there's a cable across a two-track road on the right (there's a sign just off the road that says "South Vancouver Lake Wetland Restoration" (parking permit required). Walk north on the two-track with the pond on your right and flooded field on your left, follow the road northeasterly at the north end of the pond (paralleling high tension power lines), to a massive blackberry hedge that goes roughly south. The bird was more-or-less at the midpoint of the hedge on the west side. Jim Johnson Vancouver, Washington jt_johnson at comcast.net http://odonata.bogfoot.net/ http://nwdragonflier.blogspot.com/ From llsdirons at msn.com Sun Jan 9 20:27:17 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 02:27:17 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Corvallis rarities In-Reply-To: <8C0F521FAD86446D876E04CD30D2D1C1@armstrong> References: <73E20465F9D34B208FA6FBF9DC59BF6C@armstrong>, <0B655A8EF8E948DEA8935365A7548696@armstrong>, <8C0F521FAD86446D876E04CD30D2D1C1@armstrong> Message-ID: Greetings All, I'm presuming that the "Bullock's Oriole" mentioned in the post below is the oriole coming to Ron Enck's feeder. The photo link posted to the Mid-Valley listserv shows a bird that could be a Bullock's, but it seems to have a bit too much white in the wings (particularly the margins of the secondaries and tertials) to be a young Bullock's. Rich Hoyer suggested that Streak-backed Oriole ought to be considered based on what can be seen in the images. I can't disagree with Rich. The back seems to have some streaking/rows of dark mottling (which would be more consistent with Streak-backed or Baltimore), but it's hard to tell from the pixelated image. If I wasn't working tomorrow, I would be driving to Corvallis in hopes of getting a look at this bird, as I think that there is at least a moderate chance that it is something a bit rarer than a Bullock's. Hopefully, it has found a happy home for a few days. Anyone doing a big year in Benton Co. in 2011? You could certainly get off to a fast start. Dave Irons Portland, OR From: richarmstrong at comcast.net To: obol at oregonbirds.org Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 16:58:51 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Corvallis rarities just in case some obolites are interested this weekend corvallis has 1. an immature BULLOCK'S ORIOLES in north corvallis seen both weekend days - pictures were taken 2. a CASSIN'S VIREO - pictures taken 3. PRAIRIE FALCON in linn county near peoria 4. NORTHERN SHRIKE in linn near peoria 5. YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER continues at e e wilson in usual tree 6. SWAMP SPARROW (have been as many as 4) at e e wilson 7. the ash-throated flycatcher has not been seen saturday or sunday despite people looking i will try to post out of season rarities to obol (there are usually nowhere near this many) as well as always posting to midvalley listserve. Rich Armstrong 541-753-1978 ----- Original Message ----- From: rich armstrong To: OBOL Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2011 12:42 PM Subject: [OBOL] Ash-Throated Flycatcher in S Corvallis 1. the presumed ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was seen 1st on 1/4 2. it was seen 1/5 but also missed by others later in the day. when i saw the bird it did not make a sound at all. 3. it was seen by quite a few on 1/6. nobody reported hearing the bird. 4. there are no reports positive or negative on 1/7 as far as i know. 5. today, i took the corvallis audubon field trip to the area from 8-845 and again from 1115-1145 with no success. there were others looking as well with no success. Rich Armstrong 541-753-1978 ----- Original Message ----- From: rich armstrong To: OBOL Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2011 4:04 PM Subject: [OBOL] Ash-Throated Flycatcher in S Corvallis 1. an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was reported in south corvallis yesterday - see below. 2. i saw the bird this morning and i was fairly confident it was ash-throated, but i am not a myiarchus expert. 3. doug robinson saw the bird later in morning and he also thinks it is ash-throated. 4. since this is not a rare bird for oregon, these posts went to the midvalley listserve, but in case others are interested, and especially since it is very rare for this time of the year, here it is for obol. 5. this is a couple miles south of downtown corvallis off 99w - go east on rivergreen to hathaway. Rich Armstrong 541-753-1978 ----- Original Message ----- From: rich armstrong To: birding at midvalleybirding.org Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2011 11:01 AM Subject: [birding] Ash-Throated Flycatcher in S Corvallis 1. amazingly after 2 hours of driving and walking around butterfield and rivergreen and shoreline, i found the ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER! 2. it was in the yard at 3184 hathaway and then flew behind the house and i didn't see in the next few minutes. 3. it is definitely a myiarchus flycatcher and certainly looked ash-throated to me. 4. nanette is out of state and has the camera, and i would be hopeless with a camera anyway. 5. thanks to nate & shannon & molly for finding and reporting. Rich Armstrong 541-753-1978 ----- Original Message ----- From: Molly Monroe To: birding at midvalleybirding.org Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2011 1:23 PM Subject: [birding] Ash-Throated Flycatcher in S Corvallis Some friends with a newborn passed this on today. Not sure if they're up for visitors but let me know if you'd like more details. They are on the west side of the Butterfield Wetlands near Willamette Landing so that may be a good place to look. We briefly had an Ash-throated Flycatcher in the yard in South town Corvallis. It came in for a few minutes and has moved down the road. If it hangs around in the neighborhood I will keep you posted. -Nate and Shannon Richardson _ ( '< / ) ) //"Endangered species are sensitive indicators of how we are treating the planet and we should be listening carefully to their message _______________________________________________ birding mailing list birding at midvalleybirding.org http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ _______________________________________________ birding mailing list birding at midvalleybirding.org http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sun Jan 9 20:43:27 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 02:43:27 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] FW: [birding] Oriole Poor picture In-Reply-To: <120208.35469.qm@web110214.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: <120208.35469.qm@web110214.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Owen, The answer to your request. Good luck! Dave > Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 12:41:28 -0800 > From: ron_enck at yahoo.com > To: birding at midvalleybirding.org > Subject: [birding] Oriole Poor picture > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/26787800 at N00/5339867727/ > _______________________________________________ > birding mailing list > birding at midvalleybirding.org > http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Sun Jan 9 20:48:38 2011 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 18:48:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] FW: [birding] More pics of the Cassin's Vireo in Corvallis In-Reply-To: Message-ID: There was a Cassin's about two weeks ago at Harv Schubothe's place at Bradley Lake south of Bandon. It is a semi-regular winter bird in California. Rich Hoyer saw one in Bandon on Thanksgiving weekend a couple of years ago. I am not aware of any previous photos. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer at mindspring.com Oregonreview.blogspot.com > From: Dave Irons > Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 01:42:01 +0000 > To: OBOL , Shawneen Finnegan > > Subject: [OBOL] FW: [birding] More pics of the Cassin's Vireo in Corvallis > > > Greetings All, > > I just walked in the door after a day of birding on Sauvie Island and found > this and other posts referencing a Cassin's Vireo found at or near Corvallis > today. These posts went out to the Mid-Valley listserv. Nice photos of a > definite Cassin's, these taken by Doug Robinson. Birds of Oregon: A General > Reference lists just one winter record, but as I recall there have been a > couple other reports over the years. Seems odd that this species isn't found > more regularly during winter in Oregon since they are among the earliest > spring migrants. In California Cassin's are rare in winter and based on the > reports I see not a whole lot more regular than Blue-headed Vireo, which is > also rare but annual in winter along the California coast. > > In my opinion, Doug's photos clearly eliminate Blue-headed. The gray on the > head is not particularly dark and the contrast between the gray head and > whitish throat is not crisp or conspicuous. The "Solitary" Vireo complex > (Blue-headed, Cassin's, and Plumbeous) go through a complete (prebasic) molt > in Fall and don't undergo much (if any) of a prealternate molt in Spring, thus > their plumage is brightest in Fall. Cassin's generally look more worn and dull > in Spring. > > A fun discovery. I always thought that Brookings was Oregon's "banana belt," > but perhaps Corvallis deserves a look given that there has been an > Ash-throated Flycatcher and a Cassin's Vireo there in the past week. > > Dave Irons > Portland, OR > >> From: w.douglas.robinson at gmail.com >> Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 14:56:16 -0800 >> To: birding at midvalleybirding.org >> Subject: [birding] More pics of the Cassin's Vireo in Corvallis >> >> Thanks to Lisa for sharing the sighting of the Cassin's Vireo. I was able to >> find it this morning in the sunshine and get more pictures. >> >> http://picasaweb.google.com/W.Douglas.Robinson/CassinSVireo# >> >> Have fun! >> Doug >> _______________________________________________ >> birding mailing list >> birding at midvalleybirding.org >> http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding >> http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From jbw at oregoncoast.com Sun Jan 9 16:26:58 2011 From: jbw at oregoncoast.com (Barbara and John Woodhouse) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 14:26:58 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Lists Message-ID: <4E9082BD-91F1-4576-A3F7-5A563897AD58@oregoncoast.com> We prefer OBOL as we can plan trips around what people are reporting fro southern Washington to Northern California. Also when our birding group makes plans we check OBOL to see what is interesting I would hate to have to join 6+ lists to find things out. So I sincerely hope people keep reporting to OBOL. We also learn a lot form the threads that run sometimes. Barbara & John Woodhouse Tillamook From woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com Sun Jan 9 21:19:24 2011 From: woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com (Jamie S.) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 19:19:24 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] More info: Corvallis Oriole & Cassin's Vireo Message-ID: <918528.12000.qm@web161608.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> More info on both these birds that was not forwarded to OBOL: To give credit where credit is due, the Cassin's Vireo was found Saturday by Lisa Millbank.? She took photos that, per Doug Robinson, confirmed it as at least 1 of 2 "Solitary-type" vireos: Cassin's or Blue-headed, but not Plumbeous.? Doug refound the bird and took photos that confirmed it as Cassin's.? Larry McQueen commented on Ron Enck's oriole photo.? See his comments below. Jamie Simmons Corvallis --- On Sun, 1/9/11, Larry McQueen wrote: > From: Larry McQueen > Subject: Re: [birding] Oriole? Poor picture > To: "Birds" > Date: Sunday, January 9, 2011, 4:53 PM > Ron, > > The picture shows that the bird has a whitish belly and > vent area; the yellow is restricted to the head and upper > breast, and the tail.? This looks like Bullock's to > me.? If the bird has some black around the throat and > face area, it could be a 1st yr male which would explain the > somewhat extensive white edging in the wing.? Also, the > male in this plumage may have a streaked back.? > > Larry > On Jan 9, 2011, at 12:41 PM, Ron Enck wrote: > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/26787800 at N00/5339867727/ > > _______________________________________________ > > birding mailing list > > birding at midvalleybirding.org > > http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding > > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ > > > > > _______________________________________________ > birding mailing list > birding at midvalleybirding.org > http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ > From namitzr at hotmail.com Sun Jan 9 21:26:01 2011 From: namitzr at hotmail.com (Russ Namitz) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 19:26:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Brookings EASTERN PHOEBE details + Curry Co birds Message-ID: At 11:25am, there was an EASTERN PHOEBE flycatching in driftwood along the north shore of the Winchuck River, just east of the mouth. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=42.006221,-124.214312 According to the latest OBRC report found on the OFO website, there have been 10 accepted records of Eastern Phoebe. I also saw the local NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD thanks to Don Munson. At Pistol River, there were 3 CANVASBACK. I finally caught up with a single female GADWALL among a flock of flying Mallard in Gold Beach. There was also a "Slate-colored" Dark-eyed Junco there. Good birding, Russ Namitz Coos Bay PS: I saw the McKinleyville BROWN SHRIKE and the Smith River ORCHARD ORIOLE early this morning in California. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sun Jan 9 21:29:05 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 03:29:05 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Sauvie Island Sunday 9 Jan. BLACK PHOEBE etc. Message-ID: Greetings All, Today, Shawneen Finnegan, Elias Elias of Arcata, CA, Celia Cage of Ridgefield, WA, and I spent the day on Sauvie Island. Our best bird of the day was a Black Phoebe that was hanging around inside the fenced area at the new reservoir-like embankment down the gravel road that the "pellet plant" used to be on. To reach this area, cross the bridge onto the island, loop under the bridge onto Gillihan Loop Rd., pass under the bridge, curve left and then turn right on the first gravel road. There is an opening that looks into the grassy man-made basin on the right about 75-100 yards down this gravel road. We enjoyed a spectacular assemblage of geese in the muddy field at the intersection of Gillihan Loop Rd. and Reeder Rd. While were there scoping the various white-cheeked geese (Cacklers and Canadas) flock after flock of Snow Geese started dropping in, eventually building to about 2000 birds (white geese that is). We had one imm. "Blue" Goose, which if memory serves me correctly, is the first one I've ever seen on the island. Over the course of the day, we had at least four Peregrine Falcons, including two very aggressive birds that were hanging around the bridge. They were chasing anything that moved, including each other. Flocks of sparrows and juncos were in abundance and we saw three Red-breasted Sapsuckers during the day. We looked for and did not find the Common Ground-Dove and the Bobolink, neither of which has been refound this year. Dave Irons Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From d_villa at mail.com Sun Jan 9 21:40:56 2011 From: d_villa at mail.com (d_villa at mail.com) Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 22:40:56 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Yaquina Bay Ducks - 1-09-2010 Message-ID: <8CD7E8F52F5D786-53C-42357@web-mmc-d04.sysops.aol.com> We took quick detour to Yaquina Bay (HMSC and the South Jetty road) on a shopping trip today. I was intrigued by the number of varieties that the group saw yesterday. While there we saw many of the birds that were reported yesterday, some, like the mergansers, I've never seen before. I posted a few of the pix on my blog, and would love some help with the various MERGANSERS and one UNKNOWN. http://dvillabirds.blogspot.com/2011/01/dabblers-and-divers-at-hmsc.html dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Sun Jan 9 21:54:55 2011 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 19:54:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Yaquina Bay Ducks - 1-09-2010 In-Reply-To: <8CD7E8F52F5D786-53C-42357@web-mmc-d04.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: Your unknowns are Harlequin Ducks. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer at mindspring.com Oregonreview.blogspot.com > From: > Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 22:40:56 -0500 > To: OBOL , > Subject: [OBOL] Yaquina Bay Ducks - 1-09-2010 > > > We took quick detour to Yaquina Bay (HMSC and the South Jetty road) on a > shopping trip today. I was intrigued by the number of varieties that the > group saw yesterday. While there we saw many of the birds that were reported > yesterday, some, like the mergansers, I've never seen before. > > I posted a few of the pix on my blog, and would love some help with the > various MERGANSERS and one UNKNOWN. > http://dvillabirds.blogspot.com/2011/01/dabblers-and-divers-at-hmsc.html > > > > dawn > Lincoln City/Nelscott > Blogging About the Coast > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From 5hats at peak.org Sun Jan 9 22:10:28 2011 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 20:10:28 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Winter Swallows In-Reply-To: <700F0F3A-3196-4A9E-A579-6E52FC11928C@earthlink.net> References: <700F0F3A-3196-4A9E-A579-6E52FC11928C@earthlink.net> Message-ID: Lars, and the rest.. I don't have any better explanation than anyone else about winter swallows, especially Cliff Swallows. However, I do know that one rather warm day in January about six or seven years ago I was at Yaquina Bay, and was astonished to see a group of about eight Bank Swallows swoop low over the bay, then turn east and head up and over the Yaquina Bay bridge and out of sight. So far as I know any sighting of that species in our area during winter was unprecedented, and not since repeated. Sometimes birds just do unexplainable things. Darrel -------------------------------------------------- From: "Norgren Family" Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2011 4:17 PM To: Subject: [OBOL] Winter Swallows > I recall Tree Swallows on the Sauvie > Island CBC about 1973. The 2006 Coos Bay > CBC got a single Tree Swallow, but more > were seen in the neighborhood a few days > earlier, and also at Fern Ridge. This was > in the wake of a powerful weather system > that took electric power out of all of > Tillamook County. The winds were very warm > and out of the south or south-southwest in > nw Oregon. The Coos Bay CBC was the first > Sunday of the count period that year. > I recall similar spikes in Tree Swallow > reports in December during the past half > decade, probably all after really big cyclonic > disturbances. But the Tree Swallows were gone > in short order. The present situation involves > a broader range of dates. The Cliff Swallows > are another matter. I am assuming Tree Swallows > are present in central California in small numbers > in winter, but Cliff Swallows are not. > On two occasions I found Tree Swallows at a > pond near Roy (Washington County) in mid-February, > only to have them disappear for weeks after. On > one occasion very hard frost followed the temporary > presence of five birds. It seems they are inclined > to scout the limits of available food, and retreat > if need be. This same species is hard to find > after early July in the same areas, while Barn and > Violet-green Swallows grow in numbers until late > September or early October. > I recall Wayne Weber finding a species of > swallow other than Tree on the Great Backyard > Bird Count, perhaps last year. That was at the > far north end of Puget Sound. While last year > saw very low temperatures in early December, > January was the warmest in Seattle since records > began about 120 years ago, averaging four or five > degrees Fahrenheit above the norm. Lars Norgren > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > From gismiller at gmail.com Sun Jan 9 22:12:19 2011 From: gismiller at gmail.com (Craig Miller) Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 20:12:19 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Lake Billy Chinook Birds Message-ID: <4D2A8723.7030503@gmail.com> Hi all, Marilyn and I joined two biologists to conduct an annual winter eagle and waterfowl survey from Lake Billy Chinook (LBC) to Warm Springs (Jefferson Co) on Friday, January 7. Besides many BALD and GOLDEN EAGLES, several unexpected species were observed. These included: PACIFIC LOON - 1 (Metolius arm of LBC) GREATER SCAUP - 1 (Pelton reregulation reservoir) LONG-TAILED DUCK - 1 female (Pelton reregulation reservoir) OSPREY - 1 (Deschutes River just upstream of Warm Springs) SPOTTED SANDPIPER - 1 (Pelton reregulation reservoir) Less surprising, but interesting nonetheless were 9 Cackling Geese (LBC), 80+ Western Grebes (LBC), 1 American Dipper (fish ladder along Pelton reregulation reservoir), and a Yellow-rumped Warbler (Pelton reregulation reservoir). Craig Miller Bend, OR From 5hats at peak.org Sun Jan 9 22:30:24 2011 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 20:30:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] list serves Message-ID: Obolites, I'm not into the regional list serve issue enough to give intelligent commentary. However (notice, I just said I don't know what I am talking about, so now am setting about to prove it), I would like to add a historical perspective to the running commentary. Back in the days before OBOL, both statewide and regional bird sightings were usually passed on, if at all, by a poorly developed and underused telephone tree which sometimes worked well, but usually did not. This deficiency was especially pronounced when a rare bird was discovered by a birder from a region other than the one in which the bird was found. Most sightings of such rarities came to the attention of the birders living in the locality after the best chance for re-finding it had long passed. Perhaps there is some discrepancy between what is reported to regional list serves and what is reported on OBOL, but the chances now of a birder anywhere in Oregon hearing of a rarity sighted near his own area are light years beyond what they were twenty years ago. I think the proliferation of various list serves has greatly enhanced the birding opportunities for almost everyone. It certainly has been a benefit to me. Darrel -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wildfire123 at q.com Sun Jan 9 22:33:36 2011 From: wildfire123 at q.com (Donna Rudd) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 20:33:36 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] New member intro In-Reply-To: <4D2A8723.7030503@gmail.com> References: <4D2A8723.7030503@gmail.com> Message-ID: Hi all, after a long absence from serious birding I have found my passion once again. As a relative newcomer to Oregon (three years) I still get excited about some of the more casual birds. As a native Hoosier I was an avid birder, Audubon chapter president and conservation chair, CBC/May Day bird count bird compiler, submitted a fair share of rare bird documentations, and various other birding activities. I live in Mapleton, OR 14 miles from Florence. Today my partner and I got out got a day of birding and headed to Coos Bay but not before stopping to see the Northern Mockingbird on Glenada Rd. in Florence. Good to see an old midwest friend in Oregon!. Saw the usual birds in the water and was good to get to know them all over again and with a friend. A highlight of the day was a Spotted Owl near the road on Seven Devils Rd/N. Beavercreek Rd. in Coos Bay. Being that I am from Indiana, Spotted Owls still excite me! Good birding to all! Donna -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From barrymckenzie at comcast.net Sun Jan 9 22:56:17 2011 From: barrymckenzie at comcast.net (Barry McKenzie) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 20:56:17 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eugene Birder's Night: Monday, Jan 10 Message-ID: <4C8D1A70-3B92-4B0E-AE52-5438290D7DF2@comcast.net> > OBOL- > > Eugene Birder's Night is Monday, Jan 10 (second Monday of each > Month) at 7pm. > > AGENDA: usual bird chat, then...Best of 2010 photos (John Sullivan). > >>>special notice: even for those of us who love birds more than > college football, it's pretty hard to swim against the tide here in > Eugene...there may a record low turnout on Jan 10. > > WHO: all are welcome > > LOCATION : Sacred Heart Hospital (downtown), 1255 Hilyard St; > Conference Room A (across the hall from the Auditorium). > > Directions to Conference Room A: > -enter main Lobby from Hilyard St > -turn Left and walk down hall (past the cafeteria) to end of hall > -turn Right and walk down hall (past Dining Room) to end of hall > -turn Right and walk a few steps, then Left down the hall toward > the Auditorium > -Conference Room A (labelled simply Conference Room) is on the > Right (across from a bank of telephones on the Left side of the hall) > > Parking: Parking lot structure (across Hilyard from the Lobby) > charges $1/hour (I think). Street parking is not available on > Hilyard per se, but is found on 13th, 12th (West of Patterson), and > Patterson streets (street parking free after 6pm). > > Map is at this link: > http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en-us&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=sacred+heart+hospital+eugene,+or&fb=1&split=1&cid=0,0,17378354515337851834&sa=X&oi=local_result&resnum=1&ct=image > > Note: we will have reliable access to audio/video support from this > point on, so those wishing to bring a disc or laptop to show > interesting images, etc should feel free to do so. For a lengthly > presentation, please give me a heads-up so we can avoid conflicts. > > Barry McKenzie > Eugene -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From madsteins at hotmail.com Sun Jan 9 23:02:13 2011 From: madsteins at hotmail.com (Don Stein) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:02:13 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Brown Pelicans, Depoe Bay Message-ID: Depoe Bay 1/9 10:30 AM A tight flock of 6 BROWN PELICANS seen south of town. For several minutes they got distracted in circling several spots about 300 yds. out, as if tantalized by a few yummies. But decided it wasn't worth it, and continued south. Don Stein -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From slcarpenter at gmail.com Mon Jan 10 00:32:11 2011 From: slcarpenter at gmail.com (Scott Carpenter) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 22:32:11 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] list serves In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I absolutely agree with Darrel that the proliferation of various listservs has greatly enhanced the birding opportunities. I subscribe to 9 listservs, including OBOL, that cover regions within Oregon, and I have benefited immensely from the 7 regional ones. Though I haven't analyzed the postings in detail, much of the posts to the regional listservs are by people who do not post to OBOL, and I suspect many of these people are not even on OBOL. In addition, the topics on some of these regional listservs are very informative about those regions, and go into detail that some may feel is inappropriate for a statewide listserv. Given the volume of posts on OBOL and other statewide listservs, I can hardly blame people for wanting to deal with only their regional listserv. And I suspect getting mad at people for not "doing their duty" to the "birding community" by subscribing to a statewide listserv will only serve to keep them away from OBOL. I know some very experienced birders who have no interest in OBOL, and they are very pleasant people who are enjoyable to bird with, and more than willing to share with others they meet in the field. Though I subscribed to the 9 listservs over a period of years, I recall that each one was relatively easy to subscribe to, and all of the messages are delivered to my inbox. Some listservs have no posts for weeks or even months, and then a small flurry of activity. Others have a steady stream of posts. I feel lucky to live in an age where I can receive all of these messages, and all it took was a few minutes of my time to subscribe. This is a far better scenario than the 70's and 80's, when we would often learn of an interesting bird weeks after it was sighted, if not months. And for those who are averse to subscribing to additional lists, I suspect http://digest.sialia.com/ (or something similar) will provide a great alternative, once the regional listservs are added to it. Technological change is coming to the birding world, and the more people on board, the better for us all. Scott Carpenter Portland On Sun, Jan 9, 2011 at 8:30 PM, Darrel & Laura <5hats at peak.org> wrote: > Obolites, > I'm not into the regional list serve issue enough to give intelligent > commentary. However (notice, I just said I don't know what I am talking > about, so now am setting about to prove it), I would like to add a > historical perspective to the running commentary. Back in the days before > OBOL, both statewide and regional bird sightings were usually passed on, if > at all, by a poorly developed and underused telephone tree which sometimes > worked well, but usually did not. This deficiency was especially pronounced > when a rare bird was discovered by a birder from a region other than the one > in which the bird was found. Most sightings of such rarities came to the > attention of the birders living in the locality after the best chance for > re-finding it had long passed. Perhaps there is some discrepancy between > what is reported to regional list serves and what is reported on OBOL, but > the chances now of a birder anywhere in Oregon hearing of a rarity sighted > near his own area are light years beyond what they were twenty years ago. I > think the proliferation of various list serves has greatly enhanced the > birding opportunities for almost everyone. It certainly has been a benefit > to me. > > Darrel > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > -- Scott Carpenter Portland, Oregon -------------------------- http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/ http://www.facebook.com/scottcarpenterphotography <#> <#> <#> <#> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From brrobb at comcast.net Mon Jan 10 10:46:44 2011 From: brrobb at comcast.net (Roger & Betty Robb) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:46:44 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Black-bellied Plover Message-ID: Yesterday I found 6 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (missed on the Eugene count) just north of the dam spillway at Fern Ridge. Roger Robb Springfield, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From w.douglas.robinson at gmail.com Mon Jan 10 12:39:49 2011 From: w.douglas.robinson at gmail.com (W. Douglas Robinson) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:39:49 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fwd: [birding] Corvallis oriole pictures References: <634EBA8E-7396-4625-8203-BAECAE3E367B@gmail.com> Message-ID: <24F8373A-C7A3-4C53-8BF9-64A7263762C6@gmail.com> Begin forwarded message: > From: Douglas Robinson > Date: January 10, 2011 10:12:09 AM PST > To: Midvalley Midvalley Birding , OBOL > Subject: [birding] Corvallis oriole pictures > > Pictures of the Conifer Boulevard oriole are at the link below. It was foggy, so clarity is not perfect. However, the identification is pretty clear. > > A hypothesis for why it is here during winter: perhaps it has something to do with its eyesight. It seems to have an issue with its left eye. The pale area on the images that show the left eye are not reflections. > > http://picasaweb.google.com/W.Douglas.Robinson/CorvallisOriole# > > Have fun out there, > Doug > _______________________________________________ > birding mailing list > birding at midvalleybirding.org > http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From foglark at att.net Mon Jan 10 14:17:34 2011 From: foglark at att.net (David Fix & Jude Power) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:17:34 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] NEWS: Apparent PURPLE SANDPIPER in Humboldt Co., CA Message-ID: <684497.32874.qm@web80003.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Here's what I know. I spoke with Jude Power a half-hour ago from the McKinleyville vista point after having readily seen the Brown Shrike at 10:15 with Redding, Monterey, and Sacto-area birders...she tells me Jon Dunn called Dave Quady (a leading Bay Area birder) this morning and Jon said he's positive the bird seen yesterday at the north jetty of Humboldt Bay is a Purple Sandpiper. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. This would be the first for California. Jude said Daryl Coldren, Kerry Ross and others are out looking at the bird and are seeing purple shaft streaks in the scaps, apparently a defining feature. What a mind-blowing discovery. It takes the spotlight off the shrike if that can be fathomed. This bird ought to remain, one should think, for weeks, and hopefully we'll see success among searchers this weekend. The access to the north jetty of Humboldt Bay is easily seen on GoogleEarth--one can reach the north spit either through Arcata or on the bridge from Eureka. The jetty is much easier to walk than most Oregon jetties (as in, it is a broadway and you walk on it), but use caution if the tide is high or coming in. Waves constantly slapping across the base of the jetty from the north side signal No Go. There are at least 3 Rock Sands in with the obligatory Surfbird/Black Stoneflip flock. At low tide much foraging occurs on the north side of the inner half of the jetty, but at higher water the birds begin to feed less and might sit on the dolos off the sides of the jetty anywhere. More news about the ID process should get posted in time. I am just passing on what I know. Anyone who wants company birding just flip me privately here or at aldermuse at gmail.com or at 707-825-1195; I'm free a lot right now. Glad to help out. The Bird Box is 707-822-5666. Hit 2 to hear new messages and then 6 for earlier messages. David Fix -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From holly.reinhard at gmail.com Mon Jan 10 15:15:03 2011 From: holly.reinhard at gmail.com (Holly Reinhard) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 13:15:03 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Corvallis White-throated Sparrow, tan morph Message-ID: Obol, I just saw out my bedroom window a new bird for me--a TAN MORPH WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. This is interesting, because I reported a "regular" White-throated Sparrow here around the end of November (when it snowed here in Corvallis). Then a few weeks later, around the 14th of December or so, I saw the WT Sparrow again--presumable the same sparrow I had seen in November. This bird is definitely not the same bird. It seems to be a good year for WT Sparrows!! Two photos (taken through my bedroom window) of today's Tan Morph bird are linked below. http://picasaweb.google.com/111932006950378506189/Birding# Good birding, Holly Reinhard Corvallis, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wildfire123 at q.com Mon Jan 10 16:01:22 2011 From: wildfire123 at q.com (Donna Rudd) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:01:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Coos Bay Spotted Owl - not In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi all, I sent out an introduction Saturday and reported our highlight of the day bird as a Northern Spotted Owl. After consulting with my birding partner (who got the better look at it) and receiving e-mails from others on this list with much more experience than I, I have come to the conclusion that it was instead a Barred Owl, not a Spotted Owl. While embarrassing to say the least, I will be more careful when Iding birds. It also motivates me to get serious about birding once again and become a better birder. Thanks for everyones welcome and thoughts. Donna -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dpvroman at budget.net Mon Jan 10 16:54:57 2011 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis Vroman) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:54:57 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fwd: [birding] Corvallis oriole pictures References: <634EBA8E-7396-4625-8203-BAECAE3E367B@gmail.com> <24F8373A-C7A3-4C53-8BF9-64A7263762C6@gmail.com> Message-ID: It appears to me that the tail and primary flight feathers are brownish (when compared to the tertials, which appear to have been replaced and not showing much wear), suggesting a bird fledged this year. Perhaps a young male. Dennis Subject: [OBOL] Fwd: [birding] Corvallis oriole pictures Begin forwarded message: From: Douglas Robinson Date: January 10, 2011 10:12:09 AM PST To: Midvalley Midvalley Birding , OBOL Subject: [birding] Corvallis oriole pictures Pictures of the Conifer Boulevard oriole are at the link below. It was foggy, so clarity is not perfect. However, the identification is pretty clear. A hypothesis for why it is here during winter: perhaps it has something to do with its eyesight. It seems to have an issue with its left eye. The pale area on the images that show the left eye are not reflections. http://picasaweb.google.com/W.Douglas.Robinson/CorvallisOriole# Have fun out there, Doug -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From celata at pacifier.com Mon Jan 10 17:13:34 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:13:34 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Focus Message-ID: <4D2B929E.7090108@pacifier.com> http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/ -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From kevinsmithnaturephotos at gmail.com Mon Jan 10 17:25:55 2011 From: kevinsmithnaturephotos at gmail.com (Kevin Smith) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:25:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Madras Raptor Route Message-ID: <4D2B9583.3090808@gmail.com> Kei and I did the Madras Raptor Route today with the following results: Light snow to partly sunny 25-34 degrees 47 Red-tailed Hawks 17 Kestrels 12 Northern Harriers 2 Rough-legged Hawks 2 Prairie Falcons 2 Merlins 1 Great Horned Owl 2 Northern Shrikes 83 total counters GREAT DAY! Kevin Smith -- Kevin Smith Crooked River Ranch, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: kevinsmithnaturephotos.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 107 bytes Desc: not available URL: From greg at thebirdguide.com Mon Jan 10 17:32:38 2011 From: greg at thebirdguide.com (Greg Gillson) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:32:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] The old hermit that lives in the woods Message-ID: <4DAEFD27A4A2420F88C67E80C9918F63@GREG> http://nwbackyardbirder.blogspot.com/2011/01/old-hermit-that-lives-in-woods.html Greg Gillson From foglark at att.net Mon Jan 10 19:02:13 2011 From: foglark at att.net (David Fix & Jude Power) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 17:02:13 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Purplish Sandpiper? Message-ID: <702941.87540.qm@web80001.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Regarding the California almost- Purple Sandpiper, Rob Fowler noted lately in an email that?a highly respected East Coast birder (whom he named) has cast doubt on that putative ID, suggesting that the marks on this bird (n. jetty, Humboldt Bay) better fit Rock Sandpiper, and that person believes that's what it is. We'll see what other opinions arise. There was no news on the Bird Alert today as of now other than a call-in from Chet Ogan saying that the bird was being observed and offering nothing new. So as of now, no confirmed Purple Sandpiper. Certainly the excitement has been warranted. Go Ducks! David Fix Arcata, California?????? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tmacport99 at hotmail.com Mon Jan 10 19:48:41 2011 From: tmacport99 at hotmail.com (Tom McNamara) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 17:48:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Regional listservs & OBOL Message-ID: OBOL It's been an interesting thread. I currently subscribe to only this list and the newly created Portland Area Birds Google group and I did the latter pretty much for the reason that Jay W did---i.e. quasi-"defensively" ---so that I would have more or less immediate word (for one who is still cell phone free) about any really good birds that are found locally and that didn't make it onto OBOL (alas). I can sympathize with points made both by people who seemingly love the regional lists and those who prefer the statewide-ness of OBOL. I really feel for the volunteer editors who have more fragmented sources to scour in diligently doing their work compiling sightings etc. To that end, I agree with Alan who makes the request that folks consider copying OBOL on their posts to regional listservs. I guess, though, that some folks might get out of their comfort zone if they were to do that which is kind of a shame. OBOL seems to have an intrinsic tension that I can't think how to resolve--- people SHOULD be able to post anything bird related w/out fear of being shredded for their thoughts. Shredded? a bit dramatic McNamara? Well, even though it seems to be a rather rare event, I have indeed read some posts that were simply outrageous---one last year by a certain former ABA president was utterly astounding for its condescension and ridicule. (He was ably taken to task for that, I happy to say). On the other hand there seem to be folks whose sensitivities seem to be made of onion skin--- a few pertinent, clarifying questions asked about sighting "x" and they feel as if they've been seriously mistreated. And they won't post ever again. What to do? One thing about OBOL that I don't believe has been mentioned is that it is, to me anyway, More than merely a place to report bird sightings. If you reading this thread, I would say that it pretty much proves the point. It is a place that mainly, I would of course agree, has to do with sightings but then some pithy issue comes along and people really jump in and discuss. For me, it's usually some place I can learn something valuable, is interesting and often damn entertaining. And it is just these kinds of discussions I tend to remember AND who were the authors were that I thought contributed something worthwhile where OBOL seems very much better at providing the appropriate forum. As many of this list do, I go out and about around this state (not nearly as much as I would like) and it is a total kick to meet people at stake out, say, or at Malheur and, introductions being made, say, Oh, sure, I read you on OBOL all the time. There seems to be instant connection because we already know something of one another. Long live OBOL! and may it never become a CALBIRDS good birding all, Tom -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Mon Jan 10 21:09:37 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 19:09:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Curry Eastern Phoebe- NO 1/10/2011 Message-ID: <840701.43247.qm@web45308.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I spent about an hour an a half late morning looking for the Eastern Phoebe that Russ Namitz found at the mouth of the Winchuck yesterday without luck. Don Munson and Buzz Stewart were also looking, but no one had found it when I left around 12:30. On my way down I saw a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD in Gold Beach north of the bridge across the road from Jot's Resort at the houses with all the holly trees. There were two pair of REDHEADS out on the north spit of Coos Bay late afternoon. Merry 2011! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ptsulliv at spiritone.com Tue Jan 11 00:07:10 2011 From: ptsulliv at spiritone.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:07:10 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Submission of Listing Results - now online Message-ID: <4A8C037F346A4DA4A7A19EDB51438B0A@dell307ac3e2b6> Folks, It is time to submit your listing totals as of Dec. 31, 2010, for publication in Oregon Birds. I'd like to encourage everyone to participate, so we can make the final published report as complete and up to date as possible. --------------------------------- The threshold for your numbers to be published are as follows: Oregon Life List: 300 Oregon Year List: 250 County Life and 2010 Year list: 100 -------------------------------- There are 4 ways to send in your lists. 1. Treesa Hertzel has developed an online form on the OFO website where you can plug in your numbers and click the "submit" button to sent me your numbers. Check out http://www.oregonbirds.org/ 2. Simply fill in the table below with your numbers and email them to me at ptsulliv at spiritone.com 3. If you want to do a paper copy, simply print the form, fill it in, and send it to me by regular mail at : Paul T. Sullivan, 4470 SW Murray Blvd. #26, Beaverton, OR 97005 4. Use the form printed in the center section of Oregon Birds, Vol 36, No.. 2, and mail that to me. ======================== Life 2010 _____ _____ Oregon State Oregon counties: _____ _____ Baker _____ _____ Benton _____ _____ Clackamas _____ _____ Clatsop _____ _____ Columbia _____ _____ Coos _____ _____ Crook _____ _____ Curry _____ _____ Deschutes _____ _____ Douglas _____ _____ Gilliam _____ _____ Grant _____ _____ Harney _____ _____ Hood River _____ _____ Jackson _____ _____ Jefferson _____ _____ Josephine _____ _____ Klamath _____ _____ Lake _____ _____ Lane _____ _____ Lincoln _____ _____ Linn _____ _____ Malheur _____ _____ Marion _____ _____ Morrow _____ _____ Multnomah _____ _____ Polk _____ _____ Sherman _____ _____ Tillamook _____ _____ Umatilla _____ _____ Union _____ _____ Wallowa _____ _____ Wasco _____ _____ Washington _____ _____ Wheeler _____ _____ Yamhill _____ _____ Your chosen 15-mile circle Please include a description of where your circle is located. Thanks, Paul T. Sullivan From slcarpenter at gmail.com Tue Jan 11 00:37:05 2011 From: slcarpenter at gmail.com (Scott Carpenter) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:37:05 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Odd Golden-crowned Sparrow Message-ID: I came across an odd-looking Golden-crowned Sparrow today at Ridgefield NWR in Clark County, Washington. From a distance, the bird appeared to have quite a bit of white in the head, reminiscent of a White-crowned Sparrow. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that it indeed had white feathers on the crown, but that perhaps it was also missing or had severe damage to some of the crown feathers. Photos of this bird are online at: http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/p797920214 I'm not quite sure what to make of it, and would appreciate feedback. Thanks -- Scott Carpenter Portland, Oregon -------------------------- http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/ http://www.facebook.com/scottcarpenterphotography -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From larmcqueen at msn.com Tue Jan 11 00:48:59 2011 From: larmcqueen at msn.com (Larry McQueen) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:48:59 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Odd Golden-crowned Sparrow In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: This does look like a hybrid Golden - White-crown. The beak shows more of the yellow that is characteristic of White-crowned and the back looks more white-crowned. Also, there is more of a gray-tone to the sides of the neck and breast than the brownish tone of the Golden-crowned. Larry On Jan 10, 2011, at 10:37 PM, Scott Carpenter wrote: > I came across an odd-looking Golden-crowned Sparrow today at Ridgefield NWR in Clark County, Washington. From a distance, the bird appeared to have quite a bit of white in the head, reminiscent of a White-crowned Sparrow. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that it indeed had white feathers on the crown, but that perhaps it was also missing or had severe damage to some of the crown feathers. Photos of this bird are online at: http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/p797920214 > > I'm not quite sure what to make of it, and would appreciate feedback. > > Thanks > > -- > Scott Carpenter > Portland, Oregon > -------------------------- > http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/ > http://www.facebook.com/scottcarpenterphotography > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rick.lumen at gmail.com Tue Jan 11 01:07:28 2011 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 23:07:28 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [PortlandAreaBirds] Odd Golden-crowned Sparrow In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <734A2B5F-02A9-4B2B-8C92-EFBE1E370B45@gmail.com> FYI: I may have photographed the same bird back on Nov 26 at Ridgefield. The image isn't near as clear as Scott's and its bill appears pinker, but the forehead is very similar. It was with a couple of other Golden-crowned Sparrows that appeared normal. http://portland-area-birds.googlegroups.com/web/_DSC0040%5B128%5Dr%20%28Golden-crowned%20Sparrow%29.jpg?gsc=gK-GNQsAAACir1XaUom3xGBcumrh6lod Rick Wilsonville On Jan 10, 2011, at 10:34 PM, Scott Carpenter wrote: > I came across an odd-looking Golden-crowned Sparrow today at > Ridgefield NWR in Clark County, Washington. From a distance, the > bird appeared to have quite a bit of white in the head, reminiscent > of a White-crowned Sparrow. Upon closer inspection, it appeared > that it indeed had white feathers on the crown, but that perhaps it > was also missing or had severe damage to some of the crown > feathers. Photos of this bird are online at: http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/p797920214 > > I'm not quite sure what to make of it, and would appreciate feedback. > > Thanks > > -- > Scott Carpenter > Portland, Oregon > -------------------------- > http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/ > http://www.facebook.com/scottcarpenterphotography > > -- > Portland Area Birds has a web interface that allows you to post, > unsubscribe, and change your settings. There is a message archive. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ptsulliv at spiritone.com Tue Jan 11 01:24:47 2011 From: ptsulliv at spiritone.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 23:24:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Gilliam county raptor routes revived after 4 years Message-ID: <6DAC625014FE433C8484ACD9661340A0@dell307ac3e2b6> OBOL: This weekend Carol Karlen & I revived the Gilliam County raptor routes we did in 2005-06. Mileage: McMinnville to Philippi Canyon - 161 mi Gilliam County North Route - 125 mi ; Saturday 7 hrs Gilliam County South Route - 151 mi ; Sunday 8 hrs Arlington to McMinnville - 175 mi North Route: 2 N. Harrier 0 Bald Eagle 16 Red-tailed Hawk 5 Rough-legged Hawk 2 AD, 1 Imm Golden Eagle 10 Am. Kestrel 1 Merlin 1 Prairie Falcon 4 N. Shrike 2 L. Shrike South Route: 10 N. Harrier 1 Bald Eagle 19 Red-tailed Hawk 13 Rough-legged Hawk 2 Ad Golden Eagle 7 Am. Kestrel 1 Merlin 4 Prairie Falcon 5 N. Shrike 1 L. Shrike Also seen both days: Chukar, Townsend's Solitaire, Horned Larks And Sunday in Lonerock: 92 Wild Turkeys Good Birding, everyone, Paul T. Sullivan From ptsulliv at spiritone.com Tue Jan 11 01:45:42 2011 From: ptsulliv at spiritone.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 23:45:42 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Listing results -- please note Message-ID: <9D30DD910B8B4E9A8A967E70181DA560@dell307ac3e2b6> Folks, This evening I received inquiries from 3 folks asking, "Did you get my listing results?" Rather than taking my time and email space replying to each request of this sort, let's do it this way, please. ;-) 1. You send in your numbers. 2. I compile everybody's numbers into the BIG MONSTER spreadsheet that has every number ever submitted, going back to 1998 [all 2,575 lines] 3. Near the end of February I'll close the submittals and sort this year's numbers by participant's name. 4. I'll send everyone who has submitted a "proof sheet" of his/her numbers. 5. You let me know if I got it right. 6. If you don't hear from me then, resubmit. OK? Thanks, ;-) 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 than 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 From deweysage at frontier.com Tue Jan 11 09:30:26 2011 From: deweysage at frontier.com (deweysage at frontier.com) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:30:26 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Regional listservs & OBOL In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <1922558625.926905.1294759826526.JavaMail.root@cl03-host01.dlls.pa.frontiernet.net> Folks, I'm watching this discussion from far away in New Jersey where it is cold and snowy. Just want to say, it is fine to CC OBOL from local listserves, but OBOL does have a tendency to bounce any message that has too many emails CC'd on it. It treats them as spam. If there are only a few CC emails, it will work fine. So, if you are going to CC OBOL a message, make sure you aren't CC a bunch of personal emails too, or it won't go thru. Cheers Dave Lauten OBOL moderator ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom McNamara" To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Monday, January 10, 2011 8:48:41 PM Subject: [OBOL] Regional listservs & OBOL ? OBOL ? It's been an interesting thread.? I currently subscribe to only this list and the newly created Portland Area Birds Google group and I did the latter pretty much for? the reason that Jay W did---i.e. quasi-"defensively"? ---so that I would have more or less immediate word (for one who is still cell phone free) about any really good birds that are found locally and that didn't make it onto OBOL (alas). ? I can sympathize with points made both by people who seemingly love the regional lists and those who prefer the statewide-ness of OBOL. I really feel for the volunteer editors who have more fragmented sources to scour in diligently doing their work compiling sightings etc.? To that end, I agree with Alan? who makes the request that folks consider copying? OBOL on their posts to regional listservs.? I guess, though, that some folks might get out of their comfort zone if they were to? do that which is kind of a shame.? OBOL seems to have an intrinsic tension that I? can't think how to resolve--- people SHOULD be able to post anything bird related w/out fear of being shredded for their thoughts. Shredded? a bit dramatic McNamara? Well, even though it seems to be a rather rare event, I have indeed read some posts that were simply outrageous---one last year by a certain former ABA president was utterly astounding for its condescension and ridicule. (He was ably taken to task for that, I happy to say).? On the other hand there seem to be folks whose sensitivities seem to be made of onion skin--- a few pertinent,? clarifying questions asked about sighting "x"? and they feel as if they've been? seriously mistreated. And they won't post ever again. What to do? One thing about OBOL that I don't believe has been mentioned is that it is, to me anyway, More than merely a place to report bird sightings. If you reading this thread, I would say that it pretty much proves the point.?? It is a place? that mainly, I would of course agree, has to do with sightings but then some pithy issue comes along and people really jump in and discuss.? For me, it's usually some place I can learn something valuable, is interesting and often damn entertaining.?? And it is just these kinds of discussions I tend to remember AND who were the? authors were that I thought contributed something worthwhile where OBOL seems very much better at providing the appropriate forum. As many of this list do, I go out and about around this state (not nearly as much as I would like) and it is a total kick to meet people at? stake out, say,? or at Malheur and, introductions being made, say,? Oh, sure, I read you on OBOL all the time.?? There seems to be? instant connection because we already? know something of one another. Long live OBOL! and may it never become a CALBIRDS good birding all, Tom _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From contopus at telus.net Tue Jan 11 09:52:52 2011 From: contopus at telus.net (Wayne Weber) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 07:52:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Vancouver, BC RBA for January 9, 2011 Message-ID: <001301cbb1a7$9cf52f40$d6df8dc0$@net> This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Sunday, January 9th, sponsored in part by Wild Birds Unlimited, with stores in Vancouver and North Vancouver. The RBA telephone number is (604) 737-3074. If you wish to leave a rare bird report, please phone the main number again at (604) 737-3074, press "2" for the rare bird reporting line, and follow the instructions given there. RARE BIRD ALERT for a NORTHERN HAWK OWL on Westham Island in Delta, present daily since December 2nd; an ACORN WOODPECKER at a filbert orchard on Fore Road just west of Highway 11 in Matsqui (Abbotsford), seen daily since December 27th, but often elusive; a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD at 5744 River Road in Delta, just east of Ladner; and 1 or 2 WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS at Strathcona Park in Vancouver. Sightings for Sunday, January 9th In Delta, the NORTHERN HAWK OWL on Westham Island Road, the NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD at 5744 River Road, and the HARRIS'S SPARROW at 5421 96th Street were all still present. A TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was found in shrubs at the lawn bowling pitch in Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver. Two EARED GREBES were seen near the White Rock pier in White Rock, a usual location. An immature GYRFALCON was near Marion and Campbell Roads in Sumas Prairie Abbotsford), and nearby, the GOLDEN EAGLE was still along Wells Line Road, and two HARLAN'S RED-TAILED HAWKS were seen along Dixon Road. In Chilliwack, a flock of 30 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS was at Central Sumas Road and Evans Road. Sightings for Saturday, January 8th The ACORN WOODPECKER was seen again by numerous observers at the filbert orchard on Fore Road in Matsqui, just west of Highway 11. The NORTHERN HAWK OWL was still being seen on Westham Island Road in Delta (on the way to the Reifel Bird Sanctuary), as was the HARRIS'S SPARROW on 96th Street north of Highway 10. Along the south side of the Tsawwassen ferry jetty in Delta were 9 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, the wintering WILLET, a SNOW BUNTING in the beach logs, and offshore was an EARED GREBE. Four MUTE SWANS were at the east end of the Westham Island bridge. Several BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were still in the vicinity of 8th Avenue and 184th Street in Surrey. Along Banford Road east of Chilliwack were two HORNED LARKS and "many" AMERICAN PIPITS. Sightings for Friday, January 7th A WESTERN SCRUB-JAY was still present at the Strathcona Park community garden in Vancouver, where one or two birds have been seen for several weeks. Nearby, a WESTERN GULL was with other gulls at Trout Lake. The HARRIS'S SPARROW was seen again at 5421 96th Street in Delta. Twelve EURASIAN WIGEON at Elgin Heritage Park off Crescent Road in Surrey was a good number. Nearby, the usual LONG-BILLED CURLEW and 4 MARBLED GODWITS were at Blackie Spit. Sightings for Tuesday, January 4th The ACORN WOODPECKER in Matsqui and the NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD and HARRIS'S SPARROW in Delta were still at their usual locations. Four more BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were seen near the bird feeders at the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver. 35 SURFBIRDS were seen near the foot of 21st Street on the West Vancouver waterfront, an unusual location, and 10 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS were near Third Beach in Stanley Park, Vancouver. Sightings for Monday, January 3rd Another HARRIS'S SPARROW was found in Jericho Park, Vancouver. Several BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were still near 8th Avenue and 184th Street in Surrey. Sightings for Sunday, January 2nd The NORTHERN HAWK OWL in Delta and ACORN WOODPECKER in Matsqui were still in their usual locations. In Surrey, a EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL was at Blackie Spit, and 13 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were in hawthorns along 8th Avenue near 184th Street. In Chilliwack, 2 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, an AMERICAN TREE SPARROW, 30 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS, and 35 AMERICAN PIPITS were along Sumas Central Road. In the Sumas Prairie area of Abbotsford, a GOLDEN EAGLE was on Powerhouse Road near Wells Line Road, and 2 WESTERN GULLS were on Vye Road near McDermott. Sightings for Saturday, January 1st A TUNDRA SWAN, rare in recent winters, was with 50 TRUMPETER SWANS along 112th Street north of Highway 10 in Delta, and a GYRFALCON was along 112th just south of Highway 10, near Boundary Bay. Sightings for Friday, December 31st In Delta, the NORTHERN HAWK OWL, NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD, and HARRIS'S SPARROW seen on the Ladner Christmas Count were still being reported. At Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver, 20 SURFBIRDS were seen along the rocky shoreline. The ACORN WOODPECKER was still being seen along Fore Road near Highway 11 in Matsqui, as was an unseasonable COMMON YELLOWTHROAT and 5 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES. A GYRFALCON was seen along Wells Line Road near Marion Road in Sumas Prairie (Abbotsford), and a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER were seen elsewhere in Sumas Prairie. Sightings for Thursday, December 30th Sightings at Iona Island in Richmond included 30 BONAPARTE'S GULLS, a WESTERN GULL, and 2 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS. Nearby on Sea Island, a "BLUE GOOSE" (dark-phase SNOW GOOSE) was seen with a SNOW GOOSE flock. The ACORN WOODPECKER was seen again in Matsqui, but sometimes disappears for hours at a time. In Delta, the NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was seen again at 5744 River Road; the HARRIS'S SPARROW and 2 SAVANNAH SPARROWS were with other sparrows along 96th Street; and 3 NORTHERN SHRIKES and 4 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS were along the Boundary Bay dyke. In Surrey, the LONG-BILLED CURLEW and 5 MARBLED GODWITS were still at Blackie Spit. Sightings for Wednesday, December 29th A HUTTON'S VIREO was at Klootchman Park in West Vancouver, and a BRANDT'S CORMORANT was offshore there. Two GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were seen at Beach Grove Lagoon in Delta (east foot of 12th Avenue). Sightings for Tuesday, December 28th The ACORN WOODPECKER was seen well by more than 20 observers along Fore Road in Matsqui, and the HARRIS'S SPARROW was found again along 96th Street in Delta, north of Highway 10. Sightings for Monday, December 27th The Ladner Christmas Bird Count, covering most of Delta, tallied 143 species. Highlights included 7 owl species including the NORTHERN HAWK OWL on Westham Island Road, a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD found on count day at 5744 River Road, and an immature HARRIS'S SPARROW at a feeder at 5421 96th Street. Also of interest were a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW at the foot of Shell Road in Richmond, 4 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS and 11 SANDHILL CRANES at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary, and a total of more than 100 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES. An ACORN WOODPECKER, only the 5th record for B.C. (3 of these in 2010!), was found in and near a filbert orchard on Fore Road in Matsqui (Abbotsford), just west of Highway 11. Sightings for Wednesday, December 22nd A WESTERN GULL was seen in a gull flock at the mouth of the Capilano River in West Vancouver, and a rare wintering SPOTTED SANDPIPER was at Maplewood Flats in North Vancouver. Two GYRFALCONS were seen tussling with each other near 96th Street on the north side of Boundary Bay in Delta. Sightings for Monday, December 20th An AMERICAN TREE SPARROW and 125 AMERICAN PIPITS were seen along Sumas Central Road in Chilliwack. Nearby, a YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD was seen along Prairie Central Road near Banford Road just east of Chilliwack. Sightings for Sunday, December 19th The Vancouver Christmas Bird Count tallied 1231 species including 2 WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS at Strathcona Park, 4 RHINOCEROS AUKLETS off the west side of Stanley Park, and a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER. Sightings for Friday, December 17th A LONG-BIULLED CURLEW, 4 MARBLED GODWITS, and 6 EURASIAN WIGEON were at Blackie Spit in Surrey. Sightings for Thursday, December 16th Two SNOW BUNTINGS were near the tip of Blackie Spit in Surrey. Several SURFBIRDS were seen with BLACK TURNSTONES at Whytecliff Park in West Vancouver. Sightings for Wednesday, December 15th The NORTHERN HAWK-OWL was seen on Westham Island, Delta, near the bridge, but later on about 2 km away at the sharp bend on Westham Island Road, where it has usually been. The Christmas Bird Count at Pemberton, on Highway 99 north of Whistler, featured reports of an AMERICAN TREE SPARROW, 3 NORTHERN PYGMY-OWLS, and 20 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES. A brief account of 31 of the best birding locations in the Vancouver area can be found on the Nature Vancouver website at http://www.naturevancouver.ca/Birding_Birding_Sites If you have any questions about birds or birding in the Vancouver area, please call Wayne at 604-597-7201, Viveka at 604-531-3401, or Larry at 604-465-1402. Thank you for calling the Vancouver Rare Bird Alert, and good birding. Wayne C. Weber Delta, BC contopus at telus.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dpvroman at budget.net Tue Jan 11 10:07:59 2011 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis Vroman) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 08:07:59 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Odd Golden-crowned Sparrow References: Message-ID: the bird also shows some reddish-brown feathers in the center, rear part of the crown. What you would expect to find in a juvenile White-crown this time of the year. Also, depending on which photo your looking at, the bill color is either yellowish, or fleshy-colored as with a White-crown (yellow in Puget Sound race, fleshy in Gambell's race) and it has black on the bill tip. Dennis Subject: Re: [OBOL] Odd Golden-crowned Sparrow This does look like a hybrid Golden - White-crown. The beak shows more of the yellow that is characteristic of White-crowned and the back looks more white-crowned. Also, there is more of a gray-tone to the sides of the neck and breast than the brownish tone of the Golden-crowned. Larry On Jan 10, 2011, at 10:37 PM, Scott Carpenter wrote: I came across an odd-looking Golden-crowned Sparrow today at Ridgefield NWR in Clark County, Washington. From a distance, the bird appeared to have quite a bit of white in the head, reminiscent of a White-crowned Sparrow. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that it indeed had white feathers on the crown, but that perhaps it was also missing or had severe damage to some of the crown feathers. Photos of this bird are online at: http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/p797920214 I'm not quite sure what to make of it, and would appreciate feedback. Thanks -- Scott Carpenter Portland, Oregon -------------------------- http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/ http://www.facebook.com/scottcarpenterphotography _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From joel.geier at peak.org Tue Jan 11 11:09:01 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:09:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Regional listservs & OBOL Message-ID: <1294765741.7560.421.camel@clearwater1> Hi All, Dave Lauten makes a good point re: the idea of just cc:ing OBOL on regional list postings, from a list administrator's point of view. There are some additional practical reasons not to do this: 1) Cc:ing some regional lists (in particular COBOL) seems to generate duplicate postings to OBOL. A minor nuisance perhaps, but a nuisance. 2) Cc:ing OBOL on a regional posting can frequently result in copy-all replies from OBOL subscribers, who overlook the fact that they're responding to a list that they're not a member of. Sometimes these reply-all messages are useful to discussions on the regional lists, but often they're not. As much as I hate to deflate anyone's self-esteem, not all clever rejoinders and inside jokes relating to OBOL personalities are necessarily appreciated or even understood by regional list subscribers, who don't know anything about particular individuals' love of geese or dislike of larids. These reply-all message also result in more work for regional list administrators like myself, who have to go on-line and either release them from quarantine, or delete them (either on purpose, or sometimes by accident while we're purging the daily supply of Vi at gr& ads, phishing scams etc.). So, a better solution (which I try to stick to myself, though sometimes forget) is to FIRST make your posting to the regional list, and THEN forward that message to OBOL. This way you can also take time to exercise some discretion as to what you forward to OBOL. For my part, I usually forward my observations of Trumpeter Swans, Swamp Sparrows, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and the like which I know are likely to be of interest to Portlandites thinking about their weekend plans. I probably wouldn't forward a posting about hearing a saw-whet owl in our backyard, the Anna's hummingbirds at our feeders, a handful of White-throated Sparrows at E.E. Wilson or other birds that are more or less expected to be around the mid-Willamette Valley in winter. If I find 6 or 8 White-throated Sparrows in one flock, that's a different story. Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis From dwhipple at opusnet.com Tue Jan 11 12:04:00 2011 From: dwhipple at opusnet.com (Darrel Whipple) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 10:04:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Rainier area raptor route Jan 10, 2011 Message-ID: <2598C00186054AC2965756E70E03AD27@DarrelPC> Yesterday John Byrd and I covered the Rainier area raptor route, one of three Columbia County routes recently designed by Jeff Fleischer. We had dry weather, a fair amount of sunshine and 39 degrees F. We covered the 81.2 miles in 5 hours, with following results: 6 Red-tailed Hawk 7 American Kestrel 2 Northern Harrier 1 adult Bald Eagle Darrel Whipple Rainier -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kolwicz at minetfiber.com Tue Jan 11 12:31:48 2011 From: kolwicz at minetfiber.com (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 10:31:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Joel's remarks about cross-posting Message-ID: <4D2CA214.8020702@minetfiber.com> I have to add that the indiscriminate cross posting also all-too-frequently includes masses of boilerplate and unrelated postings that we digest viewers have to wade through because respondents don't edit their quotations. It is not at all unusual to see responses that include 3 versions of the OBOL list trailing boilerplate in individual responses as well as whole message lists included in a new response. Now, unlike using caution when reporting potential rarities, I find that to be very rude. Frank From fdlospalluto at gmail.com Tue Jan 11 13:14:20 2011 From: fdlospalluto at gmail.com (frank lospalluto) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:14:20 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Birding Lists In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi- I rarely post to OBOL but I enjoy reading it online and the new Sialia birding lists digest is really a nice resource. The diversity of regional lists is something to celebrate! I hope to see more of the regional Oregon lists at :http://digest.sialia.com/?rm=all_lists The really cool thing is you can follow links to photos and the like without a lot of hassle compared to reading OBOL at birdingonthe.net or being subscribed to every list. And if I do see something of note in Oregon I will post to OBOL. happy birding, frank down near Siskiyou Summit -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From judie310hansen at comcast.net Tue Jan 11 13:34:51 2011 From: judie310hansen at comcast.net (Hansen Judith) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:34:51 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tundra Swans - Stewart Ponds - West Eugene Message-ID: I just got a report of three tundra swans being present on Stewart Pond in west Eugene this morning at 8 AM, and then they shortly flew north. Judie Hansen From hadada at centurytel.net Tue Jan 11 14:42:49 2011 From: hadada at centurytel.net (ron and Polly Maertz) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:42:49 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] xmas count highs Message-ID: Hi I was looking at the all time highs for Xmas counts and 2 counts struck me as being unreal. The first one was NORTHWESTERN CROW with 3120 for Eugene for count 58. Did NW crow used to mean something else back then. I would think this needs to be corrected. The other one was 1280 SURFBIRDS from Corvallis on the 95th count. I guess Corvallis must have moved to the Alaskan coast. Pretty odd Maertz Glide From dan-gleason at comcast.net Tue Jan 11 15:37:18 2011 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:37:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] xmas count highs In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I agree that Northwestern Crow is totally inappropriate for a Eugene CBC. I am sure that these are all American Crows, but I can't go back and change old data. There are other problems with old information from Eugene (and other) Christmas Counts. Williamson's Sapsuckers were also once reported on a Eugene CBC and I don't believe this is accurate either, and there are several other instances of either species or numbers that are highly suspect. However, at this stage, all we can do is note our doubts in connection with such sightings. In the absence of detailed observational notes, it would, in my opinion, be unethical to arbitrarily change data. That runs the risk of anyone simply deleting or changing any data we don't like. It is best clearly state your doubts and why you doubt, but please don't change what is there. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason at comcast.net 541 345-0450 On Jan 11, 2011, at 12:42 PM, ron and Polly Maertz wrote: > Hi > I was looking at the all time highs for Xmas counts and 2 counts struck me as being unreal. The first one was NORTHWESTERN CROW with 3120 for Eugene for count 58. Did NW crow used to mean something else back then. I would think this needs to be corrected. > The other one was 1280 SURFBIRDS from Corvallis on the 95th count. I guess Corvallis must have moved to the Alaskan coast. Pretty odd > Maertz > Glide > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From marciafcutler at comcast.net Tue Jan 11 15:54:43 2011 From: marciafcutler at comcast.net (Marcia F. Cutler) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:54:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] xmas count highs In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <12E8700C-CB8E-4B6C-AC4C-EB844B6315C2@comcast.net> Hi Ron, Thanks for spotting those Surfbirds in Corvallis! One of my projects is to reconcile discrepancies between my compiler's records and what the national CBC records show. However, so far, I've only looked at records for birds known to be found on the Corvallis CBC. I don't think I ever would have looked under Surfbirds! Marcia F. Cutler On Jan 11, 2011, at 12:42 PM, ron and Polly Maertz wrote: > Hi > I was looking at the all time highs for Xmas counts and 2 counts struck me as being unreal. The first one was NORTHWESTERN CROW with 3120 for Eugene for count 58. Did NW crow used to mean something else back then. I would think this needs to be corrected. > The other one was 1280 SURFBIRDS from Corvallis on the 95th count. I guess Corvallis must have moved to the Alaskan coast. Pretty odd > Maertz > Glide > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From acontrer at mindspring.com Tue Jan 11 15:56:50 2011 From: acontrer at mindspring.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:56:50 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] xmas count highs In-Reply-To: <12E8700C-CB8E-4B6C-AC4C-EB844B6315C2@comcast.net> References: <12E8700C-CB8E-4B6C-AC4C-EB844B6315C2@comcast.net> Message-ID: <20E05C5D-A01F-4A4D-B7E3-F55B1F64D86E@mindspring.com> One of those high water years. Better check oystercatcher. Alan Contreras Sent from my iPhone On Jan 11, 2011, at 1:54 PM, "Marcia F. Cutler" wrote: > Hi Ron, > > Thanks for spotting those Surfbirds in Corvallis! > > One of my projects is to reconcile discrepancies between my compiler's records and what the national CBC records show. However, so far, I've only looked at records for birds known to be found on the Corvallis CBC. I don't think I ever would have looked under Surfbirds! > > Marcia F. Cutler > > On Jan 11, 2011, at 12:42 PM, ron and Polly Maertz wrote: > >> Hi >> I was looking at the all time highs for Xmas counts and 2 counts struck me as being unreal. The first one was NORTHWESTERN CROW with 3120 for Eugene for count 58. Did NW crow used to mean something else back then. I would think this needs to be corrected. >> The other one was 1280 SURFBIRDS from Corvallis on the 95th count. I guess Corvallis must have moved to the Alaskan coast. Pretty odd >> Maertz >> Glide >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OBOL mailing list >> OBOL at oregonbirds.org >> http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Tue Jan 11 16:48:52 2011 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 14:48:52 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Reading a List With a Web Interface vs. Individual Email Messages Message-ID: <855200.17368.qm@web39309.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi OBOL. I think the frustrations that some people feel when reading lists come from having to do this by clicking on one email at a time. I find it MUCH easier to read OBOL and other lists via the web interface than through email and I have tried both extensively (not just bird lists). I now have my OBOL messages filtered into a special folder but I usually read it on the Siler website. This allows me to very quickly scan through all the new messages on a single page and I often catch stuff that interests me that I probably would not have clicked on had I just seen the subject title in my inbox, not to mention that the messages of some OBOLites almost always end up in my spam folder which took a lot of time to fish out before I filtered them....and it disrupted the order of the messages. Reading OBOL via the web interface speeds up the process at least 10 times (probably way more) and I can do a quick keyword search on the webpage if there's something I really don't want to miss. Bottom line, it makes it a much more enjoyable experience and more likely that I'll actually read it because it doesn't take as much time. I like the idea of pooling together all the birding lists on the sialia website with a web interface. However, I wish there was a way to list all the messages from a single list or maybe a small group of lists, including the body of the message, on a single website...instead of having to click on each individual message. Personally, I'd probably pool all the Oregon lists and maybe a few others. Ages ago, I used to use a NPR site that did something similar...you could pick out your favorite shows or your favorite stations and then the programming would be displayed on a single page. Pretty cool. I would also like to see an little easier way to read the archives. My preference would be to be able to select a date range and/or a keyword search and have all relevant messages (title and body) displayed on a single page and available for quick scan. I don't know if anyone is actually trying to profit from any of these websites...but I recommend to anyone involved in the programming/development of these....keep it FREE for the user. Paid membership websites are a very bad business model that seldom actually works. If you really want to make it great, use open source coding and let the world help you refine it. Cindy Ashy From celata at pacifier.com Tue Jan 11 16:54:18 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 14:54:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] xmas count highs Message-ID: <4D2CDF9A.9050006@pacifier.com> I am happy to say that CBC #58 pre-dates my involvement in much of anything associated with birding, the addition of NW Crow, however, was most probably a transpositional error... Once upon a time, each compiler got a compiler's packet that included a little white booklet containing the then official CBC bird list. It had every possible bird for the entire continent. The compiler put down the number of each bird seen, add squiggly lines for high counts and unusual stuff, then sent it off to Audubon. The folks at Audubon took each one of those little books and transposed the data onto a master list. By the time I became involved, the master list came to me as a big, hurky computer print out, along with all the little white booklets and, as Regional Editor, I was expected to check each booklet against the print-out and make corrections. Not surprisingly, mistakes were made (though I believe 95 would have been my predecessor's error). Nowdays, compiler's input data directly to the mast list on line and I do all my editing there as well. There are several "tools" that allow me to search the entire list for House Wrens and Swainson's Thrushes in a few simple keystrokes. Mistakes are still made, but they're easier to fix... -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Tue Jan 11 17:12:30 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:12:30 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] xmas count highs In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <519525.41272.qm@web45316.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Oh, that is nothing!? We have had Neotropic Cormorant on the Coos Count one year!???I triedd unsuccessfully to get it removed then gave up (I sent the CBC folks at Cornell a note about it, nothing ever happened though although they said they'd take care of it).? There are LOTS of mistakes, they really need to do some serious cleaning up.? However, they won't let compilers in to do it "the easy way".? You have to go through every year and pick out each record that is incorrect then send them all that info which would be extremely slow for me in Coos Bay, particularly with 30+ years worth of editing to work on (I have a spreadsheet with each years species data and numbers).? I didn't bother with that since they could even get rid of the one Neotropic Cormorant record on the Coos Bay count. Tim R Coos Bay ________________________________ From: Dan Gleason To: ron and Polly Maertz Cc: obol Sent: Tue, January 11, 2011 1:37:18 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] xmas count highs I agree that Northwestern Crow is totally inappropriate for a Eugene CBC. I am sure that these are all American Crows, but I can't go back and change old data. There are other problems with old information from Eugene (and other) Christmas Counts. Williamson's Sapsuckers were also once reported on a Eugene CBC and I don't believe this is accurate either, and there are several other instances of either species or numbers that are highly suspect. However, at this stage, all we can do is note our doubts in connection with such sightings. In the absence of detailed observational notes, it would, in my opinion, be unethical to arbitrarily change data. That runs the risk of anyone simply deleting or changing any data we don't like. It is best clearly state your doubts and why you doubt, but please don't change what is there. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason at comcast.net 541 345-0450 On Jan 11, 2011, at 12:42 PM, ron and Polly Maertz wrote: > Hi > I was looking at the all time highs for Xmas counts and 2 counts struck me as >being unreal. The first one was NORTHWESTERN CROW with 3120 for Eugene for count >58. Did NW crow used to mean something else back then. I would think this needs >to be corrected. > The other one was 1280 SURFBIRDS from Corvallis on the 95th count. I guess >Corvallis must have moved to the Alaskan coast. Pretty odd > Maertz > Glide > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Tue Jan 11 18:00:00 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:00:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] CBC data from the national archives Message-ID: <1F5957D6-C055-4726-BBED-3CC233B57556@earthlink.net> A bit of this came up a year or two ago . The Newport CBC in the year X reported 253 American Kestrels. A high number for any count circle. Range Bayer had access to the original paper from the count and NO American Kestrals were detected that year, BUT 253 American Coots were. I always assumed that particular error occurred where data is stored at the national level. Tim's anecdote dispirits me, although it's no surprise. Just think of the days when every book on earth was copied by hand. Lars Norgren From winkg at hevanet.com Tue Jan 11 19:07:43 2011 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:07:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Xmas count highs Message-ID: <1EB408AE-D25D-428E-B8C4-D47930A42F15@hevanet.com> The CBC database says that one year Portland had 341 Pine Grosbeaks-- and no Pine Siskins. Right. It seems to me that, considering how much money is contributed to NAS through the $5 participation feed (something like $200k/yr), specifically for the maintenance of the database, they should be able to fix these obvious errors of transcription. Wink Gross, compiler Portland CBC From cgates326 at gmail.com Tue Jan 11 19:12:52 2011 From: cgates326 at gmail.com (Charles R. Gates) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:12:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Madras Mockingbird Message-ID: <4D2D0014.60302@gmail.com> Walt Wolfe is a birder in Madras and he just informed me that there is a Mockingbird hanging out a couple of blocks west of the old Middle School in Madras. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll give better directions. -- Chuck Gates Crook County High School NAMC State Coordinator - East Cascades Bird Conservancy Online Oregon Birding Site Guide - birdingoregon.info 541-923-1320 From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Tue Jan 11 19:28:59 2011 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:28:59 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Photos of birders Message-ID: If you have photos of Oregon birders taken in the field in Oregon, we would like to consider them for inclusion in Oregon Birds. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer at mindspring.com Oregonreview.blogspot.com From gnorgren at earthlink.net Tue Jan 11 19:46:59 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:46:59 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Xmas count highs In-Reply-To: <1EB408AE-D25D-428E-B8C4-D47930A42F15@hevanet.com> References: <1EB408AE-D25D-428E-B8C4-D47930A42F15@hevanet.com> Message-ID: This is indeed a sobering perspective. Multiple compilers, plus our regional compiler, have made comments. They all work in the capacity of volunteers. If they were paid fair market value for their efforts, what would its value be? A princely sum. Then the fruits of their efforts are bundled for a fee, excuse me, bungled for a ...I've always been inclined to cut the guys in New York some slack because I'm so familiar with the volunteer front. But now that I'm reminded of all the money the volunteer counters contribute, it seems reasonable to demand some accountability. Lars On Jan 11, 2011, at 5:07 PM, Wink Gross wrote: > The CBC database says that one year Portland had 341 Pine Grosbeaks-- > and no Pine Siskins. Right. > > It seems to me that, considering how much money is contributed to NAS > through the $5 participation feed (something like $200k/yr), specifically for > the maintenance of the database, they should be able to fix these obvious > errors of transcription. > > Wink Gross, compiler > Portland CBC > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From dan-gleason at comcast.net Tue Jan 11 20:34:23 2011 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 18:34:23 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Xmas count highs In-Reply-To: <1EB408AE-D25D-428E-B8C4-D47930A42F15@hevanet.com> References: <1EB408AE-D25D-428E-B8C4-D47930A42F15@hevanet.com> Message-ID: <44A62884-BD4D-49D4-B451-93E6784C55B9@comcast.net> I am sure that many of the errors are simply recording errors and if this can be established with certainty, it would be good to set the record straight, but some errors may not be so simple to explain. With regard to NW Crows in Eugene in 1958, we can all now be sure with high certainty, that this is an error, but was it an error in recording or reporting? I knew someone (no longer living) who participated in some of those early counts. He once told me that NW Crows were in Eugene and he saw them often. Now keep in mind that this same individual had no hesitation about reporting several hundred Hutton's Vireos (he said that they came in flocks to his feeders) and he regularly saw Cassin's Finches and even had regular visits from White-collared Seedeaters here in Eugene. He was once upset with me for not accepting his report of a Peregrine Falcon. I saw the bird he was referring to and it was a small male Kestrel. A person who compiled an old CBC count many, many years ago (a count inactive for a long time now) once asked me to help her tell the difference between Brewer's Blackbirds and Common Ravens, they looked alike to her, and she regularly had Blackburnian Warblers at her feeders (looked like Townsend's to me). Obviously, these are extreme examples, but someone with a similar lack of knowledge or skills could have been responsible for some of those early suspicious reports. Mistakes certainly do happen, but unfortunately, we will never know for sure what is behind some of these old reports and the best we can do now is leave the data as reported, but note the high probability of error. I think that we have far better controls for catching errors now than we had in the past and I appreciate the efforts of Mike Patterson and others in similar positions. Filtering needs to start at the local level (and probably does in almost every case). Here in Eugene, one team leader this year reported a high number of Greater Scaup. When I asked about this, he immediately knew that he had entered the number on the wrong line instead of on the line for Lesser Scaup. This was an easy error to correct, but someone did need to know the improbability of the original report. Someone might later also question our report of 54 Turkey Vultures. As the person who currently complies all of the data for the Eugene CBC, I did allow this number as our total for the count. However, if I allowed all of the reports, our number would have been closer to 75-80, but looking at the numbers, locations, and reports from team leaders, I concluded that some of the numbers were likely duplicate sightings from adjacent areas. Fifty-four is still a record high and a somewhat incredible number, yet this is the summary from several reliable observers in different portions of the count circle and does take into account the possibility of multiple sightings. I think that we do want to look at all reports with a certain amount of caution, but strange things do happen. If you saw a report of a Pyrrhuloxia in Oregon from the 1950s, it might be tempting to just reject it, yet we all know that such a sighting did occur recently. Had this sighting occurred in the 1940s or 50s, fewer people would likely have had the chance to hear about or see such a bird. The current record is well verified, but an old record may have little verification. Do we accept or reject such a record? I suggest keeping your suspicion level high, but defend your reasoning and don't change any record that you can't document as a real error. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason at comcast.net 541 345-0450 On Jan 11, 2011, at 5:07 PM, Wink Gross wrote: > The CBC database says that one year Portland had 341 Pine Grosbeaks-- > and no Pine Siskins. Right. > > It seems to me that, considering how much money is contributed to NAS > through the $5 participation feed (something like $200k/yr), specifically for > the maintenance of the database, they should be able to fix these obvious > errors of transcription. > > Wink Gross, compiler > Portland CBC > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Tue Jan 11 21:51:35 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:51:35 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Xmas count highs In-Reply-To: <44A62884-BD4D-49D4-B451-93E6784C55B9@comcast.net> References: <1EB408AE-D25D-428E-B8C4-D47930A42F15@hevanet.com> <44A62884-BD4D-49D4-B451-93E6784C55B9@comcast.net> Message-ID: <966819.64417.qm@web45306.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I agree with Dan on some of this. An experienced compiler should be able to leave alone records that have a fair likelihood of actually having occurred, but others, such as multiple reports of 3-50+ Lesser Yellowlegs in the 70's and 80's from the Coos Bay count, could create havoc down the road. If these records aren't ferreted out of the system someone down the road may note that the number of Lesser Yellowlegs has substantially decreased on south coast CBCs in recent years (we get a well documented bird every few years on the count)! There are other obvious miscues (some which ex-compilers should have cleaned up but did not) on older Coos Bay CBCs such as a flock of Baird's Sandpipers, or multiple Wilson's Phalaropes, House Wrens, etc. etc. Of course, I inherited a spreadsheet from Alan Contreras with count numbers for all the Coos Bay CBCs which would make this possible for me (assuming that the spreadsheet accurately reflects what was actually found on these early CBCs). I am interested in correcting typos on numbers of individual species too. Some of these species errors are included with the Coos Bay CBC spreadsheet I have and were entered on the NAB data base, but the Neotropic Cormorant and a few other errors were obviously just data entry typos- there is no reason these should not be cleaned up, the sooner the better! What would be nice is if the local compiler could at least review their local CBC records and submit proposed changes that could clean up some of the obvious errors. Not that you can't submit recommendations for changes now, I'm just guessing they don't have the time or staff to do anything with feedback from local compilers. Also, the local compilers may have more knowledge on what is or isn't a mistake than the folks back at Cornell. And yes,without proper documentation and review, which we now have thanks to Mike Patterson, 20 years down the road people shouldn't question some of our crazier new records like a Curlew Sandpiper on the Coos Bay CBC (yeah right)! Merry 2011 (wow, is it really 2011?!), Tim R Coos Bay ________________________________ From: Dan Gleason To: Wink Gross Cc: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Tue, January 11, 2011 6:34:23 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Xmas count highs I am sure that many of the errors are simply recording errors and if this can be established with certainty, it would be good to set the record straight, but some errors may not be so simple to explain. With regard to NW Crows in Eugene in 1958, we can all now be sure with high certainty, that this is an error, but was it an error in recording or reporting? I knew someone (no longer living) who participated in some of those early counts. He once told me that NW Crows were in Eugene and he saw them often. Now keep in mind that this same individual had no hesitation about reporting several hundred Hutton's Vireos (he said that they came in flocks to his feeders) and he regularly saw Cassin's Finches and even had regular visits from White-collared Seedeaters here in Eugene. He was once upset with me for not accepting his report of a Peregrine Falcon. I saw the bird he was referring to and it was a small male Kestrel. A person who compiled an old CBC count many, many years ago (a count inactive for a long time now) once asked me to help her tell the difference between Brewer's Blackbirds and Common Ravens, they looked alike to her, and she regularly had Blackburnian Warblers at her feeders (looked like Townsend's to me). Obviously, these are extreme examples, but someone with a similar lack of knowledge or skills could have been responsible for some of those early suspicious reports. Mistakes certainly do happen, but unfortunately, we will never know for sure what is behind some of these old reports and the best we can do now is leave the data as reported, but note the high probability of error. I think that we have far better controls for catching errors now than we had in the past and I appreciate the efforts of Mike Patterson and others in similar positions. Filtering needs to start at the local level (and probably does in almost every case). Here in Eugene, one team leader this year reported a high number of Greater Scaup. When I asked about this, he immediately knew that he had entered the number on the wrong line instead of on the line for Lesser Scaup. This was an easy error to correct, but someone did need to know the improbability of the original report. Someone might later also question our report of 54 Turkey Vultures. As the person who currently complies all of the data for the Eugene CBC, I did allow this number as our total for the count. However, if I allowed all of the reports, our number would have been closer to 75-80, but looking at the numbers, locations, and reports from team leaders, I concluded that some of the numbers were likely duplicate sightings from adjacent areas. Fifty-four is still a record high and a somewhat incredible number, yet this is the summary from several reliable observers in different portions of the count circle and does take into account the possibility of multiple sightings. I think that we do want to look at all reports with a certain amount of caution, but strange things do happen. If you saw a report of a Pyrrhuloxia in Oregon from the 1950s, it might be tempting to just reject it, yet we all know that such a sighting did occur recently. Had this sighting occurred in the 1940s or 50s, fewer people would likely have had the chance to hear about or see such a bird. The current record is well verified, but an old record may have little verification. Do we accept or reject such a record? I suggest keeping your suspicion level high, but defend your reasoning and don't change any record that you can't document as a real error. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason at comcast.net 541 345-0450 On Jan 11, 2011, at 5:07 PM, Wink Gross wrote: > The CBC database says that one year Portland had 341 Pine Grosbeaks-- > and no Pine Siskins. Right. > > It seems to me that, considering how much money is contributed to NAS > through the $5 participation feed (something like $200k/yr), specifically for > the maintenance of the database, they should be able to fix these obvious > errors of transcription. > > Wink Gross, compiler > Portland CBC > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 5hats at peak.org Tue Jan 11 22:01:16 2011 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 20:01:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Xmas count highs In-Reply-To: <1EB408AE-D25D-428E-B8C4-D47930A42F15@hevanet.com> References: <1EB408AE-D25D-428E-B8C4-D47930A42F15@hevanet.com> Message-ID: <5EC7E65EA8AA431FAF67FC011D4A5B02@DarrelPC> Wink, Maybe its time to pull the plug on the fee, and let the NAS fund their own games. Darrel -------------------------------------------------- From: "Wink Gross" Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 5:07 PM To: Subject: Re: [OBOL] Xmas count highs > The CBC database says that one year Portland had 341 Pine Grosbeaks-- > and no Pine Siskins. Right. > > It seems to me that, considering how much money is contributed to NAS > through the $5 participation feed (something like $200k/yr), specifically > for > the maintenance of the database, they should be able to fix these obvious > errors of transcription. > > Wink Gross, compiler > Portland CBC > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > From diana.byrne at comcast.net Tue Jan 11 22:08:21 2011 From: diana.byrne at comcast.net (Diana Byrne) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 20:08:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Photos of birders Message-ID: Can we also start listing Oregon birders? I often run into other people who post on OBOL when I'm out in the field, especially when I'm chasing a rare bird that was posted on OBOL. :-) -Diana Byrne NW Portland ------------------------------------ Subject: Photos of birders From: Alan Contreras Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:28:59 -0800 If you have photos of Oregon birders taken in the field in Oregon, we would like to consider them for inclusion in Oregon Birds. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer AT mindspring.com Oregonreview.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Tue Jan 11 22:41:44 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 20:41:44 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] the wild swans Message-ID: <3082CBAC-8FF6-4A7C-B433-BCCA17639D9B@earthlink.net> Years ago, when most of my children were not yet in school we checked out a book from the Banks PUblic Library, "The WIld Swans". An Irish fairy tale, based on the same story as Grimm's "Seven Ravens" I would guess. Most parts of Europe are not blessed with migratory swans, but Ireland gets Tundra Swans of the Bewick's subspecies. We drove directly from the library to Roy and Vadis in search of our own Tundra Swans, the Whistling subspecies. The Irish birds nest on the coast of central Siberia, far far to the east of the Whoopers with which they were so long confounded. The people who first told the tale beside smoldering peat had no idea of Novaya Zemlya or the Taimyr Penninsula, and nobody else in Europe did either, no matter how well educated or well traveled they might be. The very existence of these birds is fantastic. The fairy tale and biological reality are a continuum. Now my children are starting to leave home, and the Tundra Swans are still coming to Roy and Vadis. Since that day in the library I have bought a few scopes and can pretend I'm an eagle, one eye at a time. One=eyed and wingless makes a very lame facsimile of aquiline perception, but allows me to manipulate a pencil and record the alpha-numeric codes on the swans' blue plastic collars. As if by magic, a response from Pawtuxet comes up on my computer screen tonight. P987 is a male, hatched two years ago and banded last summer near King Salmon at the head of Bristol Bay. I once changed planes there on the way to a summer job that left me in debt. I saw him on the evening of January 4 this year. I saw T493 on the evening of Dec 30, side by side with T494. Swans are famous for mating for life, and given their close proximity to each other while moving about the flock that evening I assumed they were a mated pair. A separate email came for each bird. T493 was banded as an adult in 2006 11.5 miles sw of Nelson Lagoon. That's in East Aleutian Borough, 300 miles sw of King Salmon. She's a female, at least five years old now. And T494? Also female. My daughter and I, independently and immediately, assumed they are sisters. A son scoffs,"How do you know?" And of course we don't for certain. Maybe they're mother and daughter. It's 2000 miles from Nelson Lagoon to Roy, 2200 from South Novaya Zemlya to Ireland. One teenager in the room says five years is a long time for a human relationship. Whether you're going to Tillamook or Seaside, or coming inland from either, the flock of swans is visible just south of where these roads join/split many days of winter. From range.bayer at gmail.com Wed Jan 12 00:39:38 2011 From: range.bayer at gmail.com (Range Bayer) Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 22:39:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] CBC data from the national archives In-Reply-To: <1F5957D6-C055-4726-BBED-3CC233B57556@earthlink.net> References: <1F5957D6-C055-4726-BBED-3CC233B57556@earthlink.net> Message-ID: Hi, I am not as negative about online Audubon CBC results as some others are, and I am hopeful that the results can become more accurate if we do our part in making them more accurate. Online CBC results are a great resource and to have them available to everyone is a gift. How many of you have or have ready access to the paper copies of CBC's? Paper copies are important, but I suspect that less than 5% of OBOL readers have ready access to all CBC records for Oregon on paper copies. I am hopeful that future records will have less errors because direct online inputting of records by local CBC compilers started recently and doing so would reduce the Type 2 errors (see below) if the CBC compilers are careful and double-checks all inputted data to verify that the data are correct. Erroneous identifications need to be caught by local CBC compilers, and the regional editor can also catch obvious errors or at least flag them. Mike Patterson is doing an outstanding job as regional editor and is very knowledgeable--I have faith in his efforts. If there are errors in future CBC results, I think that the responsibility will be with CBC compilers, not National Audubon. Are there obvious errors in the online CBC results currently available from the pre-online and pre-Mike Patterson era? Yes, as many OBOL posters have pointed out. Lars pointed out one for the Yaquina Bay CBC in his email at the end. ???? I think there are three basic types of errors in the online CBC database records for historical CBC's before CBC data were directly input by compilers: 1)? Bird identification or data transcription errors in the original data sent by the local CBC compiler to National Audubon that were not caught by the local compiler or the regional editor at the time, so they were published in paper copies of American Birds.? Determining the source of these errors would require the original data sheets of the local CBC compiler for each CBC, which are likely to become lost as time goes by. In this case, the online database repeats the error of the published account. From the OBOL discussion, some of the errors that Dan Gleason pointed out would fall into this category. 2)?Transcription errors by National Audubon of data submitted to them on paper by local compilers, so that the printed CBC results in American Birds have errors as a result of data inputting. To determine this type of error, the local CBC compiler or someone else would need to check the original CBC data against the printed CBC results. I suspect that this may rarely, if ever, be done. 3) Transcription errors by National Audubon of inputting historical CBC results from paper copies into the online database. This type of error can be determined by checking the paper copy results with the online results. Ideally, this would be done for all CBC's for a count, but it is more likely to become apparent by readers finding abnormalities for specific species. For example, as pointed out by Lars and as reported in the November 2009 Sandpiper (the newsletter of Yaquina Birders and Naturalists), Janet Lamberson used the online database and asked me about the online record of 497 American Kestrels for the January 3, 1976 Yaquina Bay CBC. There were no flags on the data, yet a total of 497 kestrels for a Yaquina Bay CBC is unreasonably high because the few present in winter are usually hard to find. I looked at the paper copy of this CBC (1976 American Birds 30:578) and read that no kestrels were reported during that CBC and that there were 497 American Coots. But the online CBC version indicates no coots were recorded during that CBC. So, the number of kestrels and coots appears to have been switched during inputting the data for that Yaquina Bay CBC. I reported that error to the CBC contact in an email, and it has been corrected--it took some time and I did not receive a quick acknowledgment, but the change was made and it was worth making the effort. In a different posting to OBOL about this subject, Tim Rodenkirk reported his frustration with a Neotropic Cormorant record on a Coos Bay CBC that he reported but was not corrected. It took time, but Tim's efforts paid off because when I just searched http://web4.audubon.org/bird/cbc/hr/index.html for Coos Bay [ORCB], the record is not there. Thanks Tim! Your efforts made a difference! National Audubon (http://web4.audubon.org/bird/cbc/hr/index.html) acknowledges errors: "Currently our CBC historical database is undergoing another round of proofing of the data. A large dataset such as this requires continual proofing, and we welcome any reports of apparent irregularities." Their web page includes a "Contact Us" link, so that errors can be reported. If you find an apparent error, try to find a paper copy of the CBC to see if the error was by National Audubon in inputting the data because this is the easiest type of error to verify as human error, and then report it. If you can't find a paper copy, and the species identification is very questionable, then how about contacting Audubon and requesting that they put a "flag" on the data? Dan Gleason's point in a different email that it is important to keep some old records is true, but by putting a "flag" on questionable records, this could alert future readers of the database that the record may not be valid. Anyway that is a thought about a possible solution. Perhaps Mike Patterson or others have some other suggestions about this. I think there are positive things that can be done to improve the database, so I encourage people to try. National Audubon could be blamed for not doing things quicker, but this is what we have to work with. What is the alternative? Not do any CBC's? Try to have CBC's independent of Audubon? If so, how are you going to make the independent CBC's as accessible with fewer errors over the future as can National Audubon? Cheers, Range Bayer, who is not affiliated with Audubon but who appreciates their online CBC database, even if it has errors. On Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 4:00 PM, Norgren Family wrote: > > ? ? A bit of this came up a year or two > ago . The Newport CBC in the year X reported > 253 American Kestrels. A high number for any > count circle. Range Bayer had access to the > ?original paper from the count and NO American > Kestrals were detected that year, BUT 253 American > Coots were. I always assumed that particular > error occurred where data is stored at the > national level. > ? ? Tim's anecdote dispirits me, although > it's no surprise. Just think of the days > when every book on earth was copied by hand. > Lars Norgren > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Wed Jan 12 09:42:22 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 07:42:22 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] CBC data from the national archives In-Reply-To: References: <1F5957D6-C055-4726-BBED-3CC233B57556@earthlink.net> Message-ID: <372276.43630.qm@web45307.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Hi Range, Thanks for the head's up, they finally have the Neotropic Cormorant removed- dang, and we were the first CBC to have one here in Oregon!?I decided to look at some of the tables for the first 10 years of the count, which seem to have the most questionable sightings and are easy to pull up on the website- and guess what, we had a THICK-BILLED MURRE on the 1977 count which I had no record of, imagine that!? That same year there was a Wilson's Phalarope and a House Wren on the count, those?I do have records on and would like to remove them unless someone from the '77 count remembers seeing them and wants to straighten me out? Other records that are correct on the Audubon data base but which?I question are the 13 Wandering Tattlers in '76 along with the 7 Baird's Sandpipers!? There were zero Rough-legged hawks the first four years of the CBC then there were 12 in '78 and none the next year, makes you scratch your head?? Lesser Yellowleg numbers for those years were as follows; 5 in 1975, 1 in 1976, 25 in 1977, 3 in 1978, etc. etc.? These are not data entry errors, these were compiler errors?I suspect, and?I will try and contact NAB to clean them up as best?I can.??I would suggest other compilers do the same thing with some of their older counts also.? There will be records that are questionable but should be left alone,?I plan on only addressing the obvious snafus. You have me fired up again Range- thanks! Tim R Coos Bay Hi, ? ? I am not as negative about online Audubon CBC results as some others are, and I am hopeful that the results can become more accurate if we do our part in making them more accurate. ? ? Online CBC results are a great resource and to have them available to everyone is a gift.? How many of you have or have ready access to the paper copies of CBC's?? Paper copies are important, but I suspect that less than 5% of OBOL readers have ready access to all CBC records for Oregon on paper copies. ? ? I am hopeful that future records will have less errors because direct online inputting of records by local CBC compilers started recently and doing so would reduce the Type 2 errors (see below) if the CBC compilers are careful and double-checks all inputted data to verify that the data are correct.? Erroneous identifications need to be caught by local CBC compilers, and the regional editor can also catch obvious errors or at least flag them.? Mike Patterson is doing an outstanding job as regional editor and is very knowledgeable--I have faith in his efforts.? If there are errors in future CBC results, I think that the responsibility will be with CBC compilers, not National Audubon. ? ? Are there obvious errors in the online CBC results currently available from the pre-online and pre-Mike Patterson era?? Yes, as many OBOL posters have pointed out.? Lars pointed out one for the Yaquina Bay CBC in his email at the end. ???? I think there are three basic types of errors in the online CBC database records for historical CBC's before CBC data were directly input by compilers: 1)? Bird identification or data transcription errors in the original data sent by the local CBC compiler to National Audubon that were not caught by the local compiler or the regional editor at the time, so they were published in paper copies of American Birds.? Determining the source of these errors would require the original data sheets of the local CBC compiler for each CBC, which are likely to become lost as time goes by.? In this case, the online database repeats the error of the published account. ? ? ? From the OBOL discussion, some of the errors that Dan Gleason pointed out would fall into this category. 2)?Transcription errors by National Audubon of data submitted to them on paper by local compilers, so that the printed CBC results in American Birds have errors as a result of data inputting.? To determine this type of error, the local CBC compiler or someone else would need to check the original CBC data against the printed CBC results.? I suspect that this may rarely, if ever, be done. 3)? Transcription errors by National Audubon of inputting historical CBC results from paper copies into the online database.? This type of error can be determined by checking the paper copy results with the online results.? Ideally, this would be done for all CBC's for a count, but it is more likely to become apparent by readers finding abnormalities for specific species.? For example, as pointed out by Lars and as reported in the November 2009 Sandpiper (the newsletter of Yaquina Birders and Naturalists), Janet Lamberson used the online database and asked me about the online record of 497 American Kestrels for the January 3, 1976 Yaquina Bay CBC.? There were no flags on the data, yet a total of 497 kestrels for a Yaquina Bay CBC is unreasonably high because the few present in winter are usually hard to find. I looked at the paper copy of this CBC (1976 American Birds 30:578) and read that no kestrels were reported during that CBC and that there were 497 American Coots.? But the online CBC version indicates no coots were recorded during that CBC. So, the number of kestrels and coots appears to have been switched during inputting the data for that Yaquina Bay CBC. ? ? I reported that error to the CBC contact in an email, and it has been corrected--it took some time and I did not receive a quick acknowledgment, but the change was made and it was worth making the effort. ? ? In a different posting to OBOL about this subject, Tim Rodenkirk reported his frustration with a Neotropic Cormorant record on a Coos Bay CBC that he reported but was not corrected.? It took time, but Tim's efforts paid off because when I just searched http://web4.audubon.org/bird/cbc/hr/index.html for Coos Bay [ORCB], the record is not there.? Thanks Tim!? Your efforts made a difference! ? ? National Audubon (http://web4.audubon.org/bird/cbc/hr/index.html) acknowledges errors: "Currently our CBC historical database is undergoing another round of proofing of the data. A large dataset such as this requires continual proofing, and we welcome any reports of apparent irregularities." Their web page includes a "Contact Us" link, so that errors can be reported. ? ? If you find an apparent error, try to find a paper copy of the CBC to see if the error was by National Audubon in inputting the data because this is the easiest type of error to verify as human error, and then report it.? If you can't find a paper copy, and the species identification is very questionable, then how about contacting Audubon and requesting that they put a "flag" on the data?? Dan Gleason's point in a different email that it is important to keep some old records is true, but by putting a "flag" on questionable records, this could alert future readers of the database that the record may not be valid.? Anyway that is a thought about a possible solution.? Perhaps Mike Patterson or others have some other suggestions about this. ? I think there are positive things that can be done to improve the database, so I encourage people to try. ? National Audubon could be blamed for not doing things quicker, but this is what we have to work with.? What is the alternative?? Not do any CBC's?? Try to have CBC's independent of Audubon?? If so, how are you going to make the independent CBC's as accessible with fewer errors over the future as can National Audubon? ? ? Cheers, Range Bayer,? who is not affiliated with Audubon but who appreciates their online CBC database, even if it has errors. On Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 4:00 PM, Norgren Family wrote: > > ? ? A bit of this came up a year or two > ago . The Newport CBC in the year X reported > 253 American Kestrels. A high number for any > count circle. Range Bayer had access to the > ?original paper from the count and NO American > Kestrals were detected that year, BUT 253 American > Coots were. I always assumed that particular > error occurred where data is stored at the > national level. > ? ? Tim's anecdote dispirits me, although > it's no surprise. Just think of the days > when every book on earth was copied by hand. > Lars Norgren > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org ________________________________ From: Range Bayer To: Norgren Family Cc: obol at oregonbirds.org; Tim Rodenkirk Sent: Tue, January 11, 2011 10:39:38 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] CBC data from the national archives -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer at mindspring.com Wed Jan 12 10:40:56 2011 From: acontrer at mindspring.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:40:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] CBC data from the national archives In-Reply-To: <372276.43630.qm@web45307.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <1F5957D6-C055-4726-BBED-3CC233B57556@earthlink.net> <372276.43630.qm@web45307.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <3CAEEC48-19DE-49B9-BE08-1B8CD954FC36@mindspring.com> The thick-billed murre was my personal sighting and I withdrew it a couple of years later, having learned more about their plumages. So that one is definitively tossable. Alan Contreras Sent from my iPhone On Jan 12, 2011, at 7:42 AM, Tim Rodenkirk wrote: > Hi Range, > > Thanks for the head's up, they finally have the Neotropic Cormorant removed- dang, and we were the first CBC to have one here in Oregon! I decided to look at some of the tables for the first 10 years of the count, which seem to have the most questionable sightings and are easy to pull up on the website- and guess what, we had a THICK-BILLED MURRE on the 1977 count which I had no record of, imagine that! That same year there was a Wilson's Phalarope and a House Wren on the count, those I do have records on and would like to remove them unless someone from the '77 count remembers seeing them and wants to straighten me out? Other records that are correct on the Audubon data base but which I question are the 13 Wandering Tattlers in '76 along with the 7 Baird's Sandpipers! There were zero Rough-legged hawks the first four years of the CBC then there were 12 in '78 and none the next year, makes you scratch your head? Lesser Yellowleg numbers for those years were as follows; 5 in 1975, 1 in 1976, 25 in 1977, 3 in 1978, etc. etc. These are not data entry errors, these were compiler errors I suspect, and I will try and contact NAB to clean them up as best I can. I would suggest other compilers do the same thing with some of their older counts also. There will be records that are questionable but should be left alone, I plan on only addressing the obvious snafus. > > You have me fired up again Range- thanks! > > Tim R > Coos Bay > From: Range Bayer > To: Norgren Family > Cc: obol at oregonbirds.org; Tim Rodenkirk > Sent: Tue, January 11, 2011 10:39:38 PM > Subject: Re: [OBOL] CBC data from the national archives > > Hi, > > I am not as negative about online Audubon CBC results as some > others are, and I am hopeful that the results can become more accurate > if we do our part in making them more accurate. > > Online CBC results are a great resource and to have them available > to everyone is a gift. How many of you have or have ready access to > the paper copies of CBC's? Paper copies are important, but I suspect > that less than 5% of OBOL readers have ready access to all CBC records > for Oregon on paper copies. > > I am hopeful that future records will have less errors because > direct online inputting of records by local CBC compilers started > recently and doing so would reduce the Type 2 errors (see below) if > the CBC compilers are careful and double-checks all inputted data to > verify that the data are correct. Erroneous identifications need to > be caught by local CBC compilers, and the regional editor can also > catch obvious errors or at least flag them. Mike Patterson is doing > an outstanding job as regional editor and is very knowledgeable--I > have faith in his efforts. If there are errors in future CBC results, > I think that the responsibility will be with CBC compilers, not > National Audubon. > > Are there obvious errors in the online CBC results currently > available from the pre-online and pre-Mike Patterson era? Yes, as > many OBOL posters have pointed out. Lars pointed out one for the > Yaquina Bay CBC in his email at the end. > > I think there are three basic types of errors in the online CBC > database records for historical CBC's before CBC data were directly > input by compilers: > 1) Bird identification or data transcription errors in the original > data sent by the local CBC compiler to National Audubon that were not > caught by the local compiler or the regional editor at the time, so > they were published in paper copies of American Birds. Determining > the source of these errors would require the original data sheets of > the local CBC compiler for each CBC, which are likely to become lost > as time goes by. In this case, the online database repeats the error > of the published account. > From the OBOL discussion, some of the errors that Dan Gleason > pointed out would fall into this category. > > 2) Transcription errors by National Audubon of data submitted to them > on paper by local compilers, so that the printed CBC results in > American Birds have errors as a result of data inputting. To > determine this type of error, the local CBC compiler or someone else > would need to check the original CBC data against the printed CBC > results. I suspect that this may rarely, if ever, be done. > > 3) Transcription errors by National Audubon of inputting historical > CBC results from paper copies into the online database. This type of > error can be determined by checking the paper copy results with the > online results. Ideally, this would be done for all CBC's for a > count, but it is more likely to become apparent by readers finding > abnormalities for specific species. For example, as pointed out by > Lars and as reported in the November 2009 Sandpiper (the newsletter of > Yaquina Birders and Naturalists), Janet Lamberson used the online > database and asked me about the online record of 497 American Kestrels > for the January 3, 1976 Yaquina Bay CBC. There were no flags on the > data, yet a total of 497 kestrels for a Yaquina Bay CBC is > unreasonably high because the few present in winter are usually hard > to find. I looked at the paper copy of this CBC (1976 American Birds > 30:578) and read that no kestrels were reported > during that CBC and that there were 497 American Coots. But the > online CBC version indicates no coots were recorded during that CBC. > So, the number of kestrels and coots appears to have been switched > during inputting the data for that Yaquina Bay CBC. > > I reported that error to the CBC contact in an email, and it has > been corrected--it took some time and I did not receive a quick > acknowledgment, but the change was made and it was worth making the > effort. > > In a different posting to OBOL about this subject, Tim Rodenkirk > reported his frustration with a Neotropic Cormorant record on a Coos > Bay CBC that he reported but was not corrected. It took time, but > Tim's efforts paid off because when I just searched > http://web4.audubon.org/bird/cbc/hr/index.html for Coos Bay [ORCB], > the record is not there. Thanks Tim! Your efforts made a difference! > > National Audubon (http://web4.audubon.org/bird/cbc/hr/index.html) > acknowledges errors: > "Currently our CBC historical database is undergoing another round of > proofing of the data. A large dataset such as this requires continual > proofing, and we welcome any reports of apparent irregularities." > Their web page includes a "Contact Us" link, so that errors can be > reported. > > If you find an apparent error, try to find a paper copy of the CBC > to see if the error was by National Audubon in inputting the data > because this is the easiest type of error to verify as human error, > and then report it. If you can't find a paper copy, and the species > identification is very questionable, then how about contacting Audubon > and requesting that they put a "flag" on the data? Dan Gleason's > point in a different email that it is important to keep some old > records is true, but by putting a "flag" on questionable records, this > could alert future readers of the database that the record may not be > valid. Anyway that is a thought about a possible solution. Perhaps > Mike Patterson or others have some other suggestions about this. > > I think there are positive things that can be done to improve the > database, so I encourage people to try. > > National Audubon could be blamed for not doing things quicker, but > this is what we have to work with. What is the alternative? Not do > any CBC's? Try to have CBC's independent of Audubon? If so, how are > you going to make the independent CBC's as accessible with fewer > errors over the future as can National Audubon? > > Cheers, > > Range Bayer, who is not affiliated with Audubon but who appreciates > their online CBC database, even if it has errors. > > On Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 4:00 PM, Norgren Family wrote: > > > > A bit of this came up a year or two > > ago . The Newport CBC in the year X reported > > 253 American Kestrels. A high number for any > > count circle. Range Bayer had access to the > > original paper from the count and NO American > > Kestrals were detected that year, BUT 253 American > > Coots were. I always assumed that particular > > error occurred where data is stored at the > > national level. > > Tim's anecdote dispirits me, although > > it's no surprise. Just think of the days > > when every book on earth was copied by hand. > > Lars Norgren > > > > _______________________________________________ > > OBOL mailing list > > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffgill at teleport.com Wed Jan 12 13:28:22 2011 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 11:28:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Reports of Manx Shearwater to the OBRC Message-ID: Hi all The recent and increasing trend by the committee is to require sufficient details eliminating various other members of the Manx-complex" when reviewing reports of Manx Shearwater. Species that should be considered include Townsend's Shearwater, Newell's Shearwater, and others. Most recent reports of Manx Shearwater are apparently going to be accepted as something like "Manx Shearwater - complex). The species are identifiable with good looks and prior preparation. Some of the newer seabird books are sufficient in regard to distinguishing these similar species. Note that Townsend's and Newell's have occurred in California. All Oregon sea watchers, pelagic participants, and cruisers should own "Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World" (Onley). It is available from Amazon.com for $21.00. I understand that there are at least two seabird books in the works. The standard field guides and older seabird books may not be adequate in regard to this subject. While one's listing is their personal prerogative, one could always list as "Manx-complex" if a bird isn't seen sufficiently to eliminate all species. As we in Oregon and elsewhere are learning, the ocean has few boundaries. (I'm feeding California Towhees and Oak Titmice outside my hotel room as I await better weather before heading north from Santa Rosa, CA. Its fun that these birds found my seeds so quickly.) Jeff Gilligan From sasdhill at comcast.net Wed Jan 12 13:41:40 2011 From: sasdhill at comcast.net (sasdhill at comcast.net) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:41:40 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] OBOL Digest, Vol 9, Issue 23 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <592187237-1294861156-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-843383150-@bda956.bisx.prod.on.blackberry> He found it! Thanks Sent on the Sprint? Now Network from my BlackBerry? -----Original Message----- From: obol-request at oregonbirds.org Sender: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:01 To: Reply-To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: OBOL Digest, Vol 9, Issue 23 Send OBOL mailing list submissions to obol at oregonbirds.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to obol-request at oregonbirds.org You can reach the person managing the list at obol-owner at oregonbirds.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of OBOL digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: CBC data from the national archives (Alan Contreras) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:40:56 -0800 From: Alan Contreras To: Tim Rodenkirk Cc: "obol at oregonbirds.org" Subject: Re: [OBOL] CBC data from the national archives Message-ID: <3CAEEC48-19DE-49B9-BE08-1B8CD954FC36 at mindspring.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" The thick-billed murre was my personal sighting and I withdrew it a couple of years later, having learned more about their plumages. So that one is definitively tossable. Alan Contreras Sent from my iPhone On Jan 12, 2011, at 7:42 AM, Tim Rodenkirk wrote: > Hi Range, > > Thanks for the head's up, they finally have the Neotropic Cormorant removed- dang, and we were the first CBC to have one here in Oregon! I decided to look at some of the tables for the first 10 years of the count, which seem to have the most questionable sightings and are easy to pull up on the website- and guess what, we had a THICK-BILLED MURRE on the 1977 count which I had no record of, imagine that! That same year there was a Wilson's Phalarope and a House Wren on the count, those I do have records on and would like to remove them unless someone from the '77 count remembers seeing them and wants to straighten me out? Other records that are correct on the Audubon data base but which I question are the 13 Wandering Tattlers in '76 along with the 7 Baird's Sandpipers! There were zero Rough-legged hawks the first four years of the CBC then there were 12 in '78 and none the next year, makes you scratch your head? Lesser Yellowleg numbers for those years were as follows; 5 in 1975, 1 in 1976, 25 in 1977, 3 in 1978, etc. etc. These are not data entry errors, these were compiler errors I suspect, and I will try and contact NAB to clean them up as best I can. I would suggest other compilers do the same thing with some of their older counts also. There will be records that are questionable but should be left alone, I plan on only addressing the obvious snafus. > > You have me fired up again Range- thanks! > > Tim R > Coos Bay > From: Range Bayer > To: Norgren Family > Cc: obol at oregonbirds.org; Tim Rodenkirk > Sent: Tue, January 11, 2011 10:39:38 PM > Subject: Re: [OBOL] CBC data from the national archives > > Hi, > > I am not as negative about online Audubon CBC results as some > others are, and I am hopeful that the results can become more accurate > if we do our part in making them more accurate. > > Online CBC results are a great resource and to have them available > to everyone is a gift. How many of you have or have ready access to > the paper copies of CBC's? Paper copies are important, but I suspect > that less than 5% of OBOL readers have ready access to all CBC records > for Oregon on paper copies. > > I am hopeful that future records will have less errors because > direct online inputting of records by local CBC compilers started > recently and doing so would reduce the Type 2 errors (see below) if > the CBC compilers are careful and double-checks all inputted data to > verify that the data are correct. Erroneous identifications need to > be caught by local CBC compilers, and the regional editor can also > catch obvious errors or at least flag them. Mike Patterson is doing > an outstanding job as regional editor and is very knowledgeable--I > have faith in his efforts. If there are errors in future CBC results, > I think that the responsibility will be with CBC compilers, not > National Audubon. > > Are there obvious errors in the online CBC results currently > available from the pre-online and pre-Mike Patterson era? Yes, as > many OBOL posters have pointed out. Lars pointed out one for the > Yaquina Bay CBC in his email at the end. > > I think there are three basic types of errors in the online CBC > database records for historical CBC's before CBC data were directly > input by compilers: > 1) Bird identification or data transcription errors in the original > data sent by the local CBC compiler to National Audubon that were not > caught by the local compiler or the regional editor at the time, so > they were published in paper copies of American Birds. Determining > the source of these errors would require the original data sheets of > the local CBC compiler for each CBC, which are likely to become lost > as time goes by. In this case, the online database repeats the error > of the published account. > From the OBOL discussion, some of the errors that Dan Gleason > pointed out would fall into this category. > > 2) Transcription errors by National Audubon of data submitted to them > on paper by local compilers, so that the printed CBC results in > American Birds have errors as a result of data inputting. To > determine this type of error, the local CBC compiler or someone else > would need to check the original CBC data against the printed CBC > results. I suspect that this may rarely, if ever, be done. > > 3) Transcription errors by National Audubon of inputting historical > CBC results from paper copies into the online database. This type of > error can be determined by checking the paper copy results with the > online results. Ideally, this would be done for all CBC's for a > count, but it is more likely to become apparent by readers finding > abnormalities for specific species. For example, as pointed out by > Lars and as reported in the November 2009 Sandpiper (the newsletter of > Yaquina Birders and Naturalists), Janet Lamberson used the online > database and asked me about the online record of 497 American Kestrels > for the January 3, 1976 Yaquina Bay CBC. There were no flags on the > data, yet a total of 497 kestrels for a Yaquina Bay CBC is > unreasonably high because the few present in winter are usually hard > to find. I looked at the paper copy of this CBC (1976 American Birds > 30:578) and read that no kestrels were reported > during that CBC and that there were 497 American Coots. But the > online CBC version indicates no coots were recorded during that CBC. > So, the number of kestrels and coots appears to have been switched > during inputting the data for that Yaquina Bay CBC. > > I reported that error to the CBC contact in an email, and it has > been corrected--it took some time and I did not receive a quick > acknowledgment, but the change was made and it was worth making the > effort. > > In a different posting to OBOL about this subject, Tim Rodenkirk > reported his frustration with a Neotropic Cormorant record on a Coos > Bay CBC that he reported but was not corrected. It took time, but > Tim's efforts paid off because when I just searched > http://web4.audubon.org/bird/cbc/hr/index.html for Coos Bay [ORCB], > the record is not there. Thanks Tim! Your efforts made a difference! > > National Audubon (http://web4.audubon.org/bird/cbc/hr/index.html) > acknowledges errors: > "Currently our CBC historical database is undergoing another round of > proofing of the data. A large dataset such as this requires continual > proofing, and we welcome any reports of apparent irregularities." > Their web page includes a "Contact Us" link, so that errors can be > reported. > > If you find an apparent error, try to find a paper copy of the CBC > to see if the error was by National Audubon in inputting the data > because this is the easiest type of error to verify as human error, > and then report it. If you can't find a paper copy, and the species > identification is very questionable, then how about contacting Audubon > and requesting that they put a "flag" on the data? Dan Gleason's > point in a different email that it is important to keep some old > records is true, but by putting a "flag" on questionable records, this > could alert future readers of the database that the record may not be > valid. Anyway that is a thought about a possible solution. Perhaps > Mike Patterson or others have some other suggestions about this. > > I think there are positive things that can be done to improve the > database, so I encourage people to try. > > National Audubon could be blamed for not doing things quicker, but > this is what we have to work with. What is the alternative? Not do > any CBC's? Try to have CBC's independent of Audubon? If so, how are > you going to make the independent CBC's as accessible with fewer > errors over the future as can National Audubon? > > Cheers, > > Range Bayer, who is not affiliated with Audubon but who appreciates > their online CBC database, even if it has errors. > > On Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 4:00 PM, Norgren Family wrote: > > > > A bit of this came up a year or two > > ago . The Newport CBC in the year X reported > > 253 American Kestrels. A high number for any > > count circle. Range Bayer had access to the > > original paper from the count and NO American > > Kestrals were detected that year, BUT 253 American > > Coots were. I always assumed that particular > > error occurred where data is stored at the > > national level. > > Tim's anecdote dispirits me, although > > it's no surprise. Just think of the days > > when every book on earth was copied by hand. > > Lars Norgren > > > > _______________________________________________ > > OBOL mailing list > > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org End of OBOL Digest, Vol 9, Issue 23 *********************************** From withgott at comcast.net Wed Jan 12 13:46:48 2011 From: withgott at comcast.net (Jay Withgott) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 11:46:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Regional listservs & OBOL Message-ID: Thanks to all who have commented following my original posting about regional birding list servers in Oregon several days ago. It's been a very good discussion, and I've learned a great deal about how much many people use and appreciate the regional lists. Although we lack actual data on how many additional people regional lists bring into active discussion about birds and birding in our state, it's apparent from many of the comments that the number is significant. And that is, without question, a good thing. I'll keep it brief and just add a few quick observations stemming from issues brought up during the thread: * I'm glad the discussion fairly quickly addressed the fact that we are not talking just about rare bird sightings, but about the entire gamut of discussion that occurs on our mailing lists. That's certainly what I'd intended, and perhaps my using the flycatcher example as a convenient jumping off point had obscured that. * I accept Joel's point that, strictly speaking, it's not logically sensible to complain if the fundamental unit of list server coverage becomes local/regional as opposed to statewide, since the distinctions among states (e.g., Oregon vs. Washington) are at least as biogeographically arbitrary. (This is, indeed, one reason I'm an enthusiastic proponent of Western Field Ornithologists (WFO): its area of coverage is biogeographically meaningful, not geopolitically arbitrary.) Nonetheless, one needs to draw lines somewhere, and there is this thing called Oregon?. * The recent rash of mid-winter swallow sightings is a good example of why a list server covering a large-ish geographic area is useful. Through a list at the scale of OBOL we can all learn that there is a biologically interesting and thus-far unexplained pattern going on with swallows showing up in mid-winter. In just a matter of days within the past week or two all 1,000 of us have learned that Cliff Swallows may be the next to be added to the list that already had included Barn and Tree (and occasionally Violet-green and Bank!). In contrast, a birder on just one regional mailing list might learn about a single sighting in their own area, but would lack the context to understand whether and how it was part of a meaningful pattern at a larger geographic scale. * I heartily accept the virtues of local/regional list servers, but I do continue to fear that their growth may lead to the demise of an effective statewide mailing list. If that were to happen, I would lose touch with areas distant from my own -- even those as "distant" from Portland as Corvallis, Astoria, and Hood River, because there's just no way I'm going to be able to find the time to handle mail from 9 or 10, or even 4 or 5, regional lists once they have grown more heavily trafficked than they are now. I would become less informed about what's going on in other parts of the state, and there would be fewer of those magical moments that Tom McNamara so nicely described when one meets another birder at the far end of the state and we each say, "Oh, I know you from OBOL!". So ... long live both types of list servers, Jay Withgott, Portland Crustiness (BCS) of original email that started this whole thing = 81 Actual estimated BCS = mean=38; std dev +/- 17; gradually increasing with age... -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From withgott at comcast.net Wed Jan 12 13:49:44 2011 From: withgott at comcast.net (Jay Withgott) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 11:49:44 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Wash Co. sightings, 1/9 Message-ID: And believe it or not, an actual bird sighting report from me ...a few days past-due: On 8 Jan., a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was in Multnomah Village, SW Portland (Mult Co.), with Golden-crowns at the corner of Dolph Ct & 35th. On 9 Jan., Dennis Paulson, Netta Smith, Susan, and I poked around Washington County for a few hours, mostly searching through the many waterfowl flocks without finding anything extraordinary. There was an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER at Fernhill Wetlands, along with 1 HORNED GREBE, 1 WESTERN GREBE, 1 THAYER'S GULL, 1 WESTERN GULL, 1 PURPLE FINCH, and several GREAT EGRETS, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, and LINCOLN'S SPARROWS. At Jackson Bottoms were 3 CINNAMON TEAL, many flooded trails, and the spectacularly well-done nature center. The PRAIRIE FALCON was in its assigned position on Harrington Road, and 7 EURASIAN COLLARED DOVES graced Forest Grove and Roy. Jay Withgott, Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nepobirds at q.com Wed Jan 12 14:01:45 2011 From: nepobirds at q.com (nepobirds) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:01:45 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Steller's Jay In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I don't know if this qualifies as something special, but it was certainly different for us. I walked out into the backyard this morning to see what was afoot (or awing). I entered the yard hearing many birds and thought "it's a great bird day". After a moment of searching the yard, I heard a Flicker, a Robin, and a Scrub Jay in the same tree. Only after searching for a couple of minutes, did I find nothing but a Steller's Jay. Now, I'm sure we have all heard the Steller's imitation of a Red-Tailed or a Red-Shouldered, but this is the first time I have ever heard the others. He went through his repertoire that would make a Starling proud. I watched his bill as the voice consistently reproduced call after call of different species. Flicker, then Robin, then the Scrub Jay...and to cap it off...a Spotted Towhee. I couldn't believe how realistic these sounded. The calls didn't have the "twang" or "metallic" sound that Starlings sometimes emit. It was pure and true to the ear. It was great fun to watch but it made me second guess the validity aural of my IDs. I will definitely have to start looking closer. Good birding, Seth and Michelle Ne Portland - Gateway Area -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer at mindspring.com Wed Jan 12 14:44:05 2011 From: acontrer at mindspring.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:44:05 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Mtn quail research job Message-ID: <87003EF6-1D98-42D1-AEBE-35C6D8100793@mindspring.com> Any bio-bums interested in working with mtn. Quail in south-central Oregon? Job Code: ODFW11-0003 Job Title: Fish and Wildlife Technician (Mt Quail Technician) Opening Date/Time: Tue. 01/11/11 12:00 AM Pacific Time Closing Date/Time: Tue. 01/25/11 11:59 PM Pacific Time Salary: $2,380.00 - $3,235.00 Monthly Job Type: Seasonal Location: Klamath County, Oregon Agency: Fish & Wildlife-High Desert Region Alan Contreras Sent from my iPhone -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jkjoregon at comcast.net Wed Jan 12 15:07:58 2011 From: jkjoregon at comcast.net (jkjoregon at comcast.net) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:07:58 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Hermit Warbler-Eugene Message-ID: <1482333170.1050509.1294866478972.JavaMail.root@sz0050a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> I've had a female Hermit Warbler hang around the backyard suet feeder the past two weeks. Initially was with some Townsends warblers, but they moved on. pics at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimjackson/sets/72157625780990464/ Near the Fairmont Blvd/ Columbia St area. PM me for specific directions. Jim Jackson Note: My first OBOL post! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From larmcqueen at msn.com Wed Jan 12 15:20:33 2011 From: larmcqueen at msn.com (Larry McQueen) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 13:20:33 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Wed morning, Eugene Message-ID: Parking at 19th and Agate (near UofO), we walked the alleys of my neighborhood at the edge of Hendrick's Park, including some of the park. The Hermit Warbler was attending the suet feeder near 19th and Columbia, where we also found a White-throated Sparrow. Another White-thr. was in another alley few blocks away. We watched a Townsend's Warbler feed from a hummingbird feeder, returning to it many times (perched, not hovering). I don't know what happened to the Merlins, as I had not encountered one in the neighborhood for two yrs, never to miss one before that. Cackling Goose - 30 Large, non Glaucous-winged Gull - 1 Anna?s Hummingbird - 10 Northern Flicker - 3 American Crow - 13 Steller's Jay - 6 Western Scrub-Jay - 14 Black-capped Chickadee - 30+ Chestnut-backed Chickadee - 4 Bushtit - 60 Red-breasted Nuthatch - 2 White-breasted Nuthatch - 1 Brown Creeper - 1 Bewick's Wren - 2 Winter Wren - 4 Golden-crowned Kinglet - 4+ Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 20+ American Robin - 100+ Western Bluebird - 6 Varied Thrush - 6 European Starling - 15 Yellow-rumped Warbler - 10 Townsend?s Warbler - 5 Hermit Warbler - 1 im (feeder) Spotted Towhee - 10+ Fox Sparrow - 2 Song Sparrow - 12+ White-throated Sparrow - 2 Golden-crowned Sparrow - 15+ Dark-eyed Junco - 50+ House Finch - 25+ American Goldfinch - 2 Lesser Goldfinch - 2 Pine Siskin - 1 House Sparrow - 10 Barry McKenzie, Fred Chancey, Don Schrouder, Paul Sherrell, Sylvia Maulding, Dave Brown,Dennis Arendt, Craig Merkel, and Larry McQueen -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From larmcqueen at msn.com Wed Jan 12 18:50:48 2011 From: larmcqueen at msn.com (Larry McQueen) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:50:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Wed morning addendum Message-ID: I forgot to include the two tom Wild Turkeys walking near the rhododendron garden at Hendrick's Park this morning. The looked might fine. Also, because the rest of the group may wonder, the extra Varied Thrushes and Townsend's Warblers were at my feeder. Larry -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From joel.geier at peak.org Wed Jan 12 20:25:45 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:25:45 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Speaking of unofficial CBCs .... Message-ID: <1294885545.15397.223.camel@clearwater1> Hi all, Thanks to Range Bayer for his thoughtful post about CBC errors. Somewhere way down towards the bottom he raises the idea of "unofficial CBCs." There is in fact one unofficial CBC, namely the Troy CBC in Wallowa County. What I've heard is that the participants objected to the idea of sending a $5 fee per capita off to the east coast, but they still wanted to go birding, so they've kept this going off the books. The results for 1987 through 2003 if you're interested are posted on BirdNotes (www.birdnotes.net), with thanks to Ralph Anderson. Not quite in the same category, but I wanted to float an idea for an unofficial "late winter bird count" based on the Oakridge CBC circle. As you may recall, this year's official Oakridge CBC was done in by the combination of a gruesome CBC calendar which affected the supply of volunteers for all of Oregon's CBCs, plus a dose of bad weather after we rescheduled to late December. This CBC was just restarted last year after a lapse of a couple of decades, so I hate to lose momentum. Certain curmudgeonly folks in Oregon have occasionally pointed out that the CBC is not a fully useful survey of wintering birds, since most of the CBC season comes too early in the winter. So here's an idea to make lemonade out of this winter's lemons ... Who's up for a late-January or early February bird count in the Oakridge CBC circle? Unlike the previous plan, this one will run regardless of weather, provided that we have enough volunteers. We know we're in the heart of winter, so we'll do whatever it takes to pull this one off -- skis, snowshoes, dog sleds, etc. Since the schedule's wide open, I propose a weekend count. If you're interested, please let me know which of the three upcoming weekends (Jan 22-23, Jan 29-30, or Feb 5-6) would work for you. I'll go with whatever day we can get the most people in the field. One additional goal of this count will be to team some Oakridge/Westfir locals with experienced birders from elsewhere in Oregon. There's some good local enthusiasm but not as much experience, so part of this will be to help build experience for regular CBCs in the coming years. One question that you might be asking is, "Where will you post the data from this count?" I plan to post sector-by-sector results myself on BirdNotes. But to bring our eBird pals in on this, I'll also pass the data on to someone who favors that reporting system. The fact that David Hewitt's cc'd on this is purely coincidental, I assure you! Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Wed Jan 12 20:37:58 2011 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:37:58 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Speaking of unofficial CBCs .... In-Reply-To: <1294885545.15397.223.camel@clearwater1> Message-ID: There have been quite a few unofficial CBCs in Oregon, especially during the fee revolt of 25 years ago. Results in many cases were published in Oregon Birds. These included some "regular" counts that chose not to pay fees one year but which were conducted the same way as "official" counts. Oakridge is an interesting area, it has had Black-backed Woodpecker and Pine Grosbeak on its CBC, as well as plenty of Dippers. One can't have too many Dippers. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer at mindspring.com Oregonreview.blogspot.com > From: Joel Geier > Reply-To: Joel Geier > Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:25:45 -0800 > To: OBOL > Cc: David Hewitt > Subject: [OBOL] Speaking of unofficial CBCs .... > > Hi all, > > Thanks to Range Bayer for his thoughtful post about CBC errors. > > Somewhere way down towards the bottom he raises the idea of "unofficial > CBCs." There is in fact one unofficial CBC, namely the Troy CBC in > Wallowa County. What I've heard is that the participants objected to the > idea of sending a $5 fee per capita off to the east coast, but they > still wanted to go birding, so they've kept this going off the books. > The results for 1987 through 2003 if you're interested are posted on > BirdNotes (www.birdnotes.net), with thanks to Ralph Anderson. > > Not quite in the same category, but I wanted to float an idea for an > unofficial "late winter bird count" based on the Oakridge CBC circle. As > you may recall, this year's official Oakridge CBC was done in by the > combination of a gruesome CBC calendar which affected the supply of > volunteers for all of Oregon's CBCs, plus a dose of bad weather after we > rescheduled to late December. This CBC was just restarted last year > after a lapse of a couple of decades, so I hate to lose momentum. > > Certain curmudgeonly folks in Oregon have occasionally pointed out that > the CBC is not a fully useful survey of wintering birds, since most of > the CBC season comes too early in the winter. So here's an idea to make > lemonade out of this winter's lemons ... > > Who's up for a late-January or early February bird count in the Oakridge > CBC circle? > > Unlike the previous plan, this one will run regardless of weather, > provided that we have enough volunteers. We know we're in the heart of > winter, so we'll do whatever it takes to pull this one off -- skis, > snowshoes, dog sleds, etc. Since the schedule's wide open, I propose a > weekend count. > > If you're interested, please let me know which of the three upcoming > weekends (Jan 22-23, Jan 29-30, or Feb 5-6) would work for you. I'll go > with whatever day we can get the most people in the field. > > One additional goal of this count will be to team some Oakridge/Westfir > locals with experienced birders from elsewhere in Oregon. There's some > good local enthusiasm but not as much experience, so part of this will > be to help build experience for regular CBCs in the coming years. > > One question that you might be asking is, "Where will you post the data > from this count?" I plan to post sector-by-sector results myself on > BirdNotes. But to bring our eBird pals in on this, I'll also pass the > data on to someone who favors that reporting system. The fact that David > Hewitt's cc'd on this is purely coincidental, I assure you! > > Happy birding, > Joel > > -- > Joel Geier > Camp Adair area north of Corvallis > > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From jmeredit at bendnet.com Wed Jan 12 20:40:21 2011 From: jmeredit at bendnet.com (judy) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:40:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fw: [COBOL] ECAS Wednesday birders to Madras area - no rares. Message-ID: Birders, Eleven ECAS Wednesday birders went to areas around Madras today. We started with Walt Wolfe in his Madras yard and then went on a route starting at the Deschutes River just upstream of the bridge at Warm Springs, then to Pelton, Willow Creek, Round Butte Dam, Cove Palisades SP, ag fields, and back to Hwy 97 near juniper Butte. The wind blew like heck but precipitation was minimal. We saw the list from Craig Miller's survey, trying to check the same areas but we didn't find many of their goodies. Notables, we did NOT find the Northern Mockingbird that Walt had seen well yesterday but we did see a MERLIN from his yard. We found an OSPREY along the Deschutes just upstream from Warm Springs (one/it was there on Madras CBC also) and BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES at the boat launch upstream from the bridge. We found a nice mix of ducks, but nothing rare. Two Scaup were changing ID a bit, from Greater to Lesser to Scaup Sp and back to Lessers. >From Pelton upstream, we were amazed at 2 tight flocks of DC CORMORANTS, 95 young together and about 100 adults together upstream. Total of about 8 Bald Eagles, one Golden, one larger Falcon Sp aided by wind went by faster than the eye could track it. Lots of birds hunkered today in the heavy wind. Birders today were Walt Wolfe, Karen Gentry, Chuck Rich, Jim Weishaupt, Howard Horvath, Loren Smith, Mike Golden, Don Sutherland, Kim Kathol, George Jameson, Judy Meredith. Hope we didn't scare Karen away with one of our usual "half day trips". Apparently none of us can tell time, out 8 to 3 pm. Full list http://birdnotes.net under Jefferson County. Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Canada Goose Gadwall American Wigeon Mallard Green-Winged Teal Redhead Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup Unknown Scaup Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Barrow's Goldeneye Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Osprey Bald Eagle Northern Harrier - 6 in one field. Only one adult male today, diff field. Red-tailed Hawk Ferruginous Hawk - 1 immature Rough-legged Hawk - 1 - not seen by all Golden Eagle - 1 adult American Kestrel - many Merlin - 1, in Walt's yard American Coot Killdeer Ring-billed Gull - Cove Palisades State Park California Gull - 6 or 7 adults, Cove " " Rock Dove Mourning Dove Great Horned Owl - Kim K spotted it roosting in a juniper while we were driving Northern Flicker Western Scrub-Jay Black-billed Magpie Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee - Deschutes river at boat launch upstream Warm Springs Mountain Chickadee Brown Creeper - Overlook at Round Butte, in junipers Golden-crowned Kinglet - Cove and Round Butte, in junipers, small flocks. Townsend's Solitaire American Robin Varied Thrush - Cove Palisades State Park European Starling Spotted Towhee - Walt's yard Song Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Western Meadowlark Brewer's Blackbird House Finch Lesser Goldfinch - Walt's yard House Sparrow Total number of species seen: 53 I could have missed some, we were in 4 vehicles today.Someone else can add if so. Good birding, Judy jmeredit at bendnet.com _______________________________________________ COBOL mailing list COBOL at lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/cobol To unsubscribe, send a message to: COBOL-request at lists.oregonstate.edu with the word "unsubscribe" in the body. From joel.geier at peak.org Wed Jan 12 21:11:50 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:11:50 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Speaking of unofficial CBCs .... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1294888310.15397.234.camel@clearwater1> This reminds me, I forgot to mention the main thing: No $5 fee on this one! However you might be prevailed on to bring something to a potluck for the highly unofficial countdown at the end of the day. That is, if we can reserve Greenwater's Rest. The backup plan is Brewer's Union Local #(I forget the number, but it's the only such place in Oakridge). In addition to the possibilities that Alan mentions, this is the uppermost substantial extension of the Willamette Valley's Oregon/Garry oak woodland complex, so you can go from oaks to near-boreal forest. Acorn Woodpecker and Black-backed Woodpecker on the same count are not inconceivable. And indeed, there are a few pines too. What's more (to go back to yesterday's OBOL theme of curiosities in the official CBC database), Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were regular and even abundant in this count circle, 20- to 30-some years ago. Even after the sapsucker species were split by AOU. Joel On Wed, 2011-01-12 at 18:37 -0800, Alan Contreras wrote: > There have been quite a few unofficial CBCs in Oregon, especially during the > fee revolt of 25 years ago. Results in many cases were published in Oregon > Birds. These included some "regular" counts that chose not to pay fees one > year but which were conducted the same way as "official" counts. > > Oakridge is an interesting area, it has had Black-backed Woodpecker and Pine > Grosbeak on its CBC, as well as plenty of Dippers. One can't have too many > Dippers. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ensatina3 at hotmail.com Wed Jan 12 21:52:17 2011 From: ensatina3 at hotmail.com (Bobbett Pierce) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 22:52:17 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Lots of cranes Message-ID: In St. Helens, behind the Columbia County courthouse on the Columbia River waterfront at 4 p.m., I could hear SANDHILLS in the distance. After a few minutes I scanned with binoculars: hundreds flying south on the Washington side of the river, in numerous Vs and trailing lines. At least 500 in sight. I had heard them awhile before I looked for them, so I probably missed some. I seldom see Sandhills on the ground in the county (not counting north Sauvie Island) except for a few often near Scappoose. What great birds. Lona Pierce -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hnehls6 at comcast.net Thu Jan 13 01:37:42 2011 From: hnehls6 at comcast.net (Harry Nehls) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 23:37:42 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] RBA: Portland, OR 1-13-11 Message-ID: - RBA * Oregon * Portland * January 13, 2011 * ORPO1101.13 - birds mentioned TUFTED DUCK Greater Scaup Surf Scoter Long-tailed Duck Barrow?s Goldeneye Pacific Loon Brown Pelican Osprey Black-bellied Plover YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER EASTERN PHOEBE Cassin?s Vireo Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Northern Mockingbird Hermit Warbler MacGillivray?s Warbler RUSTY BLACKBIRD Bullock?s Oriole - 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 13. If you anything to add call Harry Nehls at 503-233-3976. On January 9 an EASTERN PHOEBE was seen at the mouth of the Winchuck River south of Brookings. A male RUSTY BLACKBIRD was photographed January 8 near LaGrande. The EE Wilson WMA YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER continues to be seen. The two TUFTED DUCKS also continue on the Columbia River in North Portland. A small but conspicuous southward movement of BROWN PELICANS was seen along the coast during the week. A MOCKINGBIRD was in Gold Beach January 10. On January 8 three CLIFF SWALLOWS and a possible BARN SWALLOW were seen along North Beaver Creek north of Waldport. On January 7 a BARROW?S GOLDENEYE was on the Columbia River near Rainier. A MACGILLIVRAY?S WARBLER was seen January 9 in the Vancouver Lake WA in Vancouver Washington. A BULLOCK?S ORIOLE and a CASSIN?S VIREO have been seen and photographed at Corvallis feeders during the week. On January 12 a female HERMIT WARBLER was photographed in Eugene. Six BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS were seen January 9 at Fern Ridge Reservoir. A MOCKINGBIRD is now being seen in Madras. A PACIFIC LOON, a GREATER SCAUP, a LONG-TAILED DUCK, and an OSPREY were seen January 9 at Lake Billy Chinook. An immature SURF SCOTER was at the Prineville Sewage Ponds January 8. That?s it for this week. - end transcript -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From greg at thebirdguide.com Thu Jan 13 15:10:42 2011 From: greg at thebirdguide.com (Greg Gillson) Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:10:42 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] 3/12 Laysan Albatross pelagic trip Message-ID: <1B2A9B5961F84A4D8E4D79A075F6B693@GREG> Friends, The Bird Guide has arranged 9 Oregon pelagic birding trips from March through October 2011. We have shortened most of our trips this year, cutting out unproductive waters and dropping prices! You can read all about it on our Calendar page, "2011: Welcome to our 18th year!" http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/calendar.htm We also have a deepwater trip planned on July 30. It is a smaller, faster boat allowing us to spend 4 hours out beyond 60 miles from shore on a 12-hour trip. Spaces are limited. For beginners, we recommend the 5 hour trip in conjunction with the Shorebird Festival in Charleston, Oregon on August 27. Spaces are already filling! Our next trip is coming right up on March 12. This 10 hour Perpetua Bank trip is specially designed to find Laysan Albatrosses. We have found LAYSAN ALBATROSSES on 6 of 7 previous March trips. Not only that, We have found SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSSES twice, MANX SHEARWATERS twice, and 7 HORNED PUFFINS on one trip. BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES and RHINOCEROS AUKLETS are usually the most abundant birds. THAYER'S and other GULLS are common. SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS and ANCIENT MURRELETS are frequent. Departs Newport, Oregon at 7:00 AM. Cost is $150 with some early signup discounted spaces still available. If you have yet to take your first pelagic trip, all preparation material is presented on our web site. http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/ You may want to start here to whet your appetite: Virtual Perpetua Bank pelagic trip: http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/photo_trip.htm Pelagic seabird abundance bar chart: http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/bar_chart.htm When is the best time to take a pelagic trip? http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/best_time.htm Annotated Seabirds of Perpetua Bank pelagic trips: http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/annotated_checklist.htm Greg's pelagic trip photos: http://www.pbase.com/gregbirder/pelagic_trip_photos Greg Gillson The Bird Guide, Inc. greg at thebirdguide.com From celata at pacifier.com Thu Jan 13 15:58:51 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:58:51 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Caption the photo Message-ID: <4D2F759B.7040903@pacifier.com> Taken today at Reed Ranch on the Clatsop Plains where it's been rain for a couple days... http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/18250/ -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Thu Jan 13 20:22:12 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:22:12 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Birds 1/12/2011 Message-ID: <350903.73552.qm@web45316.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> A few birds from yesterday, Wednesday the 12th: Cape Arago- very windy with rain squalls, PM, highlights: 2- BONAPARTE'S GULLS 12+ BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES 9- ANCIENT MURRELETS At Millicoma Marsh the COMMON YELLOWTHROAT was out in the open foraging on the edge of the fresh water pond there. Merry 2011! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From aeduston at hevanet.com Fri Jan 14 12:09:22 2011 From: aeduston at hevanet.com (A Duston) Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 10:09:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Caption the photo Message-ID: <4D309152.5070605@hevanet.com> "enough already - this is too much even for ducks!" > Message: 2 > Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:58:51 -0800 > From: Mike Patterson > To: OBOL > Subject: [OBOL] Caption the photo > Message-ID:<4D2F759B.7040903 at pacifier.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > Taken today at Reed Ranch on the Clatsop Plains where it's > been rain for a couple days... > > http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/18250/ > From forrest.english at gmail.com Fri Jan 14 12:27:47 2011 From: forrest.english at gmail.com (Forrest English) Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 10:27:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Caption the photo In-Reply-To: <4D309152.5070605@hevanet.com> References: <4D309152.5070605@hevanet.com> Message-ID: I was told there would be sunshine. On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 10:09 AM, A Duston wrote: > "enough already - this is too much even for ducks!" > >> Message: 2 >> Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:58:51 -0800 >> From: Mike Patterson >> To: OBOL >> Subject: [OBOL] Caption the photo >> Message-ID:<4D2F759B.7040903 at pacifier.com> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed >> >> >> Taken today at Reed Ranch on the Clatsop Plains where it's >> been rain for a couple days... >> >> http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/18250/ >> >> > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > -- Forrest English -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From d_villa at mail.com Fri Jan 14 14:35:27 2011 From: d_villa at mail.com (d_villa at mail.com) Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:35:27 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Offtopic (sortof) - Article on Birding from a non-birder Message-ID: <8CD8241B696BEA5-1384-3276B@web-mmc-d05.sysops.aol.com> My brother (Tennessee) sent me this article today http://www.slate.com/id/2280960 dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast http://dvillabirds.blogspot.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Carey_Goss at fws.gov Fri Jan 14 17:01:41 2011 From: Carey_Goss at fws.gov (Carey_Goss at fws.gov) Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 16:01:41 -0700 Subject: [OBOL] Carey Goss/MLHR/R1/FWS/DOI is out of the office. Message-ID: I will be out of the office starting 01/14/2011 and will not return until 01/31/2011. However, I will be checking my email periodically from home. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From heinjv at charter.net Fri Jan 14 17:18:00 2011 From: heinjv at charter.net (Jim Hein) Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:18:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Caption the photo In-Reply-To: References: <4D309152.5070605@hevanet.com> Message-ID: <3A2110E58B444089AE34803F8ED97D27@HeinPC> "I used my frequent flyer miles for this? I'll bet it is sunny at home." _____ From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Forrest English Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 10:28 AM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: [OBOL] Caption the photo I was told there would be sunshine. On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 10:09 AM, A Duston wrote: "enough already - this is too much even for ducks!" Message: 2 Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:58:51 -0800 From: Mike Patterson To: OBOL Subject: [OBOL] Caption the photo Message-ID:<4D2F759B.7040903 at pacifier.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Taken today at Reed Ranch on the Clatsop Plains where it's been rain for a couple days... http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/18250/ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -- Forrest English -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Fri Jan 14 21:47:28 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:47:28 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Washington County Falcons , Rough=legged Hawk Message-ID: <2DDEDB6B-F3DC-4238-B4B2-21B8198BDFD2@earthlink.net> I've only gotten a royal flush once in my life. That's largely testimony to how seldom I play cards. As for the falcon flush, I'm still trying. I think about it a lot, and spend as much time as I can in the right habitat in winter. I'd almost reached the half-century mark before I could even claim to be a falcon four-flusher. When the Coquille Valley CBC was revived two years ago our team stumbled on a Prairie Falcon early in the day. At the time it seemed the least likely species of falcon to find so near the coast. The last species of the day was a Merlin, on its way to bed. Nine or ten hours of non- stop birding within three or four square miles had yielded four species of falcon. Yesterday one of my sons had a school related event at the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce. It's located in that endless industrial campus that has pretty much taken over the entire heart of the Tualatin Valley. I took the most direct route possible, over my passenger's objections, which led right under the Prairie Falcon's perch on Harrington Road. It was there at 9:03 on January 13. The meeting at the Chamber of Commerce was short enough that I couldn't return to my regular workplace so I poked about the Intel facility east of Shute Road and north of Butler Road. This area holds extensive, highly degraded riparian habitat. On the west side of the campus I saw an adult Bald Eagle gathering nest material. It succeeded in breaking a dead branch off a sapling, but the branch fell into the water and it gave up. The south Butler entrance had lots of passerines, including an Anna's Hummingbird not associated with a feeder. It was alternately displaying its finery and defending a patch of brush and blackberries. A tundrius type Peregrine came sailing south, wheeled west above my head and continued in that direction along Butler to where it becomes Airport Road (a great address for falcons in Benton County). As the Peregrine crossed Shute Road in its westward trajectory a bird rose out of the tall firs to meet it. Someone noted on this list a few years back (maybe Dave Fix, quoting Tim Mlodinow?)that when a small raptor goes out of its way to razz a bigger raptor passing by, it's invariably a Merlin. A few months later I was leaving the North Bend Airport with David Smith during the Coos Bay CBC. We saw a small falcon harassing a Red-tailed Hawk. It would stoop from 100 feet above the Red-tail, pass within inches of the bigger raptor, then use its momentum to regain its superior altitude and stoop again. Sound like a Merlin to you? It was two o'clock, when the count team in sector two, two miles east to west and two miles north to south, splits in two to count the rest of Pony Slough for the last two hours of daylight. In a precautionary measure more characteristic of my teen-age years I drove to a cul-de-sac along the cyclone fence that surrounds the runway and put a scope on the now perched falcon. It was an American Kestral. With this in mind I drove west on Butler, then further west on Airport Road where 51st Street gives access to a development called The Highlands. There were no birds on the tops of the many Douglas-firs, but 51st bends at another section of the degraded creek course. The hydrology of everyone of these branches was messed up in the course of "development" and the original ash trees drowned. The largest colony of Acorn Woodpeckers I have seen in Washington County was busy tending its empty granary. And what a granary it is! Every dead ash is pointing the stubs of half-rotted branches to the sky. And I could see more sky than wood. The woodpeckers have so thoroughly riddled these trees that Swiss cheese does not begin to describe them. This is apparently the colony that provides dribs and drabs of Acorn Woodpeckers upstream at the main Hillsboro Library. And it explained the steady trickle of Acorn Woodpeckers I'd just seen over on the Intel Campus. There is also an American Kestral. I figured I'd check out the ducks on the library ponds before returning to the Chamber of Commerce. As soon as I turned north onto Shute Road I saw something at least Robin-sized in the top of a snaggy fir. Sure enough! It's a Merlin. A largish taiga/black intergrade, like most Merlins hereabouts in winter. A female, quite happy to let me examine its feathers, one by one, through my scope. But the phone rang, and it's my diligent scholar over on Elam Young Parkway. He's eager to get back before fourth period starts and views the chosen route homeward (through a series of perrenial grassfields) with overt suspicion. It really is the direct route back. It simply coincides with some of the better Gyrfalcon habitat in Washington County. Just at the south end of the Dersham Rd/Mountaindale exit overpass of Hwy 26 a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was sitting on a pole. I'd guess it was the same one Dennis Manzer saw on Hahn Road a few days earlier. In thirty years of living and working in Washington County this is only the fifth Rough-leg I've seen here. I also interacted with as many security personel at Intel as species of falcon seen. Once they determined that I was neither using nor in possession of cameras they desisted. The first guy was from Humboldt County and conversant on birds. Four species of falcon in an hour and a half, three of them in five minutes. That's good anywhere, and in a sub-urban landscape I have actively maligned for decades? Golly, I hope some more birders will start prowling the Intel campus, get the security staff habituated. Just leave your cameras at home. Lars Norgren From joel.geier at peak.org Fri Jan 14 22:17:53 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 20:17:53 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] MidValley Wildlife Roundup for week ending Friday, January 14 2011 Message-ID: <1295065073.15397.527.camel@clearwater1> MidValley Wildlife Roundup for week ending Friday, January 14 2011 This is a summary of wildlife news from the Mid-Willamette Valley region, compiled mainly from the MidValley birding list (www.midvalleybirding.org). This week started out cold and dry with nightime temperatures in the mid-20s, but ended warm and wet with the mercury reaching the mid-50s on Friday. Swan flocks included 26 Trumpeter Swans and 30 Tundra Swans along the Luckiamute River south of Maple Grove, and 50 swans of unknown species at Suver Junction on 7 Jan. About 400 Tundra Swans have been along American Drive near Halsey. A Bald Eagle survey in Linn County 8 Jan turned up 78 adults and 40 subadults. A White-tailed Kite was near Airlie on 7 Jan. Rough-legged Hawks continued in the Airlie and Finley NWR areas. A pair of Cooper's Hawks were seen near a suspected annual nest site in Albany on 7 Jan. A pair of Peregrine Falcons were south of Halsey 8 Jan. A probable Prairie Falcon was along De Armond Rd. near Airlie on 14 Jan. The gull flock visiting Coffin Butte Regional Landfill swelled to 140 on 8 Jan, when at least two Western Gulls and five Thayer's Gulls joined the mix of Herring, Glaucous-winged, and mixed gulls. Much of this gull flock seems to roost each evening on Waverly Pond in Albany. Great Horned Owl pairs continue their ?duetting.? A few Western Screech-Owls and Northern Saw-whet Owls were heard. A pair of Barn Owls have been hanging around the First Alternative Co-op and old Evanite plant in south Corvallis. Singing Black-capped Chickadees and Bewick's Wrens were noted. Varied Thrushes continue to be more common in the valley this winter. Large flocks of Yellow-rumped Warblers have been seen around south Corvallis. Rare birds for the season included a probable female Hermit Warbler (or hybrid?), a Cassin's Vireo (photos) and an immature male Bullock's Oriole (photos), all in Corvallis. Last week's Ash-throated Flycatcher was not seen this week. With today's balmy weather, a (Little Brown?) Bat was flying in NW Corvallis just after dawn. More warm weather and heavy rains are expected as a Pineapple Express heads our way for Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, with flooding likely in the river bottoms. Rarities this week (with dates of recent reports): Redhead, E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area (14 Jan). Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area (8 Jan). Swamp Sparrow, up to 3, E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area (8-14 Jan). -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 5hats at peak.org Fri Jan 14 23:51:32 2011 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 21:51:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Washington County Falcons , Rough=legged Hawk In-Reply-To: <2DDEDB6B-F3DC-4238-B4B2-21B8198BDFD2@earthlink.net> References: <2DDEDB6B-F3DC-4238-B4B2-21B8198BDFD2@earthlink.net> Message-ID: <574CF41403F048F0A3D5516E69274D31@DarrelPC> Lars, "invariably a Merlin". Not. A couple of years back a territorial thinking American Kestrel which wintered at our farm took off in hot pursuit of a Peregrine which was just passing through. I saw the same bird drive Red-tails from the territory on several occasions. Feisty little thing. Darrel -------------------------------------------------- From: "Norgren Family" Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 7:47 PM To: Subject: [OBOL] Washington County Falcons , Rough=legged Hawk > I've only gotten a royal flush > once in my life. That's largely testimony > to how seldom I play cards. As for the > falcon flush, I'm still trying. I think > about it a lot, and spend as much time > as I can in the right habitat in winter. > I'd almost reached the half-century mark > before I could even claim to be a falcon > four-flusher. When the Coquille Valley CBC > was revived two years ago our team stumbled > on a Prairie Falcon early in the day. At > the time it seemed the least likely species > of falcon to find so near the coast. The > last species of the day was a Merlin, on > its way to bed. Nine or ten hours of non- > stop birding within three or four square > miles had yielded four species of falcon. > Yesterday one of my sons had a school > related event at the Hillsboro Chamber of > Commerce. It's located in that endless > industrial campus that has pretty much > taken over the entire heart of the > Tualatin Valley. I took the most direct > route possible, over my passenger's objections, > which led right under the Prairie Falcon's > perch on Harrington Road. It was there at > 9:03 on January 13. The meeting at the Chamber > of Commerce was short enough that I couldn't > return to my regular workplace so I poked > about the Intel facility east of Shute Road > and north of Butler Road. > This area holds extensive, highly degraded > riparian habitat. On the west side of the > campus I saw an adult Bald > Eagle gathering > nest material. It succeeded in breaking a > dead branch off a sapling, but the branch > fell into the water and it gave up. The > south Butler entrance had lots of passerines, > including an Anna's Hummingbird not associated > with a feeder. It was alternately displaying > its finery and defending a patch of brush > and blackberries. A tundrius type Peregrine > came sailing south, wheeled west above my head > and continued in that direction along Butler > to where it becomes Airport Road (a great address > for falcons in Benton County). > As the Peregrine crossed Shute Road in > its westward trajectory a bird rose out of the > tall firs to meet it. Someone noted on this > list a few years back (maybe Dave Fix, quoting > Tim Mlodinow?)that when a small raptor goes out > of its way to razz a bigger raptor passing by, > it's invariably a Merlin. A few months later I > was leaving the North Bend Airport with David > Smith during the Coos Bay CBC. We saw a small > falcon harassing a Red-tailed Hawk. It would > stoop from 100 feet above the Red-tail, pass > within inches of the bigger raptor, then use > its momentum to regain its superior altitude > and stoop again. Sound like a Merlin to you? > It was two o'clock, when the count team in > sector two, two miles east to west and two miles > north to south, splits in two to count the rest > of Pony Slough for the last two hours of daylight. > In a precautionary measure more characteristic of > my teen-age years I drove to a cul-de-sac along > the cyclone fence that surrounds the runway and > put a scope on the now perched falcon. It was an > American Kestral. With this in mind I drove west > on Butler, then further west on Airport Road > where 51st Street gives access to a development > called The Highlands. There were no birds on the > tops of the many Douglas-firs, but 51st bends at > another section of the degraded creek course. > The hydrology of everyone of these branches was > messed up in the course of "development" and the > original ash trees drowned. The largest colony > of Acorn Woodpeckers I have seen in Washington > County was busy tending its empty granary. > And what a granary it is! Every dead ash > is pointing the stubs of half-rotted branches > to the sky. And I could see more sky than wood. > The woodpeckers have so thoroughly riddled these > trees that Swiss cheese does not begin to describe > them. This is apparently the colony that provides > dribs and drabs of Acorn Woodpeckers upstream at > the main Hillsboro Library. And it explained the > steady trickle of Acorn Woodpeckers I'd just seen > over on the Intel Campus. There is also an American > Kestral. > I figured I'd check out the ducks on the library > ponds before returning to the Chamber of Commerce. > As soon as I turned north onto Shute Road I saw > something at least Robin-sized in the top of a snaggy > fir. Sure enough! It's a Merlin. A largish taiga/black > intergrade, like most Merlins hereabouts in winter. A > female, quite happy to let me examine its feathers, > one by one, through my scope. But the phone rang, > and it's my diligent scholar over on Elam Young Parkway. > He's eager to get back before fourth period starts > and views the chosen route homeward (through a series of > perrenial grassfields) with overt suspicion. It really is > the direct route back. It simply coincides with some of > the better Gyrfalcon habitat in Washington County. > Just at the south end of the Dersham Rd/Mountaindale > exit overpass of Hwy 26 a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was sitting > on a pole. I'd guess it was the same one Dennis Manzer > saw on Hahn Road a few days earlier. In thirty years of > living and working in Washington County this is only the > fifth Rough-leg I've seen here. I also interacted with > as many security personel at Intel as species of falcon > seen. Once they determined that I was neither using nor > in possession of cameras they desisted. The first guy > was from Humboldt County and conversant on birds. > Four species of falcon in an hour and a half, three of > them in five minutes. That's good anywhere, and in a > sub-urban landscape I have actively maligned for decades? > Golly, I hope some more birders will start prowling the > Intel campus, get the security staff habituated. Just > leave your cameras at home. > Lars Norgren > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > From 5hats at peak.org Fri Jan 14 23:54:02 2011 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 21:54:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] off topic: signs of spring Message-ID: <05DC470DD04C449E9FB8EB1B0605F6F6@DarrelPC> The tree frogs are filling the Thornton Creek Valley (Lincoln)with song tonight. Sweet music. Makes a nice background to the duetting Great Horned Owls. Darrel -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Sat Jan 15 00:46:42 2011 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 22:46:42 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Yoncalla - Drain raptor survey Message-ID: <64513.24229.qm@web39408.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Obolers, Yesterday, John Sullivan and I headed down to the Yoncalla - Drain area to conduct an East Cascades Audubon Society winter raptor survey. For the most part, weather conditions were favorable. We did have a few downpours of rain that lasted 10 or 15 minutes each but it did not hamper our abilities to spot birds along the route. It took us a little over 5 hours to travel the 65 mile route and the findings were quite nice :) Following is the take for the day: Red-tailed Hawk 17 American Kestrel 12 Northern Harrier 2 Bald Eagle 1 adult RED-SHOULDERED HAWK 2 WHITE-TAILED KITE 7 Cooper's Hawk 1 Total 42 The kites and shoulders were target birds for this effort and we were not disappointed. We found the kites in 5 different areas of the route. The shoulders were both beautiful adult birds in two different locations. One of the Red-tails was a nice rufous variety and another was a dark Harlan's. I don't ordinarily differentiate these on surveys as I am considered a birding lumper and these two are Red-tailed Hawks to me but it was nice to see the variety :) One other bird of note was a virtually all white AMERICAN ROBIN that we found on Bear Creek Rd north of Yoncalla. It was not an albino, rather leucistic in nature. For a second we thought we had an eighth kite! :) If anyone is interested we can supply photos of this bird. Thanks John for the company and bird location help, I think we covered the route pretty thoroughly! Jeff Fleischer Albany -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rick.lumen at gmail.com Sat Jan 15 01:24:29 2011 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 23:24:29 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Odd Colored Neck on Cackling Goose at Ridgefield Message-ID: <741A10BE-015A-47D8-B469-4ACBE592EF7F@gmail.com> I saw a Cackling Goose with white feathers mixed in against its black neck today at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. I assume it is a white collar gone astray. http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/cackling-goose-odd-colored-neck.html Rick Wilsonville From rhettwilkins at gmail.com Sat Jan 15 02:19:34 2011 From: rhettwilkins at gmail.com (Rhett Wilkins) Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:19:34 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Common Teal - N. Portland Message-ID: Hi OBOL, There was a very ratty-looking drake Common Teal at Vanport Wetlands this morning. Dwight Porter, Greg Fisk, and I struggled with it a bit as it lacked both the white vertical scapular of our Green-winged Teal and the famous white horizontal scapular of the Common Teal. Apparently, COTE males don't always show this field mark? Another field mark that we couldn't deny was its very prominent yet dirty-looking white feathers that bordered much of its green eye mask and the base of its bill. Do Common Teals always show so much more of these whitish facial highlights than Green-winged Teals? I would love any and all feedback or insight. In any case, it should be difficult to miss this bird if it hangs around. It really stuck out when compared to the GWTEs, but look for the absence of the vertical scapular not the presence of the horizontal one. Good Birding...oh yeah, and the Great Horned is looking absolutely lovely in its nest. Rhett Wilkins -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rhettwilkins at gmail.com Sat Jan 15 02:58:46 2011 From: rhettwilkins at gmail.com (Rhett Wilkins) Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:58:46 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Washington County Falcons , Rough=legged Hawk Message-ID: Congrats on all of the falcons, Lars! I too have watched kestrels go toe-to-toe with both red-taileds and harriers. However, the bird rising out of tall firs makes me lean toward Merlin. Rhett -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com Sat Jan 15 15:35:23 2011 From: shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com (Shawneen Finnegan) Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2011 13:35:23 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Common Teal - N. Portland In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Rhett et al: Ah, it is a good day to be looking at ducks given the ducky weather. It is just pouring at the moment! You are correct that the pale /feathers bordering the green mask on the face is broader and thus bolder on Common Teals. For a good comparison of this go to the BirdFellow online field guide at the following link: http://www.birdfellow.com/birds/green-winged-teal-anas-crecca#/idPhotos Click on the FILTER BY KEYWORD and select "head close-up" and you will see thumbnail-sized examples, one of each subspecies. Click on one to see it a bigger version, and click on the selected photo on the right if you want to load an even larger version. To deselect just click off the side and it will disappear. Another difference to note is that the flank color on Commons is a bit paler and vermiculations are more coarse. One thing Sibley says to look for is that just in front of the bold black vertical bar at the rear end (that separates the gray flanks from the large yellowish patch along the sides of the tail end), is a whitish area. I have found photos of Green-wingeds (A.c.carolinensis) that show this and Commons that lack this patch. A Green-winged with this mark is shown in the BirdFellow gallery. After selecting keyword "male" the number 4 photo shows our North American subspecies with a pale mark like Sibley describes. It may be that a number of Commons will show wider white patch than any Green-winged would show. On a number of occasions the white horizontal flank stripe is not visible, but this could be molt related or, particularly given the weather, because the other gray scapular or mantle feathers are covering it up. There are two subspecies of "Common-looking" teal that occur in North America. The Eurasian form is the nominate A. c. crecca, which breeds from Greenland, Iceland, across N Europe to Russia to N Japan. The other subspecies that looks like nominate crecca, A. c. nimia, breeds in the outer Aleutians (Akutan west), and according to BNA "probably disperses somewhat from breeding sites". Nimia is noticably larger than either crecca or carolinensis so it would be great to document a Common Teal that looked bigger than the Green-wingeds it was with as nimia aren't supposed to stray much from the Aleutians. Nice find! Shawneen Finnegan NW Portland On Jan 15, 2011, at 12:19 AM, Rhett Wilkins wrote: > Hi OBOL, > > There was a very ratty-looking drake Common Teal at Vanport Wetlands this morning. Dwight Porter, Greg Fisk, and I struggled with it a bit as it lacked both the white vertical scapular of our Green-winged Teal and the famous white horizontal scapular of the Common Teal. Apparently, COTE males don't always show this field mark? Another field mark that we couldn't deny was its very prominent yet dirty-looking white feathers that bordered much of its green eye mask and the base of its bill. Do Common Teals always show so much more of these whitish facial highlights than Green-winged Teals? I would love any and all feedback or insight. > > In any case, it should be difficult to miss this bird if it hangs around. It really stuck out when compared to the GWTEs, but look for the absence of the vertical scapular not the presence of the horizontal one. > > Good Birding...oh yeah, and the Great Horned is looking absolutely lovely in its nest. > > Rhett Wilkins > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sat Jan 15 15:39:48 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:39:48 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Reports of Manx Shearwater to the OBRC In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I would second Jeff's endorsement of the Olney book, as it is highly useful, particularly for the deepwater species that are poorly covered in most field guides. Dave Irons Portland, OR, where there are no Oak Titmice or California Towhees to feed, but it is raining just as hard. > All Oregon sea watchers, pelagic participants, and cruisers should own > "Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World" (Onley). It is > available from Amazon.com for $21.00. I understand that there are at least > two seabird books in the works. The standard field guides and older seabird > books may not be adequate in regard to this subject. > > While one's listing is their personal prerogative, one could always list as > "Manx-complex" if a bird isn't seen sufficiently to eliminate all species. > As we in Oregon and elsewhere are learning, the ocean has few boundaries. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From w.douglas.robinson at gmail.com Sat Jan 15 15:48:35 2011 From: w.douglas.robinson at gmail.com (W. Douglas Robinson) Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2011 13:48:35 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] King eider at Boiler Bay Message-ID: <70C6055D-0AE7-44B7-9573-31279931556F@gmail.com> I got a reliable report of a female one quarter mile off Boiler Bay on 17 December. Have fun Doug From whoffman at peak.org Sat Jan 15 18:00:00 2011 From: whoffman at peak.org (Wayne Hoffman) Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2011 16:00:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Glaucous Gull at Yaquina Bay Message-ID: At noon today, a first-cycle Glaucous Gull was at the "gull spot along the Yaquina Bay South Jetty. Fairly typical bird, with straight-sided bill, sharp demarcation between black tip and pink base, very white primaries, pale brown-smudged underparts and head, patterned back. It appeared to have an injured foot. Wayne -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer at mindspring.com Sat Jan 15 19:04:13 2011 From: acontrer at mindspring.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2011 17:04:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fwd: Union Blue Jay Back References: <000001cbb4ed$1d781950$58684bf0$@net> Message-ID: FYI Alan Contreras Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: > From: "Cathy Nowak" > Date: January 15, 2011 11:47:51 AM PST > To: > Subject: Union Blue Jay Back > > The BLUE JAY is back this morning. 1286 N. Cove; corner of Cove & Bryan. 541-786-5198 > > > > Cathy Nowak > > Union, Oregon > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From austin at austinbooth.com Sat Jan 15 19:20:41 2011 From: austin at austinbooth.com (Austin Booth) Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2011 17:20:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] 1st Winter Northern Shrike at Ankeny NWR Message-ID: <4D3247E9.9020602@austinbooth.com> I just posted this to Mid-Valley Birds but I figured I better post this here too in case anyone who doesn't subscribe to that list is interested. I saw a 1st Winter NORTHERN SHRIKE today near Eagle Marsh at Ankeny NWR. Heading east on Buena Vista Rd from Eagle Marsh I stopped at the first pull out/parking area on the right (probably 1/4 mile down the road from Eagle Marsh. The shrike was in some trees next to the pull out, when I opened my car door to get a better look it flew out into the field and hovered for a second before it dove and caught some sort of large insect, it then landed in another tree nearby where I got great views of it with my scope. It was slightly smaller than a scrub-jay and very grayish brown overall. The wings were slightly darker than the rest of the body but not black, it did not have a dark mask as far as I could see but its large hooked bill was very prominent. Austin Booth From celata at pacifier.com Sat Jan 15 19:34:55 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2011 17:34:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Estuary Report - 1/15/2011 Message-ID: <4D324B3F.7070503@pacifier.com> Columbia Estuary Report - 1/15/2011 I has been generally wet and icky most of the week. The main news is all the GLAUCOUS GULL reports. There are now at least four Glaucous Gulls at Wireless Rd including two 2nd winter, one 3rd Winter and at least one adult. An adult Glaucous was also seen at the Seaside (Edgewater) Golf Course off Ave U in Seaside. At least 2 Glaucous Gulls were seen Friday at Reith Field along Lewis and Clark Road. So, at least seven by my count. Those who find winter gull watching a worthwhile winter distraction will certainly have no problem staying occupied right now along the lower Columbia... A BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was reported from Seaside Cove on Thursday. There are still 8 SNOW GEESE feeding in the field along 101 business loop near Wireless Rd. The RED (EASTERN-type) FOX SPARROW is still being seen at the Netul Landing, though it is far less cooperative than the regular Sooty-types. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Sat Jan 15 19:49:33 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2011 17:49:33 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Swallows 1/15/2011 Message-ID: <930314.39691.qm@web45314.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> It poured here most of the day and still is, I imagine it's pretty much the same elsewhere on the westside. Miserable weather seems to bring the swallows into a couple locations in the Coquille Valley so I went out and checked late afternoon. At Johnson Mill Pond near Coquille I found 13 TREE SWALLOWS and one BARN SWALLOW. The Trees first showed up there in late December but I haven't seen them since New Years. The only south coast Barns I am aware of were 4 on the Port Orford CBC near Floras Lake on 26 December. I then zipped over to Myrtle Point Marsh but got there a few minutes before sunset, a bit late for swallow activity. I did see 7 swallows though, they looked mostly to be TREES, but it was getting dark and I was unable to get good looks at all the birds. I only observed them for a few minutes before they disappeared, probably roosting for the night. This location has had more swallows than Johnson Mill Pond, so who knows how many are there? The first Trees usually arrive early in February, so I imagine the numbers should begin picking up soon, one way or another. I agree with Wayne Hoffman on these Trees, probably early migrants. Most Trees are gone by the end of July with a few still migrating out in August, but usually totally gone after that. That leaves several months between the time the breeders leave and these swallows showed up. This is the first winter on record in Coos we have had significant numbers of Trees in late December and early January though. Merry deluge! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From austin at austinbooth.com Sun Jan 16 13:12:36 2011 From: austin at austinbooth.com (austin at austinbooth.com) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 13:12:36 CST Subject: [OBOL] White goose off I-5 exit 243 Message-ID: <20110116191543.F2BB2EFEF651@mail.stephouse.net> While driving up I-5 from albany to portland this morning I saw an unidentified white goose (snow or ross' goose) about 1/4 mile south of the ankeny hill exit in a field on the east side of the highway. If anyone is headed out to ankeny anytime soon it may be worth heading east on ankeny hill rd and trying to scope that field in case its still there. From d_villa at mail.com Sun Jan 16 13:56:40 2011 From: d_villa at mail.com (d_villa at mail.com) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 14:56:40 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Assist with Hummingbird ID - Allen'S or Rufous Message-ID: <8CD83CEA088C693-1384-4D132@web-mmc-d05.sysops.aol.com> Working on cataloging my 2010 bird list today, I remembered photographing a rufous hummingbird at Shore Acres (Coos Cnty) last July. Looking at the photo's, I am not sure that it's a RUFOUS or an ALLEN'S? I got a few decent shots, if someone doesn't mind taking a look? http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/IMG_0074_01.jpg http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/IMG_0073_01.jpg http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/IMG_0072_01.jpg http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/IMG_0071_01.jpg http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/IMG_0075_01.jpg (to view in album, http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/) Thanks! dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast http://dvillabirds.blogspot.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From range.bayer at gmail.com Sun Jan 16 14:06:47 2011 From: range.bayer at gmail.com (Range Bayer) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 12:06:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Dec. Lincoln Co. Bird Notes Received Through 12/31 Message-ID: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ BIRD FIELD NOTES from the December 2010 Sandpiper 31(10) for Observations Received Through 12/31 by Range Bayer The Sandpiper is a publication of Yaquina Birders and Naturalists, a Lincoln County (Oregon) natural history group. Comments in this column about abundance or seasonality refer to LINCOLN COUNTY only. There is room only for some of the many Lincoln County sightings to be included here of those sent to me or posted to the Lincoln Co. Birding & Nature Observing (LCBNO) or Oregon Birders On-Line (OBOL) email discussion lists. If you have any Lincoln County field notes, please share them with Range (range.bayer at gmail.com; P.O. Box 1467, Newport, OR 97365; 541-265-2965) by the 20th of the month. Bird field notes columns in the Sandpiper since 1992 are at http://yaquina.info/ybn/bird/bird.htm#recent Abbreviations, terms, and some Lincoln Co. site locations (numbers refer to site numbers in the Oregon Coast Birding Trail Guide http://www.oregoncoastbirding.com/): BAYVIEW PASTURE: pasture/field near creek about 0.4 mile east of junction of North Alsea Bay Road with South Beaver Creek Road, BEAVER CREEK (#78, in part): creek flowing through Ona Beach State Park that includes Beaver Creek State Natural Area, BOILER BAY STATE WAYSIDE (#59): about 0.5 mi north of Depoe Bay, HMSC (#75): OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center, LNG TANK: large green Liquefied Natural Gas tank on the north side of Yaquina Bay about 1.5 miles east of Yaquina Bay Bridge, ONA BEACH (#77): State Park about 6.6 mi south of Yaquina Bay bridge along HWY 101 at Beaver Creek, YAQUINA HEAD OUTSTANDING NATURAL AREA (#65): headland north of Newport. WATERFOWL On 12/17, waterfowl numbers continued to be high in the channel adjacent to or on Yaquina Bay embayments. RB's estimates by counting blocks of 10's were 4,830 surface-feeding ducks; 8,550 diving ducks; 8 Canada Geese, and 166 Brant. The total (13,554 ducks and geese) was similar to his Nov. 5 total (14,050), but there appeared to have been significant changes in species composition. RB's impressions were that Surf Scoters were not as abundant and Buffleheads and Ruddy Ducks were more abundant on 12/17 than on 11/5. Further, Brant and Common Goldeneyes were present on 12/17 but not on 11/5. WN & RC had our only GR. WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, a flock of 30 at Bayview Pasture on 12/23. PL discerned our only 4 SWANS, presumably Tundra Swans, flying over the Newport Bayfront on 12/5. HARLEQUIN DUCKS were noted during the first 24 days at Yaquina Head in Nov. (BLM). In December, as many as 4 were tallied at Boiler Bay, Seal Rocks, YBSJ, or Yaquina Head during 7 days (m.ob.). 1-2 LONG-TAILED DUCKS graced Yaquina Bay on 12/2 &16 (WG & JH; SS), and 2-4 BARROW'S GOLDENEYES were at Siletz Bay on 12/5&23 (RP; RC & WN). Counts of Brant at Yaquina Bay by RB, TW, and JSu, LJ, and TB during October 2010-1 January 2011. The first were found on Nov. 5, and the high count was 171 (Jan. 1) (RB). This shows the typical pattern of a few Brant arrivals followed by increasing numbers to a plateau of overwintering birds. YB&N is a project partner of the International Brant Monitoring Project (http://www.padillabay.gov/brant/), and RB relays on sightings of significant numbers of Brant in Lincoln County to their Observation Log (see link on the left side of their web page). 175- XXX 150- XX XXX 125- XXX XXX 100- XXX XXX 75- XXX XXX 50- X XXX XXX 25- X XXX XXX 1-12- XX XXX XXX 0-X XX XXX XXX |''''|''''|''''|''''|''''|''''|''' Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr 2010 ---------|---2011---------- QUAIL-RAPTORS Our only quail were the 3 MOUNTAIN QUAIL lingering at BB's Yachats feeder through 12/29. 238 (7% white-phase) dead NORTHERN FULMARS were along 4.6 miles of beach north of Ona Beach in November (B&SLo, L&VO). Their total of 304 since September is the 2nd highest year since BLo started surveys in 1978; the highest Sept.-Nov. total was in 2003 (408). This die-off is not confined to their beach as it has also showed up along beaches in central California (HN). 1-350+ live fulmars were noted from Boiler Bay during 12/10, 12 & 14 (WH; PP; DL). 3 dead BROWN PELICANS were along 4.6 miles of beach north of Ona Beach in November (B&SLo, L&VO). Live ones were seen throughout December, but only 1-2 were counted after 12/14 (m.ob.). BB had the high count with an estimated 300 flying south past Yachats during 8-10 AM on 12/14. A GREAT EGRET at Beaver Creek on 12/18 YBNFT was our only report, and BLl encountered our only WHITE-TAILED KITE near his Logsden home on 12/19. A Christmas Day surprise was a pair of BALD EAGLES perched side by side on the Newport Breakwater (SH, RH & BH). We had no NORTHERN HARRIER reports in Dec., but they were at Yaquina Head during 2 days in Nov. (BLM). Singleton RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS were near Lincoln City on 12/5 (DF) and at the HMSC on 12/22 (BB). PP spotted a rare GYRFALCON cruising over his Lincoln City home on 12/7. This is only our 4th record since 1992 (FN). CP saw a MERLIN "scooting" over the Newport Safeway on 12/23, and another swept through southwest Newport on 12/19 (RB). Other than on Raptor Routes, SK had the only other AMERICAN KESTREL, south of Siletz, on 12/18. Oregon Winter Raptor Surveys are a good relative index to the abundance of wintering raptors and are coordinated by the East Cascades Birds Observatory (www.ecbcbirds.org/Default.aspx?tabid=73). The Lincoln Co. Raptor Coast Route is about 61 miles and runs along Hwy 101 from the north side of Alsea Bay to Taft area of Lincoln City, with nearby inland valleys. It was completed in 5 hours on 11/22 by WH, WN, & RC and on 12/23 by WN & RC. The Inland or Yaquina River-Siletz Raptor Route is about 66 miles long. It was done in 4.5 hours on 11/20 by CP & JL and 4.25 hours on 12/29 by JL & KL. This month, the most numerous raptors on both Routes were Red-tailed Hawks followed by Bald Eagles. A kestrel was noted unusually for the Coastal Route, and a Peregrine was unusual along the Inland Route. ----------------------------------------- Coast Route |Inland Route 11/ 12/ |11/ 12/ Raptor 22 23 | 20 29 ---------------------------------------- N. Harrier 2 0 | 0 0 Wh-t. Kite 0 0 | 3 0 Sharp. Hawk 0 0 | 0 0 Coop. Hawk 0 0 | 1 0 R-shld. Hawk 1 0 | 0 0 R-tail. Hawk 8 6 | 7 8 B. Eagle ad. 6 3 | 2 4 " subadults 0 0 | 2 1 " unknown 1 0 | 0 0 Am. Kestrel 0 1 | 4 3 Peregrine F. 2 4 | 0 1 unk. raptor 0 0 | 0 1 RAPTOR SUM 20 14 | 19 18 PEREGRINE FALCON Peregrines were recorded during 4 days in Nov. at Yaquina Head (BLM). The morning of 12/5, crows were calling very loudly near CP's home in Toledo. When he investigated, he saw a first-year female Peregrine on the ground in the yard with an American Crow it had caught. The crow was alive and calling, which may have brought in the other crows that were calling and dive-bombing the Peregrine. Some of the crows were coming so close that they may have touched the Peregrine. These attacks of the other crows interrupted the Peregrine's attempts to kill the crow. There were also some gulls circling overhead, but they did not dive-bomb the Peregrine. The crow that was caught grasped the Peregrine around the Peregrine's belly with its feet. This made it more difficult for the Peregrine to peck at the crow. Finally, after about 30 seconds or so, the Peregrine succeeded in killing the crow and when it became silent, the ruckus of the calling of the other crows quieted and they started leaving, so that the Peregrine was eventually left alone. Some kids happened on the scene, and one of them identified the Peregrine--a hopeful sign that young people are interested in birds! The Peregrine remained to eat most of the crow in the yard but was disturbed by an adult person leaving their parked car, so the Peregrine took off, carrying what remained of the crow, though it was barely able to fly away. As it did, it seemed that all the crows in the neighborhood resumed calling and began flying after the Peregrine. They flew out of sight, so CP was not able to tell if any crows dive-bombed the Peregrine as it flew away. During a lunch hour run on Newport's Agate Beach on 12/8, RW encountered a Peregrine struggling to fly into a strong south wind as it was carrying its catch, an unidentified gull. On 12/10, PL saw what appeared to be two adult Peregrines with pale coloration near his Newport home. There did not appear to be a size difference, and they looked proportionately like females. They appeared to be hunting together. Another Peregrine flew over the Yaquina Bay North Jetty on 12/31 (PK). SHOREBIRDS-ALCIDS PP found our only BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS (2) at Boiler Bay on 12/14. A WHIMBREL was at the YBSJ on 12/18 (DV) and 12/30 (PS & CK), and AF & SN found our only MARBLED GODWIT at Siletz Bay on 12/4. [Image Not Included: Dawn Villaescusa's Dec. 18 photo of a Whimbrel on one of the rocks at the YBSJ. This rocky intertidal is not a typical habitat for them, but one has been at the YBSJ the past 2 winters. The whole photo is at http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/] 1-9 RED PHALAROPES were at Boiler Bay during 4 seawatches during 12/1-14 (PP; WH). On 12/9, PP found our only GLAUCOUS GULL (a juvenile) at Salishan Spit, and on 12/14 at Boiler Bay, PP saw our latest SABINE'S GULL and HEERMANN'S GULL. A dead, rare HORNED PUFFIN was along 4.6 miles of beach north of Ona Beach on Nov. 25, and other dead alcids in November there included 18 COMMON MURRES, 36 RHINOCEROS AUKLETS, 7 CASSIN'S AUKLETS, 3 ANCIENT MURRELETS, and 1 PIGEON GUILLEMOT (B&SLo, L&VO). Live COMMON MURRES were frequent, with a high count of 5,000+ during PP's 12/10 seawatch at Boiler Bay. 1-3 PIGEON GUILLEMOTS were found during 4 seawatches at Boiler Bay (PP; WH). ANCIENT MURRELETS were viewed at Boiler Bay during 12 days in December by many observers. Typically there were fewer than 40, but PP had 341 on 12/14 and WH had 61 on 12/18. MARBLED MURRELETS were not as frequent or numerous with 2-14 noted during 6 Boiler Bay seawatches during 12/1-20 (PP; WH). Other alcids at Boiler Bay in December included 1-5 CASSIN'S AUKLETS during 7 days (PP;WG & JH; WH; DL; SS), 1-115 RHINOCEROS AUKLETS during 6 days (PP; WH; WG & JH), and 2 TUFTED PUFFINS only on 12/10 (PP). [Image Not Included: Part of Andy Frank's digiscoped photo of 4 of about 30 Ancient Murrelets that he and Steve Nord found at Boiler Bay on Dec. 4. See whole photos at http://andyfrank.blogspot.com/] DOVE-ORIOLE CP recorded EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES in north Newport on 12/1 and 25 in Toledo in late December. CP relocated the NORTHERN SHRIKE near the electric substation along east Olalla Slough (Toledo) on 12/4, and JSi & MA also found it on 12/19. ME detected a lingering WESTERN SCRUB-JAY at Three Rocks Road near the Salmon River Estuary on 12/11, and 6 GRAY JAYS remained at BB's Yachats feeder through 12/31. On 12/19, SaL saw an AMERICAN CROW at Yachats that had "cream colored splotching all over the tertials, none on the primaries, and, basically, none on the wing coverts." Project Feeder Watch notes that "leucism comes in two main varieties -- paleness, an equal reduction of melanin in all feathers; and pied, an absence of melanin in some feathers creating white patches" (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/Albinism_Leucism.htm). So SaL's crow could be described as "pied" or "piebald" (http://birding.about.com/od/identifyingbirds/a/leucism.htm). [The Bald Eagle derived its name from "piebald" because of its white head and tail contrasting with its dark body (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piebald).] 1-2 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS were in Toledo in late Dec. (CP) and Newport on 12/30 (PS & CK). On 12/26, JR & HR saw a possible, rare HOODED ORIOLE in northwest Newport. JR described it as "the size of an oriole; prominent black bib, yellow-green head, black beak, yellow belly, and streaked (not barred) wings which are brownish." JR noted that it looked like the photo of a male Hooded Oriole. However, it was not resighted or photographed. OBSERVERS/SOURCES: Mark Aron, Betty Bahn, Range Bayer, Tanya Bray, Birding Site Guide of Oregon (http://birdingoregon.info/), Birds of North America Online (BNA)(http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/), Bureau of Land Management staff and volunteers at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area (BLM), Rebecca Cheek, Mark Elliott, Darrel Faxon, Andy Frank, Wink Gross, Bird Guide Pelagic Trips out of Newport (http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/), Wayne Hoffman, Sue, Ray, Brian Hurst; Jack Hurt, Laura Johnson, Penelope Kaczmarek, Carol Karlen, Steve Kupillas, Janet & Karin Lamberson, Pete Lawson, David Leal, Lincoln Co. Birding & Nature Observing (LCBNO) (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LCBNO/), Bob Llewellyn (BLl), Sally Lockyear (SaL), Bob Loeffel (BLo) & Shirley Loeffel (SLo), Linda & John MacKown, Walt Nelson, Hannahrose Nevins, Steve Nord, m.ob. (multiple observers), Field Notes (FN; Lincoln County records from the Sandpiper since 1992 are searchable at http://yaquina.info/ybn/bird/bird.htm#recent), Oregon Birders On-Line (OBOL; recent postings at http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/OBOL.html), Oregon Coast Birding Trail Guide (http://www.oregoncoastbirding.com/), Laimons & Vicki Osis, Ron Peterson, Chuck Philo, Phil Pickering, Jerry & Hannah Robbins, Stefan Schlick, SemiL (semimonthly Lincoln Co. bird records through 1992 for each species at ScholarsArchive at OSU [http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8070]), Jamie Simmons (JSi), John Sullivan (JSu), Paul Sullivan, Dawn Villaescusa, Tom Wainwright, Robert Witter, Yaquina Birders & Naturalists (YB&N)(http://yaquina.info/ybn/), YB&N Field (YBNFT) led by LO. -- Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon Lincoln Co. Bird Information at http://yaquina.info/ybn/bird/bird.htm From joel.geier at peak.org Sun Jan 16 14:30:21 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 12:30:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [Fwd: [birding] U.S. Hwy 20 closed east of Cascadia (Santiam Highway)] Message-ID: <1295209821.15397.888.camel@clearwater1> -------- Forwarded Message -------- From: Joel Geier Reply-to: joel.geier at peak.org To: MidValley Birds Subject: [birding] U.S. Hwy 20 closed east of Cascadia (Santiam Highway) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 11:27:43 -0800 Hi all, Just heard on OPB: A substantial landslide has blocked U.S. Hwy 20 just east of Cascadia. ODOT is advising travelers to use Hwy 126 (from Eugene/Springfield) or Hwy 22 (from Salem) if you're traveling between the mid-Willamette Valley and Santiam Pass/Sisters. It sounds like this one may take a while to clear. Cascadia is above Foster Reservoir, so this shouldn't prevent Linn Co. birders from checking there for loons, grebes etc. that may have floated in along with the recent downpours. Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis _______________________________________________ birding mailing list birding at midvalleybirding.org http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffgill at teleport.com Sun Jan 16 15:01:30 2011 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 13:01:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] FW: OBRC: Lawrence's Goldfinch 531-08-09 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: ------ Forwarded Message From: Jeff Gilligan Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 10:43:56 -0800 To: Harry Nehls Conversation: OBRC: Lawrence's Goldfinch 531-08-09 Subject: Re: OBRC: Lawrence's Goldfinch 531-08-09 Not accepted. Lesser Goldfinches are more variable than many expect. Some males (young ones) are very dull I am bothered by the description of black on the forehead (consistent with Lesser) but not on the throat (characteristic of Lawrence?s). On 6/30/10 4:08 PM, "Harry Nehls" wrote: > Alternates and members, > > You are voting first round on Lawrence?s Goldfinch 531-08-09 > > > Harry Nehls > Portland, Oregon > > ------ End of Forwarded Message -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From masohlstrom at msn.com Sun Jan 16 15:59:54 2011 From: masohlstrom at msn.com (M A SOHLSTROM) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 13:59:54 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] White Pelicans in Tualatin Message-ID: All ? A friend just called to tell me he is watching two WHITE PELICANS feeding in Hedges Creek Marsh in the middle of Tualatin. Hedges Marsh is directly north of the Post Office & strip mall on Tualatin Sherwood Road just west of Boones Ferry Road. He tells me they are actively feeding, pulling 12? fish of some sort out of the large main pond. I?m hoping they will stick around until I get back to work on Tuesday! Mary Anne Sohlstrom masohlstrom at msn.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffgill at teleport.com Sun Jan 16 17:24:21 2011 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 15:24:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] FW: OBRC: Lawrence's Goldfinch 531-08-09 (APOLOGIES) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I inadvertently sent this to OBOL.. I apologize. It was intended for the Oregon Bird Records Committee. Jeff Gilligan On 1/16/11 1:01 PM, "Jeff Gilligan" wrote: > > ------ Forwarded Message > From: Jeff Gilligan > Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 10:43:56 -0800 > To: Harry Nehls inadvertently > Conversation: OBRC: Lawrence's Goldfinch 531-08-09 > Subject: Re: OBRC: Lawrence's Goldfinch 531-08-09 > > Not accepted. > > Lesser Goldfinches are more variable than many expect. Some males (young > ones) are very dull I am bothered by the description of black on the forehead > (consistent with Lesser) but not on the throat (characteristic of Lawrence?s). > > > On 6/30/10 4:08 PM, "Harry Nehls" wrote: > >> Alternates and members, >> >> You are voting first round on Lawrence?s Goldfinch 531-08-09 >> >> >> Harry Nehls >> Portland, Oregon >> >> > > > ------ End of Forwarded Message > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgates326 at gmail.com Sun Jan 16 18:04:44 2011 From: cgates326 at gmail.com (Charles R. Gates) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 16:04:44 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Paulina Winter Raptor Survey Message-ID: <4D33879C.4010602@gmail.com> Yesterday, two students joined me for the Paulina Winter Raptor Survey sponsored by the East Cascades Audubon Society. We were hampered by rain and saw few raptors. The best birds were two TRUMPETER SWANS on the Crooked River east of Post and the continuing SURF SCOTER that has been at the Prineville Sewer Ponds for the last two months. Here are the raptors: 25 Red-tailed Hawks 2 American Kestrels 1 Northern Harrier 6 Bald Eagles (4 adults, 2 Juves) 3 Golden Eagles (all adults) 3 Rough-legged Hawks 2 Prairie Falcons -- Chuck Gates Crook County High School NAMC State Coordinator - East Cascades Bird Conservancy Online Oregon Birding Site Guide - birdingoregon.info 541-923-1320 From sheilach1 at frontier.com Sun Jan 16 18:12:21 2011 From: sheilach1 at frontier.com (Sheila Chambers) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 16:12:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] It's still WINTER! Some birds are confused! Message-ID: <4D338965.2080109@frontier.com> *While out metal detecting in a nearby park, I heard a high pitched honking overhead, and there was a wide, big, "V" of COMMON GEESE flying NORTH. Don't they know they have a lot more WINTER to endure? Same day I had my little "bait" birds outside to take a bath, had to hurry home from shopping to bring the little twits inside as they had gotten wetter than intended by some unexpected rain. The "usual suspects" were packing it in at the feeders, GOLD-CROWN, WHITE-CROWN, LINCOLN, FOX and SONG SPARROW, "OREGON" JUNCO, STARLINGS, EURASIAN COLLARED DOVES, A NORTHERN FLICKER, BLACK-CAPPED, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, a few PINE SISKINS, HOSP'S, SPOTTED TOWHEE, ROBINS, HOUSE FINCHES, HERMIT THRUSH and ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS* . *Last night I went to get a potato in the garage and discovered something had gotten it before me, a RAT! So I set out some traps and discovered a big, black RAT in one this morning. Now I have to buy more potatoes. I also found over 3" of rain in my rain gauge this morning. Sheila in soggy Brookings, Or. * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wildtrout5 at comcast.net Sun Jan 16 18:40:55 2011 From: wildtrout5 at comcast.net (wildtrout5 at comcast.net) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:40:55 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Red-throated loon [David Leal] Message-ID: <981758250.1249966.1295224855257.JavaMail.root@sz0070a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> I was just down?at Broughton Beach (sp?) during the dry spell, 3pm-ish, looking to see what might be around and walking the dog and saw a red-throated loon just upstream of the boat ramp.? I drove up river and there are many scaup along Marine Drive and the two common loons still up near?158th.? David Leal -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kolwicz at minetfiber.com Sun Jan 16 19:10:36 2011 From: kolwicz at minetfiber.com (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 17:10:36 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Townsend's Warbler at the sugar water Message-ID: <4D33970C.2010306@minetfiber.com> Since someone else mentioned it recently, I've noticed that my resident TW has been frequenting my humming bird feeder, at least in late afternoon. Now that I've seen it twice, I'll keep a better eye on it and move my camera setup over there. The resident Anna's Hummer took sharp notice of the freeloader, but didn't attempt a scuffle like he does with other hummers. Frank in Monmouth From christopher.hinkle2 at gmail.com Sun Jan 16 19:32:54 2011 From: christopher.hinkle2 at gmail.com (Christopher Hinkle) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 17:32:54 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Glaucous Gull in SE Portland Message-ID: Between showers today we walked over to Clinton Park in SE Portland, hoping to refind the first-cycle Glaucous Gull that we had seen earlier on our run. It was still there along with Glaucous-winged, California, Thayer's, Western, Herring, and Ring-billed Gulls. Christopher and Adrian Hinkle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From deweysage at frontier.com Sun Jan 16 20:10:54 2011 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 18:10:54 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Assist with Hummingbird ID - Allen'S or Rufous In-Reply-To: <8CD83CEA088C693-1384-4D132@web-mmc-d05.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CD83CEA088C693-1384-4D132@web-mmc-d05.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <4D33A52E.6060608@frontier.com> Dawn This individual at this location, like many if not most Selasphorus indviduals, is not identifiable to species based on the photos. You'd have to get the little fella in your hand to measure the tail feathers to tell the difference. It is generally believed that Allen's range north to about the Coquille River, and Rufous take over from there north, but the actual boundary is not very clearly defined due to lack of lots of research. Some males appear separable in the field, but the best field marks are the display differences. Females and juveniles in Coos Cty and south are not really identifiable to species unless you do some tail measuring. This is a female or juvenile type bird. Cheers Dave Lauten On 1/16/2011 11:56 AM, d_villa at mail.com wrote: > Working on cataloging my 2010 bird list today, I remembered > photographing a rufous hummingbird at Shore Acres (Coos Cnty) last July. > > Looking at the photo's, I am not sure that it's a RUFOUS or an > ALLEN'S? I got a few decent shots, if someone doesn't mind taking a look? > > http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/IMG_0074_01.jpg > http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/IMG_0073_01.jpg > http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/IMG_0072_01.jpg > http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/IMG_0071_01.jpg > http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/IMG_0075_01.jpg > > (to view in album, > http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/) > > Thanks! > > dawn > Lincoln City/Nelscott > Blogging About the Coast > http://dvillabirds.blogspot.com/ > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From d_villa at mail.com Sun Jan 16 20:41:28 2011 From: d_villa at mail.com (d_villa at mail.com) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 21:41:28 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Assist with Hummingbird ID - Allen'S or Rufous In-Reply-To: <4D33A52E.6060608@frontier.com> References: <8CD83CEA088C693-1384-4D132@web-mmc-d05.sysops.aol.com> <4D33A52E.6060608@frontier.com> Message-ID: <8CD84072D412BD2-1384-50FC6@web-mmc-d05.sysops.aol.com> Thanks, I got a couple of other replies along the same line & have altered my notes and my photos to reflect this. Thanks all for the help with the bird! dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast http://dvillabirds.blogspot.com/ -----Original Message----- From: DJ Lauten and KACastelein To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Sun, Jan 16, 2011 6:10 pm Subject: Re: [OBOL] Assist with Hummingbird ID - Allen'S or Rufous Dawn This individual at this location, like many if not most Selasphorus indviduals, is not identifiable to species based on the photos. You'd have to get the little fella in your hand to measure the tail feathers to tell the difference. It is generally believed that Allen's range north to about the Coquille River, and Rufous take over from there north, but the actual boundary is not very clearly defined due to lack of lots of research. Some males appear separable in the field, but the best field marks are the display differences. Females and juveniles in Coos Cty and south are not really identifiable to species unless you do some tail measuring. This is a female or juvenile type bird. Cheers Dave Lauten On 1/16/2011 11:56 AM, d_villa at mail.com wrote: Working on cataloging my 2010 bird list today, I remembered photographing a rufous hummingbird at Shore Acres (Coos Cnty) last July. Looking at the photo's, I am not sure that it's a RUFOUS or an ALLEN'S? I got a few decent shots, if someone doesn't mind taking a look? http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/IMG_0074_01.jpg http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/IMG_0073_01.jpg http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/IMG_0072_01.jpg http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/IMG_0071_01.jpg http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/IMG_0075_01.jpg (to view in album, http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/) Thanks! dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast http://dvillabirds.blogspot.com/ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tc at empnet.com Sun Jan 16 22:43:48 2011 From: tc at empnet.com (Tom Crabtree) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 20:43:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Lake Billy Chinook Raptor Route Message-ID: I ran the Lake Billy Chinook Raptor Route yesterday before the rains set in. The results were similar to those the first week of December. The totals were as follows: 45 Red-tailed Hawks 11 American Kestrels 3 Northern Harriers 1 Bald Eagle (adult) 1 Rough-legged Hawk 1 Prairie Falcon 2 Merlins Interestingly slightly more than half the total of Red-tails, 2/3 of the Harriers and 3 of the Kestrels were all found in one field on Ashwood Lane. I don't know what it is that this farmer does (maybe it's what he doesn't do -- cut to the edges or poison) but it is amazing to see 11 Red-tails at first glance and then looking with the binoculars and seeing all the others. Last month close to half the birds were in this one field as well. If that holds up next month I might just stop in and ask the farmer what his secret is. Tom Crabtree, Bend -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From johnpam at mtangel.net Sun Jan 16 22:37:35 2011 From: johnpam at mtangel.net (John Thomas) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 20:37:35 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Feeder Area Birds of Possible Interest-Silverton Message-ID: <59882012-BFC9-4030-AABB-C94B28B8D690@mtangel.net> Robert Frost Elem had a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW again last Friday, Jan. 14th. One small group of birdwatchers saw the shy bird who only comes into the open brushline feeding area and never to the caged feeding spot. At home, here 5 miles north of town, we had a single EVENING GROSBEAK at our black sunflowers for about 5 minutes today. A single bird also showed up on Jan. 3rd during Silverton CBC week. I keep looking for more but only one bird and in/out quickly.We never usually see any in the wintertime here. Anybody else seeing Grosbeaks? Along with our 3-4 rural ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS hitting the sugar water, we have two AUDUBON'S WARBLERS coming to our suet cakes. Warblers usually pass through here and don't hang around. Every year has something a little different happening and we can really appreciate any warblers in the neighborhood. By the way, absolutely ZERO EU COLLARED DOVES. We haven't seen them since last spring. Maybe the hawks whittled down our population to nothing. John Thomas N of Silverton From d_villa at mail.com Sun Jan 16 22:46:54 2011 From: d_villa at mail.com (d_villa at mail.com) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:46:54 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Fwd: [LCBNO] Greater White Fronted Geese, Snow Geese? In-Reply-To: <8CD8414F044ADA9-1384-51E0B@web-mmc-d05.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CD8414F044ADA9-1384-51E0B@web-mmc-d05.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <8CD8418B2FC5C19-1384-521A7@web-mmc-d05.sysops.aol.com> If these are indeed GWFG I thought it might be of interest to OBOLers? dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast http://dvillabirds.blogspot.com/ -----Original Message----- From: d_villa at mail.com To: lcbno at yahoogroups.com Sent: Sun, Jan 16, 2011 8:19 pm Subject: [LCBNO] Greater White Fronted Geese, Snow Geese? Heading down toward Depoe Bay, saw a small flock of large geese on the west side of the road on the northern edge of the Siletz Refuge area. The rain and mist were pretty heavy, but I got one decent shot of them. They appear to be Greater White Fronted Geese, with some large white geese (Snow Geese?) I have never seen either (that I'm aware of), and would love to know if this is really what I saw. Is the photo good enough for ID? http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/?action=view¤t=IMG_2833_2.jpg dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast http://dvillabirds.blogspot.com/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LCBNO/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LCBNO/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: LCBNO-digest at yahoogroups.com LCBNO-fullfeatured at yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: LCBNO-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wildfire123 at q.com Sun Jan 16 22:54:55 2011 From: wildfire123 at q.com (Donna Rudd) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 20:54:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fwd: [LCBNO] Greater White Fronted Geese, Snow Geese? In-Reply-To: <8CD8418B2FC5C19-1384-521A7@web-mmc-d05.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CD8414F044ADA9-1384-51E0B@web-mmc-d05.sysops.aol.com>, <8CD8418B2FC5C19-1384-521A7@web-mmc-d05.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: There is also a group of 6 GWFG in Florence at the flooded field at the middle school on Oak St. Donna, Mapleton, OR To: obol at oregonbirds.org Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:46:54 -0500 From: d_villa at mail.com Subject: [OBOL] Fwd: [LCBNO] Greater White Fronted Geese, Snow Geese? If these are indeed GWFG I thought it might be of interest to OBOLers? dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast http://dvillabirds.blogspot.com/ -----Original Message----- From: d_villa at mail.com To: lcbno at yahoogroups.com Sent: Sun, Jan 16, 2011 8:19 pm Subject: [LCBNO] Greater White Fronted Geese, Snow Geese? Heading down toward Depoe Bay, saw a small flock of large geese on the west side of the road on the northern edge of the Siletz Refuge area. The rain and mist were pretty heavy, but I got one decent shot of them. They appear to be Greater White Fronted Geese, with some large white geese (Snow Geese?) I have never seen either (that I'm aware of), and would love to know if this is really what I saw. Is the photo good enough for ID? http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/?action=view¤t=IMG_2833_2.jpg dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast http://dvillabirds.blogspot.com/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LCBNO/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LCBNO/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: LCBNO-digest at yahoogroups.com LCBNO-fullfeatured at yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: LCBNO-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Mon Jan 17 01:17:24 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:17:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Feeder Area Birds of Possible Interest-Silverton In-Reply-To: <59882012-BFC9-4030-AABB-C94B28B8D690@mtangel.net> References: <59882012-BFC9-4030-AABB-C94B28B8D690@mtangel.net> Message-ID: I've been meaning to comment on this for awhile. If I understand Wink's comment on the Portland CBC this year the species was completely missed. Numbers on the Coquille CBC were down from last year. My sector had two large flocks last year, about two dozen individuals each. This year only a handful. Negative results seem to be easily overlooked. Lars On Jan 16, 2011, at 8:37 PM, John Thomas wrote: > By the way, absolutely ZERO EU COLLARED DOVES. We haven't seen them since last spring. From gnorgren at earthlink.net Mon Jan 17 01:55:55 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:55:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Dawn's geese at Siletz Bay Message-ID: All the birds in the photo are domestic in origin, some in the original plumage of a natural Greylag, others the all white version. Note how high in the air the back end of all these geese is. They are extremely dumpy, quite obvious as they waddle about on land, but also leading to this unnatural profile while afloat. Despite this extra weight, they are often capable of flight. The white individuals are ALL white, while in flight a Snow Goose would have black primary feathers. Family groups of White-fronts have overwintered at various Oregon coastal locations the past half decade, in some cases augmented in successive years. Last time I passed by Dean Creek, east of Reedsport on the Umpqua, there were three or four dozen White-fronts. That was two years ago. The total for the species on the Coos Bay CBC has increased several years in a row. While the Coquille Valley CBC only recorded two White- fronts this year, Tim Rodenkirk located the largest flock he's ever seen in winter a few days later in the Coos watershed to the north of Coquille. The breeding population in Alaska has increased manyfold since its seventies hiatus, parallel to an increase in many other arctic nesting geese. It is worth checking flocks of domestic geese like the ones Dawn photographed as they frequently contain wild geese. On the eve of the Coquille Valley CBC I found two Greater White-fronted Geese with about half a dozen Greylags at the base of the Hwy 42S bridge. The wild geese were so much smaller that they were barely visible (sitting with their bellies on the grass), and at first glance appeared to be one bird rather than two. The next morning no geese were at the spot, but late in the evening I scoped the levee and saw them half a mile away, still with the much larger and hence more visible domestic Graylags. Something as exotic as an Emperor Goose is possible in such a context, although it tends to affect the aesthetic index. Last time I visited Lake Bethany , a city park just north of Hwy 26 on 185th in Washington County, there was a single White-front. I'm sure it's of wild origin, but after three months of bread hand-outs in a flock of China Geese (domestic derivative of the Swan Goose, Anser cygnoides) it would be a stretch to call it "wild". It certainly would have eaten out of my hand had I had something to offer. Its arrival at that location was probably not human assisted, so I guess its countable. Lars Norgren From llsdirons at msn.com Mon Jan 17 02:21:38 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 08:21:38 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Lincoln County BARROW'S GOLDENEYE Message-ID: Today Shawneen Finnegan and I found an adult male Barrow's Goldeneye in the northeast corner of Siletz Bay just south of the mouth of Schooner Creek. The bird was with a small flock of White-winged Scoters that were right up against the bank directly below the pullout opposite the big rock in the bay. Dave Irons Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From forrest.english at gmail.com Mon Jan 17 11:10:36 2011 From: forrest.english at gmail.com (Forrest English) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 09:10:36 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] a shrike question, sorry Message-ID: OBOL, After watching with some amusement the shrike conversation going back and forth, I made the mistake of visiting shrike habitat. Oops. The bird I saw was skittish, never letting me closer than 70' (generally flew by 150'), appeared to have a thin mask that did not go over the beak, , perched predominantly at the top of small leafless trees of about 15' high (75% at the top, 25% within 5' of the top), and flew by dropping down near the ground then swooping upward towards it's perch. I was unable to get a clear view of the underside of the beak for paleness. It appeared lighter, and much more skittish than the oodles of Loggerheads that I've seen in Baja California and Florida (which commonly announced their presence and sat right next to me on a bush). But I'm not certain it was Northern due to the variation in masks, and the flight pattern, and that I've not seen a Northern before. I'm wondering how much of an indicator people would consider flight pattern? I read that Northern would fly relatively level to the next perch, while Loggerhead would display the behavior of the bird that I saw, swooping to the ground, and then back up again at the new perch. Thanks for any thoughts? -- Forrest English -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From forrest.english at gmail.com Mon Jan 17 12:13:24 2011 From: forrest.english at gmail.com (Forrest English) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 10:13:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] a shrike question, sorry In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I should probably mention this was in the Rogue Valley, where we do have occasional wintering Loggerheads. On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 9:10 AM, Forrest English wrote: > OBOL, > > After watching with some amusement the shrike conversation going back and > forth, I made the mistake of visiting shrike habitat. Oops. > > The bird I saw was skittish, never letting me closer than 70' (generally > flew by 150'), appeared to have a thin mask that did not go over the beak, , > perched predominantly at the top of small leafless trees of about 15' high > (75% at the top, 25% within 5' of the top), and flew by dropping down near > the ground then swooping upward towards it's perch. I was unable to get a > clear view of the underside of the beak for paleness. > > It appeared lighter, and much more skittish than the oodles of Loggerheads > that I've seen in Baja California and Florida (which commonly announced > their presence and sat right next to me on a bush). But I'm not certain it > was Northern due to the variation in masks, and the flight pattern, and that > I've not seen a Northern before. > > I'm wondering how much of an indicator people would consider flight > pattern? I read that Northern would fly relatively level to the next perch, > while Loggerhead would display the behavior of the bird that I saw, swooping > to the ground, and then back up again at the new perch. > > Thanks for any thoughts? > > -- > Forrest English > -- Forrest English -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ensatina3 at hotmail.com Mon Jan 17 13:22:37 2011 From: ensatina3 at hotmail.com (Bobbett Pierce) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 14:22:37 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Silverton feeder birds Message-ID: John asked if anyone was getting EVENING GROSBEAKS. I have grosbeaks come to my feeders nearly every day. Yesterday there were around 35. That is down considerably from many years ago when 150 wouldn't be unusual, but for some reason they still show up here in higher numbers in the winter than other obolers typically report. It'd be interesting to know their territory and where they nest. Last summer I did have a pair of grosbeaks bring fledgliings to my yard a few times. That was a first. There are a few O & C sections west of Scappoose (5 miles away as the crow flies) that have't been logged in around 80 years, plus a few small mature woodlands on private property here and there. The Clatsop and Tillamook state forests are around 40 miles away ATCF. Nearby hills are otherwise pretty much covered with third-growth tree farms. There was very heavy logging in the 1970s-80s, but I don't know if that is the immediate cause of fewer grosbeaks. Lona Pierce, Columbia County -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From uuspirit at yahoo.com Mon Jan 17 14:16:31 2011 From: uuspirit at yahoo.com (Mary Reese) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 12:16:31 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] American White Pelican NE Portland in Columbia Slough Message-ID: <989871.31896.qm@web120712.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> At about 11am this morning we saw?a solitary?AMERICAN?WHITE PELICAN in the Columbia Slough?ponds behind the McKinstry?office building.? This is in extreme NE Portland at the SE corner of Airport Way and Mason?(just east of NE 158th).? This is a very cool place for a brief car birding stop - park in the office lot and set up your scope along the sidewalk /railing where there is a sweeping pond overlook.? There are no trails down into the slough that we could see.? However, if you drive a couple blocks east,?there is a little pond you can walk around, behind the Danner / LaCrosse office building (corner of Airport Way & Riverside).? We didn't go there today, but have had lots of luck there in the past. Other birds present: Red-tailed Hawk (3) Great Egret (2) Gadwall (lots) Mallard (several) Bufflehead (several) Ring-necked Duck (4) Common Merganser (several)) Hooded Merganser (several) American Wigeon (1) Anna's Hummingbird (1) American Crow (10) ? ============ Mary Reese & Jim Allen Portland / Fairview, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gaviaimmer at live.com Mon Jan 17 14:39:55 2011 From: gaviaimmer at live.com (Matthew) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 12:39:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Feeder Area Birds of Possible Interest-Silverton In-Reply-To: References: <59882012-BFC9-4030-AABB-C94B28B8D690@mtangel.net> Message-ID: To some extent I think that the lack of Collared-Doves at John's house is just a local phenomenon pertaining to spotty distribution. I live on the east side of Silverton and I have had as many as 5 Collared-Doves at a time walking around with our chickens. The north-western sector (which I covered along with the compiler and my sister) of the Silverton CBC found five Eurasian Collared-Doves a High count for the Silverton CBC (surprise, surprise). In October I found a flock of more than 20 Collared-Doves just north of my house. Interestingly there is only one record of Eurasian Collared-Dove for Salem and they've never been found on the CBC and ironically the area where we had the Collared-Doves is only 1/2 a mile from the edge Salem CBC circle. What is even more odd is that both Dallas, Woodburn, St. Paul, Mt. Angel, areas south of Salem and Silverton have Collared-Doves while Salem remains Collared-Doveless (new word?). To me it appears that even though Collared-Doves have been seen in most of Oregon their distribution remains some what spotty and mainly concentrated around decent breeding areas. I've also noticed that the Doves prefer more rural agricultural areas especially sites that have a ready source of food like dairies, bird feeders, and places with chickens. Matthew Schneider Silverton, Oregon gaviaimmer at live.com -------------------------------------------------- From: "Norgren Family" Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2011 11:17 PM To: Subject: Re: [OBOL] Feeder Area Birds of Possible Interest-Silverton > I've been meaning to comment on this for awhile. > If I understand Wink's comment on the Portland CBC > this year the species was completely missed. Numbers > on the Coquille CBC were down from last year. My > sector had two large flocks last year, about two > dozen individuals each. This year only a handful. > Negative results seem to be easily overlooked. > Lars > On Jan 16, 2011, at 8:37 PM, John Thomas wrote: > >> By the way, absolutely ZERO EU COLLARED DOVES. We haven't seen them since >> last spring. > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > From gnorgren at earthlink.net Mon Jan 17 14:56:59 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 12:56:59 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Silverton feeder birds In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I don't think Evening Grosbeaks are in any way old growth obligates. I have often assumed they rely heavily on big=leaf maple and Oregon ash seeds, when in season. I tend to take them for granted and was surprised to see them on second growth Douglas-fir in mid-summer. They appeared to be feeding, but I don't know what part of the plant, or was it insects on the tree? Lars On Jan 17, 2011, at 11:22 AM, Bobbett Pierce wrote: > John asked if anyone was getting EVENING GROSBEAKS. I have grosbeaks come to my feeders nearly every day. Yesterday there were around 35. That is down considerably from many years ago when 150 wouldn't be unusual, but for some reason they still show up here in higher numbers in the winter than other obolers typically report. It'd be interesting to know their territory and where they nest. Last summer I did have a pair of grosbeaks bring fledgliings to my yard a few times. That was a first. > There are a few O & C sections west of Scappoose (5 miles away as the crow flies) that have't been logged in around 80 years, plus a few small mature woodlands on private property here and there. The Clatsop and Tillamook state forests are around 40 miles away ATCF. Nearby hills are otherwise pretty much covered with third-growth tree farms. There was very heavy logging in the 1970s-80s, but I don't know if that is the immediate cause of fewer grosbeaks. > > Lona Pierce, Columbia County > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dpvroman at budget.net Mon Jan 17 15:56:01 2011 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis Vroman) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 13:56:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Silverton feeder birds References: Message-ID: <3284904E73924EA796084398EB54EA5E@your4dacd0ea75> Evening Grosbeaks will feed on Elm tree seed. Don't believe there are any native Elms in Oregon (west of Cascades at least). Where there are planted Elms with seed (which form fairly early in spring), Grosbeaks can be found foraging in them. When I was banding birds in Grants Pass, I used to capture large numbers of them when they came to forage in the Elms. Dennis (north of Grants Pass) Subject: Re: [OBOL] Silverton feeder birds I don't think Evening Grosbeaks are in any way old growth obligates. I have often assumed they rely heavily on big=leaf maple and Oregon ash seeds, when in season. I tend to take them for granted and was surprised to see them on second growth Douglas-fir in mid-summer. They appeared to be feeding, but I don't know what part of the plant, or was it insects on the tree? Lars On Jan 17, 2011, at 11:22 AM, Bobbett Pierce wrote: John asked if anyone was getting EVENING GROSBEAKS. I have grosbeaks come to my feeders nearly every day. Yesterday there were around 35. That is down considerably from many years ago when 150 wouldn't be unusual, but for some reason they still show up here in higher numbers in the winter than other obolers typically report. It'd be interesting to know their territory and where they nest. Last summer I did have a pair of grosbeaks bring fledgliings to my yard a few times. That was a first. There are a few O & C sections west of Scappoose (5 miles away as the crow flies) that have't been logged in around 80 years, plus a few small mature woodlands on private property here and there. The Clatsop and Tillamook state forests are around 40 miles away ATCF. Nearby hills are otherwise pretty much covered with third-growth tree farms. There was very heavy logging in the 1970s-80s, but I don't know if that is the immediate cause of fewer grosbeaks. Lona Pierce, Columbia County -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From zingie at aol.com Mon Jan 17 17:24:03 2011 From: zingie at aol.com (Simone) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:24:03 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Alamos Wildlands Alliance first annual Bird-A-Thon! In-Reply-To: <8CD84B44EEEF54B-14C4-3BF7@webmail-d015.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CD84B44EEEF54B-14C4-3BF7@webmail-d015.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <8CD84B4C36CA12B-14C4-3CA5@webmail-d015.sysops.aol.com> A great way to help the birds of Mexico's thornscrub habitat (which is quickly dissapearing) and a chance to win free nights at the station (and more!). Read below for more information. Simone Lupson-Cook Seattle, WA zingie at aol.com ---------------------------------------- The Alamos Wildlands Alliance (AWA) would like to invite you to participate in our first Annual Bird-A-Thon! It's easy, fun and good for the birds! AWA is a grassroots 501c-3 non-profit organization dedicated to Conservation, Education and Research in Southern Sonora, Mexico. Through research and monitoring, education, partnerships, and responsible tourism at the Navopatia Field Station and other places, we hope to protect what is left of this exceptional and important part of the world. All funds raised during this event will focus on field station improvements. Please visit our website at www.alamoswildlands.org to find out more about our organization. A Bird-A-Thon is a fundraiser much like a walk-a-thon or bike-a-thon where individuals or teams count the number of different bird species seen or heard in a 24-hour period. Each participant collects pledges from family, friends, relatives, neighbors or businesses, and then goes birding during the event week. It will take place January 30 through February 5, 2011. SuperBird Saturday is February 5, and represents the last day you can go birding before we tally results on Super Bowl Sunday. Here is how it works: people count birds and collect pledges from sponsors based on the number of species they see (or a lump sum can be pledged). All you have to do is choose a 24-hour period during the Bird-A-Thon week and start counting. You can do it alone or form a team. You don?t have to be an expert; some people even participate from their home, counting the visitors to their feeder. Others cover dozens of miles in a day, racking up over 200 species in some areas. The key is to have fun! You can also sponsor a counter by pledging an amount for each species recorded. For example, if you pledge $1 per species, and your counter records 100 species, you would donate $100. Or, you can also pledge a lump sum regardless of the number of species counted. Prize categories will be established to recognize those participants whose efforts achieved the greatest results. Prizes include free nights at the Navopatia Field Station, Guided Bird Trips, T-shirts and more! It?s easy to sign up! Just send an email to HelpAWA at gmail.com and we will send you all the necessary forms and instructions to help you get started gathering pledges or sponsoring a team. Happy Birding! The AWA Team www.alamoswildlands.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rawieland at gmail.com Mon Jan 17 17:53:25 2011 From: rawieland at gmail.com (Rainer Wieland) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:53:25 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] White Pelicans remain in Tualatin Message-ID: The *American White Pelicans *remain at the lake across the road from the Tualatin post office. Here's a link to a couple of pictures this morning. The album contains a map. http://picasaweb.google.com/rawieland/TualtinPelicans?feat=directlink Cheers, Rainer Wieland Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dnkmunson at gmail.com Mon Jan 17 18:12:57 2011 From: dnkmunson at gmail.com (Don & Karen Munson) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:12:57 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] recent bird noticings in south Curry Message-ID: Saturday two BROWN PELICANS were in a swarm of gulls chasing a fishing boat offshore of Arch Rock, Boardman S P. LARGE numbers of COMMON MURRE were occupying their proposed nest sites on many of the large offshore rocks. This morning two TREE SWALLOWS flew overhead at my habitat, 4 miles east of Brookings. Don Munson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From leavens4209 at comcast.net Mon Jan 17 18:15:37 2011 From: leavens4209 at comcast.net (Linda Leavens) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:15:37 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Redhead at Oaks Bottom, Portland Message-ID: <25F30396-7A5F-4171-984A-69A71AF75754@comcast.net> Today at 4 PM there was one Redhead at the southwest corner of Oaks Bottom. The water is very high and still coming in from the river. Also seen Gadwall, Pintail, Bufflehead, Ring-neck, Mallard, Greenwing Teal, Wood Duck, and pne Great Egret. Beautiful day also included a Bald Eagle. Linda, Portland From celata at pacifier.com Mon Jan 17 18:35:07 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:35:07 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] On Safari: Warrenton Linear Park and environs Message-ID: <4D34E03B.5060008@pacifier.com> I took advantage to the weather break to poke around the Warrenton Sewage Ponds and linear park... http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/18281 -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From billandnicki at bctonline.com Mon Jan 17 19:40:19 2011 From: billandnicki at bctonline.com (Bill and Nicki) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:40:19 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Silverton feeder birds In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: > Regarding the Evening Grosbeaks, I had individual birds at sunflower feeder starting the weekend of 1-8-11. They continued through this past weekend. I've seen as many as 4 males and 1 female together at the feeder at one time. Location is 5 mi E of Mulino at 800 ft elevation. Beavercreek, Clackamas County. Bill Evans From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Mon Jan 17 20:21:33 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:21:33 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Birds 1/17/2011 Message-ID: <300786.14016.qm@web45312.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Rain showers in the AM, then clearing and sunny in the late afternoon. I was out at the north spit late AM, then my wife joined me, and we took a three hour hike along the beach on the south end of the spit and then briefly hit the bay side on our hike back to the truck. Here are the highlights: 2- PALM WARBLERS (one a the end of the main road and one north of the BLM boat ramp) 5- EARED GREBES (at the pond there) 2- RED PHALAROPES (at the pond) 28- SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS (on the beach) 26- SNOWY PLOVERS (I think the most I have ever seen out there) ~200 SANDERLINGS 6- BROWN PELICANS (seen by Holly headed south over the ocean while I scoped the plovers) and the most unusual find of the day, INSIDE the bay, near the south jetty- a CASSIN'SAUKLET (a first inside of the bay for this species for me). Merry New Bird! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Mon Jan 17 21:10:04 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:10:04 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] upland snipe Message-ID: <8DC47DC9-FD46-46D3-8529-08466B4A729A@earthlink.net> I flushed two snipe in a clearcut south of Hayward Road (Washington Co) at 5pm 1/16. This is adjacent to a regenerated clearcut where I repeatedly flushed snipe about 10 years ago. The previous site was a nearly level hilltop where fragipan made the soil easily saturated. The new clearcut is a 30% slope, and very well drained even after the recent downpours. I read up on Jacksnipe when I got home. Returning to the same spot tonight (4:45pm) I flushed a snipe as soon as I was off the road and it uttered repeated calls typical of the Wilson's Snipe, soon disappearing across the canyon of Sadd Creek, easily half a mile from view. The birds last night flushed downhill, which was also into the wind, stayed low and landed in the same clearcut, perhaps 70m from me. At least one of them called when it flushed. Tonight the weather was calm. Most meadowland is completely flooded today, surely displacing the vast majority of resident snipe temporarily. When I encountered snipe here previously I neglected to consider that possibility. Lars Norgren, Manning,Oregon From greg at thebirdguide.com Mon Jan 17 21:11:59 2011 From: greg at thebirdguide.com (Greg Gillson) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:11:59 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] The secret of my birding success Message-ID: <9A10AD84932A41B4BF7B50087BC2F90D@GREG> "Simply the most-effective birding fieldcraft technique for seeing birds at close range." http://nwbackyardbirder.blogspot.com/2011/01/secret-to-my-birding-success.html Greg Gillson From pamelaj at spiritone.com Mon Jan 17 21:45:25 2011 From: pamelaj at spiritone.com (pamela johnston) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:45:25 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Silverton feeder birds References: <3284904E73924EA796084398EB54EA5E@your4dacd0ea75> Message-ID: <6511FF31922842D584D3ACFDBEC6F6F7@yourw5st28y9a3> I used to see Evening Grosbeaks on the elms in the South Park Blocks of SW Portland in May. This is the park that runs through the PSU campus. Pamela Johnston ----- Original Message ----- From: Dennis Vroman To: Norgren Family ; obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 1:56 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Silverton feeder birds Evening Grosbeaks will feed on Elm tree seed. Don't believe there are any native Elms in Oregon (west of Cascades at least). Where there are planted Elms with seed (which form fairly early in spring), Grosbeaks can be found foraging in them. When I was banding birds in Grants Pass, I used to capture large numbers of them when they came to forage in the Elms. Dennis (north of Grants Pass) Subject: Re: [OBOL] Silverton feeder birds I don't think Evening Grosbeaks are in any way old growth obligates. I have often assumed they rely heavily on big=leaf maple and Oregon ash seeds, when in season. I tend to take them for granted and was surprised to see them on second growth Douglas-fir in mid-summer. They appeared to be feeding, but I don't know what part of the plant, or was it insects on the tree? Lars On Jan 17, 2011, at 11:22 AM, Bobbett Pierce wrote: John asked if anyone was getting EVENING GROSBEAKS. I have grosbeaks come to my feeders nearly every day. Yesterday there were around 35. That is down considerably from many years ago when 150 wouldn't be unusual, but for some reason they still show up here in higher numbers in the winter than other obolers typically report. It'd be interesting to know their territory and where they nest. Last summer I did have a pair of grosbeaks bring fledgliings to my yard a few times. That was a first. There are a few O & C sections west of Scappoose (5 miles away as the crow flies) that have't been logged in around 80 years, plus a few small mature woodlands on private property here and there. The Clatsop and Tillamook state forests are around 40 miles away ATCF. Nearby hills are otherwise pretty much covered with third-growth tree farms. There was very heavy logging in the 1970s-80s, but I don't know if that is the immediate cause of fewer grosbeaks. Lona Pierce, Columbia County ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kcboddie at bendbroadband.com Mon Jan 17 21:53:04 2011 From: kcboddie at bendbroadband.com (Kim Boddie) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:53:04 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Love is in the air Message-ID: <789CAE0303444FECAD072D1CA3BC2CD6@KimPC> Cort Vaughn and I drove the ECAS Bend- Alfalfa Raptor Survey route today under P. cloudy skies, 10 -20 mph winds, and temps between 47 and 50 degrees F. We covered 75 miles in a little over 4 1/2 hours. The Red-tails are out courtin. Most of them we saw were paired up and the males were conducting courtship flights. Often there were groups of 4-8 birds in the air together doing their thing. It must be the warm weather we are having. We didn't encounter anything else out of the ordinary except the Alfalfa bull elk calf is still hanging out with the cattle and horses in the same pasture. We heard he is first in line at feeding time every day and has not left the pasture since he appeared in August. raptors counted: Red-tailed Hawks 74 American Kestrel 12 Bald Eagle 2A, 1S Golden Eagle 1S Rough-legged Hawk 1 Prairie Falcon 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 Kim Boddie Bend -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From SJJag at comcast.net Mon Jan 17 22:09:17 2011 From: SJJag at comcast.net (SJJag at comcast.net) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 04:09:17 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Love is in the air In-Reply-To: <789CAE0303444FECAD072D1CA3BC2CD6@KimPC> Message-ID: <1425454458.1409394.1295323757748.JavaMail.root@sz0081a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Seems early for the species, but while viewing the very full Wilamette River near our home this afternoon, Linda and I watched a Song Sparrow repeatedly attempting to drive away his "rival" reflection from the side view mirror of a parked car. Steve Jaggers Milwaukie, Or. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kim Boddie" To: "OBOL Sightings" , "COBOL sightings" Cc: "Cort Vaughan" Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 7:53:04 PM Subject: [OBOL] Love is in the air Cort Vaughn and I drove the ECAS Bend- Alfalfa Raptor Survey route today under P. cloudy skies, 10 -20 mph winds, and temps between 47 and 50 degrees F.? We covered 75 miles in a little over 4 1/2 hours. The Red-tails are out courtin.? Most of them we saw were paired up and the males were conducting courtship flights.? Often there were groups of 4-8 birds in the air together doing their thing.? It must be the warm weather we are having. We didn't encounter anything else out of the ordinary except the Alfalfa bull elk calf is still hanging out with the cattle and horses in the same pasture.? We heard he is first in line at feeding time every day and has not left the pasture since he appeared in August. raptors counted: Red-tailed Hawks??? ??? ??? 74??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? American Kestrel??? ??? ??? ??? 12 Bald Eagle??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2A, 1S??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? Golden Eagle??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???? 1S Rough-legged Hawk???????????1??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???Prairie Falcon??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 1 Cooper's Hawk???????????????????1 Kim Boddie Bend ? _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dlrobbo at comcast.net Tue Jan 18 08:01:49 2011 From: dlrobbo at comcast.net (Douglas Robberson) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 06:01:49 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Osprey Message-ID: <37307583-133D-4D87-961F-6FC5AC039E2B@comcast.net> While birding Summer Lake Park in Tigard, talked to a knowledgable birder who told me he saw a Osprey at the park last Friday. Doug Robberson Tigard, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Tue Jan 18 10:01:04 2011 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 08:01:04 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Wallowa Co. birds Message-ID: I'm back from three days in Wallowa and Union Cos. Birding was rather hard work in steady rain, with some areas fogged. Roads open but some back roads (especially Klages) rather muddy. Snow Bunting - Golf Course Road at the highest points. Rosy Finches - roost barn a couple of hundred yards west along Leap Lane from Hwy 3, around a corner. Odd old structure built of flat-stacked 2x4 as far as we could tell, flanked by new short silos. Birds are there after 3:00 or so. Tree Sparrow - widespread in small numbers, concentrated near ranches along School House Rd and Crow Creek Rd. Gray Partridge - We saw three in the Alder Slope area south of Enterprise. Paul Sullivan's team saw them along Schoolhouse Rd. Bo Waxwing - we saw none. Paul's team had a few in Lostine. Redpoll - none, no reports. Gyrfalcon - a second-hand report of one along Klages Rd., where one has been in previous years. We saw lots of hawks along there, including a Prairie Falcon, no gyr. In general, there are no finches anywhere. One small siskin flock. One small goldfinch flock. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer at mindspring.com Oregonreview.blogspot.com From tlove at linfield.edu Tue Jan 18 10:48:34 2011 From: tlove at linfield.edu (Thomas Love) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 08:48:34 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Amer. White Pelicans - Tualatin Message-ID: <48AAF0D003D67944931DDDC72D022F12263D1130@exchangedb.wfo.linfield.edu> Thanks Rainer and Mary Anne for passing along the report of two AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS, which remain this morning (Tuesday 18th Jan) on the pond due north of the Tualatin Post Office (Washington County), about a mile west of I-5 on the north side of Tualatin-Sherwood Road. Tom Love -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mberetta at comcast.net Tue Jan 18 12:05:37 2011 From: mberetta at comcast.net (mberetta at comcast.net) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 18:05:37 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Common Teal at Koll Wetlands In-Reply-To: <621963891.1539673.1295373385745.JavaMail.root@sz0164a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Message-ID: <436481119.1540325.1295373937896.JavaMail.root@sz0164a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> A nice Common (Eurasian) Teal is currently among other Green-winged Teal at the Koll Wetland pond in Beaverton?on the West side of ?Nimbus Avenue, south off of Hall Blvd.? Observed well around 9:45 am today (1/18) in a flock of 30 other?teal feeding along the exposed mud behind 8705 SW Nimbus Avenue.? However, these teal are very mobile?throughout the day, and within 15 minutes the flock relocated across to the other side of the pond. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shelmert at loswego.k12.or.us Tue Jan 18 12:32:56 2011 From: shelmert at loswego.k12.or.us (Shelmerdine, Timothy (Tim)) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:32:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Washington County on MLK Day Message-ID: I went out to the Vadis/Roy area (Lars's stomping grounds) in hopes of seeing the Prairie Falcon that many others have seen on Harriman Road. I apparently just missed the bird, as Don Coggswell had seen it and said it had flown off to the south or southwest. Despite five areas of driving lots of roads and careful searching, I failed to find the bird. I did see a dark, juvenile PEREGRINE on Wilkesboro Road, and was reminded with a gorgeous, gray adult WHITE-THROATED SPARROW with a flock of Golden-crowns and a Lincoln's Sparrow in a lone blackberry pile on Mountaindale Road. Coming from Roy Road, this is just past the 30 mph curve ? mile east of the junction where Roy ends at Mountaindale. Coming from Hwy 26, the blackberries would be about 1.1 miles south of the HWY 26 exit and just before the 30 mph curve. At this time there are flooded areas on either side of Mountaindale Road. Tim -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From winkg at hevanet.com Tue Jan 18 13:24:59 2011 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:24:59 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Pittock, NW Portland, week ending 01/12/11 (a bit late) Message-ID: <4F36E06B-7353-4B42-A552-D8BE1E35B381@hevanet.com> Here is the summary of my morning dogwalks from NW Seblar Terrace to the Pittock Mansion for the week 01/06/11 to 01/12/11. Species neither seen nor heard the previous week are in ALL CAPS. Additional information about my dogwalk, including an archive of weekly summaries and a checklist, may be found at http://www.hevanet.com/winkg/dogwalkpage.html We did the walk 7 days this week. Species # days found (peak #, date) Cackling/Canada Goose 2 (50, 1/11) DUCK sp. 1 (35, 1/6) SHARP-SHINNED HAWK 1 (1, 1/8) Accipiter sp. 1 (1, 1/11) MEW GULL 1 (2, 1/8) MOURNING DOVE 1 (1, 1/8) Anna's Hummingbird 5 (2) RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER 2 (1, 1/8 & 9) Downy Woodpecker 1 (1, 1/10) NORTHERN FLICKER 1 (1, 1/8) HUTTON'S VIREO 1 (1, 1/6) Steller's Jay 7 (4, 1/6) American Crow 4 (3) Black-capped Chickadee 7 (14) Chestnut-backed Chickadee 6 (8) BUSHTIT 4 (20, 1/20) Red-breasted Nuthatch 4 (5) Brown Creeper 3 (1) BEWICK'S WREN 1 (1, 1/10) Pacific Wren 4 (2) Golden-crowned Kinglet 5 (8) American Robin 1 (2, 1/6) Varied Thrush 4 (5) European Starling 3 (3, 1/11) Spotted Towhee 4 (3) FOX SPARROW 2 (1, 1/7 & 10) Song Sparrow 7 (8, 1/6) Dark-eyed Junco 7 (12) House Finch 2 (2, 1/6) In the neighborhood but not found on dogwalk: Cooper's Hawk Misses (birds found at least 3 days during previous 2 weeks but not found this week): Pileated Woodpecker, Hermit Thrush Wink Gross Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ensatina3 at hotmail.com Tue Jan 18 14:23:30 2011 From: ensatina3 at hotmail.com (Bobbett Pierce) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:23:30 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] grosbeak habitat Message-ID: It's a good thing evening grosbeaks don't need old-growth forest, for there is none to be found ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? in Columbia County. Huge stumps everywhere attest to what was.The grosbeaks must find enough food and nesting habitat in riparian deciduous trees, small mixed woodlands, and perhaps in those few sections of 50-80 year-old firs that exist for now. Don't know what role birdfeeders play in where flocks linger in winter. During summer only a few sometimes show up for the sunflower seeds in my yard, or a drink at the birdbath. ? ? Lona Pierce, Warren ???? From celata at pacifier.com Tue Jan 18 14:53:09 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:53:09 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] oddly small buteo on Wireless Rd. Message-ID: <4D35FDB5.6030104@pacifier.com> I saw this bird along Wireless Rd today. I'm not insisting that it's something rare, but it did make be go hmmmm... http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/18289/ -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From dpvroman at budget.net Tue Jan 18 16:09:18 2011 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis Vroman) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:09:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] 2nd north Grants Pass raptor survey Message-ID: The 2nd North Grants Pass Raptor survey was accomplished today (01-18-11) Distance traveled: 37.9 miles; Survey time: 3.25 hours Weather: overcast, mostly mid-level Results: Red-tailed Hawk - 14 American Kestrel - 7 Bald Eagle - 2 (adult) Red-shouldered Hawk - 3 White-tailed Kite - 2 Merlin - 1 Peregrine Falcon - 1 Some interesting finds other that raptors included: at least 4 TREE SWALLOWS foraging over the pastures along Lower River Road. These are the only Tree Swallow I have found in January in the Grants Pass area. A SAY'S PHOEBE along Upper River Rd, my first for this winter. Couple of WESTERN MEADOWLARKS along Hunt Lane. Dennis (north of Grants Pass) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From yaakovm at comcast.net Tue Jan 18 22:03:06 2011 From: yaakovm at comcast.net (Jordan Epstein) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:03:06 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] To Pish or Not To Pish Message-ID: Dear OBOL, On Monday, Greg Gillson wrote and directed readers to his blogsite where he discusses pishing, which he called "Simply the most-effective birding fieldcraft technique for seeing birds at close range." I read and enjoyed his, as usual, interesting discussion, but I've always wondered about pishing. I've tried it often with varying success, and sometimes with a little guilt. Here's my dilemma. Many birders frown on using electronic calls, CD's, IPhones, tapes (in the old days), to attract birds. Yet how is pishing any different? It seems that pishing could also be seen as an artifical, unnatural way to scare, cajole, attract, or confuse birds into doing what we want, i.e, coming out of their protected space where we can't see them to a relatively unprotected space where we can see them. Do we put them in more danger just to see more birds or is it really not a problem? Are we disrupting their lives for our own birding pleasure? Maybe pishing and electronic sounds are different. Maybe pishing, because it's something we do ourselves without artificial electronics, is more ethical and more natural. I don't have the answer, but I'm curious how others of you would answer these questions. If this is a re-hash of something that's been discussed already on OBOL, and I've missed it, please let me know and direct me to places in the archives. Jordan Epstein SW Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Tue Jan 18 22:15:33 2011 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:15:33 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] To Pish or Not To Pish In-Reply-To: Message-ID: The notion that pishing has significant long-term negative consequences for any population of birds can be shown to be nonsense by the fact that it has been used for at least a hundred years or so (anybody know of a "first reference" for it?) and the pishees are still largely common. The only issue I can think of is that if there were a really tiny number of a particular species and they were constantly harassed in their breeding range to the extent that their ability to reproduce as a species were damaged, that would be a reason to not pish. I can't think of an instance where that would happen in North America. We have very few songbirds that have such tiny populations. I'm not sure that I personally would pish a Kirtland's warbler in its breeding habitat. Maybe a couple of others. Similar arguments have come up regarding collecting. Anyone interested in that particular issue should read Van Remsen's very good discussions published over the years. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer at mindspring.com Oregonreview.blogspot.com > From: Jordan Epstein > Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:03:06 -0800 > To: OBOL > Subject: [OBOL] To Pish or Not To Pish > > Dear OBOL, > > On Monday, Greg Gillson wrote and directed readers to his blogsite where he > discusses pishing, which he called "Simply the most-effective birding > fieldcraft technique for seeing birds at > > close range." I read and enjoyed his, as usual, interesting discussion, but > I've always wondered about pishing. I've tried it often with varying > success, and sometimes with a little guilt. Here's my dilemma. > > > > Many birders frown on using electronic calls, CD's, IPhones, tapes (in the > old days), to attract birds. Yet how is pishing any different? It seems > that pishing could also be seen as an artifical, unnatural way to scare, > cajole, attract, or confuse birds into doing what we want, i.e, coming out > of their protected space where we can't see them to a relatively unprotected > space where we can see them. Do we put them in more danger just to see more > birds or is it really not a problem? Are we disrupting their lives for our > own birding pleasure? > > > > Maybe pishing and electronic sounds are different. Maybe pishing, because > it's something we do ourselves without artificial electronics, is more > ethical and more natural. I don't have the answer, but I'm curious how > others of you would answer these questions. > > > > If this is a re-hash of something that's been discussed already on OBOL, and > I've missed it, please let me know and direct me to places in the archives. > > > > Jordan Epstein > > SW Portland > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From pamelaj at spiritone.com Tue Jan 18 22:16:49 2011 From: pamelaj at spiritone.com (pamela johnston) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:16:49 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] To Pish or Not To Pish References: Message-ID: <3E843A6405344396BCC6779233E1B4B3@yourw5st28y9a3> One difference is that pishing is not the direct imitation or playback of the territorial calls of breeding birds. Pamela Johnston ----- Original Message ----- From: Jordan Epstein To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:03 PM Subject: [OBOL] To Pish or Not To Pish Dear OBOL, On Monday, Greg Gillson wrote and directed readers to his blogsite where he discusses pishing, which he called "Simply the most-effective birding fieldcraft technique for seeing birds at close range." I read and enjoyed his, as usual, interesting discussion, but I've always wondered about pishing. I've tried it often with varying success, and sometimes with a little guilt. Here's my dilemma. Many birders frown on using electronic calls, CD's, IPhones, tapes (in the old days), to attract birds. Yet how is pishing any different? It seems that pishing could also be seen as an artifical, unnatural way to scare, cajole, attract, or confuse birds into doing what we want, i.e, coming out of their protected space where we can't see them to a relatively unprotected space where we can see them. Do we put them in more danger just to see more birds or is it really not a problem? Are we disrupting their lives for our own birding pleasure? Maybe pishing and electronic sounds are different. Maybe pishing, because it's something we do ourselves without artificial electronics, is more ethical and more natural. I don't have the answer, but I'm curious how others of you would answer these questions. If this is a re-hash of something that's been discussed already on OBOL, and I've missed it, please let me know and direct me to places in the archives. Jordan Epstein SW Portland ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From fdlospalluto at gmail.com Tue Jan 18 22:26:26 2011 From: fdlospalluto at gmail.com (frank lospalluto) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:26:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fwd: Malin ECAS Raptor Survey results,01/17/11,Klamath Co. Message-ID: Hi, Ran the Malin Raptor survey yesterday afternoon with some wind and skies that were partly to mostly cloudy. Red-tailed Hawk 31 American Kestrel 3 Northern Harrier 4 Bald Eagle 2 adults Golden Eagle 1 adult Rough-legged Hawk 1 Ferruginous Hawk 1 Prairie Falcon 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 The Beldings Ground Squirrels remain quiet but soon! good birding, frank -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From slcarpenter at gmail.com Tue Jan 18 22:32:48 2011 From: slcarpenter at gmail.com (Scott Carpenter) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:32:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] To Pish or Not To Pish In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I think this is a great question. I know of no research on pishing vs. playing electronically recorded calls, but I do have personal experience, as I pish on occasion. Birds seem to return to normal behavior within minutes after pishing stops, or even before pishing stops. I've always assumed that they figured out the "threat" was not real. Same thing on my poor pygmy-owl imitations, my squeaking, chipping, etc. On the contrary, I've come across birds hours after someone played an iPod, and the birds were still agitated. The most egregious example I can provide is seeing 35+ Wilson's Snipes amped up and out in the open on fallen tree branches on Long Lake at Ridgefield NWR. I mentioned this to someone later, and they told me that 2 hours prior to me seeing that, someone else had been playing Wilson's Snipe calls out of their car at that location. This exact same experience was repeated a few days later. In my hundreds of visits to Ridgefield over the past 5+ years, those were the only times I've ever seen Wilson's Snipe in such a large congregation, out in the open, overly exposed to predation. I've also heard, though I have no personal evidence, that various songbirds will sing for hours after someone plays their song in their territory. A person I know that records bird songs and calls once told me that if he recorded a song, and played that exact same song back, the bird would go crazy. So perhaps the ability of recordings to so perfectly imitate a bird's song has a similar effect, and the closer the recording to that bird's dialect, the stronger the response. And perhaps no amount of human imitation can hit the same frequencies and have the same effect. All of this said, if someone can provide evidence that pishing harms birds, I'll give it a rest. Scott Carpenter Portland On Tue, Jan 18, 2011 at 8:03 PM, Jordan Epstein wrote: > Dear OBOL, > > On Monday, Greg Gillson wrote and directed readers to his blogsite where he > discusses pishing, which he called "Simply the most-effective birding > fieldcraft technique for seeing birds at > > close range." I read and enjoyed his, as usual, interesting discussion, > but I?ve always wondered about pishing. I?ve tried it often with varying > success, and sometimes with a little guilt. Here?s my dilemma. > > > > Many birders frown on using electronic calls, CD?s, IPhones, tapes (in the > old days), to attract birds. Yet how is pishing any different? It seems > that pishing could also be seen as an artifical, unnatural way to scare, > cajole, attract, or confuse birds into doing what we want, i.e, coming out > of their protected space where we can?t see them to a relatively unprotected > space where we can see them. Do we put them in more danger just to see more > birds or is it really not a problem? Are we disrupting their lives for our > own birding pleasure? > > > > Maybe pishing and electronic sounds are different. Maybe pishing, because > it?s something we do ourselves without artificial electronics, is more > ethical and more natural. I don?t have the answer, but I?m curious how > others of you would answer these questions. > > > > If this is a re-hash of something that?s been discussed already on OBOL, > and I?ve missed it, please let me know and direct me to places in the > archives. > > > > Jordan Epstein > > SW Portland > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > -- Scott Carpenter Portland, Oregon -------------------------- http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/ http://www.facebook.com/scottcarpenterphotography -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ninerharv2 at msn.com Tue Jan 18 22:45:18 2011 From: ninerharv2 at msn.com (ninerharv2 at msn.com) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 04:45:18 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] To Pish or Not To Pish In-Reply-To: <3E843A6405344396BCC6779233E1B4B3@yourw5st28y9a3> References: <3E843A6405344396BCC6779233E1B4B3@yourw5st28y9a3> Message-ID: <793010874-1295412321-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-564795398-@bda2562.bisx.prod.on.blackberry> I'm afraid I see this as an old new school argument. Pishing vs. the imitators. Its the same thing folks, you are trying to accomplish the same thing. He using old school technigues, you are using new. You don't like his, he doesn't like yours. My old U of M professor would say that you are both cheating, leave the birds alone. Harv Schubothe Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: "pamela johnston" Sender: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:16:49 To: obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] To Pish or Not To Pish One difference is that pishing is not the direct imitation or playback of the territorial calls of breeding birds. Pamela Johnston ----- Original Message ----- From: Jordan Epstein To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:03 PM Subject: [OBOL] To Pish or Not To Pish Dear OBOL, On Monday, Greg Gillson wrote and directed readers to his blogsite where he discusses pishing, which he called "Simply the most-effective birding fieldcraft technique for seeing birds at close range." I read and enjoyed his, as usual, interesting discussion, but I've always wondered about pishing. I've tried it often with varying success, and sometimes with a little guilt. Here's my dilemma. Many birders frown on using electronic calls, CD's, IPhones, tapes (in the old days), to attract birds. Yet how is pishing any different? It seems that pishing could also be seen as an artifical, unnatural way to scare, cajole, attract, or confuse birds into doing what we want, i.e, coming out of their protected space where we can't see them to a relatively unprotected space where we can see them. Do we put them in more danger just to see more birds or is it really not a problem? Are we disrupting their lives for our own birding pleasure? Maybe pishing and electronic sounds are different. Maybe pishing, because it's something we do ourselves without artificial electronics, is more ethical and more natural. I don't have the answer, but I'm curious how others of you would answer these questions. If this is a re-hash of something that's been discussed already on OBOL, and I've missed it, please let me know and direct me to places in the archives. Jordan Epstein SW Portland ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From pamelaj at spiritone.com Tue Jan 18 23:10:04 2011 From: pamelaj at spiritone.com (pamela johnston) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 21:10:04 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Carlton Swans Message-ID: <3352F8973E5E4EF3AFE79A64C9E52849@yourw5st28y9a3> Once again the winter rain has created a pair of ponds on West Side Rd, west of Carlton, and this afternoon 5 Tundra Swans were on it. This is north of Meadowlake Rd. Pamela Johnston Yamhill Co From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Tue Jan 18 23:43:11 2011 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 21:43:11 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Van Remson's Scientific Description of "Spishing" Message-ID: <972972.47952.qm@web39304.mail.mud.yahoo.com> > Dear Van, > > What are "shooshing and spishing "? Can they be done alone? How are > they accomplished? Audrey: depends precislely on whether the spisher choses to spish, swish, shoosh, schpisch, or pish (and don't forget wind direction), but, first you put your right lip in, then your right lip out, then your right lip in, then you shake it all about, then you do the shooshee-wooshee, and you turn yourself around ... that's what it's all about. The more the merrier. Just make sure no law enforcement agents are within hearing distance. Source: http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~remsen/HUMNETf/shooshing.html Jan 23, 1998 (a sense of humor can take you a long way) For me personally, I don't like pishing during nesting season for any species or near frazzeled migrating birds taking a much needed rest (or eating)....or any other avoidable human disturbance such as low flying planes, over-zealous photographers, and irresponsible boating activity. I think any study on the impact of pishing or any other human disturbance should be designed to look at the ACCUMALTIVE effects or they're totally missing the boat IMHO. If someone makes a loud noise and wakes you up one night you may be grouchy the next day but the effect on your health over the course of your lifetime is no big deal BUT if someone wakes you up a few times a week, especially during critical stages of your life, it may have a very significant impact on your health and your lifespan. By the way, I'm vaguely remembering a pishing study done in South America but a quick google search did not reveal it. I have far less experience with pishing than many of the birders on OBOL. However, I have been out with expert type birders who pished all day and other expert types birders who intentionally didn't pish at all (or play tapes, etc). I saw more species with those who pished BUT I saw more amazing bird behavior and learned far more about the birds I saw with those who didn't pish. Of course, sometimes the birds take care of these matters themselves like when the gulls at Yaquina Head (during nesting season) launched an aerial assault on the kid with a very loud cap gun (pointed at the nesting birds and laughing when they flew) and his parents. One perfectly aimed long splat right across all 3 of their faces :-) I was just a few feet away and had a front row seat to the action/reaction. Go gulls! Cindy Ashy From ptsulliv at spiritone.com Tue Jan 18 23:50:07 2011 From: ptsulliv at spiritone.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 21:50:07 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Wallowa county report Message-ID: <7605ED6287AD43459ED89742C446A57E@dell307ac3e2b6> Folks, 20 folks enjoyed an Audubon Birding Weekend trip, sponsored by Audubon Society of Portland, to Wallowa and Union counties this past weekend. Highlights: Saturday, beautiful partly cloudy skies, with views of the Wallowas & Seven Devils: Golf Course Rd. 4 Snow Buntings 15 Horned Larks Gray Partridge School Flat Rd. 1 beautiful Ferruginous Hawk 24 Am. Tree Sparrows Leap Road 16 Gray Partridge 3 Am Tree Sparrows Enterprise 0 Bohemian Waxwings, Merlin, Bluejay 1 Eurasian Collared-cove Repplinger Rd. 10 Am Tree Sparrows Zumwalt Rd 100 Gray-crowned Rosy Finches - 5 miles past end of pavement, just over a rise, flying up and down 2 N Shrike Klages Rd. met a local birder who had news of a Gyrfalcon in the area. Sunday, rained all day until 3 PM Enterprise & Joseph 0 Bohemian Waxwings 25 Eurasian Collared-doves Wallowa Lake 3 Common Mergansers 1 Bald Eagle 1 Dipper Klages and other roads east of Joseph/Enterprise 1 cattle drive 50 Red-tailed Hawks 5 Rough-legs 3 Prairie Falcons - One we ALMOST turned into a gyr ;-( 2 Kestrels 2 N. Shrike Leap Rd - wooden granary just off Hwy 3 40 Gray-crowned Rosy Finches going to roost at 4 PM Monday, no rain, but breezy Wallowa county 1 Golden Eagle - Sunrise Rd, W of Enterprise 75 Bohemian Waxwings - across street from church at 90 degree corner in Lostine 8 Cedar Waxwings - across street from church at 90 degree corner in Lostine Union county - windy 1 Barn Owl 1 Bluejay - seen by one observer briefly in Union 4 Redheads - Lagrande sewage ponds 20 Common Goldeneye - Lagrande sewage ponds 1 Peregrine Falcon - Lagrande sewage ponds, one observer Good birding, everyone, Paul T. Sullivan Audubon Birding Weekends (503) 646-7889 http://audubonportland.org/trips-classes-camps/adult/weekends From 4cains at charter.net Wed Jan 19 08:30:13 2011 From: 4cains at charter.net (Lee & Lori Cain) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 06:30:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] pishing... Message-ID: <5F1ED28ECDB543C9B3EAC74212E94F1C@CainFamilyHP> OMG! gimme a break people! Must be the dead of winter... If you really think we birders have that much negative effect overall with our whispery lips, look at the big picture: you hurt far more birds by the processes you contribute by driving to that spot to pish, spish, or whatever you were gonna do there, or by turning on your lights, or going to the mall. Relax....winter has turned the corner and you will soon (hopefully) have more interesting things to occupy you. The Pacific tree frogs were singing on my run last night. Spring has begun as far as I?m concerned, and not a moment too soon. Lee Cain Astoria, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ptsulliv at spiritone.com Wed Jan 19 08:44:12 2011 From: ptsulliv at spiritone.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 06:44:12 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] I-84, etc, Bald Eagles Message-ID: <6D50E00B8A104401962270678C9DB848@dell307ac3e2b6> OBOL: On our trip to Wallowa County last weekend we noted BALD EAGLES 2 Multnomah County 1 Hood River County 25 Wasco County - look at the trees right against The Dalles dam, overlooking the upper spillway 1 Sherman County 1 Gilliam County 14 Wallowa County Good birding, Paul T. Sullivan From ptsulliv at spiritone.com Wed Jan 19 08:47:52 2011 From: ptsulliv at spiritone.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 06:47:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] white Red-tail Message-ID: OBOL: As we entered Wallowa county last Friday afternoon, just as we came out of the canyon below the town of Wallowa, we noticed a bright white bird in the cottonwoods along the river. It was a nearly all-white RED-TAILED HAWK. It had only a few black feathers on its wingtips. The eye was dark, the legs and bill pale. There was a hint of pink in the tail. Striking bird. Paul T. Sullivan From gnorgren at earthlink.net Wed Jan 19 09:08:42 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 07:08:42 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] over-wintering or early migrant? Message-ID: <1DD6B07D-DC58-406C-BFE5-4EB7FFD157B0@earthlink.net> The widespread Tree Swallows, etc this CBC season, along with record Turkey Vulture numbers at Eugene, a count week TV at Coquille naturally precipitate comments. To put it in perspective, last year's(2009)CBC season produced a Turkey Vulture in Montana, and not in balmy Missoula either. It was near the Canadian border and halfway to North Dakota. Another was recorded in Manitoba, and many in British Columbia(17 at Sooke and 10 in Victoria). Victoria also recorded 556 Anna's Hummingbirds. There were two counts reporting Say's Phoebes in BC, neither on the coast, but in their traditional breeding grounds in the interior (Creston, Osooyos). Florida conducted nearly 70 counts, only ten of which detected over 149 species. Oregon runs about half that many counts, but we had two this year with over 150 species, and could have had three if Coos Bay had been run. It's milder here than we human residents will sometimes aknowledge. Lars Norgren From namitzr at hotmail.com Wed Jan 19 09:48:55 2011 From: namitzr at hotmail.com (Russ Namitz) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 07:48:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] 2011 OFO sponsored field trips Message-ID: Oregon birding community~ OFO is proud to announce the resurgence of guided field trips to various parts of the state. For now, these trips are free and limited to field trip leader availability. You need not be an OFO member to attend, just a willing birding participant. For more information about these field trips, go to the OFO website and click on "Field Trips" in top menu. Or click on the link http://oregonbirds.org/ofo18a.html A few more field trips will be added for the fall season, but I thought I would get the word out as the first trip is only a month away. Feel free to share this information with local Audubon members who may not subscribe to OBOL. Sincerely, Russ Namitz OFO President PS: If you wouldn't mind leading an OFO field trip to show your local patch, please feel free to contact me. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From foglark at att.net Wed Jan 19 14:26:00 2011 From: foglark at att.net (David Fix & Jude Power) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:26:00 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Merlins, etc. Message-ID: <69307.76783.qm@web80003.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> A few days ago Lars O'Manning mentioned that Merlins usually harass other raptors. He suggested I might have been the source of that wisdom. Thanks, Lars, but far from it; I have seen this pearl in Raptors In Flight (a book...remember them?) and possibly elsewhere. One immutable truth I do point out to newer birders is that, should there be two or more birds in a treetop, none of the birds is a Merlin. Merlins take time to understand. I recall when I first started birding that I didn't really get what they looked like, how they moved, and what perches they use. Over my first five years I think I dreamed up a few, transmuting Am. Kestrels, and not knowing that Sharp-shins in a tuck look very much like a Merlin. It couldn't have helped that my lifer was sitting on a phone line (tucked away at the Sports Acres outdoor camp, of all places--nearly in the Norgren birding umbra). Finally, I began to see that the better birders didn't notice them in flight, suddenly, overhead--they finished spishing or doing the waterfowl or whatever and then scanned the tip-tops of trees and snags a third of a mile out and gave a hard look at every bit of fenceline. At some point, I understand now, more of the Merlins I spotted were teed-up than were whipping past. The take-away is "to spot a hawk, think like a hawk." Dave Irons told me a long time ago that when he was just starting to bird seriously, the people who said YES to the hopeful question of "Pigeon Hawk" at the Portland CBC countdown were typically the traditional Audubon field trip leaders--the Old Guard (pass the baton)--and folks like raptor researcher Stewart Janes. He said the bird held this aura of mystery for him, as if it could only be the great birders of our kidhood who could announce such an accomplishment nonchalantly. Ironically, today I can say I have never known anyone who spots Merlins better than Dave. The skill should somehow be configured on his birding coat-of-arms. The Brown Shrike was seen yesterday morning around the southeast corner of the south pond (local George Ziminski et out-of-town al.). There is a Beef Bittern and a few female Tricolored Blackbirds near the Collenberg ("No Veal") Dairy on Mad River Road, an imm. male Yellow-headed Blackbird at or near the dairy out the w. side of Lanphere Road, and 150 Tundra Swans, 2-4 Ross's Geese, and possibly a few Snow Geese at the Salmon Creek Unit of Humboldt Bay NWR. A few days ago Bill Tweit, Bruce LaBar, and Ryan Shaw visited from Olympia/Tacoma and enjoyed the shrike, and then 7 Rock Sandpipers (many, for California) at the Humboldt north jetty. For those who wondered, Jon Dunn (via Kimball Garrett) posted an explanation, sent to some listservs, of the evolving/devolving ID process with the possible Purple Sandpiper seen last week, and it made perfect sense and was reasonable and human. David Fix Arcata, California -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From namitzr at hotmail.com Wed Jan 19 14:29:39 2011 From: namitzr at hotmail.com (Russ Namitz) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:29:39 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] oddly small buteo on Wireless Rd. Message-ID: http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/18289/ This is a bird that I would like to see fly. From the photos, none of the large buteos came to mind like Swainson's, Rough-legged or Ferruginous. The two most obvious choices would be Red-tailed Hawk and Red-shouldered Hawk, in that order, with Broad-winged Hawk as a remote possibility. This bird is an immature bird told by the combination of pointed retrices (tail feathers), ventral streaking on throat/belly/flanks and the pale edging on the upper wing coverts. To be honest, my initial reaction was Broad-winged Hawk. I don't think this is a Red-shouldered Hawk as they are more uniformly patterned as both adults & immatures. In my mind, we are left with a young Red-tailed Hawk or young Broad-winged Hawk. The fact that the observer stated that the buteo was small, the erect posture on this bird, the longer accipiter-like tail, the streaking on the lower throat that starts again more heavily on the belly all point to Broad-winged Hawk. I can't really make out the tail banding, but Red-tailed Hawks have many pencil-thin bands in the tail as an immature. Broad-winged immatures have wider banding in the tail. In short, I am not certain about the identifcation and don't think I, personally, would make a call on this bird without seeing it fly. However, if this bird sticks around, chances are I would drive up to take a look at it. Sincerely, Russ Namitz Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sengel at audubonportland.org Wed Jan 19 14:37:05 2011 From: sengel at audubonportland.org (Steve Engel) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:37:05 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Band-tailed Pigeons around? Message-ID: <651A3D144527432C9A0D5895E534D932@adulted> Dear Obolers, A request from the Portland Audubon Wildlife Care Center for location of any flocks of Band-tailed Pigeons in the Portland area. Please read below from Kristina Raum and reply directly to her if you can help. Thank you! "Hi Steve, The BT was found in Aloha and needs to be released in OR due to laws (i.e. not in WA or CA). It looks like Sarah found a couple of BT reports on ebird (which is great!)?however both of the more recent sightings in the area have been of one and two individuals. It would be more ideal to find a flock because it is a first year bird. Thank you for posting on OBOL! Kristina Raum: kraum at audubonportland.org Wildlife Care Center Assistant Audubon Society of Portland 5151 NW Cornell Road Portland, OR 97210 (503) 292-6855 www.audubonportland.org" Steve Engel Adult Education Coordinator Audubon Society of Portland 5151 NW Cornell Road, Portland, OR 97210 EMAIL:? sengel at audubonportland.org PHONE:? 503-292-6855 x 119 (main)? 971-222-6119 (direct) web:? www.audubonportland.org HOW TO REGISTER FOR ADULT CLASSES: http://audubonportland.org/trips-classes-camps/adult/registrationinfo From dpvroman at budget.net Wed Jan 19 14:58:42 2011 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis Vroman) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:58:42 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Merlins, etc. References: <69307.76783.qm@web80003.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1B272F4FFB7042FFAA48B4907BEE3D5A@your4dacd0ea75> Merlin plus others...was observed by myself at least once. I should mention that the other birds were several local Western Scrub Jays. They would take turns seeing who would get the closest to the Merlin perched in an oak tree not from our place. The Jays would get in pretty close to the Merlin, like they were going to perch by it, but just were "gutsy" enough to do it (for more that a second to two at least). This went on until the Merlin decided to go elsewhere. Dennis (north of Grants Pass) ----- Original Message ----- From: David Fix & Jude Power To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 12:26 PM Subject: [OBOL] Merlins, etc. One immutable truth I do point out to newer birders is that, should there be two or more birds in a treetop, none of the birds is a Merlin. David Fix Arcata, California -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From celata at pacifier.com Wed Jan 19 15:34:25 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 13:34:25 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] From the insoluble to the intractable Message-ID: <4D3758E1.4010006@pacifier.com> I rode my bike out to Wireless Rd today to list GLAUCOUS GULL on my motorless list for the year and spent a good bit of time sorting gulls. A couple stood out. One was a very pale Thayer's/Iceland-Complex Gull. Pale like an Iceland, but shaped more like a Thayer's. They really should be lumped. I know some will disagree. The other was a very dark-backed, pale-eyed gull with a smudgy eye and thin head streaking. Yeah, I know... I had only my daughter's CoolPix S220 which has a frustrating shutter delay, but otherwise produces tolerably decent photos through my spotting scope. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbalame/ No sign of yesterday's enigma. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From larmcqueen at msn.com Wed Jan 19 16:23:32 2011 From: larmcqueen at msn.com (Larry McQueen) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:23:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Wed morning, Eugene Message-ID: Not many birds this morning, as we walked the railroad line at the Greenhill crossing. This area has good potential for rich sparrow flocks, with Harris's and Swamp seen here in the past. Going east from the crossing overlooks Meadowlark Prairie to the north, and along both sides of the RR going west, is a wet ditch, overgrown with cattails and thick brush. But in spite of continuous, obnoxious pishing (!!), the birds were scarce. Canada Goose - nc Cackling Goose - several flocks, more than Canadas Mallard - 2 Ring-necked Pheasant - 1 California Quail - 1 Turkey Vulture - 4 White-tailed Kite - 2 Northern Harrier - 1 Red-shouldered Hawk - 2 (1 at Willow Creek) Red-tailed Hawk - 2 Killdeer - 3 Northern Flicker - 10+ American Crow - 4 Steller's Jay - 1 Western Scrub-Jay - 10 Black-capped Chickadee - 1 Bewick's Wren - 5 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 9 American Robin - 4 European Starling - few Spotted Towhee - 8+ Fox Sparrow - 7+ Song Sparrow - 7 Lincoln's Sparrow - 2 Golden-crowned Sparrow - 40 Dark-eyed Junco - 15 Western Meadowlark - 30 House Finch - 3 American Goldfinch - heard Fred Chancey, Don Schrouder,Dave Brown, Kit Larsen, Roger Robb, Dennis Arendt, Dave and Sally Hill,Craig Merkel, and Larry McQueen -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From philliplc at charter.net Wed Jan 19 16:33:20 2011 From: philliplc at charter.net (Phil Pickering) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:33:20 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] From the insoluble to the intractable References: <4D3758E1.4010006@pacifier.com> Message-ID: <4D5D4B2A786642EFBAB6B2FAF5B2B242@byron68119237c> I suspect the "Thayer's/Icleand" is a Glaucous-winged/hybrid based on combination of bulk, leg length, elongated skull, thickness of the bill in proportion to the eye, and lack of contrasting patterning in the greater coverts and tertials. Also the dirty/smudgy pattern of bill fading, rather than cleaner with solid black near the tip favors G-w. Cheers, Phil > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbalame/ From sylviam at clearwire.net Wed Jan 19 16:58:47 2011 From: sylviam at clearwire.net (Sylvia Maulding) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:58:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Dexter Lake, Lane County Message-ID: Paul Sherrell and I left the Eugene Wednesday group after coffee and went up to Dexter Lake. Birds seen: Canada Geese Common Goldeneye Buffelhead Lesser and Greater Scaup Ring-neck Duck Canvasback Horned Grebe Western Grebe Pied-billed Grebe Coots DC Cormorant Bald Eagle, 2 adult, 2 immature Kestrel, Hwy 58 wire Gulls Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove W. Scrub-Jay Raven BC and CB Chickadees RB Nuthatch GC and RC Kinglets Townsend's Warbler Spotted Towhee Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow Golden-crowned Sparrow White-throated Sparrow, Tan morph Junco Starlings and House Sparrow We made a short stop at Willamette Heights Park on the way home. Birds seen: Flicker Varied Thrush Steller's Jay Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow Towhee Junco RC Kinglet BC Chickadee -- Sylvia Maulding Springfield, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 4cains at charter.net Wed Jan 19 19:02:50 2011 From: 4cains at charter.net (Lee & Lori Cain) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:02:50 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] apologies...Re: my pishing comment Message-ID: <435DFC449AC64A2191D9BFBBAFA10DEA@CainFamilyHP> Had somebody get a little offended by my comment about pishing, they sent me an email to that effect....sigh... yes it was meant to be humorous ? was my bad if it came across wrong. Come birding with me and you?ll soon pick up on my sense of humor. But when you can?t see my face...ahh... the joys of text... Lee Cain Astoria, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bonneybt at aol.com Wed Jan 19 19:32:52 2011 From: bonneybt at aol.com (Carole Hallett) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:32:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] The Great I-5 Freeway Red-tail Count Message-ID: Hello OBOL: On *Sunday, 30 January, 2011 *several teams of volunteers from the non-profit Falcon Research Group (www.frg.org) along with friends and colleagues in Oregon, California and British Columbia will be counting Red-tailed Hawks along Interstate-5 from Vancouver, BC to the Mexican border. The purpose is to get a rough idea of how many Red-tails exist along this roughly 1,200 mile long N-S linear census route and to compare densities with other areas. The count will be done from vehicles travelling at 60 mph. The two hour count period is from *9-11 AM.* In Oregon, we currently have teams covering from Portland to Roseburg. Each group will cover a route approximately 70 miles long. We could really use a team or two to cover our southernmost stretch from Roseburg to Grants Pass and Grants pass to the border. The ideal crew would have a driver, a notetaker so nobody crashes, and two observers. Duplication of effort I think would be a good thing for this count so if you are interested in covering all or part of a route that is already covered that would be swell, too. If you would like to help out with the count in Oregon please contact me. For more information on the project in general or to volunteer in Washington contact Bud Anderson at: falconresearch at gmail.com or call (360)757-1911. Thanks, Carole Hallett 503-806-5792 carole.hallett at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Wed Jan 19 20:49:30 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:49:30 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Is it spring? Coos/Curry report 1/19/2010 Message-ID: <339442.48875.qm@web45311.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> It was nice and sunny on the south coast today although a bit cool, only up to about 50F in Coos Bay. I talked to KnuteAndersson and him and Lois Miller were out and about near Floras Lake and saw the overwintering SAY'S PHOEBE and a PALM WARBLER plus the first TURKEY VULTURE of the spring I've heard of (other than the occasional Del Norte strays that slip north across the border into the Brookings area in December and January). Back in Coos, out on the north spit of Coos Bay, there were 10 BARN SWALLOWS feeding over the large pond there. I watched them work north until they were out of sight around sunset. Yesterday, on the 18th, I went down to Johnson Mill Pond in Coquille and could only find 2 TREE SWALLOWS. The valley flooded this past weekend though so there was water everywhere and I imagine there were probably more Tree Swallows elsewhere. The plum trees are starting to flower, it's time for our sucker hole spring : ) Enjoy! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Wed Jan 19 20:52:29 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:52:29 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Curry Hooded Oriole Message-ID: <299686.14591.qm@web45310.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I forgot to mention that there was a HOODED ORIOLE somewhere up the Sixes River in Curry coming to a feeder from mid-December until about a week ago. Of course Knute Andersson just found out and told me about it today. I don't know the details other than it's no longer around. I think that's it... Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Oropendolas at aol.com Wed Jan 19 21:55:50 2011 From: Oropendolas at aol.com (Oropendolas at aol.com) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:55:50 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] Rough-legged Hawk, Eugene Airport Message-ID: Hello All, One light ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen from Greenhill rd. at the north end of the Eugene Airport this afternoon. No Prairie Falcon today. Good Birding, John Sullivan Springfield, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marciafcutler at comcast.net Wed Jan 19 22:42:01 2011 From: marciafcutler at comcast.net (Marcia F. Cutler) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 20:42:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Benton Co. Falcons Message-ID: <52D4A66D-CD5E-4408-BDD8-583E2FFEE5B9@comcast.net> This Wednesday afternoon I joined Gail Andrews and Marie Flamme on a quick jaunt to the Bruce Rd. portion of Finley NWR. We saw the normally expected waterfowl and raptors in the refuge, including one adult BALD EAGLE. But the real treats awaited us on our homeward bound journey. First off was a MERLIN sitting atop an oak tree just west of the refuge. Then, along Bellfountain Rd. in the vicinity of Woodpecker Loop we found a PEREGRINE FALCON sitting in the trees there. It moved a couple times before disappearing out of sight. Along with the plentiful Kestrels, that gave us a falcon trifecta in about 1 1/2 hours birding. Marcia F. Cutler From tc at empnet.com Wed Jan 19 23:34:12 2011 From: tc at empnet.com (Tom Crabtree) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:34:12 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Is it spring? Bend report 1/19/2010 References: <339442.48875.qm@web45311.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: No. ----- Original Message ----- From: Tim Rodenkirk To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 6:49 PM Subject: [OBOL] Is it spring? Coos/Curry report 1/19/2010 It was nice and sunny on the south coast today although a bit cool, only up to about 50F in Coos Bay. I talked to Knute Andersson and him and Lois Miller were out and about near Floras Lake and saw the overwintering SAY'S PHOEBE and a PALM WARBLER plus the first TURKEY VULTURE of the spring I've heard of (other than the occasional Del Norte strays that slip north across the border into the Brookings area in December and January). Back in Coos, out on the north spit of Coos Bay, there were 10 BARN SWALLOWS feeding over the large pond there. I watched them work north until they were out of sight around sunset. Yesterday, on the 18th, I went down to Johnson Mill Pond in Coquille and could only find 2 TREE SWALLOWS. The valley flooded this past weekend though so there was water everywhere and I imagine there were probably more Tree Swallows elsewhere. The plum trees are starting to flower, it's time for our sucker hole spring : ) Enjoy! Tim R Coos Bay ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dinpdx at yahoo.com Wed Jan 19 23:55:43 2011 From: dinpdx at yahoo.com (Dwight) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:55:43 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Portland Eurasian (Common) Teal (Vanport+Koll) Message-ID: <516389.55018.qm@web31602.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Rhett Wilkins and I saw a EURASIAN (COMMON) TEAL at Vanport Wetlands in Portland this afternoon.? This one was a classic adult male, not the "ratty looking" one we saw last Friday. Another teal appeared to be a possible hybrid GREEN-WINGED X COMMON TEAL, it had a distinct horizontal stripe and a vertical bar. There was also a HERMIT THRUSH across the fence next to the wetlands that had a wound or bill deformity (noticed later in photos). At Broughton Beach on the Columbia River there was a single RED-NECKED GREBE and the usual scaup rafts. No loons. On the way home I stopped by Koll Wetlands in Beaverton and saw another COMMON TEAL (one was reported a few days ago). When I looked through the photos I found one with TWO COMMON TEAL in the same frame. A pair of adult BALD EAGLES was also present. Some photos starting with the possible hybrid teal start here: http://www.pbase.com/dwight_porter/image/131959159 Dwight Porter, Portland, Oregon From hnehls6 at comcast.net Thu Jan 20 01:38:22 2011 From: hnehls6 at comcast.net (Harry Nehls) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 23:38:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] RBA: Portland, OR 1-20-11 Message-ID: - RBA * Oregon * Portland * January 20, 2011 * ORPO1101.20 - birds mentioned Eurasian Green-winged Teal KING EIDER Surf Scoter Barrow?s Goldeneye Red-throated Loon Horned Grebe Eared Grebe American White Pelican Brown Pelican Semipalmated Plover Red Phalarope Glaucous Gull BLUE JAY Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Palm Warbler Snow Bunting - transcript hotline: Portland Oregon Audubon RBA (weekly) number: 503-292-6855 To report: Harry Nehls 503-233-3976 compiler: Harry Nehls coverage: entire state On January 15 a female KING EIDER was reported off Boiler Bay. The BLUE JAY at Union was sseen again this week. On January 15 a BARN SWALLOW was near Coquille. On January 19 ten BARN SWALLOWS were on the North Spit of Coos Bay. During the week TREE SWALLOWS were seen near Coquille, near Brooking, and near Grants Pass. On January 15 two BROWN PELICANS were off Boardman State Park. Six BROWN PELICANS, two PALM WARBLERS, five EARED GREBES, two RED PHALROPE, and 28 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS were on the North Spit of Coos Bay. That day a GLAUCOUS GULL was at Yaquina Bay. A male BARROW?S GOLDENEYE was on Siletz Bay January 17. At least four GLAUCOUS GULLS were near Astoria during the week. On January 18 five SURF SCOTERS and an adult GLAUCOUS GULL were near Woodland Bottoms. A RED-THROATED LOON was seen January 16 on the Columbia River near the Portland Airport. The next day a WHITE PELICAN was on the Columbia Slough near the airport. On January 15 a EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL was at the Vanport Wetlands. Another was at the Koll Wetlands in Beaverton January 18. A GLAUCOUS GULL was seen January 16 at Clinton Park in southeast Portland. Two WHITE PELICANS were seen during the week on Hedges Creek Marsh in Tualatin. A HORNED GREBE was seen during the week on the Deschutes River in Bend. A SNOW BUNTING was near Bend January 16. That?s it for this week. - end transcript -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From clausing at uiuc.edu Thu Jan 20 09:08:06 2011 From: clausing at uiuc.edu (Arthur Clausing) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:08:06 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Barrow's Goldeneyes, Portland Message-ID: <3491C53E-A9F5-4158-88F3-10BBCDC64AAE@uiuc.edu> yesterday, I saw three Barrow's Goldeneyes, two females and one male, along the east bank of the Wlllamette River about 100 ft. upstream of the Steel Bridge. They were a beautiful site in a relatively brown river. Art From tlove at linfield.edu Thu Jan 20 11:02:42 2011 From: tlove at linfield.edu (Thomas Love) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 09:02:42 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tualatin AMER WHITE PELICANS continue Message-ID: <48AAF0D003D67944931DDDC72D022F122659781D@exchangedb.wfo.linfield.edu> Two AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS continue Thursday morning at the pond just north of the Tualatin Post Office just west of downtown Tualatin on Tualatin-Sherwood Road. Tom Love -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From winkg at hevanet.com Thu Jan 20 11:30:07 2011 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 09:30:07 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Pittock, NW Portland, week ending 01/19/11 Message-ID: <839BD894-9D40-4D36-8BE7-E62354BE6F78@hevanet.com> Here is the summary of my morning dogwalks from NW Seblar Terrace to the Pittock Mansion for the week 01/13/11 to 01/19/11. Species neither seen nor heard the previous week are in ALL CAPS. Additional information about my dogwalk, including an archive of weekly summaries and a checklist, may be found at http://www.hevanet.com/winkg/dogwalkpage.html We did the walk 5 days this week. Species # days found (peak #, date) Cackling Goose 1 (?[heard only], 1/15) BALD EAGLE 1 (2, 1/14) RED-TAILED HAWK 1 (1, 1/14) Mourning Dove 1 (1, 1/15) Anna's Hummingbird 4 (3) Red-breasted Sapsucker 1 (1, 1/19) Downy Woodpecker 1 (1, 1/19) Northern Flicker 2 (1, 1/15 & 19) Steller's Jay 2 (8, 1/19) American Crow 1 (2, 1/19) Black-capped Chickadee 5 (12) Chestnut-backed Chickadee 5 (5) Bushtit 4 (20, 1/15) Red-breasted Nuthatch 2 (2, 1/18) Brown Creeper 3 (2) Bewick's Wren 1 (1, 1/19) Pacific Wren 4 (3) Golden-crowned Kinglet 3 (12, 1/19) Varied Thrush 2 (5, 1/15 & 19) European Starling 2 (3, 1/19) Spotted Towhee 4 (6) Song Sparrow 5 (8) Dark-eyed Junco 4 (20, 1/19) House Finch 2 (1, 1/14 & 15) Misses (birds found at least 3 days during previous 2 weeks but not found this week): Pileated Woodpecker, American Robin Wink Gross Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dpvroman at budget.net Thu Jan 20 16:06:21 2011 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis Vroman) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:06:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] 2nd South Grants Pass raptor survey Message-ID: The 2nd South Grants Pass Raptor survey was accomplished today (01-20-11) Distance traveled: 26.7 miles; Survey time: 2.75 hours Weather: mid-level overcast. Results: Red-tailed Hawk - 6 American Kestrel - 3 Bald Eagle - 1 (Adult) Red-shouldered Hawk - 1 Merlin - 1 Low Red-tail count (perhaps the lowest for this route). They did a good job of staying out of sight today, if they were out there. No unexpected birds, except found 7 EURASIAN COLLARD-DOVES (total for 2 locations), the largest number of birds for this route yet. Dennis (north of Grants Pass) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sasdhill at comcast.net Thu Jan 20 17:05:55 2011 From: sasdhill at comcast.net (Sasdhill@comcast.net) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:05:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Barn Swallos Fern Ridge Message-ID: I walked out to the platform from Royal today and saw 5 Barn Swallows, along with a Black Phoebe flying over the pond driectly east of the platform. Sally Hill Eugene OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From prigge1 at mindspring.com Thu Jan 20 17:42:58 2011 From: prigge1 at mindspring.com (Allen Prigge) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:42:58 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Lane County hybrid teal Message-ID: Seen this afternoon about 2:00pm on Stewart Pond an American-European Green-winged Teal hybrid. Horizontal stripe white, vertical stripe duller, as well illustrated in Sibley. Also noteworthy, yesterday 1/19 a flock of swallow sp seen by Bill Hunter and me high over the East Coyote Unit, Fern Ridge Wildlife Area--too high to identify. Aso on 1/19: Northern Shrike along Royal Avenue near RoyalAve./Fisher Rd. Jct. Eurasian Wigeon on pond right side of Ed Cone Blvd. AAP __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5804 (20110120) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rawieland at gmail.com Thu Jan 20 18:44:00 2011 From: rawieland at gmail.com (Rainer Wieland) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:44:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Prairie Falcon, Redhead still around Message-ID: <924A3F4F-F9C4-41A6-9D90-82A1EEF4458C@gmail.com> This afternoon about 3pm we located the Prairie Falcon at the east end of Harrington Rd in the highest tree by the farmhouse. This is at the T intersection with Milne Rd. We then went looking for the Barrow's Goldeneye by the Steel Bridge in Portland. But no luck. However the lone Redhead was still there near the Tidewater barge just north of the bridge on the east side of the river. Thanks to everyone for the postings previously. It's helping the year list to grow nicely. Cheers Rainer Wieland Portland, OR Sent from my iPhone near Garden Home, OR From jmeredit at bendnet.com Thu Jan 20 19:33:14 2011 From: jmeredit at bendnet.com (jmeredit at bendnet.com) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:33:14 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Enterprise, Joseph, so few birds Message-ID: <52757.1295573594@bendnet.com> OBOL Five AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS, zero other specialty birds found over here. Nearly nothing along Golf Course Rd, Crow Creek Rd, Leap Lane, nor the roads around Joseph. Feeders are scarce and the birds at the tended feeders are basically House Finches, Am Goldfinches and a few Siskens etc. Only one small flock of Horned Larks out in the fields, nothing else with the 25 of them. Fairly tough and boring birding except for just stunning morning beauty with beautiful clouds, light streaming here and there through them and on the mountain tops. One Merlin in Joseph. Two Prairie Falcons along Liberty Lane, Crow Creek Rd. Lots of Rough Legs. Yesterday we failed to find any of the flocks reported by Trent Bray near Cove and no Blue Jay near Union. I bet tomorrow will be our day for delightful birding! Heading to Lostine and then back roads returning toward Enterprise and the Fish Hatchery etc. Full list ( a short list ) will be on Birdnotes later, for Wallowa County. Good birding, Judy and the Ecas Wednesday Five, jmeredit at bendnet.com From notisj at gmail.com Thu Jan 20 19:41:16 2011 From: notisj at gmail.com (John Notis) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:41:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Wallowa Trip Report ( Jan 15-17) In-Reply-To: <6C29993E-3D68-48C2-8997-472A66E2873E@gmail.com> References: <6C29993E-3D68-48C2-8997-472A66E2873E@gmail.com> Message-ID: <6B9BBDB7-C046-4760-8B8D-AC2A30CEF9A8@gmail.com> Hello, obol, Yes, another report from NE Oregon. This turned out sort of long and rambling, and most of the birds have already been reported, but there's a link to photos at the end! Three of us drove to Enterprise on Friday afternoon, stopping quickly at the Deschutes River mouth for both Goldeneyes and a quick scan of one of the many huge rafts of Scaup along the Columbia. We started with a little after-dinner owling in the conifer strip between Enterprise and Joseph. We were rewarded with three calling W. Screech Owls, but that was it for owls on the entire trip. Saturday was mostly high clouds and no wind, starting frosty but warming into the 40's by the afternoon. We saw two flocks of Horned Larks, maybe 30 birds each, swirling around in the area of Repplinger and Elk Mtn. roads NE of Enterprise. We never could find them on the ground to sort for an odd Longspur. Multiple Golden Eagles, Bald Eagles, Prairie Falcons, Northern Harriers, American Kestrels, Rough- legged Hawks, and Red-tails including at least one Harlan's type made for a great raptor assortment. We didn't see the one Ferruginous Hawk that was reported in the area. Around noon we tried for alpine species by driving as far as we could and then walking the last 1/2 mile to McCully Creek trailhead. Nothing more exciting than a flock of Mountain Chickadees and a Hairy Woodpecker up there, but it was a nice change of scenery. Paul Sullivan had kindly alerted us to some goodies NW of Enterprise, so we spent the afternoon driving up Golf Course Rd. to Leap Ln., then back down to School Flat Rd. to Lostine. Two American Tree Sparrows were our first birds, followed by a big flock of Horned Larks that flushed off the road at the summit of Golf Course Rd. Soon after, we found the four Snow Buntings Paul told us about, who were leapfrogging with us and other vehicles down the road with a few more larks. (three cars went by in 15 minutes - it must have been rush hour) A nice flock of Tree Sparrows were hanging out at the "yellow house" a bit N. of the intersection of School Flat and Golf Course, as was our first Gray-crowned Rosy-finch. As we turned around from Hwy 3 to head back down Leap Ln., we stopped at a wooden building flanked by metal silos just around the corner from the highway. A few Gray-crowned Rosy-finches were fluttering under the eaves, finding roosts for the night. As we watched, more small flocks arrived and scuffled and tucked in. This was at about 3:30pm. Very cool to watch, and the same phenomenon (in the same structure) has been reported in years past. We finally found a group of Gray Partridge at a farm along School Flat Rd., nearer to Lostine, and another Rosy-finch or two along there at another house. On the way back to town, we stopped in the failing light at the Enterprise Wildlife Area on Fish Hatchery Rd., and found both Common and Barrow's Goldeneye, along with a few Bufflehead. Is that a "Bucephala Slam"? Sunday started 45F and rainy, and stayed that way pretty much until dusk. We searched trees and feeders in both Enterprise and Joseph for any sign of crossbills, waxwings, redpolls, etc., but all we found were Juncos (quite a few of the Slate-colored variety), Pine Siskins, and Lesser Goldfinches. There was a Merlin in a treetop in Enterprise, and a lot of Eurasian Collared Doves in Joseph. There was a Northern Shrike on Ira Pratt Rd. near the intersection with Crow Creek Rd., 23 Common Goldeyes on the Joseph Sewage Ponds, and the occasional Townsend's Solitaire in a treetop. In the afternoon, we drove up Liberty Rd., Bird Ln. (bad luck not to check along there), Tenderfoot Valley Rd., and Klages Rd. in hopes of finding the reported Gyrfalcon. There were lots of ducks in the wheat stubble fields, and lots of raptors in general, but no gyr. A trip about five miles out Zumwalt Rd. brought our Prairie Falcon count up to five, plus a couple more Golden Eagles and a Kestrel seeming a bit out of place up on the high prairie. There was a N. Shrike in a shrub in OK Gulch. No other passerines. As the rain abated in the late afternoon, we headed up Hwy 3 to try our luck in the forests. Despite a lot of tooting and searching, all we turned up were a few agitated Golden-crowned Kinglets. The Cascade Auto Tour Loop seems to get a lot of snowmobile and other human traffic, and I think I'll spend more effort further up the road next time. On Monday, the weather was breezy but mostly sunny. We drove down Little Sheep Creek Rd. (Hwy 350) to Imnaha, stopping several times to look at soaring raptors and scan the hillsides for Chukar. Several Golden Eagles, a Bald Eagle, and a Kestrel harassing a Cooper's Hawk were all seen up near the top of the canyon, and we picked up Black- capped Chickadee and a Downy Woodpecker down at the bottom. When we returned to top of the canyon, we received a voicemail from Paul saying there were waxwings in Lostine, so off we went. Indeed, a nice flock of both Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings were alternating between devouring juniper berries and perching in the branches of a dead tree, right along the highway in the middle of Lostine. There was also a flock of 20 or so Wild Turkeys roaming the town. On the way to La Grande, we found a pair of Hooded Mergansers in a flooded area along the Grande Ronde river near Elgin. We looped through Cove, where two Wilson's Snipe flushed from the edge of a ditch. Despite the greener fields and comparatively moderate temperatures in the Grand Ronde valley, raptor numbers were very low vs. the fields around Enterprise. We were unable to locate the reported Blue Jay in Union, and the unfrozen parts of Ladd Marsh held a large but unispecies flock of Mallards. Photos of birds and scenery can be seen at: http:// picasaweb.google.com/notisj/WallowaCoJan2011 Not all of them are high quality, and I apologize in advance for the number of times the Wallowa Mts. appear in the background, but they're just so damn scenic. -John From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Thu Jan 20 20:32:07 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 18:32:07 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Birds 1/20/2011 Message-ID: <13002.7175.qm@web45308.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> The dogs and I went out to the end of the road on the north spit of Coos Bay and spent a couple hours walking along the bay at low tide late PM- there was a spectacular sunset while we walked back. There were quite a few shorebirds which I spent most of my birding time checking out (approximate numbers): 1500- LEAST SANDPIPERS 400- WESTERN SANDPIPERS (a lot for this species in winter) 600- SANDERLING 500- DUNLIN 60+ SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS no BB Plovers? The PALM WARBLER was at the end of the road and I saw the Empire SNOWY EGRET across the bay and of course the usual assortment of bay ducks, grebes, and loons. A little rain manana then a week of sunny 50's coming up- yeah!!! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From di4tbirds at comcast.net Thu Jan 20 20:44:44 2011 From: di4tbirds at comcast.net (di4tbirds at comcast.net) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 02:44:44 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Unidentified Loon in Florence Message-ID: <2091326041.1460138.1295577884011.JavaMail.root@sz0050a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> OBOLers: Today in Florence standing at the Crab Dock and looking north I saw a very large loon with a huge yellow bill. Both upper and lower mandible were yellow. It was feeding close to the jetty and diving frequently. I thought it's bill was odd and started walking back to the car when it hit me that Common Loons do not have yellow bills. I got the scope and tried to get a better look. Unfortunately the loon was not staying on the surface for long and I could not get a good scope look. It was also moving further away from me. It had a dark head, a dark back and a big yellow bill which it held sloping upward. Mostly it was only on the surface for a minute before diving again. It worked its way northward until I couldn't find it. I drove up to the jetty hoping to see it again. I saw 3 Common Loons but could not find this bird again. If anyone goes over to Florence you might want to check for this bird. Other than that, there was nothing unusual. Both on the south Jetty and at Bob Creek were Black Turnstones and Surfbirds. There were three White-Winged Scoters off Seal Rock. A Red-necked Grebe was at Bob Creek. There was a Canvasback Duck in the boat basin at Florence hanging out with Western Grebes. I thought this was an odd spot for a Canvasback. Diane Horgan -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jack_williamson at me.com Thu Jan 20 22:02:11 2011 From: jack_williamson at me.com (Jack Williamson) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:02:11 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cooper's v Sharp-shinned Redux Message-ID: <3A1C0EEC-53A9-4AE7-808C-AF0A5C0D8B06@me.com> On my way to work yesterday morning I spotted what I thought was an accipiter on a telephone wire near Lusher Farm in the Stafford Hamlet. This was first bird of its kind that I have seen in the area after nearly a year of regular visits. I was so excited that I turned back to the house to get my bins; unfortunately it was gone when I returned. I was let-down but not dissuaded from chasing this guy. So today, over lunch I headed out to Lusher Farm on what, at the time, I was thinking was a Fool's Errand. Some of the thoughts that were going through my mind at the time include: " Jack - you've never seen a bird like that in this area before, you were driving a bit over the limit in dim light when you think you saw an accipiter 200 yards away on telephone wire, and now you think you can just go back (at an arbitrary time) and pick up a couple of quick images; are you nuts? " I won't give you my answer, but I am happy to share the results of my quest :-) This post is fun for me primarily because just two-short-weeks ago I reached out to this list for help with my tentative ID of a Cooper's Hawk. The response was overwhelmingly supportive, unanimously against my ID, but (importantly) very instructive. Which is, in part, why I was motivated to see if I could properly ID the bird on the wire; Two weeks ago (I thought) I saw a Cooper's Hawk in my backyard and today (I know) I saw one on a farm a couple of mile from my house. How is that for confidence? Thanks everyone! I can't wait to hear your thoughts on my hastily put together set of comparative photos. You'll have to click on the photos then go through them one at a time to see my captioned reasoning in support of my ID. I hope each of you are able find a portion of the knowledge you generously shared with me before embedded in one or more of the captions. http://picasaweb.google.com/Jack.Williamson.Jr/SharpieVCooperS?feat=directlink - Jack -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Thu Jan 20 22:51:37 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:51:37 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Jack's hawk Message-ID: Yeah, it's a Cooper's, and a well fed one at that. As I commented on the previous bird, check the head profile. The Sharpie had a silly little beak stuck onto its face, resulting in a prominent forehead. Today's bird has a nearly aquiline profile. There's a slight dip where the beak meets the face, but only slight. The beak at its base is nearly as deep as the head. Then there's the capped appearance. The top of this bird's head has dark feathers, the face is lighter. The Sharpie two weeks ago had dark feathers coming down the side of the face, partly surrounding the eye. The shape of the tail tip is a feature that I associate with my parents' generation (they were birding in the early Eisenhower years). Sharpies have "sharp"corners to the tail, Cooper's have a curved, like a "C", tail tip. I was still hearing this in the seventies. It is a sometimes helpful trait, but never diagnostic. Tail feathers can wear heavily, giving a Sharpie a curved tip. And when new feathers are growing in, they naturally create a curved impression if the outer tail quills are only partially emerged. I saw this on an immature Merlin yesterday. Sitting on a utility line seems out of character, but I see it fairly often with immature Cooper's. I'm not sure I've seen a Sharpie do it, nor an adult Cooper's. What tricks me several times a year is Red-shouldered Hawks, which didn't used to be part of the formula in Oregon. Several times a year now I see an adult 'shoulder and mistake it initially for an adult Cooper's. Lars From hhactitis at yahoo.com Thu Jan 20 22:55:09 2011 From: hhactitis at yahoo.com (Hendrik Herlyn) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:55:09 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] looking for a used digital camera Message-ID: <326952.78116.qm@web111712.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Hello folks, ? To my great chagrin, my beloved Canon PowerShot S2 IS bit the dust a few weeks ago ? the mechanism that retracts the lens is not working anymore, and I?ve been told that the cost of repair will bequite prohibitive. I?ve become rather fond of this camera (or should I say, addicted? :-)) and would love to replace it with the same model or one of similar caliber, but my funds are severely limited. ? I was just wondering if anyone out there has recently updated their photo equipment and has an old digital camera sitting around that he or she might want to part with for relatively cheap. If so, please let me know. ? Any help would be greatly appreciated! I'd love to be able to go out again and photograph the birds (and other nature) that?I observe. ? Many thanks ? Hendrik ________________________________ Hendrik G. Herlyn 2201 NW Grant Ave., Apt. 2 Corvallis, OR 97330 USA Phone (cell): 541.829.3223 E-Mail: hhactitis at yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From romain at frontiernet.net Thu Jan 20 23:01:52 2011 From: romain at frontiernet.net (Romain Cooper) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:01:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Mammals (not birds) mostly, Josephine County Message-ID: <20110121050205.A7E4210FA35@relay02.roch.ny.frontiernet.net> Hello all, I've noticed that many OBOLers are interested in animals in a general way so I'm offering some YouTube links that are mostly of mammals (though I've included a short video of a Great Horned Owl). A somewhat new hobby for Christie and me. Trail cameras that take videos (and also stills. We prefer the video mode) that are in color during daytime and high light conditions and B&W when light is too low to support color (uses an Infra-red illumination). The videos below are all taken on and around our place (which is adjacent to BLM & USFS lands), Illinois Valley, Josephine Co, OR. We bait the stations mainly w/ bones left over from chicken dinners and the left overs after fish are filleted. We've been at this for about 2 yrs now and have 3 cameras (2 brands: Moultrie and Bushnell). We have videos of 9 bird species and haven't yet tried to "capture" our feeder birds, etc. The links are a small sampling of hundreds of videos. Some of the more "charismatic megafauna". We've picked up a goodly number of mammal species and caught some "special" behaviors on the videos. cheers, Romain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZQjp-yx0s4 Cougar 1/23/2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOVA7ryiL8U Bobcat 12/25/2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96dTIUjozRE Bear cubs & mom 12/10/2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIxYIReH3jo 3/25/2009 Probable Fisher http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmcyqCRCIo4 cougar part 1 1/5/2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpML8p9747U cougar part 2 1/5/2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYbzpyP7gU4 Bobcat part 1 1/7/2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUE0tkCSsuU Bobcat part 2 1/7/2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl53yWAmhYU Great Horned Owl 12/22/2010 Romain Cooper 10398 Takilma Road Cave Junction, OR 97523 541-592-2311 From 5hats at peak.org Thu Jan 20 23:56:44 2011 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:56:44 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] D Lake osprey Message-ID: Obol, At D Lake in Lincoln City today: lots of Lesser Scaup, one Osprey. It had a fish, which it dropped when pursued by a Bald Eagle. Darrel & Laura -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Fri Jan 21 00:21:41 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 22:21:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Florence loon Message-ID: I recently got a book in the mail, "Lommar" by Lars Jonsson and Toralf Tysse. Great bed-time reading as it puts me to sleep in half a page. 80 pages on nothing but loon ID, including determining age class and stage of molt. If that isn't enough to get your juices flowing, none of it's in English. For reasons that continue to evade me, my Swedish cousins don't appreciate getting emails in Norwegian. I'm hoping that reading a treatise in Swedish on loon ID will perfect my command of that language. But first I have to learn to read in my sleep. The authors stress that loon ID isn't necessarily simple, and conditions of field observation are often horribly frustrating. Loons dive a lot, wave action blocks the view when they're on the surface, mist obscures the details, winter sunlight verges on oxymoron. And maybe that's the easy part. The "iceloons" as Swedes call Common and Yellow-billed, take about as long to reach adult plumage as pink- footed gulls. Hence the emphasis on aging and molting in this book. Bill color is a field mark, but not exactly diagnostic. Only Americans call it "Yellow-billed". To the British they're "White-billed Divers", while the translation from Swedish is "Whitebilled Iceloon". In winter the bill is bone white. Yellow is for summer plumaged adults. The bill should always be pale at the tip, but is often a good deal darker elsewhere, especially the basal part of the lower mandible and the basal two-thirds of the upper edge of the upper mandible. Common Loons always have a dark tip to the bill, but in winter the rest of the bill can be quite light gray. The angle of light is also very significant. If the loon under observation is back lit, many features look darker. Alas, we have no single word in English for the opposite of "backlit" (the Swedes do, it's "medljus"). When the light source is behind the observer, any loon's bill will look a good deal paler. I'm assuming Diane was at the crab dock in the afternoon, hence a case of "medljus". A winter sun, low in the sky, could really lighten things up. More important, a dark head is not a good sign. The jiz of the Yellow-billed, adult or immature, is a much lighter head than that of a Common. Typically the Yellow-billed head looks significantly lighter than its back, while Commons appear uniformly dark. The transition from pale throat to dark back of the neck is diffuse in the Yellow-bill, fairly abrupt in a Common. The Common shows partial neck rings in winter plumage, again fairly well defined between dark and light. The same rings on Yellow=billed are quite diffuse, often not noticeable. There are other poorly defined dark patches on the head of Yellow-bills, but only obvious at close range. I could mention other pointers, but that's a misnomer. "Blunters" may be more apropos, reminiscent of attempting ID on an immature Vega Gull. The weekend is near and hopefully weather of similar fairness to today will return. I better quit reading this "Lommar" book or I won't stay awake long enough to get the dishes washed. Lars From shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com Fri Jan 21 01:07:13 2011 From: shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com (Shawneen Finnegan) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 23:07:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Florence loon In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Lars: Funny that you received "Lommar". Believe it or not I own a copy and have had it for years. Lars Jonsson is my absolute favorite bird artist and I love the illustrations so don't care if I can read the text or not. But if you do translate it.... I would love a transcript. Shawneen On Jan 20, 2011, at 10:21 PM, Norgren Family wrote: > I recently got a book in the mail, > "Lommar" by Lars Jonsson and Toralf Tysse. > Great bed-time reading as it puts me to sleep > in half a page. 80 pages on nothing but > loon ID, including determining age class > and stage of molt. If that isn't enough to > get your juices flowing, none of it's in > English. For reasons that continue to evade > me, my Swedish cousins don't appreciate > getting emails in Norwegian. I'm hoping that > reading a treatise in Swedish on loon ID will > perfect my command of that language. But first > I have to learn to read in my sleep. > From notisj at gmail.com Fri Jan 21 03:48:12 2011 From: notisj at gmail.com (John Notis) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:48:12 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] correction Wallowa Trip Report ( Jan 15-17) In-Reply-To: References: <6B9BBDB7-C046-4760-8B8D-AC2A30CEF9A8@gmail.com> Message-ID: <1855196225-1295603293-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-2028678715-@bda2526.bisx.prod.on.blackberry> .. -----Original Message----- From: Alan Contreras Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:53:28 To: John Notis Subject: Re: [OBOL] Wallowa Trip Report ( Jan 15-17) Nice to meet you in Wallowa County. Thanks again for doing the great maps for us. Lesser Goldfinch is probably a very rare bird in Wallowa County. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer at mindspring.com Oregonreview.blogspot.com > From: John Notis > Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:41:16 -0800 > To: OBOL > Subject: [OBOL] Wallowa Trip Report ( Jan 15-17) > > Hello, obol, > > Yes, another report from NE Oregon. This turned out sort of long and > rambling, and most of the birds have already been reported, but > there's a link to photos at the end! > > Three of us drove to Enterprise on Friday afternoon, stopping quickly > at the Deschutes River mouth for both Goldeneyes and a quick scan of > one of the many huge rafts of Scaup along the Columbia. We started > with a little after-dinner owling in the conifer strip between > Enterprise and Joseph. We were rewarded with three calling W. > Screech Owls, but that was it for owls on the entire trip. > > Saturday was mostly high clouds and no wind, starting frosty but > warming into the 40's by the afternoon. We saw two flocks of Horned > Larks, maybe 30 birds each, swirling around in the area of Repplinger > and Elk Mtn. roads NE of Enterprise. We never could find them on the > ground to sort for an odd Longspur. Multiple Golden Eagles, Bald > Eagles, Prairie Falcons, Northern Harriers, American Kestrels, Rough- > legged Hawks, and Red-tails including at least one Harlan's type made > for a great raptor assortment. We didn't see the one Ferruginous > Hawk that was reported in the area. Around noon we tried for alpine > species by driving as far as we could and then walking the last 1/2 > mile to McCully Creek trailhead. Nothing more exciting than a flock > of Mountain Chickadees and a Hairy Woodpecker up there, but it was a > nice change of scenery. > > Paul Sullivan had kindly alerted us to some goodies NW of Enterprise, > so we spent the afternoon driving up Golf Course Rd. to Leap Ln., > then back down to School Flat Rd. to Lostine. Two American Tree > Sparrows were our first birds, followed by a big flock of Horned > Larks that flushed off the road at the summit of Golf Course Rd. > Soon after, we found the four Snow Buntings Paul told us about, who > were leapfrogging with us and other vehicles down the road with a few > more larks. (three cars went by in 15 minutes - it must have been > rush hour) A nice flock of Tree Sparrows were hanging out at the > "yellow house" a bit N. of the intersection of School Flat and Golf > Course, as was our first Gray-crowned Rosy-finch. > > As we turned around from Hwy 3 to head back down Leap Ln., we stopped > at a wooden building flanked by metal silos just around the corner > from the highway. A few Gray-crowned Rosy-finches were fluttering > under the eaves, finding roosts for the night. As we watched, more > small flocks arrived and scuffled and tucked in. This was at about > 3:30pm. Very cool to watch, and the same phenomenon (in the same > structure) has been reported in years past. We finally found a > group of Gray Partridge at a farm along School Flat Rd., nearer to > Lostine, and another Rosy-finch or two along there at another house. > On the way back to town, we stopped in the failing light at the > Enterprise Wildlife Area on Fish Hatchery Rd., and found both Common > and Barrow's Goldeneye, along with a few Bufflehead. Is that a > "Bucephala Slam"? > > Sunday started 45F and rainy, and stayed that way pretty much until > dusk. We searched trees and feeders in both Enterprise and Joseph > for any sign of crossbills, waxwings, redpolls, etc., but all we > found were Juncos (quite a few of the Slate-colored variety), Pine > Siskins, and Lesser Goldfinches. There was a Merlin in a treetop in > Enterprise, and a lot of Eurasian Collared Doves in Joseph. There > was a Northern Shrike on Ira Pratt Rd. near the intersection with > Crow Creek Rd., 23 Common Goldeyes on the Joseph Sewage Ponds, and > the occasional Townsend's Solitaire in a treetop. > > In the afternoon, we drove up Liberty Rd., Bird Ln. (bad luck not to > check along there), Tenderfoot Valley Rd., and Klages Rd. in hopes of > finding the reported Gyrfalcon. There were lots of ducks in the > wheat stubble fields, and lots of raptors in general, but no gyr. A > trip about five miles out Zumwalt Rd. brought our Prairie Falcon > count up to five, plus a couple more Golden Eagles and a Kestrel > seeming a bit out of place up on the high prairie. There was a N. > Shrike in a shrub in OK Gulch. No other passerines. > > As the rain abated in the late afternoon, we headed up Hwy 3 to try > our luck in the forests. Despite a lot of tooting and searching, all > we turned up were a few agitated Golden-crowned Kinglets. The > Cascade Auto Tour Loop seems to get a lot of snowmobile and other > human traffic, and I think I'll spend more effort further up the road > next time. > > On Monday, the weather was breezy but mostly sunny. We drove down > Little Sheep Creek Rd. (Hwy 350) to Imnaha, stopping several times to > look at soaring raptors and scan the hillsides for Chukar. Several > Golden Eagles, a Bald Eagle, and a Kestrel harassing a Cooper's Hawk > were all seen up near the top of the canyon, and we picked up Black- > capped Chickadee and a Downy Woodpecker down at the bottom. When we > returned to top of the canyon, we received a voicemail from Paul > saying there were waxwings in Lostine, so off we went. Indeed, a > nice flock of both Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings were alternating > between devouring juniper berries and perching in the branches of a > dead tree, right along the highway in the middle of Lostine. There > was also a flock of 20 or so Wild Turkeys roaming the town. > > On the way to La Grande, we found a pair of Hooded Mergansers in a > flooded area along the Grande Ronde river near Elgin. We looped > through Cove, where two Wilson's Snipe flushed from the edge of a > ditch. Despite the greener fields and comparatively moderate > temperatures in the Grand Ronde valley, raptor numbers were very low > vs. the fields around Enterprise. We were unable to locate the > reported Blue Jay in Union, and the unfrozen parts of Ladd Marsh held > a large but unispecies flock of Mallards. > > Photos of birds and scenery can be seen at: http:// > picasaweb.google.com/notisj/WallowaCoJan2011 > > Not all of them are high quality, and I apologize in advance for the > number of times the Wallowa Mts. appear in the background, but > they're just so damn scenic. > > -John > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From notisj at gmail.com Fri Jan 21 03:51:54 2011 From: notisj at gmail.com (John Notis) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:51:54 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] correction Wallowa Trip Report ( Jan 15-17) Message-ID: <746729876-1295603514-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-605953571-@bda2526.bisx.prod.on.blackberry> I meant to report American Goldfinch in my original post. That's what I get for emailing in the wee hours. -John .. From dawn_grafe at fws.gov Fri Jan 21 11:57:33 2011 From: dawn_grafe at fws.gov (dawn_grafe at fws.gov) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:57:33 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Yaquina Bay CBC Message-ID: The Yaquina Bay CBC was held on January 2 and the weather, though bone-chillingly cold in the morning, turned out to be bright and sunny for the entire day. We broke two count circle records this year! First, we had the greatest number of species ever reported at 137 which is one more than the previous record of 136 species seen during the 2004/2005 and 2008/2009 counts. Can we attribute it to the spread of the EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE (12 on the count)? We also had the highest participation ever this year with 34 people in the field and six on feeders for a combined total of 40 participants. Highlights started with birds seen in the ocean, a combined total of 1,262 RED-THROATED LOONS were seen at Seal Rock and Yaquina Head and a whopping 132 ANCIENT MURRELETS were also tallied from these two locations --both are record highs for this count. There was also a high count of HORNED (116) and a record total of EARED (22) GREBES. A small group of BROWN PELICANS (12) were noted at SEAL ROCK. Overwintering BRANT totaled 170 and a few groups saw EURASIAN WIGEON. A single TUNDRA SWAN was discovered in the south part of the count circle and two groups viewed LONG-TAILED DUCKS (4) in the bay. A RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER was spotted along the Mike Miller Educational Trail. The RED-SHOULDERED HAWK that has been seen for weeks along the estuary trail at HMSC was still around. And last but not least, one observer tallied two AMERICAN DIPPERS to round out a fantastic day of birding on the Oregon coast. Thanks so much to everyone who participated in the count. We sure hope to see you again for the 112th count. Some previous Yaquina Bay CBC results are at http://yaquina.info/ybn/bird/bird.htm#ybcbc Dawn Grafe, ORYB CBC Compiler -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jmcrlsn at yahoo.com Fri Jan 21 12:32:47 2011 From: jmcrlsn at yahoo.com (Jim Carlson) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:32:47 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Newport area sightings Message-ID: <180257.59953.qm@web111410.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Becky and I took an opportunity to visit Newport when the sun was shining on Wednesday and Thursday.? Good weather and decent birds.? We saw 4 ANCIENT MURRELETS at Boiler Bay just off the point.? We found 2 male and 1 female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE on the NE corner of Siletz Bay (thanks Dave) and 2 LONG-TAILED DUCKS in Newport Bay.? The tides were pretty extreme in both directions due to the full moon. Jim Carlson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From foglark at att.net Fri Jan 21 13:15:01 2011 From: foglark at att.net (David Fix & Jude Power) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:15:01 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] spectacular sunsets; Brown Shrike continues Message-ID: <754944.30973.qm@web80015.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Tim Rodenkirk commented on the spectacular sunset last night. Same here in Arcata. Did anyone take note of the unusually vivid burnt-yellow band that extended about ten or fifteen degrees above the horizon? Jude and I flew to Hawaii a couple-three years ago and as we kept flying west, I noticed this pall that extended to just above cruising altitude (likely at the tropopause, the top of the lower/active atmosphere zone).?I had a hunch, but it sickened me and I didn't want to believe it. After we got home, I put two and two together and understood why sunsets on the West Coast have been so colorful. My belief is that the yellow band we see on otherwise clear evenings around sunset (and, less overtly, at dawn) is not local smog, or California fires, or people burning wood. It's not corporate forestry slash fires. It's industrial emissions from the?Asian Pacific Rim. Read: largely Chinese coal-powered power plants. They're putting something like two or three new ones on-line each month. By the time the emissions reach us across six or eight thousand miles of ocean, they're vastly diluted, but still potent enough to see. Now the whole western horizon on clear days is tinged brown. There's no getting away from it. On some days the sky remains very lightly tinged yellow at mid-day. ? An observer looking westward at sunset will receive the impression that they're looking toward a band of pollution. This is illusory. We're all standing right in this stuff, and breathing it, and acquiring trace amounts of aerosolized methyl mercury to boot. People in Salt Lake City, Council Bluffs, along the East Coast, and of course all the way around the Northern Hemisphere are also breathing it. This is only a hunch on my part, but my guess is that, sooner or later, we'll?listen to a six-minute blurb on it on NPR or see Brian Williams give one of his trademark wry looks for which he earns his salary as they cut to their shrugging "science correspondent." Sunsets during my childhood summers at my folks' Cannon Beach house were?often flawless. Now I'm afraid that, unless the occasional ocean-wide Pineapple Express?cleans it out temporarily,?that?likely has become a?memory. Alternative reasons for this phenomenon are encouraged. The Brown Shrike continued yesterday at the wetlands below the vista point w. of McKinleyville. A possible Gyrfalcon was seen at Salmon Creek Unit of Humboldt Bay NWR as well. The bird was said to be strafing Aleutian Cackling Geese, a strong clue. But no confirmation yet. David Fix Arcata, California????? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tc at empnet.com Fri Jan 21 14:26:27 2011 From: tc at empnet.com (Tom Crabtree) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:26:27 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] spectacular sunsets In-Reply-To: <754944.30973.qm@web80015.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <754944.30973.qm@web80015.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Wow, it was all the way down there, too? It was so striking in Bend I went to the top of the three story building next door to be able to better see it. I can see the yellow band in the photo I took with my cell phone (wishing I had the "real" camera with me. Here it was low on the horizon, over the mountains maybe 3 or 4 degrees in height. I don't have a clue what caused it, but it was amazing. Tom Crabtree, Bend _____ From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of David Fix & Jude Power Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 11:15 AM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] spectacular sunsets; Brown Shrike continues Tim Rodenkirk commented on the spectacular sunset last night. Same here in Arcata. Did anyone take note of the unusually vivid burnt-yellow band that extended about ten or fifteen degrees above the horizon? Jude and I flew to Hawaii a couple-three years ago and as we kept flying west, I noticed this pall that extended to just above cruising altitude (likely at the tropopause, the top of the lower/active atmosphere zone). I had a hunch, but it sickened me and I didn't want to believe it. After we got home, I put two and two together and understood why sunsets on the West Coast have been so colorful. My belief is that the yellow band we see on otherwise clear evenings around sunset (and, less overtly, at dawn) is not local smog, or California fires, or people burning wood. It's not corporate forestry slash fires. It's industrial emissions from the Asian Pacific Rim. Read: largely Chinese coal-powered power plants. They're putting something like two or three new ones on-line each month. By the time the emissions reach us across six or eight thousand miles of ocean, they're vastly diluted, but still potent enough to see. Now the whole western horizon on clear days is tinged brown. There's no getting away from it. On some days the sky remains very lightly tinged yellow at mid-day. An observer looking westward at sunset will receive the impression that they're looking toward a band of pollution. This is illusory. We're all standing right in this stuff, and breathing it, and acquiring trace amounts of aerosolized methyl mercury to boot. People in Salt Lake City, Council Bluffs, along the East Coast, and of course all the way around the Northern Hemisphere are also breathing it. This is only a hunch on my part, but my guess is that, sooner or later, we'll listen to a six-minute blurb on it on NPR or see Brian Williams give one of his trademark wry looks for which he earns his salary as they cut to their shrugging "science correspondent." Sunsets during my childhood summers at my folks' Cannon Beach house were often flawless. Now I'm afraid that, unless the occasional ocean-wide Pineapple Express cleans it out temporarily, that likely has become a memory. Alternative reasons for this phenomenon are encouraged. The Brown Shrike continued yesterday at the wetlands below the vista point w. of McKinleyville. A possible Gyrfalcon was seen at Salmon Creek Unit of Humboldt Bay NWR as well. The bird was said to be strafing Aleutian Cackling Geese, a strong clue. But no confirmation yet. David Fix Arcata, California -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rawieland at gmail.com Fri Jan 21 14:20:48 2011 From: rawieland at gmail.com (Rainer Wieland) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:20:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tufted Duck at Broughton Beach Message-ID: <37F8FB65-B916-4A99-A3A7-0B143B4B318B@gmail.com> This morning 9am very close to shore with small raft of scaup. Cheers, Rainer Wieland Sent from my iPhone near Garden Home, OR From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Fri Jan 21 14:30:08 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:30:08 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] spectacular sunsets In-Reply-To: References: <754944.30973.qm@web80015.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <473763.91556.qm@web45301.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> The horizon looked totally clear to me (blue, no clouds).? The clouds were mostly above and to the east and were blazing red.? I'll keep an eye out for the smutz though, we are suppose to have some more sunny weather this weekend into next week, right now it's raining. ENJOY! Tim R Coos Bay ________________________________ From: Tom Crabtree To: David Fix & Jude Power ; obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Fri, January 21, 2011 12:26:27 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] spectacular sunsets Wow, it was all the way down there, too?? It was so striking in Bend I went to the top of the three story building next door to be able to better see it.? I can see the yellow band in the photo I took with my cell phone (wishing I had the ?real? camera with me.? Here it was low on the horizon, over the mountains maybe 3 or 4 degrees in height.? I don?t have a clue what caused it, but it was amazing. ? Tom Crabtree, Bend ? ________________________________ From:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of David Fix & Jude Power Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 11:15 AM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [ OBOL ] spectacular sunsets; Brown Shrike continues ? Tim Rodenkirk commented on the spectacular sunset last night. Same here in Arcata. Did anyone take note of the unusually vivid burnt-yellow band that extended about ten or fifteen degrees above the horizon? ? Jude and I flew to Hawaii a couple-three years ago and as we kept flying west, I noticed this pall that extended to just above cruising altitude (likely at the tropopause, the top of the lower/active atmosphere zone).?I had a hunch, but it sickened me and I didn't want to believe it. After we got home, I put two and two together and understood why sunsets on the West Coast have been so colorful. ? My belief is that the yellow band we see on otherwise clear evenings around sunset (and, less overtly, at dawn) is not local smog, or California fires, or people burning wood. It's not corporate forestry slash fires. It's industrial emissions from the?Asian Pacific Rim. Read: largely Chinese coal-powered power plants. They're putting something like two or three new ones on-line each month. By the time the emissions reach us across six or eight thousand miles of ocean, they're vastly diluted, but still potent enough to see. Now the whole western horizon on clear days is tinged brown. There's no getting away from it. On some days the sky remains very lightly tinged yellow at mid-day. ? ? An observer looking westward at sunset will receive the impression that they're looking toward a band of pollution. This is illusory. We're all standing right in this stuff, and breathing it, and acquiring trace amounts of aerosolized methyl mercury to boot. People in Salt Lake City , Council Bluffs , along the East Coast, and of course all the way around the Northern Hemisphere are also breathing it. ? This is only a hunch on my part, but my guess is that, sooner or later, we'll?listen to a six-minute blurb on it on NPR or see Brian Williams give one of his trademark wry looks for which he earns his salary as they cut to their shrugging "science correspondent." ? Sunsets during my childhood summers at my folks' Cannon Beach house were?often flawless. Now I'm afraid that, unless the occasional ocean-wide Pineapple Express?cleans it out temporarily,?that?likely has become a?memory. ? Alternative reasons for this phenomenon are encouraged. ? The Brown Shrike continued yesterday at the wetlands below the vista point w. of McKinleyville. A possible Gyrfalcon was seen at Salmon Creek Unit of Humboldt Bay NWR as well. The bird was said to be strafing Aleutian Cackling Geese, a strong clue. But no confirmation yet. ? DavidFix Arcata?????, California -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From m.denny at charter.net Fri Jan 21 14:42:14 2011 From: m.denny at charter.net (Mike & MerryLynn) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:42:14 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] spectacular sunsets References: <754944.30973.qm@web80015.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> <473763.91556.qm@web45301.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Even here in Walla Walla WA we had a stunning sunset yesterday! The whole sky was bands of colorful clouds and they lit up the snow-covered mountains - my camera won't begin to capture something like that. We can't see the low horizon because of the Horse Heaven hills to the west - but our horizon was brilliant yellow. Mike & MerryLynn Denny -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From joel.geier at peak.org Fri Jan 21 15:42:22 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:42:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] MidValley Wildlife Roundup for week ending Friday, January 21 2011 Message-ID: <1295646142.1847.14.camel@clearwater1> MidValley Wildlife Roundup for week ending Friday, January 21 2011 This is a summary of wildlife news from the Mid-Willamette Valley region, compiled mainly from the MidValley birding list (www.midvalleybirding.org). Last weekend was rainy and unusually warm for the season. Rapid snow melt in the mountains combined with heavy rains to cause mudslides and local flooding, while temperatures in the 50s switched on a full chorus of Pacific Chorus-Frogs. A sun break on Monday afternoon was followed by more rain, then a few cool, overcast days, and finally typical January weather, with cold rain dripping from a leaden sky. No Trumpeter Swans were reported this week. Six Tundra Swans were at Ankeny NWR 15 Jan. A white goose (Snow or Ross's) was along Ankeny Hill Rd. 16 Jan. A single Greater White-fronted Goose was at Waverly Pond 19 Jan. Six to eight Canvasbacks were regular on Stewart Lake through the week (normal numbers for the season at this location, though down from a record high of 14 on 30 Dec 2010). A male Common Merganser and Double-crested Cormorant were there on 14 Jan but left by 18 Jan as river levels rose again. An apparent American Wigeon X Eurasian Wigeon hybrid was at the Philomath sewage treatment ponds 16 Jan. 4 or 5 Wild Turkeys were near Ellmaker State Park on 16 Jan, at the western limit of the Marys River watershed. At least 19 Great Egrets, including 17 in a single field, were at Ankeny NWR 15 Jan. A raptor survey in southeastern Benton County on 17 Jan turned up 1 White-tailed Kite, 6 Bald Eagles, 16 Northern Harriers, 1 Cooper's Hawk, 62 Red-tailed Hawks, and 3 Rough-legged Hawk, plus all four of our regularly occurring falcon species: 35 American Kestrels, 2 Peregrine Falcons, 1 Prairie Falcon, and 1 Merlin. A Golden Eagle flew over Dunn State Forest on 18 Jan. A Merlin and a Peregrine Falcon were perched along the west side of Finley NWR 19 Jan. Another Peregrine flew over Stewart Lake the same afternoon. The gull flock visiting Coffin Butte Regional Landfill disappeared by 17 Jan, with no sightings later in the week. Eurasian Collared-Doves seem to have disappeared from Silverton since last spring. However this invading species still has a strong foothold in south Corvallis, where up to nine have been visiting a feeder by Booneville Slough. On 17 Jan a Black Phoebe was calling from behind the recycling center at First Alternative Co-op in south Corvallis ? making this the only known place in the mid-Willamette Valley where you can recycle styrofoam, plastic film, wine corks, batteries, and hard plastics, while ticking this species on your year list. Another Black Phoebe has been seen regularly in the Booneville Slough area. A juvenile Northern Shrike was near Eagle Marsh at Ankeny NWR 15 Jan, in addition to an adult Northern Shrike photographed the previous week. A Brown Creeper at Stewart Lake on 14 Jan was somewhat unusual for the location. A dozen Cedar Waxwings were in downtown Albany 17 Jan. A Western Bluebird pair was noted near Ankeny NWR 15 Jan. Fewer singing birds were reported this week. An exception was a White-crowned Sparrow singing at Stewart Lake 19 Jan. Evening Grosbeaks have been scarce in Silverton, but a few have been visiting a Scio feeder, and two dozen were in downtown Albany 17 Jan. There were no reports of last week's unusual birds for the season (Hermit Warbler, Cassin's Vireo, and Bullock's Oriole). A break in the weather is predicted for the weekend, and might bring both birds and birders out from cover. Rarities this week (with dates of recent reports): Redhead, E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area (14 & 16 Jan). Golden Eagle, Dunn State Forest (18 Jan). Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area (no positive reports, one negative report 17 Jan). -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timoshenco at earthlink.net Fri Jan 21 16:40:52 2011 From: timoshenco at earthlink.net (serge) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:40:52 -0800 (GMT-08:00) Subject: [OBOL] Sauvie Island-1 17 11/Hedges Creek, Tualatin-1 21 11 Message-ID: <7233063.1295649653576.JavaMail.root@elwamui-hound.atl.sa.earthlink.net> 2 pair Trumpeter Swans first observation pt at Sauvie Island-1 17 11 approx. 1:00 pm. 1 pair American White Pelicans and one immature Bald Eagle both immediately behind Oil Can Henrys.1 21 11 9:15 am.I asked for permission to park in the Oil Can Henrys parking lot/granted to birders. Serge Trotter From wildtrout5 at comcast.net Fri Jan 21 17:39:46 2011 From: wildtrout5 at comcast.net (wildtrout5 at comcast.net) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 23:39:46 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Long-tailed duck, Portland [David Leal] Message-ID: <1304365319.1519573.1295653186134.JavaMail.root@sz0070a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Today at 2:30 there was a female long-tailed duck on the Columbia approximately opposite the east end of the airport runways.? The bird is very light brown and beige.? Lots of scaup in that area but it was by itself.? Also a horned greabe near the boat ramp. ?There is a large pull out on the river side of Marine Dr but don't be fooled by the water it has very deep pot holes.? Be careful if you don't have a high clearance vehicle.? The Columbia just keeps giving. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hadada at centurytel.net Fri Jan 21 18:09:14 2011 From: hadada at centurytel.net (ron and Polly Maertz) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:09:14 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] new sightings list Message-ID: Howdy We just started a bird sightings list for Douglas County. It is a member list from yahoo groups. We are just in our infancy and don't have many members yet. You can go to Yahoo groups and we are called bird_sights_dc. If something hot comes along I'll post it to OBOL. Obviously if I'm vacationing or don't read it for several days, there will be a delay in the cross posting. Maertz Glide From kolwicz at minetfiber.com Fri Jan 21 18:22:30 2011 From: kolwicz at minetfiber.com (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:22:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Off topic: coast trip advice. . . Message-ID: <4D3A2346.3010605@minetfiber.com> My wife and I are planning a few days at the coast in the next couple of weeks and I'd appreciate some advice on places to stay and birding locations, emphasizing bird photography. I'm aware of the birding trails maps, but would like current local input. I have health problems that limit walking to very easy, short and mostly even surfaces. A quiet place with kitchenette and single BR, no views necessary, for around $100/night is what we want. No B&Bs. A short walk to town would be good. We've been to many of the central coast areas and know the area from Lincoln City to Yachats fairly well for scenery, but that's about all. Please reply off-list and thanks for any help, Frank in Monmouth From slcarpenter at gmail.com Fri Jan 21 19:56:42 2011 From: slcarpenter at gmail.com (Scott Carpenter) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 17:56:42 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] White-winged Crossbill Klamath Basin Message-ID: In the spirit of sharing with OBOL interesting sightings from some of the more locally oriented listservs in the state... A birder in the Klamath Basin took diagnostic photographs of a WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL in his yard today. -- Scott Carpenter Portland, Oregon -------------------------- http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/ http://www.facebook.com/scottcarpenterphotography -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mrchickadee at gmail.com Fri Jan 21 20:11:49 2011 From: mrchickadee at gmail.com (Miss Jacqui) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 18:11:49 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] very Cool photo's of birds at 1/8000th of a second... Message-ID: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1348572/Birds-captured-1-8000th-second-amateur-British-wildlife-photographer.html -- Jacqui Parker Portland, OREGON ........... "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those that mind, don't matter, and those who matter, don't mind." -- Dr Seuss ( '< < ? ) / ) ) ( (\) // " " ? ? \\ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Fri Jan 21 20:19:14 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 18:19:14 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Curry swallows 1/20-1/21/2011 Message-ID: <737312.10897.qm@web45304.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Terry Wahl gave me a call today. At the family ranch near Cape Blanco he had 1 BARN SWALLOW on 1/21 and today he had another BARN SWALLOW and 7 TREE SWALLOWS. it is feeling like spring indeed- the first Selasphorus Hummers should be show up in about three weeks or so. Oh, the willows are starting to bud out too, I saw quite a few today : ) ENJOY! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Fri Jan 21 21:09:59 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:09:59 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos oriole- December Message-ID: <557361.71273.qm@web45302.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> A lady I work with told me today about the BULLOCK'S ORIOLE she had at her feeder in December. I figured it was there something like the 6 to the 19th before it split. The December Curry HOODED ORIOLE up Sixes River that was not reported until after the fact will probably be an addition to the Port Orford CBC. It was around from early December until early January and rumor has it there are photographs. We all should have been there.... Happy birding! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From whoffman at peak.org Fri Jan 21 21:34:52 2011 From: whoffman at peak.org (Wayne Hoffman) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:34:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Florence loon References: Message-ID: British do call "Yellow-billed Loons" "White-billed Divers" but those wintering in watern North America often do show yellowish bills. The immatures that are most frequently seen in Oregon tend to have straw-colored bills - with a yellowish cast. To complicate things, many wintering Common Loons have bills that can be described as "horn-colored". These can in part be almost whitish, although generally at least part of the bill is darker. Generally these to not show much yellowish cast, but could easily be labled "white-billed" by someone expecting Common Loons to have dark bills. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Norgren Family" To: Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 10:21 PM Subject: [OBOL] Florence loon > I recently got a book in the mail, > "Lommar" by Lars Jonsson and Toralf Tysse. > Great bed-time reading as it puts me to sleep > in half a page. 80 pages on nothing but > loon ID, including determining age class > and stage of molt. If that isn't enough to > get your juices flowing, none of it's in > English. For reasons that continue to evade > me, my Swedish cousins don't appreciate > getting emails in Norwegian. I'm hoping that > reading a treatise in Swedish on loon ID will > perfect my command of that language. But first > I have to learn to read in my sleep. > The authors stress that loon ID isn't > necessarily simple, and conditions of field > observation are often horribly frustrating. > Loons dive a lot, wave action blocks the > view when they're on the surface, mist obscures > the details, winter sunlight verges on oxymoron. > And maybe that's the easy part. The "iceloons" > as Swedes call Common and Yellow-billed, take > about as long to reach adult plumage as pink- > footed gulls. Hence the emphasis on aging and > molting in this book. > Bill color is a field mark, but not exactly > diagnostic. Only Americans call it "Yellow-billed". > To the British they're "White-billed Divers", while > the translation from Swedish is "Whitebilled Iceloon". > In winter the bill is bone white. Yellow is for > summer plumaged adults. The bill should always be > pale at the tip, but is often a good deal darker > elsewhere, especially the basal part of the lower mandible > and the basal two-thirds of the upper edge of the upper > mandible. Common Loons always have a dark tip to the > bill, but in winter the rest of the bill can be quite > light gray. > The angle of light is also very significant. If the > loon under observation is back lit, many features look > darker. Alas, we have no single word in English for the > opposite of "backlit" (the Swedes do, it's "medljus"). > When the light source is behind the observer, any loon's > bill will look a good deal paler. I'm assuming Diane was > at the crab dock in the afternoon, hence a case of "medljus". > A winter sun, low in the sky, could really lighten things > up. More important, a dark head is not a good sign. > The jiz of the Yellow-billed, adult or immature, is a > much lighter head than that of a Common. Typically the > Yellow-billed head looks significantly lighter than its > back, while Commons appear uniformly dark. The transition > from pale throat to dark back of the neck is diffuse in > the Yellow-bill, fairly abrupt in a Common. The Common > shows partial neck rings in winter plumage, again fairly > well defined between dark and light. The same rings on > Yellow=billed are quite diffuse, often not noticeable. > There are other poorly defined dark patches on the head > of Yellow-bills, but only obvious at close range. > I could mention other pointers, but that's a misnomer. > "Blunters" may be more apropos, reminiscent of attempting > ID on an immature Vega Gull. The weekend is near and hopefully > weather of similar fairness to today will return. I better > quit reading this "Lommar" book or I won't stay awake long > enough to get the dishes washed. Lars > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > From marciafcutler at comcast.net Fri Jan 21 21:36:53 2011 From: marciafcutler at comcast.net (Marcia F. Cutler) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:36:53 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Australia Tour October 2011 Message-ID: <5809FAD2-B3A6-4C1D-924B-5A653B36CDF3@comcast.net> Fred Ramsey of the Audubon Society of Corvallis asked me to post this. The Audubon Society of Corvallis will take its third birding trip to Australia this coming October. There is limited space available. If interested, contact Fred Ramsey (flramsey5 at comcast.net) for an itinerary and further information. Marcia F. Cutler Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jmeredit at bendnet.com Fri Jan 21 22:43:31 2011 From: jmeredit at bendnet.com (jmeredit at bendnet.com) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 20:43:31 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Wallowa County birding Message-ID: <49704.1295671411@bendnet.com> The five birders from Bend had a better day today. -GRAY PARTRIDGE - 7 of them, along School Flat near the farm with all the implements along the road. -GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCHES - 2 flocks, one of about 50 to 60 along Golf Course and then at about 3:15 until 3:30, we had them circling around the granary at Leap/Hwy 3. We were charmed watching them picking at the green lichen and hanging off the walls before they hit the hay. -BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS - Lostine, center of town in bare deciduous trees or junipers around town. +/-60 birds, prob same flock others have reported. -AMERICAN DIPPERS - pair, singing and dipping, just out of Lostine, in the river where the bridge goes over on the way to the Trout Farm. Has it been too warm this winter to find all the specialty birds in NE Oregon? Still no Redpolls, Snow Buntings,Crossbills, etc. But we had a nice day and have one more day here. Good birding, Judy Meredith jmeredit at bendnet.com From range.bayer at gmail.com Fri Jan 21 22:58:05 2011 From: range.bayer at gmail.com (Range Bayer) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 20:58:05 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Newport: 2 Barn Swallows Message-ID: Hi, Mark Elliott found 2 Barn Swallows at the Yaquina Bay South Jetty on Thursday, Jan. 20. -- Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Sat Jan 22 11:15:29 2011 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 09:15:29 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Linn County wanderings Message-ID: <104661.83973.qm@web39401.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Everyone, Yesterday, for most of the day, Bill Tice and I toured various birding areas of Linn County just to see what we could find. We hit a couple of Albany parks, drove south through the area just east of I-5, toured the Brownsville area hitting the north sewage pond, the rice ponds area south of town and some side roads off of Hwy 228 between Brownsville and Holley, drove up and around Foster Reservoir, visited some ponds between Lebanon and Albany, and then finished up the day along Davis Rd. For our efforts, we found around 70 species and the following list are the highlights of the trip: 5 Eurasian Wigeon at Grand Prairie Park in Albany Say's Phoebe along the east flank of Ward Butte along Manning Rd 19 Canvasback among a wide selection of ducks on the Brownsville north sewage pond 2 Peregrine Falcons patrolling the rice ponds Northern Shrike along Holmes Dr by the rice ponds small flock of Greater Yellowlegs along Holmes Dr 100 Greater White-fronted Geese in a pure flock between Nye Rd and Walker Ln just east of Brownsville off Hwy 228 a nice male Common Goldeneye on Foster Reservoir just below the first bridge on Quartzville Dr just off Hwy 20 one Western Grebe on Foster Reservoir an Eared Grebe in the gravel company lake on Eicher Rd south of Hwy 20 just east of Albany a Short-eared Owl near the south end of Davis Rd coming out of the tall grass field roost area The 100 White fronts was the largest number of this species that I have seen in one flock in Linn County and I first saw them on Thursday while doing my raptor survey in this area so hopefully they will be hanging around for awhile if anyone else wishes to see them. The 5 Eurasian Wigeon continue the tradition of this species at this park over the years and was the largest number that I have seen there. The Say's Phoebe was a treat to see and the east side of Ward Butte continues to yield the less common species of the area, a good place to bird if you want a surprise bird now and then :) Common Goldeneyes are not so common to find in Linn County so it was a treat to see this one. We found several Barrow's Goldeneyes below Foster dam which is a typical winter occurrence. As a point of interest we were able to find 20 species of waterfowl on the trip which is pretty good. All in all a fun day, and Bill told me that he added 11 new species to his Linn County list so that made it a successful day in that respect! Jeff Fleischer Albany -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Sat Jan 22 11:29:45 2011 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 09:29:45 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Brownsville raptor survey Message-ID: <579038.34774.qm@web39406.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Everyone, A bit late for this but for the record none the less. I completed the Brownsville raptor survey on Thursday January 20 as part of the East Cascades Audubon Society's Winter Raptor Survey Project. The area covered by this route stretches from Brownsville east to Holley, following Hwy 228 and various side roads off 228. The route was 46.4 miles in length and took 5 hours and 28 minutes to complete. Weather was ideal with little to no wind, high cloud ceiling (no glaring sunlight), and no precipitation. Following is a list of what was found along with what was found in December: Jan Dec Red-tailed Hawk 22 26 American Kestrel 19 21 Northern Harrier 4 2 Bald Eagle 6 ad 3 ad Red-shouldered Hawk 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 1 Prairie Falcon -- 1 Merlin 1 2 Cooper's Hawk 2 5 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 2 TOTALS 57 64 Jeff Fleischer Project Coordinator Winter Raptor Survey Project East Cascades Audubon Society -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Sat Jan 22 11:48:29 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 09:48:29 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Vadis swans (Washington County) Message-ID: <62EF6B06-C3D5-4C16-9804-CA16593291CE@earthlink.net> There were at least 300 swans at the hunt club due west of Vadis (Mountaindale/Dersham Rd exit of Hwy 26) at sunset 1/21. I immediately found a large family of TRUMPETER SWANS, and many more were mixed among the TUNDRAS, but I didn't scan and count as I saw some alpha-numeric neck bands and burned all my time trying to read them--P969 and P970, so they were probably banded just outside King Salmon at the head of Bristol Bay. It is essential to have a scope at this spot if you want to differentiate the swan species. This is less than two miles northwest of the Prairie Falcon's hangout. The shoulder on the eastbound lane of 26 is extremely broad, and the gravel portion is firm enough to be safe as well (my 4000 lb minivan didn't get stuck twice yesterday). If you are westbound (from Portland, etc.) go past the Mountaindale exit. In a mile there is a level-crossing at Mountaindale Road where you can turn around and get eastbound. All of the surrounding roads have good potential for raptors and waterfowl. Tim Shelmerdine saw a Peregrine last week, which I haven't yet this year. Most years I see more of them around here than Merlins, one of which I saw last week on Harrington Road just west of the bridge closest to Roy. Marsh Road offers some rare access to the extensive bottomlands of the East Fork of Dairy Creek. Go south on Kerkman or Milne Roads to Cornelius-Schefflin Road, thence sw to the roundabout on Verboort Road. Go west on Verboort Road to the next roundabout, Marsh Road goes north from this point. A ten or fifteen acre pond is formed by floodwaters and sometimes holds large amounts of diving ducks, one winter even lots of Canvasbacks. There were no ducks last week when Tim dipped on the PRFA, but I encountered an enormous sparrow flock feeding on the shoulder west of this pond. There may have been more White-crowns than Golden-crowns, which I have not previously observed here in winter. The best bird was a SLATE-COLORED JUNCO feeding in the middle of the pavement. Lars Norgren From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Sat Jan 22 11:50:45 2011 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 09:50:45 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Linn County Unit 4 raptor survey Message-ID: <608154.43236.qm@web39406.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Everyone, This one is a bit late as well but at least for the record. On January 18 (Tuesday), I completed the Linn County Unit 4 raptor survey as part of the East Cascades Audubon Society's Winter Raptor Survey Project. This survey covers the area south of Hwy 228/American Drive to Priceboro Rd near the Linn/Lane county line and stretches across the valley floor from the Willamette River east to the foothills of the Cascades south of Brownsville. The route covered 133.6 miles and took 7 hours 31 minutes to complete. Weather was overcast all day and around 2 PM it started to rain and basically did not let up the rest of the afternoon. Rain was not heavy though and birds were out non the less. Following is the "take" for the day compared with what was found in December: Jan Dec Red-tailed Hawk 45 73 American Kestrel 63 100 Northern Harrier 35 41 Bald Eagle 36 adults, 12 subadults 19 adults, 8 sub adults Rough-legged Hawk 2 -- Peregrine Falcon -- 1 Prairie Falcon 1 1 Merlin 1 -- Cooper's Hawk 1 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 TOTALS 197 244 With the exception of Bald Eagles, everything else was noticeably down from the previous month. I hadn't had this low a number of RTHA and AMKE on this route since 1-12-08. I didn't think that weather was too much of an issue this time around but I could be wrong. We'll see what I find on this route next month :) Jeff Fleischer Project Coordinator Winter Raptor Survey Project East Cascades Audubon Society -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Sat Jan 22 12:02:00 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 10:02:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] larger loons in winter Message-ID: <29B1F37F-E70D-4D9D-9D90-30F8C9CC50AD@earthlink.net> I inadvertently deleted Wayne's post on pale bills on Common Loons. I saw one like this at Hagg Lake during the Forest Grove CBC. It got me going, but the neck was dark with well defined partial rings. I would appreciate confirmation, but I believe most Yellow-bills seen in Oregon are first year birds, which closely resemble adult birds in winter plumage. That is to say, very pale-headed relative to Commons. But third year Yellow-bills have a dark head. I'll check Jonsson and Tysse before elaborating. I believe they state this was breaking news in their publication (1992). Lars From nepobirds at q.com Sat Jan 22 12:18:28 2011 From: nepobirds at q.com (nepobirds) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:18:28 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Merlin Message-ID: We just saw an unusual raptor a couple of blocks away from our home. After having a good long look through the bins, taking too many photos and pouring through Sibley's, we are confident that it was a Merlin. Small, stocky bird. Wingtips were shorter than the tail. Wings were very curved during flight. We tried to get photos when it took off from it's perch to no avail. This is a first for us. A great way to start the weekend! We uploaded a couple of photos here: http://portlandbirds.blogspot.com/2011/01/merlin.html Take care and good birding, Seth and Michelle NE Portland - Gateway Area -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffgill at teleport.com Sat Jan 22 14:30:32 2011 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 12:30:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Rat kill begins in Galapagos Islands Message-ID: http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1501ap_lt_ecuador_galapagos_rats.html This is relevant to Oregon sea birding in that there is some chance of Galapagos-nesting sea birds reaching our state. (For example: Swallow-tailed Gull has reached California twice.) Of interest is that there are only an estimated 120 Galapagos Petrels left - a species very similar to a west coast vagrant, the Hawaiian Petrel. The recent eradication efforts of rodents on Alaskan and New Zealand Islands is already showing benefits in regard to various seabird populations, including alcids in Alaska and Cook's Petrels from New Zealand. Its nice that sometimes there is good news. Jeff Gilligan From gnorgren at earthlink.net Sat Jan 22 15:00:55 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 13:00:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Merlin In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <56CA1671-547E-4FF7-AA95-09DA37AA6547@earthlink.net> The broken canopy, quasi-parkland of East Portland is fairly classic winter habitat for Merlins. I've seen them in this environment from Scapoose to UC Berkley over the years. Never a common species, but easy to detect because of their prediliction for the most exposed perch on the highest tree around. Lars On Jan 22, 2011, at 10:18 AM, nepobirds wrote: > We just saw an unusual raptor a couple of blocks away from our home. After having a good long look through the bins, taking too many photos and pouring through Sibley's, we are confident that it was a Merlin. > > Small, stocky bird. Wingtips were shorter than the tail. Wings were very curved during flight. We tried to get photos when it took off from it's perch to no avail. This is a first for us. A great way to start the weekend! > > We uploaded a couple of photos here: http://portlandbirds.blogspot.com/2011/01/merlin.html > > Take care and good birding, > Seth and Michelle > NE Portland - Gateway Area > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Sat Jan 22 15:48:43 2011 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 13:48:43 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Merlin In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <761199.73179.qm@web39704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hello Seth and Michelle, This looks like a merlin to me----and further, I'd say it's an adult male (blueish wing coverts & top of head), with overall coloration light enough to suggest more interior, as opposed to darker coastal birds. Merlins often perch as shown in your photos----they hunt from these vantage points, and these are where some very dashing flights begin-----and some little bird is taken out of the gene pool. Merlins sometimes attempt attacks on quarry, that to my way of thinking, had absolutely no chance of succeeding. For example, a couple of months ago, while a merlin was hanging out here-------I happened to flush a mixed flock of house sparrows, juncos, and house finches. It was close to dusk, and the fearful flock "whirrled" into the sky---in an effort to leave the area. To my great surprise, the merlin pursued the flock up into the sky----even tho it had a lot of, "head start." The little merlin never did quit pumping its wings, and the flock tightened into a ball as they saw it coming from below. The entire flock moved higher into the sky as the merlin pushed them upwards. Without a doubt, this flight is one of strength and endurance, and any little bird that can stay above the falcon---is safe. But this merlin came from below so rapidly, that it was up to the flock when all were about 400 ft. At this point the flock panicked, with all the birds diving earthward------all escaping----except one junco. Thanks for sharing those photos. Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) ________________________________ From: nepobirds To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Sat, January 22, 2011 10:18:28 AM Subject: [OBOL] Merlin We just saw an unusual raptor a couple of blocks away from our home. After having a good long look through the bins, taking too many photos and pouring through Sibley's, we are confident that it was a Merlin. Small, stocky bird. Wingtips were shorter than the tail. Wings were very curved during flight. We tried to get photos when it took off from it's perch to no avail. This is a first for us. A great way to start the weekend! We uploaded a couple of photos here: http://portlandbirds.blogspot.com/2011/01/merlin.html Take care and good birding, Seth and Michelle NE Portland - Gateway Area -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sat Jan 22 16:07:01 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 22:07:01 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Merlin In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: This bird is indeed a Merlin and, as Dick Musser suggests, it appears to be of the interior (sometimes called "Prairie Merlin") subspecies F. c. richardsoni. This subspecies is characterized by its bluish gray back. Dave Irons Portland, OR From: nepobirds at q.com To: obol at oregonbirds.org Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:18:28 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Merlin We just saw an unusual raptor a couple of blocks away from our home. After having a good long look through the bins, taking too many photos and pouring through Sibley's, we are confident that it was a Merlin. Small, stocky bird. Wingtips were shorter than the tail. Wings were very curved during flight. We tried to get photos when it took off from it's perch to no avail. This is a first for us. A great way to start the weekend! We uploaded a couple of photos here: http://portlandbirds.blogspot.com/2011/01/merlin.html Take care and good birding, Seth and Michelle NE Portland - Gateway Area _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From billbradford1 at gmail.com Sat Jan 22 16:39:33 2011 From: billbradford1 at gmail.com (Bill Bradford) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 14:39:33 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Scappoose - Barn Owl Message-ID: There was a BARN OWL -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sat Jan 22 16:41:06 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 22:41:06 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Saturday Morning along Marine Dr. (Portland) Message-ID: We spent about two hours this morning birding the Columbia River from Broughton Beach east to about 158th. The numbers of scaup (both Lesser and Greaters) surpassed anything we've seen previously. Despite thoroughly checking all the flocks, we were not able to locate any Tufted Ducks or Tufted Duck X Scaup hybrids, nor did we refind the Long-tailed Duck seen yesterday. Just before we left we ran into Em Scattaregia and Christopher and Adrian Hinkle. They had seen the Tufted Duck X Scaup hybrid, but had not found the Long-tailed Duck or the pure Tufted Duck. We made a comprehensive count of scaup and other ducks along the section of Marine Dr. described above and came up with the following numbers: Lesser Scaup -- 4720 Greater Scaup -- 490 Ring-necked Duck -- 1 Common Goldeneye -- 3 Bufflehead -- 2 Common Merganser -- 8 Other birds of interest included: Red-throated Loon -- 1 Common Loon -- 1 Horned Grebe -- 5 To my knowledge, the scaup numbers (5210) we tallied are the highest ever recorded along this section of the river. Our previous peak counts have been in the 2500-3000 range. Note that we did not cover any of the area west of the James Gleason boat ramp, so we can presume that there are additional birds downstream of the section we surveyed. From the east end of our route we looked farther upriver and could not see any significant rafts of ducks. Dave Irons and Shawneen Finnegan Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From billbradford1 at gmail.com Sat Jan 22 16:42:24 2011 From: billbradford1 at gmail.com (Bill Bradford) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 14:42:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Scappoose - Barn Owl Message-ID: We had a BARN OWL and a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK along Honeyman Road near Scappoose today. There were lots of FOX SPARROWS and a PEREGRINE FALCON too. Beautiful day out there. Bill Bradford Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sat Jan 22 16:56:58 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 22:56:58 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Washington County AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS continue at Hedges Creek Wetland in Tualatin Message-ID: After birding along the Columbia River in the morning, we spent about 1.5 hours walking around the Hedges Creek Wetland in the middle of Tualatin. The two American White Pelicans that have been here for about a week were not present when we arrived, but flew in from the west about 10 minutes after we arrived. To reach this area, take the Tualatin-Sherwood Rd/Nyberg Rd. exit (Exit 289) off I-5. Go west from I-5 on Tualtin-Sherwood Road (stay to the left through the first light as you go west). Take Tualatin-Sherwood Rd. about a half mile or so to 90th St. Turn right on 90th. Probably the best place to park is in front of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Clinic which is the first building on your left after turning right on 90th. From there, walk north along 90th to the wetland, which is on both sides of the road. We had a nice mix of waterfowl and passerines in our walk around the area. Dave Irons and Shawneen Finnegan Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From johndeshler at yahoo.com Sat Jan 22 17:55:17 2011 From: johndeshler at yahoo.com (John Deshler) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 15:55:17 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Lots of White-breasted Nuthatches at Oaks Bottom, Portland Message-ID: <688604.10722.qm@web120120.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> My wife and I took our 12 day old daughter on her first bird walk on this beautiful sunny Saturday. We saw a least six WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES together in a small group on the east side of the lake, and had seen another on the south side prior. I seldom see them in Portland. Anna's Hummingbirds were seemingly everywhere, dive bombing rivals or scrub jays and making singular loud 'peep' calls at the nadir of their descent. Also seen : DC Cormorant Common Merganser Bufflehead GW Teal Mallard Gadwall N Pintail Redhead Canada Goose RT Hawk Anna's Hummingbird Hairy Woodpecker N Flicker Red-winged Blackbird Scrub Jay Am. Crow Yellow Warbler Bushtit White-breasted Nuthatch Bewick's Wren Brown Creeper DE Junco Song Sparrow Am Goldfinch John Deshler Portland From rick.lumen at gmail.com Sat Jan 22 19:19:21 2011 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 17:19:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Varied Thrush in my Yard Message-ID: <25CCAB05-3302-4C39-84F0-C05B9BBC30F5@gmail.com> For anyone who might be keeping track of Varied Thrush activity this winter, I saw one in my yard in Wilsonville this morning. This is a first yard sighting in the 13 years I've lived in this house. Rick Wilsonville From johndeshler at yahoo.com Sat Jan 22 20:04:23 2011 From: johndeshler at yahoo.com (John Deshler) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:04:23 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Misqueue: Yellow-Rumped Warbler, not Yellow Warbler at Oaks Bottom, Portland Message-ID: <35584.18071.qm@web120119.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Twas indeed a Yellow-RUMPED Warbler, not a Yellow Warbler at Oaks Bottom in Portland today. Sorry for the miscommunication. John Deshler Portland From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Sat Jan 22 20:23:28 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:23:28 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Curry Birds 1/22/2011 Message-ID: <577764.69052.qm@web45312.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I led a Cape Arago Audubon trip down into northern Curry Co. today, we met KnuteAndersson who was a most excellent guide, it was sunny and 50's but breezy, a beautiful day for sure. Highlights: 11- EVENING GROSBEAKS in Langlois (a tough bird on the south coast in winter) 1- TURKEY VULTURE- west of Langlois 26- TUNDRA SWANS along the Floras Lake Road (we could not relocate the TRUMPETER SWAN that Lois Miller photographed last weekend there) 5- PALM WARBLERS (we were surrounded by them, great looks) along the Floras Lake Road 1- SAY'S PHOEBE (overwintering bird there) 1- very distant, immature GOLDEN EAGLE in Curry Co. from BethelMtn. Road 13 of us total, a good turnout and a great day! Back in Coos County later in the day there were 2 SNOW GEESE in the Catching Slough pastures on the east side of Coos Bay at sunset. More sunny weather on the way, ENJOY!!! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From d_villa at mail.com Sat Jan 22 21:06:58 2011 From: d_villa at mail.com (d_villa at mail.com) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 22:06:58 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Shorebird ID Message-ID: <8CD88C1BB547BA7-16FC-1220C@web-mmc-m02.sysops.aol.com> Today at Knight Park (mouth of the Salmon River, Lincoln County) had a medium-sized shorebird fly out over the water and land on a log. - medium size, dark grey back and head, white underneath (no markings in the white that I noted), bill about length of head or slightly longer. I have O'Brien's shorebird guide as well as a beginners guide but am not finding my bird. I snapped a couple of photos before it took off. http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/?action=view¤t=IMG_2942_2.jpg http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/?action=view¤t=IMG_2941_2.jpg In flight http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/?action=view¤t=IMG_2938_1.jpg dawn(prepared to be embarrassed that I can't find it in the guides, but anticipating your patience with me once again) Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast http://dvillabirds.blogspot.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffgill at teleport.com Sat Jan 22 21:18:00 2011 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:18:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Shorebird ID (it was a Spotted Sandpiper - no text)) In-Reply-To: <8CD88C1BB547BA7-16FC-1220C@web-mmc-m02.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: Spotted Sandpiper. On 1/22/11 7:06 PM, "d_villa at mail.com" wrote: > Today at Knight Park (mouth of the Salmon River, Lincoln County) had a > medium-sized shorebird fly out over the water and land on a log. - medium > size, dark grey back and head, white underneath (no markings in the white that > I noted), bill about length of head or slightly longer. > > I have O'Brien's shorebird guide as well as a beginners guide but am not > finding my bird. I snapped a couple of photos before it took off. > > http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/?action=view¤t= > IMG_2942_2.jpg > rent=IMG_2942_2.jpg> > > http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/?action=view¤t= > IMG_2941_2.jpg > rent=IMG_2941_2.jpg> > > In flight > http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/?action=view¤t= > IMG_2938_1.jpg > rent=IMG_2938_1.jpg> > > > dawn (prepared to be embarrassed that I can't find it in the guides, but > anticipating your patience with me once again) > Lincoln City/Nelscott > Blogging About the Coast > http://dvillabirds.blogspot.com/ > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From whoffman at peak.org Sat Jan 22 21:24:43 2011 From: whoffman at peak.org (Wayne Hoffman) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:24:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] oddly small buteo on Wireless Rd. References: Message-ID: <731447F474614D38A5FD027907DF4080@D48XBZ51> Hi - This is a Red-tailed Hawk. If it is as small as it seemed to Mike, we could call it a "Runty Red-tail" I suppose. The posture is unremarkable for Red-tailed, and does not look quite right for Broad-winged. Several plumage features are well within the range of variation for western Red-tails, and atypical for other North American Buteos. First, the white checkering on the upper wing coverts is a good Red-tail character. Second, the general color pattern from below of dark head then pale breast, then belly band of streaks, then paler lower belly says Red-tail. Red-shouldered Hawks have darker upper breasts - generally darker than their bellies. Immature Broad-winged Hawks generally have dark heads, and have variable underparts, but seldom if ever this pattern. Some may have pale breasts but they also have pale bellies, with streaking on both more confined to the sides. Third, the pale crown streaking is not rare on Red-tails, and much less likely on the other candidate species. Finally, the overall shape - thick through the middle and "round" looking is good for Red-tail. Red-shouldered and Broad-winged Hawks are subtly different shaped with a bit more shoulder, and not so thick below the shoulder. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: Russ Namitz To: OBOL Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 12:29 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] oddly small buteo on Wireless Rd. http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/18289/ This is a bird that I would like to see fly. From the photos, none of the large buteos came to mind like Swainson's, Rough-legged or Ferruginous. The two most obvious choices would be Red-tailed Hawk and Red-shouldered Hawk, in that order, with Broad-winged Hawk as a remote possibility. This bird is an immature bird told by the combination of pointed retrices (tail feathers), ventral streaking on throat/belly/flanks and the pale edging on the upper wing coverts. To be honest, my initial reaction was Broad-winged Hawk. I don't think this is a Red-shouldered Hawk as they are more uniformly patterned as both adults & immatures. In my mind, we are left with a young Red-tailed Hawk or young Broad-winged Hawk. The fact that the observer stated that the buteo was small, the erect posture on this bird, the longer accipiter-like tail, the streaking on the lower throat that starts again more heavily on the belly all point to Broad-winged Hawk. I can't really make out the tail banding, but Red-tailed Hawks have many pencil-thin bands in the tail as an immature. Broad-winged immatures have wider banding in the tail. In short, I am not certain about the identifcation and don't think I, personally, would make a call on this bird without seeing it fly. However, if this bird sticks around, chances are I would drive up to take a look at it. Sincerely, Russ Namitz Coos Bay ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From naturalistg at gmail.com Sat Jan 22 21:27:32 2011 From: naturalistg at gmail.com (Gretchen Gingerich) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:27:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Varied Thrush in my Yard In-Reply-To: <25CCAB05-3302-4C39-84F0-C05B9BBC30F5@gmail.com> References: <25CCAB05-3302-4C39-84F0-C05B9BBC30F5@gmail.com> Message-ID: We've also had them between Molalla and Canby in Dec and Jan -Gretchen On Sat, Jan 22, 2011 at 5:19 PM, Richard Leinen wrote: > For anyone who might be keeping track of Varied Thrush activity this > winter, I saw one in my yard in Wilsonville this morning. This is a first > yard sighting in the 13 years I've lived in this house. > > Rick > Wilsonville > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > -- ?our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory? (2 Cor. 4:17 ). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nelsoncheek at charter.net Sat Jan 22 21:30:14 2011 From: nelsoncheek at charter.net (WALTER NELSON) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:30:14 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Raptor survey - Lincoln Coast route Message-ID: <52DC716A857441FE8FD936D87EDE4432@D9FD2761> Sunshine today! And it seemed that the birds were out enjoying it as much as the people! Song Sparrows were singing everywhere we stopped and the eagles were back from wherever they've been. Several were sunbathing, one was just bathing in the shallows of Siletz Bay, and pairs were staying close. Route was 60 miles and just under 5 hrs: Red-tailed Hawk 11 American Kestrel 2 Bald Eagle 14 (13 adults, 1 subadult) Peregrine Falcon 2 ______________________ Rebecca Cheek South Beach, OR 97366 nelsoncheek AT charter.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jmeredit at bendnet.com Sat Jan 22 21:54:02 2011 From: jmeredit at bendnet.com (jmeredit at bendnet.com) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:54:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] RBA: RUSTY BLACKBIRD, Wallowa County Message-ID: <49626.1295754842@bendnet.com> More to come on this bird but wanted to get the word out right now. At noon today, near Joseph, along Tucker Down, right before the "Crossed Sabers" ranch, we found a RUSTY BLACKBIRD, female. Location more specifically, between Hwy 3 and that first ranch on Tucker Down, there is an alder and a willow together along the right side of the road, then just ahead there are two alders together. In those two alders and also along the nearby fence line closer to the ranch we had 3 blackbirds. One was a Red-winged BB, one was a Brown-headed Cowbird and the third was a female RUSTY BLACKBIRD. We watched the bird for 30 minutes or more with scopes and got diagnostic photos as well, from 20 feet away at some points while it was in the alders. I sprinkled some seed around the alders so hopefully, there will be incentive for the bird to linger a while. Habitat is a bare, manure ridden feedlot area beside running water in a ditch, and very close to the road, Tucker Downs. This is the paved road that goes toward Ferguson Ridge where we had PINE GROSBEAKS today later in the afternoon. More in a bit. Will write up more of a description on the blackbird and photos are available if anyone wants to take a peek. Five Bend birders still having fun, Judy Meredith jmeredit at bendnet.com From jmeredit at bendnet.com Sat Jan 22 22:08:06 2011 From: jmeredit at bendnet.com (jmeredit at bendnet.com) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 20:08:06 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Wallowa County birding Message-ID: <49661.1295755686@bendnet.com> Today the Bend birders enjoyed sunshine and some nice birds. Wallowa Lake and surrounds didn't have much for us. Driving the roads to the north, we still were unable to find flocks of Horned larks or buntings. We went down Zumwalt Road past the area where Paul Sullivan's group had many Gray-crowned Rosy-finch and found 2 of them about 6.3 miles past where the paved road ended, hanging out in a dilapidated barn. Picturesque to say the least. We were unable to find the reported Gyrfalcon anywhere despite 3 days and many hours spent searching agricultural areas and near waterfowl. The RUSTY BLACKBIRD was found around noon on our way up to the ski area for some birding in the forest. We were hoping to have enough time in the forest to find that nemesis Northern Pygmy Owl for Don but it didn't happen despite a couple hours of effort. Ferguson Ridge ski area was quiet. We walked the road toward the trailhead with our Grand Tooter, Don, and had many nuthatches and chickadees and then suddenly, five PINE GROSBEAKS flew at us and then back a bit to perch for a while in a bare Tamarack tree. Photo op. One bright male and the rest young males or females. No crossbills anywhere, no grouse. We saw several Prairie Falcons today, no more Bohemian Waxwings and no more American Tree Sparrows. We head home tomorrow, hoping to find a few more exciting birds along the way. The scenery today was spectacular. Good birding, judy meredith jmeredit at bendnet.com From fionar37 at gmail.com Sat Jan 22 23:31:02 2011 From: fionar37 at gmail.com (Fiona Ryan) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 21:31:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Yellow Warbler on East Bank Esplanade (YEA OR NAY?) Message-ID: Hello all, Walked the East Bank Esplanade this afternoon from the Hawthorne Bridge to the Steel Bridge. This active little bird was gleaning the brush along the river about 2 blocks from the Hawthorne Bridge. Is it a Yellow Warbler (in winter colors?). Seemed odd to see this bright bird just a few feet from I-5, but there it was. http://picasaweb.google.com/FionaR37/EastBankEsplanade?authkey=Gv1sRgCJP52ord1POIzQE# Good birding, Fi -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From adrian.hinkle at gmail.com Sat Jan 22 23:47:18 2011 From: adrian.hinkle at gmail.com (Adrian Hinkle) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 21:47:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Westmoreland Glaucous and possible Slaty-backed Gull Message-ID: This afternoon we ran to Westmoreland Park in SE Portland via Reed Canyon. We were hoping for Palm Warbler in Reed, but didn't have binoculars and didn't look for long (no luck). At Westmoreland Park there were a couple hundred gulls. Sunny afternoons are the best time to be there for gulls, so seeing a couple hundred on a day like this wasn't a big surprise. We ran around the pond a couple times and noticed seven gulls species (about a dozen Herring and a number of Thayer's, a couple California, a Mew, a couple Western, and lots of hybrid "Olympic", Glaucous-winged, and Ring-billed). There was also a pair of Eurasian Wigeon and a Canvasback. On our third and final lap Christopher spotted a first-cycle GLAUCOUS GULL in the middle of the pond. It was much paler than the one we had at Clinton Park in SE Portland recently. Then we noticed a large, very dark-backed gull that must have just come in. When we first saw it we were on the west side of the pond so it was in good light. Without binoculars it was hard to see all of the field marks. It appeared larger than a nearby adult Western Gull, similarly sized to the Glaucous-winged Gulls. It was an adult bird, with a cold dark-gray mantle, noticeably darker than Western. The head was rounded. It had a significant amount of blotchy streaking on the head and neck, with dark concentrated around the eye. When we first saw it the eye appeared to be dark but we weren't sure. We hurried around to the east side of the pond and got much closer to the gull, and could see that it had a pale eye. The bill was similar to what an adult Western would have but seemed to have little gondeal expansion (not a blob-tipped bill), but we had a hard time judging that without binoculars. It was swimming the whole time, so we couldn't see the legs. The bird looked like it may have been an adult Slaty-backed Gull. Sadly we didn't have a cell phone with us or we would of called someone. After studying the bird for about five more minutes, we ran home (4 miles), grabbed our binoculars and cameras, and hopped on our bikes. We got back to Westmoreland at about 4:45, an hour after we'd seen the bird. It was gone, along with about a third of the other gulls. The Glaucous Gull was still there, but shortly after we arrived it flew off to the north. We hope to look for the bird tomorrow but we might not be able to. Anyone in the area should definitely check it out; even if the dark-mantled gull does not show, there is also a Glaucous Gull around. Try some time in the afternoon, probably from about 2 to 4:00pm, since that is when more gulls are typically present. Good luck, Adrian and Christopher Hinkle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From traskcolby at gmail.com Sat Jan 22 23:52:13 2011 From: traskcolby at gmail.com (Trask Colby) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 21:52:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia, Delta Parks, Slough Message-ID: Similar results to Irons at the river, we also found the hybrid Tufted Duck, but no real one, HUGE scaup raft on WA side of the river probably contained one... Delta parks my parents and I spotted the continuing Acorn Woodpecker. Along slough / Heron Lakes GC I spotted a Great Egret flying through the golf course, otherwise it was pretty quiet along there, nothing like on the CBC, but it was a beautiful day out there! Trask Colby Portland From gismiller at gmail.com Sat Jan 22 23:52:52 2011 From: gismiller at gmail.com (Craig Miller) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 21:52:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Yellow Warbler on East Bank Esplanade (YEA OR NAY?) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4D3BC234.2020706@gmail.com> Hi Fiona, This bird appears to be an Orange-crowned Warbler, given the greenish tinge, faint supercilium, petite dark bill, and time of year. Craig Miller Bend, OR On 1/22/2011 9:31 PM, Fiona Ryan wrote: > Hello all, > > Walked the East Bank Esplanade this afternoon from the Hawthorne > Bridge to the Steel Bridge. This active little bird was gleaning the > brush along the river about 2 blocks from the Hawthorne Bridge. > > Is it a Yellow Warbler (in winter colors?). Seemed odd to see this > bright bird just a few feet from I-5, but there it was. > > http://picasaweb.google.com/FionaR37/EastBankEsplanade?authkey=Gv1sRgCJP52ord1POIzQE# > > Good birding, > > Fi > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Sat Jan 22 23:53:23 2011 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 21:53:23 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Varied Thrush in my Yard In-Reply-To: <25CCAB05-3302-4C39-84F0-C05B9BBC30F5@gmail.com> References: <25CCAB05-3302-4C39-84F0-C05B9BBC30F5@gmail.com> Message-ID: <765106.20449.qm@web39408.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Everyone, I will weigh in on this by saying that I too had my first ever Varied Thrush (lived in this house for 23 years) appear in my backyard under my feeders this afternoon here in downtown Albany, amazing :) Jeff Fleischer Albany ________________________________ From: Richard Leinen To: OBOL OnLine Sent: Sat, January 22, 2011 5:19:21 PM Subject: [OBOL] Varied Thrush in my Yard For anyone who might be keeping track of Varied Thrush activity this winter, I saw one in my yard in Wilsonville this morning. This is a first yard sighting in the 13 years I've lived in this house. Rick Wilsonville _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From clownshoes420 at gmail.com Sun Jan 23 00:01:26 2011 From: clownshoes420 at gmail.com (ben burnette) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 22:01:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] northern shrike @ Fern Ridge.. Eugene Message-ID: at 4pm today.. walking towards the platform on Royal Ave.. and alongside the first pond.. across the road, looking north was the shrike perched in 10 - 15 ft brushy trees.. after couple of minutes it disappeared into grass and brush and reappeared to perch again on another 10 ft tree top closer to the road and stayed about a minute .. last sighted flying across road towards platform.. 5 swans had landed but without scope details i couldnt identify.. many coots .. 3 northern harriers at once and 2 northern kites.. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From namitzr at hotmail.com Sun Jan 23 01:52:55 2011 From: namitzr at hotmail.com (Russ Namitz) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 23:52:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] oddly small buteo on Wireless Rd. In-Reply-To: <731447F474614D38A5FD027907DF4080@D48XBZ51> References: , <731447F474614D38A5FD027907DF4080@D48XBZ51> Message-ID: Wayne et al.~ I came to this same conclusion a couple of days ago as well when I started sifting through internet photos. I haven't had time to post and didn't see much interest on OBOL, so I just made a few private emails. I could quibble about a few of points regarding Broad-winged Hawks, but I agree this is probably a young, variable Red-tailed Hawk. Russ Namitz Coos Bay From: whoffman at peak.org To: namitzr at hotmail.com; obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: [OBOL] oddly small buteo on Wireless Rd. Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:24:43 -0800 Hi - This is a Red-tailed Hawk. If it is as small as it seemed to Mike, we could call it a "Runty Red-tail" I suppose. The posture is unremarkable for Red-tailed, and does not look quite right for Broad-winged. Several plumage features are well within the range of variation for western Red-tails, and atypical for other North American Buteos. First, the white checkering on the upper wing coverts is a good Red-tail character. Second, the general color pattern from below of dark head then pale breast, then belly band of streaks, then paler lower belly says Red-tail. Red-shouldered Hawks have darker upper breasts - generally darker than their bellies. Immature Broad-winged Hawks generally have dark heads, and have variable underparts, but seldom if ever this pattern. Some may have pale breasts but they also have pale bellies, with streaking on both more confined to the sides. Third, the pale crown streaking is not rare on Red-tails, and much less likely on the other candidate species. Finally, the overall shape - thick through the middle and "round" looking is good for Red-tail. Red-shouldered and Broad-winged Hawks are subtly different shaped with a bit more shoulder, and not so thick below the shoulder. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: Russ Namitz To: OBOL Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 12:29 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] oddly small buteo on Wireless Rd. http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/18289/ This is a bird that I would like to see fly. From the photos, none of the large buteos came to mind like Swainson's, Rough-legged or Ferruginous. The two most obvious choices would be Red-tailed Hawk and Red-shouldered Hawk, in that order, with Broad-winged Hawk as a remote possibility. This bird is an immature bird told by the combination of pointed retrices (tail feathers), ventral streaking on throat/belly/flanks and the pale edging on the upper wing coverts. To be honest, my initial reaction was Broad-winged Hawk. I don't think this is a Red-shouldered Hawk as they are more uniformly patterned as both adults & immatures. In my mind, we are left with a young Red-tailed Hawk or young Broad-winged Hawk. The fact that the observer stated that the buteo was small, the erect posture on this bird, the longer accipiter-like tail, the streaking on the lower throat that starts again more heavily on the belly all point to Broad-winged Hawk. I can't really make out the tail banding, but Red-tailed Hawks have many pencil-thin bands in the tail as an immature. Broad-winged immatures have wider banding in the tail. In short, I am not certain about the identifcation and don't think I, personally, would make a call on this bird without seeing it fly. However, if this bird sticks around, chances are I would drive up to take a look at it. Sincerely, Russ Namitz Coos Bay _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From aeduston at hevanet.com Sun Jan 23 11:01:10 2011 From: aeduston at hevanet.com (A Duston) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 09:01:10 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Merlin Message-ID: <4D3C5ED6.10505@hevanet.com> Yesterday it or its kin was seen a little further east of the Gateway area, near the Glendoveer Golf Course here in East Portland. Perched at the top of the tree, went swooping away after some small prey, disappearing from view quite quickly. Anne D. (hi nepobirdpeople!) > Message: 5 > Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 13:48:43 -0800 (PST) > From: Richard and Marilyn Musser > To: nepobirds,obol at oregonbirds.org > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Merlin > Message-ID:<761199.73179.qm at web39704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Hello Seth and Michelle, > This looks like a merlin to me----and further, I'd say it's an adult male > (blueish wing coverts& top of head), with overall coloration light enough to > suggest more interior, as opposed to darker coastal birds. Merlins often perch > as shown in your photos----they hunt from these vantage points, and these are > where some very dashing flights begin-----and some little bird is taken out of > the gene pool. > > Merlins sometimes attempt attacks on quarry, that to my way of thinking, > had absolutely no chance of succeeding. For example, a couple of months ago, > while a merlin was hanging out here-------I happened to flush a mixed flock of > house sparrows, juncos, and house finches. It was close to dusk, and the fearful > flock "whirrled" into the sky---in an effort to leave the area. To my great > surprise, the merlin pursued the flock up into the sky----even tho it had a lot > of, "head start." The little merlin never did quit pumping its wings, and the > flock tightened into a ball as they saw it coming from below. The entire flock > moved higher into the sky as the merlin pushed them upwards. Without a doubt, > this flight is one of strength and endurance, and any little bird that can stay > above the falcon---is safe. But this merlin came from below so rapidly, that it > was up to the flock when all were about 400 ft. At this point the flock > panicked, with all the birds diving earthward------all escaping----except one > junco. > Thanks for sharing those photos. Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. south > of Burns) > > > > > > ________________________________ > From: nepobirds > To:obol at oregonbirds.org > Sent: Sat, January 22, 2011 10:18:28 AM > Subject: [OBOL] Merlin > > We just saw an unusual raptor a couple of blocks away from our home. After > having a good long look through the bins, taking too many photos and pouring > through Sibley's, we are confident that it was a Merlin. > From deweysage at frontier.com Sun Jan 23 11:27:41 2011 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 09:27:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] N Cal Brown Shrike Message-ID: <4D3C650D.1070307@frontier.com> Folks, Just wanted to say that yesterday we saw the BROWN SHRIKE in Northern Cal north of Arcata. If you have been thinking of going, I suggest stop thinking and go. The bird is fairly easy to see, and well, it is a spectacular fella. I realize it is a very long ride for many of you and not such a long ride for us down here on the south coast. I was asked if many Oregonians have gone, and from what I can tell I haven't heard any or many of you say you've chased this one. We aren't the biggest chasers, but we were passing thru town and we couldn't resist the urge. Thanks to all the Cal folks down there for all their efforts. Cheers Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein Bandon OR deweysage at frontier.com From jbw at oregoncoast.com Sun Jan 23 11:29:16 2011 From: jbw at oregoncoast.com (Barbara and John Woodhouse) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 09:29:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tillamook East Raptor run Message-ID: We ran our Raptor run yesterday trying to avoid the thick fog which blanked the southern part of our run. We had to do the last half first by which time the fog cleared. The run is from Yellow Fir Rd in the south to Freddies in the north, mostly on the east side of 101. It is slow as many roads only about 10 mph is possible with the huge potholes. 89 miles, 5 1/2 hours RTHA 15 AMKE 12 NOHA 2 BAEA 1 adult WTKI 2 total 32 Barbara & John Woodhouse Tillamook From llsdirons at msn.com Sun Jan 23 11:36:17 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 17:36:17 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] New post to BirdFellow.com journal discusses how to write up rare birds Message-ID: Greetings All, I just posted a new piece to BirdFellow.com journal which offers some ideas for writing up better descriptions of rare birds. In the days before easy-to-use digital cameras, written reports accounted for the majority of records reviewed by records committees and in my view they still have great value, even when good photos of the bird are captured. As much as anything, going through the process of writing a description will allow you to reflect on how well you saw the bird and the process you used to determine that it wasn't something more common. Included in the piece is some discussion of records committee activities. I'm hopeful that this piece inspires the level of comment we got with our recent discussion about eBird. Many folks have strong feelings (both positive and negative) about records committees, local field notes editors, and other bodies that have to make decisions about what to publish. Dave Irons Content Editor BirdFellow.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From glenn_rie at yahoo.com Sun Jan 23 12:02:05 2011 From: glenn_rie at yahoo.com (Rie Luft) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 10:02:05 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Lots of White-breasted Nuthatches at Oaks Bottom, Portland In-Reply-To: <688604.10722.qm@web120120.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> References: <688604.10722.qm@web120120.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <907049.21899.qm@web110311.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Hi, John, At our moorage, Oregon Yacht Club, which is just the other side of the Springwater Trail from Oaks Bottom, we had a pair nesting in our uplands this past summer for the first time, fledging two successfully. They have been staying in the area this winter and most likely sally over to Oaks Bottom occasionally so hopefully they will continue to like our location. Such a delight to have them! Rie Luft ________________________________ From: John Deshler To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Sat, January 22, 2011 3:55:17 PM Subject: [OBOL] Lots of White-breasted Nuthatches at Oaks Bottom, Portland My wife and I took our 12 day old daughter on her first bird walk on this beautiful sunny Saturday. We saw a least six WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES together in a small group on the east side of the lake, and had seen another on the south side prior. I seldom see them in Portland. Anna's Hummingbirds were seemingly everywhere, dive bombing rivals or scrub jays and making singular loud 'peep' calls at the nadir of their descent. Also seen : DC Cormorant Common Merganser Bufflehead GW Teal Mallard Gadwall N Pintail Redhead Canada Goose RT Hawk Anna's Hummingbird Hairy Woodpecker N Flicker Red-winged Blackbird Scrub Jay Am. Crow Yellow Warbler Bushtit White-breasted Nuthatch Bewick's Wren Brown Creeper DE Junco Song Sparrow Am Goldfinch John Deshler Portland _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 4cains at charter.net Sun Jan 23 12:02:40 2011 From: 4cains at charter.net (Lee & Lori Cain) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 10:02:40 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] large Dunlin flock photos Message-ID: Evan Cain had a chance to walk on the beach at the wreck of the Peter Iredale (Ft Stevens) yesterday at the same time a fairly large flock of DUNLIN were hanging out at high tide. His panorama of the flock and some close-ups of the flock in flight are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/townsendi . The close-up made me glad I am not a hungry Peregrine trying to choose a meal. Lee Cain Astoria, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jack_williamson at me.com Sun Jan 23 12:15:28 2011 From: jack_williamson at me.com (Jack Williamson) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 10:15:28 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Varied Thrush in my yard Message-ID: <33ED40A1-F690-463A-BE82-5573ED5EEABA@me.com> We have lived in our West Linn house for about as long and we also had Varied Thrush in our backyard for the first time. Two pair were regular visitors for about 3 weeks. I was thinking they had left for the season since we have not seen them for almost a week now. Jack From cgates326 at gmail.com Sun Jan 23 12:51:44 2011 From: cgates326 at gmail.com (Charles R. Gates) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 10:51:44 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Nice Podcast site Message-ID: <4D3C78C0.70207@gmail.com> I came across some interesting podcasts at http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/peterson/podcast-family.shtml These are especially useful for beginners or anyone who needs to make a presentation about a bird group. If you haven't looked into podcasts, just google "birding podcasts" and you will find many. -- Chuck Gates Crook County High School NAMC State Coordinator - East Cascades Bird Conservancy Online Oregon Birding Site Guide - birdingoregon.info 541-923-1320 From gnorgren at earthlink.net Sun Jan 23 13:40:13 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 11:40:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Varied Thrush, other ground feeders Message-ID: <22D417DA-F865-49CB-984D-697A8030CACB@earthlink.net> I live in the Coast Range so Varied Thrush is to be expected. However, they often disappear from our feeder following heavy snowfall and do not return until the next calendar year. This year we have five, opposed to the normal one or two. Also, Junco numbers are generally modest now and peak in late March, when I can count thirty in view simultaneously. For some time now we have had enough that I count forty. I assume many more are in the bushes. Fox Sparrows are often absent here, showing up briefly in late September then again in March. This winter at least two are visiting the feeder. This in spite of a new cat in the family. He's a male, about eight months old and the Juncos refuse to take him seriously. As long as they have ten feet distance they continue to feed on the ground. Lars Norgren Manning, Washington County From mrchickadee at gmail.com Sun Jan 23 14:02:02 2011 From: mrchickadee at gmail.com (Miss Jacqui) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 12:02:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Junco Slaty form in SE Portland yard today Message-ID: Hi OBOLites So glad I decided to put up the black oil seed feeder. The squirrels have not figured it out yet (knock on wood), and I am getting a lot of nice birds - Both species of Chickadee (Black Capped & Chestnut Backed), RB nuthatch, house finches, lots of Juncos - had a slaty formed one today, song sparrow, bewicks wren has come to feeder several times - but I have not actually seen him feed. in the flatlands of outer SE Portland - NW foot of Powell Butte Jacqui -- Jacqui Parker Portland, OREGON ........... "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those that mind, don't matter, and those who matter, don't mind." -- Dr Seuss ( '< < ? ) / ) ) ( (\) // " " ? ? \\ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gneavoll at comcast.net Sun Jan 23 15:23:53 2011 From: gneavoll at comcast.net (gneavoll at comcast.net) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:23:53 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] N Cal Brown Shrike In-Reply-To: <4D3C650D.1070307@frontier.com> Message-ID: <551175822.1562689.1295817833498.JavaMail.root@sz0103a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> I would be interested if someone's going from up this way and would like the company. I don't drive, but would help with gas. - George Neavoll, S.W. Portland ----- Original Message ----- From: "DJ Lauten and KACastelein" To: "OBOL obol" Sent: Sunday, January 23, 2011 9:27:41 AM Subject: [OBOL] N Cal Brown Shrike Folks, Just wanted to say that yesterday we saw the BROWN SHRIKE in Northern Cal north of Arcata. If you have been thinking of going, I suggest stop thinking and go. The bird is fairly easy to see, and well, it is a spectacular fella. I realize it is a very long ride for many of you and not such a long ride for us down here on the south coast. I was asked if many Oregonians have gone, and from what I can tell I haven't heard any or many of you say you've chased this one. We aren't the biggest chasers, but we were passing thru town and we couldn't resist the urge. Thanks to all the Cal folks down there for all their efforts. Cheers Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein Bandon OR deweysage at frontier.com _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mazoerr at gmail.com Sun Jan 23 16:03:26 2011 From: mazoerr at gmail.com (Ann Chamberlain) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 14:03:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eurasian collared doves Message-ID: I could not believe my eyes. (My Christmas binoculars have not yet arrived!) I have had two doves at the feeder for a couple of weeks. At first I said to myself band-tailed pigeons but then I said - no, not possible. Mourning doves? Not right. But all this has been subconscious, as I would catch a glimpse out of the corner of my eye as I walked past a window. Today I had the first look up close on the ground. Yes, Greg, you are so right. The EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE has apparently taken up residence under our feeder. Since I imagine that these doves tend to nest early as do mourning doves, I suspect they do mean to stick around. We seem to have a pair. Ann outside Myrtle Creek -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From celata at pacifier.com Sun Jan 23 16:03:41 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 14:03:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] RBA: Possible Chestnut-collared Longspur at Sunset Beach Message-ID: <4D3CA5BD.5040607@pacifier.com> I was out this morning with the plan to do some dead bird counting on Sunset Beach, but was distracted by weird noises up in the dunes. I eventually found a flock of 10 LAPLAND LONGSPURS. Shortly after I flushed the flock, a single apparently smaller bird flushed from the same area making the "quiddle, quiddle" call I associate with CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR. I spent about an hour trying to relocate the flock without success. a more complete account with photos of some of the Lapland Longspurs is at: http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/18329 -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From kolwicz at minetfiber.com Sun Jan 23 16:25:40 2011 From: kolwicz at minetfiber.com (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 14:25:40 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Ravenous Bushtits Message-ID: <4D3CAAE4.2030003@minetfiber.com> It seems like the two flocks (or more) that have been around all winter (if you can call it that) are going for the suet more than ever I've seen. I haven't timed it, but it seems like there are about 40 of them every 15-20 minutes glomming onto my two suet cages. The blocks of refined beef fat are becoming molded into sculptural figures by their constant erosion, with the help of the Yellow-rumps, Flickers, Downies, and Scrub Jays. Frank in Monmouth From gregbaker.birder at gmail.com Sun Jan 23 16:32:24 2011 From: gregbaker.birder at gmail.com (Greg Baker) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 14:32:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Yellow-billed Loon and Arctic Loon on Tillamook Bay near Garibaldi 1/22 & 1/23/11 Message-ID: Oboloers... I finally found the pale YB Loon and an Arctic Loon near Garibaldi yesterday (1/22). Also found 2 Swamp Sparrows and a Lincoln's Sparrow near the Bay City Sewage Ponds where expected. The next day, Sunday (1/23) I returned to the same spots with Peg Goldie and we were able to refind them all! The YB Loon is very pale and much lighter than the Pacifics and Commons which are still around. This was a four loon day for us. Greg Baker -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM Sun Jan 23 17:21:28 2011 From: acontrer at MINDSPRING.COM (Alan Contreras) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 15:21:28 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Optics for sale Message-ID: I have for sale the following: Pentax 80mm scope with 20-60 zoom eyepiece - $450 Canon Powershot SX10 IS. 20x optical zoom, 10mp - $250 Both in very good condition. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer at mindspring.com Oregonreview.blogspot.com From joel.geier at peak.org Sun Jan 23 18:21:38 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 16:21:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Gyrfalcon seen today east of Corvallis Message-ID: <1295828498.1847.170.camel@clearwater1> Steve Seibel reported a Gyrfalcon around noon today: > 3 way intersection tangent and oakville roads bird is perched far nnw ... ... > Watching from 3 way intersection oakville road tangent drive near white school or church. > bird is perched far to nnw. This sounds like the same area where one was seen a few times earlier in the winter. -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From whoffman at peak.org Sun Jan 23 18:39:15 2011 From: whoffman at peak.org (Wayne Hoffman) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 16:39:15 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Peale's Peregrine Falcon, Yaquina Head Message-ID: <8C08727310104CF5BBD72B2B32FDAAC4@D48XBZ51> Hi - This morning (23 Jan.) a big beautiful Peregrine was perched in the snaggy trees near the lighthouse at Yaquina Head. It was slaty-backed, with a moderate amount of blueish bloom on the feathers. The head was fully hooded in black with a broad round-bottomed "moustache". The white eye ring was prominent. The bird was heavy-bodied, and seemed shorter-tailed relative to overall size than some other Peregrines. The underparts were heavily barred in blackish gray, except for a small area of the upper chest and throat. The ground color under the barring was slightly tawny on the upper chest, dusky on the belly. By size it pretty much has to be a female, but lacked any of the reddish tones typical on the underparts of ad. females of the other North American subspecies. She sat for quite a while, but seemed to be actively scanning the water to the north and west. She then flew out to sea due west. I followed her with binoculars out at least 1/2 mile. She remained at about the same altitude (80-100' above the water) then circled back and returned to the same perch. A few minutes later, after some head-bobbing she took off again, this time to the north, dropping out of sight, and did not return. Characters I associate with Peale's subspecies: 1. very large size (even for a female) and stockiness. 2. slaty upperparts and full black hood 3. heaviness and extent of the underparts barring 4. duskiness of the ground color under the barring. 5. Lack of reddish tones in underparts (assuming it is a female). Wayne -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Oropendolas at aol.com Sun Jan 23 18:44:09 2011 From: Oropendolas at aol.com (Oropendolas at aol.com) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:44:09 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] Swamp Sparrow at Fern Ridge Message-ID: <4889d.7748bf6d.3a6e2559@aol.com> Hello All, Laura and I biked out to Royal Avenue this afternoon. Shortly after arriving at the viewing platform we heard a SWAMP SPARROW chipping. I pished and it popped up out of the dark brown vegetation ~ 40 yards Northeast of the platform just long enough for both of us to get a look through the scope. More birders soon arrived, but we could not get the bird to show itself again. Good Birding, John Sullivan & Laura Johnson Springfield, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rawieland at gmail.com Sun Jan 23 19:08:32 2011 From: rawieland at gmail.com (Rainer Wieland) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 17:08:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] White-winged Scoter at Cape Meares Lake Message-ID: <6E4DECEE-9C37-4698-A0B1-93F27FAB7973@gmail.com> A lone female was sighted this afternoon around 3pm close to the road along the lake between Cape Meares and the Bayocean spit. Cheers, Rainer Wieland Sent from my iPhone near Garden Home, OR From tomb123417 at comcast.net Sun Jan 23 19:20:57 2011 From: tomb123417 at comcast.net (Tom & Linda) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 17:20:57 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Townsend's warbler Message-ID: <5C9DB4A9-205A-477C-8033-556E2BD0F447@comcast.net> Jan 23 8:45 am. Male Townsend's warbler on ground and rock wall beneath a dozen or so golden-crowned kinglets in a low shrub. Residential corner in south east Portland near Mt Tabor. As an aside, I have seen or heard of varied thrushes from Otis to Tualatin to Beaverton to Mt Tabor and my backyard. What's going on? I have been in Portland 33 winters and never saw them before. Linda B Sent from my iPad From joel.geier at peak.org Sun Jan 23 19:41:48 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 17:41:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] 45+ Trumpeter Swans near Maple Grove, southern Polk County Message-ID: <1295833308.1847.188.camel@clearwater1> Hi all, While meandering our way up to Monmouth this afternoon for no particular purpose other than to see how southern Polk County has changed over the past 15 years, Becky and I came across about 90 swans where the Luckiamute River crosses Airlie Rd., about a quarter mile south of Maple Grove. There were about 45 TRUMPETER SWANS in the closer group, including 5 to 7 juveniles (several down in a swale, hence the guesstimate). The others looked like TUNDRA SWANS but were a little too far off to be sure with just binoculars. This is getting more like the numbers of Trumpeters that should be wintering in the area. This flock has varied from about 40 to 65 over the years, with a couple of even higher counts last year. However, the juvenile-to-adult ratio still seems low, suggesting a poor nesting year. The Maple Grove area (the hamlet of Maple Grove is just a couple of houses and auto body shop) was the usual wintering area for this swan flock in the late 1990s, but then they drifted over to Suver (a slightly larger ag-industrial hamlet), then back to Airlie (the metropolis of the area, with 9 or 10 houses plus a volunteer fire station) in recent years. Looks like they've come full circle. Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Sun Jan 23 20:04:52 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 18:04:52 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Birdies 1/23/2011 Message-ID: <826207.54956.qm@web45316.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> We had an hour of sun today, otherwise it was mostly cloudy, but temps in the 50's made it pleasant. I mostly just saw previously reported overwintering birds, but here are my highlights: 1- SAY'S PHOEBE, the overwintering bird at the ranch off Picture Valley Road north of Myrtle Point 1- GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, at the Roseburg Mill pond in Coquille (a more typical winter total than the 116 birds I recently observed on the eastside of Coos Bay!) 1- ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, Eastside, Coos Bay neighborhood 1- COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, overwintering at Millicoma Marsh 1- LESSER YELLOWLEGS, overwintering at Millicoma Marsh- seen with 20 Greaters today. I haven't seen this bird in over 6 weeks so I wasn't sure if it was overwintering or not. That's about it for today. Have fun! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From joel.geier at peak.org Sun Jan 23 20:18:13 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 18:18:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Belated report of Snow Buntings at Hart Lake, Warner Valley Message-ID: <1295835493.1847.208.camel@clearwater1> Hi all, Sorry for the very slow report. This one came to me via the good old U.S. Postal Service, in the first week of January, but then I forgot about it until yesterday when I finally got around to responding. Dee Benson from Lakeview wrote on 27 Dec that, over the Christmas holiday, Orval Layton saw SNOW BUNTINGS on the east side of Hart Lake "near the glass house and stone bridge." This location is somewhat to the south of the place where Dee and I found a flock of 25+ Lapland Longspurs during the Hart Mtn CBC ... and presumably an even longer drive on the rocky dirt road that I described in that report (starting from the NE corner of Hart Lake). Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area nor th of Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From erikknight05 at gmail.com Sun Jan 23 20:24:33 2011 From: erikknight05 at gmail.com (Erik Knight) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 18:24:33 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Common Goldeneye - Sauvie Island Message-ID: OBOLers, There were two adult pairs of COMMON GOLDENEYE on Virginia Lake on Sauvie Island today. There was also an adult pair of Eurasian Wigeon there as well. Full list on birdnotes. -- ------------------------------------- Erik Knight Portland, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tshelmerdine at yahoo.com Sun Jan 23 20:30:36 2011 From: tshelmerdine at yahoo.com (Tim Shelmerdine) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 18:30:36 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Washington Co birds -- Sat Message-ID: <936370.24806.qm@web62107.mail.re1.yahoo.com> Sorry for the late report. The Prairie Falcon was on a telephone pole on Harriman Road near Milne Road around 8:00 Saturday morning. I am glad I got there when I did, because about thirty seconds after I saw the bird, a small falcon took off from its perch atop a nearby conifer and swooped on the Prairie Falcon, causing it to fly off to the east. The culprit? I would have expected a Merlin based on the comments posted by some earlier in the week, but no, it was an aggressive kestrel. The only other interesting sighting were 2 American White Pelicans flying south over Beaverton, sighted just after noon as I headed east on Hwy 8 at Murray Blvd. Perhaps the Tualatin birds returning to Hedges Marsh? Tim From slcarpenter at gmail.com Sun Jan 23 21:36:05 2011 From: slcarpenter at gmail.com (Scott Carpenter) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:36:05 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Washington County Pelicans Message-ID: While waiting at a stop light at Allen Blvd and Hwy 217 on Saturday around 10:15 or so, I saw 2 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS flying north. It appeared they were in the vicinity of Hwy 26 & Hwy 217 when I lost track of them. It seems plausible that the 2 birds I saw are the same ones Tim saw (hist post below), and are the same pair that have been in Tualatin, that Dave and Shawneen sighted Saturday afternoon flying into Hedges Marsh from the west. Regardless, it make may sense to check larger ponds in the Tualatin/Beaverton area for pelicans. -- Scott Carpenter Portland, Oregon -------------------------- http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/ http://www.facebook.com/scottcarpenterphotography On Sun, Jan 23, 2011 at 6:30 PM, Tim Shelmerdine wrote: > > The only other interesting sighting were 2 American White Pelicans flying > south > over Beaverton, sighted just after noon as I headed east on Hwy 8 at > Murray > Blvd. Perhaps the Tualatin birds returning to Hedges Marsh? > > > Tim > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marciafcutler at comcast.net Sun Jan 23 22:13:57 2011 From: marciafcutler at comcast.net (Marcia F. Cutler) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 20:13:57 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Central Benton Raptor Run 1/23/11 Message-ID: <668CD5CB-83C6-4B17-9DB8-880290062A6D@comcast.net> Bill Proebsting and Becky Garrett joined me for today's raptor run in central Benton County accomplished under dry skies and mild conditions. Red-tailed Hawk numbers rebounded from December's below average showing. However, no Rough-legged Hawks were seen and there were only 4 species of raptors. The male raptors appeared to be showing off to their female partners. A Kestrel strafed a Red-tailed Hawk. More impressive was a kettle of 5 raptors, the highest up - a male Harrier- tucked in and dive bombed a Red-tailed Hawk below him. Hopefully, the female Harrier, a bit lower down in the kettle was impressed - I sure was. Results: (Dec 2010/Jan. 2010) Red-tailed Hawk: 39 (18/33) American Kestrel: 24 (24/24) Northern Harrier: 11 (16/16) Bald Eagle: A2, S2 (A2, S5/A1/S5) Other nice birds included a flock of 8 HORNED LARKS near Greenberry and a large flock of mostly WESTERN BLUEBIRDS with a few YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS landed in a perennial grass field along Lakeside. There were over 30 birds in the flock and we counted 15 Western Bluebirds with others most likely hidden in the grass. Marcia F. Cutler Corvallis From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Sun Jan 23 22:36:10 2011 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 20:36:10 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Benton County Yellow shafted Flicker Message-ID: <868484.67378.qm@web39402.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Everyone, A bird photographer friend of mine who lives in North Albany took some photos yesterday of what he thought was just a normal flicker. Well, as soon as I opened the photos, I about fell out of my chair! :) The bird was located on the EE Wilson game area north of Corvallis and was probably within walking distance of the headquarters facility on the north side of the road. He likes to walk the trails around there to take his photos so if anyone is interested in trying to relocate this beauty, that would be a good place to start. Just wanted everyone to know that this bird was around the area. Enjoy the photos and thanks to Scott Carpenter for his web link to the photos :) Jeff Fleischer Albany http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/flickershowpdf.pdf -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From joel.geier at peak.org Sun Jan 23 22:44:06 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 20:44:06 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [birding] Benton County Yellow shafted Flicker In-Reply-To: <868484.67378.qm@web39402.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <868484.67378.qm@web39402.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1295844246.1847.252.camel@clearwater1> Hi Jeff, This sounds like the bird that Jim & Karan Fairchild found during the Airlie CBC. Cheers, Joel On Sun, 2011-01-23 at 20:36 -0800, Jeff Fleischer wrote: > Hi Everyone, > > A bird photographer friend of mine who lives in North Albany took some > photos yesterday of what he thought was just a normal flicker. Well, > as soon as I opened the photos, I about fell out of my chair! :) The > bird was located on the EE Wilson game area north of Corvallis and was > probably within walking distance of the headquarters facility on the > north side of the road. He likes to walk the trails around there to > take his photos so if anyone is interested in trying to relocate this > beauty, that would be a good place to start. Just wanted everyone to > know that this bird was around the area. Enjoy the photos and thanks > to Scott Carpenter for his web link to the photos :) > > Jeff Fleischer > Albany > > > > > > http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/flickershowpdf.pdf > > > > _______________________________________________ > birding mailing list > birding at midvalleybirding.org > http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com Sun Jan 23 22:54:49 2011 From: shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com (Shawneen Finnegan) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 20:54:49 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia River: Hood River to Eagle Creek Message-ID: After scouring the Columbia River in Portland yesterday, we decided to go further east upriver. Other than stopping first at Eagle Creek, we spent the day working our way from east to west from Hood River. Only some of the 44 species we saw today are listed. EAGLE CREEK: 97 Lesser Scaup 7 Greater Scaup 6 Barrow's Goldeneye 11 Common Goldeneye 2 EARED GREBES HOOD RIVER MOUTH and vicinity: 1 Canvasback 5 Redheads 740 Greater Scaup 130 Lesser Scaup 1 CLARK'S GREBE 33 Ring-billed Gulls 2 Mew Gulls 3 Thayer's Gulls 5 Herring Gulls 5 Glaucous-winged Gulls 12 GWxWestern hybrids GOVERNMENT COVE, HOOD RIVER 1 Common Loon (only loon seen today) 17 Horned Grebes 1008 American Coots 1 American Dipper (at the edge of the cove!) We had quite a few Horned Grebes today, lots of coots, lots of scaup, and only a few raptors. Shawneen Finnegan and Dave Irons NW Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From alderspr at peak.org Sun Jan 23 22:55:00 2011 From: alderspr at peak.org (Karan and Jim Fairchild) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 20:55:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [birding] Benton County Yellow shafted Flicker References: <868484.67378.qm@web39402.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <1295844246.1847.252.camel@clearwater1> Message-ID: Hi all- Yes, that was Jan 2, 2011 and we saw it just north of headquarters, in fact, we were sitting in the parking lot eating our lunch. The weirdest thing is that 15 seconds before we saw it, Jim said "one of these days we're going to see a yellow shafted flicker here, with so many flickers around"! Karan Fairchild ----- Original Message ----- From: Joel Geier To: Jeff Fleischer Cc: Karan & Jim Fairchild ; MidValley Birds ; Oregon Birders OnLine Sent: Sunday, January 23, 2011 8:44 PM Subject: Re: [birding] Benton County Yellow shafted Flicker Hi Jeff, This sounds like the bird that Jim & Karan Fairchild found during the Airlie CBC. Cheers, Joel On Sun, 2011-01-23 at 20:36 -0800, Jeff Fleischer wrote: Hi Everyone, A bird photographer friend of mine who lives in North Albany took some photos yesterday of what he thought was just a normal flicker. Well, as soon as I opened the photos, I about fell out of my chair! :) The bird was located on the EE Wilson game area north of Corvallis and was probably within walking distance of the headquarters facility on the north side of the road. He likes to walk the trails around there to take his photos so if anyone is interested in trying to relocate this beauty, that would be a good place to start. Just wanted everyone to know that this bird was around the area. Enjoy the photos and thanks to Scott Carpenter for his web link to the photos :) Jeff Fleischer Albany http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/flickershowpdf.pdf _______________________________________________ birding mailing list birding at midvalleybirding.org http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Sun Jan 23 23:41:27 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:41:27 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] EE Wilson YELLOW-SHAFTED FLICKER Message-ID: <9C7A5E1C-C57A-433A-8E54-DB85454747D7@earthlink.net> Rich Hoyer and I saw a pure Y-S immediately north of HQs on Thursday after the Corvallis CBC. It was the last item of the walk and we were both on borrowed time, so it rather slipped my mind until now. Should be there for others to see as it's now been close to six weeks. Lars From 5hats at peak.org Sun Jan 23 23:55:46 2011 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:55:46 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [birding] Benton County Yellow shafted Flicker In-Reply-To: References: <868484.67378.qm@web39402.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <1295844246.1847.252.camel@clearwater1> Message-ID: <2AE1552CA3D445359747D5473335A7BD@DarrelPC> Karan, Reminds me of the time Roy Gerig and I were birding high in the coast range east of Lincoln City, near the Lincoln/Polk county line. We were talking about the possibility of finding Rock Wren. One of us ( I can't remember for sure which of us, but I think it was me) said, "I would even settle for a Townsend's Solitaire, There is one right there." The sighting was nearly synonymous with the statement. We had a good laugh over that one. Darrel From: Karan and Jim Fairchild Sent: Sunday, January 23, 2011 8:55 PM To: joel.geier at peak.org ; Jeff Fleischer Cc: Oregon Birders OnLine ; MidValley Birds Subject: Re: [OBOL] [birding] Benton County Yellow shafted Flicker Hi all- Yes, that was Jan 2, 2011 and we saw it just north of headquarters, in fact, we were sitting in the parking lot eating our lunch. The weirdest thing is that 15 seconds before we saw it, Jim said "one of these days we're going to see a yellow shafted flicker here, with so many flickers around"! Karan Fairchild ----- Original Message ----- From: Joel Geier To: Jeff Fleischer Cc: Karan & Jim Fairchild ; MidValley Birds ; Oregon Birders OnLine Sent: Sunday, January 23, 2011 8:44 PM Subject: Re: [birding] Benton County Yellow shafted Flicker Hi Jeff, This sounds like the bird that Jim & Karan Fairchild found during the Airlie CBC. Cheers, Joel On Sun, 2011-01-23 at 20:36 -0800, Jeff Fleischer wrote: Hi Everyone, A bird photographer friend of mine who lives in North Albany took some photos yesterday of what he thought was just a normal flicker. Well, as soon as I opened the photos, I about fell out of my chair! :) The bird was located on the EE Wilson game area north of Corvallis and was probably within walking distance of the headquarters facility on the north side of the road. He likes to walk the trails around there to take his photos so if anyone is interested in trying to relocate this beauty, that would be a good place to start. Just wanted everyone to know that this bird was around the area. Enjoy the photos and thanks to Scott Carpenter for his web link to the photos :) Jeff Fleischer Albany http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/flickershowpdf.pdf _______________________________________________ birding mailing list birding at midvalleybirding.org http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From austin at austinbooth.com Mon Jan 24 00:34:12 2011 From: austin at austinbooth.com (Austin Booth) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 22:34:12 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Early Tree Swallow at Baskett Slough Message-ID: <4D3D1D64.2000405@austinbooth.com> I saw a TREE SWALLOW at Basket Slough on Saturday. I recall seeing two of them last year on Feb 28th so I'm guessing Baskett Slough regularly gets early swallows. Austin Booth From bonneybt at aol.com Mon Jan 24 00:51:43 2011 From: bonneybt at aol.com (Carole Hallett) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 22:51:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Ravenous Bushtits In-Reply-To: <4D3CAAE4.2030003@minetfiber.com> References: <4D3CAAE4.2030003@minetfiber.com> Message-ID: Interesting observation about the bushtits on the suet -- we have never before seen them go for the suet like they have this winter. On a couple of occasions a single suet block had more than a dozen bushtits feeding on it at one time. Friends in Olympia mentioned having "about 30" bushtits at a time at their suet feeder. They had never seen anything like it. More bushtits than usual? Less wild food available than usual? Unusually tasty suet? A mystery. Carole Hallett Portland, OR On Sun, Jan 23, 2011 at 2:25 PM, kolwicz at minetfiber.com < kolwicz at minetfiber.com> wrote: > It seems like the two flocks (or more) that have been around all winter (if > you can call it that) are going for the suet more than ever I've seen. I > haven't timed it, but it seems like there are about 40 of them every 15-20 > minutes glomming onto my two suet cages. The blocks of refined beef fat are > becoming molded into sculptural figures by their constant erosion, with the > help of the Yellow-rumps, Flickers, Downies, and Scrub Jays. > > Frank > in Monmouth > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rick.lumen at gmail.com Mon Jan 24 00:53:27 2011 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 22:53:27 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Hybrid Northern Flicker in my Backyard Message-ID: <83E668E6-58A4-4751-AC98-822EFDAF150B@gmail.com> I had a Hybrid Northern Flicker in my backyard today. http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/northern-flicker-hybrid.html Rick Wilsonville From rriparia at charter.net Mon Jan 24 07:31:39 2011 From: rriparia at charter.net (Kevin Spencer) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 08:31:39 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] Klamath Marsh area owling Message-ID: <1878906807.6198774.1295875901619.JavaMail.javamailuser@localhost> Hi, On Sat. night, January 22, a group of about 10 people went owling in the area of the Klamamth Marsh. Great Gray, Saw-whet, and Great Horned Owls were heard. The group heard Great Gray quite a number of times at one stop. At one point two were calling as if they were a pair. At least two Saw-whet Owls were heard at two different stops during the eveninig. Great Horned Owls were heard calling near the refuge headquarters just before dawn the following morning. We did not see any foraging, or any owls at rest, while visiting the locations the following morning. It was a great night with very still conditions and no moon, at least until about 9:00 or 9:30 p.m.. Faye Weekly led the group. Attending: Karen, Felicia, Liz, Ellen, Forest, Ian, Jeff, Kevin, and Charlotte Ann. It was great hearing Great Gray Owls.! Kevin Spencer rriparia at charter.net Klamath Falls, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From krallfamily at comcast.net Mon Jan 24 08:18:14 2011 From: krallfamily at comcast.net (kathykrall) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 06:18:14 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Red necked grebes and white winged scoters Tillamook Bay Message-ID: <3AE19DBD-BEE1-48E2-8AD0-21A35478853B@comcast.net> Sunday Jan 23 while walking the Bay Ocean spit loop, we saw 4 Red Necked Grebes in the channel at the entrance to Tillamook Bay, close to the entrance on the south side. They were in the swells with 15 Surf Scoters. A short distance in towards the bay there is a small gravely beach on the south. Four white winged scoters were in that bay. Beautiful day! Kathy and Mike Krall From aeduston at hevanet.com Mon Jan 24 09:54:42 2011 From: aeduston at hevanet.com (A Duston) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 07:54:42 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Ravenous Bushtits Message-ID: <4D3DA0C2.3040503@hevanet.com> Irregularly-appearing flocks here in east Portland, all year long. They have grown pretty fearless, and no long streak away at the slightest movement in the yard or within the house. I almost never see females in these flocks ... anyone want to venture a reason for this? Anne D. in east Portland > Message: 10 > Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 14:25:40 -0800 > From:"kolwicz at minetfiber.com" > To:obol at oregonbirds.org > Subject: [OBOL] Ravenous Bushtits > Message-ID:<4D3CAAE4.2030003 at minetfiber.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > It seems like the two flocks (or more) that have been around all winter > (if you can call it that) are going for the suet more than ever I've > seen. I haven't timed it, but it seems like there are about 40 of them > every 15-20 minutes glomming onto my two suet cages. The blocks of > refined beef fat are becoming molded into sculptural figures by their > constant erosion, with the help of the Yellow-rumps, Flickers, Downies, > and Scrub Jays. > > Frank > in Monmouth From greg at thebirdguide.com Mon Jan 24 10:18:55 2011 From: greg at thebirdguide.com (Greg Gillson) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 08:18:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Proposed split: Gambel's and Bailey's Chickadees Message-ID: <0F33DAADFFB449DF8DE413CD590BF9B1@GREG> http://nwbackyardbirder.blogspot.com/2011/01/proposed-split-gambels-and-baileys.html Greg Gillson From joel.geier at peak.org Mon Jan 24 10:47:52 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 08:47:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Gyrfalcons and falconers Message-ID: <1295887672.1847.397.camel@clearwater1> Hello all, An e-mail conversation that I had last night alerted me to the possibility that there may be falconers watching this list, with an interest in capturing the Linn County Gyrfalcon. As surprising as it might seem, this could actually be legal under Oregon law: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/agency/commission/minutes/11/01_jan/Exhibit% 20B_Attachment_3_OAR.pdf Oregon Administrative Rule 635-055-0030 permits a total of up to three Gyrfalcons per year to be captured statewide, by individuals with the proper permits (resident "Master Falconers"). Which is about as many Gyrfalcons as we ever hear about reaching the state per winter. My intention is not to open a can-of-worms discussion on whether or not falconry is a moral or immoral activity for humans to engage in. However, birders who are inclined to share information about their sightings deserve to be informed about the possibility that their generous spirit might lead to certain outcomes, for example this story from a birder in South Dakota: http://sdakotabirds.com/species_photos/gyrfalcon_7.htm Personally, I will not be forwarding any more particulars on Gyrfalcon sightings to birding lists, now that I'm aware of this possibility. I will gladly share information person-to-person with individuals whom I know to be bona fide birders. Sorry in advance if this cuts off any newcomers who are honestly just interested in going out to look at these magnificent birds, but I don't see another solution. Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From deweysage at frontier.com Mon Jan 24 11:50:29 2011 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 09:50:29 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Gyrfalcons and falconers In-Reply-To: <1295887672.1847.397.camel@clearwater1> References: <1295887672.1847.397.camel@clearwater1> Message-ID: <4D3DBBE5.7010303@frontier.com> I don't mean to stoke the conversation about falconers, nor do I mean to offend or defend them or anyone else. But I thought I'd add a little bit of info to the story here. Many years ago......I can say that now, but it makes me feel a bit aged....I helped conduct a hawk watch in Washington at Diamond Peak.....with a young Russ Namitz.....well, younger than me......Anyhow, we were visited by a falconer. Nice guy full of stories and full of information on falcons that would make our knowledge as birders seem pale. At that time, birders would report and find about 3-4 Gyrfalcons in Washington per year (as reported in North American Birds). But this falconer told us that the falconers knew of as many as 10-12 per winter throughout the state. I assume he was not pulling our legs or telling tall tales, and he seemed sincere and extremely knowledgeable. The bottom line was that they knew their topic well, and spent enormous amounts of efforts and field time pursuing their interests. Much more effort and time than birders, as instead of traveling around looking for lots of birds, they spent hours studying one or two species or individuals. My point to some extent is one, don't assume falconers are 'bad' people or hovering around birding listserves looking for hints and stealing info. The facts are these people are out and about gathering the info themselves and sharing it with each other, but not sharing it with birders. Yes, it is true that you might be tipping someone off to the location of a Gyr, but chances are they already know. Furthermore, while I think it is prudent to be prudent, how many Gyrs have been reported on OBOL over the years and how many of them can we prove falconers went out and removed? Just like any groups of people, there are certainly lots of responsible falconers out there and probably a few rotten eggs. Birders are in the same league. They do have a right to pursue their interest, and if they are not harming the population, well their activity is no worse than hunters, birders, or anyone else doing what they like to do. You might not like it or agree with it, but that's life. I don't disagree with Joel. Just wanted to add a little info to the conversation. Also, this conversation is fine on OBOL, but if anyone gets nasty about falconers, or personal in a nasty manner, the conversation will end. Let's avoid the bashing session. We all have dirty laundry. Cheers Dave Lauten OBOL moderator On 1/24/2011 8:47 AM, Joel Geier wrote: > Hello all, > > An e-mail conversation that I had last night alerted me to the > possibility that there may be falconers watching this list, with an > interest in capturing the Linn County Gyrfalcon. As surprising as it > might seem, this could actually be legal under Oregon law: > > http://www.dfw.state.or.us/agency/commission/minutes/11/01_jan/Exhibit%20B_Attachment_3_OAR.pdf > > Oregon Administrative Rule 635-055-0030 permits a total of up to three > Gyrfalcons per year to be captured statewide, by individuals with the > proper permits (resident "Master Falconers"). Which is about as many > Gyrfalcons as we ever hear about reaching the state per winter. > > My intention is not to open a can-of-worms discussion on whether or > not falconry is a moral or immoral activity for humans to engage in. > However, birders who are inclined to share information about their > sightings deserve to be informed about the possibility that their > generous spirit might lead to certain outcomes, for example this story > from a birder in South Dakota: > > http://sdakotabirds.com/species_photos/gyrfalcon_7.htm > > Personally, I will not be forwarding any more particulars on Gyrfalcon > sightings to birding lists, now that I'm aware of this possibility. I > will gladly share information person-to-person with individuals whom I > know to be bona fide birders. Sorry in advance if this cuts off any > newcomers who are honestly just interested in going out to look at > these magnificent birds, but I don't see another solution. > > Happy birding, > Joel > > -- > Joel Geier > Camp Adair area north of Corvallis > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Mon Jan 24 12:37:09 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:37:09 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Wild Falcons Message-ID: <7367E7EC-C9BC-4EA8-B618-A6A29925B975@earthlink.net> Chill dudes! I once shared Joel's concerns, which were vary valid in the early seventies. Remember the Peregrine eyrie at Moro Bay, CA? It's eyasses were kidnapped twice in one season despite 'round the clock watch by volunteers. Now= adays falconers buy captive bred birds, and prefer SakerXGyrfalcon hybrids. It is far, far easier to train a bird you get as a fledgling than try to do anything with a wild bird, especially an adult. I had well over an hour conversation with a falconer on this subject the last time this thread came up (I was the anguished initiator thereof). It's Monday AM and I'm supposed to be at my day job. As Dave says, these guys(falconers) are leagues ahead of us in field knowledge. My informant had once seen seven Prairie Falcons in a single day, between Eugene and Corvallis. That was in the late sixties or early seventies when birders generally didn't know PRFA was an option in Linn/Lane/Benton Counties. Lars From dhewitt37 at gmail.com Mon Jan 24 12:39:33 2011 From: dhewitt37 at gmail.com (David Hewitt) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:39:33 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] White-winged Crossbill in Klamath Falls (LATE); 21 Jan 2011 Message-ID: Thanks to Scott Carpenter for passing along word of this sighting earlier. I'm behind on my birding responsibilities due to illness. A photo of the bird was posted with the initial announcement on Klamath Basin Bird News: http://bit.ly/hpe3dc A couple folks scoured the neighborhood later to try and relocate the bird, without success. I assume WWCR is not an OBRC review species. Dave Hewitt Klamath Falls From joel.geier at peak.org Mon Jan 24 12:47:42 2011 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:47:42 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Gyrfalcons and falconers Message-ID: <1295894862.1847.432.camel@clearwater1> Hello all, Like I stated very clearly, I have no interest in raising a can of worms regarding moral approval or disapproval of falconry. The fact that falconers can be very knowledgeable about falcons and other raptors is beyond dispute. I know a couple of local falconers who I consider to be decent people, even good conservationists. Personal anecdotes and remembrances aside, the salient fact is that this administrative rule is on the books in Oregon: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/agency/commission/minutes/11/01_jan/Exhibit% 20B_Attachment_3_OAR.pdf If there were no one interested in taking Gyrfalcons from the wild, I find it improbable that the paragraph that I quoted would still be part of this rule. Once aware of this, everyone can make their own personal choices. But I thought birders would want to know about this so they can be fully aware. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mmarvin at spiritone.com Mon Jan 24 13:13:27 2011 From: mmarvin at spiritone.com (Marcia Marvin) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:13:27 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Sexing Bushtits WAS re: Ravenous Bushtits Message-ID: <7D03BDFA-3FD3-466F-9FC4-2A87D096AFB7@spiritone.com> OBOL - The comment below puzzled me. Is there another way to determine the gender of bushtits besides eye color? I regularly have Bushtits coating my suet feeders, and the feeder hangs about seven feet from a window. Even with binoculars, in the flurry of activity at the feeder I have never been able to determine eye color. Do I need to see faster, or is there another clue? Thanks for any help. Marcia > Subject: Re: Ravenous Bushtits > From: A Duston > Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 07:54:42 -0800 > > I almost never see females in > these flocks ... anyone want to venture a reason for this? -- Marcia Marvin * mmarvin at spiritone.com * SW Portland, OR, USA From shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com Mon Jan 24 13:27:33 2011 From: shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com (Shawneen Finnegan) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:27:33 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Sexing Bushtits In-Reply-To: <7D03BDFA-3FD3-466F-9FC4-2A87D096AFB7@spiritone.com> References: <7D03BDFA-3FD3-466F-9FC4-2A87D096AFB7@spiritone.com> Message-ID: <3702DBC7-BFF0-4F49-9142-20A2CF9191D5@gmail.com> As far as I know it is just eye color. The female's eye color has changed from dark to light by one month of age. But given how fast they move they can be hard to see! Shawneen Finnegan NW Portland On Jan 24, 2011, at 11:13 AM, Marcia Marvin wrote: > OBOL - > > The comment below puzzled me. Is there another way to determine the gender of bushtits besides eye color? I regularly have Bushtits coating my suet feeders, and the feeder hangs about seven feet from a window. Even with binoculars, in the flurry of activity at the feeder I have never been able to determine eye color. Do I need to see faster, or is there another clue? > > Thanks for any help. > > Marcia > > > >> Subject: Re: Ravenous Bushtits >> From: A Duston >> Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 07:54:42 -0800 >> >> I almost never see females in >> these flocks ... anyone want to venture a reason for this? > > > -- > Marcia Marvin * mmarvin at spiritone.com * SW Portland, OR, USA > > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From kolwicz at minetfiber.com Mon Jan 24 13:30:43 2011 From: kolwicz at minetfiber.com (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:30:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Hybrids Message-ID: <4D3DD363.3080307@minetfiber.com> I find all the talk of hybrids perplexing. In my very limited, ancient education and experience in biology, the thing I remember is that THE prime characteristic of a species is the ability to reproduce. I realize that biologists can be graded into some part of the spectrum of lumpers to splitters, but the obvious existence of so many hybrids surely must be a strong pointer to the fact that these variations are really just one species, or call it an "over-species" or umbrella species, that includes the extreme variations as well as the "hybrids". Consider dogs: I've never heard anyone make a case that Chihuahuas and Great Danes are different species and they can't even interbreed. Why should wild birds be treated differently? I'm aware of the "island effect" on speciation and that species do eventually split do to such effects, but it seems to me to be entirely premature to designate as separate species, birds that continue to interbreed in the wild. Thanks for any enlightenment you can provide. Frank in Monmouth From kolwicz at minetfiber.com Mon Jan 24 13:37:32 2011 From: kolwicz at minetfiber.com (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:37:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Ravenous Bushtits Message-ID: <4D3DD4FC.90803@minetfiber.com> I do have females in my flocks, I've photographed them, but I'll look closer to see how many there might be. They are very careless about my presence in the house, about 5' away, and they will land all around me when I happen to be near the feeders when they arrive, some will land on me, although they do seem to be startled a bit by the moving scenery! I'm also starting to see some smaller groups and individuals at the suet - time to break up that old gang and get down to business? Frank From kolwicz at minetfiber.com Mon Jan 24 13:48:42 2011 From: kolwicz at minetfiber.com (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:48:42 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Gyrfalcons and falconers Message-ID: <4D3DD79A.50808@minetfiber.com> It should be pointed out, however, that falconry is potentially a lucrative activity for unethical practitioners and the stories of the prices paid for such birds is a strong incentive to such individuals. How many stories of poaching even far less valuable wildlife does it take to make one extremely cautious of aiding and abetting them? Remember egrets? Bear gall bladders? Big cats? Tropical birds stuffed into spare tires or wherever? Geoducks from Puget Sound? Shark fins? Never assume that people are saints! Frank in Monmouth From rabican1 at gmail.com Mon Jan 24 14:05:04 2011 From: rabican1 at gmail.com (Bob Archer) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 12:05:04 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Hybrids In-Reply-To: <4D3DD363.3080307@minetfiber.com> References: <4D3DD363.3080307@minetfiber.com> Message-ID: Hi all: I also have puzzled over why there are so many species of large gulls when it is clear they all can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. I think the answer lies in what the deffinition of a species is. We humans probably killed off all the species that we could have cross breed with in our distant past. So it is very strange for us to consider cross species breeding as the normal thing, and most would probably define a species in such a way to avoid this contradiction. I do not see GW gulls killing off W Gulls very often. They long ago learned to live together. Lion and tigers can produce fertile crosses, no one thinks of them as the same species. Good thing they do not live in the same area, because a liger is a huge beastie :) So the answer lies in what a species is defined as by science. From what I hear, how to define a species is up in the air. The only reason to even care about what a species is, is to help in studying them. If you enjoy picking out the gulls on the beach, then it gives you a good reference to work with. If you want to study the human impact on the other life on this planet, then it would sure help to figure out how to catagorize exactly what we all live with here. The example of gulls is perfect, just because two very close species can live together and cross breed, should we lump them and ignore their unique differences? With the great advancement in DNA study, turns out many critters should be split out (Mountain Chickadees apparently, thanks Greg). Some quick thoughts Bob Archer On Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 11:30 AM, kolwicz at minetfiber.com < kolwicz at minetfiber.com> wrote: > I find all the talk of hybrids perplexing. In my very limited, ancient > education and experience in biology, the thing I remember is that THE prime > characteristic of a species is the ability to reproduce. I realize that > biologists can be graded into some part of the spectrum of lumpers to > splitters, but the obvious existence of so many hybrids surely must be a > strong pointer to the fact that these variations are really just one > species, or call it an "over-species" or umbrella species, that includes the > extreme variations as well as the "hybrids". > > Consider dogs: I've never heard anyone make a case that Chihuahuas and > Great Danes are different species and they can't even interbreed. Why should > wild birds be treated differently? > > I'm aware of the "island effect" on speciation and that species do > eventually split do to such effects, but it seems to me to be entirely > premature to designate as separate species, birds that continue to > interbreed in the wild. > > Thanks for any enlightenment you can provide. > > Frank > in Monmouth > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dpvroman at budget.net Mon Jan 24 14:13:40 2011 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis Vroman) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 12:13:40 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Sexing Bushtits References: <7D03BDFA-3FD3-466F-9FC4-2A87D096AFB7@spiritone.com> <3702DBC7-BFF0-4F49-9142-20A2CF9191D5@gmail.com> Message-ID: <06E3301204194E9EBF49A57A1306D881@your4dacd0ea75> Female Bushtits have light colored eyes (kind of whitish to cream-colored); males have brown eyes. It should be possible to determine their eye color with good binos (8 power should work) when they are not overly far away. I have been able to sex them by eye color in the field. One of the better ways to check your ability on this is to find a pair during nesting; there should be one of each then. Better yet, find a nest and wait near by it - don't get overly close, your scent will be an attraction to mammal predators...humans mean food...and Jays, if close by, will watch what your doing and possible see the nest for raiding later Dennis. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Shawneen Finnegan" To: "Marcia Marvin" Cc: "OBOL" Sent: Monday, January 24, 2011 11:27 AM Subject: [OBOL] Sexing Bushtits > As far as I know it is just eye color. The female's eye color has changed > from dark to light by one month of age. But given how fast they move they > can be hard to see! > > Shawneen Finnegan > NW Portland > > > On Jan 24, 2011, at 11:13 AM, Marcia Marvin wrote: > >> OBOL - >> >> The comment below puzzled me. Is there another way to determine the >> gender of bushtits besides eye color? I regularly have Bushtits coating >> my suet feeders, and the feeder hangs about seven feet from a window. >> Even with binoculars, in the flurry of activity at the feeder I have >> never been able to determine eye color. Do I need to see faster, or is >> there another clue? >> >> Thanks for any help. >> >> Marcia >> >> >> >>> Subject: Re: Ravenous Bushtits >>> From: A Duston >>> Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 07:54:42 -0800 >>> >>> I almost never see females in >>> these flocks ... anyone want to venture a reason for this? >> >> >> -- >> Marcia Marvin * mmarvin at spiritone.com * SW Portland, OR, USA >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OBOL mailing list >> OBOL at oregonbirds.org >> http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > From puma at smt-net.com Mon Jan 24 14:35:01 2011 From: puma at smt-net.com (Pat Waldron) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 12:35:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Gyrfalcons and falconers In-Reply-To: <4D3DD79A.50808@minetfiber.com> References: <4D3DD79A.50808@minetfiber.com> Message-ID: <6E016850-CDD8-457A-9042-7B6F6759C777@smt-net.com> Folks, ... and connecting all the dots, where do you think they get and renew their "breeding stock"? Thanks to Joel, Frank, and all for bringing this subject to our attention. Pat Waldron East of Scio On Jan 24, 2011, at 11:48 AM, kolwicz at minetfiber.com wrote: > It should be pointed out, however, that falconry is potentially a > lucrative activity for unethical practitioners and the stories of > the prices paid for such birds is a strong incentive to such > individuals. > > How many stories of poaching even far less valuable wildlife does > it take to make one extremely cautious of aiding and abetting them? > Remember egrets? Bear gall bladders? Big cats? Tropical birds > stuffed into spare tires or wherever? Geoducks from Puget Sound? > Shark fins? > > Never assume that people are saints! > > Frank > in Monmouth > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From gnorgren at earthlink.net Mon Jan 24 15:15:18 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 13:15:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Hybrids Message-ID: "Species" is a human construct. I should probably capitalize the whole sentence. I took a class once called "The Real Numbers". There were thirteen members of the Math faculty at the school, considered the best undergraduate math program in the country. My professor didn't believe there were such things as real numbers, but he had to teach the class. Numbers are a human construct. We create these things for our convenience, not for the convenience of the universe we are attempting to describe. The definition of species my parents learned, and I pretty much inherited from them, is most assuredly obsolete. My final semester as an undergraduate I took population biology. As strictly supplementary reading I read a number of currently (1984)published papers on the definition of species. It is at least as contentious as the definition of real numbers, or a host of other academic topics. My thesis advisor was a linguist and ethno-botanist. He had a special interest in the genus Lomatium. It rarely hybridizes in the Pacific Northwest but commonly does in New Zealand. Wayne Hoffman made some comments earlier this month in this forum about hybridization in gulls. People should scroll back and read it, or get into the archives if you routinely delete posts after reading them. Wayne has some authority on the world stage when it comes to the topic of species and gulls. I'm strictly an armchair ornithologist that skipped the lab section of every biology class I took. Wayne did some serious grunt-work three decades ago, which I fear some of the Europeans have yet to read the results of. Mike Patterson put something in his blog awhile back about the concept of species being a human construct. I'm sure that's where I came up with such a potent one-liner. I assure you I didn't make it up. Check out the archives of North Coast Diaries. He does a great job with philosophical perspectives, always more concise than I. This list serves listers, who feel ill-served by hybrids because they can't be listed. Lars, lover of hybrids and the Great Grey Universe From kolwicz at minetfiber.com Mon Jan 24 16:51:23 2011 From: kolwicz at minetfiber.com (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 14:51:23 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Hybrids Message-ID: <4D3E026B.2020307@minetfiber.com> Thanks to all who have responded (already!). I'm beginning to get a clearer mental picture of the range of differing attitudes that show up on the obolist and elsewhere. What I perceived as nearly monolithic is really at least as vague and amorphous as the concepts of species and how species definitions are used. Frank From 5hats at peak.org Mon Jan 24 17:03:53 2011 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:03:53 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Hybrids In-Reply-To: <4D3DD363.3080307@minetfiber.com> References: <4D3DD363.3080307@minetfiber.com> Message-ID: <54B2FC2964094F11B5DBC5C9A9C91637@DarrelPC> Frank, There is a great deal of flexibility within the phrase "after its kind", and we are still learning. Darrel -------------------------------------------------- From: Sent: Monday, January 24, 2011 11:30 AM To: Subject: [OBOL] Hybrids > I find all the talk of hybrids perplexing. In my very limited, ancient > education and experience in biology, the thing I remember is that THE > prime characteristic of a species is the ability to reproduce. I realize > that biologists can be graded into some part of the spectrum of lumpers to > splitters, but the obvious existence of so many hybrids surely must be a > strong pointer to the fact that these variations are really just one > species, or call it an "over-species" or umbrella species, that includes > the extreme variations as well as the "hybrids". > > Consider dogs: I've never heard anyone make a case that Chihuahuas and > Great Danes are different species and they can't even interbreed. Why > should wild birds be treated differently? > > I'm aware of the "island effect" on speciation and that species do > eventually split do to such effects, but it seems to me to be entirely > premature to designate as separate species, birds that continue to > interbreed in the wild. > > Thanks for any enlightenment you can provide. > > Frank > in Monmouth > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > From rfaucett at u.washington.edu Mon Jan 24 17:10:41 2011 From: rfaucett at u.washington.edu (Robert C. Faucett) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:10:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Looking for a (dead) Song Sparrow Message-ID: Hi Folks - My first post here . . . and its a doozy!! I am looking for a dead Song Sparrow. Does anyone happen to have one in a freezer? Feel free to reply directly. Thanks Rob -- Robert C. Faucett Collections Manager Ornithology Burke Museum Box 353010 University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195-3010 Office: 206-543-1668 Cell: 206-619-5569 Fax: 206-685-3039 rfaucett at uw.edu www.washington.edu/burkemuseum http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/ornithology/index.php http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/genetic/index.php From mpasurf at hotmail.com Mon Jan 24 17:52:37 2011 From: mpasurf at hotmail.com (matthew alexander) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:52:37 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Hybrids In-Reply-To: <54B2FC2964094F11B5DBC5C9A9C91637@DarrelPC> References: <4D3DD363.3080307@minetfiber.com>, <54B2FC2964094F11B5DBC5C9A9C91637@DarrelPC> Message-ID: And people thought the falconry post was opening a can of worms. I would argue that in many birding circles the idea of species would be a football field of worms. While Ernst Mayer (foremost developer of the biological species concept [BSC] in 1942 [yeah, I had to double check that date!]) was a great evolutionary biologist and brought a lot of new ideas for how speciation takes place, it is the opinion of many in the evolutionary biology research field that Mayr held back the theory of speciation by decades merely because he was the loudest of his cohort (I believe his last publication was around 2002!). Loudest both in his reportedly big personality at scientific meetings, unabashed verbal attacks of other professors, and his prolific research article publishing. And hence, for better or for worse, most people today define a species using the BSC. Interstingly enough, as he slowed down in the later stages of his life, and advances in genetics opened new frontiers, a multitude of "newer" species concepts both developed and/or were able to be "heard". I spent a lot of my college days around the turn of this century focused on the research of speciation, and I believe there are twenty some concepts. However, only four or five garner the most attention. The main reason for my post is to share a website put together by U.C. Berkeley that I used to show my biology students and I think many OBOLers will find it helpful. It is a nice primer to the general definition of speciation and a few of the main species concepts. Enjoy! http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/VSpeciation.shtml Matthew Alexander -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andydfrank at gmail.com Mon Jan 24 18:36:11 2011 From: andydfrank at gmail.com (Andy Frank) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:36:11 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Marine Drive East, Portland, today Message-ID: It was a beautiful day for a bike ride along Marine Drive from Broughton Beach to 185th street. There were 3 COMMON LOONS. One was 1/4 mile east of the I-205 bridge and the other 2 were about 1/4 mile west of the bridge. This is the 2nd time this year I've found 3 Common Loons along the Columbia there, but have yet to find the Red-throated Loon (I got very good looks at all of the loons today as they were all relatively close to sure and am confident of the IDs). There are still gobs of SCAUP, and kudos to David Irons and Shawneen Finnegan for having the patience to count all of them (and the skill to tell all the Greaters from Lessers). There were 2 WESTERN GREBES and 3 HORNED GREBES, several COMMON GOLDENEYES. No Long-tailed Duck. Andy Frank -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From celata at pacifier.com Mon Jan 24 18:37:37 2011 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:37:37 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Clatsop Raptor Routes for January Message-ID: <4D3E1B51.3030709@pacifier.com> I ran the Youngs Bay Raptor route January 18 and the Columbia River Route today. Date: January 18, 2011 Location: Clatsop County, Oregon Youngs Bay Route - 2.2hrs 64.6mi Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Bald Eagle 6 Red-tailed Hawk 7 American Kestrel 3 Total number of species seen: 3 Date: January 24, 2011 Location: Clatsop County, Oregon Columbia River Route - 3hrs; 63.1mi Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Bald Eagle 19 Northern Harrier 5 Cooper's Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 11 American Kestrel 1 Peregrine Falcon 3 Total number of species seen: 6 -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Schools of thought: Pishing http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/17948/ From larmcqueen at msn.com Mon Jan 24 19:01:01 2011 From: larmcqueen at msn.com (Larry McQueen) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:01:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Hybrids In-Reply-To: <4D3DD363.3080307@minetfiber.com> References: <4D3DD363.3080307@minetfiber.com> Message-ID: One definition of a species, recognized in nature, that I like to use for birds, is a "population of interbreeding individuals of shared characteristics that differ from other interbreeding populations." The key word here is "population". The occasional hybrid does not define the population of either type; on the contrary, the hybrid expresses the integral characters of both populations. This gets complicated when defining subspecies (what are they, anyway?), that share characteristics with differences from other populations within the "species". Hybrids between subspecific groups are considered "intergrades" (what are they, anyway?). Lars is quite right in pointing out that the species concept is continually developing and we see today, how this is changing the taxonomy as expressed in each AOU Supplement. The taxonomy of today attempts the organization of relationships, as indicated in genetic analysis. Hybridization between recognized species is common within certain waterfowl, gulls, hummingbirds, wood warblers, etc. This indicates recent diversion and isolation within these groups. Awhile back, the category of Super-species was developed as a handle for grouping these close relationships, but this seems to be out of vogue today (or quieted down). This is what the Genus is for (the first name in the scientific binomial). Wild hybrids are not breeds, as in dogs, and notice too, that not all hybrids are fertile! In nature, we can recognize fertility by the appearance of back crossing between subsequent generations, such as occurs between Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers. It's entirely possible that the large, white-headed gulls may be lumped, but I hope not. They have given us a lot to work on. Have to run, Larry On Jan 24, 2011, at 11:30 AM, kolwicz at minetfiber.com wrote: > I find all the talk of hybrids perplexing. In my very limited, ancient education and experience in biology, the thing I remember is that THE prime characteristic of a species is the ability to reproduce. I realize that biologists can be graded into some part of the spectrum of lumpers to splitters, but the obvious existence of so many hybrids surely must be a strong pointer to the fact that these variations are really just one species, or call it an "over-species" or umbrella species, that includes the extreme variations as well as the "hybrids". > > Consider dogs: I've never heard anyone make a case that Chihuahuas and Great Danes are different species and they can't even interbreed. Why should wild birds be treated differently? > > I'm aware of the "island effect" on speciation and that species do eventually split do to such effects, but it seems to me to be entirely premature to designate as separate species, birds that continue to interbreed in the wild. > > Thanks for any enlightenment you can provide. > > Frank > in Monmouth > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > From Oropendolas at aol.com Mon Jan 24 19:24:57 2011 From: Oropendolas at aol.com (Oropendolas at aol.com) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 20:24:57 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] Fern Ridge Swamp Sparrow Directions Message-ID: <333f0.714c3538.3a6f8069@aol.com> It has been brought to my attention that the Swamp Sparrow was seen Northwest of the Royal Ave. viewing platform, not NE like I had posted yesterday. My apologies. John Sullivan Springfield, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From clownshoes420 at gmail.com Mon Jan 24 20:36:56 2011 From: clownshoes420 at gmail.com (ben burnette) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:36:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fern Rildge @ Eugene Message-ID: on Royal Ave. returning from the platform after sunset.. i stood where Larry Mcqueen stood for CBC and waited until the short-eared owl appeared.. after 10 minutes of rapid flying about the field.. a quick turn and dive to the ground and he stayed down.. very content and walking back by the first pond from parking area.. was a great horned owl in tree.. it flew right in front of me and perched in a tree on the north side of the road.. seconds after he landed .. the short-eared owl flew up to the perch of the GHO and made a couple of intimidating passes.. and then returned to the fields.. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From whoffman at peak.org Mon Jan 24 21:14:28 2011 From: whoffman at peak.org (Wayne Hoffman) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:14:28 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Coos Birdies 1/23/2011 References: <826207.54956.qm@web45316.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <78035321604548AA8E62B759E4041C37@D48XBZ51> Hi Tim - I am interested in your geese. What was the age distribution in the flock of 116 White-fronts? Wednesday I was in Cannon Beach and saw a flock of 28 on a ballfield downtown - not one adult in the bunch! They were all very approachable. Then Thursday and Saturday I watched a flock of 32 hanging around Alsea Bay - 30 immature; 2 adults. These are birds that migrate south in flocks composed of family groups - immatures closely associating weith their parents. I suspect that what happens is that weak birds - mostly youngsters - drop out when they reach the coast on their normal nonstop flight from SW Alaska to the Klamath marshes. (we see quite a few on the ground in Sept. - Oct. when the flocks are going overhead). These dropouts then usually join flocks of other geese. I suspect htis year there were enough that they were able to join up in flocks of conspecifics. The Cannon Beach flock also contained 3 white-cheeked geese - I think all three different subspecies, and I am not even sure whether the larger ones were Cackling or Canada. The smallest one was clearly Cackling, but I think not minima. Maybe Mike Patterson or David Bailey is familiar with this flock and has taken time to work out their identities? (hint hint hint). The other possibility is that young birds are getting emancipated somewhere to the south and starting to wander north well ahead of the adults. If these flocks are new arrivals that might be more likely. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: Tim Rodenkirk To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Sunday, January 23, 2011 6:04 PM Subject: [OBOL] Coos Birdies 1/23/2011 We had an hour of sun today, otherwise it was mostly cloudy, but temps in the 50's made it pleasant. I mostly just saw previously reported overwintering birds, but here are my highlights: 1- SAY'S PHOEBE, the overwintering bird at the ranch off Picture Valley Road north of Myrtle Point 1- GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, at the Roseburg Mill pond in Coquille (a more typical winter total than the 116 birds I recently observed on the eastside of Coos Bay!) 1- ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, Eastside, Coos Bay neighborhood 1- COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, overwintering at Millicoma Marsh 1- LESSER YELLOWLEGS, overwintering at Millicoma Marsh- seen with 20 Greaters today. I haven't seen this bird in over 6 weeks so I wasn't sure if it was overwintering or not. That's about it for today. Have fun! Tim R Coos Bay ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From masohlstrom at msn.com Mon Jan 24 21:21:25 2011 From: masohlstrom at msn.com (Mary Anne Sohlstrom) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:21:25 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Rambling the Willamette Valley Message-ID: All - my friend Serge Trotter and I made swing through the mid-Willamette Valley for a short tutorial on "always consider the Red-tailed hawk first". Sixteen red-tails later, I had him convinced. During the course of the morning and early afternoon we found: Red-tailed hawk 16 Bald Eagle 8 (adult) 3 (immature) Rough-legged Hawk 1 American Kestrel 21 Northern Harrier 2 We ran back roads east of I-5, north and south Brownsville and west of the freeway from Harrisburg to Peoria. We checked the location for the gyr mentioned a few days ago and only found another red-tail. It was a lovely day to be out and about. Mary Anne Sohlstrom masohlstrom at msn.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From naholt at comcast.net Mon Jan 24 21:28:21 2011 From: naholt at comcast.net (Nadine Holten) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:28:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Mailing List Message-ID: I recently subscribed to the mailing list, and would like to change it to the Digest. How do I do this? Thank you. Nadine Holten Nadine Holten naholt at comcast.net 503 639-5122 From whoffman at peak.org Mon Jan 24 21:28:55 2011 From: whoffman at peak.org (Wayne Hoffman) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:28:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia River: Hood River to Eagle Creek References: Message-ID: <0A4A3F5F57CA42E7A9DA94C80912A737@D48XBZ51> Hi - Must have had fun counting those coots! Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: Shawneen Finnegan To: OBOL Sent: Sunday, January 23, 2011 8:54 PM Subject: [OBOL] Columbia River: Hood River to Eagle Creek After scouring the Columbia River in Portland yesterday, we decided to go further east upriver. Other than stopping first at Eagle Creek, we spent the day working our way from east to west from Hood River. Only some of the 44 species we saw today are listed. EAGLE CREEK: 97 Lesser Scaup 7 Greater Scaup 6 Barrow's Goldeneye 11 Common Goldeneye 2 EARED GREBES HOOD RIVER MOUTH and vicinity: 1 Canvasback 5 Redheads 740 Greater Scaup 130 Lesser Scaup 1 CLARK'S GREBE 33 Ring-billed Gulls 2 Mew Gulls 3 Thayer's Gulls 5 Herring Gulls 5 Glaucous-winged Gulls 12 GWxWestern hybrids GOVERNMENT COVE, HOOD RIVER 1 Common Loon (only loon seen today) 17 Horned Grebes 1008 American Coots 1 American Dipper (at the edge of the cove!) We had quite a few Horned Grebes today, lots of coots, lots of scaup, and only a few raptors. Shawneen Finnegan and Dave Irons NW Portland ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 4cains at charter.net Mon Jan 24 22:31:26 2011 From: 4cains at charter.net (Lee & Lori Cain) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 20:31:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Mystery Beach Feather Message-ID: <3AD9B604072446DFB21D87623BC3C613@CainFamilyHP> This feather was a rather odd find on the beach at Peter Iredale. I am interested in what other people think it is. http://www.flickr.com/photos/townsendi/5386707992/ Lee Cain Astoria, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From aeduston at hevanet.com Mon Jan 24 22:46:03 2011 From: aeduston at hevanet.com (A Duston) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 20:46:03 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Sexing Bushtits Message-ID: <4D3E558B.1070605@hevanet.com> Our suet feeder hangs right outside our kitchen window, about 3 feet from a "kitchen sink observer's" eyes. Great view of any suet nosher. Amongst all the flocks of bushtits observed here, I remember only one with eyes lighter than others' in the flock. For some time I didn't take note that eye color was a sex characteristic; I just marveled at the number of little tiny birds covering the feeder. Later, reading about eye color in a field guide I began to look for lighter-eyed birds. Now, years later yet, I still recall only that one, and yellow would be too strong a label for that bird's eyes. A puzzlement ..... Anne D. in east Portland > Message: 4 > Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:13:27 -0800 > From: Marcia Marvin > To: OBOL > Subject: [OBOL] Sexing Bushtits WAS re: Ravenous Bushtits > Message-ID:<7D03BDFA-3FD3-466F-9FC4-2A87D096AFB7 at spiritone.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed > > OBOL - > > The comment below puzzled me. Is there another way to determine the > gender of bushtits besides eye color? I regularly have Bushtits > coating my suet feeders, and the feeder hangs about seven feet from a > window. Even with binoculars, in the flurry of activity at the > feeder I have never been able to determine eye color. Do I need to > see faster, or is there another clue? > > Thanks for any help. > > Marcia From greg at thebirdguide.com Mon Jan 24 23:09:44 2011 From: greg at thebirdguide.com (Greg Gillson) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 21:09:44 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Sexing Bushtits Message-ID: <1A65C55B424C4EA291584119B0FDF02F@GREG> I find the eye-color of Bushtit's very prominent. Of course, I have known about sexing Bushtits by eye color since 1973, so I always look. We see what we look for and often do not see what we are not looking for. This is one reason we can fool ourselves into misidentifying birds... we don't see what's right in front of us, or subconsciously dismiss what we see because we're not expecting it. Here are several photos of Bushtits taken in Oregon. It appears that half are male and half are female. http://www.pbase.com/gregbirder/bushtit Greg Gillson The Bird Guide, Inc. greg at thebirdguide.com http://thebirdguide.com From loinneilceol at yahoo.com Mon Jan 24 23:17:59 2011 From: loinneilceol at yahoo.com (Leith McKenzie) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 21:17:59 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Mystery Beach Feather Message-ID: <71169.97944.qm@web30406.mail.mud.yahoo.com> It looks like a primary from a BARRED OWL (Strix varia). Maitreya On Mon Jan 24th, 2011 8:31 PM PST Lee & Lori Cain wrote: >This feather was a rather odd find on the beach at Peter Iredale. I am interested in what other people think it is. > >http://www.flickr.com/photos/townsendi/5386707992/ > >Lee Cain >Astoria, OR From rick.lumen at gmail.com Mon Jan 24 23:20:23 2011 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 21:20:23 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Sexing Bushtits WAS re: Ravenous Bushtits In-Reply-To: <7D03BDFA-3FD3-466F-9FC4-2A87D096AFB7@spiritone.com> References: <7D03BDFA-3FD3-466F-9FC4-2A87D096AFB7@spiritone.com> Message-ID: <849CD705-3A56-4029-A47E-729EC9BA7A18@gmail.com> Here's a link to Bushtits from my blog. About half male / half female, like Greg's. http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/search/label/bushtit Rick On Jan 24, 2011, at 11:13 AM, Marcia Marvin wrote: > OBOL - > > The comment below puzzled me. Is there another way to determine the > gender of bushtits besides eye color? I regularly have Bushtits > coating my suet feeders, and the feeder hangs about seven feet from > a window. Even with binoculars, in the flurry of activity at the > feeder I have never been able to determine eye color. Do I need to > see faster, or is there another clue? > > Thanks for any help. > > Marcia > > > >> Subject: Re: Ravenous Bushtits >> From: A Duston >> Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 07:54:42 -0800 >> >> I almost never see females in >> these flocks ... anyone want to venture a reason for this? > > > -- > Marcia Marvin * mmarvin at spiritone.com * SW Portland, OR, USA > > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From d_villa at mail.com Mon Jan 24 23:23:09 2011 From: d_villa at mail.com (d_villa at mail.com) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:23:09 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Sexing Bushtits WAS re: Ravenous Bushtits In-Reply-To: <849CD705-3A56-4029-A47E-729EC9BA7A18@gmail.com> References: <7D03BDFA-3FD3-466F-9FC4-2A87D096AFB7@spiritone.com> <849CD705-3A56-4029-A47E-729EC9BA7A18@gmail.com> Message-ID: <8CD8A6716E27027-C64-59E1@web-mmc-m02.sysops.aol.com> The females are the grumpy looking ones :o) dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast http://dvillabirds.blogspot.com/ -----Original Message----- From: Richard Leinen To: Marcia Marvin Cc: OBOL Sent: Mon, Jan 24, 2011 9:20 pm Subject: Re: [OBOL] Sexing Bushtits WAS re: Ravenous Bushtits Here's a link to Bushtits from my blog. About half male / half female, like Greg's. http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/search/label/bushtit Rick On Jan 24, 2011, at 11:13 AM, Marcia Marvin wrote: > OBOL - > > The comment below puzzled me. Is there another way to determine the > gender of bushtits besides eye color? I regularly have Bushtits > coating my suet feeders, and the feeder hangs about seven feet from > a window. Even with binoculars, in the flurry of activity at the > feeder I have never been able to determine eye color. Do I need to > see faster, or is there another clue? > > Thanks for any help. > > Marcia > > > >> Subject: Re: Ravenous Bushtits >> From: A Duston >> Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 07:54:42 -0800 >> >> I almost never see females in >> these flocks ... anyone want to venture a reason for this? > > > -- > Marcia Marvin * mmarvin at spiritone.com * SW Portland, OR, USA > > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gregbaker.birder at gmail.com Mon Jan 24 23:28:48 2011 From: gregbaker.birder at gmail.com (Greg Baker) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 21:28:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Follow up on Yellow-billed Loon and Arctic Loon reports from 1/22 and 1/23 Message-ID: All, Several people asked me off line to post directions to the loon sweet spot on Tillamook Bay. The YB Loon is a pale "ghost bird", if you see it you can miss it. I spotted it on a drive by at the small aluminum road sign that says 5905 (in small letters), just off a paved pull off where water runs under the highway...It is the unmarked pull off south of the view point that has three interpretive signs and two posts sticking out of the bay...on 101, south - what a mile (?) or so of Garibaldi... Note: I spotted it on 1/22...almost two months after spending two full days around Thanksgiving studying every Common Loon (there were many) near Memaloose Landing, and NO luck...I assume it is the same bird reported by Tim S and others before T-Day. Owen told me it was not seen on the Tillamook CBC. If you go looning, just try the mile stretch starting at Garibaldi, and work your way south. Bring a good powerful scope though, and do your birding in the morning so the lighting is optimal as you are facing west, SW and NW primarily. As for the Arctic Loon...I wished I had attempted to digiscope/photo it with my Point-and-Shoot, as the record committee wanted a write up on it, which I just sent to Harry last evening. (Lesson: Always try to get a documentation photo, no matter how marginal it is likely to be.) I encourage others to go looning and get some photos. Be sure to study up on Pacific Loons though, and note that they have a white belly that is exposed while preening, and partially exposed in choppy water. Peg Goldie and I saw our bird on a still glass-like surface, before noon (1/23) with great lighting, at several angles, and the white flanks did not "go away" while the bird was at rest and going about its business. It also had more white in the face, and lacked the little brown necklace constriction depicted in the Natl Geo field guide. Google image both Pacifics and Arctics beforehand. Good luck...I hope someone finds it and collaborates with photos! Greg Baker -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From larmcqueen at msn.com Tue Jan 25 00:32:58 2011 From: larmcqueen at msn.com (Larry McQueen) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 22:32:58 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Mystery Beach Feather In-Reply-To: <3AD9B604072446DFB21D87623BC3C613@CainFamilyHP> References: <3AD9B604072446DFB21D87623BC3C613@CainFamilyHP> Message-ID: I think this is a turkey inner primary. Larry On Jan 24, 2011, at 8:31 PM, Lee & Lori Cain wrote: > This feather was a rather odd find on the beach at Peter Iredale. I am interested in what other people think it is. > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/townsendi/5386707992/ > > Lee Cain > Astoria, OR > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From greenfant at hotmail.com Tue Jan 25 00:54:06 2011 From: greenfant at hotmail.com (Stefan Schlick) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 01:54:06 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Westmoreland Park gull pictures (Multnomah Co) Message-ID: I just uploaded a bunch of gull pictures from yesterday's visit to Westmoreland Park. If you like that sort of thing, tune into http://birdmeister.wordpress.com/. There are a few birds that are unid'ed or only partially id'ed ... Stefan Schlick Hillsboro, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffgill at teleport.com Tue Jan 25 01:03:02 2011 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:03:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Westmoreland Park gull pictures (Multnomah Co) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Great photos. I have to disagree regarding whether the Eurasian Wigeon is a hybrid or not. The slight greenish behind the eye is normal for a full Eurasian. On 1/24/11 10:54 PM, "Stefan Schlick" wrote: > I just uploaded a bunch of gull pictures from yesterday's visit to > Westmoreland Park. If you like that sort of thing, tune into > http://birdmeister.wordpress.com/. There are a few birds that are unid'ed or > only partially id'ed ... > > Stefan Schlick > Hillsboro, OR > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Tue Jan 25 01:31:03 2011 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 07:31:03 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Westmoreland Park gull pictures (Multnomah Co) In-Reply-To: References: , Message-ID: Jeff's take on the wigeon is correct, at close range, when the light is right, male Eurasians can show a feint (almost ghosted) green stripe behind the eye. Dave Irons Portland, OR Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:03:02 -0800 From: jeffgill at teleport.com To: greenfant at hotmail.com; obol at oregonbirds.org; portland-area-birds at googlegroups.com Subject: Re: [OBOL] Westmoreland Park gull pictures (Multnomah Co) Message body Great photos. I have to disagree regarding whether the Eurasian Wigeon is a hybrid or not. The slight greenish behind the eye is normal for a full Eurasian. On 1/24/11 10:54 PM, "Stefan Schlick" wrote: I just uploaded a bunch of gull pictures from yesterday's visit to Westmoreland Park. If you like that sort of thing, tune into http://birdmeister.wordpress.com/. There are a few birds that are unid'ed or only partially id'ed ... Stefan Schlick Hillsboro, OR _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com Tue Jan 25 01:46:47 2011 From: shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com (Shawneen Finnegan) Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:46:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] your Westmoreland pics Message-ID: <6EF3D8DB-1C19-4747-B4FB-736DD352FBDD@gmail.com> Stefan: Very nice photos from Westmoreland. Here is my take on the photos in order. 1) Yes, this is a first-cycle Thayer's. 2) Also a first-cycle Thayer's. Most likely a male as males are larger than females and have flatter heads. Am not bothered by darkness. 5) This looks like a Glaucous-winged x Herring hybrid. 8) pure EUWI --some Eurasians I have seen in Europe have shown more green than this 9) probably mostly Western Gull, but does look a bit smudgy to be pure Western. By the way, I made Dave withhold his opinions on these gulls until after I had written mine down and happily we were in agreement. Good gulling, Shawneen Finnegan From gnorgren at earthlink.net Tue Jan 25 02:44:43 2011 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:44:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Stefan Schlick's Westmoreland fieldtrip Message-ID: I spent a few minutes at Westmoreland Park this pm with dazzling light and many gulls. Don't recall so many inscrutables before. No Glaucous of any kind, but two were probably Glaucous X G-wing. They had unworn feathers, very pale primaries and all black bills. Many strange Herring Gulls, as it were near Herrings. Many Thayer's of all possibilities= crisp first cycle, worn and faded first cycle, second and third cycle both fresh and wilted. It's been a long time since I was there, and I felt slightly out of synch. There's probably a higher portion of more northerly birds than before Christmas. Hence more G-wing hybrids involving non-Western parents. In late fall and early winter some adults are still changing from summer to winter feathers. Now some may be starting the transition back to summer. I had a camera with me, which is rare, but the battery died after one picture. Stefan did an excellent job of winnowing out the chaff. If you are insecure about gull ID, and in this part of the world everyone should be to some extent, Stefan has provided an awesome opportunity. The third year Western or one very like it has been around since early fall. It's got to have the biggest honkin' bill of any bird on the beach. There's often one like it at Westmoreland and/or Fernhill Lake. I feel like they take up an inordinate part of my time. The Thayer's that Stefan expressed doubts about has a longer, flatter head than the others shown. A lot of readers will probably wonder what Shawneen and I mean about this. It's pretty darn subtle. I hope it's not discouraging. Look at the various birds repeatedly over the next few days. You won't be distracted by two hundred other gulls, trading from one bread scrum to the next. It's quality training for Larid ID. Look at its legs. They are as short as the other Thayer's shown. If it were a G-wing blend the legs would be longer. It was the last day of January two years ago that many people got point blank looks at a third year Slaty-back in this park. Eight species of gulls were present that afternoon, including two Glaucous Gulls. That season has returned. Persistence furthers. Many out of town birders arrived after the Slaty-backed had left. There is a steady turnover at Westmoreland. Many folks saw the same Slatyback north of the Burnside Bridge, on or near the east bank. I never did. A birder from the UK stopped by Westmoreland on his way back to the airport to go home and got the Slatyback in the first week of April. This photo montage of gulls reminds me of the lessons I used to get in Japanese class at PSU. There it was a discrete section of realistic dialogue spoken by native speakers. Not so much as to be overwhelming. Pay attention, have a good night's sleep, two or three hours after a full stomach, and it can all be absorbed. You go away wiser. Not fluent, of course. It's an incremental process that rewards the patient and persistent. Lars Norgren From dcoggswell at hotmail.com Tue Jan 25 08:15:24 2011 From: dcoggswell at hotmail.com (Donald Coggswell) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:15:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Say's Phoebe - Polk County Message-ID: Monday, Jan. 24 about 3:00 PM. There was a Say's Phoebe in the birch trees along Smithfield Rd. at the VanDuzer Vineyards driveway. Don -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Tue Jan 25 08:49:47 2011 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:49:47 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Vultures 1/24/2011 Message-ID: <8534.60992.qm@web45311.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Jim Heaney reports the first TVs for Coos County this "spring", 4 birds in the Coquille Valley on Monday.? This species has gradually begun arriving earlier and earlier in Coos Co. and this is about a "typical" arrival time for them anymore. A few more days of sun before the rain returns- have a good one! Tim Rodenkirk Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From baybirders at embarqmail.com Tue Jan 25 09:50:21 2011 From: baybirders at embarqmail.com (Carol Cwiklinski & Steve Small) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:50:21 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] OBOL Digest, Vol 9, Issue 42 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <351328878.1481112.1295970621902.JavaMail.root@md09.embarq.synacor.com> Looks like an owl feather to me. Carol Cwiklinski ----- Original Message ----- From: obol-request at oregonbirds.org To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Monday, January 24, 2011 8:31:33 PM Subject: OBOL Digest, Vol 9, Issue 42 Send OBOL mailing list submissions to obol at oregonbirds.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to obol-request at oregonbirds.org You can reach the person managing the list at obol-owner at oregonbirds.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of OBOL digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Wild Falcons (Norgren Family) 2. White-winged Crossbill in Klamath Falls (LATE); 21 Jan 2011 (David Hewitt) 3. Re: Gyrfalcons and falconers (Joel Geier) 4. Sexing Bushtits WAS re: Ravenous Bushtits (Marcia Marvin) 5. Sexing Bushtits (Shawneen Finnegan) 6. Hybrids (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) 7. Re: Ravenous Bushtits (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) 8. Re: Gyrfalcons and falconers (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) 9. Re: Hybrids (Bob Archer) 10. Re: Sexing Bushtits (Dennis Vroman) 11. Re: Gyrfalcons and falconers (Pat Waldron) 12. Hybrids (Norgren Family) 13. Re: Hybrids (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) 14. Re: Hybrids (Darrel & Laura) 15. Looking for a (dead) Song Sparrow (Robert C. Faucett) 16. Re: Hybrids (matthew alexander) 17. Marine Drive East, Portland, today (Andy Frank) 18. Clatsop Raptor Routes for January (Mike Patterson) 19. Re: Hybrids (Larry McQueen) 20. Fern Ridge Swamp Sparrow Directions (Oropendolas at aol.com) 21. Fern Rildge @ Eugene (ben burnette) 22. Re: Coos Birdies 1/23/2011 (Wayne Hoffman) 23. Rambling the Willamette Valley (Mary Anne Sohlstrom) 24. Mailing List (Nadine Holten) 25. Re: Columbia River: Hood River to Eagle Creek (Wayne Hoffman) 26. Mystery Beach Feather (Lee & Lori Cain) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:37:09 -0800 From: Norgren Family To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Wild Falcons Message-ID: <7367E7EC-C9BC-4EA8-B618-A6A29925B975 at earthlink.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Chill dudes! I once shared Joel's concerns, which were vary valid in the early seventies. Remember the Peregrine eyrie at Moro Bay, CA? It's eyasses were kidnapped twice in one season despite 'round the clock watch by volunteers. Now= adays falconers buy captive bred birds, and prefer SakerXGyrfalcon hybrids. It is far, far easier to train a bird you get as a fledgling than try to do anything with a wild bird, especially an adult. I had well over an hour conversation with a falconer on this subject the last time this thread came up (I was the anguished initiator thereof). It's Monday AM and I'm supposed to be at my day job. As Dave says, these guys(falconers) are leagues ahead of us in field knowledge. My informant had once seen seven Prairie Falcons in a single day, between Eugene and Corvallis. That was in the late sixties or early seventies when birders generally didn't know PRFA was an option in Linn/Lane/Benton Counties. Lars ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:39:33 -0800 From: David Hewitt To: OBOL Subject: [OBOL] White-winged Crossbill in Klamath Falls (LATE); 21 Jan 2011 Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Thanks to Scott Carpenter for passing along word of this sighting earlier. I'm behind on my birding responsibilities due to illness. A photo of the bird was posted with the initial announcement on Klamath Basin Bird News: http://bit.ly/hpe3dc A couple folks scoured the neighborhood later to try and relocate the bird, without success. I assume WWCR is not an OBRC review species. Dave Hewitt Klamath Falls ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:47:42 -0800 From: Joel Geier To: Oregon Birders OnLine Subject: Re: [OBOL] Gyrfalcons and falconers Message-ID: <1295894862.1847.432.camel at clearwater1> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Hello all, Like I stated very clearly, I have no interest in raising a can of worms regarding moral approval or disapproval of falconry. The fact that falconers can be very knowledgeable about falcons and other raptors is beyond dispute. I know a couple of local falconers who I consider to be decent people, even good conservationists. Personal anecdotes and remembrances aside, the salient fact is that this administrative rule is on the books in Oregon: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/agency/commission/minutes/11/01_jan/Exhibit% 20B_Attachment_3_OAR.pdf If there were no one interested in taking Gyrfalcons from the wild, I find it improbable that the paragraph that I quoted would still be part of this rule. Once aware of this, everyone can make their own personal choices. But I thought birders would want to know about this so they can be fully aware. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:13:27 -0800 From: Marcia Marvin To: OBOL Subject: [OBOL] Sexing Bushtits WAS re: Ravenous Bushtits Message-ID: <7D03BDFA-3FD3-466F-9FC4-2A87D096AFB7 at spiritone.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed OBOL - The comment below puzzled me. Is there another way to determine the gender of bushtits besides eye color? I regularly have Bushtits coating my suet feeders, and the feeder hangs about seven feet from a window. Even with binoculars, in the flurry of activity at the feeder I have never been able to determine eye color. Do I need to see faster, or is there another clue? Thanks for any help. Marcia > Subject: Re: Ravenous Bushtits > From: A Duston > Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 07:54:42 -0800 > > I almost never see females in > these flocks ... anyone want to venture a r