From birdboy at bkpix.com Sun Jan 1 00:46:07 2012 From: birdboy at bkpix.com (Noah Strycker) Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:46:07 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Bandon (Photos) Message-ID: Hi birders, Anne and Dan Heyerly and I found a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER on today's Coquille Valley Christmas Bird Count. The bird was seen again before dark by Tim Rodenkirk and Frank Mayer. According to Tim, it's the first Coos County record ;) It was attending a sap well at the house just northwest of the intersection of NE Second Street and NE Lexington Avenue in Bandon. As you stand on Lexington Avenue facing west toward the house, look at a low, leafless shrub just behind a metal fence behind the gravel driveway even with the right side of the house; one of the main trunks of this shrub has several fresh sap wells on it. The sapsucker made several brief visits there and also perched in the big evergreen tree in the house's front yard, but it was quite active and seemed to spend most of its time elsewhere in the neighborhood. It's mostly in juvenile plumage, with a very light wash of red visible on the crown from certain angles. I believe the fact that it hasn't yet attained adult-like plumage eliminates the possibility of Red-naped (which would have molted months ago). Here's a couple photos: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100125766939038.2409183.19708114&type=1&l=2ea182cd35 It was a great CBC today - not a drop of rain! Good birding - Noah Strycker -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgates326 at gmail.com Sun Jan 1 01:17:26 2012 From: cgates326 at gmail.com (Charles R. Gates) Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:17:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Prineville CBC Results Message-ID: <4F000886.1000404@gmail.com> The Prineville CBC is in the can. Thanks to the 24 birders who helped out. The best bird was a LONG-TAILED DUCK found at the Prineville Sewer Ponds. Other goodies included White-fronted Goose, Cackling Goose, Snow Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, Western Grebe, Turkey, and Sora. High counts occurred for American Kestrel, Great Horned Owl, Sora, and Bushtit. Big misses included White-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Northern Pygmy-owl, Varied Thrush, and Pine Siskin. We found 85 species and 27570 individuals. This was the last Prineville CBC for which I was the coordinator. I am passing the reins to Mr. David Schas for future counts. Remember the old saying, "Old CBC compilers never die. They just sublimate." -- Chuck Gates Crook County High School NAMC State Coordinator - East Cascades Audubon Society Online Oregon Birding Site Guide - birdingoregon.info 541-923-1320 From namitzr at hotmail.com Sun Jan 1 02:00:04 2012 From: namitzr at hotmail.com (Russ Namitz) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 00:00:04 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Oregon BIG Year Message-ID: As I received an afternoon text today from Dan Heyerly that read "Prob Y-B" my pulse raced as I immediately thought of Yellow-billed Loon, a bird I had yet to see this year in Oregon. It turned out to be something almost as exciting, the first Coos County record for Yellow-billed Sapsucker. Still very cool, but a slight disappointment as Yellow-billed Loon would remain off the 2011 year list. For those birding vicariously with me, here are the answers to a few burning questions. I ended the year with 381 species. I drove approximately 41,000 miles. I ate 97 Subway Sandwiches. For the rest of the story and the particulars, enjoy the upcoming article in the April issue of Oregon Birds. Thank you to all of you who have wished me well in the field as well as electronically including The Bird Guide pelagic crew, OFO members and OBOL subscribers. Thanks for sharing gas expenses & bird adventures to Barbara Taylor, Joe Metzler and Eric Clough. Thank you Alan Contreras, Dave Lauten & Kathy Castelein, Dan & Anne Heyerly, Judy Meredith and John Sullivan & Laura Johnson for all the technical support & bird updates along the way. The Big Year would have never been as successfull without friends like you. And lastly, thank you to Trent Bray & Tim Rodenkirk, who provided support and INSPIRATION all year long. You guys rock! Happy New Year and the best of birding in 2012! Sincerely, Russ Namitz Coos Bay, OR PS: My wife said it was ok to chase the YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER tomorrow, but to come straight home afterwards. :) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 5hats at peak.org Sun Jan 1 08:37:38 2012 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 06:37:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] 12/31/11 - Union County: The last birds. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <368B8802680A4B57A1988AF03C692486@DarrelPC> Jack Well, I birded with Russ on the Lincoln County field trip in November, and I had to squeeze out of him how many birds he had seen, even though at the time he was already well past the previous state record. Not exactly bragging. Darrel From: Jack Williamson Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2011 8:39 PM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: [OBOL] 12/31/11 - Union County: The last birds. Congratulations! From a newnbie - that (250) sounds like it might be an (all-county) record - yes? Regarding Russ; he seems to worry about being thought of as a bragger - an attitude I am sure many will agree I could learn from since I am in the habit of calling out my every success as if I were still in junior high. Pathetic really for someone of advanced years :-) I believe Tim Rodenkirk, who's long standing record Russ is claiming, would be the first among us to congratulate and, at the same time, ask him for the details. What say you? -- Jack Williamson West Linn, Oregon -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ 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 Sun Jan 1 09:22:58 2012 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 07:22:58 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls Message-ID: <1325431378.32761.YahooMailMobile@web39704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Grace, I'm sorry to hear of this attack----but sometimes great horned owls do this when the pair finds people close to their prospective nesting location. At this time of year these birds are either on their nest, or getting ready for that. You were not able to distinguish what species attacked you-----but if it was a "big" owl, with yellow eyes, it was most likely a great horned owl. I see your report as a territorial defense of a nesting location. It is possible that the owls are starving, and this would not be noticeable from the owl's exterior appearance. I don't think this was the case because you saw two owls-----had the owls been starving, the bigger female would already have killed and eaten the smaller male. Goshawks do the same thing, and what I have seen Fish &Game Dept's do in these situations-----is to use "police line" plastic tape to mark off the dangerous area. I would quickly inform ODF&W of this situation so these owls aren't killed, the area roped off, and signs indicating the danger posted in clear view for all. Best of luck getting these owls, and the general public, protected. Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. South of Burns) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ninerharv2 at msn.com Sun Jan 1 09:41:23 2012 From: ninerharv2 at msn.com (HARVEY W SCHUBOTHE) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 07:41:23 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Coquille Valley CBC Preliminary Report Message-ID: Thirty six birders endured sunny skies that turned partly cloudy on New Year's eve for the Coquille Valley Christmas Bird Count. 151 different species were observed in the field with some feeder counts still forthcoming. Highlight was a yellow bellied sapsucker in Bandon, a Coos County record, reported earlier with photos by Noah Stryker. A violet green swallow was discovered for only the second time in the count. Other notables that we have often missed were a barred owl and tree swallows. Add western buebirds, lesser goldfinches, american bittern, brown pelicans, brant, palm warblers and wild turkeys and we surpass our count average by three. More complete results forthcoming. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffgill at teleport.com Sun Jan 1 10:40:25 2012 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 08:40:25 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls In-Reply-To: <1325431378.32761.YahooMailMobile@web39704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: On 1/1/12 7:22 AM, "Richard and Marilyn Musser" wrote: > Hi Grace, > I'm sorry to hear of this attack----but sometimes great horned owls do > this when the pair finds people close to their prospective nesting location. > At this time of year these birds are either on their nest, or getting ready > for that. You were not able to distinguish what species attacked you-----but > if it was a "big" owl, with yellow eyes, it was most likely a great horned > owl. I see your report as a territorial defense of a nesting location. > It is possible that the owls are starving, and this would not be > noticeable from the owl's exterior appearance. I don't think this was the case > because you saw two owls-----had the owls been starving, the bigger female > would already have killed and eaten the smaller male. > Goshawks do the same thing, and what I have seen Fish Dept's do in these > situations-----is to use "police line" plastic tape to mark off the dangerous > area. > I would quickly inform ODF of this situation so these owls aren't > killed, the area roped off, and signs indicating the danger posted in clear > view for all. > Best of luck getting these owls, and the general public, protected. Best > regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. South of Burns) > > > > > I have seen Barred Owls three times in Portland?s residential areas > (including a block from my Laurelhurst neighborhood house) or business areas > away from natural habitats. I suspect that they are adapting to urban living. > As much as I would like to have them around, if they are going to attack > people its time to get rid of them. > > > Jeff Gilligan > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From winkg at hevanet.com Sun Jan 1 12:18:52 2012 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 10:18:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] The Oregonian wants a photo of the PDX Snow Bunting Message-ID: <75AA0843-1EFE-4825-BA07-1B202A658072@hevanet.com> The Oregonian would like a photo of the PDX Snow Bunting to use in an article about yesterday's Portland CBC. If you have a photo they can use, please email it ASAP (by 2PM today) to Noelle Crombie at ncrombie at oregonian.com Thanks! Wink From mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Sun Jan 1 14:11:31 2012 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 12:11:31 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls In-Reply-To: References: <1325431378.32761.YahooMailMobile@web39704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1325448691.38809.YahooMailNeo@web39705.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Jeff, ???? These are probably Barred Owls, but it would be good to have a confirmed ID. From your reply it isn't really clear whether you would like the people or the birds, gotten "rid of..." As wildlife of all kinds are squeezed out of ever shrinking habitats, maybe we could all make some allowance for the other creatures that are attempting to, "make their way." The area required to be roped off isn't usually that large, and it affords the public an opportunity to see a nesting attempt----if that's what's happening. ???? Now if these owls are thinking humans are food (not likely, and this would be a new observation!), than they can be trapped and relocated. It is possible for an owl to mistake a certain type of hair arrangement for a small animal----and, "go for it"----but I would think this behavior uncommon in Barred Owls. It's been over 40 years since I was trapping barred owls at the nest, and I don't recall aggression----but my memory may have slipped. ???? It isn't in my background, so I'll ask you and the list if you have knowledge of Barred Owls attacking humans. If so, what were the circumstances, and what time of year did it happen? ???? First tho, I would suggest contacting ODF&W and report the incident, followed by anyone that can ID the bird or birds-----than some sort of a plan could be established as to, "how to proceed." Happy New Year, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) ???? ________________________________ From: Jeff Gilligan To: Richard and Marilyn Musser ; Grace Heckenberg ; OBOL Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2012 8:40 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls Re: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls On 1/1/12 7:22 AM, "Richard and Marilyn Musser" wrote: Hi Grace, >?????I'm sorry to hear of this attack----but sometimes great horned owls do this when the pair finds people close to their prospective nesting location. At this time of year these birds are either on their nest, or getting ready for that. You were not able to distinguish what species attacked you-----but if it was a "big" owl, with yellow eyes, it was most likely a great horned owl. I see your report as a territorial defense of a nesting location. >?????It is possible that the owls are starving, and this would not be noticeable from the owl's exterior appearance. I don't think this was the case because you saw two owls-----had the owls been starving, the bigger female would already have killed and eaten the smaller male. >?????Goshawks do the same thing, and what I have seen Fish ?Dept's do in these situations-----is to use "police line" plastic tape to mark off the dangerous area. >??????I would quickly inform ODF of this situation so these owls aren't killed, the area roped off, and signs indicating the danger posted in clear view for all. >??????Best of luck getting these owls, and the general public, protected. Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. South of Burns) >???????????? >? >? >? >?I have seen Barred Owls three times in Portland?s residential areas (including a block from my Laurelhurst neighborhood house)or business areas away from natural habitats. ?I suspect that they are adapting to urban living. ?As much as I would like to have them around, if they are going to attack people its time to get rid of them. ?? > > >Jeff Gilligan >>________________________________ > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From deweysage at frontier.com Sun Jan 1 14:35:47 2012 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 12:35:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Coos YELLOW BELLIED SAPSUCKER Message-ID: <4F00C3A3.1000700@frontier.com> Just got back from the Bandon Coos Co location of the YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER. Russ, Kathy and I all had an easy time finding the fella. Follow Noah's direction, look at the north side of the house with the little metal fence, looks like the shrub is a lilac maybe - look at the wells just below the fence line. Sapsucker came out of the Monterrey Pine in the front yard. Also saw an Audobon's Warbler feed from wells. Cheers Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein Bandon OR From tayben7 at gmail.com Sun Jan 1 14:48:18 2012 From: tayben7 at gmail.com (Chris Bennett &Martha Taylor) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 12:48:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Westmorland Canvasback Yes Message-ID: <86D2933716914232B2CF64FA2DCB3B66@D4P8RDC1> At 12:40 PM the Canvasback is at the Westmorland pond. Chris -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From zialeegray at gmail.com Sun Jan 1 14:58:19 2012 From: zialeegray at gmail.com (Zia Gray) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 12:58:19 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls In-Reply-To: References: <1325431378.32761.YahooMailMobile@web39704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <1325448691.38809.YahooMailNeo@web39705.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Hi all! This thread certainly has gotten interesting, and I'm very curious to get to the bottom of it :) I emailed Grace earlier about the likelihood of these owls being barred owls (very high, especially if they have brown eyes-only other owls of good size with brown eyes in our area are spotted owls and barn owls, and since spotties are so uncommon (especially in urban areas) and barn owls are so pale-barred owls are the best bet.) Barred owls nest around the same time spotties do, or maybe a month earlier (starting in march) so I doubt this is territorial nesting behavior. They are very aggressive owls. I know 2 blm employees personally who were attacked by barred owls this last season while doing spottie surveys. Both attacks were in different areas of Oregon. I agree with contacting ODFW about the bird(s), but since they are an invasive/exotic species, it will probably be removed and not relocated. Hope some of this info helps! If anyone has more information, I'd like to know more. Cheers, Zia On Jan 1, 2012 12:11 PM, "Richard and Marilyn Musser" < mussermcevoy at yahoo.com> wrote: Hi Jeff, These are probably Barred Owls, but it would be good to have a confirmed ID. From your reply it isn't really clear whether you would like the people or the birds, gotten "rid of..." As wildlife of all kinds are squeezed out of ever shrinking habitats, maybe we could all make some allowance for the other creatures that are attempting to, "make their way." The area required to be roped off isn't usually that large, and it affords the public an opportunity to see a nesting attempt----if that's what's happening. Now if these owls are thinking humans are food (not likely, and this would be a new observation!), than they can be trapped and relocated. It is possible for an owl to mistake a certain type of hair arrangement for a small animal----and, "go for it"----but I would think this behavior uncommon in Barred Owls. It's been over 40 years since I was trapping barred owls at the nest, and I don't recall aggression----but my memory may have slipped. It isn't in my background, so I'll ask you and the list if you have knowledge of Barred Owls attacking humans. If so, what were the circumstances, and what time of year did it happen? First tho, I would suggest contacting ODF&W and report the incident, followed by anyone that can ID the bird or birds-----than some sort of a plan could be established as to, "how to proceed." Happy New Year, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) ------------------------------ *From:* Jeff Gilligan *To:* Richard and Marilyn Musser ; Grace Heckenberg ; OBOL *Sent:* Sunday, January 1, 2012 8:40 AM *Subject:* Re: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls On 1/1/12 7:22 AM, "Richard and Marilyn Musser" wrote: > Hi Grace, > ... _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From winkg at hevanet.com Sun Jan 1 15:32:13 2012 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 13:32:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] The Oregonian says thanks for the Snow Bunting pics! Message-ID: <7BF3F8C2-8414-4492-AFAF-47219313548B@hevanet.com> You can stop sending photos of the Snow Bunting. They're inundated. Thanks! Wink From bootha82 at gmail.com Sun Jan 1 16:08:16 2012 From: bootha82 at gmail.com (Austin Booth) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 14:08:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Emperor goose still at trnwf? Message-ID: Does anyone know if the emperor goose has been seen yesterday or today? I'd like to go see it but i don't want to go out of my way if it hasn't been seen in the last couple days, especially after the report that nearby gun shots may have scared it off. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Sun Jan 1 16:24:56 2012 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 14:24:56 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls In-Reply-To: References: <1325431378.32761.YahooMailMobile@web39704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <1325448691.38809.YahooMailNeo@web39705.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1325456696.89134.YahooMailNeo@web39701.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Zia, ???? I did not know that Barred Owls are an invasive/exotic species here in Oregon. I recall banding them in Illinois many years ago----is it not possible that these owls flew to Oregon under their own power? And if they did make it here on their own, after living in the midwest for eons, are they really invasive and/or exotic? I would suppose that it's possible for someone to have relocated Barred Owls (from the midwest to OR)----but is this very likely? ???? Thanks for the report on Barred Owl aggression, and I'm wondering if this aggression was during nesting season when the BLM employees were attacked. ???? In Anchorage, Alaska some years ago, a GHO was attacking cross-country skiers. This owl was hungry---it was eventually killed by a ski pole. But this was not a Barred Owl----and the difference between these two owls is extreme. ???? Do you know of Barred Owl attacks on humans that have not occurred during nesting season? Were the surveys of Spotties during nesting season? ???? Like you, I too am curious as to, "what's going on here." Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) ________________________________ From: Zia Gray To: Richard and Marilyn Musser Cc: OBOL ; Grace Heckenberg ; Jeff Gilligan Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2012 12:58 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls Hi all! This thread certainly has gotten interesting, and I'm very curious to get to the bottom of it :)? I emailed Grace earlier about the likelihood of these owls being barred owls (very high, especially if they have brown eyes-only other owls of good size with brown eyes in our area are spotted owls and barn owls, and since spotties are so uncommon (especially in urban areas) and barn owls are so pale-barred owls are the best bet.) Barred owls nest around the same time spotties do, or maybe a month earlier (starting in march) so I doubt this is territorial nesting behavior. They are very aggressive owls. I know 2 blm employees personally who were attacked by barred owls this last season while doing spottie surveys. Both attacks were in different areas of Oregon. I agree with contacting ODFW about the bird(s), but since they are an invasive/exotic species, it will probably be removed and not relocated. Hope some of this info helps! If anyone has more information, I'd like to know more. Cheers, Zia On Jan 1, 2012 12:11 PM, "Richard and Marilyn Musser" wrote: > > >Hi Jeff, >???? These are probably Barred Owls, but it would be good to have a confirmed ID. From your reply it isn't really clear whether you would like the people or the birds, gotten "rid of..." As wildlife of all kinds are squeezed out of ever shrinking habitats, maybe we could all make some allowance for the other creatures that are attempting to, "make their way." The area required to be roped off isn't usually that large, and it affords the public an opportunity to see a nesting attempt----if that's what's happening. >???? Now if these owls are thinking humans are food (not likely, and this would be a new observation!), than they can be trapped and relocated. It is possible for an owl to mistake a certain type of hair arrangement for a small animal----and, "go for it"----but I would think this behavior uncommon in Barred Owls. It's been over 40 years since I was trapping barred owls at the nest, and I don't recall aggression----but my memory may have slipped. >???? It isn't in my background, so I'll ask you and the list if you have knowledge of Barred Owls attacking humans. If so, what were the circumstances, and what time of year did it happen? >???? First tho, I would suggest contacting ODF&W and report the incident, followed by anyone that can ID the bird or birds-----than some sort of a plan could be established as to, "how to proceed." Happy New Year, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) >???? > > > >________________________________ > From: Jeff Gilligan >To: Richard and Marilyn Musser ; Grace Heckenberg ; OBOL >Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2012 8:40 AM >Subject: Re: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls > > > > > >On 1/1/12 7:22 AM, "Richard and Marilyn Musser" wrote: > >> Hi Grace, >> ?... >_______________________________________________ >OBOL mailing list >OBOL at oregonbirds.org >http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From namitzr at hotmail.com Sun Jan 1 16:27:58 2012 From: namitzr at hotmail.com (Russ Namitz) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 14:27:58 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Coos YELLOW BELLIED SAPSUCKER (photos) Message-ID: Here are some updated photos from the YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER on 215 NE Lexington in Bandon. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2672622708369.126697.1640210369&type=1&l=82c4a9842d Good birding, Russ Namitz Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer56 at gmail.com Sun Jan 1 16:35:31 2012 From: acontrer56 at gmail.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:35:31 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls In-Reply-To: <1325456696.89134.YahooMailNeo@web39701.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: They are not exotic. They apparently arrived in Oregon via natural expansion beginning in the 1970s. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com From: Richard and Marilyn Musser Reply-To: Richard and Marilyn Musser Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 14:24:56 -0800 (PST) To: Zia Gray Cc: OBOL , Grace Heckenberg Subject: Re: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls Hi Zia, I did not know that Barred Owls are an invasive/exotic species here in Oregon. I recall banding them in Illinois many years ago----is it not possible that these owls flew to Oregon under their own power? And if they did make it here on their own, after living in the midwest for eons, are they really invasive and/or exotic? I would suppose that it's possible for someone to have relocated Barred Owls (from the midwest to OR)----but is this very likely? Thanks for the report on Barred Owl aggression, and I'm wondering if this aggression was during nesting season when the BLM employees were attacked. In Anchorage, Alaska some years ago, a GHO was attacking cross-country skiers. This owl was hungry---it was eventually killed by a ski pole. But this was not a Barred Owl----and the difference between these two owls is extreme. Do you know of Barred Owl attacks on humans that have not occurred during nesting season? Were the surveys of Spotties during nesting season? Like you, I too am curious as to, "what's going on here." Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) From: Zia Gray To: Richard and Marilyn Musser Cc: OBOL ; Grace Heckenberg ; Jeff Gilligan Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2012 12:58 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls Hi all! This thread certainly has gotten interesting, and I'm very curious to get to the bottom of it :) I emailed Grace earlier about the likelihood of these owls being barred owls (very high, especially if they have brown eyes-only other owls of good size with brown eyes in our area are spotted owls and barn owls, and since spotties are so uncommon (especially in urban areas) and barn owls are so pale-barred owls are the best bet.) Barred owls nest around the same time spotties do, or maybe a month earlier (starting in march) so I doubt this is territorial nesting behavior. They are very aggressive owls. I know 2 blm employees personally who were attacked by barred owls this last season while doing spottie surveys. Both attacks were in different areas of Oregon. I agree with contacting ODFW about the bird(s), but since they are an invasive/exotic species, it will probably be removed and not relocated. Hope some of this info helps! If anyone has more information, I'd like to know more. Cheers, Zia > On Jan 1, 2012 12:11 PM, "Richard and Marilyn Musser" > wrote: > > Hi Jeff, > These are probably Barred Owls, but it would be good to have a confirmed > ID. From your reply it isn't really clear whether you would like the people or > the birds, gotten "rid of..." As wildlife of all kinds are squeezed out of > ever shrinking habitats, maybe we could all make some allowance for the other > creatures that are attempting to, "make their way." The area required to be > roped off isn't usually that large, and it affords the public an opportunity > to see a nesting attempt----if that's what's happening. > Now if these owls are thinking humans are food (not likely, and this > would be a new observation!), than they can be trapped and relocated. It is > possible for an owl to mistake a certain type of hair arrangement for a small > animal----and, "go for it"----but I would think this behavior uncommon in > Barred Owls. It's been over 40 years since I was trapping barred owls at the > nest, and I don't recall aggression----but my memory may have slipped. > It isn't in my background, so I'll ask you and the list if you have > knowledge of Barred Owls attacking humans. If so, what were the circumstances, > and what time of year did it happen? > First tho, I would suggest contacting ODF&W and report the incident, > followed by anyone that can ID the bird or birds-----than some sort of a plan > could be established as to, "how to proceed." Happy New Year, Dick Musser (15 > mi. south of Burns) > > > > > > > From: Jeff Gilligan > To: Richard and Marilyn Musser ; Grace Heckenberg > ; OBOL > Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2012 8:40 AM > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls > > > > > > On 1/1/12 7:22 AM, "Richard and Marilyn Musser" > wrote: > >> > Hi Grace, >> > ... > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Sun Jan 1 16:39:17 2012 From: tlove at linfield.edu (Thomas Love) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 22:39:17 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] TRNWR Emperor Goose Message-ID: <7FA896778F561A49A019226D54F9E5092330743F@maildb.wfo.linfield.edu> The Tualatin River NWR EMPEROR GOOSE has been seen on each of the last five days. Mornings are apparently best. It's usually being seen straight out from the viewing area (between the bldgs.) on the road/dike perpendicular to your view line). I swung by midday today and did not see it, but it was seen this morning. Tom Love -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rabican1 at gmail.com Sun Jan 1 16:43:37 2012 From: rabican1 at gmail.com (Bob Archer) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 14:43:37 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Emperor Goose is there: Message-ID: Hi: I saw the Emperor Goose at 9:00 am today at TRNWR, it was on the far dike hanging with a Canada Goose. Plus a flock of bluebirds were in the meadows...a complete report and blubird pic at: http://www.birdfellow.com/members/BobArcher/field_reports/482-trnwr-1-1-12 Happy New Year folks Bob Archer PDX -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffgill at teleport.com Sun Jan 1 17:11:18 2012 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:11:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls In-Reply-To: <1325448691.38809.YahooMailNeo@web39705.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: I think US Fish and Wildlife is already culling Barred Owls where there are Spotted Owls. Their relative strix, the Ural owl, is known attack people and cause blindness. The Irvington neighborhood has been developed for over a hundred years. Barred Owls are not endangered I wonder what they eat in Irvington. I have heard and seen Barn owls over my neighborhood. Perhaps there are more rats crawling around in the middle of the night than we would like to think. It is unfortunate though that someone could get seriously hurt by these owls. Jeff On 1/1/12 12:11 PM, "Richard and Marilyn Musser" wrote: > > From: Jeff Gilligan > To: Richard and Marilyn Musser ; Grace Heckenberg > ; OBOL > Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2012 8:40 AM > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls > > Re: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls > > > > On 1/1/12 7:22 AM, "Richard and Marilyn Musser" > wrote: > >> Hi Grace, >> I'm sorry to hear of this attack----but sometimes great horned owls do >> this when the pair finds people close to their prospective nesting location. >> At this time of year these birds are either on their nest, or getting ready >> for that. You were not able to distinguish what species attacked you-----but >> if it was a "big" owl, with yellow eyes, it was most likely a great horned >> owl. I see your report as a territorial defense of a nesting location. >> It is possible that the owls are starving, and this would not be >> noticeable from the owl's exterior appearance. I don't think this was the >> case because you saw two owls-----had the owls been starving, the bigger >> female would already have killed and eaten the smaller male. >> Goshawks do the same thing, and what I have seen Fish Dept's do in >> these situations-----is to use "police line" plastic tape to mark off the >> dangerous area. >> I would quickly inform ODF of this situation so these owls aren't >> killed, the area roped off, and signs indicating the danger posted in clear >> view for all. >> Best of luck getting these owls, and the general public, protected. >> Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. South of Burns) >> >> >> >> >> I have seen Barred Owls three times in Portland?s residential areas >> (including a block from my Laurelhurst neighborhood house) or business areas >> away from natural habitats. I suspect that they are adapting to urban >> living. As much as I would like to have them around, if they are going to >> attack people its time to get rid of them. >> >> >> Jeff Gilligan >> >> > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From zialeegray at gmail.com Sun Jan 1 17:40:34 2012 From: zialeegray at gmail.com (Zia Gray) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 15:40:34 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls In-Reply-To: References: <1325448691.38809.YahooMailNeo@web39705.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Jeff- you are right, barred owls are being experimentally "removed" from spotted owl habitat, though I don't know how this will work in the long run, since barred owls are so prolific here, and they can't cull them forever. Barred owls started showing up in oregon in the 1970s. But you brought up a good point Dick, with whether or not they are invasive/exotic. They moved from the east north into Canada and then down through the pnw, and it's not concretely known why they did that. A lot of people think it has to do with habitat loss on the east coast, and they followed the habitat west (basically) as their habitat was lost. I would call them an exotic species over invasive, because they have been here for such a short time, and because it's still somewhat of a mystery as to why they came here. However, they are having a large negative impact on our spotted owls, which are threatened. The attacks I know about happened during the nesting /fledgling season, and that is probably why the attacks happened, although doing spottie surveys myself I've come across barred owl fledglings with no sign of the adults, I've also had barred owls fly in and respond to spottie vocalizations during surveys. They are just very aggressive birds, I know biologists who have seen them attack spitfire when they are doing their surveys. However, it hasn't been until this year (well, last year now :)) that I've heard of barred owls attacking people. They may be adapting to our presence, even out in the woods biologists check the same areas regularly, so that may be the case. They are becoming the owl version of raccoons! Also, on a side note, barred owls are very generalist predators-they eat a wide variety of prey from rodents and birds to snakes, frogs, and crawfish, believe it or not, so I imagine they are probably doing very well in that neighborhood. Cheers, zia On Jan 1, 2012 3:11 PM, "Jeff Gilligan" wrote: I think US Fish and Wildlife is already culling Barred Owls where there are Spotted Owls. Their relative strix, the Ural owl, is known attack people and cause blindness. The Irvington neighborhood has been developed for over a hundred years. Barred Owls are not endangered I wonder what they eat in Irvington. I have heard and seen Barn owls over my neighborhood. Perhaps there are more rats crawling around in the middle of the night than we would like to think. It is unfortunate though that someone could get seriously hurt by these owls. Jeff On 1/1/12 12:11 PM, "Richard and Marilyn Musser" wrote: > > From: Jeff Gilligan > To: Richard and Marilyn Musser From dpvroman at budget.net Sun Jan 1 18:48:52 2012 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis Vroman) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 16:48:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Jo Co Tundra Swan (juv) Message-ID: <928C02C2D84C4B56BB8C6297284B061C@your4dacd0ea75> The presence of a juvenile Swan was reported to me (01-01-12) and went to check in out. The bird was a TUNDRA SWAN and was in one of the ponds at Roguelea Estates, not far out Lower River Road from Grants Pass. This species is a tough one to come by in Josephine County. Have mostly seen/heard them in flight at various locations over the County. One I missed when I did the County big year (about 10 years ago now). Total of 57 species for the new year in the county. Dennis (north of Grants Pass) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeanbb24622 at gmail.com Sun Jan 1 19:09:31 2012 From: jeanbb24622 at gmail.com (Jean Baecher Brown) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 17:09:31 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Snow Bunting! Message-ID: After 4 trips to locate the Snow Bunting near Broughton Beach off Marine Dr, I FINALLY had success! Around 1:30 this afternoon, it landed on the wire fencing on the NE corner of the old fire station parking lot and then dropped to the ground and scurried about picking at the grass and gravel. What a beautiful bird! Great way to start the New Year! Jean Baecher Brown -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sylviam at clearwire.net Sun Jan 1 19:48:50 2012 From: sylviam at clearwire.net (Sylvia Maulding) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 17:48:50 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Benton, Mountain Plover Message-ID: The MOUNTAIN PLOVER was seen this afternoon at 2:40. It was in the field east of it's regular spot, close enough to see with binos. -- Sylvia Maulding Springfield, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Sun Jan 1 19:53:24 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 17:53:24 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Say's Phoebe, etc. Message-ID: <1325469204.85822.YahooMailNeo@web45311.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I wandered down to Curry Co. this morning to do a dog hike at Floras Lake but the trail was way flooded so we retreated to BethelMtn. in SW Coos. ?I drove up the road to the quarry and there was a SAY'S PHOEBE, most likely overwintering at this spot (a spot I have always thought they might just so so). ?There have only be three overwintering records in Coos Co., all from the past three years or so, two in the Coquille Valley and one on the north spit of Coos Bay. ?I also saw a few Western Bluebirds, one of my favorites. Then I went north to Bandon and easily saw the YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, in Bandon- what a great find by Noah, Dan, and Ann! From there I went down to Coquille to check on the 3 PALM WARBLERS found by Mary Anne Solhstrom and Patti Bernardi on the CV CBC where I didn't find the Palm Warblers but I did find those two. I then headed to Johnson Mill Pond but it was way warm and to nice (60F) to see any of the Tree Swallows or the Violet-green from the day before but I did find an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. Before heading home for the day I stopped back at the Coquille spot and found one of the PALM WARBLERS east of the spot they had been found on the CBC in the trees along the south side of the road. What a gorgeous 1 Jan on the coast! Merry 2012, Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Sun Jan 1 19:58:57 2012 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 17:58:57 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Aggressive Irvington owls Message-ID: <1325469537.1641.YahooMailMobile@web39701.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Jeff, I too wonder what these owls are eating-----or if they are starving. But first I believe a positive ID is required----as to what species is under discussion, and how many owls are being aggressive towards people. Grace did mention that the owl(s), came toward people----- and I'm considering that someone took them as babies, tamed them somewhat----then, when they became too much to "deal with,"-----released them----and they are returning to people because they imprinted (somewhat)-----and now are hungry. All of this is, supposition of course, but it would fit the situation as described by Grace. I have confidence that ODF&W can figure this out, and take any appropriate actions-----but let's hope this happens soon. Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. South of Burns) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paultsullivan at onlinenw.com Sun Jan 1 20:02:54 2012 From: paultsullivan at onlinenw.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 18:02:54 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Listing Results for 2011 Message-ID: <1E3CD435A6E94FE99B92014356E59450@dell307ac3e2b6> OBOL: I am once again calling for birder's Listing Results as of the end of the year, i.e. as of Dec. 31, 2011. I will compile the results and they will appear in the issue of Oregon Birds to be published in April 2012. I am calling for either Life Lists or Year 2011 lists. I am calling for 1. your Oregon state list 2. your individual county lists 3. your individual 15-mile diameter count circle lists 4. your motorless lists You can submit your list in one of 3 ways: 1. Fill out the list below and mail it to me at my NEW address: Paul T. Sullivan 1014 SE Rummel St. McMinnville, OR 97128 2. Fill out the list below and email it back to me at my NEW email address paultsullivan at onlinenw.com 3. Go to the OFO website http://www.oregonbirds.org/ , fill out the online form -- be sure to give your name and return email address -- and click "submit" Your list will be sent to me and you won't need to fuss. PLEASE trust that I will receive you submissions and compile them. I will not send individual confirmation that I have received your list as the lists come in. However, I will be sending out a "proof" copy in late February to everyone who submits, so that you can make corrections. Watch for that. If you don't see that, let me know. --------------------------------- PLEASE NOTE: The threshold for your numbers to be published are as follows: Oregon Life List: 300 or more Oregon Year List: 250 or more County Life and 2011 Year lists: 100 or more -------------------------------- Life 2011 _____ _____ 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. _____ _____ Your motorless list Thanks, Paul T. Sullivan From davequady at att.net Sun Jan 1 21:02:47 2012 From: davequady at att.net (Dave Quady) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 19:02:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Westward expansion of Barred Owls Message-ID: <61D266D2-5C9C-4D72-9EDE-4762BD6B62BB@att.net> OBOLites: Recent posts about aggressive (maybe barred) owls in Irvington prompts me to write. About a year ago I learned of two papers Kent Livezey published in 2009 relating to Barred Owls' westward expansion. One discusses the chronology and distribution of the movement, the second the ecological changes that facilitated it. I'm not aware of a site from which one can directly download the papers, but Livezey sent me pdfs of them (each about 0.5 MB), and I would be happy to send them to anyone who's interested. Just send me an email with a subject line that makes your request plain. Happy new year to all in OBOLand, and On, Wisconsin! Dave Quady Berkeley, California davequady at att.net From diana.byrne at comcast.net Sun Jan 1 21:14:47 2012 From: diana.byrne at comcast.net (Diana Byrne) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 19:14:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers Message-ID: <3D903C19-949E-4DF5-ACDE-190F9738D5F0@comcast.net> An east wind brought in the New Year at Cannon Beach with a mild, sunny day. A WANDERING TATTLER, 2 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, a BLACK TURNSTONE, and BLACK SCOTERS were at Haystack Rock. A PACIFIC LOON, WESTERN GREBE, and a female COMMON GOLDENEYE were in Ecola Creek. Some photos are posted at: http://cannonbeachbirder.blogspot.com/2012/01/cannon-beach-new-years-day-2012.html Happy New Year and Good Birding in 2012, Diana Byrne From grace.heckenberg at gmail.com Sun Jan 1 21:18:55 2012 From: grace.heckenberg at gmail.com (Grace Heckenberg) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 19:18:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Locations for irvington owls Message-ID: A couple people asked for the locations where I saw owls in Irvington (Portland) in past few weeks: 1 block south of Fremont on NE 11th (3 a.m.) About 3 blocks north of Broadway on NE 21st (5 p.m.) About 3 blocks north of Broadway around NE 26th (3 a.m.) Could have all been the same bird. Looked like Northern Spotted to me. Be curious what experienced birders make of them/it. (A high ponytail or floppy topknot may significantly improve your chances of getting acquainted.) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer56 at gmail.com Sun Jan 1 21:21:57 2012 From: acontrer56 at gmail.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:21:57 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers In-Reply-To: <3D903C19-949E-4DF5-ACDE-190F9738D5F0@comcast.net> Message-ID: Wandering Tattler is very rare in winter. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com On 1/1/12 7:14 PM, "Diana Byrne" wrote: >An east wind brought in the New Year at Cannon Beach with a mild, sunny >day. A WANDERING TATTLER, 2 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, a BLACK TURNSTONE, >and BLACK SCOTERS were at Haystack Rock. A PACIFIC LOON, WESTERN GREBE, >and a female COMMON GOLDENEYE were in Ecola Creek. > >Some photos are posted at: >http://cannonbeachbirder.blogspot.com/2012/01/cannon-beach-new-years-day-2 >012.html > >Happy New Year and Good Birding in 2012, >Diana Byrne >_______________________________________________ >OBOL mailing list >OBOL at oregonbirds.org >http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Sun Jan 1 21:33:18 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 19:33:18 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers In-Reply-To: References: <3D903C19-949E-4DF5-ACDE-190F9738D5F0@comcast.net> Message-ID: <1325475198.28438.YahooMailNeo@web45305.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I would very much agree, are there any verified Oregon records? ?Seems like a species that could be ID'ed by someone who didn't get a great look at a shorebird and had no idea that this species is incredibly rare in Oregon in winter? ?All that said, I have no idea on who saw it and the details... Tim R Coos Bay ________________________________ From: Alan Contreras To: Diana Byrne ; OBOL Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2012 7:21 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers Wandering Tattler is very rare in winter. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com On 1/1/12 7:14 PM, "Diana Byrne" wrote: >An east wind brought in the New Year at Cannon Beach with a mild, sunny >day.? A WANDERING TATTLER, 2 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, a? BLACK TURNSTONE, >and BLACK SCOTERS were at Haystack Rock.? A PACIFIC LOON, WESTERN GREBE, >and a female COMMON GOLDENEYE were in Ecola Creek. > >Some photos are posted at: >http://cannonbeachbirder.blogspot.com/2012/01/cannon-beach-new-years-day-2 >012.html > >Happy New Year and Good Birding in 2012, >Diana Byrne >_______________________________________________ >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 dcoggswell at hotmail.com Sun Jan 1 21:33:52 2012 From: dcoggswell at hotmail.com (Donald Coggswell) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 19:33:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cowlitz/Columbia CBC Message-ID: Darrel Whipple, Henry Horvat & I did a portion of the Cowlitz/Columbia Christmas Bird Count on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. Best birds included a Red-throated Loon off Mayger Beach, a small flock of three White-throated Sparrows on Rainier Dike & a surprising flock of 21 Black-bellied Plover on Rainier bottomland. Don -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From holly.reinhard at gmail.com Sun Jan 1 21:35:21 2012 From: holly.reinhard at gmail.com (Holly Reinhard) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 19:35:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers In-Reply-To: <1325475198.28438.YahooMailNeo@web45305.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <3D903C19-949E-4DF5-ACDE-190F9738D5F0@comcast.net> <1325475198.28438.YahooMailNeo@web45305.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: The photo of it from the link looks right on to me. :) -Holly Reinhard Corvallis, OR On Sun, Jan 1, 2012 at 7:33 PM, Tim Rodenkirk wrote: > I would very much agree, are there any verified Oregon records? Seems > like a species that could be ID'ed by someone who didn't get a great look > at a shorebird and had no idea that this species is incredibly rare in > Oregon in winter? All that said, I have no idea on who saw it and the > details... > > Tim R > Coos Bay > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Alan Contreras > *To:* Diana Byrne ; OBOL > *Sent:* Sunday, January 1, 2012 7:21 PM > *Subject:* Re: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black > Oystercatchers > > Wandering Tattler is very rare in winter. > > -- > Alan Contreras > Medford, Oregon > > acontrer56 at gmail.com > > > > > > On 1/1/12 7:14 PM, "Diana Byrne" wrote: > > >An east wind brought in the New Year at Cannon Beach with a mild, sunny > >day. A WANDERING TATTLER, 2 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, a BLACK TURNSTONE, > >and BLACK SCOTERS were at Haystack Rock. A PACIFIC LOON, WESTERN GREBE, > >and a female COMMON GOLDENEYE were in Ecola Creek. > > > >Some photos are posted at: > > > http://cannonbeachbirder.blogspot.com/2012/01/cannon-beach-new-years-day-2 > >012.html > > > >Happy New Year and Good Birding in 2012, > >Diana Byrne > >_______________________________________________ > >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 acontrer56 at gmail.com Sun Jan 1 21:37:16 2012 From: acontrer56 at gmail.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:37:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Oh I think it is quite correct, great photo and video. Unless it is a Gray-tailed ! There have been a few sight records over the years, not many. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com From: Holly Reinhard Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 19:35:21 -0800 To: Tim Rodenkirk , OBOL , Diana Byrne , Alan Contreras Subject: Re: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers The photo of it from the link looks right on to me. :) -Holly Reinhard Corvallis, OR On Sun, Jan 1, 2012 at 7:33 PM, Tim Rodenkirk wrote: > I would very much agree, are there any verified Oregon records? Seems like a > species that could be ID'ed by someone who didn't get a great look at a > shorebird and had no idea that this species is incredibly rare in Oregon in > winter? All that said, I have no idea on who saw it and the details... > > Tim R > Coos Bay > > > > > > From: Alan Contreras > To: Diana Byrne ; OBOL > Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2012 7:21 PM > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers > > > Wandering Tattler is very rare in winter. > > -- > Alan Contreras > Medford, Oregon > > acontrer56 at gmail.com > > > > > > On 1/1/12 7:14 PM, "Diana Byrne" wrote: > >> >An east wind brought in the New Year at Cannon Beach with a mild, sunny >> >day. A WANDERING TATTLER, 2 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, a BLACK TURNSTONE, >> >and BLACK SCOTERS were at Haystack Rock. A PACIFIC LOON, WESTERN GREBE, >> >and a female COMMON GOLDENEYE were in Ecola Creek. >> > >> >Some photos are posted at: >> >http://cannonbeachbirder.blogspot.com/2012/01/cannon-beach-new-years-day-2 >> >012.html >> > >> >Happy New Year and Good Birding in 2012, >> >Diana Byrne >> >_______________________________________________ >> >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 pointers at pacifier.com Sun Jan 1 22:03:28 2012 From: pointers at pacifier.com (Lyn Topinka) Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:03:28 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] "Freeway Birds" --- for the Motorized Birder In-Reply-To: References: <3D903C19-949E-4DF5-ACDE-190F9738D5F0@comcast.net> <1325475198.28438.YahooMailNeo@web45305.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: hi all ... Gene and I have always admired the folks doing the "motorless birding" lists ... only we're too stiff and creaky to get much past motorless birding of our own neighborhood ... so this year we began a "Freeway Birding" list ... we worked on the rules --- the main one being we had to be doing at least 50 mph --- and began our list last spring ... and we got 42 species in 8 months since we started !!!!!!!!! ... it turned out to be rather fun ... we've already begun our 2012 list today ... http://columbiariverimages.com/Birds/FreewayBirds/index.html enjoy, Lyn and Gene, Vancouver, Washington Lyn Topinka http://EnglishRiverWebsite.com http://ColumbiaRiverImages.com http://RidgefieldBirds.com From ninerharv2 at msn.com Sun Jan 1 22:05:45 2012 From: ninerharv2 at msn.com (HARVEY W SCHUBOTHE) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 20:05:45 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Coquille Valley CBC Message-ID: Special thanks to all who participated in the Coquille Valley Christmas Bird Count on December 31, 2011. Most of the feeder counter numbers are in and it appears our final count for species will be 152. The highlight was a Yellow Bellied Sapsucker found by the team of Noah Stryker and Anne and Dan Heyerly in Bandon. It is the first ever record of the bird in Coos County. It was seen again today at Lexington and 2nd Street in Bandon. Our team set count records for the following species: Hooded Merganser, Horned Grebe, Sora, Least Sandpiper, Anna's Hummingbird, Brown Creeper, Varied Thrush, European Starling, Fox Sparrow, Lincoln Sparrow and Purple Finch. Records were tied for Red Necked Grebes, American Bittern, Adult Bald Eagles, Cooper's Hawk, Merlin, and Harris' Sparrow. It was the second straight year the a feeder counter has found the Harris Sparrow. 36 birders enjoyed the sunshine and partly cloudy weather. In addition to the Harris Sparrow found for the second time was a violet green sparrow also found for only the second time. Other notables that we have often missed were a barred owl and tree swallows. Add western bluebirds, lesser goldfinches, american bittern, brown pelicans, brant, palm warblers and wild turkeys and we surpassed our count average by 4. A complete spreadsheet by each of our twelve regions will be forthcoming to all of our participants. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From celata at pacifier.com Sun Jan 1 22:32:47 2012 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:32:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] My big day Message-ID: <4F01336F.9090809@pacifier.com> I only do one big day a year... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=291 The Astoria NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD is still being cooperative at 2nd and Duane. I saw 2 LAPLAND LONGSPURS and a BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE at the South Jetty. GLAUCOUS GULL at Wireless Rd. Steve Warner is pretty sure he heard the SWAMP SPARROW at Sunset Lake (though I couldn't find it). The Seaside HOODED ORIOLE was seen last week, but I did not find it today. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 From celata at pacifier.com Sun Jan 1 22:41:30 2012 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:41:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers Message-ID: <4F01357A.40302@pacifier.com> The photo shows a gray face and throat, consistent with WANDERING. If Diane has more photos, perhaps she'll share them. ----- Subject: Re: Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers From: Alan Contreras Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:37:16 -0800 Oh I think it is quite correct, great photo and video. Unless it is a Gray-tailed ! There have been a few sight records over the years, not many. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 AT gmail.com From: Holly Reinhard Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 19:35:21 -0800 To: Tim Rodenkirk , OBOL , Diana Byrne , Alan Contreras Subject: Re: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers The photo of it from the link looks right on to me. :) -Holly Reinhard Corvallis, OR -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 From d_villa at mail.com Sun Jan 1 22:53:39 2012 From: d_villa at mail.com (dawn) Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:53:39 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Whimbrel, Barrow's Goldeneye and a fun Lincoln CBC Message-ID: <20120102045339.284460@gmx.com> We participated in our first CBC today here in Lincoln County - we intended to do half a day, but ended up spending most of the day with a great team lead by Dawn Grafe. Saw lots of birds, several were new for me -- my top picks though are an old favorite, a lone WHIMBREL at Yaquina Head (not generally seen in January much less on the rocks in the ocean) and a beautiful male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE (a lifer) in the bay, seen from the window of the Rogue Brewery restaurant after the count. Other new birds for me - a male LONG-TAILED DUCK diving in the ocean waves, a WILSON'S SNIPE (I saw 1 of the 3 that were tallied in a wet field near Newport's landfill), and a RED-THROATED LOON at Yaquina head. A great day - not sure I'll be able to walk tomorrow though - definitely not in CBC shape! dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thomasmeinzen at gmail.com Sun Jan 1 23:33:38 2012 From: thomasmeinzen at gmail.com (Thomas Meinzen) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 21:33:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eugene CBC Results (For Me) - RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER in Eugene! Message-ID: Hi all, I did the Eugene CBC this New Year's Day with Tom Mickel and his group - we were covering the area north of Spencer's Butte and east of Fox Hollow Road. I'm not sure about totals and other results but here are the highlights for me: BARRED OWL - One bird seen at the first bend in the trail that starts at the Fox Hollow Trailhead parking lot - it flew in silently when we played its calls, and Eddie and Vjera Thompson, Tom Mickel, and I were all able to have great views of it by the light of flashlight. It was fairly close and seemed calm and did not mind us, after a few minutes we left it to hunt in peace. This was at around 6:30 AM. Oh, and no, it didn't attack us - a very beautiful and amazing bird, in my opinion. NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL - We had one calling at 7:15 AM near Martin St. (north of Spencer Butte) and another or possibly the same one, sighted flying across the path and then at the top of a tall fir for the whole group to see. We found 4 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS were found in the residential areas near Martin St. Also heard this morning: 3 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS Finally, at 2:30 PM on this cold, foggy day in Eugene I found a female RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER on a pine tree at the west side of the Safeway parking lot by the intersection of 40th and Donald Streets. There was an extensive sap well on this tree, so hopefully it will be fairly easy to find - it also flew across the street and used a tree in a front yard opposite this pine tree. If you park in the Safeway lot and explore the nearby area and surrounding trees, I'm hoping it will be fairly easy to find. I'll try to post photos later. Thanks to Tom Mickel for taking me out and giving me the opportunity to see all these great birds! Good birding! Thomas Meinzen Eugene -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From foglark at att.net Sun Jan 1 23:44:14 2012 From: foglark at att.net (David Fix & Jude Power) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 21:44:14 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] northwest CA update Message-ID: <1325483054.97411.YahooMailRC@web80014.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Here are reports from the past week: 12/25: A total of 25 EUR. WIGEON scoped among waterfowl in South Humboldt Bay was startling--nearly double the previous high count known to me from Humboldt (Matt Wachs, Daryl Coldren) 12/26: Scoping of South Humboldt Bay revealed 94,000 waterfowl (Matt Wachs). Matt stated he thought he'd looked at two-thirds of the birds present. Great numbers of BRANT and AM. WIGEON presently make up much of this assemblage. It sounds like an exaggeration, but truly South Bay sometimes has almost too many waterbirds to look at. It's most effectively birded from the Fields Landing boat ramp or, I think a little better, the end of South Landing Rd., accessed from the southbound onramp to 101. This is also a fun place to watch the dawn fly-off of Aleutian Cackling Geese in Feb and early March. 12/27: The CRESTED CARACARA was seen about a third of a mile n. of mp 37, Hwy 101, on a telephone pole off the w. side of the road; 3 GR. WHITE-FRONTED and single SNOW and ROSS'S GEESE continued on the lawn near the harbor waterfront just s. of downtown Crescent City, and 3 SWAMP SPARROWS were still at the se. corner of Lake Earl (Alan Barron). 12/27: A bird described at the Bird Alert as a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER was reported from Trinidad (Suzanne Donahue). I could not be sure from the details offered whether this was yet another rare Humboldt Red-naped or, possibly, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. 12/31: CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, yard feeder, Port Kenyon Rd. in the sw. Eel R. delta near Ferndale (Owen Head). It was a strong fall for this species. 12/31: The CRESTED CARACARA present since July 2005 continued in Del Norte Co., just n. of MP 37 on Hwy 101, shortly n. of the Smith R. bridge (Alan Barron) 1/1: At countdown, the Centerville Beach To King Salmon CBC had totaled 180 species. Highlights were LONG-TAILED DUCK, GOLDEN EAGLE (continuing at Humboldt Bay NWR), ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, PRAIRIE FALCON, RED PHALAROPE, MARBLED MURRELET, CASSIN'S AUKLET, RHINOCEROS AUKLET, SPOTTED OWL, 2 YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS, SAY'S PHOEBE, CASSIN'S VIREO, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, HERMIT WARBLER, BULLOCK'S ORIOLE, GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE, and EVENING GROSBEAK. The count also found 4 Nashville Warblers. This count circle takes in redwood industrial timberland in the nearer foothills; the w. Eel R. delta from Fortuna to Ferndale; the coast from Centerville Beach n. to the s. jetty of Humboldt Bay; and South Bay, including the Salmon Creek Unit of the NWR. David Fix Arcata, California -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From diana.byrne at comcast.net Sun Jan 1 23:55:43 2012 From: diana.byrne at comcast.net (Diana Byrne) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 21:55:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers Message-ID: <44C3FF0E-13F9-45D6-B76B-E28BA451FAC8@comcast.net> I added another photo, showing a side view, at: http://cannonbeachbirder.blogspot.com/2012/01/wandering-tattler.html Also, you may click on "view video" to see the video. -Diana --- > From: Mike Patterson > Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:41:30 -0800 > The photo shows a gray face and throat, consistent with WANDERING. If > Diane has more photos, perhaps she'll share them. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 5hats at peak.org Mon Jan 2 00:03:00 2012 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 22:03:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Message-ID: Obolites About 3:30 this afternoon Laura and I got to see the Snowy Owl at Salishan spit west of Siletz Bay. It was perched on some drift logs at the north end of the narrow lake on the spit. Unfortunately somebody with a camera or scope wasn't content to scope and/or take pictures from the forty yards across the lake. He walked between two houses (private property), and zoomed in on the owl from above about fifteen yards away. Of course the bird flushed. It flew across the lake to another log. As we were leaving we noticed that the same guy had walked around the lake, and was once again trying to approach to within just a few yards of the owl. Last time we looked back, he was aiming his camera or scope or whatever it was across the lake, presumably at the owl which had flushed once again to the west shore. Amazing. Darrel & Laura -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Oropendolas at aol.com Mon Jan 2 00:05:41 2012 From: Oropendolas at aol.com (Oropendolas at aol.com) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 01:05:41 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] Pied Fox Sparrow Message-ID: <2c47.1e894.3c32a335@aol.com> Hello All, Laura Johnson, Bill Castillo and I saw this partial albino / leucistic FOX SPARROW during the Eugene CBC today near the Prairie and Beacon roads intersection. _http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.234514256568213.63891.100000289217 347&type=1&l=4b6fbf7eb7_ (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.234514256568213.63891.100000289217347&type=1&l=4b6fbf7eb7) Happy 2012! John Sullivan & Laura Johnson Springfield, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ac7zg at frontier.com Mon Jan 2 00:45:29 2012 From: ac7zg at frontier.com (Don) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 22:45:29 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <003601ccc91a$1f80f720$5e82e560$@com> That's the problem with point and shoots or lenses less than 500mm on 1.6x frame DSLR. People have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. Too bad for the bird to be chased around. From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Darrel & Laura Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2012 10:03 PM To: OBOL Subject: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Obolites About 3:30 this afternoon Laura and I got to see the Snowy Owl at Salishan spit west of Siletz Bay. It was perched on some drift logs at the north end of the narrow lake on the spit. Unfortunately somebody with a camera or scope wasn't content to scope and/or take pictures from the forty yards across the lake. He walked between two houses (private property), and zoomed in on the owl from above about fifteen yards away. Of course the bird flushed. It flew across the lake to another log. As we were leaving we noticed that the same guy had walked around the lake, and was once again trying to approach to within just a few yards of the owl. Last time we looked back, he was aiming his camera or scope or whatever it was across the lake, presumably at the owl which had flushed once again to the west shore. Amazing. Darrel & Laura -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jcolbyspell at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 01:20:40 2012 From: jcolbyspell at gmail.com (J Colby Spell) Date: Mon, 02 Jan 2012 07:20:40 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Invitation to view a photo from J Colby Spell's Picasa Web Album - Birds Message-ID: Coopers or sharp shinned? Why? https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nANF7Q5-sv3aElsh7GnfHL9lOW8A3hnjBLo2VY3Luto?feat=email -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: picasaweblogo-en_US.gif Type: image/gif Size: 2868 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: IMG_2120.JPG Type: image/jpeg Size: 10175 bytes Desc: not available URL: From contopus at telus.net Mon Jan 2 01:43:24 2012 From: contopus at telus.net (Wayne Weber) Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 23:43:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Vancouver, BC RBA for December 30, 2011 Message-ID: <006d01ccc922$3584fa00$a08eee00$@net> This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Friday, December 30th, 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. This has become a major SNOWY OWL flight year, with recent reports of up to 26 birds near the foot of 72nd Street on Boundary Bay, plus 6 more in the Brunswick Point area of Delta. Birders and photographers are asked to observe SNOWY OWLS from a respectful distance, to make an effort not to flush or frighten off the owls, and to speak to anyone who appears to be crowding an owl too much. RARE BIRD ALERT for SNOWY OWLS at numerous localities, especially along Boundary Bay and at Brunswick Point in Delta, and for a CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW visiting a feeder in West Vancouver. Out-of-town RARE BIRD ALERT for a ROSS'S GULL, the second record for Washington, at Palmer Lake, near Oroville, from at least December 15 to 27. This bird has not been reported from Palmer Lake since December 27, but a small gull which may have been the ROSS'S was seen at nearby Spectacle Lake on December 29. Sightings for Friday, December 30th Three COMMON REDPOLLS were seen with PINE SISKINS at the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver. In Richmond, the 3 HORNED LARKS were still present at Garry Point Park. A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, rare in winter, was reported from the 6900 block of Bradner Road in Abbotsford. Sightings for Thursday, December 29th Two COMMON REDPOLLS were seen at Deer Lake Park in Burnaby. Sightings for Wednesday, December 28th Three HORNED LARKS, a very rare species here in winter, were seen among beach logs in Garry Point Park in the Steveston area of Richmond. A SAVANNAH SPARROW, also rare but regular in winter, was photographed at Brunswick Point in Delta. Sightings for Tuesday, December 27th The GYRFALCON along Mud Bay Road (40th Avenue) in Surrey, west of Highway 99, was reported again. Birds of note at and near the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta included 2 MUTE SWANS, 2 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, 5 SANDHILL CRANES, and a SWAMP SPARROW. Sightings for Friday, December 23rd At the foot of 72nd Street in Delta, 26 SNOWY OWLS and 2 SHORT-EARED OWLS were present. The first-year GLAUCOUS GULL was seen again at the Capilano fish hatchery in North Vancouver. Sightings for Thursday, December 22nd A TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was seen eating cotoneaster berries in Ambleside Park, West Vancouver, near the mouth of the Capilano River. Sightings for Monday, December 19th The WILLET was reported again from the base of the Tsawwassen ferry jetty in Delta, and a flock of at least 10 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS was noted at 40th Avenue and 140th Street in Surrey, west of Highway 99 near Mud Bay. Another SNOWY OWL was reported on a rooftop in Vancouver, near the intersection of Lakewood Drive and Graveley Street. Sightings for Sunday, December 18th The Vancouver Christmas Bird Count posted a respectable 132 species. Highlights included the CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW in West Vancouver, now present for 2 weeks; a very late BARN SWALLOW and an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER at Iona Island in Richmond, and 24 ANCIENT MURRELETS off the Iona south jetty; a RHINOCEROS AUKLET in English Bay; 4 CINNAMON TEAL in the Southlands area of Vancouver; 3 SNOWY OWLS in Richmond; a first-year GLAUCOUS GULL at the Capilano Dam fish hatchery in North Vancouver; and a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE in Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Park. A GYRFALCON was seen from the Boundary Bay dyke between 96th and 88th Streets in Delta; there appear to be at least 2 of them wintering in the area. The Squamish Christmas Bird Count, north of Vancouver, tallied a low number of only 423 BALD EAGLES, but a high total of 45 AMERICAN DIPPERS. Sightings for Friday, December 16th The CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW was still regularly visiting the feeder at 1947 Fulton in West Vancouver. Also of note were 5 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE at Boundary Bay Regional Park in Delta. Sightings for Thursday, December 15th A juvenile NORTHERN GOSHAWK was eyeing the ducks at the pond in the Maplewood Conservation Area, North Vancouver. Also in North Van, a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL and many COMMON REDPOLLS were noted near the ski area at Mount Seymour Provincial Park. Sightings for Wednesday, December 14th At Brunswick Point in Delta, 6 SNOWY OWLS and 2 NORTHERN SHRIKES were seen. Outside the Vancouver area, a female BULLOCK'S ORIOLE, extremely rare in winter, was seen and photographed at a feeder on Topaz Street in Abbotsford. The Christmas Bird Count at Whistler turned up a WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN and 4 NORTHERN PYGMY-OWLS. Sightings for Tuesday, December 13th An EARED GREBE was seen from the beach in White Rock, the only regular locality for this species in the winter. Sightings for Monday, December 12th An AMERICAN BITTERN was observed at Brunswick Point in Delta, a regular location for this scarce wintering species. Sightings for Sunday, December 11th Birds reported from the Boundary Bay dyke near the foot of 72nd Street in Delta included 26 (!) SNOWY OWLS, 3 SHORT-EARED OWLS, an AMERICAN TREE SPARROW, and an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER . A GYRFALCON was seen near the base of the Roberts Bank jetty in Delta, and a high count of 24 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS were seen along the jetty. A high winter count of 49 LEAST SANDPIPERS were seen in nearby fields, and the ever-present WILLET was still at the base of the Tsawwassen ferry jetty. At the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta, 9 SANDHILL CRANES, 5 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, and 3 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were observed. Sightings for Friday, December 9th The CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW was still coming frequently to the feeder in the backyard of 1947 Fulton in West Vancouver, and birders are welcome there. Sightings for Thursday, December 8th The CATTLE EGRET appeared very weak, was captured and taken to the Wildlife Rescue Association in Burnaby, and died later in the day. At least 13 SNOWY OWLS could still be seen from the foot of 72nd Street in Delta, and an AMERICAN TREE SPARROW and LINCOLN'S SPARROW were seen along the dike just east of there. Another expedition up Mount Seymour in North Vancouver produced an out-of-range CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, 200 RED CROSSBILLS, 45 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, and 3 COMMON REDPOLLS. At the mouth of Cypress Creek in West Vancouver were a RHINOCEROS AUKLET, 2 MARBLED MURRELETS, and 4 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS. Sightings for Wednesday, December 7th A male MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD was found along Pipeline Road just east of Blaine, WA and the CATTLE EGRET was still along 152nd Street in Surrey. The CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW in West Vancouver was very cooperative, and a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER and HERMIT THRUSH were also seen in the backyard. Sightings for Tuesday, December 6th The CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW was seen by numerous birders in West Vancouver. A hike from the Mount Seymour ski area in North Vancouver to the peak of the mountain (crampons and ski poles advised) produced 3 PINE GROSBEAKS, 50 RED CROSSBILLS, 5 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, 30 COMMON REDPOLLS, and a BOHEMIAN WAXWING. For a summary of extremely rare bird sightings throughout British Columbia, check "British Columbia Bird Alert" by Russell Cannings at http://bcbirdalert.blogspot.com . 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, Larry at 604-465-1402, or Viveka at 604-531-3401. 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 rick.lumen at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 03:00:30 2012 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 01:00:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Rock Sandpipers at Seal Rock Message-ID: I spent the last day of the year at Seal Rock State Park and saw my first Rock Sandpipers; http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/rock-sandpiper.html. Rick Wilsonville From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Mon Jan 2 08:16:37 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 06:16:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1325513797.95539.YahooMailNeo@web45316.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I ddin't see the photo. ?I think there is an old Coos Bay CBC record of multiple birds that I always wondered about. Tim ________________________________ From: Alan Contreras To: Holly Reinhard ; Tim Rodenkirk ; OBOL ; Diana Byrne Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2012 7:37 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers Oh I think it is quite correct, great photo and video. ?Unless it is a Gray-tailed ! ?There have been a few sight records over the years, not many. --? Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com From: Holly Reinhard Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 19:35:21 -0800 To: Tim Rodenkirk , OBOL , Diana Byrne , Alan Contreras Subject: Re: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers The photo of it from the link looks right on to me. :) -Holly Reinhard Corvallis, OR On Sun, Jan 1, 2012 at 7:33 PM, Tim Rodenkirk wrote: I would very much agree, are there any verified Oregon records? ?Seems like a species that could be ID'ed by someone who didn't get a great look at a shorebird and had no idea that this species is incredibly rare in Oregon in winter? ?All that said, I have no idea on who saw it and the details... > > >Tim R >Coos Bay > > > >________________________________ > From: Alan Contreras >To: Diana Byrne ; OBOL >Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2012 7:21 PM >Subject: Re: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers > > >Wandering Tattler is very rare in winter. > >-- >Alan Contreras >Medford, Oregon > >acontrer56 at gmail.com > > > > > >On 1/1/12 7:14 PM, "Diana Byrne" wrote: > >>An east wind brought in the New Year at Cannon Beach with a mild, sunny >>day.? A WANDERING TATTLER, 2 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, a? BLACK TURNSTONE, >>and BLACK SCOTERS were at Haystack Rock.? A PACIFIC LOON, WESTERN GREBE, >>and a female COMMON GOLDENEYE were in Ecola Creek. >> >>Some photos are posted at: >>http://cannonbeachbirder.blogspot.com/2012/01/cannon-beach-new-years-day-2 >>012.html >> >>Happy New Year and Good Birding in 2012, >>Diana Byrne >>_______________________________________________ >>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 garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Mon Jan 2 08:34:59 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 06:34:59 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Albino vs. leucistic- another question Message-ID: <1325514899.37502.YahooMailNeo@web45312.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I had a local person here in Coos Bay wondering about a "pied" Robin that is at her feeder. ?She had one last year but it was pied differently. ?So the question is, do birds that are leucistic/partially albino remain that way for year after year (molt after molt)? Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From whoffman at peak.org Mon Jan 2 09:06:50 2012 From: whoffman at peak.org (whoffman at peak.org) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 07:06:50 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers In-Reply-To: <1325513797.95539.YahooMailNeo@web45316.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1995158204.153066.1325516809946.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Hi- Single Wandering Tattlers have wintered a few times at Seal Rock, going back at least to the early 1970s. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tim Rodenkirk" To: "Alan Contreras" , "Holly Reinhard" , "OBOL" , "Diana Byrne" Sent: Monday, January 2, 2012 6:16:37 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers I ddin't see the photo. I think there is an old Coos Bay CBC record of multiple birds that I always wondered about. Tim From: Alan Contreras To: Holly Reinhard ; Tim Rodenkirk ; OBOL ; Diana Byrne Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2012 7:37 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers Oh I think it is quite correct, great photo and video. Unless it is a Gray-tailed ! There have been a few sight records over the years, not many. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com From: Holly Reinhard < holly.reinhard at gmail.com > Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 19:35:21 -0800 To: Tim Rodenkirk < garbledmodwit at yahoo.com >, OBOL < obol at oregonbirds.org >, Diana Byrne < diana.byrne at comcast.net >, Alan Contreras < acontrer56 at gmail.com > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers The photo of it from the link looks right on to me. :) -Holly Reinhard Corvallis, OR On Sun, Jan 1, 2012 at 7:33 PM, Tim Rodenkirk < garbledmodwit at yahoo.com > wrote: I would very much agree, are there any verified Oregon records? Seems like a species that could be ID'ed by someone who didn't get a great look at a shorebird and had no idea that this species is incredibly rare in Oregon in winter? All that said, I have no idea on who saw it and the details... Tim R Coos Bay From: Alan Contreras < acontrer56 at gmail.com > To: Diana Byrne < diana.byrne at comcast.net >; OBOL < obol at oregonbirds.org > Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2012 7:21 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Cannon Beach: Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatchers Wandering Tattler is very rare in winter. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com On 1/1/12 7:14 PM, "Diana Byrne" < diana.byrne at comcast.net > wrote: >An east wind brought in the New Year at Cannon Beach with a mild, sunny >day. A WANDERING TATTLER, 2 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, a BLACK TURNSTONE, >and BLACK SCOTERS were at Haystack Rock. A PACIFIC LOON, WESTERN GREBE, >and a female COMMON GOLDENEYE were in Ecola Creek. > >Some photos are posted at: >http://cannonbeachbirder.blogspot.com/2012/01/cannon-beach-new-years-day-2 >012.html > >Happy New Year and Good Birding in 2012, >Diana Byrne >_______________________________________________ >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 _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From whoffman at peak.org Mon Jan 2 09:32:05 2012 From: whoffman at peak.org (whoffman at peak.org) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 07:32:05 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Albino vs. leucistic- another question In-Reply-To: <2123993915.153085.1325517715451.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Message-ID: <84490357.153095.1325518325668.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Hi - "do birds that are leucistic/partially albino remain that way for year after year (molt after molt)?" Sometimes, sometimes not. It depends on the cause of the pigment deficiency. The coat pattern of Totoiseshell Cats are determined by a genetic mechanism that potentially could also apply to pied birds. If it does, the pied birds would likely be males, and the pattern of white patches would not change from molt to molt. In essence, the skin and associated hair/feather follicles is genetically differentiated in a mosaic fashion during development, so different patches of skin actually differ in what genes can be expressed. Some patchy pigment differences may be entirely environmentally caused and may reflect nutritional or other stress, and can change from molt to molt. I know of a researcher who kept some Catharus thrushes in captivity for several years (cannot remember if they were Swainson's or Hermit). At lest 2 birds produced a few white feathers in some molts, but not consistently, and not consistently the same feathers. Sometimes pigmentation is affected by a combination of environment and genetics. Himalayan Rabbits (domestic breed) normally are white with black ears and nose. It turns out that the expression of black pigment is affected by temperature: the ears and nose have shorter/sparser fur so black isexpressed. If kept in very warm environment, they have less black, and experiments involving shaving and placement of cold packs produced black patches elsewhere on these rabbits. I do not know whether an equivalent mechanism has been demonstrated in birds. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tim Rodenkirk" To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Monday, January 2, 2012 6:34:59 AM Subject: [OBOL] Albino vs. leucistic- another question I had a local person here in Coos Bay wondering about a "pied" Robin that is at her feeder. She had one last year but it was pied differently. So the question is, do birds that are leucistic/partially albino remain that way for year after year (molt after molt)? Tim R Coos Bay _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From brandon.green18 at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 10:18:19 2012 From: brandon.green18 at gmail.com (Brandon Green) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 08:18:19 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Long-tailed Duck, Suttle Lake Message-ID: Since this hasn't been posted here, Judy Meredith spotted a female LONG-TAILED DUCK on Suttle Lake yesterday morning. Most of the Santiam Pass CBC participants got a good look at it by the end of the afternoon. Brandon Eugene From paul at furzwo.com Mon Jan 2 11:40:08 2012 From: paul at furzwo.com (Paul Buescher) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 09:40:08 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] iPhone bird calls, THANKS Message-ID: <010001ccc975$931befe0$b953cfa0$@furzwo.com> Obolers are the greatest on the planet when it comes to sharing all that they know (bird id, locations, apps, et al). Thanks for all the information on iPhone bird calls! Warm Regards, Paul Buescher "Everything is going to be different; life is never going to be the same after your passport has been stamped." Graham Greene -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ensatina3 at hotmail.com Mon Jan 2 12:07:47 2012 From: ensatina3 at hotmail.com (Bobbett Pierce) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 13:07:47 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Evening Grosbeak Message-ID: I usually have a couple of flocks of evening grosbeaks each winter at my feeders here in Columbia County. This season they have been no-shows until today, when a single male EVENING GROSBEAK was at a feeder for several minutes. It then got a drink and was hopping around on the lawn until some alarm caused all the birds to fly into the bushes/trees. I have been getting large flocks of SISKINS, and a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW has been been around awhile. Typically have around 25 species in yard any given day. Lona Pierce, Warren -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cheron.ferland at mac.com Mon Jan 2 12:23:58 2012 From: cheron.ferland at mac.com (Cheron Ferland) Date: Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:23:58 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Female canvasback in Oakridge (Lane County) Message-ID: <377EBB5D-4A4D-4B3B-9552-1EEA6571AB11@mac.com> Just spotted a female canvasback amongst a raft of 30 ring-necked ducks in an Oakridge pond. Perhaps the same bird I found over a period of several weeks two winters ago. ~ Cheron Ferland From llsdirons at msn.com Mon Jan 2 12:39:10 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 18:39:10 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Cowlitz-Columbia CBC Message-ID: Greetings All, Yesterday, Shawneen Finnegan, Jay Withgott and I went down the Columbia River (north on your map) to Rainier, Washington to participate on the Cowlitz-Columbia CBC. Once there, we met up with Irene Bachhuber, who is one of the long-time participants on this count. A full report about our incredibly fun day can be viewed at the link below: http://www.birdfellow.com/members/dave_irons/field_reports/483-starting-2012-off-right-cowlitz-columbia-cbc-1-january-2012 Dave Irons Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From deweysage at frontier.com Mon Jan 2 12:39:30 2012 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:39:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] aggressive owls Message-ID: <4F01F9E2.5040901@frontier.com> Folks, Don't assume aggressive owls have some sort of previous experience with humans or something like that. Owls can be aggressive period. So can a lot of raptors. Ever been near a Cooper's Hawk or Goshawk nest? They are well known for taking dives at people. I'm not saying there isn't something unusual about these owls, but on the other hand there is no evidence so far they are doing anything that far out of normal behavior. Barred Owls are very aggressive and GH Owl are the meanest things on the planet (practically). A GH Owl knocked my advisor at grad school out cold for 20 minutes, another nearly took an eye out of the one of the professor's kids (who was checking a nest), and a third juvenile clamped down so hard on my advisor's leg he needed a walking stick to pry it off his calf. All three of those incidents caused serious bleeding and even a hospital visit to get a piece of talon taken out of the eye of Professor Keith's kid. Barred Owl's are far from exotic by the way - they are native! Hard to call a native exotic. My 2 cents...... Cheers Dave Lauten From gaviaimmer at live.com Mon Jan 2 12:53:16 2012 From: gaviaimmer at live.com (Matthew) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 10:53:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Preliminary Silverton CBC Results Message-ID: Hi Birders, The Silverton CBC was held on Saturday the 31st. The weather was so-so with fog in the lowlands during the morning, cloudy in the afternoon, but no rain. The 17 participants (lower than average participation. Typically around 30) were able to find a total of 89 species with a feeder counter finding and additional species (Townsend's Warbler). Highlights of the count include: 1 Common Goldeneye. 3rd Count Record 1 Ring-necked Pheasant. Getting really hard to find anymore. 1 Western Grebe. 1st Count Record 6 Bald Eagles. 11th Record and High Count 2 Dunlin. 6th Count Record 30 Eurasian Collared-Doves. High Count. Previous 5 23 Anna's Hummingbirds. High Count with feeder watchers yet to report. Previous 18 30 Common Raven. High Count. Previous 17 30 American Pipit. 5th Count Record. 19 Lincoln's Sparrows. High Count. Previous 7 1 "Slatey" Junco. Biggest Misses. Green Heron (One is still hanging around the Oregon Garden but has been very secretive the last few weeks) Rough-legged Hawk (one found for count week) Sharp-shinned Hawk Lesser Scaup Pileated Woodpecker Owls other than Barn and Great-horned Near misses. Northern Harrier. Only 2 Hairy Woodpecker. 1 American Dipper. 1 Matthew Schneider Silverton, Oregon gaviaimmer at live.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From leavens4209 at comcast.net Mon Jan 2 13:25:08 2012 From: leavens4209 at comcast.net (Linda Leavens) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 11:25:08 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] TRNWR Emperor Goose Message-ID: The Emperor Goose was seen again this morning starting around 8:30 till 9:30. It seems to appear generally in this same time period each day and was in the same area on the dike with several Canada Geese. It afforded good looks as it grazed and preened. Exciting, a life bird for me. Linda From kfsaylor at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 14:19:17 2012 From: kfsaylor at gmail.com (Keith Saylor) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 12:19:17 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Bandon State Natural Area: Audubons and Myrtles Message-ID: Yesterday was beautiful ... spent most of the day at Bandon State Natural Area. Birds were very active. All the birds seen were ordinarily present. However, there were literally 100s and 100s of yellow-rumped warblers flocked; mostly myrtles but some audubons. The were also many ruby-crowned kinglets. This movement reminded me of the flocks of warblers (through made of many more warblers species) along the shore of northern lake Huron and lake Superior in Michigan during spring migration. The trees and shrubs were absolutely alive with yellow-rumps gleaning insects. It was interesting the largest concentration was in one of the few wooded dune swales that had standing water. Most the the swales are still dry or with saturated soil only. You could see many bathing at one time. -- Keith F. Saylor -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Jfitchen at aol.com Mon Jan 2 14:21:41 2012 From: Jfitchen at aol.com (Jfitchen at aol.com) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 15:21:41 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] Portland CBC--preliminary results Message-ID: Nice going Wink. If memory serves, Corvallis is still sitting at 129--clearly in striking distance of the Wink Gross juggernaut. JF [Note: With regard to the Eagle Eye Award, my guess is that the discussion went something like this: "But what about the Snow Bunting? No sweat, Tom was the first to find that very bird six weeks ago, so either way he deserves the award."] In a message dated 12/31/2011 8:49:25 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, winkg at hevanet.com writes: The Portland CBC endured a lot of fog today, but it didn't seem to matter: over 200(!) field counters tallied a record 126 species. Tom McNamara emailed me before the count that he was hoping he could find some good birds and contribute to the species total. Well, he certainly did! Tom wins the coveted "Eagle Eye Award" for a HERMIT WARBLER. His name will be inscribed forever on the buckram tag hanging from the eagle's neck. Congratulations, Tom! Other highlights were SNOW BUNTING, BARN SWALLOW, and BLACK PHOEBE. None of the regularly occurring species were missed. My heartfelt thanks to my outstanding area leaders: Tony DeFalco, Dan Strong, Lynn Herring, Lori Hennings, Char Corkran and Sam Pointer, who handled a 40% increase in the number of participants with aplomb. Great job, guys! Wink Gross, compiler Portland 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 acontrer56 at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 14:31:13 2012 From: acontrer56 at gmail.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:31:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] CBC news Message-ID: For those of you CBC compilers and multi-count attendees who plan ahead, next year is one of the rare super years for the count schedule. It includes the usual three full weekends and an extra Saturday, January 5, which should serve to loosen the CBC schedule a bit. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ninerharv2 at msn.com Mon Jan 2 14:36:06 2012 From: ninerharv2 at msn.com (HARVEY W SCHUBOTHE ) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 20:36:06 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] CBC news Message-ID: Great news for those of us faced with squeezing ours in on a holiday weekend We may do ours the last weekend after everyone is back from the holidays. Harv Schubothe Bandon Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: Alan Contreras Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 20:31:13 To: Subject: [OBOL] CBC news For those of you CBC compilers and multi-count attendees who plan ahead, next year is one of the rare super years for the count schedule. ?It includes the usual three full weekends and an extra Saturday, January 5, which should serve to loosen the CBC schedule a bit. --? Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com From washingtonbirder at hotmail.com Mon Jan 2 14:36:13 2012 From: washingtonbirder at hotmail.com (washingtonbirder.Ken Knittle) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 12:36:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] 2011 Washington Birder List Reporting Message-ID: It's time to submit 2011 Washington State List Report totals and Big Day Reports to Washington Birder. Haven't reported before? Report only what interests you. There are lots of categories but many people choose to only send in their WA State "Life list" total, their "Year list" total, or their "County" and "Yard list" totals. If you are interested, Report Forms are available on the WA Birder website: http://wabirder.com/forms.html. EMAIL FORMS: info at wabirder.com . Please include your name in the subject line. If you don't receive a timely confirmation email, your email went to the black hole, please re-email your report. MAIL FORMS: Washington Birder, 2604 NE 80th ST, Vancouver WA 98665 If you have questions about the form or how to fill it out, contact us: info at wabirder.com or 360-574-2590. The 2011 List Report will be available on the WA Birder website in early February: http://wabirder.com/online.html Laurie Knittle / Washington Birder / Vancouver WA info at wabirder.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From d_villa at mail.com Mon Jan 2 15:25:38 2012 From: d_villa at mail.com (dawn) Date: Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:25:38 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Message-ID: <20120102212539.284460@gmx.com> I would rephrase your statement just a bit -- People /FEEL THAT THEY /have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. In my opinion, it's not the camera nor the lens, it's a choice by the person behind it. I have a Canon T1i with a 250mm zoom - sometimes I wish I had a better zoom, but it's adequate for my needs. I'm not a photographer by any means, although I love photographing the birds and did get some decent shots of this particular owl. My 2 cents ... dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking ----- Original Message ----- From: Don Sent: 01/01/12 10:45 PM To: 'Darrel & Laura', 'OBOL' Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl That?s the problem with point and shoots or lenses less than 500mm on 1.6x frame DSLR. People have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. Too bad for the bird to be chased around. From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] *On Behalf Of *Darrel & Laura *Sent:* Sunday, January 01, 2012 10:03 PM *To:* OBOL *Subject:* [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Obolites About 3:30 this afternoon Laura and I got to see the Snowy Owl at Salishan spit west of Siletz Bay. It was perched on some drift logs at the north end of the narrow lake on the spit. Unfortunately somebody with a camera or scope wasn't content to scope and/or take pictures from the forty yards across the lake. He walked between two houses (private property), and zoomed in on the owl from above about fifteen yards away. Of course the bird flushed. It flew across the lake to another log. As we were leaving we noticed that the same guy had walked around the lake, and was once again trying to approach to within just a few yards of the owl. Last time we looked back, he was aiming his camera or scope or whatever it was across the lake, presumably at the owl which had flushed once again to the west shore. Amazing. Darrel & Laura -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From drheath82 at frontier.com Mon Jan 2 15:36:26 2012 From: drheath82 at frontier.com (David Heath) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 13:36:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] New condo bird Message-ID: <000601ccc996$9640ac80$c2c20580$@com> A visit to the condo duck pond (part of which is now a wetland) produced a surprise visitor, a GREAT EGRET (condo bird #76). Nice way to start the new year! http://www.flickr.com/photos/drheath/6622870249/in/set-72157622950221080 David Cedar Mill -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dan-gleason at comcast.net Mon Jan 2 16:00:50 2012 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 14:00:50 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Preliminary Eugene CBC Message-ID: <66403ECB-6D89-41E3-A877-25242B62644D@comcast.net> Yesterday was Eugene's CBC. I don't have the list from all counters yet, but our preliminary total is 132 species. Many counters reported low numbers with fog hampering some sightings, but final tallies may show more than impressions. The Snowy Owl, seen in the area a few days ago, was not reported, but few unusual species were seen. These include: Golden Eagle (imm), American White Pelican, Red-naped Sapsucker, Say's Phoebe, Tree Swallow, Northern Mockingbird, and Common Yellowthroat. The Golden Eagle was well-seen by good observers who are able to distinguish it from immature Bald Eagles. More detail will come when I have a chance to record all of the results. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason at comcast.net 541 345-0450 From celata at pacifier.com Mon Jan 2 16:06:21 2012 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:06:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Seaside Hooded Oriole continues Message-ID: <4F022A5D.6090601@pacifier.com> Steve Warner called just in time for me to turn toward Seaside before doing the weekly shopping to tell me the HOODED ORIOLE is still coming to Harold Peterson's feeder. Harold has now had plenty of time to watch and study the bird and is certain there has only been one all along. http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=298 http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbalame/ You may park on Wahanna Rd in the pullout in front of the abandoned house (#48) and walk along the north side of the house to the spruce trees and scope from there. This should be plenty close for observation. Alternatively, you can see the backyard from the NE corner of Broadway Park across the river. I had no problem seeing the oriole with a spotting scope from there. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 From hhactitis at yahoo.com Mon Jan 2 16:08:16 2012 From: hhactitis at yahoo.com (Hendrik Herlyn) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 14:08:16 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Local RBI - Corvallis SAY'S PHOEBE Message-ID: <1325542096.32106.YahooMailClassic@web111713.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Hello all, after a brief (and unsuccessful) Blue Jay chase in the rain, I rode back on the OSU Bike Path and found a SAY'S PHOEBE just west of the covered bridge, actively flycatching over the little fenced-in "pond" on the north side of the paved road. Always a nice find in the valley! A couple of pics can be found here (last two pictures in the album): http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2820478596112.2155072.1383356632&type=1&l=6c440a5af2 There were also 5 GREAT EGRETS in the field north of the OSU Cattle Barn. Happy New Year birding Hendrik _________________________________ Hendrik G. Herlyn 2201 NW Grant Ave., Apt. 2 Corvallis, OR 97330 USA Phone (home): 541.230.5587 Phone (cell): 541.829.3223 E-Mail: hhactitis at yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gregbaker.birder at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 16:44:56 2012 From: gregbaker.birder at gmail.com (Greg Baker) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 14:44:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Palm Warbler seen two weekends in a row south of Nehalem Bay Sewage Ponds Message-ID: Obolers, After 30+ years in Oregon, I finally found a Palm Warbler in this state! It was seen and heard both weekends in the cottonwood plantation north of the Nehalem Bay Sewage Ponds. The bird hangs out with several Ruby-Crowned Kinglets and perhaps a Marsh Wren or two in tow. One will likely hear this tail bobbing, ground-hugger before it is seen. Listen for a single-note contact call given frequently. When approaching it will often light on a branch or the wire fence, but usually no more than a few feet above the ground. Also, I had an immature Red-shouldered Hawk, about a mile north of the sewage ponds, at the dairy farm with all the stored grain the attracts the gulls and Eurasian Collared Doves. This was a Tillamook County first for me. Happy New Years! Greg Baker -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From oschmidt at att.net Mon Jan 2 17:06:22 2012 From: oschmidt at att.net (Owen Schmidt) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 15:06:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tuesday night is Birders Night Message-ID: <14616301-C5C8-46FC-925C-8F58979EE6BE@att.net> ........ January 3rd,Portland Audubon House, 5151 NW Cornell Road, 7:30 pm, all are welcome, free! Bird quiz, potpourri. Bring your bird photos and videos ...... see what others' brought. oschmidt at att.net Monday, January 2, 2012 From bcombs232 at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 17:17:33 2012 From: bcombs232 at gmail.com (Barbara Combs) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 15:17:33 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Brownsville Christmas Bird Count results Message-ID: The Brownsville Christmas Bird Count, held December 26, achieved a record high species number of 118. Higher elevation habitat was free of snow and ice, but fog hampered lowland efforts for some or all of the day, depending on the portion of the circle counters were in. Next year's Brownsville CBC will also be on December 26. Plan now to attend! *New species:* Nashville Warbler, found by David Irons and Shawneen Finnegan. ** *Record highs:* Cackling Goose Gadwall Cinnamon Teal (tie) Lesser Scaup Mountain Quail Pied-billed Grebe White-tailed Kite Cooper?s Hawk (tie) Red-shouldered Hawk (tie) Eurasian Collared-Dove Great Horned Owl Northern Pygmy-Owl Short-eared Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Acorn Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Marsh Wren American Dipper (tie; only one bird!) Wrentit Fox Sparrow Lincoln?s Sparrow *Record lows:* Western Bluebird (tie) House Finch * * *Worst misses:* Common Merganser Ring-necked Pheasant Barn Owl -- Barbara Combs obie '70 Lane County, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thomasmeinzen at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 17:36:01 2012 From: thomasmeinzen at gmail.com (Thomas Meinzen) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 15:36:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eugene Red-naped Sapsucker Photos Message-ID: Below are links to three photos of the Red-naped Sapsucker at the west end of the Safeway parking lot at the intersection of 40th and Donald in Eugene. I'm curious as to what kind of a record this is - is it the first on the Eugene CBC? If anyone has more information, I'm interested. The photos I took aren't great, but I think they're diagnostic - the sapsucker is on a well, so hopefully it will be a rarity that can be found again. Red-naped Sapsucker, Photo 1 Red-naped Sapsucker, Photo 2 Red-naped Sapsucker, Photo 3 The second photo is blurry but shows the red nape patch well. The conditions were pretty bad for photos, but these turned out okay. Good birding! Thomas Meinzen Eugene -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thomasmeinzen at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 17:51:29 2012 From: thomasmeinzen at gmail.com (Thomas Meinzen) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 15:51:29 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Delta Ponds Birds Message-ID: I went birding with Holly Reinhard at Delta Ponds this lovely sunny midmorning. Among other birds, we found: 1 WHITE-THROATED SPARROW 2 LINCOLN'S SPARROWS 2 BALD EAGLES 1 SHARP-SHINNED HAWK 1 SPOTTED SANDPIPER 2 BLACK PHOEBES 2 HOODED MERGANSERS We looked for Cinnamon Teal or Green Heron, two birds that were missed on the Eugene CBC, but with no luck. A great day to be out birding, though! Thomas Meinzen Eugene -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From celata at pacifier.com Mon Jan 2 19:36:57 2012 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:36:57 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] From the Regional Editor: to all CBC compilers (and the people who love them) Message-ID: <4F025BB9.50001@pacifier.com> There are (apparently) some serious bugs in the data interface for CBC data. We are being advised to NOT enter any data until further notice. It's not my fault. I'm having the same difficulties with the interface switching my data with somebody's from Florida that you are... Take a break, wait for further instructions. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 From ac7zg at frontier.com Mon Jan 2 19:44:00 2012 From: ac7zg at frontier.com (Don) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 17:44:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl In-Reply-To: <20120102212539.284460@gmx.com> References: <20120102212539.284460@gmx.com> Message-ID: <00e701ccc9b9$2b5623a0$82026ae0$@com> Dawn With a 250mm you were very close in these images http://www.birdfellow.com/members/dawnvilla/field_reports/472-siletz-bay-12-23-2011 Exactly what I was referring to?.and you were close enough that it caused it to flush. Don From: dawn [mailto:d_villa at mail.com] Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 1:26 PM To: Don; Darrel & Laura; OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl I would rephrase your statement just a bit -- People FEEL THAT THEY have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. In my opinion, it's not the camera nor the lens, it's a choice by the person behind it. I have a Canon T1i with a 250mm zoom - sometimes I wish I had a better zoom, but it's adequate for my needs. I'm not a photographer by any means, although I love photographing the birds and did get some decent shots of this particular owl. My 2 cents ... dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking ----- Original Message ----- From: Don Sent: 01/01/12 10:45 PM To: 'Darrel & Laura', 'OBOL' Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl That?s the problem with point and shoots or lenses less than 500mm on 1.6x frame DSLR. People have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. Too bad for the bird to be chased around. From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Darrel & Laura Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2012 10:03 PM To: OBOL Subject: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Obolites About 3:30 this afternoon Laura and I got to see the Snowy Owl at Salishan spit west of Siletz Bay. It was perched on some drift logs at the north end of the narrow lake on the spit. Unfortunately somebody with a camera or scope wasn't content to scope and/or take pictures from the forty yards across the lake. He walked between two houses (private property), and zoomed in on the owl from above about fifteen yards away. Of course the bird flushed. It flew across the lake to another log. As we were leaving we noticed that the same guy had walked around the lake, and was once again trying to approach to within just a few yards of the owl. Last time we looked back, he was aiming his camera or scope or whatever it was across the lake, presumably at the owl which had flushed once again to the west shore. Amazing. Darrel & Laura -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From d_villa at mail.com Mon Jan 2 19:53:58 2012 From: d_villa at mail.com (dawn) Date: Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:53:58 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Message-ID: <20120103015358.284500@gmx.com> You are right - I did accidently cause it to flush when I first found it, I'm not proud of that. I was working in from the bay side and had given up on finding it and was not being careful... After that I worked my way back away through the trees and found a spot that acted as a blind for me. I wasn't saying that I've never done it, just saying it is usually a choice we make to get closer. I hope I always try to respect the birds and the property owners to the best of my ability. dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking ----- Original Message ----- From: Don Sent: 01/02/12 05:44 PM To: 'dawn', 'Darrel & Laura', 'OBOL' Subject: RE: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Dawn With a 250mm you were very close in these images http://www.birdfellow.com/members/dawnvilla/field_reports/472-siletz-bay-12-23-2011 Exactly what I was referring to?.and you were close enough that it caused it to flush. Don From: dawn [mailto:d_villa at mail.com] *Sent:* Monday, January 02, 2012 1:26 PM *To:* Don; Darrel & Laura; OBOL *Subject:* Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl I would rephrase your statement just a bit -- People FEEL THAT THEY have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. In my opinion, it's not the camera nor the lens, it's a choice by the person behind it. I have a Canon T1i with a 250mm zoom - sometimes I wish I had a better zoom, but it's adequate for my needs. I'm not a photographer by any means, although I love photographing the birds and did get some decent shots of this particular owl. My 2 cents ... dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking ----- Original Message ----- From: Don Sent: 01/01/12 10:45 PM To: 'Darrel & Laura', 'OBOL' Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl That?s the problem with point and shoots or lenses less than 500mm on 1.6x frame DSLR. People have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. Too bad for the bird to be chased around. From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] *On Behalf Of *Darrel & Laura *Sent:* Sunday, January 01, 2012 10:03 PM *To:* OBOL *Subject:* [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Obolites About 3:30 this afternoon Laura and I got to see the Snowy Owl at Salishan spit west of Siletz Bay. It was perched on some drift logs at the north end of the narrow lake on the spit. Unfortunately somebody with a camera or scope wasn't content to scope and/or take pictures from the forty yards across the lake. He walked between two houses (private property), and zoomed in on the owl from above about fifteen yards away. Of course the bird flushed. It flew across the lake to another log. As we were leaving we noticed that the same guy had walked around the lake, and was once again trying to approach to within just a few yards of the owl. Last time we looked back, he was aiming his camera or scope or whatever it was across the lake, presumably at the owl which had flushed once again to the west shore. Amazing. Darrel & Laura -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mntsprg at wizzards.net Mon Jan 2 20:26:34 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 18:26:34 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] Salishan Snowy Owl In-Reply-To: <00e701ccc9b9$2b5623a0$82026ae0$@com> References: <20120102212539.284460@gmx.com> <00e701ccc9b9$2b5623a0$82026ae0$@com> Message-ID: <7C1D3E5D07E746A09B88A0EA043AFFEB@MitherPC> first///be really careful getting too close to protected species, it might be seen as harassment. second..it is less expensive to purchase the tele-converter then the lens ...a 1.5x ( tamron?s are good) should run under 200 bucks and give your lens half as much reach .....250 becomes 375...converters run as much a 2x but you loose light and good sharp focus. tamron has a new model long lens zoom...200-50 0mm it is my go to bird lens;...it runs $1100....which is a lot less then the name brands....and has little lens distortion! you will need a tripod or mono pod...worth it! From: Don Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 5:44 PM To: 'dawn' ; 'Darrel & Laura' ; 'OBOL' Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Dawn With a 250mm you were very close in these images http://www.birdfellow.com/members/dawnvilla/field_reports/472-siletz-bay-12-23-2011 Exactly what I was referring to?.and you were close enough that it caused it to flush. Don From: dawn [mailto:d_villa at mail.com] Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 1:26 PM To: Don; Darrel & Laura; OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl I would rephrase your statement just a bit -- People FEEL THAT THEY have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. In my opinion, it's not the camera nor the lens, it's a choice by the person behind it. I have a Canon T1i with a 250mm zoom - sometimes I wish I had a better zoom, but it's adequate for my needs. I'm not a photographer by any means, although I love photographing the birds and did get some decent shots of this particular owl. My 2 cents ... dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking ----- Original Message ----- From: Don Sent: 01/01/12 10:45 PM To: 'Darrel & Laura', 'OBOL' Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl That?s the problem with point and shoots or lenses less than 500mm on 1.6x frame DSLR. People have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. Too bad for the bird to be chased around. From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Darrel & Laura Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2012 10:03 PM To: OBOL Subject: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Obolites About 3:30 this afternoon Laura and I got to see the Snowy Owl at Salishan spit west of Siletz Bay. It was perched on some drift logs at the north end of the narrow lake on the spit. Unfortunately somebody with a camera or scope wasn't content to scope and/or take pictures from the forty yards across the lake. He walked between two houses (private property), and zoomed in on the owl from above about fifteen yards away. Of course the bird flushed. It flew across the lake to another log. As we were leaving we noticed that the same guy had walked around the lake, and was once again trying to approach to within just a few yards of the owl. Last time we looked back, he was aiming his camera or scope or whatever it was across the lake, presumably at the owl which had flushed once again to the west shore. Amazing. Darrel & Laura -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ 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 Mon Jan 2 20:39:48 2012 From: d_villa at mail.com (dawn) Date: Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:39:48 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] [] Salishan Snowy Owl Message-ID: <20120103023948.284480@gmx.com> Thanks Laura - I guess it's too little too late to say that I didn't intend to get too close - not sure exactly how close I was when I stumbled on him (I just sent Don a couple of uncropped pix, I'm not a good judge of distance...) http://www.birdfellow.com/photos/thumbnails/111-siletz-bay?id=5633 http://www.birdfellow.com/photos/thumbnails/111-siletz-bay?id=5633 this was right when I saw him, just before he turned his head and saw me. Usually my 250 is fine (I do alot of cropping :o) I'll keep the converter in mind though (and try to be more attentive when I'm out looking for birds!) dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking ----- Original Message ----- From: Laura Mountainspring Sent: 01/02/12 06:26 PM To: Don Subject: Re: [OBOL] [] Salishan Snowy Owl first///be really careful getting too close to protected species, it might be seen as harassment. second..it is less expensive to purchase the tele-converter then the lens ...a 1.5x ( tamron?s are good) should run under 200 bucks and give your lens half as much reach .....250 becomes 375...converters run as much a 2x but you loose light and good sharp focus. tamron has a new model long lens zoom...200-50 0mm it is my go to bird lens;...it runs $1100....which is a lot less then the name brands....and has little lens distortion! you will need a tripod or mono pod...worth it! *From:* ac7zg at frontier.com *Sent:* Monday, January 02, 2012 5:44 PM *To:* d_villa at mail.com ; 5hats at peak.org ; obol at oregonbirds.org *Subject:* Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Dawn With a 250mm you were very close in these images http://www.birdfellow.com/members/dawnvilla/field_reports/472-siletz-bay-12-23-2011 Exactly what I was referring to?.and you were close enough that it caused it to flush. Don From: dawn [mailto:d_villa at mail.com] *Sent:* Monday, January 02, 2012 1:26 PM *To:* Don; Darrel & Laura; OBOL *Subject:* Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl I would rephrase your statement just a bit -- People FEEL THAT THEY have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. In my opinion, it's not the camera nor the lens, it's a choice by the person behind it. I have a Canon T1i with a 250mm zoom - sometimes I wish I had a better zoom, but it's adequate for my needs. I'm not a photographer by any means, although I love photographing the birds and did get some decent shots of this particular owl. My 2 cents ... dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking ----- Original Message ----- From: Don Sent: 01/01/12 10:45 PM To: 'Darrel & Laura', 'OBOL' Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl That?s the problem with point and shoots or lenses less than 500mm on 1.6x frame DSLR. People have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. Too bad for the bird to be chased around. From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] *On Behalf Of *Darrel & Laura *Sent:* Sunday, January 01, 2012 10:03 PM *To:* OBOL *Subject:* [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Obolites About 3:30 this afternoon Laura and I got to see the Snowy Owl at Salishan spit west of Siletz Bay. It was perched on some drift logs at the north end of the narrow lake on the spit. Unfortunately somebody with a camera or scope wasn't content to scope and/or take pictures from the forty yards across the lake. He walked between two houses (private property), and zoomed in on the owl from above about fifteen yards away. Of course the bird flushed. It flew across the lake to another log. As we were leaving we noticed that the same guy had walked around the lake, and was once again trying to approach to within just a few yards of the owl. Last time we looked back, he was aiming his camera or scope or whatever it was across the lake, presumably at the owl which had flushed once again to the west shore. Amazing. Darrel & Laura ----------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Mon Jan 2 20:43:13 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 18:43:13 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos VG Swallow 1/2/2012 Message-ID: <1325558593.39590.YahooMailNeo@web45306.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I was able to relocate the VG SWALLOW on the Coquille Valley CBC with Frank Mayer over Johnson Mill Pond in Coquille on 12/31 on the CV CBC. ?This VG Swallow is hanging with from 2 to 5 Tree Swallows and was first observed on 12/26/2011. ?Of interest I think is that this species is VERY rare in December and normally is observed on a single date (for the other record in Coos) and is not seen again. This bird has been around a week ( I saw it again today on 1/2/2012), hopefully I can recheck to see if it stays (survives) around longer. ?Are there other records of this species staying around for a week or more in December or January in Oregon? ?I know that both Tree and Barn Swallows have been seen for multiple weeks from about mid-December through February in recent years, but this VG Swallow is a mystery to me?? Oh, Trees usually show up by the first week in February in Coos in this same area, so that these Trees are probably just VERY early migrants. Barns have shown up mid-winter the past few years but seem to disappear by late February (probably due to lack of food) then reappear in late March during their normal spring migration arrival. ?Violet-greens, however, are normally not seen after late September until maybe late February (at the earliest) or mid-March here (more normal). ?The swallow enigma continues... Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ac7zg at frontier.com Mon Jan 2 20:43:26 2012 From: ac7zg at frontier.com (Don) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 18:43:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] Salishan Snowy Owl In-Reply-To: <7C1D3E5D07E746A09B88A0EA043AFFEB@MitherPC> References: <20120102212539.284460@gmx.com> <00e701ccc9b9$2b5623a0$82026ae0$@com> <7C1D3E5D07E746A09B88A0EA043AFFEB@MitherPC> Message-ID: <00f801ccc9c1$78e90530$6abb0f90$@com> Right you are Laura! Great advice to those with just a 250mm or 300mm or less than 500mm native focal length lens. (Native means no Teleconverter?.) I have a 800mm and a 1.4x TC (and a 2x TC ? both of which work well with this lens). By the way ? the image size goes as the square of the focal length ? not as the the linear difference between the two focal lengths. (you are dealing with area) 200mm vs 375 for the same distance the image of the bird is 2.25x (not 1.4x)bigger just by adding the 1.4x to the 250. And a 500 is 4x the image size of the 250mm at the same distance And an 800 is 10.25x larger than 250mm for the same distance And 1120 (800 +1.4x)is 20.8x larger than 250mm at the same distance. All of which means you can be further away from the bird, still make the bird large enough in the image, and you don?t have to choose to get close to the bird to make an image. Now we see why bird photographers use bigger lenses ? you don?t have to get as close to make the bird appear to have an image the same size?. And why less than 500mm (or a point/shoot) means you are getting too close if you make the Snowy fill the frame. Don From: Laura Mountainspring [mailto:mntsprg at wizzards.net] Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 6:27 PM To: Don Cc: OBOL Subject: Re: [] Salishan Snowy Owl first///be really careful getting too close to protected species, it might be seen as harassment. second..it is less expensive to purchase the tele-converter then the lens ...a 1.5x ( tamron?s are good) should run under 200 bucks and give your lens half as much reach .....250 becomes 375...converters run as much a 2x but you loose light and good sharp focus. tamron has a new model long lens zoom...200-50 0mm it is my go to bird lens;...it runs $1100....which is a lot less then the name brands....and has little lens distortion! you will need a tripod or mono pod...worth it! From: Don Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 5:44 PM To: 'dawn' ; 'Darrel & Laura' ; 'OBOL' Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Dawn With a 250mm you were very close in these images http://www.birdfellow.com/members/dawnvilla/field_reports/472-siletz-bay-12-23-2011 Exactly what I was referring to?.and you were close enough that it caused it to flush. Don From: dawn [mailto:d_villa at mail.com] Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 1:26 PM To: Don; Darrel & Laura; OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl I would rephrase your statement just a bit -- People FEEL THAT THEY have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. In my opinion, it's not the camera nor the lens, it's a choice by the person behind it. I have a Canon T1i with a 250mm zoom - sometimes I wish I had a better zoom, but it's adequate for my needs. I'm not a photographer by any means, although I love photographing the birds and did get some decent shots of this particular owl. My 2 cents ... dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking ----- Original Message ----- From: Don Sent: 01/01/12 10:45 PM To: 'Darrel & Laura', 'OBOL' Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl That?s the problem with point and shoots or lenses less than 500mm on 1.6x frame DSLR. People have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. Too bad for the bird to be chased around. From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Darrel & Laura Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2012 10:03 PM To: OBOL Subject: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Obolites About 3:30 this afternoon Laura and I got to see the Snowy Owl at Salishan spit west of Siletz Bay. It was perched on some drift logs at the north end of the narrow lake on the spit. Unfortunately somebody with a camera or scope wasn't content to scope and/or take pictures from the forty yards across the lake. He walked between two houses (private property), and zoomed in on the owl from above about fifteen yards away. Of course the bird flushed. It flew across the lake to another log. As we were leaving we noticed that the same guy had walked around the lake, and was once again trying to approach to within just a few yards of the owl. Last time we looked back, he was aiming his camera or scope or whatever it was across the lake, presumably at the owl which had flushed once again to the west shore. Amazing. Darrel & Laura _____ _______________________________________________ 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 Mon Jan 2 21:06:04 2012 From: whoffman at peak.org (whoffman at peak.org) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 19:06:04 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos VG Swallow 1/2/2012 In-Reply-To: <1325558593.39590.YahooMailNeo@web45306.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2071423501.164550.1325559964620.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Hi, Tim I have been following the winter swallow occurrences for over a decade. I think indeed this is the first VG which has been found multiple times at a single location. Howvever, it is not the only one reported this winter. (I do not recall where others were, but I think there have been a couple.) Your statements about when swallows are showing up in winter are correct as far as recent years go. However, this fall/winter I have seen swallow reports on OBOL and/or Tweeters more or less weekly since early November, so it appears the status is continuing to change. Until this year there has been pretty much a hiatus from October to the last week of December, supporting your early "spring" migrant deduction. But this year I think some birds lingered - did not go south at all. Although some of these birds, particularly Tree Swallows, may survive, I doubt that this is a successful strategy. It seems more like an example of a defect in the birds' internal calendar system, or perhaps a radical change in some environmental cue swallows are using to time migration. It has been demonstrated for some birds that day length is a primary cue used to time migration and some other aspects of phenology, but I do not know that this has been done rigorously with swallows. Certainly Barn Swallows at least, as a species have an extremely protracted fall migration period, with birds seen passing by for months, which implies that a lot of individual or population variation exists in the cues or drivers. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tim Rodenkirk" To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Monday, January 2, 2012 6:43:13 PM Subject: [OBOL] Coos VG Swallow 1/2/2012 I was able to relocate the VG SWALLOW on the Coquille Valley CBC with Frank Mayer over Johnson Mill Pond in Coquille on 12/31 on the CV CBC. This VG Swallow is hanging with from 2 to 5 Tree Swallows and was first observed on 12/26/2011. Of interest I think is that this species is VERY rare in December and normally is observed on a single date (for the other record in Coos) and is not seen again. This bird has been around a week ( I saw it again today on 1/2/2012), hopefully I can recheck to see if it stays (survives) around longer. Are there other records of this species staying around for a week or more in December or January in Oregon? I know that both Tree and Barn Swallows have been seen for multiple weeks from about mid-December through February in recent years, but this VG Swallow is a mystery to me? Oh, Trees usually show up by the first week in February in Coos in this same area, so that these Trees are probably just VERY early migrants. Barns have shown up mid-winter the past few years but seem to disappear by late February (probably due to lack of food) then reappear in late March during their normal spring migration arrival. Violet-greens, however, are normally not seen after late September until maybe late February (at the earliest) or mid-March here (more normal). The swallow enigma continues... Tim R Coos Bay _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From whoffman at peak.org Mon Jan 2 21:20:21 2012 From: whoffman at peak.org (whoffman at peak.org) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 19:20:21 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] [] Salishan Snowy Owl In-Reply-To: <237362078.164569.1325560777919.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Message-ID: <2060115473.164571.1325560821190.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Hi - Don't let people beat you up too much over this. It is not a sin to stumble onto a bird, get too close before seeing it, and flush it. Birds have wings for a reason, and its usually not that big a deal for them to use them to move out of the way of big clumsy mammals. Repeated approach and flushing is another story, but that is not what you did. It is interesting that birders who get worked up over photographers "getting too close" tend to be far more protective of owls than of most other birds. In my opinion this kind of "harassment" is not likely to be more stressful to owls than to many other birds, particularly out of the nesting season. The fact that owls can sometimes be approached "too close" repeatedly may mean that they are less bothered, rather than more. If you get "too close" to a Peregrine, say, or an accipiter or grouse or duck, it is likely to move far enough that you will have great difficulty even seeing where it went. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "dawn" To: "Laura Mountainspring" Cc: "OBOL" Sent: Monday, January 2, 2012 6:39:48 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] [] Salishan Snowy Owl Thanks Laura - I guess it's too little too late to say that I didn't intend to get too close - not sure exactly how close I was when I stumbled on him (I just sent Don a couple of uncropped pix, I'm not a good judge of distance...) http://www.birdfellow.com/photos/thumbnails/111-siletz-bay?id=5633 this was right when I saw him, just before he turned his head and saw me. Usually my 250 is fine (I do alot of cropping :o) I'll keep the converter in mind though (and try to be more attentive when I'm out looking for birds!) dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking ----- Original Message ----- From: Laura Mountainspring Sent: 01/02/12 06:26 PM To: Don Subject: Re: [OBOL] [] Salishan Snowy Owl first///be really careful getting too close to protected species, it might be seen as harassment. second..it is less expensive to purchase the tele-converter then the lens ...a 1.5x ( tamron?s are good) should run under 200 bucks and give your lens half as much reach .....250 becomes 375...converters run as much a 2x but you loose light and good sharp focus. tamron has a new model long lens zoom...200-50 0mm it is my go to bird lens;...it runs $1100....which is a lot less then the name brands....and has little lens distortion! you will need a tripod or mono pod...worth it! From: Don Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 5:44 PM To: 'dawn' ; 'Darrel & Laura' ; 'OBOL' Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Dawn With a 250mm you were very close in these images http://www.birdfellow.com/members/dawnvilla/field_reports/472-siletz-bay-12-23-2011 Exactly what I was referring to?.and you were close enough that it caused it to flush. Don From: dawn [mailto:d_villa at mail.com] Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 1:26 PM To: Don; Darrel & Laura; OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl I would rephrase your statement just a bit -- People FEEL THAT THEY have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. In my opinion, it's not the camera nor the lens, it's a choice by the person behind it. I have a Canon T1i with a 250mm zoom - sometimes I wish I had a better zoom, but it's adequate for my needs. I'm not a photographer by any means, although I love photographing the birds and did get some decent shots of this particular owl. My 2 cents ... dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking ----- Original Message ----- From: Don Sent: 01/01/12 10:45 PM To: 'Darrel & Laura', 'OBOL' Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl That?s the problem with point and shoots or lenses less than 500mm on 1.6x frame DSLR. People have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. Too bad for the bird to be chased around. From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Darrel & Laura Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2012 10:03 PM To: OBOL Subject: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Obolites About 3:30 this afternoon Laura and I got to see the Snowy Owl at Salishan spit west of Siletz Bay. It was perched on some drift logs at the north end of the narrow lake on the spit. Unfortunately somebody with a camera or scope wasn't content to scope and/or take pictures from the forty yards across the lake. He walked between two houses (private property), and zoomed in on the owl from above about fifteen yards away. Of course the bird flushed. It flew across the lake to another log. As we were leaving we noticed that the same guy had walked around the lake, and was once again trying to approach to within just a few yards of the owl. Last time we looked back, he was aiming his camera or scope or whatever it was across the lake, presumably at the owl which had flushed once again to the west shore. Amazing. Darrel & Laura _______________________________________________ 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 rick.lumen at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 21:21:32 2012 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 19:21:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] Salishan Snowy Owl In-Reply-To: <00f801ccc9c1$78e90530$6abb0f90$@com> References: <20120102212539.284460@gmx.com> <00e701ccc9b9$2b5623a0$82026ae0$@com> <7C1D3E5D07E746A09B88A0EA043AFFEB@MitherPC> <00f801ccc9c1$78e90530$6abb0f90$@com> Message-ID: <7E57FBA4-4144-469F-954F-5B64B4CC8325@gmail.com> While long lenses are certainly great, there are some draw backs. They are very expensive and quite heavy (8 - 12 lbs). While modern VR/IS is remarkable, to get the crispest pictures you need at least a monopod and preferably a tripod. Then there are atmospherics to contend with. Mist from the ocean, temperature inversion, pollution, etc will all reduce the sharpness of a picture taken at long range. And, while most lenses will accept a TC, some kit lenses will not. Rick On Jan 2, 2012, at 6:43 PM, Don wrote: > Right you are Laura! > Great advice to those with just a 250mm or 300mm or less than 500mm native focal length lens. (Native means no Teleconverter?.) > > I have a 800mm and a 1.4x TC (and a 2x TC ? both of which work well with this lens). > > By the way ? the image size goes as the square of the focal length ? not as the the linear difference between the two focal lengths. > (you are dealing with area) > > 200mm vs 375 for the same distance the image of the bird is 2.25x (not 1.4x)bigger just by adding the 1.4x to the 250. > And a 500 is 4x the image size of the 250mm at the same distance > And an 800 is 10.25x larger than 250mm for the same distance > And 1120 (800 +1.4x)is 20.8x larger than 250mm at the same distance. > > All of which means you can be further away from the bird, still make the bird large enough in the image, and you don?t have to choose to get close to the bird to make an image. > > Now we see why bird photographers use bigger lenses ? you don?t have to get as close to make the bird appear to have an image the same size?. > And why less than 500mm (or a point/shoot) means you are getting too close if you make the Snowy fill the frame. > > Don > > > > > From: Laura Mountainspring [mailto:mntsprg at wizzards.net] > Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 6:27 PM > To: Don > Cc: OBOL > Subject: Re: [] Salishan Snowy Owl > > first///be really careful getting too close to protected species, it might be seen as harassment. > second..it is less expensive to purchase the tele-converter then the lens ...a 1.5x ( tamron?s are good) should run under 200 bucks and give your lens half as much reach .....250 becomes 375...converters run as much a 2x but you loose light and good sharp focus. > tamron has a new model long lens zoom...200-50 0mm it is my go to bird lens;...it runs $1100....which is a lot less then the name brands....and has little lens distortion! you will need a tripod or mono pod...worth it! > > From: Don > Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 5:44 PM > To: 'dawn' ; 'Darrel & Laura' ; 'OBOL' > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl > > Dawn > With a 250mm you were very close in these images http://www.birdfellow.com/members/dawnvilla/field_reports/472-siletz-bay-12-23-2011 > Exactly what I was referring to?.and you were close enough that it caused it to flush. > Don > > From: dawn [mailto:d_villa at mail.com] > Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 1:26 PM > To: Don; Darrel & Laura; OBOL > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl > > I would rephrase your statement just a bit -- People FEEL THAT THEY have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. In my opinion, it's not the camera nor the lens, it's a choice by the person behind it. > > I have a Canon T1i with a 250mm zoom - sometimes I wish I had a better zoom, but it's adequate for my needs. I'm not a photographer by any means, although I love photographing the birds and did get some decent shots of this particular owl. > > My 2 cents ... > > dawn > Lincoln City/Nelscott > Blogging About the Coast > dvillabirds.blogspot.com > Sometimes things come when you stop looking > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Don > Sent: 01/01/12 10:45 PM > To: 'Darrel & Laura', 'OBOL' > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl > > That?s the problem with point and shoots or lenses less than 500mm on 1.6x frame DSLR. People have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. Too bad for the bird to be chased around. > > > > > From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Darrel & Laura > Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2012 10:03 PM > To: OBOL > Subject: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl > > > > > > Obolites > > > About 3:30 this afternoon Laura and I got to see the Snowy Owl at Salishan spit west of Siletz Bay. It was perched on some drift logs at the north end of the narrow lake on the spit. Unfortunately somebody with a camera or scope wasn't content to scope and/or take pictures from the forty yards across the lake. He walked between two houses (private property), and zoomed in on the owl from above about fifteen yards away. Of course the bird flushed. It flew across the lake to another log. As we were leaving we noticed that the same guy had walked around the lake, and was once again trying to approach to within just a few yards of the owl. Last time we looked back, he was aiming his camera or scope or whatever it was across the lake, presumably at the owl which had flushed once again to the west shore. Amazing. > > > > > > Darrel & Laura > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 rick.lumen at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 21:29:14 2012 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 19:29:14 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] Salishan Snowy Owl In-Reply-To: <2060115473.164571.1325560821190.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> References: <2060115473.164571.1325560821190.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Message-ID: <9AA47C27-B707-40C2-B5C1-3668BBEF0435@gmail.com> I emailed Dawn privately with my thoughts, but since Wayne spoke up publicly I echo his comments. I don't condone harassing birds, but we humans do a lot worse to birds than getting a little close to take a picture. Rick On Jan 2, 2012, at 7:20 PM, whoffman at peak.org wrote: > Hi - > > Don't let people beat you up too much over this. It is not a sin to stumble onto a bird, get too close before seeing it, and flush it. Birds have wings for a reason, and its usually not that big a deal for them to use them to move out of the way of big clumsy mammals. Repeated approach and flushing is another story, but that is not what you did. > > It is interesting that birders who get worked up over photographers "getting too close" tend to be far more protective of owls than of most other birds. In my opinion this kind of "harassment" is not likely to be more stressful to owls than to many other birds, particularly out of the nesting season. > > The fact that owls can sometimes be approached "too close" repeatedly may mean that they are less bothered, rather than more. If you get "too close" to a Peregrine, say, or an accipiter or grouse or duck, it is likely to move far enough that you will have great difficulty even seeing where it went. > > Wayne > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "dawn" > To: "Laura Mountainspring" > Cc: "OBOL" > Sent: Monday, January 2, 2012 6:39:48 PM > Subject: Re: [OBOL] [] Salishan Snowy Owl > > > Thanks Laura - I guess it's too little too late to say that I didn't intend to get too close - not sure exactly how close I was when I stumbled on him (I just sent Don a couple of uncropped pix, I'm not a good judge of distance...) http://www.birdfellow.com/photos/thumbnails/111-siletz-bay?id=5633 > this was right when I saw him, just before he turned his head and saw me. > > Usually my 250 is fine (I do alot of cropping :o) I'll keep the converter in mind though (and try to be more attentive when I'm out looking for birds!) > > > dawn > Lincoln City/Nelscott > Blogging About the Coast > dvillabirds.blogspot.com > Sometimes things come when you stop looking > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: Laura Mountainspring > > Sent: 01/02/12 06:26 PM > > To: Don > > Subject: Re: [OBOL] [] Salishan Snowy Owl > > > > > first///be really careful getting too close to protected species, it might be seen as harassment. > second..it is less expensive to purchase the tele-converter then the lens ...a 1.5x ( tamron?s are good) should run under 200 bucks and give your lens half as much reach .....250 becomes 375...converters run as much a 2x but you loose light and good sharp focus. > tamron has a new model long lens zoom...200-50 0mm it is my go to bird lens;...it runs $1100....which is a lot less then the name brands....and has little lens distortion! you will need a tripod or mono pod...worth it! > > > > > From: Don > Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 5:44 PM > To: 'dawn' ; 'Darrel & Laura' ; 'OBOL' > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl > > > > > Dawn > > > > > > With a 250mm you were very close in these images http://www.birdfellow.com/members/dawnvilla/field_reports/472-siletz-bay-12-23-2011 > > > > > > Exactly what I was referring to?.and you were close enough that it caused it to flush. > > > > > > Don > > > > > > > > > > > > > From: dawn [mailto:d_villa at mail.com] > Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 1:26 PM > To: Don; Darrel & Laura; OBOL > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl > > > > > > > > > > > > I would rephrase your statement just a bit -- People FEEL THAT THEY have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. In my opinion, it's not the camera nor the lens, it's a choice by the person behind it. > > I have a Canon T1i with a 250mm zoom - sometimes I wish I had a better zoom, but it's adequate for my needs. I'm not a photographer by any means, although I love photographing the birds and did get some decent shots of this particular owl. > > My 2 cents ... > > dawn > Lincoln City/Nelscott > Blogging About the Coast > dvillabirds.blogspot.com > Sometimes things come when you stop looking > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > > > > From: Don > > > > > > Sent: 01/01/12 10:45 PM > > > > > > To: 'Darrel & Laura', 'OBOL' > > > > > > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl > > > > > > > > > > > > > > That?s the problem with point and shoots or lenses less than 500mm on 1.6x frame DSLR. People have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. Too bad for the bird to be chased around. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Darrel & Laura > Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2012 10:03 PM > To: OBOL > Subject: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Obolites > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > About 3:30 this afternoon Laura and I got to see the Snowy Owl at Salishan spit west of Siletz Bay. It was perched on some drift logs at the north end of the narrow lake on the spit. Unfortunately somebody with a camera or scope wasn't content to scope and/or take pictures from the forty yards across the lake. He walked between two houses (private property), and zoomed in on the owl from above about fifteen yards away. Of course the bird flushed. It flew across the lake to another log. As we were leaving we noticed that the same guy had walked around the lake, and was once again trying to approach to within just a few yards of the owl. Last time we looked back, he was aiming his camera or scope or whatever it was across the lake, presumably at the owl which had flushed once again to the west shore. Amazing. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Darrel & Laura > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 From bcombs232 at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 21:32:48 2012 From: bcombs232 at gmail.com (Barbara Combs) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 19:32:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Interesting Song Sparrow Message-ID: Yesterday during the Eugene CBC my team encountered an interesting and different SONG SPARROW. This bird was very dark and had the appearance of one of the California birds illustrated in David Beadle and Jim Rising's book on Sparrows of the US and Canada. It most closely resembled the Santa Monica bird illustrated on page 196 (42.10). Its throat and submoustachial markings were REALLY WHITE. Even more interesting was the song of this bird. It sounded nothing like a Song Sparrow we would normally hear in the Willamette Valley. The song we heard consisted of a lengthy set of groups of trills and chirps. It went on for probably more than 10 seconds. The length of the song reminded me of listening to a Sage Thrasher that just won't quit singing. Anyone who is interested in recording a unique Song Sparrow repertoire might want to check this bird out. -- Barbara Combs obie '70 Lane County, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bcombs232 at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 21:45:23 2012 From: bcombs232 at gmail.com (Barbara Combs) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 19:45:23 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fwd: Interesting Song Sparrow In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: This bird was alongside the marsh near the viewing ramp at the end of West First and Wallis on the north end of the Bertelsen nature area (AKA Stewart Pond). ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Barbara Combs Date: Mon, Jan 2, 2012 at 7:32 PM Subject: Interesting Song Sparrow To: Oregon Birders OnLine Yesterday during the Eugene CBC my team encountered an interesting and different SONG SPARROW. This bird was very dark and had the appearance of one of the California birds illustrated in David Beadle and Jim Rising's book on Sparrows of the US and Canada. It most closely resembled the Santa Monica bird illustrated on page 196 (42.10). Its throat and submoustachial markings were REALLY WHITE. Even more interesting was the song of this bird. It sounded nothing like a Song Sparrow we would normally hear in the Willamette Valley. The song we heard consisted of a lengthy set of groups of trills and chirps. It went on for probably more than 10 seconds. The length of the song reminded me of listening to a Sage Thrasher that just won't quit singing. Anyone who is interested in recording a unique Song Sparrow repertoire might want to check this bird out. -- Barbara Combs obie '70 Lane County, OR -- Barbara Combs obie '70 Lane County, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jdmjeremy at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 22:00:40 2012 From: jdmjeremy at gmail.com (Jeremy Breese) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 20:00:40 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Rock Sandpiper refound Message-ID: <4C4178BF-8752-4462-A90F-EC3D06BE5C8C@gmail.com> I took a day trip to the Newport area. It was extremely windy and raining far from optimal conditions. Straight to Seal Rock and after sitting in a windbreak for about half an hour 6 rockpipers flew in to join 2 Oystercatchers. Out of that group there were 2.B. Turnstones, 1.Surfbird and the single Rock Sandpiper which was far less cooperative then the rest. It fed very close to the water only coming into view when the large waves would flush it atop the rocks. Awesome find of a bird that has alluded me multiple times before! There were also 3 Male Harlequin Ducks taking shelter right on the beach offering amazingly close views. Good birding Jeremy Breese Sent from my iPhone From holly.reinhard at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 22:06:38 2012 From: holly.reinhard at gmail.com (Holly Reinhard) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 20:06:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Sunriver Accipiter thing Message-ID: Hi Obol, On Saturday in Sunriver (central Oregon), my aunt and I found an accipiter-like raptor near the nature center. I am not sure if it is a Northern Goshawk, a Cooper's Hawk, or a Sharp-shinned Hawk. I got one photo of it taking off. Let me know what you think!! https://plus.google.com/photos/111932006950378506189/albums/5693251143713740289?authkey=CI2jrumolsqk3gE Good birding, Holly Reinhard Corvallis, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mntsprg at wizzards.net Mon Jan 2 22:07:56 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 20:07:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] Salishan Snowy Owl In-Reply-To: <2060115473.164571.1325560821190.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> References: <2060115473.164571.1325560821190.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Message-ID: <82D9A9F893FE4C809F2E29D6B6E866C3@MitherPC> I surely didn't want to imply Dawn was harassing the bird...just some rangers would most likely give a talking to if this had been a bald eagle! A more troubling issue comes from a photog friend of mine...apparently several sandhill cranes have been getting shot over the year (in another state) my friend is really steamed...last one was 3 days ago!! -----Original Message----- From: whoffman at peak.org Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 7:20 PM To: dawn Cc: ; Laura Mountainspring Subject: Re: [OBOL] [] Salishan Snowy Owl Hi - Don't let people beat you up too much over this. It is not a sin to stumble onto a bird, get too close before seeing it, and flush it. Birds have wings for a reason, and its usually not that big a deal for them to use them to move out of the way of big clumsy mammals. Repeated approach and flushing is another story, but that is not what you did. It is interesting that birders who get worked up over photographers "getting too close" tend to be far more protective of owls than of most other birds. In my opinion this kind of "harassment" is not likely to be more stressful to owls than to many other birds, particularly out of the nesting season. The fact that owls can sometimes be approached "too close" repeatedly may mean that they are less bothered, rather than more. If you get "too close" to a Peregrine, say, or an accipiter or grouse or duck, it is likely to move far enough that you will have great difficulty even seeing where it went. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "dawn" To: "Laura Mountainspring" Cc: "OBOL" Sent: Monday, January 2, 2012 6:39:48 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] [] Salishan Snowy Owl Thanks Laura - I guess it's too little too late to say that I didn't intend to get too close - not sure exactly how close I was when I stumbled on him (I just sent Don a couple of uncropped pix, I'm not a good judge of distance...) http://www.birdfellow.com/photos/thumbnails/111-siletz-bay?id=5633 this was right when I saw him, just before he turned his head and saw me. Usually my 250 is fine (I do alot of cropping :o) I'll keep the converter in mind though (and try to be more attentive when I'm out looking for birds!) dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking ----- Original Message ----- From: Laura Mountainspring Sent: 01/02/12 06:26 PM To: Don Subject: Re: [OBOL] [] Salishan Snowy Owl first///be really careful getting too close to protected species, it might be seen as harassment. second..it is less expensive to purchase the tele-converter then the lens ...a 1.5x ( tamron?s are good) should run under 200 bucks and give your lens half as much reach .....250 becomes 375...converters run as much a 2x but you loose light and good sharp focus. tamron has a new model long lens zoom...200-50 0mm it is my go to bird lens;...it runs $1100....which is a lot less then the name brands....and has little lens distortion! you will need a tripod or mono pod...worth it! From: Don Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 5:44 PM To: 'dawn' ; 'Darrel & Laura' ; 'OBOL' Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Dawn With a 250mm you were very close in these images http://www.birdfellow.com/members/dawnvilla/field_reports/472-siletz-bay-12-23-2011 Exactly what I was referring to?.and you were close enough that it caused it to flush. Don From: dawn [mailto:d_villa at mail.com] Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 1:26 PM To: Don; Darrel & Laura; OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl I would rephrase your statement just a bit -- People FEEL THAT THEY have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. In my opinion, it's not the camera nor the lens, it's a choice by the person behind it. I have a Canon T1i with a 250mm zoom - sometimes I wish I had a better zoom, but it's adequate for my needs. I'm not a photographer by any means, although I love photographing the birds and did get some decent shots of this particular owl. My 2 cents ... dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking ----- Original Message ----- From: Don Sent: 01/01/12 10:45 PM To: 'Darrel & Laura', 'OBOL' Subject: Re: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl That?s the problem with point and shoots or lenses less than 500mm on 1.6x frame DSLR. People have to get really close to make the owl large enough in the frame. Too bad for the bird to be chased around. From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Darrel & Laura Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2012 10:03 PM To: OBOL Subject: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Obolites About 3:30 this afternoon Laura and I got to see the Snowy Owl at Salishan spit west of Siletz Bay. It was perched on some drift logs at the north end of the narrow lake on the spit. Unfortunately somebody with a camera or scope wasn't content to scope and/or take pictures from the forty yards across the lake. He walked between two houses (private property), and zoomed in on the owl from above about fifteen yards away. Of course the bird flushed. It flew across the lake to another log. As we were leaving we noticed that the same guy had walked around the lake, and was once again trying to approach to within just a few yards of the owl. Last time we looked back, he was aiming his camera or scope or whatever it was across the lake, presumably at the owl which had flushed once again to the west shore. Amazing. Darrel & Laura _______________________________________________ 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 gnorgren at earthlink.net Mon Jan 2 22:50:34 2012 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 20:50:34 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Holly's Sunriver Accipiter Message-ID: The rusty bars at the back of the ventral surface means it isn't a Goshawk. The large beak/limited forehead notch inclines me to call it a Cooper's. Lars From dcoggswell at hotmail.com Mon Jan 2 23:10:45 2012 From: dcoggswell at hotmail.com (Donald Coggswell) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 21:10:45 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Clark's Grebe - Columbia County Message-ID: This afternoon there was a Clark's Grebe near the bank along River Front Road in the Marshland area. Don -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rick.lumen at gmail.com Mon Jan 2 23:25:35 2012 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 21:25:35 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Westmoreland Canvasback YES, Heron Lakes Brant NO Message-ID: <31AB5757-D556-4789-A963-9AF06973CB70@gmail.com> I stopped by Westmoreland Park today at midday and found the Canvasback that has been reported there. I then spent about an hour at Heron Lakes Golf Course scanning through thousands of Cacklers, but found no Brant. I did see a couple with neck bands and a few with leucistic..., I mean white speckled, necks. Also, there were 8 beautiful male and 2 female Canvasbacks in the east pond of the course. Rick Wilsonville From bigburd_jh at yahoo.com Tue Jan 3 00:07:55 2012 From: bigburd_jh at yahoo.com (j hayes) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 22:07:55 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Tygh Valley CBC - Highlights Message-ID: <1325570875.81839.yint-ygo-j2me@web36807.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hello, birders. The second annual Tygh Valley CBC was held Wed. Dec. 28. Thirteen birders covered 7 sectors in a steady all-day rain, locating 83 species plus one likely exotic. Good finds include Gr. White-fr. Goose - 3, Barrow's Goldeneye - 1, Com. Loon - 1, Ferruginous Hawk - 1, Ringed Turtle-Dove - 1 (with Eur. Collared-Doves), Canyon Wren - 2, and Brown-headed Cowbird - 25. High counts include Com. Goldeneye - 25, Calif. Quail - 435, Eur. Collared-Dove - 123, Lewis's Woodpecker - 35, Mountain Bluebird - 10, and White-cr. Sparrow - 481. We ended up with 11 diurnal raptor species and 4 owls, and columbiforms were well represented. Strangely, we found only one Wild Turkey compared to 78 last year. Notable misses include Killdeer, Red-br. Nuthatch and Cedar Waxwing. Only the basic expected finches were found. Passerines were tough to pull out, and raptors were mostly perched and soggy. Many thanks to all who participated, and I hope you will join us next year! - Jeff Hayes From bigburd_jh at yahoo.com Tue Jan 3 00:15:17 2012 From: bigburd_jh at yahoo.com (j hayes) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 22:15:17 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] TVCBC - Erratum Message-ID: <1325571317.92703.yint-ygo-j2me@web36806.mail.mud.yahoo.com> The count for COM. GOLDENEYE should read 46 rather than 25. - Jeff Hayes From jcolbyspell at gmail.com Tue Jan 3 00:21:41 2012 From: jcolbyspell at gmail.com (Colby) Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 22:21:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tualatin River NWR screech owl In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <090AE097-8733-44E6-97ED-B2A12DF4CB91@gmail.com> The other day I saw a some pictures of the Emperor Goose. The photogrpp From llsdirons at msn.com Tue Jan 3 03:40:10 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 09:40:10 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl In-Reply-To: <00e701ccc9b9$2b5623a0$82026ae0$@com> References: <20120102212539.284460@gmx.com>, <00e701ccc9b9$2b5623a0$82026ae0$@com> Message-ID: Greetings All, Others have already come to Dawn's defense. I would like to add my voice to that chorus and make a couple of observations. In this case it seems that some of those who are criticizing or calling into question Dawn's actions are presuming certain motivations on her part. Based on her description of the sequence of events, it seems pretty clear that her proximity to the owl and its proximity to her came as a surprise to both parties and did not result from her "chasing it around." Perhaps if you knew Dawn personally, or had birded with her, you would realize that her interest in birds and the enjoyment she takes from observing them and photographing them is completely genuine. She has absolutely zero ego about the quality of photographs that she shares with this and other communities. I suspect that most of them are taken in an effort to "record a moment" that she cherished. Many of the images that she posts are taken at great distance and the bird is a comparative speck relative to the size of the image, which tells me that she isn't one of those photographers who will go to any length in order to get that perfect shot. Further, I find the Xmm = same result from X times greater distance math to be a bit disingenuous. It should be pointed out that getting a lens of sufficient size to be able to take full frame photos from great distance is also exponentially more expensive and beyond what most of us can or choose to afford. We'd all love to have a spare $10,000-$15,000 to plop down for the kind of camera/lens/tripod setup that allows one to take magazine cover quality photos from 100yds away from the subject, but for the average person that sort of expenditure on a camera equipment cannot be justified. Others of us are not interested in lugging around that much weight. That said, we all admire and enjoy the spectacular images captured by those folks who do have the requisite quality of equipment, patience, and skill needed to do so. In the end, folks who weren't on hand for and, in my view failed to closely read her description of the event in question have unnecessarily succeeded in making Dawn feel badly for going out to see and perhaps photograph her lifer Snowy Owl. It is highly doubtful that Dawn will be the only human who happens to flush the Siletz Bay Snowy Owl accidentally or otherwise. Given that we are at start of a new year, maybe it's a good time to pitch a 'bigger tent' and recognize that we (birders, photographers, and birder/photographers) all come at our interest in birds from slightly different angles, with motivations that we shouldn't have to defend at every turn. If you haven't flushed a bird, you haven't gone birding. As pointed out by others, birds have wings, which allows them to escape presumed danger by flying away, which they probably do thousands of times each year. If you have a sincere interest in reducing the "harassment" of birds (I certainly do), instead of preaching to this choir, it might be better to redirect your attentions towards all the folks who encourage their dogs and small children to chase flocks of gulls, shorebirds, and waterfowl. Dave Irons Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Tue Jan 3 06:28:31 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 04:28:31 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos VG Swallow 1/2/2012 In-Reply-To: <2071423501.164550.1325559964620.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> References: <1325558593.39590.YahooMailNeo@web45306.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> <2071423501.164550.1325559964620.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Message-ID: <1325593711.58800.YahooMailNeo@web45302.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Wayne, The Tree Swallow early arrival has become "regular" for the last three years in the Coquille Valley. It may be just a few year blip on the big screen, but it's worth watching. ?I know on this year's Coos Bay CBC several people we surprised we "missed" swallows, surely not a remark I would have heard ten years ago when we had zero swallow records on the Coos Bay CBC. Whether these are early arrivals or late hold overs, it's not something that was happening here until the last few years. The Barn Swallow situation has become pretty regular, and I think we all expect to see them in December and January now, not quite the same with Trees (or VGs). What is really interesting about the Johnson Mill Pond site is that this is where both Tree and VG usually are first seen in the county each year (normally February). ?I have been monitoring this site for several years and although Barns often show up here in December and January, they typically disappear again in February then reappear again during their historic return time in late March. This is where I would expect to see a very early Tree as this is where they normally are first seen in the county in spring. ?Last year Trees were here in December and January and the numbers had actually increased by late January and there were many birds by February. I also heard of the other VG sightings this winter. ?I will try and monitor this site to see if this VG hangs around longer (just how long?) and if it is joined by some more early arrivals this month. Oh, Trees are the first swallow species to depart south and are normally hard to find in the county after about the first of September and Violet-greens may linger a bit later in September, but are also pretty much gone by then (our latest record for VG is 4 October with no later records until late December. ?It is much the same with Trees- there are no October, November or early December records in the county). ?Anyhow, if the birds present now are holdovers, they are likely holdovers from somewhere else. A lot can change in 10 years- just look at those ducks : ) Tim R Coos Bay ________________________________ From: "whoffman at peak.org" To: Tim Rodenkirk Cc: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Monday, January 2, 2012 7:06 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Coos VG Swallow 1/2/2012 Hi, Tim I have been following the winter swallow occurrences for over a decade.? I think indeed this is the first VG which has been found multiple times at a single location.? Howvever, it is not the only one reported this winter. (I do not recall where others were, but I think there have been a couple.) Your statements about when swallows are showing up in winter are correct as far as recent years go.? However, this fall/winter I have seen swallow reports on OBOL and/or Tweeters more or less weekly since early November, so it appears the status is continuing to change.? Until this year there has been pretty much a hiatus from October to the last week of December, supporting your early "spring" migrant deduction.? But this year I think some birds lingered - did not go south at all.? Although some of these birds, particularly Tree Swallows, may survive, I doubt that this is a successful strategy. It seems more like an example of a defect in the birds' internal calendar system, or perhaps a radical change in some environmental cue swallows are using to time migration. It has been demonstrated for some birds that day length is a primary cue used to time migration and some other aspects of phenology, but I do not know that this has been done rigorously with swallows.? Certainly Barn Swallows at least, as a species have an extremely protracted fall migration period, with birds seen passing by for months, which implies that a lot of individual or population variation exists in the cues or drivers. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tim Rodenkirk" To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Monday, January 2, 2012 6:43:13 PM Subject: [OBOL] Coos VG Swallow 1/2/2012 I was able to relocate the VG SWALLOW on the Coquille Valley CBC with Frank Mayer over Johnson Mill Pond in Coquille on 12/31 on the CV CBC. This VG Swallow is hanging with from 2 to 5 Tree Swallows and was first observed on 12/26/2011. Of interest I think is that this species is VERY rare in December and normally is observed on a single date (for the other record in Coos) and is not seen again. This bird has been around a week ( I saw it again today on 1/2/2012), hopefully I can recheck to see if it stays (survives) around longer. Are there other records of this species staying around for a week or more in December or January in Oregon? I know that both Tree and Barn Swallows have been seen for multiple weeks from about mid-December through February in recent years, but this VG Swallow is a mystery to me? Oh, Trees usually show up by the first week in February in Coos in this same area, so that these Trees are probably just VERY early migrants. Barns have shown up mid-winter the past few years but seem to disappear by late February (probably due to lack of food) then reappear in late March during their normal spring migration arrival. Violet-greens, however, are normally not seen after late September until maybe late February (at the earliest) or mid-March here (more normal). The swallow enigma continues... 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 winnett at pacifier.com Tue Jan 3 09:34:23 2012 From: winnett at pacifier.com (Vannessa) Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:34:23 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Canvasbacks at Smith & Bybee In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4F031FFF.8030903@pacifier.com> Hello folks, Saw someone asking about canvasbacks a few days ago, so thought I'd pass this on. At Smith and Bybee yesterday I saw a flock of them. Also saw a juvenile bald eagle, tons of ruddies and a pileated woodpecker was pecking up a storm. And I went to see the snow bunting (in the parking lot east of the fire station). Life bird for me! Vannessa McClelland Vancouver, WA From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Tue Jan 3 09:38:03 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 07:38:03 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos redpoll Message-ID: <1325605083.71476.YahooMailNeo@web45304.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Kerrie Johnson reports a redpoll at his feeder at Saunder's Lake (north of Coos Bay a few miles) on 1/2/2012.? He said the bird was with a flock of goldfinches that came to a feeder once in the AM and again in the PM.? This is about the 6th record for Coos, all in the past few years. ? This is a species I've yet to see in the county... ? Merry New Bird! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dpvroman at budget.net Tue Jan 3 10:12:24 2012 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis Vroman) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 08:12:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] From the Regional Editor: to all CBC compilers (and the people who love them) References: <4F025BB9.50001@pacifier.com> Message-ID: Makes CBC data entry pretty interesting...like when Black-bellied Whistling-Duck shows up on you list. Dennis ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Patterson" To: "OBOL" Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 5:36 PM Subject: [OBOL] From the Regional Editor: to all CBC compilers (and the people who love them) > There are (apparently) some serious bugs in the data interface > for CBC data. We are being advised to NOT enter any data until > further notice. > > It's not my fault. I'm having the same difficulties with the > interface switching my data with somebody's from Florida that you > are... > > Take a break, wait for further instructions. > > -- > Mike Patterson > Astoria, OR > Manx Shearwater or something like it... > http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 From rriparia at charter.net Tue Jan 3 11:40:36 2012 From: rriparia at charter.net (Kevin Spencer) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 12:40:36 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] Tule Lake CBC highlights Message-ID: <741c14e0.ccdd6.134a4a88b5c.Webtop.48@charter.net> Hi, The Tule Lake CBC, whose circle's northern edge comes within about a mile of the Oregon border, was completed yesterday, in almost clear skies, but with fairly strong windy conditions. Total species: 82. Among the interesting finds: Black Phoebe-1, Say's Phoebe-3, Belted Kingfisher-1 (tough bird with all the frozen water), Killdeer-1, Cackling Goose-316, and titmouse sp.-1. High numbers included: Yellow-headed Blackbird- 296 among the 10K+ blackbirds headed for their marsh roosts in the late afternoon. Canvasback had a good total with 435. And Eurasian Wigeon had 19 seen, which compares to numbers back in the waterfowl relative heydays in the mid-1980's. The Eurasian collared-Doves had 190, which is a rebound from last year's dip, but we think the person feeding them two years must have gone bankrupt! So, maybe they've found another unsuspecting feeder. Lows included: Total falcons was only 3, with 2 for Prairie, and 1 for Merlin. Maybe related to the low or absent Horned Larks. Misses: Horned Lark-none; who knows where they are with the complete lack of snowcover. It is really dry around the Klamath Basin. And missed also was Black-crowned Night Heron, although some years have yielded only 1. American Tree Sparrow continues its absence from the count, missed for the 4th year in a row, after being detected on 21out of 25 previous counts. Thanks to: Marilyn Christian, Julie Van Moorhem, Frank Mayer, Dave Larson, Nancy Nordensten, Dave Hewitt, Frank Lospalluto, and Micheal (from Berkeley, and who was birding on the Tule Lake refuge, met one of the groups and stayed for the compilation. He mentioned a very interesting study he was doing on bird migration and seed dispersal) Thanks! Kevin Spencer rriparia at charter.net Klamath Falls, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lindaphelanlmt at gmail.com Tue Jan 3 13:07:31 2012 From: lindaphelanlmt at gmail.com (linda phelan thompson) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 11:07:31 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Great Horned Owl Message-ID: Hi all, I've been surprised to see a Great Horned Owl in the daytime, right here near Washington Square. I first noticed it friday, sitting near the edge of the Everest Institute building. This is next to 217 at Greenburg Rd. A good place to see it is the parking lot of the Tigard Medical Mall, on Shady Lane, off Greengurg Rd. I saw It there yesterday, and it's there now. Back to work. It's right above the sign. -- *Linda Lee* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lynx at eoni.com Tue Jan 3 14:12:00 2012 From: lynx at eoni.com (Courtney Loomis) Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:12:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Black Phoebe at Finley NWR Message-ID: <4F036110.10108@eoni.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hhactitis at yahoo.com Tue Jan 3 14:50:59 2012 From: hhactitis at yahoo.com (Hendrik Herlyn) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 12:50:59 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] No Corvallis Say's Phoebe today Message-ID: <1325623859.66320.YahooMailClassic@web111711.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Howdy folks, a quick check of the spot along Campus Bike Path in Corvallis revealed no sign of yesterday's SAY'S PHOEBE. Instead, a lone GREAT EGRET enjoyed whatever goodies the pond holds ... The Bald Hill BLUE JAY was a no-show, as well ... Good birding Hendrik _________________________________ Hendrik G. Herlyn 2201 NW Grant Ave., Apt. 2 Corvallis, OR 97330 USA Phone (home): 541.230.5587 Phone (cell): 541.829.3223 E-Mail: hhactitis at yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From steve at paradisebirding.com Tue Jan 3 15:22:41 2012 From: steve at paradisebirding.com (Stephen Shunk) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 13:22:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Santiam 3-Toe and CBC Summary Message-ID: Happy New Year to all! Fifteen birders on 6 teams scoured both sides of the Cascades on Sunday for the 16th annual Santiam Pass Christmas Bird Count. Owing to a combination of the extremely dry winter, the resultant minimal snowpack, and a gorgeous day, we beat the all-time species total of 40 birds (from 1998) and the 15-year average of 32 species with a final tally of *51 species* for the day. We counted a total of *725 individual birds*, which is the 4th highest count ever and well above the average of 502. We did find an AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER at Dry Creek Swamp, so one team did start their year with a 3-toe! Other highlights are listed below, and a summary of the final tally is available in PDF format at this link. If you wish to see the master spreadsheet or if you have any questions on locations or other details, let me know. It's always a stretch to get folks up to Santiam Pass on New Year's Day, but we persisted and we were rewarded. Some years can be very stormy up there, but I hope more of you will consider joining us in the future, no matter what the weather. It's the perfect way to start the New Year. Have a great 2012, Steve Shunk *SANTIAM PASS CBC HIGHLIGHTS, January 1, 2012* Total Species: 51 (previous high was 40, avg 32) Total Birds: 725 (avg 502) Unusual Species: 11, including 1st ever counts of GREAT GRAY OWL, BUSHTIT, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, and *Zonotrichia* sparrow sp. 2nd time ever: LONG-TAILED DUCK, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, HORNED GREBE, and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET 3rd time ever: EARED GREBE, HERMIT THRUSH, AMERICAN ROBIN, and *Accipiter * sp. Highest Counts: CLARK'S NUTCRACKER (6, previous high 3, 5th ever), WHITE-BREASTED (7, 4, 6th) and PYGMY NUTHATCHES (9, 6, 5th) Tied for highest ever: GREAT BLUE HERON (3), NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL (2) 2nd highest ever: MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE (97, high of 163), RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH (102, 128), AMERICAN DIPPER (9, 16), BALD EAGLE (4, 14), MALLARD (11, 38), CANADA GOOSE (33, 44) 8 species notably above average (BUFFLEHEAD, BARROW'S and COMMON GOLDENEYES, WESTERN GREBE, AMERICAN COOT, STELLER'S JAY, RED CROSSBILL, DARK-EYED JUNCO) Only 3 species notably below average (GRAY JAY, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, SONG SPARROW) NO BIG MISSES (we saw all the species that have been seen on at least half of the 16 counts) -- Stephen Shunk Paradise Birding P.O. Box 547 Sisters, OR 97759 www.paradisebirding.com 541-408-1753 -- Stephen Shunk Paradise Birding P.O. Box 547 Sisters, OR 97759 www.paradisebirding.com 541-408-1753 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From craig at greatskua.com Tue Jan 3 15:23:02 2012 From: craig at greatskua.com (Craig Tumer) Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:23:02 -0700 Subject: [OBOL] TRNWR Emperor Goose - YES; Wilsonville "Bewick's" Swan - NO Message-ID: <20120103142302.3bd901d66b2d769bd36646c62e7e74c3.25b9f28a7f.wbe@email02.secureserver.net> Today at lunchtime, the EMPEROR GOOSE was at its designated spot on the dike straight out from the visitor center at the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge. There was a male EURASIAN WIGEON among AMERICAN WIGEONS and CACKLING GEESE on the far side of the closest impoundment. On the way back to the office, I checked the Coffeelake Creek Wetlands in Wilsonville. There were no swans of any type there, and waterfowl numbers were much lower than during the previous week. Craig Tumer SW Portland From marygarrard at yahoo.com Tue Jan 3 15:35:47 2012 From: marygarrard at yahoo.com (Mary Garrard) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 13:35:47 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Blue Jay today In-Reply-To: <1325623859.66320.YahooMailClassic@web111711.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: <1325623859.66320.YahooMailClassic@web111711.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1325626547.13181.YahooMailNeo@web160806.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> .....and I just returned from a lunchtime bicycle foray to Bald Hill along the same route. No Say's Phoebe, but I did see the Blue Jay right at 1pm. I stopped my bike at several spots along the path south of the barn with no luck. A Red-Tail was hunting in the field to the east, and it went straight over me towards the barn, then a few seconds later flew back. I think it flushed the jay, because just about 30 seconds later I heard it?squawking?and then it flew?around?in the oaks. It was perfect timing......after two misses, a hit! So it's still there, and good luck to any who haven't seen it yet. Mary ? >________________________________ > From: Hendrik Herlyn >To: Midvalley Birding ; OBOL at oregonbirds.org >Sent: Tuesday, January 3, 2012 12:50 PM >Subject: [birding] No Corvallis Say's Phoebe today > > >Howdy folks, > >a quick check of the spot along Campus Bike Path in Corvallis revealed no sign of yesterday's SAY'S PHOEBE. Instead, a lone GREAT EGRET enjoyed whatever goodies the pond holds ... > >The Bald Hill BLUE JAY was a no-show, as well ... > >Good birding > >Hendrik >_________________________________ >Hendrik G. Herlyn >2201 NW Grant Ave., Apt. 2 >Corvallis, OR 97330 >USA >Phone (home): 541.230.5587 >Phone (cell): 541.829.3223 >E-Mail: hhactitis at yahoo.com >_______________________________________________ >birding mailing list >birding at midvalleybirding.org >http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From steve at paradisebirding.com Tue Jan 3 16:24:04 2012 From: steve at paradisebirding.com (Stephen Shunk) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 14:24:04 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Santiam CBC link and Shadow Lake burn report Message-ID: All, I forgot to include the link to the Santiam CBC summary in my last message. Click here for a PDF file of the count summary. Due to exceptionally low snow levels, we were able to access the northern edge of the 2011 Shadow Lake burn, and it is already excellent for woodpeckers. We found most of the day's 20 HAIRY WOODPECKERS and 2 of our 3 BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS in the burn area and if we had chosen to venture out on skis or snowshoes, I think we could have easily doubled those numbers, as well as adding more THREE-TOES and possibly other woodpecker species (we missed WHITE-HEADED and DOWNY on the count, and although they are not typical burn species, they are well known to exploit the abundant food resource of newly hatched beetle larvae following a recent fire). This fire was mostly in the Mt Washington Wilderness area, but in its later days, it burned northward toward (and west of) Big Lake and to the west face of Cache Mountain. This is prime 3-toe habitat, sitting across the subalpine and lodgepole pine zones along the Pacific Crest. The fire burned across or up to numerous older burns, including the Santiam Airstrip, Cache Creek, Link, GW, and possibly even Cache Mtn, but there were still thousands of acres of unburned timber that succumbed. The most productive areas on Sunday were these freshly burned areas, which could easily be told from the older snags by the density of dead needles still remaining on the trees. A map of the burn perimeter can be found at this link, and you can download the KML file that opens the perimeter in Google Earth by visiting this linkand scrolling down to . The only car access right now is from the east side of the burn, and as of Sunday required 4x4 to reach the most productive area (NOT Subaru 4x4, but high-clearance, real 4x4). There was a foot of snow on the road in the higher sections and drifts were deeper in places. If the weather stays warm like it's predicted for the next week, this may change and make the road accessible to more vehicles. In any case, a short XC ski or snowshoe hike would get you to the best birding. >From Sisters: Take Hwy 242 west and turn R (N) onto FR 1028. Drive about 5 mi until it ends at the FR 500/FR 2067 jctn. Turn left and go about 2 miles to reach the best spots. >From Santiam Pass: Turn R (S) onto FR 2066 (major turn with a stop sign just east of Suttle Lake and the FR 12 jctn) and veer left onto FR 2067. Drive about 5 mi and continue past the FR 1028 jctn, after which the road changes to FR 500; go about 2 miles to reach the best spots. NOTE: I would not recommend going above the FR 500/1028/2067 junction (approx. 44.3627914 N, 121.7591514 W) without 4x4, unless it stays warm and does not snow. From this point, it's only about 2 miles to the most productive burned areas. Also, despite the atypical mildness of the season, IT IS STILL WINTER, and you should not go in here without food, water, blankets, gasoline, extra clothes, etc. Also note that we had THREE-TOED and PILEATED WOODPECKERS in Dry Creek Swamp on Sunday, very near the FR 2061/1028 jctn., and that we had a GREAT GRAY OWL on FR 2061 less than a mile north of the same jctn. If you want to bird in these areas before heading into the Shadow Lake burn, turn S off Hwy 20 at George McAllister Rd (FR 2060) and turn R onto FR 2061. Stay on this road for about 3 miles until you get to the end of a large pine plantation. As soon as you cross into the National Forest, you enter a stand of mature mixed-conifer habitat. Start watching for the GG Owl here. I would guess that the bird forages in both the plantation (north of the mix-con), the burned area (south of the mix-con), and along the road, but we found it in the denser forest along the road at about 130 p.m. on Sunday. Enjoy your time in Woodpecker Wonderland, and please report your findings to OBOL and/or COBOL! Steve Shunk -- Stephen Shunk Paradise Birding P.O. Box 547 Sisters, OR 97759 www.paradisebirding.com 541-408-1753 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From greg at thebirdguide.com Tue Jan 3 17:28:35 2012 From: greg at thebirdguide.com (Greg Gillson) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 15:28:35 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] TRNWR Emperor Goose spotting hint Message-ID: Based on its fidelity to a small area of dike, I suggest that the Emperor Goose at the Tualatin River NWR near Sherwood, Oregon is present throughout the day, not just the morning. I first spotted it today at 11:10 AM (missing it at dawn among 7000 Cacklers), whereupon it walked up on the dike and went to sleep between a dozen Mallards. It was still there when I left a half hour later. If you don?t see it from the Visitor Center at the parking lot, try a half mile hike to the Ridgetop Viewpoint. It is about 50 feet of elevation and looks right down the dike. If the bird is hiding in the grass on the back side of the dike, as usual, you should be able to spot it easily from this vantage point. http://g.co/maps/jgrnx map showing locations. Greg -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From donalbri at teleport.com Tue Jan 3 23:15:44 2012 From: donalbri at teleport.com (Don Albright) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 21:15:44 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Report on Baker County CBCs Message-ID: <48C8FD42D3064CC2ADA4B0FB35F6DC90@ownerPC> OBOL, Baker County has two Christmas Bird Counts: The Salisbury CBC was run on December 17, and the Baker Valley CBC was run on December 30. Since we on OBOL rarely hear reports from Baker County in winter, I asked Joanne Britton for a summary of what they found on the counts. Here's what she had to say: "Well, the counts are done, but the results aren't all in. Some people who live within the Baker Valley count had until yesterday to come up with CW birds, and I have one more count to collect for the Salisbury count. There was a total opposite in weather conditions between the two counts-the 12/17 count was spectacular and the 12/30 count was dismal; sunshine for the 17th, rain and wind most of the day for the 30th. For the Salisbury count, we picked up a White-headed Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, 4 Northern Shrikes, a Gray Jay, all three nuthatches, Pacific Wrens, Red Crossbills, and 70 Common Redpolls. The winter has been non-existent (no snow), and apparently the cone crop has been good, so the birds haven't come down into our reach this year, including Gray-crowned Rosy Finches. One counter lives high within the count circle and got most of the above birds on the Salisbury count. He also picked up White-winged Crossbills on the 28th, but that is outside the Baker Valley circle and too late for the Salisbury circle. No Blue Jays reported to me this year. The two places I know of where they hang out at feeders don't have them this year. I checked out a site near Sparta that someone told me a few Snow Buntings were present, but they weren't there when I looked for them. Sparta is outside both circles, but it would have been nice to see them. So far, without seeing all the results for the BV count, it's been very slim sightings. No Bohemians, although we did get some Cedars. I had a couple or four Boh. mixed in with the Cedars earlier (November), but my ash berries are gone, and the starlings are taking over the crabapples. Most of the open water is frozen, even though it was rotten ice on count day. The birds are all huddled into small areas, mostly C. geese and Mallards, but we did get two Ruddy Ducks at the sewage ponds. Just before all the open water froze, Phillips Lake had some nice birds at the deep end by the dam (e.g., RB Merganser). Hope this gives you something to report. I really appreciate your asking, because the east side almost always gets overlooked in the narrative in the CBC summary, not that we have anything special, but it's nice for someone to talk about us (besides Burns, which has great waterfowl habitat). There's a lot more to Oregon than the coastal birds. We'll have some nice shorelines in the future, when the Baldock Slough area gets developed (Ducks Unlimited helped). Right now the ponds are pretty barren of habitat. There may be a plan to put treated sewage water into them, so we shall see how it all develops. The owner has put a lot of effort into providing swallow nest boxes and seedlings. It would be nice to be able to go out there and see some nice shorebirds. This past spring some of us walked around on the roads in the slough area and flushed a SE Owl and had a BC Night Heron fly over, so there is hope. Joanne Britton" -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Wed Jan 4 00:43:14 2012 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 22:43:14 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Tangent, OR Bald Eagle roost Message-ID: <1325659394.21365.YahooMailNeo@web39403.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Everyone, I spent sundown this evening watching the flyin at the Bald Eagle roost site several miles west of Tangent.? When I arrived at 4:30 pm there were 23 (9 adults, 14 subadults) birds in the roost.? They kept dribbling in for the next half hour and by 5:05 pm, when light was fading fast, a total of 60 (27 adults, 33 subadults) birds were in for the night.? My first count on 12-20-11 had a total of 52 birds.? Viewing conditions were ideal this evening, no wind, temps in the high 40s, and a simply drop dead gorgeous sunset behind Mary's Peak.? Just before the sun dipped behind the mountain, the intense lighting hitting the roost site absolutely lit up the birds, especially the adults which displayed gleaming white heads :) As an added bonus this evening, as I crossed the railroad tracks on Oakville Rd about a mile south of Hwy 34 on the way to the roost, a nice RED-SHOULDERED HAWK flew up from the ground and perched in one of the low level trees just south of the crossing, nice bird! :) Jeff Fleischer Albany -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 5hats at peak.org Wed Jan 4 00:50:27 2012 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 22:50:27 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] sewage pond closure Message-ID: <5F73C5599CAA48069B0CADC1F7B45A3E@DarrelPC> Obolites Due to a major construction project now underway at the site, the Lincoln City sewage ponds is closed to birders, and will remain so until summer. Darrel -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 5hats at peak.org Wed Jan 4 00:51:45 2012 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 22:51:45 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] sewage pond closure 2 Message-ID: Make that are closed. I really did study English grammar in school. Darrel -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rick.lumen at gmail.com Wed Jan 4 02:01:02 2012 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 00:01:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] aggressive owls In-Reply-To: <4F01F9E2.5040901@frontier.com> References: <4F01F9E2.5040901@frontier.com> Message-ID: Your mentioning of a Cooper's hawk reminds me of an experience I had about a year and a half ago. I was walking a path along the Rio Grande River near Albuquerque in June of 2010 with only four months of birding under my belt, when I came upon a Cooper's Hawk. It was sitting in a tree not far from me when it flew right over me and landed not far behind me. It did this about three times when I finally realized that it was diving at me. It didn't really act aggressive, just swooped over my head. On a second trip to the sight, I found the hawk again. It was then that I saw its young and what I suspected was the nest. http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/coopers-hawk.html Rick On Jan 2, 2012, at 10:39 AM, DJ Lauten and KACastelein wrote: > Folks, > > Don't assume aggressive owls have some sort of previous experience with humans or something like that. Owls can be aggressive period. So can a lot of raptors. Ever been near a Cooper's Hawk or Goshawk nest? They are well known for taking dives at people. I'm not saying there isn't something unusual about these owls, but on the other hand there is no evidence so far they are doing anything that far out of normal behavior. Barred Owls are very aggressive and GH Owl are the meanest things on the planet (practically). A GH Owl knocked my advisor at grad school out cold for 20 minutes, another nearly took an eye out of the one of the professor's kids (who was checking a nest), and a third juvenile clamped down so hard on my advisor's leg he needed a walking stick to pry it off his calf. All three of those incidents caused serious bleeding and even a hospital visit to get a piece of talon taken out of the eye of Professor Keith's kid. Barred Owl's are far from exotic by the way - they are native! Hard to call a native exotic. > > My 2 cents...... > > Cheers > Dave Lauten > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From deweysage at frontier.com Wed Jan 4 10:42:20 2012 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:42:20 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] aggressive owls In-Reply-To: References: <4F01F9E2.5040901@frontier.com> Message-ID: <4F04816C.1030003@frontier.com> Kathy can tell more stories about aggressive Cooper's Hawks than I can. She surveyed birds along the San Pedro River in AZ. She had to reluctantly pass Cooper's nests in the cottonwood groves. She was always glad to have a clipboard with her to protect her head. Cheers Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein On 1/4/2012 12:01 AM, Richard Leinen wrote: > Your mentioning of a Cooper's hawk reminds me of an experience I had about a year and a half ago. > > I was walking a path along the Rio Grande River near Albuquerque in June of 2010 with only four months of birding under my belt, when I came upon a Cooper's Hawk. It was sitting in a tree not far from me when it flew right over me and landed not far behind me. It did this about three times when I finally realized that it was diving at me. It didn't really act aggressive, just swooped over my head. On a second trip to the sight, I found the hawk again. It was then that I saw its young and what I suspected was the nest. > > http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/coopers-hawk.html > > Rick > > > On Jan 2, 2012, at 10:39 AM, DJ Lauten and KACastelein wrote: > >> Folks, >> >> Don't assume aggressive owls have some sort of previous experience with humans or something like that. Owls can be aggressive period. So can a lot of raptors. Ever been near a Cooper's Hawk or Goshawk nest? They are well known for taking dives at people. I'm not saying there isn't something unusual about these owls, but on the other hand there is no evidence so far they are doing anything that far out of normal behavior. Barred Owls are very aggressive and GH Owl are the meanest things on the planet (practically). A GH Owl knocked my advisor at grad school out cold for 20 minutes, another nearly took an eye out of the one of the professor's kids (who was checking a nest), and a third juvenile clamped down so hard on my advisor's leg he needed a walking stick to pry it off his calf. All three of those incidents caused serious bleeding and even a hospital visit to get a piece of talon taken out of the eye of Professor Keith's kid. Barred Owl's are far from exotic by the way - they are native! Hard to call a native exotic. >> >> My 2 cents...... >> >> Cheers >> Dave Lauten >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OBOL mailing list >> OBOL at oregonbirds.org >> http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > From lbiggs at uoregon.edu Wed Jan 4 11:02:02 2012 From: lbiggs at uoregon.edu (Lucy Biggs) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 09:02:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Owls guarding their nesting territory Message-ID: <759EABA2-22FC-4AB9-AD6B-5154CEE0B3CA@uoregon.edu> All, Once when I was at Malheur at Benson Pond a GHO swooped down in silence and clawed my head, fortunately I had a hat on. I just started running away, and it came back three times before I was able to get out of it's nesting territory. It was quite startling, and I always wear a hat when in owl territory now. Another time at East Coyote Creek by Fern Ridge Reservoir, I was out with my dog, and suddenly the dog screamed, I looked down and another GHO was clawing her back, that owl came back four times before we could get out of the area. She did not break skin on the dog, it was a warning to get out of her territory. Their silence in flight is really amazing. Lucy Biggs -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kevinsmithnaturephotos at gmail.com Wed Jan 4 11:29:17 2012 From: kevinsmithnaturephotos at gmail.com (Kevin Smith) Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:29:17 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Pinon Jays anyone? Message-ID: <4F048C6D.3040703@gmail.com> Looking to start your 2012 Bird Count with Pinon Jays? Well, We Gott'm! Two flocks! One of at least 30 and one of at least 50. How do I know? I photo'd both of them in the air as separate flocks at the same time! They are here at Crooked River Ranch in the morning (and other times too). They hit just at sun-up (7:45) and stay till about nine AM. They have been coming in for at least seven days now and I'm getting tired of feeding them . If you come go to the water tower on Tower Rd, get out and listen for them as they don't always come from the same direction. (Take a few HOME with you, please?) We also have a number and variety of Northern Flickers. Male Red-shafted with Red Malar No scarf Red Malar Red scarf Red/black malar Red scarf Black malar Red scarf AND Yellow-ISH shafted Red malar Red scarf Female Red-shafted No scarf Red-shafted Red scarf No FULL Yellow-shafted (yet) 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 kfsaylor at gmail.com Wed Jan 4 11:30:22 2012 From: kfsaylor at gmail.com (Keith Saylor) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 09:30:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] aggressive owls In-Reply-To: <4F04816C.1030003@frontier.com> References: <4F01F9E2.5040901@frontier.com> <4F04816C.1030003@frontier.com> Message-ID: <4AE15739-A66C-4CCC-A706-2D7850C23ECE@gmail.com> Hello, I enjoy reading the experiences and observations regarding nesting birds. Curiously, my experiences with nesting Coopers, in Michigan, was they became agitated but were not aggressive toward me. Sharpies could be aggressive depending on the individual traits of the bird. I did not experience aggressive behavior from nesting Great-horned or Barred owls either. I only experienced and observed one Great Gray Owl nest ... the pair was extremely non-aggressive. The most aggressive raptor or owl I've experienced is the Goshawk with the Long-eared Owl a close second. With that said, I spent some time in quiet observation of multiple Goshawks nests and found Goshawks became very tolerant and even accepting of my presence over time and with great patience by ever staying mindful and respectful of their level of comfort with me. Over time they would stop even vocalizing though they were always aware of me. One time I mistakenly reasoned that it would be okay to let a researcher visit the nest site if she went to the site in my place. I sent her out in the direction of the nest and 5 minutes later the forest was alive with the agitated calls of the Goshawk. They knew this was not the same person and attacked. I felt so badly ... like I had taken advantage of their friendship. Thankfully, she knew I would be upset and came back to the truck. May peace sustain every moment Keith Sent from my iPod On Jan 4, 2012, at 8:42 AM, DJ Lauten and KACastelein wrote: > Kathy can tell more stories about aggressive Cooper's Hawks than I can. She surveyed birds along the San Pedro River in AZ. She had to reluctantly pass Cooper's nests in the cottonwood groves. She was always glad to have a clipboard with her to protect her head. > > Cheers > Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein > > > > On 1/4/2012 12:01 AM, Richard Leinen wrote: >> Your mentioning of a Cooper's hawk reminds me of an experience I had about a year and a half ago. >> >> I was walking a path along the Rio Grande River near Albuquerque in June of 2010 with only four months of birding under my belt, when I came upon a Cooper's Hawk. It was sitting in a tree not far from me when it flew right over me and landed not far behind me. It did this about three times when I finally realized that it was diving at me. It didn't really act aggressive, just swooped over my head. On a second trip to the sight, I found the hawk again. It was then that I saw its young and what I suspected was the nest. >> >> http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/coopers-hawk.html >> >> Rick >> >> >> On Jan 2, 2012, at 10:39 AM, DJ Lauten and KACastelein wrote: >> >>> Folks, >>> >>> Don't assume aggressive owls have some sort of previous experience with humans or something like that. Owls can be aggressive period. So can a lot of raptors. Ever been near a Cooper's Hawk or Goshawk nest? They are well known for taking dives at people. I'm not saying there isn't something unusual about these owls, but on the other hand there is no evidence so far they are doing anything that far out of normal behavior. Barred Owls are very aggressive and GH Owl are the meanest things on the planet (practically). A GH Owl knocked my advisor at grad school out cold for 20 minutes, another nearly took an eye out of the one of the professor's kids (who was checking a nest), and a third juvenile clamped down so hard on my advisor's leg he needed a walking stick to pry it off his calf. All three of those incidents caused serious bleeding and even a hospital visit to get a piece of talon taken out of the eye of Professor Keith's kid. Barred Owl's are far from exotic by the way - they are native! Hard to call a native exotic. >>> >>> My 2 cents...... >>> >>> Cheers >>> Dave Lauten >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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 mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Wed Jan 4 12:23:37 2012 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 10:23:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to breeding season References: <4F01F9E2.5040901@frontier.com> <4F04816C.1030003@frontier.com> Message-ID: <1325701417.22985.YahooMailNeo@web39708.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Dave & Kathy, ???? I agree with you guys that nearly any raptor can be aggressive during breeding season; but it is my understanding (assumption) that the aggressive owls originally under discussion were likely barred owls------and it isn't breeding season for this species-----so they wouldn't be aggressive for that reason. If this much is correct, than the aggressive owls could only have been either very hungry, or somewhat imprinted to humans-----and came in to be fed----and when they weren't fed, their aggression was an attempt to get the humans to feed them. ???? I'm certain that hundreds of raptors (possibly thousands), of all sorts, starve to death every year----but prior to starving, and losing their life----how many attack people? Certainly almost none! So raptor aggression towards humans, that does not occur during nesting season, is, in my experience, very, very, rare (only GHO's). ???? Now the list may have different experiences, and I'd be really interested in hearing about raptor aggression that isn't connected to breeding season----because I've been hit by sharpies, coops, and gosses---during breeding season---but these same birds always quickly fly away from me when the breeding season has passed. I've never been mistaken for food by a raptor. Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) ???? ________________________________ From: DJ Lauten and KACastelein To: OBOL obol Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 8:42 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] aggressive owls Kathy can tell more stories about aggressive Cooper's Hawks than I can.? She surveyed birds along the San Pedro River in AZ.? She had to reluctantly pass Cooper's nests in the cottonwood groves.? She was always glad to have a clipboard with her to protect her head. Cheers Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein On 1/4/2012 12:01 AM, Richard Leinen wrote: > Your mentioning of a Cooper's hawk reminds me of an experience I had about a year and a half ago. > > I was walking a path along the Rio Grande River near Albuquerque in June of 2010 with only four months of birding under my belt, when I came upon a Cooper's Hawk.? It was sitting in a tree not far from me when it flew right over me and landed not far behind me.? It did this about three times when I finally realized that it was diving at me.? It didn't really act aggressive, just swooped over my head.? On a second trip to the sight, I found the hawk again.? It was then that I saw its young and what I suspected was the nest. > > http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/coopers-hawk.html > > Rick > > > On Jan 2, 2012, at 10:39 AM, DJ Lauten and KACastelein wrote: > >> Folks, >> >> Don't assume aggressive owls have some sort of previous experience with humans or something like that.? Owls can be aggressive period.? So can a lot of raptors.? Ever been near a Cooper's Hawk or Goshawk nest?? They are well known for taking dives at people.? I'm not saying there isn't something unusual about these owls, but on the other hand there is no evidence so far they are doing anything that far out of normal behavior.? Barred Owls are very aggressive and GH Owl are the meanest things on the planet (practically).? A GH Owl knocked my advisor at grad school out cold for 20 minutes, another nearly took an eye out of the one of the professor's kids (who was checking a nest), and a third juvenile clamped down so hard on my advisor's leg he needed a walking stick to pry it off his calf.? All three of those incidents caused serious bleeding and even a hospital visit to get a piece of talon taken out of the eye of Professor Keith's kid.? Barred Owl's are far from exotic by the way - they are native!? Hard to call a native exotic. >> >> My 2 cents...... >> >> Cheers >> Dave Lauten >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 kfsaylor at gmail.com Wed Jan 4 12:31:54 2012 From: kfsaylor at gmail.com (Keith Saylor) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 10:31:54 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to breeding season In-Reply-To: <1325701417.22985.YahooMailNeo@web39708.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <4F01F9E2.5040901@frontier.com> <4F04816C.1030003@frontier.com> <1325701417.22985.YahooMailNeo@web39708.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: That's a great question. I had to think about it. Over 4 decades I don't recall ever experiencing raptor aggression toward me not linked to breeding behavior. On Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 10:23 AM, Richard and Marilyn Musser < mussermcevoy at yahoo.com> wrote: > Hi Dave & Kathy, > I agree with you guys that nearly any raptor can be aggressive during > breeding season; but it is my understanding (assumption) that the > aggressive owls originally under discussion were likely barred > owls------and it isn't breeding season for this species-----so they > wouldn't be aggressive for that reason. If this much is correct, than the > aggressive owls could only have been either very hungry, or somewhat > imprinted to humans-----and came in to be fed----and when they weren't fed, > their aggression was an attempt to get the humans to feed them. > I'm certain that hundreds of raptors (possibly thousands), of all > sorts, starve to death every year----but prior to starving, and losing > their life----how many attack people? Certainly almost none! So raptor > aggression towards humans, that does not occur during nesting season, is, > in my experience, very, very, rare (only GHO's). > Now the list may have different experiences, and I'd be really > interested in hearing about raptor aggression that isn't connected to > breeding season----because I've been hit by sharpies, coops, and > gosses---during breeding season---but these same birds always quickly fly > away from me when the breeding season has passed. I've never been mistaken > for food by a raptor. Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* DJ Lauten and KACastelein > *To:* OBOL obol > *Sent:* Wednesday, January 4, 2012 8:42 AM > *Subject:* Re: [OBOL] aggressive owls > > Kathy can tell more stories about aggressive Cooper's Hawks than I > can. She surveyed birds along the San Pedro River in AZ. She had to > reluctantly pass Cooper's nests in the cottonwood groves. She was > always glad to have a clipboard with her to protect her head. > > Cheers > Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein > > > > On 1/4/2012 12:01 AM, Richard Leinen wrote: > > Your mentioning of a Cooper's hawk reminds me of an experience I had > about a year and a half ago. > > > > I was walking a path along the Rio Grande River near Albuquerque in June > of 2010 with only four months of birding under my belt, when I came upon a > Cooper's Hawk. It was sitting in a tree not far from me when it flew right > over me and landed not far behind me. It did this about three times when I > finally realized that it was diving at me. It didn't really act > aggressive, just swooped over my head. On a second trip to the sight, I > found the hawk again. It was then that I saw its young and what I > suspected was the nest. > > > > http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/coopers-hawk.html > > > > Rick > > > > > > On Jan 2, 2012, at 10:39 AM, DJ Lauten and KACastelein wrote: > > > >> Folks, > >> > >> Don't assume aggressive owls have some sort of previous experience with > humans or something like that. Owls can be aggressive period. So can a > lot of raptors. Ever been near a Cooper's Hawk or Goshawk nest? They are > well known for taking dives at people. I'm not saying there isn't > something unusual about these owls, but on the other hand there is no > evidence so far they are doing anything that far out of normal behavior. > Barred Owls are very aggressive and GH Owl are the meanest things on the > planet (practically). A GH Owl knocked my advisor at grad school out cold > for 20 minutes, another nearly took an eye out of the one of the > professor's kids (who was checking a nest), and a third juvenile clamped > down so hard on my advisor's leg he needed a walking stick to pry it off > his calf. All three of those incidents caused serious bleeding and even a > hospital visit to get a piece of talon taken out of the eye of Professor > Keith's kid. Barred Owl's are far from exotic by the way - they are > native! Hard to call a native exotic. > >> > >> My 2 cents...... > >> > >> Cheers > >> Dave Lauten > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> 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 > > -- Keith F. Saylor -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From deweysage at frontier.com Wed Jan 4 12:56:30 2012 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:56:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to breeding season In-Reply-To: <1325701417.22985.YahooMailNeo@web39708.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <4F01F9E2.5040901@frontier.com> <4F04816C.1030003@frontier.com> <1325701417.22985.YahooMailNeo@web39708.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4F04A0DE.5090009@frontier.com> Dick No major argument here....as I said in my first post: > I'm not saying there isn't something unusual about these owls, I'm just saying that raptors can be aggressive. I think in this case there remains a number of questions, some of which you have correctly raised. ...and to quickly comment on Keith's comments about raptors getting a bit comfortable in his presence.....both in the literature and in our experience as well as other biologists experiences, birds do get to know individuals, and it appears they have the ability to recognize individuals by face. This is true with corvids (crows for sure but likely ravens too), Canada-type geese, and mockingbirds. Kathy and I are fairly certain the Snowy Plovers we work with know us quite well. So it is not a surprise to me to hear that some individuals that Keith observed got "used" to him and his presence but would not accept another person within their territory or space. Finally, the urbanization of wildlife will inevitably lead to individuals who become quite used to humans and very tolerant of them, or perhaps aggressive towards them. Animals are very aware of where they get shot at and harassed, and are very aware of places that are safe to be (ie, don't get shot at or harassed). It might seem hard to believe, but when I grew up in NJ, there was 1 pair of unsuccessful Bald Eagles in the state, no Black Bears, no ravens, and coyotes were not something you saw (this would be the 70's). As of the other day when I talked to my dad who still lives in NJ, there are now 100 nesting pairs of Bald Eagles including in every county in the state (that includes the little Hudson Co which is directly across the Hudson from NYC and is nothing but urban habitat), ravens are nesting within site of NYC, the WORLD RECORD Black Bear was shot and killed there this year (how's 840 lbs sound!!!! - hunters coming from all over the country to go to NJ to hunt Black Bear), and an estimated coyote population of 5000! All in a state that is smaller than Lane Co and is obviously a bit more urban that Oregon! My dad asked me what's happening - well, the forest is regrowing, predators aren't considered varmint to be shot on site anymore, Fish and Wildlife agencies did an awesome job at building prey base (esp in the absence of predators), and hunting is going way down due to the urbanization of people too. The result is a normal balancing of nature. When you have lots of prey, the predators will find it (does Common Murre and Bald Eagles sound familiar?). When the prey and predators are not continually shot at, they stick around, and reproduce like no tomorrow. I digress, sorry for the rant..... Cheers Dave Lauten From mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Wed Jan 4 13:25:03 2012 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 11:25:03 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to breeding season In-Reply-To: <4F04A0DE.5090009@frontier.com> References: <4F01F9E2.5040901@frontier.com> <4F04816C.1030003@frontier.com> <1325701417.22985.YahooMailNeo@web39708.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <4F04A0DE.5090009@frontier.com> Message-ID: <1325705103.6042.YahooMailNeo@web39707.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Dave & Kathy, ???? I had the good fortune to get a lot of goshawk experience in Alaska---was able to, over the years, to band over 50 gosses that I trapped right in my yard. I can tell you, without a doubt, that goshawks definitely know one person from another. Keep in mind they are creatures of vision, and being able to distinguish one person from another, is just as easy for them, as it is for us. I don't quite understand why humans would consider anything less for a visually superior creature----but it seems we humans don't think they "notice" things---but they do! Of this much, I'm certain. Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) PS The book, "Gifts of an Eagle" by Kent Durden relates a similar account (being able to distinguish individuals) of someone who tried to fool a golden eagle in this manner----it didn't work! ________________________________ From: DJ Lauten and KACastelein To: Richard and Marilyn Musser Cc: OBOL obol Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 10:56 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to breeding season Dick No major argument here....as I said in my first post: > I'm not saying there isn't something unusual about these owls, I'm just saying that raptors can be aggressive.? I think in this case there remains a number of questions, some of which you have correctly raised. ...and to quickly comment on Keith's comments about raptors getting a bit comfortable in his presence.....both in the literature and in our experience as well as other biologists experiences, birds do get to know individuals, and it appears they have the ability to recognize individuals by face.? This is true with corvids (crows for sure but likely ravens too), Canada-type geese, and mockingbirds.? Kathy and I are fairly certain the Snowy Plovers we work with know us quite well.? So it is not a surprise to me to hear that some individuals that Keith observed got "used" to him and his presence but would not accept another person within their territory or space. Finally, the urbanization of wildlife will inevitably lead to individuals who become quite used to humans and very tolerant of them, or perhaps aggressive towards them.? Animals are very aware of where they get shot at and harassed, and are very aware of places that are safe to be (ie, don't get shot at or harassed).? ? It might seem hard to believe, but when I grew up in NJ, there was 1 pair of unsuccessful Bald Eagles in the state, no Black Bears, no ravens, and coyotes were not something you saw (this would be the 70's).? As of the other day when I talked to my dad who still lives in NJ, there are now 100 nesting pairs of Bald Eagles including in every county in the state (that includes the little Hudson Co which is directly across the Hudson from NYC and is nothing but urban habitat), ravens are nesting within site of NYC, the WORLD RECORD Black Bear was shot and killed there this year (how's 840 lbs sound!!!! - hunters coming from all over the country to go to NJ to hunt Black Bear), and an estimated coyote population of 5000!? ? All in a state that is smaller than Lane Co and is obviously a bit more urban that Oregon!? My dad asked me what's happening - well, the forest is regrowing, predators aren't considered varmint to be shot on site anymore, Fish and Wildlife agencies did an awesome job at building prey base (esp in the absence of predators), and hunting is going way down due to the urbanization of people too.? ? The result is a normal balancing of nature.? When you have lots of prey, the predators will find it (does Common Murre and Bald Eagles sound familiar?).? When the prey and predators are not continually shot at, they stick around, and reproduce like no tomorrow.? I digress, sorry for the rant..... Cheers Dave Lauten -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kfsaylor at gmail.com Wed Jan 4 13:28:30 2012 From: kfsaylor at gmail.com (Keith Saylor) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 11:28:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to breeding season In-Reply-To: <4F04A0DE.5090009@frontier.com> References: <4F01F9E2.5040901@frontier.com> <4F04816C.1030003@frontier.com> <1325701417.22985.YahooMailNeo@web39708.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <4F04A0DE.5090009@frontier.com> Message-ID: Dave, I've had so many experiences that have reinforced wild bird species and their becoming accustomed to my presence. Your mention of the Snowy Plovers brought back memories of my experiences observing the nest cycle of the Piping Plover mostly on Lake Huron in Michigan. I focused on multiple nesting pairs over 6 years. For two years I closed my shop during the day and studied the Plovers from sunrise to sunset from mating display until migration south. I then worked at night. The individual traits that come through upon focused study was fascinating and delightful to observe and experience. There is little question in my mind that they each came to know and recognize me and each manifested that in their own individual way. One particular male would met me each morning as I walked along mud flats toward my monitoring area. He actually walked behind me over 100 yards until I reached my spot and he would then move in front of me and tilt his head then fly off. He stopped greeting me when his young hatched. Goosh, what great memories and experiences. Keith On Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 10:56 AM, DJ Lauten and KACastelein < deweysage at frontier.com> wrote: > Dick > > No major argument here....as I said in my first post: > > I'm not saying there isn't something unusual about these owls, >> > > I'm just saying that raptors can be aggressive. I think in this case > there remains a number of questions, some of which you have correctly > raised. > > > ...and to quickly comment on Keith's comments about raptors getting a bit > comfortable in his presence.....both in the literature and in our > experience as well as other biologists experiences, birds do get to know > individuals, and it appears they have the ability to recognize individuals > by face. This is true with corvids (crows for sure but likely ravens > too), Canada-type geese, and mockingbirds. Kathy and I are fairly certain > the Snowy Plovers we work with know us quite well. So it is not a > surprise to me to hear that some individuals that Keith observed got "used" > to him and his presence but would not accept another person within their > territory or space. > > Finally, the urbanization of wildlife will inevitably lead to individuals > who become quite used to humans and very tolerant of them, or perhaps > aggressive towards them. Animals are very aware of where they get shot at > and harassed, and are very aware of places that are safe to be (ie, don't > get shot at or harassed). It might seem hard to believe, but when I grew > up in NJ, there was 1 pair of unsuccessful Bald Eagles in the state, no > Black Bears, no ravens, and coyotes were not something you saw (this would > be the 70's). As of the other day when I talked to my dad who still lives > in NJ, there are now 100 nesting pairs of Bald Eagles including in every > county in the state (that includes the little Hudson Co which is directly > across the Hudson from NYC and is nothing but urban habitat), ravens are > nesting within site of NYC, the WORLD RECORD Black Bear was shot and killed > there this year (how's 840 lbs sound!!!! - hunters coming from all over the > country to go to NJ to hunt Black Bear), and an estimated coyote population > of 5000! All in a state that is smaller than Lane Co and is obviously a > bit more urban that Oregon! My dad asked me what's happening - well, the > forest is regrowing, predators aren't considered varmint to be shot on site > anymore, Fish and Wildlife agencies did an awesome job at building prey > base (esp in the absence of predators), and hunting is going way down due > to the urbanization of people too. The result is a normal balancing of > nature. When you have lots of prey, the predators will find it (does > Common Murre and Bald Eagles sound familiar?). When the prey and > predators are not continually shot at, they stick around, and reproduce > like no tomorrow. I digress, sorry for the rant..... > > > Cheers > Dave Lauten > > ______________________________**_________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/**mailman/listinfo/obol_**oregonbirds.org > -- Keith F. Saylor -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From deweysage at frontier.com Wed Jan 4 13:32:25 2012 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:32:25 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to breeding season In-Reply-To: <1325705103.6042.YahooMailNeo@web39707.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <4F01F9E2.5040901@frontier.com> <4F04816C.1030003@frontier.com> <1325701417.22985.YahooMailNeo@web39708.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <4F04A0DE.5090009@frontier.com> <1325705103.6042.YahooMailNeo@web39707.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4F04A949.90908@frontier.com> Dick Oh, it's the scientists in us that makes feel a need to "prove" the things we think! So, several people have done some good experiments to "prove" the point. John Marzluff at U of Washington has done amazing things with crows on campus up there to prove that the "person" who traps them - the guy with the funny looking mask - is the guy who gets seriously harassed on campus. Dave Pitkin did some very interesting tests with geese on the Aleutians to prove that they actually knew him by face (as opposed to other people or a Ronald Reagan mask), and researchers in Florida (I believe) working with mockingbirds proved the mockers not only recognized the researchers from the residents who lived in the house in the neighborhood they were working, but the mockers even knew the vehicles of the researchers! Cheers Dave Lauten On 1/4/2012 11:25 AM, Richard and Marilyn Musser wrote: > Hi Dave & Kathy, > I had the good fortune to get a lot of goshawk experience in > Alaska---was able to, over the years, to band over 50 gosses that I > trapped right in my yard. I can tell you, without a doubt, that > goshawks definitely know one person from another. Keep in mind they > are creatures of vision, and being able to distinguish one person from > another, is just as easy for them, as it is for us. I don't quite > understand why humans would consider anything less for a visually > superior creature----but it seems we humans don't think they "notice" > things---but they do! Of this much, I'm certain. Best regards, Dick > Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) PS The book, "Gifts of an Eagle" by > Kent Durden relates a similar account (being able to distinguish > individuals) of someone who tried to fool a golden eagle in this > manner----it didn't work! > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *From:* DJ Lauten and KACastelein > *To:* Richard and Marilyn Musser > *Cc:* OBOL obol > *Sent:* Wednesday, January 4, 2012 10:56 AM > *Subject:* Re: [OBOL] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to > breeding season > > Dick > > No major argument here....as I said in my first post: > > I'm not saying there isn't something unusual about these owls, > > I'm just saying that raptors can be aggressive. I think in this case > there remains a number of questions, some of which you have correctly > raised. > > > ...and to quickly comment on Keith's comments about raptors getting a > bit comfortable in his presence.....both in the literature and in our > experience as well as other biologists experiences, birds do get to > know individuals, and it appears they have the ability to recognize > individuals by face. This is true with corvids (crows for sure but > likely ravens too), Canada-type geese, and mockingbirds. Kathy and I > are fairly certain the Snowy Plovers we work with know us quite well. > So it is not a surprise to me to hear that some individuals that Keith > observed got "used" to him and his presence but would not accept > another person within their territory or space. > > Finally, the urbanization of wildlife will inevitably lead to > individuals who become quite used to humans and very tolerant of them, > or perhaps aggressive towards them. Animals are very aware of where > they get shot at and harassed, and are very aware of places that are > safe to be (ie, don't get shot at or harassed). It might seem hard > to believe, but when I grew up in NJ, there was 1 pair of unsuccessful > Bald Eagles in the state, no Black Bears, no ravens, and coyotes were > not something you saw (this would be the 70's). As of the other day > when I talked to my dad who still lives in NJ, there are now 100 > nesting pairs of Bald Eagles including in every county in the state > (that includes the little Hudson Co which is directly across the > Hudson from NYC and is nothing but urban habitat), ravens are nesting > within site of NYC, the WORLD RECORD Black Bear was shot and killed > there this year (how's 840 lbs sound!!!! - hunters coming from all > over the country to go to NJ to hunt Black Bear), and an estimated > coyote population of 5000! All in a state that is smaller than Lane > Co and is obviously a bit more urban that Oregon! My dad asked me > what's happening - well, the forest is regrowing, predators aren't > considered varmint to be shot on site anymore, Fish and Wildlife > agencies did an awesome job at building prey base (esp in the absence > of predators), and hunting is going way down due to the urbanization > of people too. The result is a normal balancing of nature. When > you have lots of prey, the predators will find it (does Common Murre > and Bald Eagles sound familiar?). When the prey and predators are not > continually shot at, they stick around, and reproduce like no > tomorrow. I digress, sorry for the rant..... > > Cheers > Dave Lauten > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mntsprg at wizzards.net Wed Jan 4 14:29:22 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 12:29:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to breedingseason In-Reply-To: <4F04A949.90908@frontier.com> References: <4F01F9E2.5040901@frontier.com><4F04816C.1030003@frontier.com><1325701417.22985.YahooMailNeo@web39708.mail.mud.yahoo.com><4F04A0DE.5090009@frontier.com><1325705103.6042.YahooMailNeo@web39707.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <4F04A949.90908@frontier.com> Message-ID: <66133997D32C444DB9D33B2892BC6BD1@MitherPC> some kids destroyed a cow birds nest with eggs at the DCFC last year...the rest of the season anyone and everyone who came to the store was dive bombed and harassed....not sure if raptures are any smarter then these guys...but it seemed they at least remembered humans were their problem Laura if I am sending these in an incorrect manor.....sorry Im not sure how to do it the correct way From: DJ Lauten and KACastelein Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 11:32 AM To: OBOL obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to breedingseason Dick Oh, it's the scientists in us that makes feel a need to "prove" the things we think! So, several people have done some good experiments to "prove" the point. John Marzluff at U of Washington has done amazing things with crows on campus up there to prove that the "person" who traps them - the guy with the funny looking mask - is the guy who gets seriously harassed on campus. Dave Pitkin did some very interesting tests with geese on the Aleutians to prove that they actually knew him by face (as opposed to other people or a Ronald Reagan mask), and researchers in Florida (I believe) working with mockingbirds proved the mockers not only recognized the researchers from the residents who lived in the house in the neighborhood they were working, but the mockers even knew the vehicles of the researchers! Cheers Dave Lauten -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lindaphelanlmt at gmail.com Wed Jan 4 14:34:57 2012 From: lindaphelanlmt at gmail.com (linda phelan thompson) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 12:34:57 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] GH Owl Message-ID: Dear OBOLers, I'm embarrassed to say that the Owl I reported may be a decoy. It looks real through my binoculers, and I thought I had seen movement, but it's in the same spot as before, and I don't know how likely that is. A couple people had said it may be a decoy, so I'm starting to wonder about that. The doctor I work with said he saw a very large bird land in the small grassy space between the opposing lanes of traffic, he didn't know more than that. So I apologize if I've jumped the gun here. Sincerely, Linda Lee -- *Linda Lee* From whoffman at peak.org Wed Jan 4 14:37:38 2012 From: whoffman at peak.org (whoffman at peak.org) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 12:37:38 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to breeding season In-Reply-To: <1325701417.22985.YahooMailNeo@web39708.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2095884889.167495.1325709458060.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Hi - Thought I would weigh in on this: Barred Owls are EXTREMELY territorial, and in at least some of their range defend their territories for much of, if not all of the year. Back in the 1980s a birder who played a Barred Owl tape in Mahogany Hammock in Everglades National Park got his scalp lacerated. I am pretty sure this was not breeding season, but Mahogany Hammock had 3 or so pairs of owls crammed into a small area (only nesting area available for a long distance, but surrounded by lots of good foraging habitat), and they were always pretty keyed up. So if the owl(s) that attacked that started this thread were in the midst of a territorial dispute, displaced aggression might have played a role. As an aside, this was one of the incidents that led the National Park Service to outlaw use of recordings. NPS was not happy that the guy sued for allowing people into a area "with such dangerous animals." Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard and Marilyn Musser" To: "DJ Lauten and KACastelein" , "OBOL obol" Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 10:23:37 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to breeding season Hi Dave & Kathy, I agree with you guys that nearly any raptor can be aggressive during breeding season; but it is my understanding (assumption) that the aggressive owls originally under discussion were likely barred owls------and it isn't breeding season for this species-----so they wouldn't be aggressive for that reason. If this much is correct, than the aggressive owls could only have been either very hungry, or somewhat imprinted to humans-----and came in to be fed----and when they weren't fed, their aggression was an attempt to get the humans to feed them. I'm certain that hundreds of raptors (possibly thousands), of all sorts, starve to death every year----but prior to starving, and losing their life----how many attack people? Certainly almost none! So raptor aggression towards humans, that does not occur during nesting season, is, in my experience, very, very, rare (only GHO's). Now the list may have different experiences, and I'd be really interested in hearing about raptor aggression that isn't connected to breeding season----because I've been hit by sharpies, coops, and gosses---during breeding season---but these same birds always quickly fly away from me when the breeding season has passed. I've never been mistaken for food by a raptor. Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) From: DJ Lauten and KACastelein To: OBOL obol Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 8:42 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] aggressive owls Kathy can tell more stories about aggressive Cooper's Hawks than I can. She surveyed birds along the San Pedro River in AZ. She had to reluctantly pass Cooper's nests in the cottonwood groves. She was always glad to have a clipboard with her to protect her head. Cheers Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein On 1/4/2012 12:01 AM, Richard Leinen wrote: > Your mentioning of a Cooper's hawk reminds me of an experience I had about a year and a half ago. > > I was walking a path along the Rio Grande River near Albuquerque in June of 2010 with only four months of birding under my belt, when I came upon a Cooper's Hawk. It was sitting in a tree not far from me when it flew right over me and landed not far behind me. It did this about three times when I finally realized that it was diving at me. It didn't really act aggressive, just swooped over my head. On a second trip to the sight, I found the hawk again. It was then that I saw its young and what I suspected was the nest. > > http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/coopers-hawk.html > > Rick > > > On Jan 2, 2012, at 10:39 AM, DJ Lauten and KACastelein wrote: > >> Folks, >> >> Don't assume aggressive owls have some sort of previous experience with humans or something like that. Owls can be aggressive period. So can a lot of raptors. Ever been near a Cooper's Hawk or Goshawk nest? They are well known for taking dives at people. I'm not saying there isn't something unusual about these owls, but on the other hand there is no evidence so far they are doing anything that far out of normal behavior. Barred Owls are very aggressive and GH Owl are the meanest things on the planet (practically). A GH Owl knocked my advisor at grad school out cold for 20 minutes, another nearly took an eye out of the one of the professor's kids (who was checking a nest), and a third juvenile clamped down so hard on my advisor's leg he needed a walking stick to pry it off his calf. All three of those incidents caused serious bleeding and even a hospital visit to get a piece of talon taken out of the eye of Professor Keith's kid. Barred Owl's are far from exotic by the way - they are native! Hard to call a native exotic. >> >> My 2 cents...... >> >> Cheers >> Dave Lauten >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 From rhettwilkins at gmail.com Wed Jan 4 15:03:33 2012 From: rhettwilkins at gmail.com (Rhett Wilkins) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 21:03:33 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] GH Owl Message-ID: There's a Great Horned decoy on a building very near Oaks Bottom that gets me every time, especially in the evenings. Rhett Dear OBOLers, I'm embarrassed to say that the Owl I reported may be a decoy. It looks real through my binoculers, and I thought I had seen movement, but it's in the same spot as before, and I don't know how likely that is. A couple people had said it may be a decoy, so I'm starting to wonder about that. The doctor I work with said he saw a very large bird land in the small grassy space between the opposing lanes of traffic, he didn't know more than that. So I apologize if I've jumped the gun here. Sincerely, Linda Lee -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer56 at gmail.com Wed Jan 4 15:09:53 2012 From: acontrer56 at gmail.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:09:53 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Plastic owls and Fake birds In-Reply-To: Message-ID: The birder's eye automatically reacts to certain objects that are placed as birds are. There are two wire insulators that are sort of odd-looking that still hook me. One is along Hwy 205 a few miles south of the Narrows. The other is along Hwy 101 at Klootchman wayside in n. Lane County. You see, I know exactly where they are because they have been there for, oh, twenty years or so. But my eye still gravitates to them. And they are still not birds. Yet. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com From: Rhett Wilkins Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 21:03:33 +0000 To: OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] GH Owl There's a Great Horned decoy on a building very near Oaks Bottom that gets me every time, especially in the evenings. Rhett Dear OBOLers, I'm embarrassed to say that the Owl I reported may be a decoy. It looks real through my binoculers, and I thought I had seen movement, but it's in the same spot as before, and I don't know how likely that is. A couple people had said it may be a decoy, so I'm starting to wonder about that. The doctor I work with said he saw a very large bird land in the small grassy space between the opposing lanes of traffic, he didn't know more than that. So I apologize if I've jumped the gun here. Sincerely, Linda Lee _______________________________________________ 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 Wed Jan 4 15:13:02 2012 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 13:13:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to breedingseason Message-ID: <833F9E35-1D12-4A36-B91A-ED5AB1575D10@comcast.net> Black birds harassing people sounds like Brewer's Blackbirds. Their aggression would be because they do have an active nest nearby and not because a previous nest was destroyed. Once a nest is destroyed, the birds will rebuild (if early enough in the season) and may relocate nearby. Brewer's Blackbird nests can be hard to locate, but from their actions, it is clear if you are nearby. They will not continue to retaliate after a nest is destroyed. Energies are better spent moving on or rebuilding. However, the birds were not Cowbirds. Brown-headed Cowbirds do not build nests. They are obligate brood parasites, meaning that they will always (no exceptions known) lay their eggs in the nest of another bird and leave them for the hosts to raise. Of the seven species of cowbirds in the world (all in the America's) six never build nests and one, the Screaming Cowbird of Argentina, rarely builds a nest. The Screaming Cowbird, is not a brood parasite and will almost always use an old nest from another species to raise its own young. It is parasitized by the Bay-winged Cowbird who usually only parasitizes the Screaming Cowbird. The Screaming Cowbird will often raise both young together. The young of the two species are so similar that for many years, that the habits of the Screaming Cowbird was a mystery. This mystery was eventually solved by W.H. Auden, the English author of Green Mansion. He is also responsible for the name Screaming Cowbird. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason at comcast.net 541 345-0450 From deweysage at frontier.com Wed Jan 4 15:26:36 2012 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:26:36 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to breedingseason In-Reply-To: <66133997D32C444DB9D33B2892BC6BD1@MitherPC> References: <4F01F9E2.5040901@frontier.com><4F04816C.1030003@frontier.com><1325701417.22985.YahooMailNeo@web39708.mail.mud.yahoo.com><4F04A0DE.5090009@frontier.com><1325705103.6042.YahooMailNeo@web39707.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <4F04A949.90908@frontier.com> <66133997D32C444DB9D33B2892BC6BD1@MitherPC> Message-ID: <4F04C40C.30408@frontier.com> On 1/4/2012 12:29 PM, Laura Mountainspring wrote: > some kids destroyed a cow birds nest Ah yes, The Cow Bird. These would be different from cowbirds. The former are rather chunky, have a pied black and white plumage, and are occasionally known to fly over the moon (and advocate eating more chicken). Yes, yes, any Cow Bird that is swooping on a person is something to be taken very seriously, as they are well known to throw around their weight and they buck when provoked. Being on the wrong side of a Cow Bird may end up in a flattened state. Sorry, Laura, I couldn't resist......... All in good fun, cheers Dave Lauten -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From deweysage at frontier.com Wed Jan 4 15:29:25 2012 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:29:25 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to breedingseason In-Reply-To: <833F9E35-1D12-4A36-B91A-ED5AB1575D10@comcast.net> References: <833F9E35-1D12-4A36-B91A-ED5AB1575D10@comcast.net> Message-ID: <4F04C4B5.3040007@frontier.com> It's good to know that at least some of the cowbirds of the world are victims too. Is that called karma? Cheers Dave Lauten On 1/4/2012 1:13 PM, Dan Gleason wrote: > Black birds harassing people sounds like Brewer's Blackbirds. Their aggression would be because they do have an active nest nearby and not because a previous nest was destroyed. Once a nest is destroyed, the birds will rebuild (if early enough in the season) and may relocate nearby. Brewer's Blackbird nests can be hard to locate, but from their actions, it is clear if you are nearby. They will not continue to retaliate after a nest is destroyed. Energies are better spent moving on or rebuilding. > > However, the birds were not Cowbirds. Brown-headed Cowbirds do not build nests. They are obligate brood parasites, meaning that they will always (no exceptions known) lay their eggs in the nest of another bird and leave them for the hosts to raise. Of the seven species of cowbirds in the world (all in the America's) six never build nests and one, the Screaming Cowbird of Argentina, rarely builds a nest. The Screaming Cowbird, is not a brood parasite and will almost always use an old nest from another species to raise its own young. It is parasitized by the Bay-winged Cowbird who usually only parasitizes the Screaming Cowbird. The Screaming Cowbird will often raise both young together. The young of the two species are so similar that for many years, that the habits of the Screaming Cowbird was a mystery. This mystery was eventually solved by W.H. Auden, the English author of Green Mansion. He is also responsible for the name Screaming Cowbird. > > Dan Gleason > ------------- > Dan Gleason > dan-gleason at comcast.net > 541 345-0450 > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > From rick.lumen at gmail.com Wed Jan 4 15:34:13 2012 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Rick Leinen) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 13:34:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Plastic owls and Fake birds In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <76F1146B-1314-4872-8B1C-EF5CBB297EDC@gmail.com> My heart still starts racing when I first see those large, painted cut outs of Bald Eagles farmers place in their fields. :-) Rick Sent from my iPad On Jan 4, 2012, at 1:09 PM, Alan Contreras wrote: > The birder's eye automatically reacts to certain objects that are placed as birds are. There are two wire insulators that are sort of odd-looking that still hook me. One is along Hwy 205 a few miles south of the Narrows. The other is along Hwy 101 at Klootchman wayside in n. Lane County. You see, I know exactly where they are because they have been there for, oh, twenty years or so. But my eye still gravitates to them. And they are still not birds. Yet. > > -- > Alan Contreras > Medford, Oregon > > acontrer56 at gmail.com > > From: Rhett Wilkins > Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 21:03:33 +0000 > To: OBOL > Subject: Re: [OBOL] GH Owl > > There's a Great Horned decoy on a building very near Oaks Bottom that gets me every time, especially in the evenings. > > Rhett > Dear OBOLers, > I'm embarrassed to say that the Owl I > reported may be a decoy. It looks real through my binoculers, and I > thought I had seen movement, but it's in the same spot as before, and > I don't know how likely that is. A couple people had said it may be a > decoy, so I'm starting to wonder about that. The doctor I work with > said he saw a very large bird land in the small grassy space between > the opposing lanes of traffic, he didn't know more than that. So I > apologize if I've jumped the gun here. > Sincerely, Linda Lee > > > _______________________________________________ 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 larmcqueen at msn.com Wed Jan 4 15:47:02 2012 From: larmcqueen at msn.com (Larry McQueen) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 13:47:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Wed morning,Eugene Message-ID: We stopped at 40th St. Safeway for the Red-naped Sapsucker, but it was seen by only a few of our group who stayed longer. We missed it later as well, so it comes and goes. Most of the morning was walking the spur road north of Buford Park (Mt. Pisgah) that ends by the river at a gate to the new Nature Conservancy acquisition. Canada Goose - 10 Green-Winged Teal - small flock Double-crested Cormorant - 1 Great Blue Heron - 3 Red-tailed Hawk - 2 American Kestrel - 1 Ring-billed Gull - 1 Glaucous-winged Gull - 2 Anna?s Hummingbird - 1 Downy Woodpecker - 2 Hairy Woodpecker - 1 Red-breasted Sapsucker - 1 RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER - 1 seen by a few of us Northern Flicker - 3 Pileated Woodpecker - 1 Common Raven - 1 American Crow - 2 Steller's Jay - 4 Western Scrub Jay - 4 Black-capped Chickadee - 6+ Brown Creeper - 2 Bewick's Wren - 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet - 8 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2 American Robin - 20+ Wrentit - 2 European Starling - 8 Spotted Towhee - 7 Fox Sparrow - 6 Song Sparrow - 10 Lincoln's Sparrow - 3 Golden-crowned Sparrow - 15 Dark-eyed Junco - 12 House Finch - 1 Lesser Goldfinch - 2 And LCC ponds contained many Coots, 70 Ring-necked Ducks, and many Buffleheads. Jim Ott, Ben Burnette, John Wahlund, Fred Chancey, Don Schrouder, Paul Sherrell, Sylvia Maulding, Sarah Vasconcellos, Dave Brown, Kit Larsen, Jim Regali, Dennis Arendt, Dave and Sally Hill, and Larry McQueen (hope I included everyone) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From range.bayer at gmail.com Wed Jan 4 15:52:20 2012 From: range.bayer at gmail.com (Range Bayer) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 13:52:20 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Paper Copies of CBC's in 1915 & 1916 Bird-Lore Available for Free Include a Netarts & a Portland CBC Message-ID: Living in Lincoln County, Jim Thielen has original paper copies of the 1915 and 1916 January-February issues of the journal Bird-Lore that has Christmas Bird Count Results. He notes that the 1915 Bird-Lore includes a CBC for 7 miles southwest of Tillamook (Netarts), and the 1916 Bird-Lore includes a Portland CBC. He is looking to give these away to a good home. If interested, please contact him: "Jim Thielen" or 541-563-2260. Thanks! Range Bayer, Newport From elepaio at gmail.com Wed Jan 4 15:59:32 2012 From: elepaio at gmail.com (Mark Nikas) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 13:59:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Plastic owls and Fake birds In-Reply-To: <76F1146B-1314-4872-8B1C-EF5CBB297EDC@gmail.com> References: <76F1146B-1314-4872-8B1C-EF5CBB297EDC@gmail.com> Message-ID: Several years ago one of the Clintons was flying into Eugene. Security had a guy up on the catwalk of the control tower. He was all decked out in camouflage and grease paint and was armed to the teeth - the picture of machismo. He was practicing belly crawling around on the narrow catwalk then got up and turned around and came face to face with a plastic Great Horned Owl mounted on the railing. He about jumped out of his skin. I politely turned away when he spun around to see if anyone had seen him but it took a minute before I had regained my composure enough to be able to talk on the radios again. Mark Nikas On Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 1:34 PM, Rick Leinen wrote: > My heart still starts racing when I first see those large, painted cut > outs of Bald Eagles farmers place in their fields. :-) > > Rick > > Sent from my iPad > > On Jan 4, 2012, at 1:09 PM, Alan Contreras wrote: > > The birder's eye automatically reacts to certain objects that are placed > as birds are. There are two wire insulators that are sort of odd-looking > that still hook me. One is along Hwy 205 a few miles south of the Narrows. > The other is along Hwy 101 at Klootchman wayside in n. Lane County. You > see, I know exactly where they are because they have been there for, oh, > twenty years or so. But my eye still gravitates to them. And they are > still not birds. Yet. > > -- > Alan Contreras > Medford, Oregon > > acontrer56 at gmail.com > > From: Rhett Wilkins > Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 21:03:33 +0000 > To: OBOL > Subject: Re: [OBOL] GH Owl > > There's a Great Horned decoy on a building very near Oaks Bottom that gets > me every time, especially in the evenings. > > Rhett > > Dear OBOLers, > I'm embarrassed to say that the Owl I > reported may be a decoy. It looks real through my binoculers, and I > thought I had seen movement, but it's in the same spot as before, and > I don't know how likely that is. A couple people had said it may be a > decoy, so I'm starting to wonder about that. The doctor I work with > said he saw a very large bird land in the small grassy space between > the opposing lanes of traffic, he didn't know more than that. So I > apologize if I've jumped the gun here. > Sincerely, Linda Lee > > > > _______________________________________________ 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 robin_birder at hotmail.com Wed Jan 4 16:19:22 2012 From: robin_birder at hotmail.com (Rob Conway) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 22:19:22 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Plastic owls and Fake birds In-Reply-To: References: , <76F1146B-1314-4872-8B1C-EF5CBB297EDC@gmail.com>, Message-ID: I have lived in a number of place (including my current residence in Portland) where all through the neighborhood there were big pieces of Ivy twig left entangled in overhead wires that got pruned away. For some reason they are all about the size of Anna's Hummingbirds which regularly use the same wires as perches. I find myself looking at the same spots every day...right shape and place must = bird, right? Rob Conway SW Portland 45.46?N 122.68?W (Elev. 473ft) robin_birder at hotmail.com Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 13:59:32 -0800 From: elepaio at gmail.com To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: [OBOL] Plastic owls and Fake birds Several years ago one of the Clintons was flying into Eugene. Security had a guy up on the catwalk of the control tower. He was all decked out in camouflage and grease paint and was armed to the teeth - the picture of machismo. He was practicing belly crawling around on the narrow catwalk then got up and turned around and came face to face with a plastic Great Horned Owl mounted on the railing. He about jumped out of his skin. I politely turned away when he spun around to see if anyone had seen him but it took a minute before I had regained my composure enough to be able to talk on the radios again. Mark Nikas On Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 1:34 PM, Rick Leinen wrote: My heart still starts racing when I first see those large, painted cut outs of Bald Eagles farmers place in their fields. :-) Rick Sent from my iPad On Jan 4, 2012, at 1:09 PM, Alan Contreras wrote: The birder's eye automatically reacts to certain objects that are placed as birds are. There are two wire insulators that are sort of odd-looking that still hook me. One is along Hwy 205 a few miles south of the Narrows. The other is along Hwy 101 at Klootchman wayside in n. Lane County. You see, I know exactly where they are because they have been there for, oh, twenty years or so. But my eye still gravitates to them. And they are still not birds. Yet. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com From: Rhett Wilkins Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 21:03:33 +0000 To: OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] GH Owl There's a Great Horned decoy on a building very near Oaks Bottom that gets me every time, especially in the evenings. Rhett Dear OBOLers, I'm embarrassed to say that the Owl I reported may be a decoy. It looks real through my binoculers, and I thought I had seen movement, but it's in the same spot as before, and I don't know how likely that is. A couple people had said it may be a decoy, so I'm starting to wonder about that. The doctor I work with said he saw a very large bird land in the small grassy space between the opposing lanes of traffic, he didn't know more than that. So I apologize if I've jumped the gun here. Sincerely, Linda Lee _______________________________________________ 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 _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kimdelo at yahoo.com Wed Jan 4 18:30:19 2012 From: kimdelo at yahoo.com (Kimdel Owen) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 16:30:19 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Redmond CBC Message-ID: <1325723419.74778.YahooMailNeo@web130106.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Due to sickness and competition with college football we had a small turn out for the Redmond CBC this year. But the nine people divided into for groups, who worked hard to make up for those missing. We enjoyed good weather for the day which helped our species numbers by giving us several ponds with open water. We found 63 species which is low for this count, but still pretty good considering how few people we had counting. We had a high count of only one species, Cackling Goose, with 178 smashing the old mark of? 13. We also had the second highest total of American Robins with 23,125, next only to the year we had 28,733. Biggest misses were Greater White-fronted Goose, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Shrike, Pinyon Jay, American Crow, Pacific Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, and Pine Siskin. Also missed Count day were Golden Eagle and Downy Woodpecker which were seen count week. Thanks to those who helped and next year hopefully we won't have to compete with football games. ? "Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? On the rock he dwells and makes his home in the fastness of the rocky crag. There he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it afar off." Kimdel Owen Redmond, OR From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Wed Jan 4 18:58:56 2012 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 16:58:56 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] [birding] Albany snowy owl - yes! In-Reply-To: <915326008.779303.1325713370574.JavaMail.root@md12.quartz.synacor.com> References: <1397356758.779194.1325713192130.JavaMail.root@md12.quartz.synacor.com> <915326008.779303.1325713370574.JavaMail.root@md12.quartz.synacor.com> Message-ID: <1325725136.20962.YahooMailNeo@web39405.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Everybody, I just spent from 3:15 to 3:45 this afternoon trying to relocate the Snowy Owl posted earlier today and came up empty :(? Scanned all of the field area over to the freeway, all of the fence posts that I could see, all of the tree tops in the area, all of the building tops viewable from the mound at the end of 47th ST and then drove around the Del Rio St neighborhood again checking roof tops and found no sign of the bird.? Didn't have time today to go down to the I-5 / Hwy 34 interchange to try and relocate the bird seen there several days ago at the Feather Oil Co business.? My guess is this is the same bird as these two areas are only a few miles apart and these birds CAN fly, it's probably trying to expand its survival territory by locating different food sources :)? As long as we keep getting positive sightings, that's a good thing :) Jeff Fleischer Albany ________________________________ From: "pamao at q.com" To: Mid-valley birders Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 1:42 PM Subject: [birding] Albany snowy owl - yes! Hi all, I just had a friend tell me she could see the snowy owl "perched on one of the posts by the RR tracks and very obvious from the freeway if you knew where to look" still near the Mennonite Village at 12:30 today, Wednesday. _______________________________________________ birding mailing list birding at midvalleybirding.org http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffgill at teleport.com Wed Jan 4 19:39:34 2012 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:39:34 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected to breedingseason In-Reply-To: <66133997D32C444DB9D33B2892BC6BD1@MitherPC> Message-ID: On 1/4/12 12:29 PM, "Laura Mountainspring" wrote: > some kids destroyed a cow birds nest with eggs at the DCFC last year...the > rest of the season anyone and everyone who came to the store was dive bombed > and harassed....not sure if raptures are any smarter then these guys...but it > seemed they at least remembered humans were their problem > > Laura Are you sure that the subsequent dive bombers weren?t Brewer?s Blackbirds? And that the original eggs weren?t those of Brewer?s Blackbirds as well? I don?t think cowbirds would dive bomb or even know what happened to their eggs. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pamelaj at SpiritOne.com Wed Jan 4 20:16:50 2012 From: pamelaj at SpiritOne.com (pamelaj@spiritone.com) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 18:16:50 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected tobreedingseason In-Reply-To: <833F9E35-1D12-4A36-B91A-ED5AB1575D10@comcast.net> References: <833F9E35-1D12-4A36-B91A-ED5AB1575D10@comcast.net> Message-ID: <8061358DF4F948E784400B86D3200D98@OwnerPC> While you have given a great account of the nest defense of the Brewer's Blackbird and the lives of the cowbirds, I have to object that W. H. Hudson wrote Green Mansions. Auden was a poet. If he wrote any novels, my ignorance of that part of his output does not reflect upon their literary merit. Pamela Johnston -----Original Message----- From: Dan Gleason Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 1:13 PM To: OBOL OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] [] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected tobreedingseason Black birds harassing people sounds like Brewer's Blackbirds. Their aggression would be because they do have an active nest nearby and not because a previous nest was destroyed. Once a nest is destroyed, the birds will rebuild (if early enough in the season) and may relocate nearby. Brewer's Blackbird nests can be hard to locate, but from their actions, it is clear if you are nearby. They will not continue to retaliate after a nest is destroyed. Energies are better spent moving on or rebuilding. However, the birds were not Cowbirds. Brown-headed Cowbirds do not build nests. They are obligate brood parasites, meaning that they will always (no exceptions known) lay their eggs in the nest of another bird and leave them for the hosts to raise. Of the seven species of cowbirds in the world (all in the America's) six never build nests and one, the Screaming Cowbird of Argentina, rarely builds a nest. The Screaming Cowbird, is not a brood parasite and will almost always use an old nest from another species to raise its own young. It is parasitized by the Bay-winged Cowbird who usually only parasitizes the Screaming Cowbird. The Screaming Cowbird will often raise both young together. The young of the two species are so similar that for many years, that the habits of the Screaming Cowbird was a mystery. This mystery was eventually solved by W.H. Auden, the English author of Green Mansion. He is also responsible for the name Screaming Cowbird. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason at comcast.net 541 345-0450 _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From d_villa at mail.com Wed Jan 4 20:37:07 2012 From: d_villa at mail.com (dawn) Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:37:07 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] "Freeway Birds" --- for the Motorized Birder Message-ID: <20120105023708.284480@gmx.com> You have inspired us! We started a notebook today to tabulate our "Commuter Birds" - coast to valley and back (Lincoln City/Salem). We came up with some "rules" and documented those as well. Of course, it will be a few weeks before we get enough daylight to see much! Thanks! dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking ----- Original Message ----- From: Lyn Topinka Sent: 01/01/12 08:03 PM To: OBOL Subject: [OBOL] "Freeway Birds" --- for the Motorized Birder hi all ... Gene and I have always admired the folks doing the "motorless birding" lists ... only we're too stiff and creaky to get much past motorless birding of our own neighborhood ... so this year we began a "Freeway Birding" list ... we worked on the rules --- the main one being we had to be doing at least 50 mph --- and began our list last spring ... and we got 42 species in 8 months since we started !!!!!!!!! ... it turned out to be rather fun ... we've already begun our 2012 list today ... http://columbiariverimages.com/Birds/FreewayBirds/index.html enjoy, Lyn and Gene, Vancouver, Washington Lyn Topinka http://EnglishRiverWebsite.com http://ColumbiaRiverImages.com http://RidgefieldBirds.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 rriparia at charter.net Wed Jan 4 20:51:21 2012 From: rriparia at charter.net (Kevin Spencer) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 21:51:21 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] Tule Lake West Raptor Route summary Message-ID: <4b2422c0.deebb.134abc720f5.Webtop.45@charter.net> Hi, I conducted a raptor survey today, covering about 70 miles, and included ag fields to the west of Tulelake, south along Hill Rd., and then the lease lands of the Tule Lake NWR; which inlcuded fields south of the headquarters to the Lava Beds NM, and the League of Nations, which is all of the area north of Sump 1B to Wright Rd. The route starts and has some road ending points along the Oregon border. It was a beautiful day. Red-tailed Hawk - 103 (one of which was a Harlan's Hawk; found south of the tour route entrance on Hill Rd., about halfway between the entrance and Lava Beds NM boundary, and to the west towards Sump 1B. American Kestrel- 16 Northern Harrier - 44 Bald Eagle - 7 ( 6 ad., 1 imm.) Golden Eagle 1, imm. Rough-legged Hawk - 23 Ferruginous Hawk - 2 Prairie Falcon - 4 Accipiter sp. 1 (probably a Cooper's, but too far away to be sure) Great Horned Owl - 2 Kevin Spencer rriparia at charter.net Klamath Falls, OR Kevin Spencer rriparia at charter.net Klamath Falls, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ac7zg at frontier.com Wed Jan 4 21:01:27 2012 From: ac7zg at frontier.com (Don) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 19:01:27 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Plastic owls and Fake birds In-Reply-To: References: , <76F1146B-1314-4872-8B1C-EF5CBB297EDC@gmail.com>, Message-ID: <001401cccb56$51ee4ee0$f5caeca0$@com> Yeah, I got caught by the life Plastic Bird (GHO) after we?d just moved into Gilbert Az from Colorado in 1987. Early one Saturday morning we headed to Boyce Thompson on a birding trip. Passing a neighborhood of single story tile roofed (most roofs are tile) ? out of the corner of the eye caught the distinctive profile of a GHO was sitting on the middle of the roof two blocks off the main road. WOW! Unfortunately the three lane each direction road was packed with snail packers so couldn?t stop and it took a bit to turn around. We hoped the bird hadn?t moved, but exactly where had it been seen? Turning around a few blocks later, we searched the neighborhood, knowing we?d seen it but not sure exactly where. Finding it, we were dismayed to view with the binoculars only to discover a plastic copy in use by the owner to discourage the grackles. Never having seen plastic owls (they weren?t common back in the 1980?s), it was my first life plastic lifelike bird ;-) From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Rob Conway Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 2:19 PM To: elepaio at gmail.com; obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] Plastic owls and Fake birds I have lived in a number of place (including my current residence in Portland) where all through the neighborhood there were big pieces of Ivy twig left entangled in overhead wires that got pruned away. For some reason they are all about the size of Anna's Hummingbirds which regularly use the same wires as perches. I find myself looking at the same spots every day...right shape and place must = bird, right? Rob Conway SW Portland 45.46?N 122.68?W (Elev. 473ft) robin_birder at hotmail.com _____ Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 13:59:32 -0800 From: elepaio at gmail.com To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: [OBOL] Plastic owls and Fake birds Several years ago one of the Clintons was flying into Eugene. Security had a guy up on the catwalk of the control tower. He was all decked out in camouflage and grease paint and was armed to the teeth - the picture of machismo. He was practicing belly crawling around on the narrow catwalk then got up and turned around and came face to face with a plastic Great Horned Owl mounted on the railing. He about jumped out of his skin. I politely turned away when he spun around to see if anyone had seen him but it took a minute before I had regained my composure enough to be able to talk on the radios again. Mark Nikas On Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 1:34 PM, Rick Leinen wrote: My heart still starts racing when I first see those large, painted cut outs of Bald Eagles farmers place in their fields. :-) Rick Sent from my iPad On Jan 4, 2012, at 1:09 PM, Alan Contreras wrote: The birder's eye automatically reacts to certain objects that are placed as birds are. There are two wire insulators that are sort of odd-looking that still hook me. One is along Hwy 205 a few miles south of the Narrows. The other is along Hwy 101 at Klootchman wayside in n. Lane County. You see, I know exactly where they are because they have been there for, oh, twenty years or so. But my eye still gravitates to them. And they are still not birds. Yet. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com From: Rhett Wilkins Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 21:03:33 +0000 To: OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] GH Owl There's a Great Horned decoy on a building very near Oaks Bottom that gets me every time, especially in the evenings. Rhett Dear OBOLers, I'm embarrassed to say that the Owl I reported may be a decoy. It looks real through my binoculers, and I thought I had seen movement, but it's in the same spot as before, and I don't know how likely that is. A couple people had said it may be a decoy, so I'm starting to wonder about that. The doctor I work with said he saw a very large bird land in the small grassy space between the opposing lanes of traffic, he didn't know more than that. So I apologize if I've jumped the gun here. Sincerely, Linda Lee _______________________________________________ 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 _______________________________________________ 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 Wed Jan 4 22:09:21 2012 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 20:09:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected tobreedingseason In-Reply-To: <8061358DF4F948E784400B86D3200D98@OwnerPC> References: <833F9E35-1D12-4A36-B91A-ED5AB1575D10@comcast.net> <8061358DF4F948E784400B86D3200D98@OwnerPC> Message-ID: <8C31BB65-B27B-426E-AA66-91F129E599DD@comcast.net> You are absolutely right. I was in too much of a hurry when I posted earlier and somehow my mind and fingers went to W.H. Auden. Please correct that to W.H. Hudson. I don't know what Auden knew about birds in South America, but Hudson was a naturalist and early pioneer in ornithology of South America. Thanks for calling this error to my attention. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason at comcast.net 541 345-0450 On Jan 4, 2012, at 6:16 PM, pamelaj at spiritone.com wrote: > While you have given a great account of the nest defense of the Brewer's Blackbird and the lives of the cowbirds, I have to object that W. H. Hudson wrote Green Mansions. Auden was a poet. If he wrote any novels, my ignorance of that part of his output does not reflect upon their literary merit. > > Pamela Johnston > > -----Original Message----- From: Dan Gleason > Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 1:13 PM > To: OBOL OBOL > Subject: Re: [OBOL] [] Raptor aggression that is NOT connected tobreedingseason > > Black birds harassing people sounds like Brewer's Blackbirds. Their aggression would be because they do have an active nest nearby and not because a previous nest was destroyed. Once a nest is destroyed, the birds will rebuild (if early enough in the season) and may relocate nearby. Brewer's Blackbird nests can be hard to locate, but from their actions, it is clear if you are nearby. They will not continue to retaliate after a nest is destroyed. Energies are better spent moving on or rebuilding. > > However, the birds were not Cowbirds. Brown-headed Cowbirds do not build nests. They are obligate brood parasites, meaning that they will always (no exceptions known) lay their eggs in the nest of another bird and leave them for the hosts to raise. Of the seven species of cowbirds in the world (all in the America's) six never build nests and one, the Screaming Cowbird of Argentina, rarely builds a nest. The Screaming Cowbird, is not a brood parasite and will almost always use an old nest from another species to raise its own young. It is parasitized by the Bay-winged Cowbird who usually only parasitizes the Screaming Cowbird. The Screaming Cowbird will often raise both young together. The young of the two species are so similar that for many years, that the habits of the Screaming Cowbird was a mystery. This mystery was eventually solved by W.H. Auden, the English author of Green Mansion. He is also responsible for the name Screaming Cowbird. > > Dan Gleason > ------------- > Dan Gleason > dan-gleason at comcast.net > 541 345-0450 > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From dawn_grafe at fws.gov Wed Jan 4 20:45:32 2012 From: dawn_grafe at fws.gov (dawn_grafe at fws.gov) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 18:45:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Yaquina Bay Christmas Bird Count highlights Message-ID: The Yaquina Bay CBC was held on New Year?s Day and the weather was simply outstanding! Though it was overcast all day we were rain free and the sun even poked through the clouds a few times. It was relatively warm all day and the wind only started blowing at about 12 mph along the Yaquina River late in the afternoon. We had a total of 31 field observers and another dozen conducting feeder counts. We were especially pleased to have attracted eight new people to participate in count and it was the first CBC for each of them. The total count for the day was 130 species. I am still receiving data from a couple of field observers so the total number of individuals observed for some species may increase. However, most of the data has been processed and here are some highlights: - TUNDRA SWAN (8) in the lower bay - A single male LONG-TAILED DUCK was found floating among a mixed flock of scoters north of Yaquina Head - PACIFIC LOONS (123) were abundant in the lower bay and off of Yaquina Head. This was a max. high count for the species - HOODED MERGANSERS (86) were also a max. high for the count - A single RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER was spotted near Newport?s historic bayfront - BROWN PELICANS (7) continued to be seen from the Yaquina Bay south jetty - A TROPICAL KINGBIRD, a first for the count, was seen near the old Mill Pond by the aquarium - AMERICAN DIPPERS (2) rounded out another fantastic day of birding on the Oregon coast Oh yes, we had a single ROCK SANDPIPER at Seal Rock for count week. Thanks so much to everyone who participated in the count. We hope to see you again for the 113th count. Some previous Yaquina Bay CBC results, as compiled by Range Bayer, can be viewed at http://yaquina.info/ybn/bird/bird.htm#ybcbc Dawn Grafe, ORYB CBC Compiler -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From range.bayer at gmail.com Wed Jan 4 23:01:12 2012 From: range.bayer at gmail.com (Range Bayer) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 21:01:12 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fwd: [LCBNO] Yaquina Bay Christmas Bird Count highlights [Tropical Kingbird] Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Date: Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 6:45 PM Subject: [LCBNO] Yaquina Bay Christmas Bird Count highlights To: The Yaquina Bay CBC was held on New Year?s Day and the weather was simply outstanding! ?Though it was overcast all day we were rain free and the sun even poked through the clouds a few times. ?It was relatively warm all day and the wind only started blowing at about 12 mph along the Yaquina River late in the afternoon. ?We had a total of 31 field observers and another dozen conducting feeder counts. ?We were especially pleased to have attracted eight new people to participate in count and it was the first CBC for each of them. The total count for the day was 130 species. I am still receiving data from a couple of field observers so the total number of individuals observed for some species may increase. ?However, most of the data has been processed and here are some highlights: - ? ? TUNDRA SWAN (8) in the lower bay - ? ? A single male LONG-TAILED DUCK was found floating among a mixed flock of scoters north of Yaquina Head - ? ? PACIFIC LOONS (123) were abundant in the lower bay and off of Yaquina Head. ?This was a max. high count for the species - ? ? HOODED MERGANSERS (86) were also a max. high for the count - ? ? A single RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER was spotted near Newport?s historic bayfront - ? ? BROWN PELICANS (7) continued to be seen from the Yaquina Bay south jetty - ? ? A TROPICAL KINGBIRD, a first for the count, was seen near the old Mill Pond by the aquarium - ? ? AMERICAN DIPPERS (2) rounded out another fantastic day of birding on the Oregon coast Oh yes, we had a single ROCK SANDPIPER at Seal Rock for count week. ?Thanks so much to everyone who participated in the count. We hope to see you again for the 113th count. Some previous Yaquina Bay CBC results, as compiled by Range Bayer, can be viewed at http://yaquina.info/ybn/bird/bird.htm#ybcbc Dawn Grafe, ORYB CBC Compiler From joel.geier at peak.org Wed Jan 4 23:02:18 2012 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:02:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Oakridge CBC preliminary tallies Message-ID: <1325739738.1415.62.camel@clearwater1> Hi all, A quick recap of today's Oakridge CBC, which was held in balmy conditions with highs in the 50s, and only a bit of snow at the highest elevations (over 4000 ft). Many thanks to volunteers including: Diane Horgan, John Lucachick, Brandon Green, Dick Lamster, Holly Reinhard, Tom Mickel, Jim Carlson, Bob Wilson, Don Sutherland, Judy Meredith, Ginger Sanders, Marcia J. Cutler, Wil Geier, and Marylee (?). Special thanks to Cheron Ferland for scouting, pre-dawn owling, and ideas on coverage, and to Lynda Kamerrer at the Oakridge hostel which made a wonderful venue to start the day. Happy birding, Joel This report was mailed for Joel Geier by http://birdnotes.net Date: January 4, 2012 Location: Oakridge CBC, Lane County, Oregon Low temperature: 32 degrees fahrenheit High temperature: 52 degrees fahrenheit Wind direction: SW Prevailing wind speed: < 1 km/h gusting to: 12-19 km/h Percentage of sky covered by clouds: 30% Precipitation: none Preliminary tallies from Oakridge CBC: Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Greater White-fronted Goose 8 [1] Canada Goose 56 Cackling Goose 30 Mallard 10 Canvasback 1 [2] Ring-necked Duck 73 Lesser Scaup 13 Common Goldeneye 3 Bufflehead 8 Hooded Merganser 8 Common Merganser (?) Ruddy Duck 2 Ruffed Grouse 2 Common Loon 1 [3] Pied-billed Grebe 5 Horned Grebe 3 Western Grebe 16 [4] Double-crested Cormorant 22 Great Blue Heron 1 Bald Eagle 4 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 [5] Red-tailed Hawk 10 American Kestrel 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 [6] American Coot 7 Wilson's Snipe 2 Gull sp. (Ring-billed?) 1 Rock Pigeon 90 Eurasian Collared-Dove 23 Mourning Dove 5 Northern Pygmy-Owl 3 Anna's Hummingbird 1 Belted Kingfisher 5 Red-breasted Sapsucker 2 Downy Woodpecker 1 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 22 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Hutton's Vireo 3 Gray Jay 12 [7] Steller's Jay 45 Western Scrub-Jay 18 American Crow 102 Common Raven 43 Black-capped Chickadee 39 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 72 Bushtit (?) Red-breasted Nuthatch 14 Brown Creeper 1 Pacific Wren 22 American Dipper 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 95 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 26 Western Bluebird 5 Hermit Thrush 1 American Robin 32 Varied Thrush 15 Wrentit 2 European Starling 124 Townsend's Warbler 1 Spotted Towhee 27 Fox Sparrow 26 Song Sparrow 39 Golden-crowned Sparrow 26 Dark-eyed Junco 187 Red-winged Blackbird 42 Brewer's Blackbird 46 House Finch 6 Red Crossbill 65 Pine Siskin 9 Evening Grosbeak 40 Footnotes: [1] Over town/golf course [2] Female at Old Mill Ponds [3] Hills Creek Reservoir [4] Hills Creek Reservoir [5] Across from cemetery [6] North side of town [7] All in one flock at Heckletooth Mountain meadow with young ponderosas. Total number of species seen: 71(?) From winkg at hevanet.com Wed Jan 4 23:26:05 2012 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 21:26:05 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Pittock, NW Portland, week ending 01/04/12 Message-ID: <0716885E-DCE1-4F20-8A99-32B96078C5C1@hevanet.com> Here is the summary of my morning dogwalks from NW Seblar Terrace to the Pittock Mansion for the week 12/29/11 to 01/04/12. 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 6 days this week. Species # days found (peak #, date) CACKLING GOOSE 1 (32, 1/4) Cackling/Canada sp. 1 (250, 12/29) BALD EAGLE 1 (2, 12/29) Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 (1, 1/2 & 4) Cooper's Hawk 2 (1, 12/29 & 1/3) Band-tailed Pigeon 3 (7, 1/3) Mourning Dove 1 (2, 1/4) Anna's Hummingbird 5 (4) Red-breasted Sapsucker 1 (2, 1/4) Downy Woodpecker 3 (1) Hairy Woodpecker 2 (2, 1/3) Northern Flicker 4 (4) Pileated Woodpecker 3 (1) Steller's Jay 6 (5) Western Scrub-Jay 2 (2, 12/29 & 1/3) American Crow 5 (6) Black-capped Chickadee 6 (15, 1/4) Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2 (10, 1/3) Bushtit 1 (7, 1/3) Red-breasted Nuthatch 5 (6) Brown Creeper 3 (1) Pacific Wren 4 (3) Golden-crowned Kinglet 3 (6, 1/3) Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 (1, 1/3) American Robin 6 (30, 1/3) Varied Thrush 6 (6) European Starling 4 (4, 1/1) Townsend's Warbler 3 (1) Spotted Towhee 6 (6) FOX SPARROW 2 (1, 1/2 & 4) Song Sparrow 6 (10) Dark-eyed Junco 6 (27) House Finch 5 (10) RED CROSSBILL 1 (?[heard only], 1/3) Pine Siskin 3 (20, 1/2) Lesser Goldfinch 1 (3, 12/29) Misses (birds found at least 3 days in previous 2 weeks but not found this week): Hermit Thrush Wink Gross Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From stephaniehazen17 at q.com Thu Jan 5 23:31:54 2012 From: stephaniehazen17 at q.com (stephanie hazen) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 21:31:54 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] wigeons and gulls Message-ID: https://picasaweb.google.com/StephandFlydog/EurasianWigeonsGrandPrairieParkPondAlbanyOregon?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCM_wouGLnNnjWA&feat=directlink Click on the above link to see a study in wigeons: American v.s. Eurasian v.s. American/Eurasian hybrid. We photographed these birds today at Grand Prairie Park. When we came home and looked at the photos, something was wrong! After consulting the references, we discovered we also had hybrid in the group, as evidenced by a green stripe around the eye. Anybody is welcomed to identify the gulls at the end! Stephanie Hazen Ray Temple -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Wed Jan 4 23:58:37 2012 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 21:58:37 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Linn County GLAUCOUS GULL Message-ID: <5F425023-7713-496C-B61C-83E750B60A69@earthlink.net> Check out Stephanie's last photo from today's trip to Grand Prairie Park. A rather hard to get species in Linn County I would imagine. Lar's Norgren From hnehls6 at comcast.net Thu Jan 5 01:47:26 2012 From: hnehls6 at comcast.net (Harry Nehls) Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:47:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] RBA: Portland, OR 1-5-12 Message-ID: - RBA * Oregon * Portland * January 5, 2012 * ORPO1201.05 - birds mentioned Emperor Goose Brant BEWICK?S TUNDRA SWAN Eurasian Green-winged Teal Long-tailed Duck American White Pelican Black-bellied Plover MOUNTAIN PLOVER Rock Sandpiper Glaucous Gull Snowy Owl YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER Red-naped Sapsucker Tropical Kingbird BLUE JAY Barn Swallow Northern Mockingbird Snow Bunting Yellow-rumped Warbler Hermit Warbler Harris?s Sparrow HOODED ORIOLE Common Redpoll - transcript hotline: Portland Oregon Audubon RBA (weekly) number: 503-292-6855 To report: Harry Nehls 503-233-3976 compiler: Harry Nehls coverage: entire state Hello, this is the Audubon Society of Portland Rare Bird Report. This report was made Thursday January 5. If you have anything to add call Harry Nehls at 503-233-3976. On December 31 a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER was photographed in Bandon. It was near NE Second and Lexington street. A BEWICK?S TUNDRA SWAN was at Ridgefield NWR December 30. The Seaside HOODED ORIOLE and MOCKINGBIRD continue to be seen, as are the Bald Hill BLUE JAY in Corvallis, and the MOUNTAIN PLOVER near Tangent. The only SNOWY OWLS reported during the week were near Burns and on the Salishan Spit at Siletz Bay. Another was reported December 27 at SE 36th and Johnson Creek in Portland. On January 2 several hundred AUDUBON and MYRTLE YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were gathered at the Bandon State Natural Area. A REDPOLL was seen January 3 among a goldfinch flock at a feeder near Coos Bay. A TROPICAL KINGBIRD was seen December 24 at Tahkenitch Lake south of Florence. Another was at Yaquina Bay January 1. At least two ROCK SANDPIPERS are now at Seal Rocks State Park. A EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL was south of Warrenton December 29. ON January 1 a flock of 21 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS were in the bottomlands near Rainier. On December 30 a BRANT, a WHITE PELICAN, and a GLAUCOUS GULL were at the Heron Lake Golf Course in North Portland. The Broughton Beach/Portland Airport SNOW BUNTING continues to be seen. A BARN SWALLOW and a HERMIT WARBLER were in Portland December 31. The Tualatin River NWR EMPEROR GOOSE is still being seen. It is most often observed during the morning. The Cornelius HARRIS?S SPARROW continues to be seen. On December 31 a EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL was at Baskett Slough NWR. A female RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER was seen January 1 in Eugene. On December 31 a male LONG-TAILED DUCK was on the Prineville Sewage Ponds. The next day a female was on Suttle Lake. That?s it for this week. -end transcript -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com Thu Jan 5 01:51:34 2012 From: woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com (Jamie S.) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 23:51:34 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] wigeons and gulls In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <1325749894.31991.YahooMailClassic@web161603.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Very nice comparison photos! Photos 3, 4, and 5 are actually female American wigeons, not Eurasian. (Compare them to the first photo.) Jamie Simmons Corvallis --- On Thu, 1/5/12, stephanie hazen wrote: From: stephanie hazen Subject: [OBOL] wigeons and gulls To: "Oregon Birders Online" Date: Thursday, January 5, 2012, 9:31 PM https://picasaweb.google.com/StephandFlydog/EurasianWigeonsGrandPrairieParkPondAlbanyOregon?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCM_wouGLnNnjWA&feat=directlink ? ? Click on the above link to see a study in wigeons:? American v.s. Eurasian v.s. American/Eurasian hybrid. ? We photographed these birds today at Grand Prairie Park.? When we came home and looked at the photos, something was wrong!? After consulting the references, we discovered we also had hybrid in the group, as evidenced by a green stripe around the eye. ? Anybody is welcomed to identify the gulls at the end! ? Stephanie Hazen Ray Temple -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ 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 Thu Jan 5 02:09:39 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 08:09:39 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Yamhill Co. RBA -- GOLDEN EAGLE Message-ID: Today while working near Lafayette, Yamhill Co. I found an adult Golden Eagle feeding on a Cackling Goose carcass in the Stoller Rd. pastures e. of Lafayette. A full report of the birds I saw can be viewed at the link below: http://www.birdfellow.com/members/dave_irons/field_reports/486-stoller-road-pastures-se-kreder-rd-4-january-2012 Dave Irons Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dlrobbo at comcast.net Thu Jan 5 08:08:12 2012 From: dlrobbo at comcast.net (Douglas Robberson) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 06:08:12 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] GH Owl In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <2F2BD9A1-BF63-46C2-A23F-7DB9B1D3CA02@comcast.net> > I also get fooled by "leaf birds" and "stick birds" Doug Robberson Tigard, OR > There's a Great Horned decoy on a building very near Oaks Bottom that gets me every time, especially in the evenings. > > Rhett > Dear OBOLers, > I'm embarrassed to say that the Owl I > may be a decoy. It looks real through my binoculers, and I > thought I had seen movement, but it's in the same spot as before, and > I don't know how likely that is. A couple people had said it may be a > decoy, so I'm starting to wonder about that. The doctor I work with > said he saw a very large bird land in the small grassy space between > the opposing lanes of traffic, he didn't know more than that. So I > apologize if I've jumped the gun here. > Sincerely, Linda Lee > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org Doug Robberson Tigard, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dlrobbo at comcast.net Thu Jan 5 08:34:31 2012 From: dlrobbo at comcast.net (Douglas Robberson) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 06:34:31 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Golden Eagle Killing in Eastern Oregon Message-ID: <6D5AFAC7-3076-482E-8C88-92B788A7CF58@comcast.net> What's next? http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/04/9952873-feds-propose-allowing-wind-farm-developer-to-kill-golden-eagles Doug Robberson Tigard, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From heinjv at charter.net Wed Jan 4 19:59:44 2012 From: heinjv at charter.net (heinjv at charter.net) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 17:59:44 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Douglas County Message-ID: <8BB86AB3-E4F0-48E0-BE18-25E8919939F0@charter.net> I spent most of the day birding in central Douglas County today. I have three sightings that may be worth reporting. I saw a NORTHERN SHRIKE at Fords Pond west of Sutherlin. Also I saw two TUNDRA SWANS at Cooper Creek dam. I don't often see either of these in DC Also I counted 105 WILSON SNIPE at Cooper Creek. I am sure there were more as these were on a small mud flat surrounded by dense cattails Good Birding Jim Hein Sent from my iPhone From stephaniehazen17 at q.com Fri Jan 6 10:14:14 2012 From: stephaniehazen17 at q.com (stephanie hazen) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 08:14:14 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] wigeons and gulls In-Reply-To: <1325749894.31991.YahooMailClassic@web161603.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> References: <1325749894.31991.YahooMailClassic@web161603.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Thanks, Jamie, I changed the labels. That is a hard call! What did you go by? Stephanie From: Jamie S. Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 11:51 PM To: Oregon Birders Online ; stephanie hazen Subject: Re: [OBOL] wigeons and gulls Very nice comparison photos! Photos 3, 4, and 5 are actually female American wigeons, not Eurasian. (Compare them to the first photo.) Jamie Simmons Corvallis --- On Thu, 1/5/12, stephanie hazen wrote: From: stephanie hazen Subject: [OBOL] wigeons and gulls To: "Oregon Birders Online" Date: Thursday, January 5, 2012, 9:31 PM https://picasaweb.google.com/StephandFlydog/EurasianWigeonsGrandPrairieParkPondAlbanyOregon?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCM_wouGLnNnjWA&feat=directlink Click on the above link to see a study in wigeons: American v.s. Eurasian v.s. American/Eurasian hybrid. We photographed these birds today at Grand Prairie Park. When we came home and looked at the photos, something was wrong! After consulting the references, we discovered we also had hybrid in the group, as evidenced by a green stripe around the eye. Anybody is welcomed to identify the gulls at the end! Stephanie Hazen Ray Temple -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ 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 Thu Jan 5 10:41:53 2012 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 08:41:53 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] female wigeons Message-ID: <0707F1CC-F524-48B1-B959-D66FE534DACD@earthlink.net> Female American Wigeon have a gray head, a cool jiz. Female Eurasians are brown-headed and have a warm jiz. Lars From shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com Thu Jan 5 11:11:43 2012 From: shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com (Shawneen Finnegan) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 09:11:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] female wigeons In-Reply-To: <0707F1CC-F524-48B1-B959-D66FE534DACD@earthlink.net> References: <0707F1CC-F524-48B1-B959-D66FE534DACD@earthlink.net> Message-ID: Stephanie: There are other things to look at also including black at the base of the bill on some, but not all female American Wigeons, and a contrast between the gray head and warm chest. Female Eurasians lack both. You might want to look at the species accounts for both wigeon at: http://www.birdfellow.com/birds/american-wigeon-anas-americana In the Identification Photos section choose the "Filter by KeyWord" and select "female" to narrow down the choices of photos. To read the captions roll over the bottom of each larger photo. Then check the Eurasian Wigeon gallery of photos for comparison: http://www.birdfellow.com/birds/eurasian-wigeon-anas-penelope Cheers, Shawneen On Jan 5, 2012, at 8:41 AM, Norgren Family wrote: > Female American Wigeon have a gray head, > a cool jiz. Female Eurasians are brown-headed > and have a warm jiz. 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 tunicate89 at yahoo.com Thu Jan 5 11:24:41 2012 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 09:24:41 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] [Tweeters] re: Golden Eagle Killing in Eastern Oregon In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <1325784281.18206.YahooMailClassic@web39304.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Scott, Has an EIS, not just an EA, been done to access the impact of any of these wind farms on eagles/birds/bats? What "conservation groups" are you referring to? Thank you, Cindy Ashy --- On Thu, 1/5/12, Scott Downes wrote: From: Scott Downes Subject: [Tweeters] re: Golden Eagle Killing in Eastern Oregon To: tweeters at u.washington.edu Date: Thursday, January 5, 2012, 10:10 AM Tweeters, Rather than getting caught up in the hype of the MSNBC article, I'd like to direct you to the link below outlining the submission of the application for the take permit. I do a lot of work with wind and golden eagles and in fact a coworker of mine-well known raptor biologist that has done raptor banding at Bonney Butte for many years- did the golden eagle work on the West Butte project that is the subject here. If you dig deeper you will find that the "take permit" is actually applauded by some conservation groups as to get this "take" permit they have to set up an avian conservation plan to assure no net loss of eagles, thus in some ways eagle conservation as a whole will be helped. ? http://www.fws.gov/pacific/news/news.cfm?id=2144374933 ? If you go to the link and obtain and read the application you will also see that the site is very low in eagle use relative to many other areas in Eastern Oregon and Washington. The take application is not for targeting eagles but rather to work with USFWS in the event that the project might kill one through a turbine strike. It is a federal crime to kill an eagle without a take permit and the developer was seeking assurances (its more of a bank and financial thing) that by working with the USFWS on a conservation plan and obtaining a take permit they would be exempted from prosecution for up to 3 eagle deaths per year. Essentially a take permit is a formal agreement saying that if the developer agrees to minimize and mitigate eagle deaths in a way agreeable to the USFWS that the USFWS would give some assurances to the developer that they would not be prosecuted if an eagle death accidentally happens. There is almost no project in eastern Washington or Oregon where the chance of an eagle death is zero as even in non-breeding areas birds do migrate through the area. ? I have no problem with people believing that even one death to eagles by any human cause isn't ok, that's what comments to the proposal are for under the link above. However, can we please not react to stories from mainstream media that certainly don't produce all of the facts. ? Thanks. ? Scott Downes downess at charter.net Yakima WA -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters at u.washington.edu http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Thu Jan 5 11:29:44 2012 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 09:29:44 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Golden Eagle Killing in Eastern Oregon Message-ID: <1325784584.59008.YahooMailMobile@web39704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Doug, It is my understanding that some environmental groups are cautiously supporting this idea. While this idea may have some positive components, the extension of the concept may be a way to "buy off wildlife" until none remain. The killing of golden or bald eagles by wind turbine blades would be allowed (three in five years) as long as the commercial activities supported the overall long term survival of these eagles. At least this is my understanding of this. Here in SE Oregon, the ag and ranching interests have successfully delayed any REAL implementation of anything that would materially help greater sage grouse numbers. The longer they can successfully delay any significant help for our endangered sage grouse, the lower these numbers become----and,I believe that's their goal. Once sage grouse are essentially gone (recall nearly every eastern OR county used to hold sharp tail grouse) there won't be any more attention placed upon them----- just like the sharp-tailed grouse. ODF&W is doing their best against these powerful ag related interests. During testimony to ODF&W a few years ago, one Harney Co. rancher even claimed that sage grouse don't need sage to live! I'm rather certain that the list knows that sage grouse are sage obligates. But in an effort to not lose the point------I question the sincerity of the long term efforts of this policy. Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi.south of Burns) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bmwboarder at gmail.com Thu Jan 5 11:44:41 2012 From: bmwboarder at gmail.com (bmwboarder) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 09:44:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Hawk ID help Message-ID: Hi everyone, I took some pictures of an unusual looking hawk just south of Monmouth while out on a bike ride. Any thoughts on what kind of hawk it is? Sorry, not great pictures, but hopefully somebody can help with the id. http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642084331/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642084073/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642083801/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642083661/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642083503/ There was also a Trumpeter Swan and a couple Rough Legged hawks off of DeArmond Rd, west of 99w. Brandon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From whoffman at peak.org Thu Jan 5 11:50:59 2012 From: whoffman at peak.org (whoffman at peak.org) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 09:50:59 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] wigeons and gulls In-Reply-To: <1595356572.168885.1325785842935.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Message-ID: <1990268375.168887.1325785859852.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Hi - Nice photos: I stopped by there in early Dec. and saw a different wigeon with green around the eyes (other aspects of head appearance were a little different). Your "hybrid" wigeon may be a hybrid, but just having green around the eye does not necessarily make it so. In Eurasia a variant of Eurasian Wigeon is recognized with green around the eyes. Otherwise they look like other European Wigeons. i have seen these discussed in Japanese references. Hybrid Wigeons do occur in the Northwest, and the drakes typically do have green around the eyes. Besides head color, the two species differ in flank color. Eurasians have clean grey flanks, sharply demarked from their pinkish breasts. Americans have flanks a pinkish-brown color, not contrasting with the breast, as shown well in your photos. Hybrids typically have quite a bit of this pink or pinkish-brown invading the grey flanks. Your bird does not have much if any pinkish in the flanks, however the boundary between chest and flanks is not as clean as in a typical Eurasian. So it could be a hybrid (maybe backcross to Eurasian?). Or, possibly it has not quite finished molting out of eclipse. The flanks look to me as if molt may not be quite finished (maybe a first-winter bird?). To my knowledge Eurasian Widgeons have not been found breeding in Alaska nor Americans in Siberia, but in my opinion the increasing number of hybrids seen in the northwest indicates one or the other species has expanded its range into that of the other. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "stephanie hazen" To: "Oregon Birders Online" Sent: Thursday, January 5, 2012 9:31:54 PM Subject: [OBOL] wigeons and gulls https://picasaweb.google.com/StephandFlydog/EurasianWigeonsGrandPrairieParkPondAlbanyOregon?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCM_wouGLnNnjWA&feat=directlink Click on the above link to see a study in wigeons: American v.s. Eurasian v.s. American/Eurasian hybrid. We photographed these birds today at Grand Prairie Park. When we came home and looked at the photos, something was wrong! After consulting the references, we discovered we also had hybrid in the group, as evidenced by a green stripe around the eye. Anybody is welcomed to identify the gulls at the end! Stephanie Hazen Ray Temple _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From lbiggs at uoregon.edu Thu Jan 5 11:53:45 2012 From: lbiggs at uoregon.edu (Lucy Biggs) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 09:53:45 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Slaughter house waste going into Fern Ridge Reservoir Message-ID: <284A2D7E-A19B-497C-867C-104C40F93064@uoregon.edu> All, I have been working with the Dept of Environmental Quality for over a year to try to get Bartells Slaughterhouse on Central Road, near Fern Ridge reservoir at Perkins Peninsula (Lane County) to stop pouring tons of waste (blood, guts, bones, and fat) into the lake. On cold mornings you can actually see the creek of fat and blood pouring into the ponds on the south side of Hwy 126, and the odor is extensive, you can smell it for miles around the area. I If any of you have ever noticed this practice when in the area, the Oregon State Police are building a case to shut Bartells down, and have asked me to let people know so that they might get as many witnesses to this practice as possible. If you have any knowledge of this practice, please contact Detective Jeremy Richardson, 503 229 5593, email jeremy.richardson at state.or.us It would be great to have this vile behavior ended, they have been fined numerous times, but now the State Police are taking action to shut them down. Thanks, Lucy Biggs lbiggs at uoregon.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From larmcqueen at msn.com Thu Jan 5 11:58:05 2012 From: larmcqueen at msn.com (Larry McQueen) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 09:58:05 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Hawk ID help In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Brandon, I would have to see more of the bird to be sure, but it could be a dark Swainson's, with the small bill and white forehead. In other plumages, Swainson's does have white on the face around the base of the bill. It's very unusual to find a Swainson's in the valley in winter, but not unprecedented. Larry On Jan 5, 2012, at 9:44 AM, bmwboarder wrote: > Hi everyone, > > I took some pictures of an unusual looking hawk just south of Monmouth while out on a bike ride. Any thoughts on what kind of hawk it is? Sorry, not great pictures, but hopefully somebody can help with the id. > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642084331/ > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642084073/ > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642083801/ > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642083661/ > http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642083503/ > > There was also a Trumpeter Swan and a couple Rough Legged hawks off of DeArmond Rd, west of 99w. > > Brandon > _______________________________________________ > 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 Thu Jan 5 12:06:25 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 18:06:25 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Hawk ID help In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Greetings All, The solid dark plumage (no white mottling on coverts etc.), small-looking bill, white forehead, and longish looking wings (last photo) all suggest dark morph Swainson's Hawk, as suggested by Larry McQueen. Hopefully, someone will get out and get a closer look and close-up photos. Historically, Swainson's Hawk was considered to be mega-rare anywhere n. of California in Winter, but in recent years one or two have wintered annually in the Pacific Northwest. Nevertheless, this is great find. Dave Irons Portland, Or Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 09:44:41 -0800 From: bmwboarder at gmail.com To: birding at midvalleybirding.org; obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Hawk ID help Hi everyone, I took some pictures of an unusual looking hawk just south of Monmouth while out on a bike ride. Any thoughts on what kind of hawk it is? Sorry, not great pictures, but hopefully somebody can help with the id. http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642084331/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642084073/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642083801/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642083661/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642083503/ There was also a Trumpeter Swan and a couple Rough Legged hawks off of DeArmond Rd, west of 99w. Brandon _______________________________________________ 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 Thu Jan 5 12:21:06 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 18:21:06 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Link to Yamhill GOLDEN EAGLE report Message-ID: For some reason the link I posted doesn't work try this: Yamhill Golden Eagle report Dave Irons -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kevinsmithnaturephotos at gmail.com Thu Jan 5 12:36:33 2012 From: kevinsmithnaturephotos at gmail.com (Kevin Smith) Date: Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:36:33 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] A legal 'Take' Message-ID: <4F05EDB1.4080509@gmail.com> Correct me if I'm wrong, but during the Bush '42 administration someone once said that 'Why worry about dwindling bird numbers. Soon they will all be gone and we won't have to worry about saving them" (or something to that effect). The idea of "A legal take" is an oxymoron! (or something to that effect). Kevin Smith PS: That and considering banding birds as "a take" is too. -- 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 craig at greatskua.com Thu Jan 5 13:08:35 2012 From: craig at greatskua.com (Craig Tumer) Date: Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:08:35 -0700 Subject: [OBOL] wigeons and gulls Message-ID: <20120105120835.3bd901d66b2d769bd36646c62e7e74c3.db94a9d51b.wbe@email02.secureserver.net> Here's a link to an eBird checklist with an embedded photo of a wigeon that illustrates some of the characteristics Wayne talks about. http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9135280 In addition to the pinkish wash to the flanks, the bird in the photo also shows pinkish brown on the back and scapulars; a lot of green behind the eye AND on the nape; a buffy color to the front part of the face; extensive dark speckling on the face; and a black border to the base of the bill. Craig Tumer SW Portland > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: Re: [OBOL] wigeons and gulls > From: whoffman at peak.org > Date: Thu, January 05, 2012 9:50 am > To: stephanie hazen > Cc: Oregon Birders Online > > > Hi - > > Nice photos: I stopped by there in early Dec. and saw a different wigeon with green around the eyes (other aspects of head appearance were a little different). > > Your "hybrid" wigeon may be a hybrid, but just having green around the eye does not necessarily make it so. In Eurasia a variant of Eurasian Wigeon is recognized with green around the eyes. Otherwise they look like other European Wigeons. i have seen these discussed in Japanese references. > > Hybrid Wigeons do occur in the Northwest, and the drakes typically do have green around the eyes. Besides head color, the two species differ in flank color. Eurasians have clean grey flanks, sharply demarked from their pinkish breasts. Americans have flanks a pinkish-brown color, not contrasting with the breast, as shown well in your photos. Hybrids typically have quite a bit of this pink or pinkish-brown invading the grey flanks. > > Your bird does not have much if any pinkish in the flanks, however the boundary between chest and flanks is not as clean as in a typical Eurasian. So it could be a hybrid (maybe backcross to Eurasian?). Or, possibly it has not quite finished molting out of eclipse. The flanks look to me as if molt may not be quite finished (maybe a first-winter bird?). > > To my knowledge Eurasian Widgeons have not been found breeding in Alaska nor Americans in Siberia, but in my opinion the increasing number of hybrids seen in the northwest indicates one or the other species has expanded its range into that of the other. > > Wayne > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "stephanie hazen" > To: "Oregon Birders Online" > Sent: Thursday, January 5, 2012 9:31:54 PM > Subject: [OBOL] wigeons and gulls > > > > https://picasaweb.google.com/StephandFlydog/EurasianWigeonsGrandPrairieParkPondAlbanyOregon?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCM_wouGLnNnjWA&feat=directlink > > > Click on the above link to see a study in wigeons: American v.s. Eurasian v.s. American/Eurasian hybrid. > > We photographed these birds today at Grand Prairie Park. When we came home and looked at the photos, something was wrong! After consulting the references, we discovered we also had hybrid in the group, as evidenced by a green stripe around the eye. > > Anybody is welcomed to identify the gulls at the end! > > Stephanie Hazen > Ray Temple > _______________________________________________ > 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 jack.williamson.jr at gmail.com Thu Jan 5 13:13:42 2012 From: jack.williamson.jr at gmail.com (Jack Williamson) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 11:13:42 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Golden Eagle Killing in Eastern Oregon Message-ID: If wind turbines are going up, I would rather it be done with a "Take Permit" than not. -- Jack Williamson West Linn, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com Thu Jan 5 13:16:59 2012 From: raptorrunner97321 at yahoo.com (Jeff Fleischer) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 11:16:59 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Albany Snowy Owl update Message-ID: <1325791019.60243.YahooMailNeo@web39403.mail.mud.yahoo.com> HI Everybody, Well, after yesterday afternoon's dip to try and relocate the bird that was reported seen earlier in the day, I decided to try a morning check today to see if the bird might be active and visible.? I thoroughly scanned the fields, fence posts, and house tops from the end of 47th St in the Mennonite Village, took a spin through the Del Rio section, drove south on Sevenmile Ln to Hwy 34 (checked fence posts, building tops, tree tops, and on the ground as well), checked out the Leathers Oil Co facility and also the Pine Cone truckstop area at the I-5/Hwy 34 interchange, scoped the fields all around from the elevated on-ramp to I-5 going north, scoped the fields and house tops again from the elevated portion of I-5 overlooking the Mennonite Village and Del Rio Ave areas, and checked as many fence posts and tree tops and ground as I could north to the Hwy 20 interchange and came up EMPTY for Snowy Owl :(? As I mentioned yesterday, these birds can fly so it has to be around somewhere! :) :) Jeff Fleischer Albany -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com Thu Jan 5 13:39:01 2012 From: woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com (Jamie S.) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 11:39:01 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] female wigeons In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <1325792341.56999.YahooMailClassic@web161601.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> You could also look in a good field guide, such as Sibley or the National Geographic Field Guide to see the comparison that Lars pointed out in simple terms. Jamie Simmons Corvallis --- On Thu, 1/5/12, Shawneen Finnegan wrote: From: Shawneen Finnegan Subject: Re: [OBOL] female wigeons To: "stephanie hazen" Cc: "OBOL" Date: Thursday, January 5, 2012, 9:11 AM Stephanie: There are other things to look at also including black at the base of the bill on some, but not all female American Wigeons, and a contrast between the gray head and warm chest. Female Eurasians lack both. You might want to look at the species accounts for both wigeon at: http://www.birdfellow.com/birds/american-wigeon-anas-americana In the Identification Photos section choose the "Filter by KeyWord" and select "female" to narrow down the choices of photos. To read the captions roll over the bottom of each larger photo. Then check the Eurasian Wigeon gallery of photos for comparison: http://www.birdfellow.com/birds/eurasian-wigeon-anas-penelope Cheers,Shawneen On Jan 5, 2012, at 8:41 AM, Norgren Family wrote: ??Female American Wigeon have a gray head, a cool jiz. Female Eurasians are brown-headed and have a warm jiz. Lars _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From deweysage at frontier.com Thu Jan 5 13:40:11 2012 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:40:11 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [Tweeters] re: Golden Eagle Killing in Eastern Oregon In-Reply-To: <1325784281.18206.YahooMailClassic@web39304.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <1325784281.18206.YahooMailClassic@web39304.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4F05FC9B.8000408@frontier.com> Folks, Read the article and pertinent info that Scott Downes posted, and you will see that USFWS has written an EIS and it is open for comment. If you have a comment, please go to the appropriate link and make your comment heard, USFWS wants to hear from you. The article also includes the names of the "conservation groups" that are involved with the project. They are, in fact, conservation groups. While this topic is perfectly fine for OBOL, please refrain from getting into any nasty arguments and please be courteous. Thanks Dave Lauten OBOL moderator On 1/5/2012 9:24 AM, Cindy Ashy wrote: > Scott, > > Has an EIS, not just an EA, been done to access the impact of any of > these wind farms on eagles/birds/bats? > > What "conservation groups" are you referring to? > > Thank you, > > Cindy Ashy > > --- On *Thu, 1/5/12, Scott Downes //* wrote: > > > From: Scott Downes > Subject: [Tweeters] re: Golden Eagle Killing in Eastern Oregon > To: tweeters at u.washington.edu > Date: Thursday, January 5, 2012, 10:10 AM > > Tweeters, > Rather than getting caught up in the hype of the MSNBC article, > I'd like to direct you to the link below outlining the submission > of the application for the take permit. I do a lot of work with > wind and golden eagles and in fact a coworker of mine-well known > raptor biologist that has done raptor banding at Bonney Butte for > many years- did the golden eagle work on the West Butte project > that is the subject here. If you dig deeper you will find that the > "take permit" is actually applauded by some conservation groups as > to get this "take" permit they have to set up an avian > conservation plan to assure no net loss of eagles, thus in some > ways eagle conservation as a whole will be helped. > http://www.fws.gov/pacific/news/news.cfm?id=2144374933 > If you go to the link and obtain and read the application you will > also see that the site is very low in eagle use relative to many > other areas in Eastern Oregon and Washington. The take application > is not for targeting eagles but rather to work with USFWS in the > event that the project might kill one through a turbine strike. It > is a federal crime to kill an eagle without a take permit and the > developer was seeking assurances (its more of a bank and financial > thing) that by working with the USFWS on a conservation plan and > obtaining a take permit they would be exempted from prosecution > for up to 3 eagle deaths per year. Essentially a take permit is a > formal agreement saying that if the developer agrees to minimize > and mitigate eagle deaths in a way agreeable to the USFWS that the > USFWS would give some assurances to the developer that they would > not be prosecuted if an eagle death accidentally happens. There is > almost no project in eastern Washington or Oregon where the chance > of an eagle death is zero as even in non-breeding areas birds do > migrate through the area. > I have no problem with people believing that even one death to > eagles by any human cause isn't ok, that's what comments to the > proposal are for under the link above. However, can we please not > react to stories from mainstream media that certainly don't > produce all of the facts. > Thanks. > Scott Downes > downess at charter.net > Yakima WA > > -----Inline Attachment Follows----- > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters at u.washington.edu > http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From johndeshler at yahoo.com Thu Jan 5 14:16:41 2012 From: johndeshler at yahoo.com (John Deshler) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 12:16:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Mt Tabor Evening Grosbeaks today Message-ID: <376C01FF-F0E3-4952-9B60-2D48CA33E956@yahoo.com> I heard then saw a flock of EVENING GROSBEAKS on top of Tabor today. Don't know if these have been reported or how common winter sightings have become. I do remember finding a flock in SE PDX in Dec 2010. John Deshler Portland From mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Thu Jan 5 14:26:27 2012 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 12:26:27 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Hawk ID help In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1325795187.15065.YahooMailNeo@web39702.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Brandon and Larry, ???? I must agree with Larry that getting to see more of the bird would be diagnostic. However, I don't see this bird as a Swainson's----I think it more likely to be a dark redtailed hawk, or a dark rough-legged hawk---even a harlans. So my answer is: I really can't tell for sure (and Larry could be correct also!). Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi.south of Burns) ________________________________ From: Larry McQueen To: bmwboarder Cc: oregon birding online ; Midvalley Birding Sent: Thursday, January 5, 2012 9:58 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Hawk ID help Brandon, I would have to see more of the bird to be sure, but it could be a dark Swainson's, with the small bill and white forehead. ?In other plumages, Swainson's does have white on the face around the base of the bill. ?It's very unusual to find a Swainson's in the valley in winter, but not unprecedented. ? Larry On Jan 5, 2012, at 9:44 AM, bmwboarder wrote: Hi everyone, > >I took some pictures of an unusual looking hawk just south of Monmouth while out on a bike ride.? Any thoughts on what kind of hawk it is? Sorry, not great pictures, but hopefully somebody can help with the id. > >http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642084331/ >http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642084073/ >http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642083801/ >http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642083661/ >http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642083503/ > >There was also a Trumpeter Swan and a couple Rough Legged hawks off of DeArmond Rd, west of 99w. > >Brandon >_______________________________________________ >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 mntsprg at wizzards.net Thu Jan 5 14:49:17 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 12:49:17 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] new flock Message-ID: <01725AD3DB724664A7C5D3F519FE7D48@MitherPC> I don?t know if this means much..but they are birds! We have not had a significant number of house or purple finch or pine siskin for a year however this morning I had some 20 PAIRS of purple finches at my feeders very very deep in color....one orange, I?ll post a photo later today Laura -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ewolf97 at gmail.com Thu Jan 5 15:17:43 2012 From: ewolf97 at gmail.com (Elise Wolf) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 13:17:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] take of eagles Message-ID: This is partially correct. Takings permits require the takee to develop mitigation plans for reducing kill or injury. The key word here is PLAN. Yes, the plan does have to approved by the agency, but as we can see from many other "mitigation" plans (oil industry is an excellent example) the plans do not have to be effective or work, particularly when the development being undertaken does not have sufficient conservation plan history to support the mitigation plan. They simply need to show an effort toward some kind of mitigation. This is how completely ludicrous plans come into being - like the plan to mitigate whales killed in arctic oil development which have "observers" looking for whales off boats and planes, when weather, high waves, fog, poor skill sets and other myriad issues prevent clear observation from occurring on a regular basis...who knows really how many whales are killed..... Re: Scott Downes Essentially a take permit is a formal agreement saying that if the developer *agrees to minimize and mitigate eagle deaths* in a way agreeable to the USFWS that the USFWS would give some assurances to the developer that they would not be prosecuted if an eagle death accidentally happens. There is almost no project in eastern Washington or Oregon where the chance of an eagle death is zero as even in non-breeding areas birds do migrate through the area. Elise Wolf Sisters, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From romain at frontiernet.net Thu Jan 5 15:17:35 2012 From: romain at frontiernet.net (Romain Cooper) Date: Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:17:35 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fwd: [RV Birds] Data on deceased Jackson County Snowy Owl Message-ID: Hello OBOLers, I'm forwarding this from the Rogue Valley local bird listserve. Figure it's newsworthy as (though the owl is diseased) this record represents the furthest south Snowy Owl of this season's irruption and the only Snowy in the Rogue Valley so far (we are on the alert down here) in the Rogue Valley. best, RC >Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 09:28:23 -0800 (PST) Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 09:28:23 -0800 (PST) >Subject: [RV Birds] Data on deceased Jackson County Snowy Owl >From: Pepper >To: Rogue Valley Birds > >As was posted here on December 12 by Romain Cooper, a feeble Snowy Owl >was recovered in Jackson County on December 10, and taken to Wildlife >Images. The bird was extremely emaciated, and died that evening. The >carcass is now at the Forensics Lab in Ashland, where it will be >prepared as a specimen and donated to the SOU collection. Thanks to >Wildlife Images for donating this important Jackson County specimen. > >Here is the information concerning this record. The bird was >recovered from a ranch field on the outskirts of Eagle Point in the >late afternoon of December 10, 2010. The bird was not responsive when >approached and picked up. It died within two hours, and was >determined to be very emaciated and dehydrated. > >Based on plumage and measurements, this bird is a hatching-year male. >The gender will be confirmed anatomically when the specimen is >prepared. > >I don't have the 2009 edition of the Jackson County checklist at hand, >but I believe this is the third or fourth record of Snowy Owl for >Jackson County. > >-- >To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >rv-birds+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com Romain Cooper 10398 Takilma Road Cave Junction, OR 97523 541-592-2311 From tunicate89 at yahoo.com Thu Jan 5 15:21:02 2012 From: tunicate89 at yahoo.com (Cindy Ashy) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 13:21:02 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] [Tweeters] re: Golden Eagle Killing in Eastern Oregon Message-ID: <1325798462.49093.YahooMailClassic@web39302.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Actually, if you follow the link, you will see that a draft EA (environmental assessment) has been written, not an EIS (environmental impact statement). There is a world of difference between the two which is why I asked whether or not an EIS has been done for any of the wind farms. The article does mention 2 conservation groups, although the actual involvement is unclear, and I am still curious to know which conservation groups may actually be actively involved. Thank you, Cindy Ashy --- On Thu, 1/5/12, DJ Lauten and KACastelein wrote: From: DJ Lauten and KACastelein Subject: Re: [OBOL] [Tweeters] re: Golden Eagle Killing in Eastern Oregon To: obol at oregonbirds.org Date: Thursday, January 5, 2012, 1:40 PM Folks, Read the article and pertinent info that Scott Downes posted, and you will see that USFWS has written an EIS and it is open for comment.?? If you have a comment, please go to the appropriate link and make your comment heard, USFWS wants to hear from you.?? The article also includes the names of the "conservation groups" that are involved with the project.?? They are, in fact, conservation groups. While this topic is perfectly fine for OBOL, please refrain from getting into any nasty arguments and please be courteous.? Thanks Dave Lauten OBOL moderator On 1/5/2012 9:24 AM, Cindy Ashy wrote: Scott, Has an EIS, not just an EA, been done to access the impact of any of these wind farms on eagles/birds/bats? What "conservation groups" are you referring to? Thank you, Cindy Ashy --- On Thu, 1/5/12, Scott Downes wrote: From: Scott Downes Subject: [Tweeters] re: Golden Eagle Killing in Eastern Oregon To: tweeters at u.washington.edu Date: Thursday, January 5, 2012, 10:10 AM Tweeters, Rather than getting caught up in the hype of the MSNBC article, I'd like to direct you to the link below outlining the submission of the application for the take permit. I do a lot of work with wind and golden eagles and in fact a coworker of mine-well known raptor biologist that has done raptor banding at Bonney Butte for many years- did the golden eagle work on the West Butte project that is the subject here. If you dig deeper you will find that the "take permit" is actually applauded by some conservation groups as to get this "take" permit they have to set up an avian conservation plan to assure no net loss of eagles, thus in some ways eagle conservation as a whole will be helped. ? http://www.fws.gov/pacific/news/news.cfm?id=2144374933 ? If you go to the link and obtain and read the application you will also see that the site is very low in eagle use relative to many other areas in Eastern Oregon and Washington. The take application is not for targeting eagles but rather to work with USFWS in the event that the project might kill one through a turbine strike. It is a federal crime to kill an eagle without a take permit and the developer was seeking assurances (its more of a bank and financial thing) that by working with the USFWS on a conservation plan and obtaining a take permit they would be exempted from prosecution for up to 3 eagle deaths per year. Essentially a take permit is a formal agreement saying that if the developer agrees to minimize and mitigate eagle deaths in a way agreeable to the USFWS that the USFWS would give some assurances to the developer that they would not be prosecuted if an eagle death accidentally happens. There is almost no project in eastern Washington or Oregon where the chance of an eagle death is zero as even in non-breeding areas birds do migrate through the area. ? I have no problem with people believing that even one death to eagles by any human cause isn't ok, that's what comments to the proposal are for under the link above. However, can we please not react to stories from mainstream media that certainly don't produce all of the facts. ? Thanks. ? Scott Downes downess at charter.net Yakima WA -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters at u.washington.edu http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From deweysage at frontier.com Thu Jan 5 17:18:36 2012 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:18:36 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [Tweeters] re: Golden Eagle Killing in Eastern Oregon In-Reply-To: <1325798462.49093.YahooMailClassic@web39302.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <1325798462.49093.YahooMailClassic@web39302.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4F062FCC.1020501@frontier.com> On 1/5/2012 1:21 PM, Cindy Ashy wrote: > Actually, if you follow the link, you will see that a draft EA (environmental assessment) has been written, not an EIS (environmental impact statement). There is a world of difference between the two which is why I asked whether or not an EIS has been done for any of the wind farms. Yes, you are correct, the article says a DEA. If you go to the DEA, an EIS was completed by BLM. That EIS however does not have anything to do with the eagle issue. Again, I recommend commenting to USFWS, they want to hear from you. > > The article does mention 2 conservation groups, although the actual involvement is unclear, and I am still curious to know which conservation groups may actually be actively involved. When you say "actively involved", what do you mean? Conservation groups cannot be actively involved in a DEA or EIS to my knowledge, if the matter is not pertaining to something they are doing (other than making comments and recommendations). Your original question was "What "conservation groups" are you referring to?". Those conservation groups are mentioned by name in the article, and they appear to be supporting the process. Whether they support the outcome is another story, but they seem, from the article, to be positive about the process. Cheers Dave Lauten > > Thank you, > > Cindy Ashy > > --- On Thu, 1/5/12, DJ Lauten and KACastelein wrote: > > From: DJ Lauten and KACastelein > Subject: Re: [OBOL] [Tweeters] re: Golden Eagle Killing in Eastern Oregon > To: obol at oregonbirds.org > Date: Thursday, January 5, 2012, 1:40 PM > > > > > > > > Folks, > > > > Read the article and pertinent info that Scott Downes posted, and > you will see that USFWS has written an EIS and it is open for > comment. If you have a comment, please go to the appropriate link > and make your comment heard, USFWS wants to hear from you. The > article also includes the names of the "conservation groups" that > are involved with the project. They are, in fact, conservation > groups. > > > > While this topic is perfectly fine for OBOL, please refrain from > getting into any nasty arguments and please be courteous. > > > > Thanks > > > > Dave Lauten > > OBOL moderator > > > > > > From celata at pacifier.com Thu Jan 5 18:23:47 2012 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:23:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] On walkabout - 1/5/2012 Message-ID: <4F063F13.5060608@pacifier.com> The NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was at the usual spot on 2nd and Exchange today. I saw a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW there on Tuesday, but did not relocate it today. No sign of the mystery warbler (gray and white with black on the breast) reported to me Tuesday. I found a CLARK'S GREBE at the West Mooring Basin while on walkabout. Photos and links at: http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/ -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 From mntsprg at wizzards.net Thu Jan 5 18:47:32 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 16:47:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] new flock images In-Reply-To: <1325797242.3637.YahooMailNeo@web45312.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <01725AD3DB724664A7C5D3F519FE7D48@MitherPC> <1325797242.3637.YahooMailNeo@web45312.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <47D8DBC15F26414AAC62BD96DA406731@MitherPC> https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2977885446191.2155360.1233522376&type=1&l=ab61457d82 the latest three image include the yellow/orange finch, and the red finch that , to me, .looks like a purple finch...please correct me if I am wrong..20 pairs of this showed up today! From: Tim Rodenkirk Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2012 1:00 PM To: Laura Mountainspring Subject: Re: [] new flock Laura, I suspect your finches are House Finches, Purples are not very common this time of year and usually only seen in the twos and threes versus House Finches which are abundant and I which I see in large flocks year round. My guess anyhow without seeing a photo... Have a good one, Tim Rodenkirk Coos Bay -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marciafcutler at comcast.net Thu Jan 5 18:59:45 2012 From: marciafcutler at comcast.net (Marcia F. Cutler) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 16:59:45 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] new flock images In-Reply-To: <47D8DBC15F26414AAC62BD96DA406731@MitherPC> References: <01725AD3DB724664A7C5D3F519FE7D48@MitherPC> <1325797242.3637.YahooMailNeo@web45312.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> <47D8DBC15F26414AAC62BD96DA406731@MitherPC> Message-ID: <01418BA3-10D6-43C5-8244-FBB7043C4B16@comcast.net> The first 3 finches are Purple Finches. The yellowish one is quite interesting - I've never seen one with yellow and red plumage before. The 4th finch is a House Finch - note the gray/brown through the eyes and auriculars with no trace of color. The heavy brown striping on the breast is also indicative of House Finches. It is not uncommon to have mixed flocks of the 2 finches. In fact that's what helped me learn to distinguish between them! Marcia F. Cutler On Jan 5, 2012, at 4:47 PM, Laura Mountainspring wrote: > https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2977885446191.2155360.1233522376&type=1&l=ab61457d82 > > the latest three image include the yellow/orange finch, and the red finch that , to me, .looks like a purple finch...please correct me if I am wrong..20 pairs of this showed up today! > > From: Tim Rodenkirk > Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2012 1:00 PM > To: Laura Mountainspring > Subject: Re: [] new flock > > Laura, > > I suspect your finches are House Finches, Purples are not very common this time of year and usually only seen in the twos and threes versus House Finches which are abundant and I which I see in large flocks year round. My guess anyhow without seeing a photo... > > Have a good one, > Tim Rodenkirk > 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 dicka at ashlandhome.net Thu Jan 5 19:47:03 2012 From: dicka at ashlandhome.net (Dick Ashford) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 17:47:03 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Hawk ID help In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5C8C860ACF7F46328846E66561FE0332@Dick> I agree that getting better looks in the field would be necessary for a final ID. That said, the images presented look just like the dark morph Rough-legged Hawks we see every year in the Klamath Basin. The white forehead is especially common on dark morph roughies (rare on dark morph Swainson's, more common on light morphs), the "posture" looks right, and a Rough-legged Hawk would be more expected. Cheers, Dick Message: 10 Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 12:26:27 -0800 (PST) From: Richard and Marilyn Musser To: Larry McQueen , bmwboarder Cc: oregon birding online , Midvalley Birding Subject: Re: [OBOL] Hawk ID help Message-ID: <1325795187.15065.YahooMailNeo at web39702.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Hi Brandon and Larry, ???? I must agree with Larry that getting to see more of the bird would be diagnostic. However, I don't see this bird as a Swainson's----I think it more likely to be a dark redtailed hawk, or a dark rough-legged hawk---even a harlans. So my answer is: I really can't tell for sure (and Larry could be correct also!). Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi.south of Burns) From stephaniehazen17 at q.com Fri Jan 6 19:52:16 2012 From: stephaniehazen17 at q.com (stephanie hazen) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 17:52:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] gulls Message-ID: <6BF498BECDE040A9B4BC7684908549D4@HazenDM4> Lars, Thanks for the glaucous gull ID. We continued down from Albany to the eagle roost on the corner of Seward and McGlagan near Tangent. On one of the country roads, the gulls filled the air. They were numerous and swarming like giant flocks of starlings in the fall. It was not til we found where they were coming down did we know they were gulls. The attached photo does not show a tenth of the gulls coming down on those fields for the night. Ray and I commented and wondered if there were indeed any more gulls left out in the ocean so many were in that farm field. Now that you say a glaucous gull is unusual for Linn County, I wonder if there was a storm that brought them in, or a lack of food. There certainly were lots of gulls at the park in Albany as well. Stephanie Hazen RAy Temple -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From stephaniehazen17 at q.com Fri Jan 6 19:57:50 2012 From: stephaniehazen17 at q.com (stephanie hazen) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 17:57:50 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fw: gulls Message-ID: oops, forgot the link, here it is! https://picasaweb.google.com/StephandFlydog/Gulls?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJb-0pDYlr-5kAE&feat=directlink From: stephanie hazen Sent: Friday, January 06, 2012 5:52 PM To: gnorgren at earthlink.net ; Oregon Birders Online Subject: gulls Lars, Thanks for the glaucous gull ID. We continued down from Albany to the eagle roost on the corner of Seward and McGlagan near Tangent. On one of the country roads, the gulls filled the air. They were numerous and swarming like giant flocks of starlings in the fall. It was not til we found where they were coming down did we know they were gulls. The attached photo does not show a tenth of the gulls coming down on those fields for the night. Ray and I commented and wondered if there were indeed any more gulls left out in the ocean so many were in that farm field. Now that you say a glaucous gull is unusual for Linn County, I wonder if there was a storm that brought them in, or a lack of food. There certainly were lots of gulls at the park in Albany as well. Stephanie Hazen RAy Temple -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shawnashbaugh at gmail.com Thu Jan 5 21:36:07 2012 From: shawnashbaugh at gmail.com (Shawn Ashbaugh) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 21:36:07 -0600 Subject: [OBOL] Hawk ID help In-Reply-To: <5C8C860ACF7F46328846E66561FE0332@Dick> References: <5C8C860ACF7F46328846E66561FE0332@Dick> Message-ID: Hey all, My name is Shawn Ashbaugh. My wife and I will be moving our family to Portland in a couple weeks. I have only been to Oregon once - recently for our house-hunting trip. So, I know nothing about Oregon distribution. But, I've seen my fair share of Rough-legged Hawk, having grown up in Iowa, where they are fairly common in the winter. With that said, I vote for dark morph Rough-legged. Of course, additional photographs or field observation would be ideal, but I think the tiny beak size, striking white forehead and lores give this bird's ID away. Look how the white lores in the photos have a definite beginning and end between the beak and eyes. To my eye, it just looks like a Rough-legged. To me, Harlan's Hawk appear to have a shabby appearance, and when they do have whitish foreheads or lores, they do not have the clean white patches visible in Brandon's photos. Instead, to me a Harlan's white-ish lores will gradually blend into the dark plumage up and into the eyes. Just my thought. Gorgeous bird! Hope to see y'all out and about. Shawn On Thu, Jan 5, 2012 at 7:47 PM, Dick Ashford wrote: > I agree that getting better looks in the field would be necessary for a > final ID. That said, the images presented look just like the dark morph > Rough-legged Hawks we see every year in the Klamath Basin. The white > forehead is especially common on dark morph roughies (rare on dark morph > Swainson's, more common on light morphs), the "posture" looks right, and a > Rough-legged Hawk would be more expected. > > Cheers, > Dick > > > Message: 10 > Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 12:26:27 -0800 (PST) > From: Richard and Marilyn Musser > To: Larry McQueen , bmwboarder > > Cc: oregon birding online , Midvalley Birding > > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Hawk ID help > Message-ID: > <1325795187.15065.YahooMailNeo at web39702.mail.mud.yahoo.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Hi Brandon and Larry, > ???? I must agree with Larry that getting to see more of the bird would be > diagnostic. However, I don't see this bird as a Swainson's----I think it > more likely to be a dark redtailed hawk, or a dark rough-legged hawk---even > a harlans. So my answer is: I really can't tell for sure (and Larry could > be > correct also!). Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi.south of Burns) > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Thu Jan 5 23:19:53 2012 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 21:19:53 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] dark buteo in Polk County Message-ID: In my experience the area south of Monmouth has an above average concentration of Rough=legged Hawks. I don't know why that would be. Of course my own passive effort is greater there than in much of the Willamette Basin. But Brandon mentions two conventional plumaged Rough-legs on DeArmond Rd. I have had the same experience, seeing two there only a mile apart in roughly the same minute. Lars From stephaniehazen17 at q.com Sat Jan 7 00:00:27 2012 From: stephaniehazen17 at q.com (stephanie hazen) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 22:00:27 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] wigeon thanks! and bald eagle roost photos Message-ID: <25A44C2488924B2F8CB23E51A9CE084B@HazenDM4> Thanks to all who weighed in on the wigeon identification conundrum. Looks like I need to get going with my birdfellows membership and use that resource, too! The attached link is to a photo of the eagle roost near Tangent located on the Calapooia River on the corner of Seward and McGlagan. Yesterday afternoon we counted 17 eagles and more coming in at dusk. On the way home we saw our first 2 lambs in the field. I imagine the numbers of eagles using that roost will again swell as lambing season gets into full swing. Stephanie Hazen Ray Temple https://picasaweb.google.com/StephandFlydog/BaldEagleRoost?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNzj-baE7rH-Xw&feat=directlink -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rick.lumen at gmail.com Fri Jan 6 01:47:01 2012 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 23:47:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Westmoreland Park Canvasback Message-ID: An image of the Westmoreland Park Canvasback along with those I saw at Heron Lakes Golf Course this past Monday; http://nwbirdblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/canvasback.html Rick Wilsonville From stewart at gorge.net Fri Jan 6 10:32:33 2012 From: stewart at gorge.net (Catherine Flick & Stewart Fletcher) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 08:32:33 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Hood River CBC Summary - Jan 1, 2012 Message-ID: <4B3BCDF6F87E47E3969AFADA260B7B14@HAL> Overall, the weather was beautiful for the counters but spread the birds out for the count so "bird numbers" were low. There are always some unusual birds or numbers of birds each year. This year was no different: a.. White-throated sparrow at Parkdale Feeder (photographed below by Bud Lacey) b.. Cedar Waxwings - over 100 seen in one large flock on Cascade St's hawthornes & mtn ashes c.. Common Redpolls - a flock showed up on a grove of birch trees at the south end of the count circle and identified by Roger & Steven Baker d.. Hutton's Vireo - a single silent individual appeared south of Mosier (id by Stuart Johnston) e.. A Cassin's Finch identified by Bing Wong in the central valley CJ Flick, Compiler Hood River CBC -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 54386 bytes Desc: not available URL: From davehelzerian at gmail.com Fri Jan 6 12:34:55 2012 From: davehelzerian at gmail.com (Dave Helzer) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 10:34:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Hawk ID help Message-ID: I would go with Rough-legged Hawk for this dark morph buteo. The head shape and bill size rule out ferruginous hawk and red-tailed hawk (both have bigger heads and stouter bills). The overall shape, posture, and relatively dinky bill all point towards rough-leg over Swainson's. Both Swainson's and Rough-leg can have the light feathering at the base of the bill. The blackish tones in the plumage also support rough-legged (recognizing that this can vary among monitors & lighting conditions in the field). Dark morph rough-legs can be either brown or black, but in good light all the dark morph Swainson's I have seen have a base color tone that is always brown or deep rufous, not black. That all said, its hard to be 100 percent sure based on these photos (great shots, just not completely diagnostic). Dave Helzer Portland, Oregon == Subject: Hawk ID help From: bmwboarder Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 09:44:41 -0800 Hi everyone, I took some pictures of an unusual looking hawk just south of Monmouth while out on a bike ride. Any thoughts on what kind of hawk it is? Sorry, not great pictures, but hopefully somebody can help with the id. http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642084331/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642084073/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642083801/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642083661/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642083503/ There was also a Trumpeter Swan and a couple Rough Legged hawks off of DeArmond Rd, west of 99w. From jeffandlaurettayoung at comcast.net Fri Jan 6 16:08:23 2012 From: jeffandlaurettayoung at comcast.net (Jeff and Lauretta Young) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 14:08:23 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] tundra Swan with blue neck band? Message-ID: a lone Tundra Swan with a very large blue neck band with P 964 ( or maybe P Y64) it's hard to read so far away just landed in "my" wetlands pond behind my house in Bethany wetlands ( near Sunset High school and by Claremont golf course in NW unincorporated Portland but really Washington county) in our 12 years of living here I have never seen a swan land in this pond we have lots of Mallards, Gadwalls a couple of Hooded Mergansers and a few Wood Ducks and many Great Blue Herons but never a swan? and I have never seen one with neck band??. anyone know about this band? From llsdirons at msn.com Fri Jan 6 16:36:38 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 22:36:38 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Clackamas County RBA: SWAMP SPARROW and NORTHERN SHRIKE Message-ID: Greetings All, This morning, Bjorn Hinrichs and I spent nearly two hours birding the Coffee Creek Wetland along Boeckman/Tooze Rd. nw. of Wilsonville. This area is not far from Coffee Lake, where the Bewick's Swan was discovered a couple of weeks ago. Bjorn found both a SWAMP SPARROW and a NORTHERN SHRIKE in the wetland area on the south side of Boeckman Rd. Both were lifers for him and Clackamas County birds for me. To check out some murky photos and a full list of what we found, check out the link below. Coffee Creek Wetland 6 Jan 2012 Dave IronsContent Editor BirdFellow.comPortland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pointers at pacifier.com Fri Jan 6 16:41:36 2012 From: pointers at pacifier.com (Lyn Topinka) Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:41:36 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] tundra Swan with blue neck band? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: hi ... white letters on blue bands are Tundra Swans ... here's Craig Ely's email addy ... he's head (???) of the banding project in Alaska I believe ... anyways, I always email him with the Swan numbers and he sends me back information as to their sex, possible age, and where and when they were banded ... Craig R Ely just send him the number, location and date you saw the Swan, and include any information you might think useful as being alone, general size of the "pond", etc. ... if the bird stays for a number of days include that too ... in November 2011 I had Swan P 961 on Rest Lake at Ridgefield Refuge ... when you get information on P 964 let me know ... I'm just curious whether they were banded together ??? Lyn Vancouver, Washington At 02:08 PM 1/6/2012, Jeff and Lauretta Young wrote: >a lone Tundra Swan with a very large blue neck >band with P 964 ( or maybe P Y64) it's hard to read so far away > >just landed in "my" wetlands pond behind my >house in Bethany wetlands ( near Sunset High >school and by Claremont golf course in NW >unincorporated Portland but really Washington county) > >in our 12 years of living here I have never seen a swan land in this pond > >we have lots of Mallards, Gadwalls a couple of >Hooded Mergansers and a few Wood Ducks and many >Great Blue Herons but never a swan > >and I have never seen one with neck band . > >anyone know about this band? >_______________________________________________ >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 rick.lumen at gmail.com Fri Jan 6 16:47:24 2012 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Rick Leinen) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 14:47:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] tundra Swan with blue neck band? In-Reply-To: <4f0778cb.48a22a0a.6656.ffff8011SMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> References: <4f0778cb.48a22a0a.6656.ffff8011SMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> Message-ID: <908D3F18-EF51-4FE1-9940-017C6D9F8756@gmail.com> I wasn't aware of Lyn's contact. That's intriguing. In general you can go to this site; http://www.reportband.gov/. I've reported here a few times. They will email you a pdf certificate with similar information that Lyn listed. It takes a few weeks for them to respond. Rick Sent from my iPad On Jan 6, 2012, at 2:41 PM, Lyn Topinka wrote: > > hi ... white letters on blue bands are Tundra Swans ... here's Craig Ely's email addy ... he's head (???) of the banding project in Alaska I believe ... anyways, I always email him with the Swan numbers and he sends me back information as to their sex, possible age, and where and when they were banded ... > > Craig R Ely > > just send him the number, location and date you saw the Swan, and include any information you might think useful as being alone, general size of the "pond", etc. ... if the bird stays for a number of days include that too ... > > in November 2011 I had Swan P 961 on Rest Lake at Ridgefield Refuge ... when you get information on P 964 let me know ... I'm just curious whether they were banded together ??? > > Lyn > Vancouver, Washington > > > > > At 02:08 PM 1/6/2012, Jeff and Lauretta Young wrote: >> a lone Tundra Swan with a very large blue neck band with P 964 ( or maybe P Y64) it's hard to read so far away >> >> just landed in "my" wetlands pond behind my house in Bethany wetlands ( near Sunset High school and by Claremont golf course in NW unincorporated Portland but really Washington county) >> >> in our 12 years of living here I have never seen a swan land in this pond >> >> we have lots of Mallards, Gadwalls a couple of Hooded Mergansers and a few Wood Ducks and many Great Blue Herons but never a swan? >> >> and I have never seen one with neck band??. >> >> anyone know about this band? >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From pointers at pacifier.com Fri Jan 6 16:51:57 2012 From: pointers at pacifier.com (Lyn Topinka) Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:51:57 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] tundra Swan with blue neck band? In-Reply-To: <908D3F18-EF51-4FE1-9940-017C6D9F8756@gmail.com> References: <4f0778cb.48a22a0a.6656.ffff8011SMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <908D3F18-EF51-4FE1-9940-017C6D9F8756@gmail.com> Message-ID: hum ... I wonder why I ended up using Craig ??? ... looks like the "reportband.gov" site covers it all ... Lyn At 02:47 PM 1/6/2012, Rick Leinen wrote: >I wasn't aware of Lyn's contact. That's intriguing. > >In general you can go to this site; >http://www.reportband.gov/. I've reported here >a few times. They will email you a pdf >certificate with similar information that Lyn >listed. It takes a few weeks for them to respond. > >Rick > >Sent from my iPad > >On Jan 6, 2012, at 2:41 PM, Lyn Topinka wrote: > > > > > hi ... white letters on blue bands are Tundra > Swans ... here's Craig Ely's email addy ... > he's head (???) of the banding project in > Alaska I believe .. anyways, I always email him > with the Swan numbers and he sends me back > information as to their sex, possible age, and > where and when they were banded ... > > > > Craig R Ely > > > > just send him the number, location and date > you saw the Swan, and include any > information you might think useful as being > alone, general size of the "pond", etc. ... if > the bird stays for a number of days include that too ... > > > > in November 2011 I had Swan P 961 on Rest > Lake at Ridgefield Refuge ... when you get > information on P 964 let me know ... I'm just > curious whether they were banded together ??? > > > > Lyn > > Vancouver, Washington > > > > > > > > > > At 02:08 PM 1/6/2012, Jeff and Lauretta Young wrote: > >> a lone Tundra Swan with a very large blue > neck band with P 964 ( or maybe P Y64) it's hard to read so far away > >> > >> just landed in "my" wetlands pond behind my > house in Bethany wetlands ( near Sunset High > school and by Claremont golf course in NW > unincorporated Portland but really Washington county) > >> > >> in our 12 years of living here I have never seen a swan land in this pond > >> > >> we have lots of Mallards, Gadwalls a couple > of Hooded Mergansers and a few Wood Ducks and > many Great Blue Herons but never a swan > >> > >> and I have never seen one with neck band . >. > >> > >> anyone know about this band? > >> _______________________________________________ > >> 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 > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 khanhbatran at hotmail.com Fri Jan 6 17:06:56 2012 From: khanhbatran at hotmail.com (khanh tran) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 23:06:56 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Upclose and personal with Bohemian Waxwings (Updated Video) Message-ID: Beautiful, wintering visitors from the North! It is tough to beat their sleek, immaculate plumage. Was lucky to get very close to a cooperative flock of 200 birds! You can hear the low, buzz notes and see the details of the wings. Please watch in High Definition to do the birds justice. Click on the 360p and choose 720p or 1080p!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lssJJ4uxJs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOCfSpY-ih8 Happy New Year and Good Birding from www.ktbirding.com Khanh Tran (Portland, Oregon) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Fri Jan 6 17:10:17 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 23:10:17 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Clackamas County RBA: SWAMP SPARROW and NORTHERN SHRIKE In-Reply-To: References: , Message-ID: Rick Leinen posed this question privately in response to my earlier post about the Coffee Creek Wetlands. We birded along the paved bike path on the south side of Boeckman Road. As he notes, this property is entirely fenced off and not accessible to the public, which in my opinion is a good thing. Opening it up to the public would open it up to everyone, not just birders. Even in the dense fog, I felt like we were able to see most of what was there from the bikepath. Dave Irons Subject: Re: [OBOL] Clackamas County RBA: SWAMP SPARROW and NORTHERN SHRIKE From: rick.lumen at gmail.com Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 15:00:16 -0800 To: llsdirons at msn.com Hi Dave, I'm curious as to what land you accessed. As I recall, most of that land is fenced off although I stopped at a gate once and found it unlocked. I contacted a Wilsonville employee whose name appeared on many documents I found on line concerning the planning of the wetlands to determine accessibility. He referred my to another person I can't recall at the moment, but never got a response. I've not ventured into the grasslands as I am not sure if it is open to the public. Sure would be nice if it were as it is only a couple miles from house. You found some nice birds there! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Fri Jan 6 17:32:45 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 15:32:45 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos orioles, vultures, etc. 1/6/2012 Message-ID: <1325892765.72926.YahooMailNeo@web45308.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I just received an e-mail from Rick Foster who lives in Myrtle Point (SE of Coquille in the banana belt area of Coos County). ?He has had what appears to be a male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE coming to his feeder the past couple days (he sent photos). ?This would be the 7th winter record of this species in Coos County. My wife Holly was working in the garden today (it's nice out there) and saw a TURKEY VULTURE overhead, she said she had great looks at it. ?The previous "latest" date for this species in Coos is 1 January and the earliest arrival is something like 27 January, so this falls somewhere in between. We did have 4 on the Coos Bay CBC over in the eastside pastures, maybe this species will become a regular wintering species in the next 10 or 20 years here? The adult HARRIS'S SPARROW is still present in Bandon and was found coming to a feeder there on count day for the Coquille Valley CBC (12/31)- the 2nd winter this bird has appeared at the same feeders. What a crazy dry winter (so far)! Merry New Bird, Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kevinsmithnaturephotos at gmail.com Fri Jan 6 17:51:13 2012 From: kevinsmithnaturephotos at gmail.com (Kevin Smith) Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:51:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Culver Raptor Route Message-ID: <4F0788F1.3000301@gmail.com> I took two people from my CRR Birders' Group today to do the Culver Raptor Route. COLD! 24* Slight breeze. Cloudy. 56 birds on LaSalle (2.3 miles) 75 Red-tailed Hawks (51 on LaSalle alone!) 15 Kestrels 1 Golden Eagle (adult) 3 Rough-legged Hawks 4 Great Horned Owls (one deceased) 1 Ferruginous Hawk 99 Total Birds A great time was had by all! Kevin -- 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 mntsprg at wizzards.net Fri Jan 6 18:25:30 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 16:25:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] who are these guys? Message-ID: <3561427E40274AFFA4D53D3D94D6A86F@MitherPC> ok visited the duck pond by Fred Meyers Roseburg today... 2 great Egret at least 5 pair American Wigeon and I have posted a few I am not sure of ID https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2977885446191.2155360.1233522376&type=1&l=ab61457d82 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mntsprg at wizzards.net Fri Jan 6 18:55:58 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 16:55:58 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] seems last link wasnt working.. Message-ID: From: Laura Mountainspring Sent: Friday, January 06, 2012 4:25 PM To: OBOL Subject: [] who are these guys? ok visited the duck pond by Fred Meyers Roseburg today... 2 great Egret at least 5 pair American Wigeon looks like one was the wigeon female...but not sure???? and I have posted a few I am not sure of ID https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2977885446191.2155360.1233522376&type=1&l=ab61457d82 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From celata at pacifier.com Fri Jan 6 19:16:32 2012 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:16:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Rhino Wreck Message-ID: <4F079CF0.6000407@pacifier.com> I found quite a few RHINOCEROS AUKLETS on my beach walk this morning. All very fresh. Bill depth suggests after-second- year or older... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/ -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 From hadada at centurytel.net Fri Jan 6 19:22:26 2012 From: hadada at centurytel.net (ron and Polly Maertz) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 17:22:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] person info Message-ID: <6C73E4C01CA14B8DB70A378BF5E11EC5@RonPC> Hi Does any know the email address for Dave Clark? I think he is a birder from Eugene area. Thanks Ron Maertz From alderspr at peak.org Fri Jan 6 19:31:25 2012 From: alderspr at peak.org (Karan Fairchild) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 17:31:25 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fw: Winter bird banding opportunties? Message-ID: <968240451BB84F2B94FDF2A73645156C@alderspring> Hope this is appropriate to send on. Karan Fairchild ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wallace, Zach" To: Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 3:53 PM Subject: Winter bird banding opportunties? Hello, My name is Zach Wallace. I am a graduate student at OSU, working on Ferruginous Hawks and Golden Eagles in Wyoming. I am interested in opportunities to gain experience banding passerines, and am wondering if you know of any winter banding efforts in the area? I have captured and tagged raptors, large cats, and bears, but have limited experience banding passerines. Please feel free to pass my information on to anyone who might know of volunteer banding opportunities in the general area between now and April 1. Thanks! Zach From john.wahlund at gmail.com Fri Jan 6 19:40:34 2012 From: john.wahlund at gmail.com (john wahlund) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 17:40:34 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eugene Peregrine Message-ID: This afternoon I got excellent looks (despite the poor light) at a perched Peregrine Falcon, sitting high on a snag along the east bank bike path 100 yds north of the Valley River footbridge. He preened a bit. Watched him for 15 minutes or so from the path and from the bridge before he flew to take a swipe at a Bald Eagle who was working the other side of the river, then disappeared. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jfgatchet at gmail.com Fri Jan 6 20:32:44 2012 From: jfgatchet at gmail.com (John Gatchet) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 18:32:44 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Golden Eagle, possible Snow Bunting Message-ID: A friend from California and I birded yesterday mostly in Columbia County and had 90 species for the day. The best bird was a Golden Eagle along Honeyman Road in Scappoose Bottoms. We had a fast flying bird that went from the field and flew under the observation platform along Reeder Road just after you enter Columbia County. It looked like a Snow Bunting, but we could not find it under the platform or in anywhere in the area. John F. Gatchet Gresham, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Fri Jan 6 20:41:45 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 02:41:45 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Golden Eagle, possible Snow Bunting In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: The possible "Snow Bunting" that you saw was likely the leucistic House Sparrow that has been about that area for many weeks now. Dave Irons Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 18:32:44 -0800 From: jfgatchet at gmail.com To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Golden Eagle, possible Snow Bunting A friend from California and I birded yesterday mostly in Columbia County and had 90 species for the day. The best bird was a Golden Eagle along Honeyman Road in Scappoose Bottoms. We had a fast flying bird that went from the field and flew under the observation platform along Reeder Road just after you enter Columbia County. It looked like a Snow Bunting, but we could not find it under the platform or in anywhere in the area. John F. GatchetGresham, 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 jfgatchet at gmail.com Fri Jan 6 20:45:34 2012 From: jfgatchet at gmail.com (John Gatchet) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 18:45:34 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] 35 Evening Grosbeak and other feeder birds Message-ID: A group of 35 EVENING GROSBEAK showed up at my feeders today. It took 3 to 4 minutes to get an accurate count as they were actively flying about and feeding. I have been hosting 150-180 PINE SISKIN at my feeders. MOURNING DOVE numbers have been exceptional with a high count of 58 birds at feeders and on the ground this week. John F. Gatchet Gresham, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From prigge1 at comcast.net Fri Jan 6 20:54:09 2012 From: prigge1 at comcast.net (Al Prigge) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 18:54:09 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Prairie Falcon, Ridgeway Rd, near Pleasant Hill, Lane County Message-ID: Seen this pm by Bill Hunter and Al Prigge. The Prairie Falcon was sitting atop a utility pole near Milepost 2, several hundred feet east of the Buford Park parking lot. AAP -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Fri Jan 6 20:59:02 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 02:59:02 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Antarctic Tour blog series back up and running Message-ID: For those interested in following along with Jim Danzenbaker and Ann Nightingale as they make their way to Antarctica, the BirdFellow.com blog series they are providing is flowing again. They ran into some initial issues trying to send us e-mails, but that has been resolved. The hopper is full. We've posted an entry from 31 December today and barring other difficulties we will release a new daily account each day through the end of the trip. Check it out at: The BirdFellow Journal Dave IronsContent Editor BirdFellow.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tjanzen at comcast.net Fri Jan 6 21:33:42 2012 From: tjanzen at comcast.net (Tim Janzen) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 19:33:42 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Clackamas County RBA: SWAMP SPARROW and NORTHERN SHRIKE In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <00c001cccced$27b1f030$7715d090$@net> Dear Dave, The Swamp Sparrow is a particularly good bird for Clackamas County. I know of only one other Swamp Sparrow record for the county, a bird seen along Rock Creek about 10 miles south of Molalla in Nov 1993. If anyone knows of other Swamp Sparrow records for the county, I would appreciate it if you would let me know. Sincerely, Tim Janzen From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of David Irons Sent: Friday, January 06, 2012 2:37 PM To: OBOL obol Subject: [OBOL] Clackamas County RBA: SWAMP SPARROW and NORTHERN SHRIKE Greetings All, This morning, Bjorn Hinrichs and I spent nearly two hours birding the Coffee Creek Wetland along Boeckman/Tooze Rd. nw. of Wilsonville. This area is not far from Coffee Lake, where the Bewick's Swan was discovered a couple of weeks ago. Bjorn found both a SWAMP SPARROW and a NORTHERN SHRIKE in the wetland area on the south side of Boeckman Rd. Both were lifers for him and Clackamas County birds for me. To check out some murky photos and a full list of what we found, check out the link below. Coffee Creek Wetland 6 Jan 2012 Dave Irons Content Editor BirdFellow.com Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Fri Jan 6 21:32:56 2012 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 19:32:56 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] "OO" Raptor Run Message-ID: <1325907176.45358.YahooMailNeo@web39703.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hello, ???? Today my wife Marilyn and I surveyed the raptors along this 110 mile loop. It was overcast, temps.---26-32F, almost calm. Here's what we saw: 27 red-tails, 4 kestrels, 10 N. Harriers, 5 Bald eagles, 3 golden eagles, 19 rough-legged hawks, 1 prairie falcon, 1 goshawk, 1 great horned owl, 2 short eared owls. This totals 10 species, and 73 individuals. Jeff, details forthcoming. Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bmwboarder at gmail.com Fri Jan 6 22:07:17 2012 From: bmwboarder at gmail.com (bmwboarder) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 20:07:17 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Dark Morph Buteo Message-ID: Hey everyone, Thanks for all the emails and discussion about the dark morph buteo I saw earlier this week. If I had to pick a species, I think I would call it a Swainson's Hawk. A friend loaned me the Peterson Field Guide to Hawks, and it mentions that a dark morph Swainson's hawk: "Body and upperwing coverts are dark brown, rarely jet black, often with small white areas on throat and forehead." - pg 62. It also says a dark-morph Rough-Legged can have a light colored head, but that seems to imply the whole head to me. I also found this pictures online, which seem very similar to the bird I saw (assuming it is an accurate bird id as well): http://www.flickr.com/photos/33812431 at N05/3465362965/ I'm leaning one way, but I want to continue the discussion. Does anyone have pictures of a dark morph Red-Tail or Rough-Legged Hawk that is a dark brown overall with a white forehead? Lesson learned: If it looks suspiciously like a rare bird, wait around for it to fly and get more field marks! If anyone is interested in helping me re-find it, I saw it on the west side of 99w about here: http://local.google.com/maps?saddr=OR-99W+N%2FS+Pacific+Hwy+W&daddr=OR-99W+S%2FS+Pacific+Hwy+W&hl=en&ll=44.721735,-123.212485&spn=0.023998,0.066047&sll=44.726918,-123.220897&sspn=0.023996,0.066047&geocode=FRp1qgIdCcWn-A%3BFT1vqgIdRcan-A&vpsrc=6&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=15&t=h&z=15 Cheers, Brandon Wagner -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wlrisser at gmail.com Fri Jan 6 22:23:47 2012 From: wlrisser at gmail.com (William Risser) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 20:23:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] tip for PDX snow bunting seekers Message-ID: <000001ccccf4$27d6b210$77841630$@com> We were at the fire station parking lot this morning with two other cars of birders. Our friend and passenger Steve Kohl found it on top of the fence in the southeast corner. The other two sets of birders were searching in vain. So, be sure to look at the fence if you can't find the bird on the ground. Jan and Will Risser, Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From withgott at comcast.net Fri Jan 6 22:32:14 2012 From: withgott at comcast.net (Jay Withgott) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 20:32:14 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Coos Bay CBC writeup on ABA Blog Message-ID: I don't think anyone else has mentioned it, so I thought I'd point everyone to Noah Strycker's engaging writeup of this year's Coos Bay CBC compilation dinner and record-setting count, published for national -- nay, international -- consumption online at the ABA Blog. See: http://blog.aba.org/ and scroll downward for a few entries until coming to "A Christmas Count Story". I was at this compilation and can vouch for the accuracy of all details (except for the excellence of Anne Heyerly's rum cake, which was completely consumed before I could get my hands on a piece). Jay Withgott Portland From Oropendolas at aol.com Fri Jan 6 22:50:54 2012 From: Oropendolas at aol.com (Oropendolas at aol.com) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 23:50:54 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] Southern Willamette Valley Birds Message-ID: <3858c.19dfaf9a.3c39292e@aol.com> Hello All, I biked to South Eugene this morning and easily found Thomas Meinzen's RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER tending well's in the Safeway parking lot pines. My first SHARP-SHINNED HAWK of the year exploded a flock of bushtits and Chickadees along the South Bank bike path. North of the Eugene Airport, a PRAIRIE FALCON was perched on a pole along Hollis Road and two ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS were in the field west of there. Also seen from Hollis Road was a single SNOW / ROSS'S GOOSE with a fly-over flock of 50 CACKLERS. An hour long search finally turned up Sally Hill's Purkerson Road SAY'S PHOEBE at the house with the compost bin north of Meadowview. Dave Brown's Alvadore NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was easily seen in it's grape-covered Holly west of the nursery. Two WHITE PELICANS, 60 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, several thousand DUNLIN and nearly as many NORTHERN PINTAIL were seen at Fern Ridge this afternoon from Orchard Point. Happy New Year Birds and Thanks for all the good chaseables everyone! John Sullivan Springfield, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tc at empnet.com Sat Jan 7 00:30:14 2012 From: tc at empnet.com (Tom Crabtree) Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 22:30:14 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Dark Morph Buteo References: Message-ID: <1B1FE4CA07014BEC8FA98F51492AD6EC@102889> Brandon, A Swainson's Hawk is very, very rare in the northwest in winter. Most should be down in Argentina. A dark phase Rough-leg is far more likely. Tom Crabtree, Bend ----- Original Message ----- From: bmwboarder To: Midvalley Birding ; oregon birding online Sent: Friday, January 06, 2012 8:07 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Dark Morph Buteo Hey everyone, Thanks for all the emails and discussion about the dark morph buteo I saw earlier this week. If I had to pick a species, I think I would call it a Swainson's Hawk. A friend loaned me the Peterson Field Guide to Hawks, and it mentions that a dark morph Swainson's hawk: "Body and upperwing coverts are dark brown, rarely jet black, often with small white areas on throat and forehead." - pg 62. It also says a dark-morph Rough-Legged can have a light colored head, but that seems to imply the whole head to me. I also found this pictures online, which seem very similar to the bird I saw (assuming it is an accurate bird id as well): http://www.flickr.com/photos/33812431 at N05/3465362965/ I'm leaning one way, but I want to continue the discussion. Does anyone have pictures of a dark morph Red-Tail or Rough-Legged Hawk that is a dark brown overall with a white forehead? Lesson learned: If it looks suspiciously like a rare bird, wait around for it to fly and get more field marks! If anyone is interested in helping me re-find it, I saw it on the west side of 99w about here: http://local.google.com/maps?saddr=OR-99W+N%2FS+Pacific+Hwy+W&daddr=OR-99W+S%2FS+Pacific+Hwy+W&hl=en&ll=44.721735,-123.212485&spn=0.023998,0.066047&sll=44.726918,-123.220897&sspn=0.023996,0.066047&geocode=FRp1qgIdCcWn-A%3BFT1vqgIdRcan-A&vpsrc=6&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=15&t=h&z=15 Cheers, Brandon Wagner ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Sat Jan 7 08:10:07 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 06:10:07 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Curry Burrowing Owls 1/6/2012 Message-ID: <1325945407.96540.YahooMailNeo@web45301.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Jim Heaney reports two BURROWING OWLS on private ranch lands near Floras Lake in Curry. There had been a couple further north on a different ranch in October and November but they had moved once we had a little rain in November (remember the rain?). ?Anyhow, I am pretty sure they are the same two birds. Happy birding, Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Sat Jan 7 08:38:24 2012 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 06:38:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Short-eared Owl Linn County Message-ID: On my return trip from Eugene Friday (1/6) I got off I-5 at Diamond Hill and returned to the freeway at Brownsville. Best bird was a SHORT-EARED OWL sitting in an annual grass seed field just north of the dog leg in Bond Butte Road where it turns west to join Center School Rd.. There were many other brown blobs on the ground, invariably Northern Harriers. A standard male ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was on the powerline poles (double, wooden) at Diamond Hill Prairie. I didn't scope the ground there as rain arrived. Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks were never out of sight along this ten mile detour. Several dozen gulls on the ground north of a long east-west stretch of Belts Road were MEWS, 85% adult. I saw a flock of 100s last Friday (12/30) at the Tangent Road overpass of I-5 that appeared to all be Mews. There were also at least three adult RING-BILLS, a second year CALIFORNIA, a sub-adult G-Wing, and two or three adult THAYER'S. Large numbers (ca 1000) of swans have been in the Halsey area every winter since the early 70s. I saw many yesterday.All within viewable distance were Tundra. I've never heard any reports of Trumpeters from there. But viewer effort is limited. Lars From mrchickadee at gmail.com Sat Jan 7 09:02:50 2012 From: mrchickadee at gmail.com (Miss Jacqui) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 07:02:50 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Feeder Birds - Invasion of the Siskins! Message-ID: Hi all After reading another post stating they have 150+ siskins coming to their feeder, mine feels rather meager, but it is data none the less... Outer SE Portland - was getting only Lesser Goldfinches in groups, then recently one or two Siskins in the bunch, then yesterday - The Siskins took over - I had about 25, w/ 2-3 Lesser Goldfinches - then later the opposite again. I can't image feeding 150 of these guys on going - they are going through a full, 18" sock of food a day already - I'm having to ration the food - but I'm not complaining - ...... Now where are those Grosbeaks my Gresham neighbors are reporting??? BesT! Jacqui -- Jacqui Parker Portland, OREGON ........... I just Love it when you talk Birdie to me?(^o^)? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tlove at linfield.edu Sat Jan 7 09:03:58 2012 From: tlove at linfield.edu (Thomas Love) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 15:03:58 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] World Bird Cup finals In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Fun little game ? voting for the most enigmatic bird in the world. The final is down to Philippine Eagle vs. Peru?s Marvelous Spatuletail. Here?s your chance to make a huge difference (!?). Click on the link below and vote. There?s also a close race between Spoon-billed Sandpiper and Harpy Eagle for 3rd and 4th places. Please forward. While I will respect your vote and have absolutely nothing against the Philippine Eagle, let?s stuff the ballot box for Marvelous Spatuletail!. Of course one could argue that Phillipine Eagle is more endangered and therefore worthy of votes. While the Spatuletail is highly range restricted and utterly charming, it does not appear to be endangered. Tom ------ Forwarded Message From: Gunnar Engblom Reply-To: Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 02:21:25 -0500 To: avelin , Incaspiza Subject: [INCASPIZA] Final!!!! Copa del Mundo de las Aves. Peru esta en el final!!! Colibri Maravillosa de Cola espatula contra Aquila Filipina. Pero est? perdiendo. Votar aqui hasta Sabado media noche. Falta como 22 horas. http://birdingblogs.com/2012/Gunnar/world-bird-cup-final Saludos Gunnar Engblom Tour operator, Birdguide Lima, Peru Tel:+51 1 988555938 PERU KolibriExpeditions.com Contact me: kolibriexp kolibrixx kolibriexp A Birding Blog from Peru Best bird of the world BirdingBlogs Blue -river- Jewel of the South Update: Marvelous Spatuletail or Philippine Eagle in Bird World Cup Final. ... Like ? Comment ? Share Get this email app! Latest Tweet: BirdFellow: All Aboard and Bon Voyage http://t.co/md21poVT Follow @kolibrix Reply Retweet 23:34 Jan-06 Want a signature like mine? Click here. __._,_.___ Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity: Visit Your Group Por favor no mande archivos adjuntos - estos no pueden ser vistos por los usuarios. Por favor suba archivos a la pagina web http://www.birding-peru.com/forums/incaspiza/ donde INCASPIZA tiene un espacio para fotos, archivos, etc MARKETPLACE Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now. if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d['NvzvK0PDhFg-']='&U=13cd20gd6%2fN%3dNvzvK0PDhFg-%2fC%3d493064.14543979.14562481.13298430%2fD%3dMKP1%2fB%3d6060255%2fV%3d1'; Switch to: Text-Only , Daily Digest ? Unsubscribe ? Terms of Use . __,_._,___ ------ End of Forwarded Message -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jbw at oregoncoast.com Sat Jan 7 10:17:48 2012 From: jbw at oregoncoast.com (Barbara and John Woodhouse) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 08:17:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tillamook East Raptor run Message-ID: <5CD9FD19-4B15-4CFA-933C-3A69FB46631A@oregoncoast.com> The run is from Yellow Fir road in the south to Freddies in the North mostly on the east of 101. Weather was cold 32 starting 40s finish mostly dry. 59 miles 5 hours 15 minutes. Red-Tailed Hawks 30 American Kestrel 14 Northern Harrier 4 Bald Eagle A 1 Rough-legged Hawk 1 White-Tailed Kite 2 Total of 52 birds Fun birds 22 Great Egrets in 1 field Barbara & John Woodhouse Tillamook From barrymckenzie at comcast.net Sat Jan 7 10:54:38 2012 From: barrymckenzie at comcast.net (Barry McKenzie) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 08:54:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eugene Birders' Night: Jan 9 Message-ID: OBOL- Eugene Birder's Night will be Monday, Jan 9 at 7pm AGENDA: Usual bird chat and discussion, then ??? WHO: All are welcome LOCATION: EWEB building, 500 E 4th Ave in Eugene. We're in the "Community Room". This is in the building to the left as you walk under the skybridge toward the river. The Community Room accessed by following the curved wall to the right (toward the river) and entering the first door on the left. Parking is available right in front of the building. Google map is here: http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=eweb&fb=1&gl=us&hq=eweb&hnear=0x54c119b0ac501919:0x57ec61894a43894d,Eugene,+OR&cid=0,0,15169214557055504751&ei=DkZiTpPzIpLUiAL5oO27Cg&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&ved=0CAQQ_BI Barry McKenzie Eugene -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From smithdwd at hotmail.com Sat Jan 7 11:11:01 2012 From: smithdwd at hotmail.com (david smith) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 17:11:01 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Zumwalt Snowy Owl; little else Wallowas Message-ID: I spent Thursday and Friday driving Golf Course, School Flat, and Leap Ln, 3X; springlike conditions. Only saw 4 Horned Larks; no sign of single or flocks of winter birds other then 40+ American Goldfinch. I could have missed stuff. I am suffering "swivel neck", sort of like "warbler neck", except in the horizontal plane. A very dark SNOWY OWL was 4 miles past the pavement ending on Zumwalt Prarie Rd. It was 100yds west on a low rock pile. I almost missed it as I was looking for "white" owls. It flew off and returned to same rocks 5 minutes later. I sent pictures to a few people. A couple RL Hawks, Bald Eagles, and A Kestrels also. A responsive wintering Marsh Wren was just west of the Fish Hatchery dike toward the refuge. David Smith -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sat Jan 7 11:18:02 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 17:18:02 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Short-eared Owl Linn County In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Lars et al., Lars wrote: Best bird was a SHORT-EARED OWL sitting in an annual grass seed field just north of the dog leg in Bond Butte Road where it turns west to join Center School Rd.. Your S-E Owl was not far (as the owl flies) from the communal Northern Harrier/Short-eared Owl roost (they roost on the ground in deep grass) at the Diamond Hill wetland about one mile west of I-5 on Diamond Hill Rd. (Harrisburg exit). Up to six Short-eared Owls have been seen coming out this roost and perhaps as many as 50 Northern Harriers are using it. For those who've not checked out the Diamond Hill site, I would highly recommend a visit. This project has been a spectacular habitat enhancement to sw. Linn County, where many decades of hedgerow removal have resulted in fog line to fog line short grass monoculture (grass grown for seed production). I have covered this sector on the Brownsville CBC for about a decade. The addition of this site (created about 5 years ago) has been a "game-changer" for the count. Ducks and shorebirds formerly rare on this count are now found annually. During my first several years of doing this count, Short-eared Owl was an annual painful miss. We've now had them in numbers at least three years running, which is uplifting given the extensive habitat loss that I've witnessed over the long run. Keep in mind that the Diamond Hill property is privately owned, thus it cannot be entered without permission from the owner. That said, the harrier/owl roost experience can be enjoyed from the main road along the south side of the property. It is typically best to park at the gated gravel road at the southeast corner of the complex and then scope to the north. The harriers come in from all directions starting about 4PM and then gather along the northeast corner of the complex (north and east of the easternmost pond). Occasionally, Short-eared Owls will get up and fly around during the day, but they are most easily seen by waiting until just before dark and waiting for them to start flying around. This winter there are up to three White-tailed Kites that have joined this communal roost. Until recently, White-tailed Kites were very hard to find in Linn County. Dave Irons Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paultsullivan at onlinenw.com Sat Jan 7 11:22:03 2012 From: paultsullivan at onlinenw.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 09:22:03 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Birding Hoptspot!! Message-ID: <3F1052CDEA514F519408FE5BCB012553@dell307ac3e2b6> OBOL: We stayed home yesterday, except for a couple errands, waiting for phone calls & visitors. Our McMinnville backyard hosted 29 species! At one point in the afternoon I was watching, simultaneously, 20 D-e Juncos 30 House Sparrows 25 Bushtits 12 House Finches 3 Fox Sparrows 3 Golden-crowned Sparrows 1 Song Sparrow 2 Scrub Jays 1 B-c Chickadee 1 Orange-crowned Warbler 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Townsend's Warbler (female) 1 Anna's Hummingbird (female) 1 Flicker Also present sometime during the day were 1 Robin 1 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 White-breasted Nuthatch* (rare visitor) 1 Downy Woodpecker 5 Starlings 1 Slate-colored Junco 1 Purple Finch 8 Mourning Doves 5 E. Collared-doves 2 Spotted Towhees 2 Lesser Goldfinches 6 Pine Siskins 1 Am. Crow 1 Bewick's Wren 1 Townsend's Warbler (male) 1 Anna's Hummingbird (male) 5 more Scrub Jays A regular visitor that we missed was the Steller's Jays. They only seem to come around every-other day for some reason. Anyone else have that experience? Paul T. Sullivan & Carol Karlen From clownshoes420 at gmail.com Sat Jan 7 11:59:59 2012 From: clownshoes420 at gmail.com (ben burnette) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 09:59:59 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] @ Eugene ...red naped woodpecker... saturday jan 7 Message-ID: this morning at 9:15 Dave Brown spotted the woodpecker at Safeway market, in the trees immediately east of the pines, this bird has been seen frequenting...appears to be a male juvenile .. link to fair photo .. http://s690.photobucket.com/albums/vv262/clownshoes420/?action=view¤t=Picture051.jpg -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gregbaker.birder at gmail.com Sat Jan 7 12:03:12 2012 From: gregbaker.birder at gmail.com (Greg Baker) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 10:03:12 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Wanted: An inexpensive set of binocs Message-ID: Obolers, My daughter is doing her study abroad in Monte Verde, Costa Rica. She is looking to purchase an inexpensive set of binocs. If you have an old pair collecting dust, and would like to sell to a good home, please contact me off line. Thank you, Greg Baker -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ensatina3 at hotmail.com Sat Jan 7 12:11:15 2012 From: ensatina3 at hotmail.com (Bobbett Pierce) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 13:11:15 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] similar yard list Message-ID: My yard list is very similar to Paul Sullivan's: 20 species in common. I seldom get winter warblers for some reason, and lesser goldfinches are unusual. I can add to the list a r-b sapsucker that is a regular on our big-leaf maple, two varied thrushes, a white-t sparrow that has been hanging out all winter, and two evening grosbeaks have visited the past couple of days. A Cooper's has been out there daily recently, too, sometimes even whirling under our patio cover in its attempts to get a bird. In the winter the Steller's and scrub jays share the yard every day, with the scrub jays always dominant even though the Steller's are more numerous and a little bigger. Lona Pierce, Columbia County -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tmacport99 at gmail.com Sat Jan 7 12:25:28 2012 From: tmacport99 at gmail.com (Tom McNamara) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 10:25:28 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Request inre Tualatin Emperor and ? inre the "dark buteo" ID Message-ID: Hola Obol, Just a request that anyone who sees the Emperor Goose that has been at Tualatin NWR post it to OBOL. I've dipped twice in the last few days and am unsure if the goose is still being seen there (2 days ago it seemed it had not been seen at all that day). As to the "dark buteo ID" thread, I would imagine I'm certainly not alone among Obolandians in being interested in learning if some raptor Authority can erase the question mark. I'm intrigued that a couple regular, recognized Obol "big guns" have weighed in on dark morph Swainson's while other perhaps less-heard-from-but-seemingly-quite- knowledgeable folks have IDed it as a dark morph Rough-legged. Again, as with others, I have my thoughts but...... So, anyone know, to email, Liguori, Sullivan, Wheeler, Clark,... whoever who can definitively pronounce on it? good birding, Tom -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tlove at linfield.edu Sat Jan 7 13:16:09 2012 From: tlove at linfield.edu (Thomas Love) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 19:16:09 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] TRNWR Emperor Goose Message-ID: I called out to the visitor center. The EMPEROR GOOSE was apparently NOT seen yesterday (but it was very foggy) or yet today (as of 11 a.m. Saturday). Tom L. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From d_villa at mail.com Sat Jan 7 13:32:06 2012 From: d_villa at mail.com (dawn) Date: Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:32:06 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Photographic Life List Message-ID: <20120107193207.284460@gmx.com> Inspired by someone else on OBOL (sorry can't remember who), I created a lifelist on my photobucket account -- I was surprised to discover that I'm only missing a few birds on my list (granted, my list is fairly short!) My life list is 178 and I have photos of 160 of them. If you're interested, the photos are here: http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/Lifelist/ For the most part, I selected one photo per bird (exceptions are male and female hummers and mallards, plus Red-Necked Phalaropes in both plumages (couldn't decide which to pick). As always, feedback & corrections are welcome (note, the flycatchers in various photos have been reviewed and discussed on OBOL already :o) dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From christopher.a.grant at gmail.com Sat Jan 7 13:43:24 2012 From: christopher.a.grant at gmail.com (Chris Grant) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 11:43:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Emperor Goose at TRNWR Message-ID: Tom McNamara wrote: > Just a request that anyone who sees the Emperor Goose that has been at > Tualatin NWR post it to OBOL. I've dipped twice in the last few days and > am unsure if the goose is still being seen there (2 days ago it seemed it > had not been seen at all that day). In addition to OBOL, also keep on eye on eBird. With this link, zoom in until you get to markers, then click on a marker for individual reports. It looks like 4 Jan was the most recent report of the goose. http://ebird.org/ebird/map/empgoo?neg=true&env.minX=&env.minY=&env.maxX=&env.maxY=&zh=false&gp=false&mr=1-12&bmo=1&emo=12&yr=1900-2012&byr=1900&eyr=2012 Chris Grant From acontrer56 at gmail.com Sat Jan 7 14:14:24 2012 From: acontrer56 at gmail.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 12:14:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Texas Nuttings update Message-ID: <74039D8C-E817-49EC-BA28-D77859280003@gmail.com> Graham Floyd, oregon birder currently stationed in Texas, reports that the probable Nutting's is foraging in the picnic tables at Santa Elena Canyon at 2:10pm. Saturday. Please repost to national networks as i am not on any, thanks. Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon Sent from my iPhone acontrer56 at gmail.com From drheath82 at frontier.com Sat Jan 7 14:26:36 2012 From: drheath82 at frontier.com (David Heath) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 20:26:36 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Texas Nuttings update In-Reply-To: <74039D8C-E817-49EC-BA28-D77859280003@gmail.com> Message-ID: <265814908.62570.1325967996370.JavaMail.root@cl07-host03.dlls.pa.frontiernet.net> Also on the subject of rare (mega-rare in this case): http://www.earthweek.com/2012/ew120106/ew120106h.html Always the possibility of an escape, of course, but, at least in this report, "experts" are discounting that possibility. David ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alan Contreras" To: "OBOL" Sent: Saturday, January 7, 2012 12:14:24 PM Subject: [OBOL] Texas Nuttings update Graham Floyd, oregon birder currently stationed in Texas, reports that the probable Nutting's is foraging in the picnic tables at Santa Elena Canyon at 2:10pm. Saturday. Please repost to national networks as i am not on any, thanks. Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon Sent from my iPhone acontrer56 at gmail.com _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From gorgebirds at juno.com Sat Jan 7 14:42:12 2012 From: gorgebirds at juno.com (Wilson Cady) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 20:42:12 GMT Subject: [OBOL] Texas Nuttings update Message-ID: <20120107.124212.29206.0@webmail04.vgs.untd.com> There are a lot of great birds being seen all across the country, The Nutting's Flycatcher is only one of the many goodies being seen in Texas now, others there include Golden-crowned Warbler, Crimson - collared Grosbeak, Blue Bunting and Black-vented Oriole. A LaSagra's Flycatcher is in Florida and a Common Chaff-finch in New Jersey. An easy way to follow these reports along with sightings of out of place birds like the Grace's Warbler in New York, is by joining the ABA Area Rare Birds group on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/154019981328890/ Wilson Cady Skamania County, WA ---------- Original Message ---------- From: David Heath To: OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] Texas Nuttings update Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 20:26:36 +0000 (UTC) Also on the subject of rare (mega-rare in this case): http://www.earthweek.com/2012/ew120106/ew120106h.html Always the possibility of an escape, of course, but, at least in this report, "experts" are discounting that possibility. David ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alan Contreras" To: "OBOL" Sent: Saturday, January 7, 2012 12:14:24 PM Subject: [OBOL] Texas Nuttings update Graham Floyd, oregon birder currently stationed in Texas, reports that the probable Nutting's is foraging in the picnic tables at Santa Elena Canyon at 2:10pm. Saturday. Please repost to national networks as i am not on any, thanks. Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon Sent from my iPhone acontrer56 at gmail.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 cgates326 at gmail.com Sat Jan 7 14:57:51 2012 From: cgates326 at gmail.com (Charles R. Gates) Date: Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:57:51 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Prineville Sewer Ponds Long-tailed Duck still present Message-ID: <4F08B1CF.2040105@gmail.com> The Prineville Long-tailed Duck was still at the sewer ponds yesterday around 4:00. -- Chuck Gates Crook County High School NAMC State Coordinator - East Cascades Audubon Society Online Oregon Birding Site Guide - birdingoregon.info 541-923-1320 From mntsprg at wizzards.net Sat Jan 7 15:09:55 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 13:09:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] red shouldered hawks Winston Message-ID: <2AB61DCF09DC4C30ABFE4CD60F9D4453@MitherPC> Hi birders My husband reports 4 red shouldered hawks circling over our property! Winston Laura -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marciafcutler at comcast.net Sat Jan 7 15:21:14 2012 From: marciafcutler at comcast.net (Marcia F. Cutler) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 13:21:14 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Hermit Warbler Pictures Message-ID: <3B3ABA4B-DE49-4287-8D3F-E775F4625573@comcast.net> Here's a link to the pictures I took of the Hermit Warbler, Laura McCoy and I found on the Airlie-Albany CBC on December 31, 2011. The bird was seen on the east side of DeArmond Rd. at the bridge (Polk Co.). While the photos are okay for diagnostic purposes, they don't really show how bright this bird was with a greenish tinge to the back which ran up the nape and top of the head and apparent bluish tones to the gray wings. https://picasaweb.google.com/mfcutler/AirleAlbanyCBC#5695001446176755250 Marcia F. Cutler Corvallis From SJJag at comcast.net Sat Jan 7 15:39:55 2012 From: SJJag at comcast.net (SJJag at comcast.net) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 21:39:55 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] resource: bird alerts us. wide--Nuttings in Az. Message-ID: <1514719024.253479.1325972395417.JavaMail.root@sz0081a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> A birding list digest may be found at digest.sialia.com/ It has most (all?) of the n. america bird lists in digest form. A Nutting's Flycatcher has also been reported in AZ. this past week. Steve Jaggers -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From celata at pacifier.com Sat Jan 7 15:48:08 2012 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:48:08 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Lower Columbia Birders - 1/7/2012 Message-ID: <4F08BD98.2000108@pacifier.com> The Lower Columbia Birders went east to Twilight, Svensen Island and Brownsmead today. We had overcast, but temperate weather. A big flock of 300+ SNOW GEESE was seen from the Twilight platform. Two EURASIAN WIGEON and a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW were at Ziak's. We saw a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK several time near the Brownsmead Grange and a distant CLARK'S GREBE at Bughole. Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Greater White-fronted Goose 32 Snow Goose 300 Canada Goose Cackling Goose Tundra Swan 35 Wood Duck 1 Gadwall Eurasian Wigeon 2 American Wigeon Mallard Cinnamon Teal 2 Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-Winged Teal Canvasback 2 Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Bufflehead Common Goldeneye 1 Barrow's Goldeneye Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Ruddy Duck Red-throated Loon 2 Common Loon 2 Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe 1 [1] Eared Grebe Western Grebe Clark's Grebe 1 [2] Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret 2 Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Red-shouldered Hawk 1 [3] Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel 2 Merlin 1 Peregrine Falcon 2 American Coot Black-bellied Plover 4 Killdeer Greater Yellowlegs 6 Dunlin 3 Mew Gull Western Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Eurasian Collared-Dove Belted Kingfisher Red-breasted Sapsucker Northern Flicker Steller's Jay Western Scrub-Jay American Crow Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Winter Wren Marsh Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet American Robin Varied Thrush European Starling Yellow-rumped Warbler Spotted Towhee Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow White-throated Sparrow 1 White-crowned Sparrow Golden-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird Western Meadowlark 12 Brewer's Blackbird Pine Siskin House Sparrow Footnotes: [1] Blind Slough [2] Prairie Channel near Bug Hole [3] Yellow farm house near Grange Total number of species seen: 78 -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 From forrest.english at gmail.com Sat Jan 7 15:48:52 2012 From: forrest.english at gmail.com (Forrest English) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 13:48:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Texas Nuttings update In-Reply-To: <20120107.124212.29206.0@webmail04.vgs.untd.com> References: <20120107.124212.29206.0@webmail04.vgs.untd.com> Message-ID: Another good way is the eBird alerts for either ABA rarities, county needs, or another set geographic area rarities alert (anything that is not on the regional filter set by the eBird reviewer). Sends e-mails daily or hourly depending on your level of obsession. On Sat, Jan 7, 2012 at 12:42 PM, Wilson Cady wrote: > There are a lot of great birds being seen all across the country, The > Nutting's Flycatcher is only one of the many goodies being seen in Texas > now, others there include Golden-crowned Warbler, Crimson - collared > Grosbeak, Blue Bunting and Black-vented Oriole. A LaSagra's Flycatcher is > in Florida and a Common Chaff-finch in New Jersey. An easy way to follow > these reports along with sightings of out of place birds like the Grace's > Warbler in New York, is by joining the ABA Area Rare Birds group on > facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/154019981328890/ > > > Wilson Cady > Skamania County, WA > > > > ---------- Original Message ---------- > From: David Heath > To: OBOL > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Texas Nuttings update > Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 20:26:36 +0000 (UTC) > > Also on the subject of rare (mega-rare in this case): > http://www.earthweek.com/2012/ew120106/ew120106h.html > > Always the possibility of an escape, of course, but, at least in this > report, "experts" are discounting that possibility. > > David > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Alan Contreras" > To: "OBOL" > Sent: Saturday, January 7, 2012 12:14:24 PM > Subject: [OBOL] Texas Nuttings update > > Graham Floyd, oregon birder currently stationed in Texas, reports that the > probable Nutting's is foraging in the picnic tables at Santa Elena Canyon > at 2:10pm. Saturday. > > Please repost to national networks as i am not on any, thanks. > > Alan Contreras > Medford, Oregon > > Sent from my iPhone > > acontrer56 at gmail.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 > > _______________________________________________ > 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 jsiporin at mac.com Sat Jan 7 16:12:30 2012 From: jsiporin at mac.com (Julia Siporin) Date: Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:12:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Imm.Townsend's & Yellow-rumped Warblers at Our Suet Feeder Message-ID: Greetings, A few weeks ago a few people posted about Townsend's Warblers showing up at their suet feeders & it appeared to be unusual. Well, I'd like to just add to the mix and say that in the last few days at our suet feeder we've had at least 1 TOWNSEND'S WARBLER (appears to be a 1st winter male or possibly an adult female... I also thought I saw an adult male the other day... not 100% sure ;-) At the same time, I saw 2 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS also at the suet feeder (1 appeared to be a first winter female... myrtle??). I've never seen the YRWA in our yard! We have 3 "creeks & waterfalls" my husband built on our property which birds love to bathe in, and there are lots of conifers in the neighborhood near Hendricks Park, so I shouldn't be too surprised, but it does seem a bit unusual to see these birds at feeders. While these warblers were in & out, a VARIED THRUSH was below them, and a HERMIT THRUSH was skirting the base of our blackberries by the fence along with the usual yard visitors - Song Sparrows, Juncos (1 SLATE-COLORED JUNCO is a fairly common visitor this winter), Red-Breasted Nuthatch, as well as Robins & Cedar Waxwings (who go for the mountain ash's red berries) My two-cents, Julia From llsdirons at msn.com Sat Jan 7 17:11:56 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 23:11:56 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Tualatin River NWR 7 Jan -- Emperor Goose NO, but did find a Mallard X N. Pintail hybrid Message-ID: Greetings All, Shawneen and I spent about an hour and a half at Tualatin River NWR today. Along with several others, we did not see the Emperor Goose. I did find a male Mallard X Northern Pintail hybrid on the far edge of the pond in front of the visitors center. To see a full list of what we saw and some photos of similar Mallard X Pintail hybrids, click on the link below. Tualatin River NWR -- 7 January 2012 Dave Irons Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From craig at greatskua.com Sat Jan 7 18:13:45 2012 From: craig at greatskua.com (Craig Tumer) Date: Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:13:45 -0700 Subject: [OBOL] [FWD: [eBird Alert] Rare Bird Alert for Oregon ] BRAMBLING Message-ID: <20120107171345.3bd901d66b2d769bd36646c62e7e74c3.a4e9bfe6d1.wbe@email02.secureserver.net> Does anyone know anything about the Brambling in Woodburn that was reported to eBird earlier in the week (see forwarded eBird checklist)? Was it in a place that's accessible to the public> Craig Tumer SW Portland > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: [eBird Alert] Rare Bird Alert for Oregon > From: ebird-alert at cornell.edu > Date: Sat, January 07, 2012 3:20 pm > To: > > > *** Species Summary: > > - Virginia Rail (2 reports) > - Snow Bunting (2 reports) > - Brambling (1 report) > > --------------------------------------------- > Thank you for subscribing to the Rare Bird Alert for Oregon. The report below shows observations of rare birds in Oregon. NOTE: all sightings are UNCONFIRMED unless indicated > > Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) (3) CONFIRMED > - Reported Jan 06, 2012 10:30 by Shawneen Finnegan > - Coffee Lake/Boeckman Rd, Clackamas, Oregon > - Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=45.3172158,-122.7806064&ll=45.3172158,-122.7806064 > - Checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9519018 > - Comments : "two were coming in to recorded calls while a third called on the other side of the bridge. Dave Irons got photos of one of them. See: http://www.birdfellow.com/members/dave_irons/field_reports/487-coffee-creek-boeckman-rd-wetland-clackamas-co-oregon-6-january-2012" > > Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) (1) > - Reported Jan 07, 2012 08:15 by Steve Nord > - Fernhill Wetlands, Washington, Oregon > - Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=45.506313,-123.08686&ll=45.506313,-123.08686 > - Checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9526003 > - Comments : "calling in Eagle Perch Pond" > > Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) (1) CONFIRMED > - Reported Jan 04, 2012 12:25 by Jay Withgott > - Broughton Beach, Multnomah, Oregon > - Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=45.6003622,-122.6152539&ll=45.6003622,-122.6152539 > - Checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9518291 > - Comments : "The continuing individual that's been here for a month now, and reported by many observers. Research and discussion is still ongoing as to whether this bird might have some McKay's genes." > > Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) (1) CONFIRMED > - Reported Jan 06, 2012 10:30 by Carol Cruzan > - PDX Fire Station, Multnomah, Oregon > - Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=45.5972464,-122.6044196&ll=45.5972464,-122.6044196 > - Checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9518534 > > Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) (1) > - Reported Jan 02, 2012 09:00 by Linda Long > - Woodburn, Marion, Oregon > - Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=45.14374,-122.85521&ll=45.14374,-122.85521 > - Checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9524594 > > *********** > > You received this message because you are subscribed to eBird's Rare Bird Alert for Oregon > > View this alert on the web: > http://ebird.org/ebird/alert/summary?sid=SN35555 > > Manage your eBird alert subscriptions: > http://ebird.org/ebird/alerts From john.wahlund at gmail.com Sat Jan 7 18:30:14 2012 From: john.wahlund at gmail.com (john wahlund) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 16:30:14 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Bluebirds, Kirk Pond Message-ID: Todays hike with Bruce Campbell out Royal to Gibson Island held few surprises and revealed no Snowy Owl. A subsequent swing by the reputed Swamp Sparrow site along Kirk Pond yielded no such sparrow, but we did encounter a small flock of Western Bluebirds at the parking spot, 5 of which perched cooperatively on the power lines posing for us for several minutes. A rare treat. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Sat Jan 7 19:03:21 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 17:03:21 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Vulture/B. Eagle Run 1/7/2012 Message-ID: <1325984601.32806.YahooMailNeo@web45315.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I was intending to do the Coos Bay Bald Eagle mid-winter count next weekend, but the weather was gorgeous this morning without fog so I decided, now is the time! ?The most unusual species on the route was a TURKEY VULTURE near Kentuck Inlet on the east side of Coos Bay. ?I am beginning to think the one my wife saw yesterday and the ones on the Coos Bay CBC are overwintering birds, a first for Coos if so. ?Don Munson saw one in Brookings a few days ago also, but I think they can drift north from CA up to Brookings off and on all December and January. My big miss on the route was an OSPREY but I did see one late this afternoon on the north spit of Coos Bay- here are my totals: 5- BALD EAGLES (you laugh, but this is perhaps one above the average for this count on the raptor challenged coast plus this is an old route that traverses mostly non-eagle or raptor habitat) 14- RED-TAILED HAWKS 7- WHITE-TAILED KITES 2- PEREGRINE FALCONS 2- RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS 2- AMERICAN KESTRELS 1- NORTHERN HARRIER 1- MERLIN 1- SHARP-SHINNED HAWK and the TV. Also of interest were three BROWN PELICANS fishing off the jetties over the ocean while I was in Charleston. Gorgeous day with highs in the mid-50's, had my jacket off most of the day! Merry New Bird, Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rick.lumen at gmail.com Sat Jan 7 19:14:52 2012 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 17:14:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Imm.Townsend's & Yellow-rumped Warblers at Our Suet Feeder In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I regularly have Yellow-rumped Warblers at my suite feeder the past couple of winters. I have not yet seen a Townsend's. Rick Wilsonville On Jan 7, 2012, at 2:12 PM, Julia Siporin wrote: > Greetings, > A few weeks ago a few people posted about Townsend's Warblers showing up at their suet feeders & it appeared to be unusual. Well, I'd like to just add to the mix and say that in the last few days at our suet feeder we've had at least 1 TOWNSEND'S WARBLER (appears to be a 1st winter male or possibly an adult female... I also thought I saw an adult male the other day... not 100% sure ;-) At the same time, I saw 2 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS also at the suet feeder (1 appeared to be a first winter female... myrtle??). I've never seen the YRWA in our yard! We have 3 "creeks & waterfalls" my husband built on our property which birds love to bathe in, and there are lots of conifers in the neighborhood near Hendricks Park, so I shouldn't be too surprised, but it does seem a bit unusual to see these birds at feeders. > > While these warblers were in & out, a VARIED THRUSH was below them, and a HERMIT THRUSH was skirting the base of our blackberries by the fence along with the usual yard visitors - Song Sparrows, Juncos (1 SLATE-COLORED JUNCO is a fairly common visitor this winter), Red-Breasted Nuthatch, as well as Robins & Cedar Waxwings (who go for the mountain ash's red berries) > > My two-cents, > Julia > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From rivers.mike at gmail.com Sat Jan 7 19:36:38 2012 From: rivers.mike at gmail.com (Mike Rivers) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 17:36:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Meadowlarks on Alsea Bay Message-ID: <1E6C0AAD-51E4-4EEE-912C-BD1652EA536E@gmail.com> Maggie Rivers and I watched 3 Western Meadowlarks flush from near the shore of Alsea Bay to the open field between the old Waldport Middle School and then back towards Alsea Bay about 1/4 mile E of the south end of the Alsea Bay bridge today, Saturday, 1/7/12, about 2 pm. White outer tail feathers were visible on all 3 birds: we watched one turn towards us with its pale yellow throat and breast. Very exciting to see so many of them! From bigburd_jh at yahoo.com Sat Jan 7 20:49:30 2012 From: bigburd_jh at yahoo.com (j hayes) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 18:49:30 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] PDX Snow Bunting Continues Message-ID: <1325990970.58373.yint-ygo-j2me@web36803.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hello, birders. At 2:30 PM today, the SNOW BUNTING was present at the old fire station, perched on the top wire of the fence on the south side of the parking lot. Also, there were 2 male and 1 female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE and a RED-NECKED GREBE among a mixed herd of 350+ SCAUP (mostly Lesser) and a dozen COM. GOLDENEYE. - Jeff Hayes From bigburd_jh at yahoo.com Sat Jan 7 21:02:53 2012 From: bigburd_jh at yahoo.com (j hayes) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 19:02:53 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Barrow's Goldeneye, Red-n. Grebe Message-ID: <1325991773.32253.yint-ygo-j2me@web36806.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Whoops. The subject birds, scaup, etc were on the Columbia River just east of the I-205 bridge. Accidently hit 'send' too soon. - Jeff Hayes From rick.lumen at gmail.com Sat Jan 7 21:05:06 2012 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 19:05:06 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Imm.Townsend's & Yellow-rumped Warblers at Our Suet Feeder In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Sorry, make that SUET. But my feeders are pretty suite. :-) On Jan 7, 2012, at 5:14 PM, Richard Leinen wrote: > I regularly have Yellow-rumped Warblers at my suite feeder the past couple of winters. I have not yet seen a Townsend's. > > Rick > Wilsonville > > On Jan 7, 2012, at 2:12 PM, Julia Siporin wrote: > >> Greetings, >> A few weeks ago a few people posted about Townsend's Warblers showing up at their suet feeders & it appeared to be unusual. Well, I'd like to just add to the mix and say that in the last few days at our suet feeder we've had at least 1 TOWNSEND'S WARBLER (appears to be a 1st winter male or possibly an adult female... I also thought I saw an adult male the other day... not 100% sure ;-) At the same time, I saw 2 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS also at the suet feeder (1 appeared to be a first winter female... myrtle??). I've never seen the YRWA in our yard! We have 3 "creeks & waterfalls" my husband built on our property which birds love to bathe in, and there are lots of conifers in the neighborhood near Hendricks Park, so I shouldn't be too surprised, but it does seem a bit unusual to see these birds at feeders. >> >> While these warblers were in & out, a VARIED THRUSH was below them, and a HERMIT THRUSH was skirting the base of our blackberries by the fence along with the usual yard visitors - Song Sparrows, Juncos (1 SLATE-COLORED JUNCO is a fairly common visitor this winter), Red-Breasted Nuthatch, as well as Robins & Cedar Waxwings (who go for the mountain ash's red berries) >> >> My two-cents, >> Julia >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OBOL mailing list >> OBOL at oregonbirds.org >> http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > From jblowers at ix.netcom.com Sun Jan 8 00:21:17 2012 From: jblowers at ix.netcom.com (Joseph Blowers) Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 22:21:17 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Woodburn Brambling unconfirmed Message-ID: <1BE0D8DD-0760-4A30-B7CC-3B9FEAAE264F@ix.netcom.com> The Brambling that was reported at Woodburn is unconfirmed at present. I am trying to get more details and will post them as soon as I get them. Joe Blowers eBird Reviewer From contopus at telus.net Sun Jan 8 08:16:01 2012 From: contopus at telus.net (Wayne Weber) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 06:16:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] =?utf-8?q?resource=3A_bird_alerts_us=2E_wide--Nutting?= =?utf-8?b?4oCZcyBpbiBBei4=?= In-Reply-To: <1514719024.253479.1325972395417.JavaMail.root@sz0081a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> References: <1514719024.253479.1325972395417.JavaMail.root@sz0081a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Message-ID: <02ba01ccce10$0edbb4a0$2c931de0$@net> Oregon Birders, The website quoted by Steve Jaggers has nothing to do with Rare Bird Alerts. It includes recent messages from birding e-mail groups (similar to OBOL), not from Rare Bird Alerts. It focuses on California groups, although it does include a lot of other ones. For a summer of recent Rare Bird Alert transcripts from all around the U.S. and Canada, check out the listing in Jack Siler?s website at http://www.birdingonthe.net/hotmail.html . Siler?s website also has a section which includes recent messages from birding e-mail groups (about 50 messages from each) all around North America and the world at http://www.birdingonthe.net/birdmail.html . This listing is more comprehensive, and easier to use, than the website cited by Steve. Wayne C. Weber Delta, BC contopus at telus.net From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of SJJag at comcast.net Sent: January-07-12 1:40 PM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] resource: bird alerts us. wide--Nutting?s in Az. A birding list digest may be found at digest.sialia.com/ It has most (all?) of the n. America bird lists in digest form. A Nutting's Flycatcher has also been reported in AZ. this past week. Steve Jaggers -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From SJJag at comcast.net Sun Jan 8 11:57:33 2012 From: SJJag at comcast.net (SJJag at comcast.net) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 17:57:33 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Steve's bird alert resource post In-Reply-To: <422417778.272992.1326043976991.JavaMail.root@sz0081a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Message-ID: <472677022.273745.1326045453302.JavaMail.root@sz0081a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Greetings all, ? I hope that the post of yesterday about bird alerts?was useful to the list. Perhaps the subject line "alerts" was mis-leading, sialia? is not alert specific but more general postings as we see on Obol which include RBAs as they happen. ? I did not intend for it to be other than another resource in keeping with the thread of resources that was on obol yesterday. I respect that there are rare bird specific resources out there as reflected in the earlier posts in this thread. ? Thank you Dave for noting that?my post was not intended to tell folks about?an RBA type?site but that?the?postings there?do have potentially useful information in a more OBOL like format. ? I like the sialia site for two reasons:? ? I can see in a general way what is being seen at various spots around the U.S. and get some arm chair birding pleasure knowing I have been or can go to some of the places where interesting birds are seen. ? I also use the info. there when planning a trip. We are going to the Rio Grande Valley in Feb. and I am delighted to read about the?sightings ?of species I have missed in the past (Red-Billed Pigeon) as well as the rarities, (Golden Crowned Warbler). If the fog lifts I plan to go birding! ? Steve Jaggers Milwaukie, Or. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paultsullivan at onlinenw.com Sun Jan 8 13:13:03 2012 From: paultsullivan at onlinenw.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 11:13:03 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Doves References: Message-ID: Ted, Eurasian Colared-doves have been sweeping across N. America for the last 20+ years. They hit Oregon in the last decade. I saw my first one at Frank Conley's feeders in 2002. By 2011 Carol & I completed our quest to see them in EVERY Oregon county. They are here to stay. That said, folks in Florida or Carolina who have lived with them for 20 years can probably tell you better what to expect. I don't bellieve they have totally displaced Mourning Doves. I've seen big flocks of Mourning Doves in the midwest. Mourning Doves will live in the countryside, while E. collared-doves like to be around people more. They are thick in Burns, Condon, and Imbler, and other small towns. I've seen 70 around a dairy north of McMinnville where they had feed to thrive on. My two cents.... (You get what you pay for. ;-) Paul T. Sullivan ----- Original Message ----- From: ted schroeder To: EOU Bird List Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 9:54 AM Subject: Doves Starting about six years ago we started seeing Eurasian Collared-Doves at our place. Prior to that, Over a 10 year period, we had had increasing numbers of Mourning Doves to the point that we would commonly have 12-15 Mourning Doves hanging around through the winters because we were putting feed out for the quail. Gradually, over six year's time, the Eurasian Collared-Doves have displaced the Mourning Doves. I haven't seen a Mourning Dove on our place for 6 months or so. We currently have 20 Eurasian Doves that hang here daily. They have nested in our spruce trees for the last three years. I never saw any aggressive behavior towards the Mourning Doves by the ECDs but they have somehow made the MDs disappear. Is anyone out there still seeing Mourning Doves? I haven't been out and about much of late but I haven't seen any Mourning Doves away from our place elsewhere in the valley. >From my narrow experience, one would have to wonder if the Eurasian Collared-Doves aren't likely to cause the extinction of the Mourning Doves in the long run. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From whoffman at peak.org Sun Jan 8 13:36:48 2012 From: whoffman at peak.org (whoffman at peak.org) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 11:36:48 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Doves In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <711781893.175682.1326051408139.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Hi Paul - I agree. I lived in the Florida Keys from 1987-1998, when Eurasian Collared-Doves first became abundant there. Mourning Doves persisted without obvious declines in numbers. If anything, in this part of the country I think Collared-Doves are competing more with feral Rock Pigeons than with Mourning Doves. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul T. Sullivan" To: "ted schroeder" , "EOU Bird List" Cc: "obol" Sent: Sunday, January 8, 2012 11:13:03 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Doves Ted, Eurasian Colared-doves have been sweeping across N. America for the last 20+ years. They hit Oregon in the last decade. I saw my first one at Frank Conley's feeders in 2002. By 2011 Carol & I completed our quest to see them in EVERY Oregon county. They are here to stay. That said, folks in Florida or Carolina who have lived with them for 20 years can probably tell you better what to expect. I don't bellieve they have totally displaced Mourning Doves. I've seen big flocks of Mourning Doves in the midwest. Mourning Doves will live in the countryside, while E. collared-doves like to be around people more. They are thick in Burns, Condon, and Imbler, and other small towns. I've seen 70 around a dairy north of McMinnville where they had feed to thrive on. My two cents.... (You get what you pay for. ;-) Paul T. Sullivan ----- Original Message ----- From: ted schroeder To: EOU Bird List Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 9:54 AM Subject: Doves Starting about six years ago we started seeing Eurasian Collared-Doves at our place. Prior to that, Over a 10 year period, we had had increasing numbers of Mourning Doves to the point that we would commonly have 12-15 Mourning Doves hanging around through the winters because we were putting feed out for the quail. Gradually, over six year's time, the Eurasian Collared-Doves have displaced the Mourning Doves. I haven't seen a Mourning Dove on our place for 6 months or so. We currently have 20 Eurasian Doves that hang here daily. They have nested in our spruce trees for the last three years. I never saw any aggressive behavior towards the Mourning Doves by the ECDs but they have somehow made the MDs disappear. Is anyone out there still seeing Mourning Doves? I haven't been out and about much of late but I haven't seen any Mourning Doves away from our place elsewhere in the valley. From my narrow experience, one would have to wonder if the Eurasian Collared-Doves aren't likely to cause the extinction of the Mourning Doves in the long run. _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From jeffharding at centurytel.net Sun Jan 8 13:41:52 2012 From: jeffharding at centurytel.net (Jeff Harding) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 11:41:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Linn County Red-Shouldered Hawk - Albany Gaucous Gull Message-ID: <7C07870DB2764AC783B63C81529A0E2D@laptop> Bob Burke and I made a start at the ECAS Winter Raprtor Survey route 5 (Scio-Crabtree-Larwood Area) this morning, but it was too foggy to be effective, so we quit early on. We'll try again on another weekend. We did find a Red-Shouldered Hawk at the intersection of Baptist Church and Richardson's Gap Road. This is quite a distance from the one we found last month closer to Scio on Montgomery Road, so I assume it's different. We did not get over that way today, so it could be wandering. Yesterday I visited Grand Prairie Park in Albany, and found a nice gull flock. Someone reported a Glaucous Gull there, and there was one that met most of the qualifications, but seemed a little off, being a bit dark, and the base of the bill wasn't sharply divided between the pink and dark bits. The gull had a foot problem. I wonder if this is the one reported, or if there was another one around? Here is a photo. https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wC_Gs8HzjmRTEZO7pfcqWNMTjNZETYmyPJy0li ipFm0?feat=directlink There were 14 Tundra Swans yesterday south of Glasser Drive west of Lebanon, not a place I recall seeing them before. Good Birding, Jeff -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pamelaj at SpiritOne.com Sun Jan 8 13:39:17 2012 From: pamelaj at SpiritOne.com (pamelaj@spiritone.com) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 11:39:17 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Doves In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Paul, where are Frank Conley?s feeders? Pamela Johnston From: Paul T. Sullivan Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 11:13 AM To: ted schroeder ; EOU Bird List Cc: obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] Doves Ted, Eurasian Colared-doves have been sweeping across N. America for the last 20+ years. They hit Oregon in the last decade. I saw my first one at Frank Conley's feeders in 2002. By 2011 Carol & I completed our quest to see them in EVERY Oregon county. They are here to stay. That said, folks in Florida or Carolina who have lived with them for 20 years can probably tell you better what to expect. I don't bellieve they have totally displaced Mourning Doves. I've seen big flocks of Mourning Doves in the midwest. Mourning Doves will live in the countryside, while E. collared-doves like to be around people more. They are thick in Burns, Condon, and Imbler, and other small towns. I've seen 70 around a dairy north of McMinnville where they had feed to thrive on. My two cents.... (You get what you pay for. ;-) Paul T. Sullivan ----- Original Message ----- From: ted schroeder To: EOU Bird List Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 9:54 AM Subject: Doves Starting about six years ago we started seeing Eurasian Collared-Doves at our place. Prior to that, Over a 10 year period, we had had increasing numbers of Mourning Doves to the point that we would commonly have 12-15 Mourning Doves hanging around through the winters because we were putting feed out for the quail. Gradually, over six year's time, the Eurasian Collared-Doves have displaced the Mourning Doves. I haven't seen a Mourning Dove on our place for 6 months or so. We currently have 20 Eurasian Doves that hang here daily. They have nested in our spruce trees for the last three years. I never saw any aggressive behavior towards the Mourning Doves by the ECDs but they have somehow made the MDs disappear. Is anyone out there still seeing Mourning Doves? I haven't been out and about much of late but I haven't seen any Mourning Doves away from our place elsewhere in the valley. >From my narrow experience, one would have to wonder if the Eurasian Collared-Doves aren't likely to cause the extinction of the Mourning Doves in the long run. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer56 at gmail.com Sun Jan 8 13:51:03 2012 From: acontrer56 at gmail.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:51:03 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Collared vs. Mourning Message-ID: Collared-Dove seems to be much more a town-and-edge species than Mourning. I get both in my yard here in Medford but the Mournings are far more common out away from towns, where Collared are patchy and generally close to farms and homes, kind of like pigeons. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com Sun Jan 8 14:38:44 2012 From: woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com (Jamie S.) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 12:38:44 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] [birding] Linn County Red-Shouldered Hawk - Albany Gaucous Gull In-Reply-To: <7C07870DB2764AC783B63C81529A0E2D@laptop> Message-ID: <1326055124.67416.YahooMailClassic@web161603.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Jeff, See this link that Stephanie originally sent to OBOL (Jan 5). Last photo. Clearly not the same gull you photographed. Jamie Simmons Corvallis --- On Sun, 1/8/12, Jeff Harding wrote: From: Jeff Harding Subject: [birding] Linn County Red-Shouldered Hawk - Albany Gaucous Gull To: obol at oregonbirds.org, birding at midvalleybirding.org Date: Sunday, January 8, 2012, 11:41 AM Bob Burke and I made a start at the ECAS Winter Raprtor Survey route 5 (Scio-Crabtree-Larwood Area) this morning, but it was too foggy to be effective, so we quit early on. We?ll try again on another weekend. ? We did find a Red-Shouldered Hawk at the intersection of Baptist Church and Richardson ?s Gap Road . This is quite a distance from the one we found last month closer to Scio on Montgomery Road , so I assume it?s different. We did not get over that way today, so it could be wandering. ? Yesterday I visited Grand Prairie Park in Albany , and found a nice gull flock. Someone reported a Glaucous Gull there, and there was one that met most of the qualifications, but seemed a little off, being a bit dark, and the base of the bill wasn?t sharply divided between the pink and dark bits. The gull had a foot problem. I wonder if this is the one reported, or if there was another one around? Here is a photo. https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wC_Gs8HzjmRTEZO7pfcqWNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink ? There were 14 Tundra Swans yesterday south of Glasser Drive west of Lebanon , not a place I recall seeing them before. ? Good Birding, Jeff ? -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ birding mailing list birding at midvalleybirding.org http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Sun Jan 8 14:56:37 2012 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 12:56:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Collared vs. Mourning In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1326056197.78051.YahooMailNeo@web39705.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Alan, ???? I've been paying close attention to the relationship of these two species since the ECDs trickled in here about 4 years ago. I now have the ECDs here all year, but the Mourning's are mostly migrated out by Sept.1, and are back later in the spring, after most other migrants have arrived. For the most part, I haven't seen much of a relationship between these two species. I don't think the ECDs here are reproducing, because if they are, I've yet to see anything that resembles a young dove. Yet, I don't see any reason why these birds aren't reproducing----and must admit it's past time for a careful search of my own immediate vicinity. I have about 30--40 ECDs here on a full time basis. It's my understanding that ECDs are THE most prolific wild bird, with no specific nesting season----so maybe I'm missing a lot in their reproduction, or looking for something that won't be there with this species. ???? I've carefully watched for any interaction between these two species at our seed feeder. For the most part there has been zero interaction, but I have seen the smaller Mournings (about 4 oz.) walk around the larger ECDs (7oz.) to access food. On one occasion an aggressive Mourning male flew at an ECD----which flushed away in fear. I have not observed an aggressive move by an ECD towards a Mourning. ???? I see these two dove species as not closely related, and this is exemplified in their escape from avian predators. Mourning Doves, in my experience, when intimidated by a raptor, "hit the sky" under full power---trusting in their wings for escape. ECDs, when placed in this same raptor predicament, fly into trees and bushes for safety. To my way of thinking, these two birds view their world much differently, and when not at the feeder, I haven't observed them together. Mourning nesting appears normal, and I see the adults with the youngsters for a short time prior to migration. Although both species are here right in my yard, the niche each occupy, is somewhat different---and mostly consists of nuance. I have not observed any displacement of Mournings by ECDs. It's rare to see an ECD "in the wild." (they're all at my place!) Best regards, Dick Musser (15mi. south of Burns) ________________________________ From: Alan Contreras To: OBOL Sent: Sunday, January 8, 2012 11:51 AM Subject: [OBOL] Collared vs. Mourning Collared-Dove seems to be much more a town-and-edge species than Mourning. ?I get both in my yard here in Medford but the Mournings are far more common out away from towns, where Collared are patchy and generally close to farms and homes, kind of like pigeons. --? Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.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 acontrer56 at gmail.com Sun Jan 8 15:02:05 2012 From: acontrer56 at gmail.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:02:05 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Collared vs. Mourning In-Reply-To: <1326056197.78051.YahooMailNeo@web39705.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: I saw ECDs mating on December 18, so they do indeed breed at any season. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com From: Richard and Marilyn Musser Reply-To: Richard and Marilyn Musser Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 12:56:37 -0800 (PST) To: Alan Contreras , OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] Collared vs. Mourning Hi Alan, I've been paying close attention to the relationship of these two species since the ECDs trickled in here about 4 years ago. I now have the ECDs here all year, but the Mourning's are mostly migrated out by Sept.1, and are back later in the spring, after most other migrants have arrived. For the most part, I haven't seen much of a relationship between these two species. I don't think the ECDs here are reproducing, because if they are, I've yet to see anything that resembles a young dove. Yet, I don't see any reason why these birds aren't reproducing----and must admit it's past time for a careful search of my own immediate vicinity. I have about 30--40 ECDs here on a full time basis. It's my understanding that ECDs are THE most prolific wild bird, with no specific nesting season----so maybe I'm missing a lot in their reproduction, or looking for something that won't be there with this species. I've carefully watched for any interaction between these two species at our seed feeder. For the most part there has been zero interaction, but I have seen the smaller Mournings (about 4 oz.) walk around the larger ECDs (7oz.) to access food. On one occasion an aggressive Mourning male flew at an ECD----which flushed away in fear. I have not observed an aggressive move by an ECD towards a Mourning. I see these two dove species as not closely related, and this is exemplified in their escape from avian predators. Mourning Doves, in my experience, when intimidated by a raptor, "hit the sky" under full power---trusting in their wings for escape. ECDs, when placed in this same raptor predicament, fly into trees and bushes for safety. To my way of thinking, these two birds view their world much differently, and when not at the feeder, I haven't observed them together. Mourning nesting appears normal, and I see the adults with the youngsters for a short time prior to migration. Although both species are here right in my yard, the niche each occupy, is somewhat different---and mostly consists of nuance. I have not observed any displacement of Mournings by ECDs. It's rare to see an ECD "in the wild." (they're all at my place!) Best regards, Dick Musser (15mi. south of Burns) From: Alan Contreras To: OBOL Sent: Sunday, January 8, 2012 11:51 AM Subject: [OBOL] Collared vs. Mourning Collared-Dove seems to be much more a town-and-edge species than Mourning. I get both in my yard here in Medford but the Mournings are far more common out away from towns, where Collared are patchy and generally close to farms and homes, kind of like pigeons. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.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 celata at pacifier.com Sun Jan 8 15:05:39 2012 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:05:39 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Photo quiz: a winter passerine Message-ID: <4F0A0523.2030005@pacifier.com> Something I saw today behind the pizza parlor... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/ -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 From mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Sun Jan 8 15:16:28 2012 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 13:16:28 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Collared vs. Mourning In-Reply-To: References: <1326056197.78051.YahooMailNeo@web39705.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1326057388.71632.YahooMailNeo@web39705.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Alan, ???? Do you happen to know if ECDs build a stick nest?---because I haven't seen anyone carrying any nesting materials. Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) ________________________________ From: Alan Contreras To: Richard and Marilyn Musser ; OBOL Sent: Sunday, January 8, 2012 1:02 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Collared vs. Mourning I saw ECDs mating on December 18, so they do indeed breed at any season. --? Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com From: Richard and Marilyn Musser Reply-To: Richard and Marilyn Musser Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 12:56:37 -0800 (PST) To: Alan Contreras , OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] Collared vs. Mourning Hi Alan, ???? I've been paying close attention to the relationship of these two species since the ECDs trickled in here about 4 years ago. I now have the ECDs here all year, but the Mourning's are mostly migrated out by Sept.1, and are back later in the spring, after most other migrants have arrived. For the most part, I haven't seen much of a relationship between these two species. I don't think the ECDs here are reproducing, because if they are, I've yet to see anything that resembles a young dove. Yet, I don't see any reason why these birds aren't reproducing----and must admit it's past time for a careful search of my own immediate vicinity. I have about 30--40 ECDs here on a full time basis. It's my understanding that ECDs are THE most prolific wild bird, with no specific nesting season----so maybe I'm missing a lot in their reproduction, or looking for something that won't be there with this species. ???? I've carefully watched for any interaction between these two species at our seed feeder. For the most part there has been zero interaction, but I have seen the smaller Mournings (about 4 oz.) walk around the larger ECDs (7oz.) to access food. On one occasion an aggressive Mourning male flew at an ECD----which flushed away in fear. I have not observed an aggressive move by an ECD towards a Mourning. ???? I see these two dove species as not closely related, and this is exemplified in their escape from avian predators. Mourning Doves, in my experience, when intimidated by a raptor, "hit the sky" under full power---trusting in their wings for escape. ECDs, when placed in this same raptor predicament, fly into trees and bushes for safety. To my way of thinking, these two birds view their world much differently, and when not at the feeder, I haven't observed them together. Mourning nesting appears normal, and I see the adults with the youngsters for a short time prior to migration. Although both species are here right in my yard, the niche each occupy, is somewhat different---and mostly consists of nuance. I have not observed any displacement of Mournings by ECDs. It's rare to see an ECD "in the wild." (they're all at my place!) Best regards, Dick Musser (15mi. south of Burns) ________________________________ From: Alan Contreras To: OBOL Sent: Sunday, January 8, 2012 11:51 AM Subject: [OBOL] Collared vs. Mourning Collared-Dove seems to be much more a town-and-edge species than Mourning. ?I get both in my yard here in Medford but the Mournings are far more common out away from towns, where Collared are patchy and generally close to farms and homes, kind of like pigeons. --? Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.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 acontrer56 at gmail.com Sun Jan 8 16:08:05 2012 From: acontrer56 at gmail.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:08:05 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] books needed Message-ID: I have a set of Birds of the Soviet Union (6 volumes) that is in two different bindings and I'd like to make them match. I have Vol. 6 in the short fat gray paper binding and the rest in the taller, megastapled yellowish paper bindings. Does anyone out there have any strays that they might trade so as to make my set more lovely? Ideally I'd like all of them to be short, fat and gray, like my birding friend ? well let's leave it at that. I would also consider buying a set that is short, fat and gray or hardbound. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From zialeegray at gmail.com Sun Jan 8 16:27:30 2012 From: zialeegray at gmail.com (Zia Gray) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 14:27:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Rare Duck at Colusa Refuge Message-ID: This is in California, just north of Sacramento, but boy would it be amazing to see! Cheers, Zia http://www.fws.gov/refuges/news/RareDuckColusaRefuge_01062012.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Sun Jan 8 16:55:22 2012 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 14:55:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fernhill Canvasbacks Message-ID: Most noteworthy species at Fern Hill Lake in Forest Grove today was 15-16 Canvasbacks, about equally male and female. There seems to have been widespread sightings of this bird around western Oregon the past two weeks. While this is more Canvasbacks than I have seen in Washington County for awhile, ten or fifteen years ago I often saw many score at a time. A similar number of very grungy scaup were with the Canvasbacks. I expected them to be out of eclipse by now. Lars From gnorgren at earthlink.net Sun Jan 8 17:06:37 2012 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 15:06:37 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] 200 Thayer's Gulls, Washington County Message-ID: <643E9062-AFB4-4108-B5EA-34FD311475EF@earthlink.net> More negative results for the Roy/Vadis Prairie Falcon today (1/8). I have checked regularly for a month now. Around the corner on Milne Road (east side) is half a square mile of perrenial grass seed. 300 gulls were feeding in the style of Horned Larks, at a much more leisurely pace however. I counted them twice as they slowly rolled towards the nw. The great majority were THAYER'S GULLS, and 3/4 of those 1st year birds. A significant number were HERRING GULLS, both 1st year and adult. Some Glaucous-wings, but a true minority. This was also the case at Fern Hill Lake a few minutes earlier. A few gulls must not have been hungry for invertebrates and hung out in the parking lot. Out of ten gulls, there were three to five 1st year Thayer's, a 1st year and an adult Herring. A Ring-biiled adult. The minority G-wing/Olympic/Western. Out on the pool a few dozen MEWS. Lars From glenn_rie at yahoo.com Sun Jan 8 17:13:29 2012 From: glenn_rie at yahoo.com (Rie Luft) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 15:13:29 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Off-topic: Falcated Duck Message-ID: <1326064409.48175.YahooMailNeo@web122517.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> The Falcated Duck is indeed stunning and Colusa NWR is definitely a wonderful place to see it as the observation pond (the first one on the? auto loop) where it likes to hang out faces north so the lighting is always good, whether is shows up morning or afternoon.? Glenn and I were very fortunate to see it on our way back from So. CA on the New Year weekend.? Arrived in the afternoon and no body had seen it that day, so we camped nearby at the Fairgrounds and were back at the site 7am and there he was.?? Of course there is always a question as to whether it is truly wild or a domestic release but in this case there doesn't seem to be any question, according to staff and other birders.??? This one didn't seem tame at all - kept away from the observation platform, unlike the N. Pintails, Widgeons, etc. that seemed used to people,? and he obviously had other areas where he hung out.? A final life bird for 2010!? Was even able to get some photos as well.? The other upside is that Colusa NWR is a real little gem of a place - just a 3-mile auto route but jam-packed with bird species, including several cinnamon teals, a number of Eurasian Widgeons and a roost of about 30 Night Herons and a nice assortment of raptors.? Like its more famous counterpart, the Sacramento NWR, it is on the migratory path for the White-fronted Goose, the Ross's Goose and the Snow Goose so we saw the skies dense with these birds as well as the ponds.? So if anyone is heading south or north along the I-5 in CA, stop off north of Williams (which is north of Sacramento), head east on Highway 20 for about 7 miles and take a right on Odair (?) road - think it's marked for the refuge - it's dirt. In talking with the staff there, it apparently is more often seen in the early morning.? We hung around until 10:30 and it was still there. Rie Luft, Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From glenn_rie at yahoo.com Sun Jan 8 17:16:04 2012 From: glenn_rie at yahoo.com (Rie Luft) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 15:16:04 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Falcated Duck Message-ID: <1326064564.71329.YahooMailNeo@web122514.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Oops!? Life bird for 2011, not 2010.? Rie -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wlrisser at gmail.com Sun Jan 8 18:53:22 2012 From: wlrisser at gmail.com (William Risser) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 16:53:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] tufted duck in Vancouver today Message-ID: <000901ccce69$172b3fa0$4581bee0$@com> We looked for the tufted duck where Randy Hill saw it yesterday. Too foggy at 1 PM, but we succeeded at 4 PM. There was a lot of human activity and there were no ducks off of Randy's cove initially, but several flew in before long. The tufted duck's clean white sides and black back were evident. He was feeding actively initially and the tufts were hard to see. When he stopped for a while and perhaps after his head had time to dry a bit, the tufts became more obvious. He was near a male Barrow's and 3-4 female goldeneyes and in the general vicinity of a few scaup. Some additional directions that may help: Turn south off of SE Columbia Way when you see the big post that says Marine Park. Follow the road around toward the boat ramp and park in the lot near the water. The birds were out from the cove where two large white yachts were moored; this must be the cove that Randy mentioned yesterday. There was a red-breasted sapsucker in the trees along the water. We are not signed up to post to Tweeters and so someone might post this for us. Jan and Will Risser, Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sitka at comcast.net Sun Jan 8 19:39:44 2012 From: sitka at comcast.net (Jeffrey St Clair) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 17:39:44 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Message-ID: i walked the Columbia Dike trail today as part of my monthly survey of wintering raptors and was shocked to see extensive logging on both sides of the dike that has removed large cottonwoods used for roosting by redtails and bald eagles. This logging even appears to penetrate inside the Stiegarwald National Wildlife Refuge. The most egregious cutting occurred a few hundred yards east of Steamboat Landing, which removed a patch of large trees. Some of the trees were larger than 24 inches DBH. Last year I recorded 5 sub adult bald eagles in one tree and two in an adjacent tree at the same time. Both trees and many others are now gone. The logging is ongoing. Does any one know the justification for this operation and whether or not an EIS was conducted? JSC Jeffrey St Clair sitka at comcast.net "Art is either plagiarism or revolution." -- Paul Cezanne From hatlevis at comcast.net Sun Jan 8 19:48:23 2012 From: hatlevis at comcast.net (Susan Hatlevig) Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:48:23 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Townsends Warbler etc in NW Corvallis Message-ID: <4F0A4767.4030009@comcast.net> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From foglark at att.net Sun Jan 8 19:56:57 2012 From: foglark at att.net (David Fix & Jude Power) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 17:56:57 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] northwest CA update Message-ID: <1326074217.63102.YahooMailRC@web80002.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Here are sightings from the past week. I forgot to mention that a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW and 2 SNOW BUNTINGS were also found on the Centerville Beach To King Salmon CBC; the species total seems to be 182. The buntings were out on the n. Eel R. spit, 3.3 miles s. of the restroom at Table Bluff Park. A really hot find this far south on a Christmas Bird Count. Daryl Coldren missed this species in 2011, but not many others--his Humboldt County year list was 330 NIB, smashing the old record. 1/1: A BURROWING OWL was in salt marsh w. of 101 opposite Murray Field, Eureka (Gary Lester). Another BURROWING OWL was seen by Gary and Lauren the next day just w. of last winter's Brown Shrike spot. 1/3: Bird described by quite a few characteristics as an ad. or subad. BROAD-WINGED HAWK, shortly n. of Alexandre Dairy, Del Norte Co. (Lucas Brug). Lucas said there was also a large flock of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS along Pala Road, just nw. of there. It seems like a good bluebird winter. 1/3: TROPICAL KINGBIRD, near e. foot of Cannibal I. Rd. w. of Loleta Drive; YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, Ocean & Berding Streets, Ferndale (Linda Doerflinger, Ken Burton). I suppose this T-K must have seen Jude and me from a fence wire as we happily drove past it during the Centerville CBC. It exchanged glances the next day with Mark Magnussen. 1/4: CATTLE EGRET w. of Lower Lake Rd. just n. of where Moseley T's into it; 4 male and 2 female BARROW'S GOLDENEYES in Smith R. estuary from Pala Rd.; CRESTED CARACARA still near MP 37, Hwy 101; and the single ROSS'S and SNOW GEESE continue with GR. WHITE-FRONTED GEESE at the lawn off Front and B Street in Crescent City (Alan Barron). The seeming Broad-winged Hawk reported the previous day near Alexandre Dairy was not relocated. 1/4: The inaugural Tall Trees CBC was conducted. This mostly near-coastal count is in Humboldt Co. between Arcata and Crescent City. The total was 105 species at the countdown. The highlight was a California CBC record 12 RUFFED GROUSE by various teams (they don't even reach the next county south, Mendocino). Also seen were a CINNAMON TEAL, a PALM WARBLER, only one EUR. COLLARED-DOVE yet in Orick, N. PYGMY-OWLS by several teams, a large flock of CANVASBACK and some REDHEADS on Stone Lagoon, 8 GR. WHITE-FRONTED GEESE in Orick, and 36 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and 25 HUTTON'S VIREOS by Gary Lester in the general vicinity of Tall Trees Grove. Dozens of LINCOLN'S SPARROWS were found. There were 90 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES over the ocean opposite Big Lagoon and another 52 at the mouth of Redwood Creek, 30 of which were standing on the beach. An overflight of unseen but vocal MARBLED MURRELETS took place before sunrise in lower Redwood Creek. 1/5: The wintering YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER continued at 2505 Hewitt Rd. in e. McKinleyville (Gary Lester) and 1/6 (Rob Fowler) 1/7: Rob Fowler led an Audubon field trip with 15-20 participants. They found 2-3 ROSS'S GEESE flying over Arcata Marsh, a SWAMP SPARROW seen by all along the w. side of the logpond, and a continuing orestera ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER at the edge of the G Street parking lot. From King Salmon the group saw 9-10 COM. GOLDENEYES, 5-6 RED-NECKED GREBES, and at least 3-4 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES. The TROPICAL KINGBIRD continued at the Loleta Pond, as did the CLAY-COLORED SPARROW at Owen Head's feeder along Port Kenyon Road. Neither of the two known locally wintering N. WATERTHRUSHES was relocated (Arcata Marsh logpond and shortly ne. of Bayshore Mall) 1/8: For the past week a NASHVILLE WARBLER has been using a hummingbird feeder several times a day at 1604 Victor in Manila (Joan Walsh) 1/8: At the Salmon Creek Unit of Humboldt Bay NWR, the imm. GOLDEN EAGLE continued in the same place (yes, Dave and Shawneen, perched on the same old cattle loading chute across the way), and it hunted AM. COOTS, prompting one of the 20 participants to suggest that an assemblage of coots should be called a "panic." About 20 TUNDRA SWANS were present, as was a BROWN PELICAN, 2 BONAPARTE'S GULLS, and the usual sprinkling of raptors and hundreds of ducks, largely N. PINTAIL (Jude Power, David Fix et al.). No Aleutian Cackling Geese were seen at the Refuge on the trip. 1/8: A BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER was with a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER feeding in coyote brush along the sw. side of the logpond at the Arcata Marsh, a rare winter report (George Ziminski). 1/8: A ROSS'S GOOSE was with about 100 ALEUTIAN CACKLING GEESE in a pasture just se. of the main s. Arcata 101 interchange, seen while sitting here at my confuser in Sunny Brae. David Fix Baja Jefferson Klamath Konundrum Occupied Gaia "Ninety-nine percent of birding is looking at common birds for the thousandth time and trying to see something new." / Tad MacMivora, fl. 1974- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From celata at pacifier.com Sun Jan 8 20:14:41 2012 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:14:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Message-ID: <4F0A4D91.7080401@pacifier.com> If it seems to be more or less exclusively along the dike it may be a mandate from the Army Corps of Engineers. Here in Clatsop County most of the dikes were completely cleared out to about 20 ft taking out habitat at Astoria Mitigation Bank, along the Lewis and Clark River and the Warrenton River Walk. The corps is responding to criticisms (presumably) associated with Hurricane Katrina regarding dike maintenance and access. They feel that vegetation on the dikes either undermines the integrity of the dikes or interferes with inspection and management. Work done to maintain the dikes probably does not require an EIS. Complaints about the impact to the view-shed and ambiance of the Warrenton Linear Park were pretty much ignored... ---- Subject: Columbia Dike Logging From: Jeffrey St Clair Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 17:39:44 -0800 i walked the Columbia Dike trail today as part of my monthly survey of wintering raptors and was shocked to see extensive logging on both sides of the dike that has removed large cottonwoods used for roosting by redtails and bald eagles. This logging even appears to penetrate inside the Stiegarwald National Wildlife Refuge. The most egregious cutting occurred a few hundred yards east of Steamboat Landing, which removed a patch of large trees. Some of the trees were larger than 24 inches DBH. Last year I recorded 5 sub adult bald eagles in one tree and two in an adjacent tree at the same time. Both trees and many others are now gone. The logging is ongoing. Does any one know the justification for this operation and whether or not an EIS was conducted? JSC Jeffrey St Clair sitka AT comcast.net "Art is either plagiarism or revolution." -- Paul Cezanne -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 From dlbird at earthlink.net Sun Jan 8 20:27:28 2012 From: dlbird at earthlink.net (Donna Lusthoff) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 18:27:28 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Doves In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5E52B7EEEB3C4FCD9B01199775FC68B7@DonnaPC> Hi all, In the late 1990's I talked with Wes Biggs, a professional bird guide in Florida, about the Dove situation. At that time the E C-Doves HAD displaced the Mourning Doves in Florida. By quite a bit. But, later he said the Mourning's had somewhat regrouped and were building up again. Whether or not that is still the case I don't know. I imagine they are still around in good numbers. Whether or not matching the high numbers there were earlier I don't have current info on. Like Paul says, talk with some of the Florida people, or check breeding bird numbers-things like that. Donna Lusthoff Beaverton OR From: pamelaj at spiritone.com Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 11:39 AM To: obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] Doves Paul, where are Frank Conley?s feeders? Pamela Johnston From: Paul T. Sullivan Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 11:13 AM To: ted schroeder ; EOU Bird List Cc: obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] Doves Ted, Eurasian Colared-doves have been sweeping across N. America for the last 20+ years. They hit Oregon in the last decade. I saw my first one at Frank Conley's feeders in 2002. By 2011 Carol & I completed our quest to see them in EVERY Oregon county. They are here to stay. That said, folks in Florida or Carolina who have lived with them for 20 years can probably tell you better what to expect. I don't bellieve they have totally displaced Mourning Doves. I've seen big flocks of Mourning Doves in the midwest. Mourning Doves will live in the countryside, while E. collared-doves like to be around people more. They are thick in Burns, Condon, and Imbler, and other small towns. I've seen 70 around a dairy north of McMinnville where they had feed to thrive on. My two cents.... (You get what you pay for. ;-) Paul T. Sullivan ----- Original Message ----- From: ted schroeder To: EOU Bird List Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 9:54 AM Subject: Doves Starting about six years ago we started seeing Eurasian Collared-Doves at our place. Prior to that, Over a 10 year period, we had had increasing numbers of Mourning Doves to the point that we would commonly have 12-15 Mourning Doves hanging around through the winters because we were putting feed out for the quail. Gradually, over six year's time, the Eurasian Collared-Doves have displaced the Mourning Doves. I haven't seen a Mourning Dove on our place for 6 months or so. We currently have 20 Eurasian Doves that hang here daily. They have nested in our spruce trees for the last three years. I never saw any aggressive behavior towards the Mourning Doves by the ECDs but they have somehow made the MDs disappear. Is anyone out there still seeing Mourning Doves? I haven't been out and about much of late but I haven't seen any Mourning Doves away from our place elsewhere in the valley. >From my narrow experience, one would have to wonder if the Eurasian Collared-Doves aren't likely to cause the extinction of the Mourning Doves in the long run. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ 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 d_villa at mail.com Sun Jan 8 20:51:03 2012 From: d_villa at mail.com (dawn) Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:51:03 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Barrow's Goldeneye (2 pair) Siletz Bay, 1-8-2012 Message-ID: <20120109025104.284480@gmx.com> Around noon today we saw four BARROW'S GOLDENEYE (2 males, 2 females) at the Siletz Bay turnout just south of Taft. Report is here: http://www.birdfellow.com/members/dawnvilla/field_reports/489-barrows-goldeneye-siletz-bay-01-08-2012 A BLACK SCOTER was also present. dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From larmcqueen at msn.com Sun Jan 8 21:35:12 2012 From: larmcqueen at msn.com (Larry McQueen) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 19:35:12 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Harrisburg raptors Message-ID: My wife and I decided to take advantage of this beautiful day in Eugene to drive to Snag Boat Bend for a walk in the sun. Snag Boat Bend is just south of Peoria. Before reaching Harrisburg, we noticed a thick gray blanket ahead, which presently surrounded us. Snag Boat was cold and dreary, so we didn't walk farther than the board walk. While driving the Peoria Road between Snag Boat and Harrisburg, I noticed these raptors: COOPER'S HAWK being harassed by a blackbird, PEREGRINE crossing over the windshield, BALD EAGLE flying over the river, about 5 RED-TAILED HAWKS, a few unidentified Buteos, and 7+ KESTRELS. I don't know when it happened, but the small information kiosk at the head of the trail at the Snag Boat Bend parking lot had been burned down -- without a doubt by vandalism. Larry From gnorgren at earthlink.net Sun Jan 8 21:42:45 2012 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 19:42:45 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] more on Linn County prairie birds Message-ID: <30BD67C9-0404-4D0E-ABDD-E36ABF86155D@earthlink.net> I forgot to mention the 100 or more American Pipits I saw in the field east of Center School Road and just north of Ranch Road. Seven HORNED LARKS joined them as the flock repeatedly rose up and repositioned, always quite close to the road. This field has a very low crop at the moment-one or two centimeters high. Scanning with a scope is not an excercise in frustration as taller grass would make it. Darkness and a long homeward journey kept me from a serious attempt at Longspurs. Sorry I didn't get this up on Friday night(1/6) before the weekend. This area north and west of the Coburg Hills can be a destination for a daytrip, or a highly diverting diversion from an otherwise marathon run up or down I-5. I saw most target species in about an hour, moving north from Diamond Hill Road to the Brownsville exit. Freeway access is very limited. I think it's twelve miles from the Corvallis/Lebanon exit to the Brownsville exit. No egress in between. Then it must be about 10 miles from Brownsville to the Diamond Hill exit, which I can give neither name nor number to. Every business at this exit failed decades ago. You probably didn't know there was a standing ghost town just minutes north of Eugene. It blends so well with the dead winter weeds that I may have driven by it once, missing the exit altogether. The system of county roads staggers along section lines, sometimes going east-west for half a mile. But one does get pointed north or south soon enough, and the variety and novelty value of bird species is steady throughout. Lars From robin_birder at hotmail.com Sun Jan 8 21:58:00 2012 From: robin_birder at hotmail.com (Rob Conway) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 03:58:00 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] SW Portland - Collins View, Riverview: RBA - Common Redpoll, Red naped Sapsucker Message-ID: Obolites, I finally got out today for a couple of hours to bird the neighborhood. Best Sightings: Common Redpoll - Just 1 Bird, At the intersection of Palatine Hill Road and SW Brier Place, north side of Palatine Hill Road working tree buds and catkins with a small flock of American Goldfinch. Very bright and active bird, quite vocal. This is a repeat bird at the same site over 2 weeks. Red Naped Sapsucker - Unusual in that this bird is working sap wells very high up in a maple and another unidentified tree. It has taken me 2 weeks to get a definitive view, but todays good lighting did it. The trees are at the intersection of the Riverview and Greenwood Hill Cemeteries. Enter the Riverview Cemetery off of Palatine Hill Road just east of Brier Place. Straight ahead at the entrance and then left when the street makes a steeper drop and forks. The trees in question are just to the west of this spot right where the slope flattens out and an area of more heavily treed space starts. I watched the bird for 20 minutes before it vocalized. The sap holes are productive as I saw an Annas following the sapsucker and feeding. Other good birds include a Yellow Shafted Flicker working the lawns just to the south of the sapsucker spot, a Northern Pygmy Owl that came right to my whistle immitation just to the south of the sapsucker spot in the unmown area between cemeteries, and more than 20 Varied Thrushes further East in the lower area of the cemetery. Yesterday I saw a Peregrine take a Wood Duck that was roosting with 4 others in a fir snag across Macadam from the Sellwood Bridge. I also had a flyover of 9 Tundra Swans moving in the right direction to be going between Oak Bottom and Tualitin or somewhere in that vicinity. Bushtits have discovered my suet feeders less than 2 feet out of my kitchen area window, I counted 22 on 2 suet feeders at one time - always fun. All in all a really nice birdy weekend without a whole lot of work or travel. Rob Conway SW Portland 45.46?N 122.68?W (Elev. 473ft) robin_birder at hotmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From notisj at gmail.com Sun Jan 8 22:16:05 2012 From: notisj at gmail.com (=?utf-8?B?Sm9obiBOb3Rpcw==?=) Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:16:05 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] =?utf-8?q?Doves?= Message-ID: <4f0a6a06.46ed320a.137f.ffff8e2a@mx.google.com> I took note of the dove situation a few years ago when we visited South Carolina. EC and Mourning doves were abundant and mostly seemed to be sharing the same habitat. Both species were thick in most towns and cities. So that was encouraging, although I think it's worth considering how different our climates and habitats are of course. -John ----- Reply message ----- From: "Paul T. Sullivan" To: "ted schroeder" , "EOU Bird List" Cc: "obol" Subject: [OBOL] Doves Date: Sun, Jan 8, 2012 11:13 am Ted, Eurasian Colared-doves have been sweeping across N. America for the last 20+ years. They hit Oregon in the last decade. I saw my first one at Frank Conley's feeders in 2002. By 2011 Carol & I completed our quest to see them in EVERY Oregon county. They are here to stay. That said, folks in Florida or Carolina who have lived with them for 20 years can probably tell you better what to expect. I don't bellieve they have totally displaced Mourning Doves. I've seen big flocks of Mourning Doves in the midwest. Mourning Doves will live in the countryside, while E. collared-doves like to be around people more. They are thick in Burns, Condon, and Imbler, and other small towns. I've seen 70 around a dairy north of McMinnville where they had feed to thrive on. My two cents.... (You get what you pay for. ;-) Paul T. Sullivan ----- Original Message ----- From: ted schroeder To: EOU Bird List Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 9:54 AM Subject: Doves Starting about six years ago we started seeing Eurasian Collared-Doves at our place. Prior to that, Over a 10 year period, we had had increasing numbers of Mourning Doves to the point that we would commonly have 12-15 Mourning Doves hanging around through the winters because we were putting feed out for the quail. Gradually, over six year's time, the Eurasian Collared-Doves have displaced the Mourning Doves. I haven't seen a Mourning Dove on our place for 6 months or so. We currently have 20 Eurasian Doves that hang here daily. They have nested in our spruce trees for the last three years. I never saw any aggressive behavior towards the Mourning Doves by the ECDs but they have somehow made the MDs disappear. Is anyone out there still seeing Mourning Doves? I haven't been out and about much of late but I haven't seen any Mourning Doves away from our place elsewhere in the valley. From my narrow experience, one would have to wonder if the Eurasian Collared-Doves aren't likely to cause the extinction of the Mourning Doves in the long run. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hatlevis at comcast.net Sun Jan 8 22:32:20 2012 From: hatlevis at comcast.net (Susan Hatlevig) Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:32:20 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Rock Dove coloration Message-ID: <4F0A6DD4.20802@comcast.net> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com Sun Jan 8 22:59:26 2012 From: shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com (Shawneen Finnegan) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 20:59:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Rock Dove coloration In-Reply-To: <4F0A6DD4.20802@comcast.net> References: <4F0A6DD4.20802@comcast.net> Message-ID: Susan: Feral Rock Pigeons, particularly ones in the middle of big cities, come in every combination you can possibly imagine. So, my answer would be yes, it is normal. Shawneen Finnegan Portland, OR From kaycarter at wbcable.net Sun Jan 8 23:00:30 2012 From: kaycarter at wbcable.net (Kay Carter) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 21:00:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Off Topic--Nuttings in Az. In-Reply-To: <1514719024.253479.1325972395417.JavaMail.root@sz0081a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> References: <1514719024.253479.1325972395417.JavaMail.root@sz0081a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Message-ID: <012501ccce8b$9c5628d0$d5027a70$@net> I?m delighted to be able to confirm the Arizona Nutting?s Flycatcher. While spending a few weeks with family and soaking up some Arizona sun, four of us added this very cooperative (and vocal) bird to our life lists. I infrequently chase rarities, and generally come up empty when I do, so this was a pleasant change (and the rest of the birding was warm and productive, too). Kay Carter (usually) Canby, OR; (temporarily) Phoenix, AZ From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of SJJag at comcast.net Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2012 1:40 PM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] resource: bird alerts us. wide--Nuttings in Az. A birding list digest may be found at digest.sialia.com/ It has most (all?) of the n. america bird lists in digest form. A Nutting's Flycatcher has also been reported in AZ. this past week. Steve Jaggers -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com Sun Jan 8 23:28:10 2012 From: shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com (Shawneen Finnegan) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 21:28:10 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Corvallis Bald Hill BLUE JAY seen this afternoon Message-ID: Today Dave Irons and I meandered our way south through pea soup fog towards Corvallis. We finally arrived at Bald Hill Natural Area to look for the BLUE JAY sometime after lunch. We parked at the lot off NW Oak Creek Drive as suggested by others. Holly Reinhard pulled in right after us so together we walked to the barn. After a while we spotted the Steller's Jay flock coming up the hill from the northwest (direction of the parking lot) towards the towards the barn. With them was the BLUE JAY. They stopped briefly in the trees near the barn before continuing south southwest. The BLUE JAY stopped a couple hundred yards south of the trail split for a while. It called many times and with patience eventually we all had nice looks at it up in a tall tree. It spent time foraging both up in the trees and on the ground. Shawneen Finnegan Portland From davehelzerian at gmail.com Sun Jan 8 23:54:40 2012 From: davehelzerian at gmail.com (Dave Helzer) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 21:54:40 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Smith Bybee: Barn Swallows & Buteo tussle Message-ID: OBOL and PAB: 1/8/12 There were 6-8 BARN SWALLOWS today at Smith Bybee in North Portland, over the trail out beyond the Bybee Lake blind. A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was vocal in the same area. Later it was attacked by an immature Red-tailed Hawk. They tangled in a tree as we watched and fell tumbling together through the canopy, then came to stop. They hung in a tangled feathered mess with limbs askew for several minutes, mostly totally still while one of them a odd alarm call. The Red-tailed seemed to have the advantage. They finally broke apart and the Red-shouldered flew off screaming. A few minutes later the the Red-tailed displaced Red-shouldered off its perch. There were 4 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE around as well. We did not really look for the previously reported LT Duck but heard it was seen this last week. Dave Helzer Portland From robin_birder at hotmail.com Mon Jan 9 00:59:11 2012 From: robin_birder at hotmail.com (Rob Conway) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 06:59:11 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Rock Dove coloration In-Reply-To: <4F0A6DD4.20802@comcast.net> References: <4F0A6DD4.20802@comcast.net> Message-ID: As Shawneen noted Rock Pigeons come in almost any color form you can imagine. The bird in your picture is from the Ash Red Barred classification I believe. Pigeon genetics are widely studied and well know, with lots of specific breeding for unusual traits (color, posture (fantail), flight (rollers), and like most birds with domestication meat production). You can learn a lot more about genetics of Rock Pigeons at: http://www.angelfire.com/ga3/pigeongenetics/index.html This is a great site and gives a pretty extensive history on pigeon study, classifications, and genetics. The bird you picture has a lot of recessive traits - but with the gene pool variety and number of Rock Pigeons in NYC seeing almost any color is possible. Watching flocks of pigeons racing around high rises in big cities, along cliffs in the Mediterannean or over open fields where one is challenged to think where the birds roost can be relaxing, thought provoking, and thrilling. They are still the most common urban "farm animal" with thousands of keepers of birds in rooftop cages all over the world. Rob Rob Conway SW Portland 45.46?N 122.68?W (Elev. 473ft) robin_birder at hotmail.com Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 20:32:20 -0800 From: hatlevis at comcast.net To: OBOL at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Rock Dove coloration I took this photo of a rock dove in NYC around Washington Park. Is this a normal coloration? https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2i90SeEeOBxr5tGRD0NxRfRi_dDi9v-hWKwz71zYGlU?feat=email Susie in 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 llsdirons at msn.com Mon Jan 9 01:42:21 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 07:42:21 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Successful BLUE JAY trip 8 Jan Message-ID: Greetings All, Shawneen and I made a run to Corvallis to look for the BLUE JAY today. We made some other stops along the way. A couple marginal images in lists of what we saw at various stops along the way can be seen by clicking on the underlined colored text below: Blue Jay Chase to Corvallis Dave Irons Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bledsoephotography at gmail.com Mon Jan 9 01:56:39 2012 From: bledsoephotography at gmail.com (Jeff Bledsoe) Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 23:56:39 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] please identify this bird Message-ID: Can someone please identify this bird for me? http://www.flickr.com/photos/33155245 at N07/sets/72157628789488147/ I've never seen it before this winter and can't find it in my searches. We've also had some of the same that were lighter in color with much more pronounced brown/tan and yellows but those were a few weeks back. The group that comes has always included ones that look like these on the photos so i would assume they are variations of the same species. Thanks in advance, Jeff -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mntsprg at wizzards.net Mon Jan 9 02:06:56 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 00:06:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] please identify this bird In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <62DFD264750746DF94C42A72A88C548F@MitherPC> it looks like an IMMATURE European starling...the immature nature might be what makes him look different Laura From: Jeff Bledsoe Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 11:56 PM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] please identify this bird Can someone please identify this bird for me? http://www.flickr.com/photos/33155245 at N07/sets/72157628789488147/ I've never seen it before this winter and can't find it in my searches. We've also had some of the same that were lighter in color with much more pronounced brown/tan and yellows but those were a few weeks back. The group that comes has always included ones that look like these on the photos so i would assume they are variations of the same species. Thanks in advance, Jeff -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bledsoephotography at gmail.com Mon Jan 9 02:16:39 2012 From: bledsoephotography at gmail.com (Jeff Bledsoe) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 00:16:39 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] please identify this bird In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thanks David and Laura for the responses. (Eurasian Starlings) On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 11:56 PM, Jeff Bledsoe wrote: > > Can someone please identify this bird for me? > http://www.flickr.com/photos/33155245 at N07/sets/72157628789488147/ > > I've never seen it before this winter and can't find it in my searches. > We've also had some of the same that were lighter in color with much more > pronounced brown/tan and yellows but those were a few weeks back. The > group that comes has always included ones that look like these on the > photos so i would assume they are variations of the same species. > > Thanks in advance, > Jeff > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mntsprg at wizzards.net Mon Jan 9 02:21:28 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 00:21:28 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] please identify this bird In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: just for an FYI...my husband told me that in Australia for many many years they thought they had more species then actual...it took awhile to figure out there were differences in the immature birds...I was baffled for awhile by the immature spotted towhees ... Laura From: Jeff Bledsoe Sent: Monday, January 09, 2012 12:16 AM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: [OBOL] please identify this bird Thanks David and Laura for the responses. (Eurasian Starlings) On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 11:56 PM, Jeff Bledsoe wrote: Can someone please identify this bird for me? http://www.flickr.com/photos/33155245 at N07/sets/72157628789488147/ I've never seen it before this winter and can't find it in my searches. We've also had some of the same that were lighter in color with much more pronounced brown/tan and yellows but those were a few weeks back. The group that comes has always included ones that look like these on the photos so i would assume they are variations of the same species. Thanks in advance, Jeff -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From contopus at telus.net Mon Jan 9 03:26:45 2012 From: contopus at telus.net (Wayne Weber) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 01:26:45 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Mountain Plover-- still around?? Message-ID: <021e01ccceb0$ce84fe10$6b8efa30$@net> Oregon Birders, Is the Mountain Plover near the Corvallis airport still being seen? The last report I saw was by Sylvia Maulding on January 1. I will be heading south to northern California in a couple of days, and was hoping to make a short side trip for the plover if it's still around. Many thanks for any info!! Wayne C. Weber Delta, BC contopus at telus.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gorgebirds at juno.com Mon Jan 9 04:38:55 2012 From: gorgebirds at juno.com (Wilson Cady) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 10:38:55 GMT Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Message-ID: <20120109.023855.1886.0@webmail03.vgs.untd.com> Mike is right, this is a nationwide mandate of the Corps of Engineers. They are removing all trees within 15 feet of the toe of the dikes they built and maintain. They are removing nearly 2,000 trees along over five miles of the Washougal Dike. This is a horrible loss of habitat and a real disappointment to all of us who have spent years planting native vegetation at places like the Steigerwald Lake NWR and along salmon bearing streams where there are dikes.. Wilson Cady Skamania County, WA ---------- Original Message ---------- From: Mike Patterson To: OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:14:41 -0800 If it seems to be more or less exclusively along the dike it may be a mandate from the Army Corps of Engineers. Here in Clatsop County most of the dikes were completely cleared out to about 20 ft taking out habitat at Astoria Mitigation Bank, along the Lewis and Clark River and the Warrenton River Walk. The corps is responding to criticisms (presumably) associated with Hurricane Katrina regarding dike maintenance and access. They feel that vegetation on the dikes either undermines the integrity of the dikes or interferes with inspection and management. Work done to maintain the dikes probably does not require an EIS. Complaints about the impact to the view-shed and ambiance of the Warrenton Linear Park were pretty much ignored... ---- Subject: Columbia Dike Logging From: Jeffrey St Clair Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 17:39:44 -0800 i walked the Columbia Dike trail today as part of my monthly survey of wintering raptors and was shocked to see extensive logging on both sides of the dike that has removed large cottonwoods used for roosting by redtails and bald eagles. This logging even appears to penetrate inside the Stiegarwald National Wildlife Refuge. The most egregious cutting occurred a few hundred yards east of Steamboat Landing, which removed a patch of large trees. Some of the trees were larger than 24 inches DBH. Last year I recorded 5 sub adult bald eagles in one tree and two in an adjacent tree at the same time. Both trees and many others are now gone. The logging is ongoing. Does any one know the justification for this operation and whether or not an EIS was conducted? JSC Jeffrey St Clair sitka AT comcast.net "Art is either plagiarism or revolution." -- Paul Cezanne -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From barrymckenzie at comcast.net Mon Jan 9 08:32:40 2012 From: barrymckenzie at comcast.net (Barry McKenzie) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 06:32:40 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eugene Birders' Night: tonight at 7pm Message-ID: <49DAA1E7-9AE3-4FD6-BE76-403AF8531EA0@comcast.net> OBOL- Eugene Birder's Night will be Monday, Jan 9 at 7pm AGENDA: Usual bird chat and discussion, then ??? WHO: All are welcome LOCATION: EWEB building, 500 E 4th Ave in Eugene. We're in the "Community Room". This is in the building to the left as you walk under the skybridge toward the river. The Community Room accessed by following the curved wall to the right (toward the river) and entering the first door on the left. Parking is available right in front of the building. Google map is here: http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=eweb&fb=1&gl=us&hq=eweb&hnear=0x54c119b0ac501919:0x57ec61894a43894d,Eugene,+OR&cid=0,0,15169214557055504751&ei=DkZiTpPzIpLUiAL5oO27Cg&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&ved=0CAQQ_BI Barry McKenzie Eugene -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From joel.geier at peak.org Mon Jan 9 08:41:38 2012 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:41:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Halsey area swans Message-ID: <1326120098.1688.119.camel@clearwater1> Hi Lars & all, I just noticed this comment about the Halsey area swan flocks in the OBOL digest. About 3 or 4 years ago, a small group (2 or 3?) of Trumpeter Swans were reported from the Halsey paper mill area. That same winter, scattered family groups of Trumpeter Swans were found in widespread locations, at the same time as numbers in the larger Suver/Airlie-Maple Grove flock seemed to dip a bit from the usual count of 40-45. One line of speculation was that these family groups had begun to spin off from the Suver flock, and there was hope that this could lead to establishment of regular wintering flocks in other parts of the mid-Willamette Valley. That doesn't seem to have happened -- or at least if it's happened, no one has found the new wintering locations. So far this winter, the Suver/Maple Grove flock has been almost entirely absent. I saw two Trumpeters on the De Armond Rd. pond (in southern Polk Co. near Airlie) back in November, but those are the only ones reported so far. None were found on the Airlie-Albany CBC. Hopefully their absence is explained by the increased numbers that have been reported from the northern Willamette Valley and Ridgefield NWR this winter. A couple of duck hunters encountered during the Airlie CBC expressed an opinion that waterfowl in general were lingering in the Sauvie/ Ridgefield area rather than moving south into the mid-valley. About coverage of the Halsey swan flocks: There are quite a few birders (from the Eugene area plus Linn Co. locals) who do seem to check the Halsey area swan flocks each winter, but my impression from compiling field notes in past years is that there are far fewer reports that make it onto the birding lists, than there are observations. Unfortunately there is a tendency among birders not to mention "normal" occurrences, even of a spectacle so remarkable as a thousand Tundra Swans. We do hear about them when a few unusual swans are found in their midst, or when a new local birder happens across them. Happy birding, Joel Lars Norgren wrote: > Large numbers (ca 1000) of swans have been > in the Halsey area every winter since the > early 70s. I saw many yesterday.All within > viewable distance were Tundra. I've never > heard any reports of Trumpeters from there. > But viewer effort is limited. Lars -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis From joel.geier at peak.org Mon Jan 9 08:56:43 2012 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:56:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Mountain Plover-- still around?? Message-ID: <1326121003.1688.124.camel@clearwater1> Hi Wayne & all, Whether the Mountain/Fog Plover is still around or not, there have not been any reports more recent than Sylvia's so far as I'm aware. The fog has returned, and is likely to be an impediment to any searches in the next few days. Good luck and please let us know if you do look for it, Joel Wayne Weber wrote: > Is the Mountain Plover near the Corvallis airport still being seen? The > last report I saw was by Sylvia Maulding on January 1. -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis From joel.geier at peak.org Mon Jan 9 09:00:52 2012 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:00:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Mountain Plover-- still around?? In-Reply-To: <1326121003.1688.124.camel@clearwater1> References: <1326121003.1688.124.camel@clearwater1> Message-ID: <1326121252.1688.125.camel@clearwater1> Hi Wayne & all, Whether the Mountain/Fog Plover is still around or not, there have not been any reports more recent than Sylvia's so far as I'm aware. The fog has returned, and is likely to be an impediment to any searches in the next few days. Good luck and please let us know if you do look for it, Joel Wayne Weber wrote: > Is the Mountain Plover near the Corvallis airport still being seen? The > last report I saw was by Sylvia Maulding on January 1. -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis From scott at tbnep.org Mon Jan 9 09:43:55 2012 From: scott at tbnep.org (Scott Bailey) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 07:43:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Inexpensive Binos In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <01d101cccee5$7f2b5280$7d81f780$@org> I know you asked for replies off line, but I will post my comments publicly. Over the past decade and a half I have purchased several pairs of new Swift brand binoculars for various organizations I have worked with and find them to be excellent quality optics with prices that can't be beat. I don't know what your price range is, but online you can get a nice pair of Swift roof prisms for under $200 and a very nice pair for around $300. In my experience, they are very durable and extremely functional binos and the price is exceptional. http://www.binoculars.com/binoculars/bird-watching-binoculars/swiftpremierho rizon10x42binoculars.cfm -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of obol-request at oregonbirds.org Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 6:16 AM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: OBOL Digest, Vol 21, Issue 20 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..." From christopher.a.grant at gmail.com Mon Jan 9 10:48:01 2012 From: christopher.a.grant at gmail.com (Chris Grant) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 08:48:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Message-ID: Wilson Cady wrote: >Mike is right, this is a nationwide mandate of the Corps of Engineers. >They are removing all trees within 15 feet of the toe of the dikes they >built and maintain. They are removing nearly 2,000 trees along over >five miles of the Washougal Dike. Can anyone explain the rationale being used by the Corp to support this action? This outside my area of expertise, but it seems to me that riparian vegetation would slow flood waters and trap sediment, both of which would seem to stabilize a dike. Also, it seems to me that the roots of trees and shrubs in the riparian zone would help knit together the toe of the dike, and thereby protect it. This action by the Corp appears to expose the dike to damage, not protect it. Anyone have any insight to share? Chris Grant From pamelaj at SpiritOne.com Mon Jan 9 11:10:46 2012 From: pamelaj at SpiritOne.com (pamelaj@spiritone.com) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 09:10:46 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Photo quiz: a winter passerine In-Reply-To: <4F0A0523.2030005@pacifier.com> References: <4F0A0523.2030005@pacifier.com> Message-ID: A delight on these rare sunny winter days, and an added benefit of getting a slice of pizza, the Overexposed Warbler. Pamela Johnston -----Original Message----- From: Mike Patterson Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 1:05 PM To: OBOL ; swalalahos_group Subject: [OBOL] Photo quiz: a winter passerine Something I saw today behind the pizza parlor... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/ -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From LCain at astoria.k12.or.us Mon Jan 9 11:21:40 2012 From: LCain at astoria.k12.or.us (Lee Cain) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 17:21:40 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Inexpensive Binos Message-ID: Whenever somebody asks me about good but inexpensive binoculars, I always recommend Bushnell H2O 8X42's. They are waterproof, and have about the same quality image as a $200 pair, but are usually around $79-89 online. I purchased a set for my science classes several years back and have found nothing comparable for the price. Lee Cain >//////> >//////> >//////> >//////> Aquatic Biology/Integrated Science Astoria High School 1001 West Marine Drive Astoria OR 97103 503-325-3911 vm 301 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gorgebirds at juno.com Mon Jan 9 11:30:41 2012 From: gorgebirds at juno.com (Wilson Cady) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 17:30:41 GMT Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Message-ID: <20120109.093041.15543.0@webmail03.vgs.untd.com> Google: Tree removal on dikes, and you will see this is being done all across the nation and has caused a lot of controversy. One of the main reason given for the tree removal is that it makes it easier to inspect and maintain the dikes, there is little evidence that trees weaken dikes. There are have been lawsuits filed in some locations but they have had little effect on this policy. The fifteen foot space between the toe of the dike and any trees appears to be based on the width of a bulldozer rather than how far roots extend from trees. The project at Washougal is costing taxpayers several million dollars for questionable results. Wilson Cady Skamania County, WA ---------- Original Message ---------- From: Chris Grant To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 08:48:01 -0800 Wilson Cady wrote: >Mike is right, this is a nationwide mandate of the Corps of Engineers. >They are removing all trees within 15 feet of the toe of the dikes they >built and maintain. They are removing nearly 2,000 trees along over >five miles of the Washougal Dike. Can anyone explain the rationale being used by the Corp to support this action? This outside my area of expertise, but it seems to me that riparian vegetation would slow flood waters and trap sediment, both of which would seem to stabilize a dike. Also, it seems to me that the roots of trees and shrubs in the riparian zone would help knit together the toe of the dike, and thereby protect it. This action by the Corp appears to expose the dike to damage, not protect it. Anyone have any insight to share? Chris Grant _______________________________________________ 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 9 11:49:37 2012 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:49:37 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Message-ID: <4F0B28B1.2070409@pacifier.com> Trying to make sense out of USACE policy will make your head explode. Policies are rarely made based on ecological, biological or any kind of -logical grounds. These guys are engineers in the purest sense of that term. Word on the street is that the policy is under review, the Corps will be studying the cost-benefit of the dike/riparia interface and adjust policy accordingly. Until such time the current policy stands. ---- Subject: Re: Columbia Dike Logging From: Chris Grant Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 08:48:01 -0800 Wilson Cady wrote: >Mike is right, this is a nationwide mandate of the Corps of Engineers. >They are removing all trees within 15 feet of the toe of the dikes they >built and maintain. They are removing nearly 2,000 trees along over >five miles of the Washougal Dike. Can anyone explain the rationale being used by the Corp to support this action? This outside my area of expertise, but it seems to me that riparian vegetation would slow flood waters and trap sediment, both of which would seem to stabilize a dike. Also, it seems to me that the roots of trees and shrubs in the riparian zone would help knit together the toe of the dike, and thereby protect it. This action by the Corp appears to expose the dike to damage, not protect it. Anyone have any insight to share? Chris Grant -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 From llsdirons at msn.com Mon Jan 9 11:56:16 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 17:56:16 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Halsey area swans In-Reply-To: <1326120098.1688.119.camel@clearwater1> References: <1326120098.1688.119.camel@clearwater1> Message-ID: Joel, Lars et al., Despite much searching over several years, I've never culled any Trumpeters out of the Halsey/Brownsville flocks. There have been a couple of reports of Trumpeters in this area during the past decade, but as Joel points out there has not been a consistent presence of Trumpeters in Linn Co. On the way to see the Corvallis Blue Jay yesterday, Shawneen and I birded along Airlie/Suver and DeArmond roads. We found no swans of either species. I've never had much trouble finding the traditional Trumpeter flock that has used this area. Having not heard any reports from Joel this winter, I was wondering if they were around. Apparently not. If one wants to see Trumpeters, I can heartily recommend the large wetland/pond at Prescott, Columbia County (right along U.S. Hwy 30 next to the old Trojan Nuclear Power Plant site). During the 1 Jan 2012 Cowlitz-Columbia CBC Shawneen Finnegan, Jay Withgott, Irene Bachhuber and I had about 60 Trumpeters mixed in with several hundred Tundra Swans at this site. The Trumpeters were calling incessantly. Dave IronsPortland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Mon Jan 9 12:09:42 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 18:09:42 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] please identify this bird In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Laura Mountainspring suggested that this is an immature European Starling. It is actually a winter-plumaged/basic-plumaged adult and very. Juvenile starlings are uniform ashy-brown (no glossiness). Going into first-winter hatch-year birds transition into a plumage that looks like a combination of the juv. plumage and some glossy speckled adult basic plumage. I suspect that a bird showing a uniform glossy speckled plumage like this one is a full adult. The flight feathers all look fresh and there is no evidence of molt limits (retained non-glossy juv. flight feathers). Dave Irons _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hhactitis at yahoo.com Mon Jan 9 12:36:56 2012 From: hhactitis at yahoo.com (Hendrik Herlyn) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 10:36:56 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Mountain Plover-- still around?? In-Reply-To: <1326121252.1688.125.camel@clearwater1> Message-ID: <1326134216.13988.YahooMailClassic@web111705.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> If I remember right, there was a negative report by Austin Booth a couple (three?) days ago. He looked and didn't find the MOPL. Hendrik _________________________________ Hendrik G. Herlyn 2201 NW Grant Ave., Apt. 2 Corvallis, OR 97330 USA Phone (home): 541.230.5587 Phone (cell): 541.829.3223 E-Mail: hhactitis at yahoo.com --- On Mon, 1/9/12, Joel Geier wrote: From: Joel Geier Subject: Re: [OBOL] Mountain Plover-- still around?? To: "Oregon Birders OnLine" Date: Monday, January 9, 2012, 7:00 AM Hi Wayne & all, Whether the Mountain/Fog Plover is still around or not, there have not been any reports more recent than Sylvia's so far as I'm aware. The fog has returned, and is likely to be an impediment to any searches in the next few days. Good luck and please let us know if you do look for it, Joel Wayne Weber wrote: > Is the Mountain Plover near the Corvallis airport still being seen?? The > last report I saw was by Sylvia Maulding on January 1. -- 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 bmwboarder at gmail.com Mon Jan 9 12:47:59 2012 From: bmwboarder at gmail.com (bmwboarder) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 10:47:59 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Airlie/Suver Swans Message-ID: I have seen both trumpeter and tundra swans in the Airlie and DeArmond area this winter on several occasions. I think the most I have seen is maybe 4 trumpeters though. There are also quite a few swans at Baskett Slough, and I think a few of them looked like trumpeters recently, but they are a little further out and harder for me to tell for sure. This bird was on the DeArmond pond by itself just last week. Hopefully my trumpeter id is correct for this one. http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnerlife/6642084867/ Brandon Wagner Independence Joel, Lars et al., Despite much searching over several years, I've never culled any Trumpeters out of the Halsey/Brownsville flocks. There have been a couple of reports of Trumpeters in this area during the past decade, but as Joel points out there has not been a consistent presence of Trumpeters in Linn Co. On the way to see the Corvallis Blue Jay yesterday, Shawneen and I birded along Airlie/Suver and DeArmond roads. We found no swans of either species. I've never had much trouble finding the traditional Trumpeter flock that has used this area. Having not heard any reports from Joel this winter, I was wondering if they were around. Apparently not. If one wants to see Trumpeters, I can heartily recommend the large wetland/pond at Prescott, Columbia County (right along U.S. Hwy 30 next to the old Trojan Nuclear Power Plant site). During the 1 Jan 2012 Cowlitz-Columbia CBC Shawneen Finnegan, Jay Withgott, Irene Bachhuber and I had about 60 Trumpeters mixed in with several hundred Tundra Swans at this site. The Trumpeters were calling incessantly. Dave IronsPortland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ensatina3 at hotmail.com Mon Jan 9 13:10:39 2012 From: ensatina3 at hotmail.com (Bobbett Pierce) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 14:10:39 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] mourning doves Message-ID: Still see plenty of mourning doves in Columbia County, and 2-4 are common at my feeders year round. Two collared doves are also regulars, and bandtails come in abundance at times. I have a male pheasant usually every week, and some years the Calif. quail are daily visitors. Not the past year or two.I found a big change at my feeders occurred after our Brittany died some years ago. Before then we never had doves or games birds of any sort. A rude surprise that also occurred after the dog died was a deluge of dusky-footed woodrats. I had to change things around quite a bit to discourage them, including removing brush piles for the birds. I also had to take down feeders from trees that the woodrats easily climbed up. The thing that really brought them under control was when a feisty momma feral cat moved into the thicket behind us --another species that suddenly felt comfortable once the dog was gone. The cat(s) no doubt get birds (not at my feeders) and probably affect the quail, but we seem to have hit some sort of balance among the predators and prey at this point. The other changes that have affected my feeder/yard birds are out of my control: neighbors yanking out/cutting native vegetation and replacing it with suburban blandness. It has nearly eliminated species that used to nest around my yard: winter wren, Swainson's thrush, yellowthroat, piliated woodpeckers, pee wees, and barn owls. Lona Pierce, Warren -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From celata at pacifier.com Mon Jan 9 13:40:13 2012 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:40:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Photo quiz: a winter passerine In-Reply-To: References: <4F0A0523.2030005@pacifier.com> Message-ID: <4F0B429D.9090400@pacifier.com> Actually, the exposure is just about what I saw without the camera. I serious considered both Yellow Warbler and Common Yellowthroat before settling on what I settled on... pamelaj at spiritone.com wrote: > A delight on these rare sunny winter days, and an added benefit of > getting a slice of pizza, the Overexposed Warbler. > > Pamela Johnston > > -----Original Message----- From: Mike Patterson Sent: Sunday, > January 08, 2012 1:05 PM To: OBOL ; swalalahos_group Subject: > [OBOL] Photo quiz: a winter passerine > > Something I saw today behind the pizza parlor... > > http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/ > > -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 From namitzr at hotmail.com Mon Jan 9 13:54:43 2012 From: namitzr at hotmail.com (Russ Namitz) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 11:54:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Barrow's Goldeneye (2 pair) Siletz Bay, 1-8-2012 Message-ID: There is a pullout on the north and south side of the Schooner Creek bridge off Hwy 101 in southern Lincoln City, a section known as "Taft." Go Taft Tigers! Russ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From clownshoes420 at gmail.com Mon Jan 9 13:57:24 2012 From: clownshoes420 at gmail.com (ben burnette) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 11:57:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] this.. an mail from Joe Neal from Univ. of Arkansas.. Message-ID: ***Subject: White Rock From: joeneal > Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 10:33:04 -0600* White Rock is way, way out in the middle of the Ozark National Forest and the Boston Mountains. Yesterday, there were Hermit Thrushes and Golden-crowned Kinglets in a stand of native shortleaf pines. Male Purple Finches (4) were enjoying coral berries and tree buds right alongside Forest Service Road 1505. Flocks in scattered weedy openings also included juncos, goldfinches, cardinals, and many White-throated Sparrows. Field Sparrows decorated twigs poking out of an old rock wall in the ridgetop farming community of Bidville. An adult Bald Eagle soared over, too. Despite a record-breaking ice storm, a forest-decimating outbreak of borer beetles, and relentless cutting of the Federal budget, the Forest Service has managed to keep difficult, mountainous, winding roads to White Rock safe, open and even improved in places, including attractive road signs that, at least as of yesterday, vandals hadn't yet destroyed. >From Fayetteville I usually go out highway 16 to Combs, in Madison County, then turn south along Mill Creek, where yesterday Hamamelis vernalis, Ozark Witch Hazel was covered with rather elegant reddish blooms. Unfortunately, off-road vehicles are damaging Mill Creek bottomlands. Freshly eroded tracks and huge mudholes are visible without effort, and this, despite the fact that ORVs have been provided their own special ride nearby. Fresh nobby tracks go right past "Road closed" signs. >From Mill Creek the forest road ascends toward White Rock. Along some of those high ridges we found another Hamamelis species, American Witch Hazel with cheery yellow flowers. We were enjoying Fox Sparrows, all handsome browns and grays, in thickets of greenbriar and grape vines. Well below us, and out-of-sight, we heard a steady rustling of dry leaves, like deer (?) or maybe a bear (?) was walking. An investigation by Joan Reynolds showed sparrows, mostly white-throats, working the leaves, but in another place we spotted a fresh bear track. There was also an Eastern Towhee in the mix. The Ozark National Forest is full of dead and dying trees, a legacy of ice, insects, and a natural turning over. My old friend Eleanor Johnson used to say, "It's an ill wind that doesn't blow someone some good," and it's good now to be a woodpecker. I gather also a logger or a fire wood cutter. Without special effort we heard and saw most of the expected woodpecker species and a sawmill full of hardwood logs and a mountain of sawdust. What we see today -- cabins built from native stone, hiking trails, and winding mountain roads -- recalls a different era. White Rock, Devil's Den, many schools, courthouses, and lakes were all visions that grew from the challenges of the 1930s Great Depression. The view from that time was that government was not the enemy. Government by the people and for the people should help the people with useful jobs, conservation that saved productivity of land and soil, and affordable recreation. The builders of forest roads and fire-fighting capabilities were Arkansans out of work and down on their luck -- our parents and relatives from a different era -- and they and their families survived in part due to a then generous view of the purposes of government. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mntsprg at wizzards.net Mon Jan 9 14:10:26 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 12:10:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] lesserfinch return! Message-ID: Winston yesterday and today the lesser goldfinch flock returned! looks like some 15 pairs also a white crowned sparrow returned to the feeders this morning! Laura -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jblowers at ix.netcom.com Mon Jan 9 14:12:01 2012 From: jblowers at ix.netcom.com (Joseph Blowers) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 12:12:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Brambling coming to a feeder in Woodburn Message-ID: <595539C5-4BB8-4401-BF96-DFE3901F8B1F@ix.netcom.com> A female (or possibly an immature male) Brambling has been coming to a feeder in Woodburn since January 2. It often only stays a minute or two at the feeder before flying away. The feeder watcher, Linda Long, welcome birders to her neighborhood. Please use discretion and courtesy. This is in a residential neighborhood. Remember to respect private property. We also don't want to stress the bird or chase it away. Linda's address is 1015 Orchard Lane, Woodburn, OR. Joe Blowers eBird Reviewer -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pamelaj at SpiritOne.com Mon Jan 9 17:11:11 2012 From: pamelaj at SpiritOne.com (pamelaj@spiritone.com) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 15:11:11 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Photo quiz: a winter passerine In-Reply-To: <4F0B429D.9090400@pacifier.com> References: <4F0A0523.2030005@pacifier.com> <4F0B429D.9090400@pacifier.com> Message-ID: That just means you're getting way too much sun on the coast. The low angle of light just illuminates it that much better. Pam -----Original Message----- From: Mike Patterson Sent: Monday, January 09, 2012 11:40 AM To: pamelaj at spiritone.com Cc: obol Subject: Re: Photo quiz: a winter passerine Actually, the exposure is just about what I saw without the camera. I serious considered both Yellow Warbler and Common Yellowthroat before settling on what I settled on... pamelaj at spiritone.com wrote: > A delight on these rare sunny winter days, and an added benefit of > getting a slice of pizza, the Overexposed Warbler. > > Pamela Johnston > > -----Original Message----- From: Mike Patterson Sent: Sunday, > January 08, 2012 1:05 PM To: OBOL ; swalalahos_group Subject: > [OBOL] Photo quiz: a winter passerine > > Something I saw today behind the pizza parlor... > > http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/ > > -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 From hhactitis at yahoo.com Mon Jan 9 18:00:55 2012 From: hhactitis at yahoo.com (Hendrik Herlyn) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 16:00:55 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Corvallis Blue Jay continues Message-ID: <1326153655.70397.YahooMailClassic@web111726.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Howdy folks, How does that saying go? Fourth time's a charm? Well, it was for me, because that's how many attempts it took to finally add the Bald Hill BLUE JAY to my 2012 motorless year list. I found the elusive guy (gal?) around 3 pm today. It was quietly sitting in the top of a small tree along the paved path, just around the first big bend south of the barn. I watched it sit and preen for a couple of minutes, then it dove into the oak thicket and disappeared. It was all by itself and never once vocalized. While watching the jay, I heard a GREAT HORNED OWL hoot from the hillside to the west. Other than that, it was a rather quiet, foggy afternoon. Good birding Hendrik _________________________________ Hendrik G. Herlyn 2201 NW Grant Ave., Apt. 2 Corvallis, OR 97330 USA Phone (home): 541.230.5587 Phone (cell): 541.829.3223 E-Mail: hhactitis at yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Mon Jan 9 18:33:00 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:33:00 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Brambling photos added to BirdFellow Species Acct. page Message-ID: Thanks to Linda Long of Woodburn, the BirdFellow.com species account for Brambling is not accompanied by two nice photos of the Woodburn bird. You can check out these image by visiting the link below: http://www.birdfellow.com/birds/brambling-fringilla-montifringilla Dave IronsContent Editor BirdFellow.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Mon Jan 9 19:00:05 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:00:05 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] FW: Brambling photos added to BirdFellow Species Acct. page In-Reply-To: <4F0B8BF4.3000804@frontier.com> References: , <4F0B8BF4.3000804@frontier.com> Message-ID: The message below should have read "...is now accompanied... Dave Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 16:53:08 -0800 From: deweysage at frontier.com To: llsdirons at msn.com Subject: Re: [OBOL] Brambling photos added to BirdFellow Species Acct. page Dave I think you meant to write "....is accompanied...." not "....is NOT accompanied...." Cheers Dave On 1/9/2012 4:33 PM, David Irons wrote: Thanks to Linda Long of Woodburn, the BirdFellow.com species account for Brambling is not accompanied by two nice photos of the Woodburn bird. You can check out these image by visiting the link below: http://www.birdfellow.com/birds/brambling-fringilla-montifringilla Dave Irons Content Editor BirdFellow.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 jfgatchet at gmail.com Mon Jan 9 19:07:03 2012 From: jfgatchet at gmail.com (John Gatchet) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 17:07:03 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Gresham Golden Eagle Message-ID: A GOLDEN EAGLE flew low right over my backyard yesterday. It was low enough for excellent looks as it flew directly above me. This was a surprise bird that I would not have predicted. This is yard bird number 102. The elevation is 800 feet and just below Darby Butte. John F. Gatchet Gresham, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paultsullivan at onlinenw.com Mon Jan 9 19:29:17 2012 From: paultsullivan at onlinenw.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 17:29:17 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Audubon Birding Weekends are back Message-ID: <01046ED335FB4B19BA6935D0424F1B4F@dell307ac3e2b6> OBOL: Paul Sullivan & Carol Karlen plan to continue to lead Audubon Birding Weekend trips, sponsored by Audubon Society oof Portland, in 2012. How it works We travel to the location on Friday and stay in the same lodging two nights. We meet at a restaurant for breakfast on Saturday. We carpool and bird all day Saturday. We bird half of Sunday, then break up and head home. Participants are responsible for their own transportation, food, and lodging. About 10 days before the trip, I send a letter to participants, giving details like rendezvous, lodging options, schedule, possible birds, etc Registration for Audubon Birding Weekends is $35 per person for each weekend. Details are at the Audubon Society of Portland webpage http://audubonportland.org/trips-classes-camps/adult/weekends PLEASE NOTE THAT PAUL'S ADDRESS, PHONE, AND EMAIL HAVE CHANGED. A special note about cancellations: Each trip is limited to 20 participants. Last year, several trips drew over 30 registrations. However, 35 % of those who signed up cancelled, and spaces went unfilled. Therefore, we have adopted the cancellation policy used for all other ASP adult trips and classes. See the website. Schedule: In an attempt to mitigate the cancellation problem, the 2012 trips will only be announced on the website a month or two in advance. 28-29 January -- Wallowa county We will look for the winter specialties of this beautiful corner of Oregon: Bohemian Waxwings, Rosy Finches, Redpolls, Snow Buntings, as well as the Gray Partridge, raptors, and waterfowl. The Wallowa Mountains are beautiful at this time of year. Base: Enterprise. 25-26 February -- Interior Valley Refuges We will look for raptors, waterfowl, and wintering passerines from the Tualatin River NWR, to Baskett Slough, Ankeny, and Finley NWRs, with E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area thrown in. Base: Salem. Good birding, everyone, Paul T. Sullivan & Carol Karlen Audubon Birding Weekends (503) 472-5306 http://audubonportland.org/trips-classes-camps/adult/weekends From wlrisser at gmail.com Mon Jan 9 19:29:34 2012 From: wlrisser at gmail.com (William Risser) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 17:29:34 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Woodburn brambling seen today Message-ID: <000001cccf37$507222f0$f15668d0$@com> Jan and I and Steve and Sybil Kohl saw the Woodburn brambling at the feeder at about 3:30 this afternoon. The home owner said that she had not seen it all day except at 8 AM because a sharpie was sitting near the feeder. The sharpie left and the birds started coming in. The bird appeared on the left side of the big tree behind the feeders and worked its way right to the feeder that it likes: a clay dish with a white stick sticking out that is in front of a large bush in the corner of the back yard. You cannot see the feeder from the street, but the home ownger is very hospitable and invited us into the backyard (the location of her house is on a previous post). After it fed, it flew up into the big tree above the feeders and behind the fence and preened and cleaned its bill and fed some more for several minutes. Its plumage looked like the female in the National Geo book, although the wind markings were slightly different, more like those in our European field guide. Jan and Will Risser, Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sharonb at coinet.com Mon Jan 9 20:09:23 2012 From: sharonb at coinet.com (Sharon L. Burchett) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 18:09:23 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Snowy Owl still being seen near Burns? Message-ID: Has anyone seen or heard if the Snowy Owl is still hanging around south of Burns? I am thinking of taking a weekend trip over there to have a look. Thanks, Sharon Bend, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jfgatchet at gmail.com Mon Jan 9 20:25:40 2012 From: jfgatchet at gmail.com (John Gatchet) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 18:25:40 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Cackling Goose (minima), 14 Lesser Goldfinch in Estacada Message-ID: Today at Wade Creek Park in Estacada (Clackamus County) there were three CACKLING GEESE of the minima race. There was also a HOODED MERGANSER at this pond. There were 14 LESSER GOLDFINCH in a Birch Tree along NE Pierce Street in the yard of the Red Barn Pre School in Estacada. There are EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE in this area as well. In Barton County Park (west of Estacada) there was a very interesting plumaged HAIRY WOODPECKER. It had white completely encircling the eye more like the eastern subspecies. The white spots on the wings were typical of the Pacific Northwest subspecies. The back was a brighter white than the breast and was more like that of the eastern Hairy Woodpecker. John F. Gatchet Gresham, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From d_villa at mail.com Mon Jan 9 20:48:47 2012 From: d_villa at mail.com (dawn) Date: Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:48:47 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Barrow's Goldeneye (2 pair) Siletz Bay, 1-8-2012 Message-ID: <20120110024848.284480@gmx.com> Oops, you're right - it was the turnout on the south side of the bridge dawn ----- Original Message ----- From: Russ Namitz Sent: 01/09/12 11:54 AM To: OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] Barrow's Goldeneye (2 pair) Siletz Bay, 1-8-2012 There is a pullout on the north and south side of the Schooner Creek bridge off Hwy 101 in southern Lincoln City, a section known as "Taft." Go Taft Tigers! Russ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From redpeelingbark at gmail.com Mon Jan 9 21:53:01 2012 From: redpeelingbark at gmail.com (casey cunningham) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 19:53:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Portland Yellow Warbler and Wilson's Warbler Message-ID: At a friend's house Sunday near the Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant in north Portland i got out my binoculars to look at what i expected to be an orange-crowned warbler tagging along near a bushtit flock, but it was a YELLOW WARBLER. As i was thinking about how i hadn't seen that in January before, a WILSON'S WARBLER entered the yard as well. The Wilson's seemed off, perching in exposed places for long periods in between short quick insect chases, and chasing flies across the roof of the neighbors house on foot. It also briefly entered the house through an open door but quickly came back out. It hung around the yard most of the afternoon. Saturday i was at Bay Ocean Spit near Tillamook and saw a pelagic cormorant standing on the beach just before dark. I walked towards it and it didn't fly away. Eventually i could see it was tangled in what appeared to be a kind of trap, a small metal cage with many plastic slipknots coming off of it, several of which were caught around the birds neck. It could only fly short distances and i was able to run it down and eventually untangle it. It continued sitting there for another 15 or so minutes and it occured to me it might not realize it was free, so i ran at it- and it was great to see it start with an awkward run, then an awkward flap, then realize it could fly again, and bolt north over the mouth of the bay. Also that day a walk around the Tillamook Wetlands loop Wink Gross mentioned recently turned up five white-tailed kites and a black phoebe. Casey -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From namitzr at hotmail.com Mon Jan 9 23:36:49 2012 From: namitzr at hotmail.com (Russ Namitz) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 21:36:49 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] SW Hood River Co. - few birds Message-ID: The weekend found me reluctantly entrenched in downtown Portland, so I decided to do some birding Sunday morning in Hood River county. From the map, Hwy 35 that connects Government Camp to Hood River looked promising. What a mistake that was. From before first light, a caravan of vehicles screamed by heading up the mountain from Hood River. I jumped over to Hwy 26 and it was even worse. Hundreds of cars carrying hordes of snow-enthusiasts made birding frustratingly tough. Couple that with rushing river & snow run-off noise at various stops and I bagged the whole morning after an hour. I did detect a few birds like EVENING GROSBEAK, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, COMMON RAVEN, PINE SISKIN and a probable WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL (heard only). I guess the morale of the story is go during a weekday and bring cross-country skiis. If you can't beat them.... On the way home, I was lucky enough to see the BRAMBLING in Woodburn. It is a good year bird, if someone was keeping such a list. Happy trails, Russ Namitz Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tc at empnet.com Mon Jan 9 23:55:52 2012 From: tc at empnet.com (Tom Crabtree) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 21:55:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Snowy Owl still being seen near Burns? Message-ID: It was seen yesterday in the usual place. Tom ----- Original Message ----- From: Sharon L. Burchett To: OBOL at oregonbirds.org Sent: Monday, January 09, 2012 6:09 PM Subject: [OBOL] Snowy Owl still being seen near Burns? Has anyone seen or heard if the Snowy Owl is still hanging around south of Burns? I am thinking of taking a weekend trip over there to have a look. Thanks, Sharon Bend, Oregon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ 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 Tue Jan 10 00:47:35 2012 From: ac7zg at frontier.com (Don) Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 22:47:35 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Not Oregon, but Ocean Shores Emperor Goose pictures. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <012a01cccf63$bcf11590$36d340b0$@com> We were up in Ocean Shores over the weekend. Took just 10 minutes to locate the goose by scanning the golf course. This goose is a lot easier to see close than the TRNWR Goose. A foggy day, just clearing, down at the beach. NO evidence of atmospherics, mist from ocean, or other problems with using long lenses.don't believe that FUD. I am 35-45 meters away from the bird according to the EXIF. http://www.pbase.com/donnelson/emperorgoosewashington For those that want to make the trip - Its been on the Ocean Shores golf course since late November. Won't be long before it heads north. This species normally winters in the Aleutians. Check the golf course behind the Fire Station on Point Brown Ave, and across the Point Brown Ave from the Fire station next to the canal. IF not there, cross the canal onto Canal Street, as the golf course continues between Canal and Puffin, and Octopus and Dophin avenues. If desperate, stop at the pro shop off Canal and ask the staff - they know the bird and know where it is (we didn't have to use them but I talked to one guy on the course. ). A note of caution - don't be on the golf course when someone is playing through the fairway on a hole. There isn't any safety in standing next to the fairway either (Fore!). Stay off the greens-they work hard to maintain them. Also seen - Barred Owl on the wires just south of hotel row on Pt Brown Rd early morning (not by me) plus Black Turnstone/Surfbird/Rock Sandpiper on the Jetty at high tide (when they get pushed up close by the waves), and of course the hen King Eider was present in a mixed flock of mostly Surf Scoter and one white winged scoter - I didn't scope all the birds ; someone else said they saw Black Scoter as well. Western Grebes and Harlequin Ducks were off the point at Damon Point. I flushed a pair of Horned Larks while walking in an area thinly vegetated by grass. They ran off rather than fly. An early morning predawn walk two hours before sunrise on Saturday to Damon Point revealed 12 Snowy Owls. As the hordes arrived - birders and photographers - many of the shyer owls departed by 9 am for the tree areas, leaving just a few then three very calm birds for the remainder of the day. These three birds seemed to like company. Like movie stars they stayed on their perch and seemed to enjoy people photographing and viewing from a respectful distance. Two of the three did fly a short distance with no one moving close to them - one moved ten feet closer to a small group of photographers( who would have thought this after all the angst on tweeters list about starving stressed birds? ) and the other similarly moved in the afternoon closer to photographers onto its favorite (was there in the morning so I presume favorite) perch on a small hump of grassy sand. One of the owls permitted a birder to come within an estimated 10 feet to take a snap with their point and shoot. Another woman with 400mm lens managed to trip and flush an owl, but this was purely accidental - the person was much further away than other birders and photographers - it wasn't the closeness but the unusual action that caused the bird to fly. Other than that the birds didn't move very much. If they were stressed by the crowds they would have headed elsewhere - they are far more mobile than humans. Plenty of Snowy pictures - I haven't edited them yet so not posted. If I were you, I'd make the trip. They won't be here too much longer (until maybe end of February - your guess may differ. We'll have to wait and see). The tidal spit out to Damon Point has been built up by the winter - it was awash on December 3 at 8.2 tide - on Sunday the tide as 10.2 and it wasn't being washed over. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wlrisser at gmail.com Tue Jan 10 09:44:13 2012 From: wlrisser at gmail.com (William Risser) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:44:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] postscript to 1/9 brambling sighting Message-ID: <001801cccfae$b50bf2a0$1f23d7e0$@com> A birder contacted me privately because she couldn't find the address of the house with the feeder. In case it helps others, the home owner is: Linda Long 1015 Orchard Lane Woodburn, OR I don't have the zip code or the phone no. or Linda's email address When I posted, I didn't notice that Dave Irons had posted to OBOL two nice pictures that Linda had taken of her bird. Will Risser, Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From yuiqwe1 at gmail.com Tue Jan 10 11:19:19 2012 From: yuiqwe1 at gmail.com (Theodore) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:19:19 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] SE Asia bird guide books Message-ID: <46B37E64-5157-4CA7-B1C6-70488298F4ED@gmail.com> I am headed to Bali (Lesser Sunda Islands), Malaysia and Vietnam in March and am seeking recommendations for bird books that cover the area. Ted Chu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffandlaurettayoung at comcast.net Tue Jan 10 12:13:02 2012 From: jeffandlaurettayoung at comcast.net (Jeff and Lauretta Young) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:13:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] report on behavior Message-ID: <27892FBD-0AD7-4C80-A3EA-4653AF4B133F@comcast.net> I first noted a banded tundra swan who arrived three days ago in the Bethany Wetlands pond near Claremont golf course in Beaverton/Portland. This bird has since "adopted" a flock of Cackling geese who feed on the surrounding grassy areas including my neighbor's back yard. This swan has found a new flock to be with which may help protect it from the multitude of coyotes which patrol every night and do catch various birds including geese. Also we have an occasional Bald Eagle who appears to dine on Cacklers and Green winged teals for some meals in the pond.. I got a notice that this bird was banded in Alaska two years ago and some it's banding mates are currently at Ridgefield Wildlife preserve. Don't know if this is typical swan behavior to take breaks from the larger flock or if this bird is "lost" but it appears to be vigorous. The geese seem to be "following" the swan around, when it moves they move. However when the geese take off the swan doesn't although I have seen the swan fly and it seems to move well in the air. From llsdirons at msn.com Tue Jan 10 12:24:18 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:24:18 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Daily Antarctica blogs Message-ID: Greetings All, In the event that I forget to post it, new blog pieces from Jim Danzenbaker and Ann Nightingale are set to post on the BirdFellow online journal about 4:45PM daily today through Thursday. They are currently sailing from the Falklands to South Georgia (I think they arrive there today). Follow along as they make their way to Antarctica. www.birdfellow.com/journals Dave Irons Content Editor BirdFellow.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jdmjeremy at gmail.com Tue Jan 10 12:45:09 2012 From: jdmjeremy at gmail.com (Jeremy Breese) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:45:09 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Green-winged Teal??? Message-ID: <3D129799-2C6C-42EE-B81F-CD0EB30C30F8@gmail.com> So as I was walking on Mt.Hood Community Collage campus I noticed 3 drake ducks I thought to be Green-winged Teal but then I saw them diving, as far as I can remember I have never seen one dive plus they are considered a dabbler. Has anyone else noticed this behavior before? Unfortunately the ducks were out of no bino range for ID. Your thoughts would be appreciated. Jeremy Breese Sent from my iPhone From deweysage at frontier.com Tue Jan 10 13:38:41 2012 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:38:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] March Birding Trip to Oregon In-Reply-To: <1326223401.92580.YahooMailNeo@web121802.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> References: <1326223401.92580.YahooMailNeo@web121802.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4F0C93C1.30000@frontier.com> Folks, I got this message from Dr. Jones who is not an OBOL member....so send your responses directly to him! Cheers Dave Lauten On 1/10/2012 11:23 AM, John T. Jones, Ph.D. wrote: > In March I want to take a birding trip from Idaho to Southern Oregon > perhaps as far as Tule Lake, CA. I intend to hit > the Wildlife Refuges, etc. What would be the best sites to see with > the largest variety of birds.? Are there sites to skip? > Must see sites? Thanks! > John > John T. Jones, Ph.D. From brandon.green18 at gmail.com Tue Jan 10 14:30:04 2012 From: brandon.green18 at gmail.com (Brandon Green) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:30:04 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Brambling photos wanted Message-ID: Oregon Birds is interested in obtaining a photo of the Woodburn Brambling. If anybody has taken one and is willing to share (we could credit the photo with your name), please let me know. Brandon Green Photo Editor, Oregon Birds From emessis at hotmail.com Tue Jan 10 15:24:00 2012 From: emessis at hotmail.com (D J) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:24:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Emperor goose still YES at TRNWR Message-ID: I was out visiting the Sherwood DEQ this morning and stopped by the refuge just before 10am on my way home --glad I did, the Emperor goose was swimming with a group of cacklers on the body of water in front of the dike! I'd been by two other mornings with no luck. Someone I talked to there said that the emperor had been up on land with Canadas and cacklers earlier this morning, but a coyote appeared and chased them off. Here's one shot, the emperor is right in the middle: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=624101907904&set=a.621039125744.2089418.29300430&type=3&theater And for anyone interested, the three photos that follow in the set are what greeted me when I arrived home: a red-breasted sapsucker, very cooperative song sparrow, and wells drilled by the sapsucker on a holly tree right outside my apartment. --------------------------------- I doubt, therefore I might be. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From contopus at telus.net Tue Jan 10 16:03:18 2012 From: contopus at telus.net (Wayne Weber) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:03:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Vancouver, BC RBA for January 9, 2012 Message-ID: <001001cccfe3$a93bdbe0$fbb393a0$@net> This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Monday, 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. This has become a major SNOWY OWL flight year, with recent reports of up to 28 birds near the foot of 72nd Street on Boundary Bay, plus 6 more in the Brunswick Point area of Delta. Birders and photographers are asked to observe SNOWY OWLS from a respectful distance, to make an effort not to flush or frighten off the owls, and to speak to anyone who appears to be crowding an owl too much. RARE BIRD ALERT for SNOWY OWLS at numerous localities, especially along Boundary Bay and at Brunswick Point in Delta. Out-of-town RARE BIRD ALERT for a ROSS'S GULL, the second record for Washington, at Palmer Lake, near Oroville, from at least December 15 to 27. This bird has not been reported from Palmer Lake since December 27, but a small gull which may have been the ROSS'S was seen at nearby Spectacle Lake on December 29. Sightings for Monday, January 9th A flock of 14 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE was seen with swans along 64th Street south of 60th Avenue in Delta, just west of the Burns Bog landfill. At the foot of 72nd Street in Delta were 23 SNOWY OWLS, 3 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS, and 4 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS. Three EARED GREBES were seen along the waterfront in White Rock. In Surrey, 6 RING-NECKED DUCKS and a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE were seen in the Holly Park area near 104th Avenue and 144th Street. Along 40th Avenue (Mud Bay Road) and 140th Street in Surrey were 57 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES and 20 BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS. A flock of 100 RED CROSSBILLS was seen at the boat launch on Buntzen Lake near Ioco. Sightings for Sunday, January 8th A total of 28 SNOWY OWLS were seen from the south foot of 72nd Street in Delta, and 5 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS were seen on the Boundary Bay dyke just east of 72nd Street. A BARRED OWL and 20 COMMON REDPOLLS were observed at the Serpentine Fen WMA in Surrey. Five YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were seen near a manure pile on 140th Street, off Mud Bay Road in Surrey. The adult NORTHERN GOSHAWK was seen near the duck pond at the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver, and has reportedly been seen daily since New Year's Day. The annual Squamish and Brackendale eagle count produced 655 BALD EAGLES, a respectable count, but less than the average. A NORTHERN GOSHAWK was also seen in the area. Sightings for Saturday, January 7th A TOWNSEND'S WARBLER and 5 COMMON REDPOLLS were seen in the Walnut Grove area of Langley, near 204th Street and 93B Avenue. A huge flock of 150 COMMON REDPOLLS was reported from Deas Island Park in Delta. At Blackie Spit in Surrey were the LONG-BILLED CURLEW, 6 MARBLED GODWITS, 9 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, and 11 EURASIAN WIGEON. Sightings for Friday, January 6th Two COMMON REDPOLLS and 3 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were seen at Hastings Park in Vancouver. At Burnaby Mountain Park in Burnaby were a flock of 30 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, and at least 2 COMMON REDPOLLS with a PINE SISKIN flock. There were 90 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and an intergrade AMERICAN x EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL along the Nicomekl River near Brydon Lagoon in Langley. Sightings for Thursday, January 5th The wintering LONG-BILLED CURLEW and 6 MARBLED GODWITS were seen on the east side of Blackie Spit in Surrey. Three EARED GREBES were seen along the waterfront in White Rock. A total of 26 SNOWY OWLS were seen at the foot of 72nd Street on Boundary Bay in Delta; 600 BRANT were seen offshore from 72nd. Also a loose flock of 38 GREATER YELLOWLEGS were feeding in a wet field along 72nd Street. An adult WESTERN GULL was seen at Garry Point Park in Richmond, and another was in a large gull flock on 96th Street just north of Highway 10 in Delta. The Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta produced 2 adult BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, 9 SANDHILL CRANES, a RING-NECKED DUCK, a BARRED OWL, and 2 CEDAR WAXWINGS. A single MUTE SWAN was at nearby Canoe Pass near the Westham Island bridge. At the Tsawwassen ferry jetty in Delta were the long-staying WILLET and 16 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS. Sightings for Wednesday, January 4th A pair of CINNAMON TEAL were seen along 64th Avenue in Surrey, where a single male had been seen 2 days earlier. Sightings for Tuesday, January 3rd Four MOURNING DOVES were seen along River Road near Bradner Road in Abbotsford. Sightings for Monday, January 2nd Twenty-two COMMON REDPOLLS were seen at Jericho Park in Vancouver, and 7 more at the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver. An AMERICAN BITTERN and two female CINNAMON TEAL were seen at the Serpentine Fen WMA in Surrey. Another CINNAMON TEAL, this one a drake, was with other ducks in a flooded field in Surrey on the north side of 64th Avenue, just east of the Serpentine River canal. A lone SNOW BUNTING was seen on the beach in White Rock, near the White Rock pier. Birds of note at Point Roberts, WA included 2 MARBLED MURRELETS, 25 COMMON MURRES, and 130 BRANT. Sightings for Sunday, January 1st The two NORTHERN GOSHAWKS, one adult and one immature, were seen again at the Maplewood Conservation Area, as were a SPOTTED SANDPIPER and 24 COMMON REDPOLLS. A RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER was found at Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver. In North Delta, 66 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were seen along 112th, 104th, and 96th Streets N of Highway 10. Also in Delta were 6 SNOWY OWLS and a WESTERN MEADOWLARK in the Brunswick Point area. Sightings for Saturday, December 31st Two NORTHERN GOSHAWKS (one adult and one immature) and 5 COMMON REDPOLLS were reported from the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver. Bird seen at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta included 3 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, 7 CEDAR WAXWINGS, and a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL. A WESTERN SANDPIPER and 3 LEAST SANDPIPERS, both rare in winter, were seen among other shorebirds in fields along Deltaport Way near 41B Street. A male REDHEAD was present in a pond near the intersection of Ferry Road and Windjammer Road in Delta. Sightings for Friday, December 30th Three COMMON REDPOLLS were seen with PINE SISKINS at the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver. In Richmond, the 3 HORNED LARKS were still present at Garry Point Park. A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, rare in winter, was reported from the 6900 block of Bradner Road in Abbotsford. Sightings for Thursday, December 29th Two COMMON REDPOLLS were seen at Deer Lake Park in Burnaby. Sightings for Wednesday, December 28th Three HORNED LARKS, a very rare species here in winter, were seen among beach logs in Garry Point Park in the Steveston area of Richmond. A SAVANNAH SPARROW, also rare but regular in winter, was photographed at Brunswick Point in Delta. Sightings for Tuesday, December 27th The GYRFALCON along Mud Bay Road (40th Avenue) in Surrey, west of Highway 99, was reported again. Birds of note at and near the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta included 2 MUTE SWANS, 2 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, 5 SANDHILL CRANES, and a SWAMP SPARROW. Sightings for Friday, December 23rd At the foot of 72nd Street in Delta, 26 SNOWY OWLS and 2 SHORT-EARED OWLS were present. The first-year GLAUCOUS GULL was seen again at the Capilano fish hatchery in North Vancouver. Sightings for Thursday, December 22nd A TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was seen eating cotoneaster berries in Ambleside Park, West Vancouver, near the mouth of the Capilano River. Sightings for Monday, December 19th The WILLET was reported again from the base of the Tsawwassen ferry jetty in Delta, and a flock of at least 10 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS was noted at 40th Avenue and 140th Street in Surrey, west of Highway 99 near Mud Bay. Another SNOWY OWL was reported on a rooftop in Vancouver, near the intersection of Lakewood Drive and Graveley Street. Sightings for Sunday, December 18th The Vancouver Christmas Bird Count posted a respectable 132 species. Highlights included the CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW in West Vancouver, now present for 2 weeks; a very late BARN SWALLOW and an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER at Iona Island in Richmond, and 24 ANCIENT MURRELETS off the Iona south jetty; a RHINOCEROS AUKLET in English Bay; 4 CINNAMON TEAL in the Southlands area of Vancouver; 3 SNOWY OWLS in Richmond; a first-year GLAUCOUS GULL at the Capilano Dam fish hatchery in North Vancouver; and a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE in Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Park. A GYRFALCON was seen from the Boundary Bay dyke between 96th and 88th Streets in Delta; there appear to be at least 2 of them wintering in the area. The Squamish Christmas Bird Count, north of Vancouver, tallied a low number of only 423 BALD EAGLES, but a high total of 45 AMERICAN DIPPERS. For a summary of extremely rare bird sightings throughout British Columbia, check "British Columbia Bird Alert" by Russell Cannings at http://bcbirdalert.blogspot.com . 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 Larry at 604-465-1402, or Viveka at 604-531-3401. 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 celata at pacifier.com Tue Jan 10 16:12:39 2012 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:12:39 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Photo dump: Pied crows, speckle-bellies and a Wandering Tattler Message-ID: <4F0CB7D7.8000807@pacifier.com> I drove down to Cannon Beach on word from Steve Warner that the previously reported WANDERING TATTLER was still hanging out at Haystack Rock. It was. The light was bad and an incoming tide kept me too far from a good shot. But I have a really bad one. It can be seen along with shots of the Cannon Beach WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE flock, HERRING GULL and, if you scroll down, the rest of the story on the very yellow ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER I saw on Sunday. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbalame/ Also shots of a pigment challenged AMERICAN CROW at Seaside Cove. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 From jeanbb24622 at gmail.com Tue Jan 10 16:30:22 2012 From: jeanbb24622 at gmail.com (Jean Baecher Brown) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:30:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia River Dike logging Message-ID: I was also out on the Columbia River Dike on Sunday last and was stunned by the logging activity...it is such a beautiful area to enjoy nature and watch the birds. So, I sent the following e-mail to the Army Corp and thought I would share it; perhaps others might want to register their dismay also...I don't know. I will let you know if I hear back from the Corp.* * *Message From: Jean Baecher Brown Email: jeanbb24622 at gmail.com Response requested: Yes Message:* * I was recently shocked and saddened to see that hundreds of trees have/are being removed along the Columbia River Dike walk in Washington State near the Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The trees had served as valuable habitat for animals and birds (including the protected Bald Eagle and other hawks). It seems to me that it is one more insult to nature and species preservation, than anything else.* * I have heard that the Army Corps is removing trees in other areas areas where they have built dikes, retaining walls and such. Namely, the dikes in Clatsop County,OR were completely cleared out to about 20 ft and habitat has been removed at the Astoria Mitigation Bank, along the Lewis and Clark River and the Warrenton River Walk. I can only guess that it may make your job easier (for inspections/maintenance and the like), but, at what environment/habitat cost? Really, what scientific justification is there for taking such an invasive action? It would seem to me that large trees would help to stabilize a dike rather than weaken it in times of flooding, etc.* * In summary, I find this all very disappointing and I would just like to register this as a citizen complaint.* * Respectfully,* * Jean Baecher Brown Portland,OR* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From deweysage at frontier.com Tue Jan 10 16:34:33 2012 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:34:33 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] March Birding Trip to Oregon In-Reply-To: <631FEC58-4DE3-4F41-B324-B70A0778E5CF@comcast.net> References: <1326223401.92580.YahooMailNeo@web121802.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> <4F0C93C1.30000@frontier.com> <631FEC58-4DE3-4F41-B324-B70A0778E5CF@comcast.net> Message-ID: <4F0CBCF9.9090307@frontier.com> Oops, I forgot to include Dr. Jones email! tjbooks at yahoo.com Cheers Dave Lauten On 1/10/2012 2:27 PM, Jeff and Lauretta Young wrote: > for some reason his email isn't showing up? > On Jan 10, 2012, at 11:38 AM, DJ Lauten and KACastelein wrote: > >> Folks, >> >> I got this message from Dr. Jones who is not an OBOL member....so send your responses directly to him! >> >> Cheers >> Dave Lauten >> >> >> >> On 1/10/2012 11:23 AM, John T. Jones, Ph.D. wrote: >>> In March I want to take a birding trip from Idaho to Southern Oregon perhaps as far as Tule Lake, CA. I intend to hit >>> the Wildlife Refuges, etc. What would be the best sites to see with the largest variety of birds.? Are there sites to skip? >>> Must see sites? Thanks! >>> John >>> John T. Jones, Ph.D. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OBOL mailing list >> OBOL at oregonbirds.org >> http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > From wlrisser at gmail.com Tue Jan 10 16:40:19 2012 From: wlrisser at gmail.com (William Risser) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:40:19 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] no tufted duck 1/10 but some site info Message-ID: <000001cccfe8$d6234620$8269d260$@com> The Barrow's goldeneyes were present at Randy Hill's site but Steve Kohl and I didn't see the tufted duck at 10:30 or 1:45. After you turn off of Highway 14 onto SE Columbia Way, the right turn for Randy's cove is 1.1 miles. A big post at the corner says, "Marine Park." As soon as you have rounded the curve on that road, park and walk to the water. Will Risser, Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tlove at linfield.edu Tue Jan 10 19:13:46 2012 From: tlove at linfield.edu (Thomas Love) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:13:46 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] TRNWR Emperor Goose - continues Message-ID: The EMPEROR GOOSE first found about 10 days ago at Tualatin River NWR just NE of Sherwood continues this afternoon. Despairing of poor light and many geese and ducks to sift through, this morning?s report got me out there about 4:15 this afternoon. Fortunately, the goose was right where it has apparently habitually been, about midway on the ?dike? (road) that runs perpendicular to the line of sight straight out from the viewing area between the buildings. I?ll speculate that it?s around whenever there is a good number of CACKLING GEESE on the dike/road there, with which it apparently associates; the flock appears to be there mornings and later afternoons, otherwise out feeding elsewhere in the middle of day. I was able to show it to some visiting bird enthusiasts from Australia, but no sooner had they seen it then it disappeared, perhaps just over the dike or behind some reeds. Tom L. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jmgolla at gmail.com Tue Jan 10 19:20:23 2012 From: jmgolla at gmail.com (Julie Golla) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:20:23 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Snowy owl search Message-ID: Hello all! I am a young birder working in Northern California and am planning to embark on a quest to find a Snowy Owl in Oregon, as I have never seen one and am easily willing to drive 8 hours for a chance to! Where are some of the "usual" spots they have been this month? I've heard south of Burns, somewhere near Albany, east of Bend, Salishan, etc. I of course do not know much about these areas but would GREATLY appreciate anyone's advice on where a great white owl might be seen. Of course they fly around, but I would just like to make sure I cover the best areas that you guys have been spotting them. Thanks and happy birding! sillyforsnowies -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wlrisser at gmail.com Tue Jan 10 19:21:56 2012 From: wlrisser at gmail.com (William Risser) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:21:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] no tufted duck at vancouver 1/10 but some site info Message-ID: <000001cccfff$6a000ca0$3e0025e0$@com> The Barrow's goldeneyes were present at Randy Hill's site but Steve Kohl and I didn't see the tufted duck at 10:30 or 1:45. After you turn off of Highway 14 onto SE Columbia Way going east, the right turn for Randy's cove is 1.1 miles. A big post at the corner says, "Marine Park." As soon as you have rounded the curve on that road, park and walk to the water. Will Risser, Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rick.lumen at gmail.com Tue Jan 10 21:15:06 2012 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:15:06 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Interesting Article on Whooping Crane Migration Message-ID: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/10/us/alabama-whooping-cranes-migration/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 From dcoggswell at hotmail.com Tue Jan 10 21:52:28 2012 From: dcoggswell at hotmail.com (Donald Coggswell) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:52:28 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Golden Eagle - Columbia County Message-ID: This afternoon a Golden Eagle was perched in the sun in a snag in Ellis' Dairy field at the corner in Scappoose Bottoms. Possibly the same bird reported by John Gatchet last week. Cinnamon Teal can still be seen from the viewing platform near the Scappoose city sewer plant. Don -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pdcrane at comcast.net Tue Jan 10 22:02:25 2012 From: pdcrane at comcast.net (pdcrane at comcast.net) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 04:02:25 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Tufted duck still in Vancover today, January 10th In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <431594969.405507.1326254545315.JavaMail.root@sz0081a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Thanks to Will and Jan Risser's specific directions I was able to find Marine Park and the area where the tufted duck was spotted on Sunday.? I was birding with Jill Nelson Debord, and at 2pm there was a small raft of scaup outside the area where the two white yachts are moored.? The duck we think?to be ?the tufted duck had very clean white sides and a distinctly black back, quite unlike the gray backs of the scaup.? It stood out.? Because of the angle of the head it was hard to see the tufts, but we could make out wisps of feathers on the ?back of its head which differed from the scaup.? We feel pretty confident that it was indeed the tufted duck but would love to learn if anyone else has seen it since Sunday.? Because of time constraints we couldnt stay and?observe it ?after it was diving. Pat Crane Lake Oswego, OR ----- Original Message ----- From: obol-request at oregonbirds.org To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Sunday, January 8, 2012 10:59:17 PM Subject: OBOL Digest, Vol 21, 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. Falcated Duck (Rie Luft) ?? 2. tufted duck in Vancouver today (William Risser) ?? 3. Columbia Dike Logging (Jeffrey St Clair) ?? 4. Townsends Warbler etc in NW Corvallis (Susan Hatlevig) ?? 5. northwest CA update (David Fix & Jude Power) ?? 6. Re: Columbia Dike Logging (Mike Patterson) ?? 7. Re: Doves (Donna Lusthoff) ?? 8. Barrow's Goldeneye (2 pair) Siletz Bay, 1-8-2012 (dawn) ?? 9. Harrisburg raptors (Larry McQueen) ??10. more on Linn County prairie birds (Norgren Family) ??11. SW Portland - Collins View, Riverview: ?RBA - Common Redpoll, ?? ? ?Red naped Sapsucker (Rob Conway) ??12. Re: Doves ( John Notis ) ??13. Rock Dove coloration (Susan Hatlevig) ??14. Re: Rock Dove coloration (Shawneen Finnegan) ??15. Off Topic--Nuttings in Az. (Kay Carter) ??16. Corvallis Bald Hill BLUE JAY seen this afternoon ?? ? ?(Shawneen Finnegan) ??17. Smith Bybee: Barn Swallows & Buteo tussle (Dave Helzer) ??18. Re: Rock Dove coloration (Rob Conway) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 15:16:04 -0800 (PST) From: Rie Luft To: Obol Subject: [OBOL] Falcated Duck Message-ID: ????????<1326064564.71329.YahooMailNeo at web122514.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Oops!? Life bird for 2011, not 2010.? Rie -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 16:53:22 -0800 From: William Risser To: Cc: portland-area-birds at googlegroups.com Subject: [OBOL] tufted duck in Vancouver today Message-ID: <000901ccce69$172b3fa0$4581bee0$@com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" We looked for the tufted duck where Randy Hill saw it yesterday. ?Too foggy at 1 PM, but we succeeded at 4 PM. ?There was a lot of human activity and there were no ducks off of Randy's cove initially, but several flew in before long. ?The tufted duck's clean white sides and black back were evident. ?He was feeding actively initially and the tufts were hard to see. When he stopped for a while and perhaps after his head had time to dry a bit, the tufts became more obvious. ?He was near a male Barrow's and 3-4 female goldeneyes and in the general vicinity of a few scaup. ? Some additional directions that may help: ? Turn south off of SE Columbia Way when you see the big post that says Marine Park. ?Follow the road around toward the boat ramp and park in the lot near the water. ?The birds were out from the cove where two large white yachts were moored; this must be the cove that Randy mentioned yesterday. ? There was a red-breasted sapsucker in the trees along the water. ? We are not signed up to post to Tweeters and so someone might post this for us. ? Jan and Will Risser, Portland ? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 17:39:44 -0800 From: Jeffrey St Clair To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii i walked the Columbia Dike trail today as part of my monthly survey of wintering raptors and was shocked to see extensive logging on both sides of the dike that has removed large cottonwoods used for roosting by redtails and bald eagles. This logging even appears to penetrate inside the Stiegarwald National Wildlife Refuge. The most egregious cutting occurred a few hundred yards east of Steamboat Landing, which removed a patch of large trees. Some of the trees were larger than 24 inches DBH. Last year I recorded 5 sub adult bald eagles in one tree and two in an adjacent tree at the same time. Both trees and many others are now gone. The logging is ongoing. Does any one know the justification for this operation and whether or not an EIS was conducted? JSC Jeffrey St Clair sitka at comcast.net "Art is either plagiarism or revolution." -- Paul Cezanne ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:48:23 -0800 From: Susan Hatlevig To: obol Subject: [OBOL] Townsends Warbler etc in NW Corvallis Message-ID: <4F0A4767.4030009 at comcast.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 17:56:57 -0800 (PST) From: David Fix & Jude Power To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] northwest CA update Message-ID: <1326074217.63102.YahooMailRC at web80002.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Here are sightings from the past week. I forgot to mention that a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW and 2 SNOW BUNTINGS were also found on the Centerville Beach To King Salmon CBC; the species total seems to be 182. The buntings were out on the n. Eel R. spit, 3.3 miles s. of the restroom at Table Bluff Park. A really hot find this far south on a Christmas Bird Count. Daryl Coldren missed this species in 2011, but not many others--his Humboldt County year list was 330 NIB, smashing the old record. 1/1: A BURROWING OWL was in salt marsh w. of 101 opposite Murray Field, Eureka (Gary Lester). Another BURROWING OWL was seen by Gary and Lauren the next day just w. of last winter's Brown Shrike spot. 1/3: Bird described by quite a few characteristics as an ad. or subad. BROAD-WINGED HAWK, shortly n. of Alexandre Dairy, ?Del Norte Co. (Lucas Brug). Lucas said there was also a large flock of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS along Pala Road, just nw. of there. It seems like a good bluebird winter. ?? 1/3: TROPICAL KINGBIRD, ?near e. foot of Cannibal I. Rd. w. of Loleta Drive; YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, Ocean & Berding Streets, Ferndale (Linda Doerflinger, Ken Burton). I suppose this T-K must have seen Jude and me from a fence wire ?as we happily drove past it during the Centerville CBC. It exchanged glances the next day with Mark Magnussen. 1/4: CATTLE EGRET w. of Lower Lake Rd. just n. of where Moseley T's into it; 4 male and 2 female BARROW'S GOLDENEYES in Smith R. estuary from Pala Rd.; CRESTED CARACARA still near MP 37, Hwy 101; and the single ROSS'S and SNOW GEESE continue with GR. WHITE-FRONTED GEESE at the lawn off Front and B Street in Crescent City (Alan Barron). The seeming Broad-winged Hawk reported the previous day near Alexandre Dairy was not relocated. ?? 1/4: The inaugural Tall Trees CBC was conducted. This mostly near-coastal count is in Humboldt Co. between Arcata and Crescent City. The total was 105 species at the countdown. The highlight was a California CBC record ?12 ?RUFFED GROUSE by various teams (they don't even reach the next county south, Mendocino). Also seen were a CINNAMON ?TEAL, a PALM WARBLER, only one EUR. COLLARED-DOVE yet in Orick, N. PYGMY-OWLS by several teams, a large flock of CANVASBACK and some REDHEADS on Stone Lagoon, 8 GR. WHITE-FRONTED GEESE in Orick, and 36 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and 25 HUTTON'S VIREOS by Gary Lester in the general vicinity of Tall Trees Grove. Dozens of LINCOLN'S SPARROWS were found. There were 90 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES over the ocean opposite Big Lagoon and another 52 at the mouth of Redwood Creek, 30 of which were standing on the beach. An overflight of unseen but vocal MARBLED MURRELETS took place before sunrise in lower Redwood Creek. 1/5: The wintering YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER continued at 2505 Hewitt Rd. in e. McKinleyville (Gary Lester) and 1/6 (Rob Fowler) 1/7: Rob Fowler led an Audubon field trip with 15-20 participants. They found 2-3 ROSS'S GEESE flying over Arcata Marsh, a SWAMP SPARROW seen by all along the w. side of the logpond, and a continuing orestera ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER at the edge of the G Street parking lot. From King Salmon the group saw 9-10 COM. GOLDENEYES, 5-6 RED-NECKED GREBES, and at least 3-4 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES. The TROPICAL KINGBIRD continued at the Loleta Pond, as did the CLAY-COLORED SPARROW at Owen Head's feeder along Port Kenyon Road. Neither of the two known locally wintering N. WATERTHRUSHES was relocated (Arcata Marsh logpond and shortly ne. of Bayshore Mall) ?? 1/8: For the past week a NASHVILLE WARBLER has been using a hummingbird feeder several times a day at 1604 Victor in Manila (Joan Walsh) 1/8: At the Salmon Creek Unit of Humboldt Bay NWR, the ?imm. GOLDEN EAGLE continued in the same place (yes, Dave and Shawneen, perched on the same old cattle loading chute across the way), and it hunted AM. COOTS, prompting one of the 20 participants to suggest that an assemblage of coots should be called a "panic." About 20 TUNDRA SWANS were present, as was a BROWN PELICAN, 2 BONAPARTE'S GULLS, and the usual sprinkling of raptors and hundreds of ducks, largely N. PINTAIL (Jude Power, David Fix et al.). No Aleutian Cackling Geese were seen at the Refuge on the trip. 1/8: A BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER was with a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER feeding in coyote brush along the sw. side of the logpond at the Arcata Marsh, a rare winter report (George Ziminski). 1/8: A ROSS'S GOOSE was with about 100 ALEUTIAN CACKLING GEESE in a pasture just se. of the main s. Arcata 101 interchange, seen while sitting here at my confuser in Sunny Brae. David Fix Baja Jefferson Klamath Konundrum Occupied Gaia "Ninety-nine percent of birding is looking at common birds for the thousandth time and trying to see something new." ? / Tad MacMivora, fl. 1974- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:14:41 -0800 From: Mike Patterson To: OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Message-ID: <4F0A4D91.7080401 at pacifier.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed If it seems to be more or less exclusively along the dike it may be a mandate from the Army Corps of Engineers. ?Here in Clatsop County most of the dikes were completely cleared out to about 20 ft taking out habitat at Astoria Mitigation Bank, along the Lewis and Clark River and the Warrenton River Walk. The corps is responding to criticisms (presumably) associated with Hurricane Katrina regarding dike maintenance and access. ?They feel that vegetation on the dikes either undermines the integrity of the dikes or interferes with inspection and management. Work done to maintain the dikes probably does not require an EIS. Complaints about the impact to the view-shed and ambiance of the Warrenton Linear Park were pretty much ignored... ---- Subject: Columbia Dike Logging From: Jeffrey St Clair Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 17:39:44 -0800 i walked the Columbia Dike trail today as part of my monthly survey of ??wintering raptors and was shocked to see extensive logging on both sides of the dike that has removed large cottonwoods used for roosting by redtails and bald eagles. This logging even appears to penetrate inside the Stiegarwald National Wildlife Refuge. The most egregious cutting occurred a few hundred yards east of Steamboat Landing, which removed a patch of large trees. Some of the trees were larger than 24 inches DBH. Last year I recorded 5 sub adult bald eagles in one tree and two in an adjacent tree at the same time. Both trees and many others are now gone. The logging is ongoing. Does any one know the justification for this operation and whether or not an EIS was conducted? JSC Jeffrey St Clair sitka AT comcast.net "Art is either plagiarism or revolution." -- Paul Cezanne -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 18:27:28 -0800 From: "Donna Lusthoff" To: "pamelaj at spiritone.com" ,????????"obol" ???????? Subject: Re: [OBOL] Doves Message-ID: <5E52B7EEEB3C4FCD9B01199775FC68B7 at DonnaPC> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Hi all, In the late 1990's I talked with Wes Biggs, a professional bird guide in Florida, about the Dove situation. At that time the E C-Doves HAD displaced the Mourning Doves in Florida. By quite a bit. But, later he said the Mourning's had ?somewhat regrouped and were building up again. Whether or not that is still the case I don't know. I imagine they are still around in good numbers. Whether or not matching the high numbers there were earlier I don't have current info on. Like Paul says, talk with some of the Florida people, or check breeding bird numbers-things like that. Donna Lusthoff Beaverton OR From: pamelaj at spiritone.com Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 11:39 AM To: obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] Doves Paul, where are Frank Conley?s feeders? Pamela Johnston From: Paul T. Sullivan Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 11:13 AM To: ted schroeder ; EOU Bird List Cc: obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] Doves Ted, Eurasian Colared-doves have been sweeping across N. America for the last 20+ years. ?They hit Oregon in the last decade. ?I saw my first one at Frank Conley's feeders in 2002. ?By 2011 Carol & I completed our quest to see them in EVERY Oregon county. ?They are here to stay. That said, folks in Florida or Carolina who have lived with them for 20 years can probably tell you better what to expect. ?I don't bellieve they have totally displaced Mourning Doves. ?I've seen big flocks of Mourning Doves in the midwest. Mourning Doves will live in the countryside, while E. collared-doves like to be around people more. ?They are thick in Burns, Condon, and Imbler, and other small towns. ?I've seen 70 around a dairy north of McMinnville where they had feed to thrive on. My two cents.... (You get what you pay for. ?;-) Paul T. Sullivan ??----- Original Message ----- ??From: ted schroeder ??To: EOU Bird List ??Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 9:54 AM ??Subject: Doves ??Starting about six years ago we started seeing Eurasian Collared-Doves at our place. ?Prior to that, Over a 10 year period, we had had increasing numbers of Mourning Doves to the point that we would commonly have 12-15 Mourning Doves hanging around through the winters because we were putting feed out for the quail. ?Gradually, over six year's time, the Eurasian Collared-Doves have displaced the Mourning Doves. ?I haven't seen a Mourning Dove on our place for 6 months or so. ?We currently have 20 Eurasian Doves that hang here daily. ?They have nested in our spruce trees for the last three years. ?I never saw any aggressive behavior towards the Mourning Doves by the ECDs but they have somehow made the MDs disappear. ?Is anyone out there still seeing Mourning Doves? ?I haven't been out and about much of late but I haven't seen any Mourning Doves away from our place elsewhere in the valley. ?>From my narrow experience, one would have to wonder if the Eurasian Collared-Doves aren't likely to cause the extinction of the Mourning Doves in the long run. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ 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: ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:51:03 -0500 From: "dawn" To: OBOL Cc: "Lincoln Co. Birding & Nature Observing" Subject: [OBOL] Barrow's Goldeneye (2 pair) Siletz Bay, 1-8-2012 Message-ID: <20120109025104.284480 at gmx.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Around noon today we saw four BARROW'S GOLDENEYE (2 males, 2 females) at the Siletz Bay turnout just south of Taft. Report is here: http://www.birdfellow.com/members/dawnvilla/field_reports/489-barrows-goldeneye-siletz-bay-01-08-2012 ?A BLACK SCOTER was also present. dawn ?Lincoln City/Nelscott ?Blogging About the Coast ?dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 9 Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 19:35:12 -0800 From: Larry McQueen To: OBOL Subject: [OBOL] Harrisburg raptors Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" My wife and I decided to take advantage of this beautiful day in Eugene to drive to Snag Boat Bend for a walk in the sun. ?Snag Boat Bend is just south of Peoria. ?Before reaching Harrisburg, we noticed a thick gray blanket ?ahead, which presently surrounded us. ?Snag Boat was cold and dreary, so we didn't walk farther than the board walk. ?While driving the Peoria Road between Snag Boat and Harrisburg, I noticed these raptors: ?COOPER'S HAWK being harassed by a blackbird, PEREGRINE crossing over the windshield, ?BALD EAGLE flying over the river, about 5 RED-TAILED HAWKS, a few unidentified Buteos, and 7+ KESTRELS. ? I don't know when it happened, but the small information kiosk at the head of the trail at the Snag Boat Bend parking lot had been burned down -- ?without a doubt by vandalism. ? Larry ------------------------------ Message: 10 Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 19:42:45 -0800 From: Norgren Family To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] more on Linn County prairie birds Message-ID: <30BD67C9-0404-4D0E-ABDD-E36ABF86155D at earthlink.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii ?? I forgot to mention the 100 or more American Pipits I saw in the field east of Center School Road and just north of Ranch Road. Seven HORNED LARKS joined them as the flock repeatedly rose up and repositioned, always quite close to the road. This field has a very low crop at the moment-one or two centimeters high. Scanning with a scope is not an excercise in frustration as taller grass would make it. Darkness and a long homeward journey kept me from a serious attempt at Longspurs. Sorry I didn't get this up on Friday night(1/6) before the weekend. ?? This area north and west of the Coburg Hills can be a destination for a daytrip, or a highly diverting diversion from an otherwise marathon run up or down I-5. I saw most target species in about an hour, moving north from Diamond Hill Road to the Brownsville exit. Freeway access is very limited. I think it's twelve miles from the Corvallis/Lebanon exit to the Brownsville exit. No egress in between. Then it must be about 10 miles from Brownsville to the Diamond Hill exit, which I can give neither name nor number to. Every business at this exit failed decades ago. You probably didn't know there was a standing ghost town just minutes north of Eugene. It blends so well with the dead winter weeds that I may have driven by it once, missing the exit altogether. ?? ?The system of county roads staggers along section lines, sometimes going east-west for half a mile. But one does get pointed north or south soon enough, and the variety and novelty value of bird species is steady throughout. Lars ------------------------------ Message: 11 Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 03:58:00 +0000 From: Rob Conway To: obol Subject: [OBOL] SW Portland - Collins View, Riverview: ?RBA - Common ????????Redpoll, Red naped Sapsucker Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Obolites, I finally got out today for a couple of hours to bird the neighborhood. ?Best Sightings: Common Redpoll - Just 1 Bird, At the intersection of Palatine Hill Road and SW Brier Place, north side of Palatine Hill Road working tree buds and catkins with a small flock of American Goldfinch. ?Very bright and active bird, quite vocal. ?This is a repeat bird at the same site over 2 weeks. Red Naped Sapsucker - Unusual in that this bird is working sap wells very high up in a maple and another unidentified tree. ?It has taken me 2 weeks to get a definitive view, but todays good lighting did it. ?The trees are at the intersection of the Riverview and Greenwood Hill Cemeteries. ?Enter the Riverview Cemetery off of Palatine Hill Road just east of Brier Place. ?Straight ahead at the entrance and then left when the street makes a steeper drop and forks. ?The trees in question are just to the west of this spot right where the slope flattens out and an area of more heavily treed space starts. ?I watched the bird for 20 minutes before it vocalized. ?The sap holes are productive as I saw an Annas following the sapsucker and feeding. Other good birds include a Yellow Shafted Flicker working the lawns just to the south of the sapsucker spot, a Northern Pygmy Owl that came right to my whistle immitation just to the south of the sapsucker spot in the unmown area between cemeteries, and more than 20 Varied Thrushes further East in the lower area of the cemetery. Yesterday I saw a Peregrine take a Wood Duck that was roosting with 4 others in a fir snag across Macadam from the Sellwood Bridge. ?I also had a flyover of 9 Tundra Swans moving in the right direction to be going between Oak Bottom and Tualitin or somewhere in that vicinity. ? Bushtits have discovered my suet feeders less than 2 feet out of my kitchen area window, I counted 22 on 2 suet feeders at one time - always fun. ?All in all a really nice birdy weekend without a whole lot of work or travel. Rob Conway SW Portland 45.46?N 122.68?W (Elev. 473ft) robin_birder at hotmail.com ? ????????????????? ???????? ? ???????????????? ? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 12 Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:16:05 -0800 From: " John Notis " Cc: "obol" Subject: Re: [OBOL] Doves Message-ID: <4f0a6a06.46ed320a.137f.ffff8e2a at mx.google.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" I took note of the dove situation a few years ago when we visited South Carolina. ?EC and Mourning doves were abundant and mostly seemed to be sharing the same habitat. ?Both species were thick in most towns and cities. ?So that was encouraging, although I think it's worth considering how different our climates and habitats are of course. -John ----- Reply message ----- From: "Paul T. Sullivan" To: "ted schroeder" , "EOU Bird List" Cc: "obol" Subject: [OBOL] Doves Date: Sun, Jan 8, 2012 11:13 am Ted, Eurasian Colared-doves have been sweeping across N. America for the last 20+ years. ?They hit Oregon in the last decade. ? I saw my first one at Frank Conley's feeders in 2002. ?By 2011 Carol & I completed our quest to see them in EVERY Oregon county. ?They are here to stay. That said, folks in Florida or Carolina who have lived with them for 20 years can probably tell you better what to expect. ?I don't bellieve they have totally displaced Mourning Doves. ?I've seen big flocks of Mourning Doves in the midwest. Mourning Doves will live in the countryside, while E. collared-doves like to be around people more. ?They are thick in Burns, Condon, and Imbler, and other small towns. ?I've seen 70 around a dairy north of McMinnville where they had feed to thrive on. My two cents.... (You get what you pay for. ? ;-) Paul T. Sullivan ----- Original Message ----- From: ted schroeder To: EOU Bird List Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 9:54 AM Subject: Doves Starting about six years ago we started seeing Eurasian Collared-Doves at our place. ?Prior to that, Over a 10 year period, we had had increasing numbers of Mourning Doves to the point that we would commonly have 12-15 Mourning Doves hanging around through the winters because we were putting feed out for the quail. ?Gradually, over six year's time, the Eurasian Collared-Doves have displaced the Mourning Doves. ?I haven't seen a Mourning Dove on our place for 6 months or so. ?We currently have 20 Eurasian Doves that hang here daily. ?They have nested in our spruce trees for the last three years. ?I never saw any aggressive behavior towards the Mourning Doves by the ECDs but they have somehow made the MDs disappear. ?Is anyone out there still seeing Mourning Doves? ?I haven't been out and about much of late but I haven't seen any Mourning Doves away from our place elsewhere in the valley. ?From my narrow experience, one would have to wonder if the Eurasian Collared-Doves aren't likely to cause the extinction of the Mourning Doves in the long run. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 13 Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:32:20 -0800 From: Susan Hatlevig To: obol Subject: [OBOL] Rock Dove coloration Message-ID: <4F0A6DD4.20802 at comcast.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 14 Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 20:59:26 -0800 From: Shawneen Finnegan To: Susan Hatlevig Cc: obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] Rock Dove coloration Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Susan: Feral Rock Pigeons, particularly ones in the middle of big cities, come in every combination you can possibly imagine. So, my answer would be yes, it is normal. Shawneen Finnegan Portland, OR ------------------------------ Message: 15 Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 21:00:30 -0800 From: "Kay Carter" To: Subject: [OBOL] Off Topic--Nuttings in Az. Message-ID: <012501ccce8b$9c5628d0$d5027a70$@net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" I?m delighted to be able to confirm the Arizona Nutting?s Flycatcher. ?While spending a few weeks with family and soaking up some Arizona sun, four of us added this very cooperative (and vocal) bird to our life lists. ?I infrequently chase rarities, and generally come up empty when I do, so this was a pleasant change (and the rest of the birding was warm and productive, too). ? Kay Carter (usually) Canby, OR; (temporarily) Phoenix, AZ ? From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of SJJag at comcast.net Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2012 1:40 PM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] resource: bird alerts us. wide--Nuttings in Az. ? A birding list digest may be found at digest.sialia.com/ It has most (all?) of the n. america bird lists in digest form. ? A Nutting's Flycatcher has also been reported in AZ. this past week. ? Steve Jaggers ? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 16 Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 21:28:10 -0800 From: Shawneen Finnegan To: OBOL ,????????Mid-Valley Birding List ???????? Subject: [OBOL] Corvallis Bald Hill BLUE JAY seen this afternoon Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Today Dave Irons and I meandered our way south through pea soup fog towards Corvallis. We finally arrived at Bald Hill Natural Area to look for the BLUE JAY sometime after lunch. We parked at the lot off NW Oak Creek Drive as suggested by others. Holly Reinhard pulled in right after us so together we walked to the barn. ?After a while we spotted the Steller's Jay flock coming up the hill from the northwest (direction of the parking lot) towards the towards the barn. With them was the BLUE JAY. They stopped briefly in the trees near the barn before continuing south southwest. The BLUE JAY stopped a couple hundred yards south of the trail split for a while. It called many times and with patience eventually we all had nice looks at it up in a tall tree. It spent time foraging both up in the trees and on the ground. Shawneen Finnegan Portland ------------------------------ Message: 17 Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 21:54:40 -0800 From: Dave Helzer To: OBOL Cc: portland-area-birds at googlegroups.com Subject: [OBOL] Smith Bybee: Barn Swallows & Buteo tussle Message-ID: ???????? Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 OBOL and PAB: 1/8/12 There were 6-8 BARN SWALLOWS today at Smith Bybee in North Portland, over the trail out beyond the Bybee Lake blind. A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was vocal in the same area. ?Later it was attacked by an immature Red-tailed Hawk. ?They tangled in a tree as we watched and fell tumbling together through the canopy, then came to stop. ?They hung in a tangled feathered mess with limbs askew for several minutes, mostly totally still while one of them a odd alarm call. ?The Red-tailed seemed to have the advantage. ?They finally broke apart and the Red-shouldered flew off screaming. ?A few minutes later the the Red-tailed displaced Red-shouldered off its perch. There were 4 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE around as well. ?We did not really look for the previously reported LT Duck but heard it was seen this last week. Dave Helzer Portland ------------------------------ Message: 18 Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 06:59:11 +0000 From: Rob Conway To: , obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] Rock Dove coloration Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" As Shawneen noted Rock Pigeons come in almost any color form you can imagine. ?The bird in your picture is from the Ash Red Barred classification I believe. ?Pigeon genetics are widely studied and well know, with lots of specific breeding for unusual traits (color, posture (fantail), flight (rollers), and like most birds with domestication meat production). ?You can learn a lot more about genetics of Rock Pigeons at: http://www.angelfire.com/ga3/pigeongenetics/index.html This is a great site and gives a pretty extensive history on pigeon study, classifications, and genetics. ?The bird you picture has a lot of recessive traits - but with the gene pool variety and number of Rock Pigeons in NYC seeing almost any color is possible. ?Watching flocks of pigeons racing around high rises in big cities, along cliffs in the Mediterannean or over open fields where one is challenged to think where the birds roost can be relaxing, thought provoking, and thrilling. ?They are still the most common urban "farm animal" with thousands of keepers of birds in rooftop cages all over the world. Rob Rob Conway SW Portland 45.46?N 122.68?W (Elev. 473ft) robin_birder at hotmail.com ? ?Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 20:32:20 -0800 From: hatlevis at comcast.net To: OBOL at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Rock Dove coloration ?? ?? ? ?? ?? ?? ?I took this photo of a rock dove in NYC around Washington Park. ?Is ?? ?this a normal coloration? ?? ? ?? ?https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2i90SeEeOBxr5tGRD0NxRfRi_dDi9v-hWKwz71zYGlU?feat=email ?? ? ?? ?Susie in Corvallis ?? _______________________________________________ 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 21, Issue 23 ************************************ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From LCain at astoria.k12.or.us Tue Jan 10 22:27:55 2012 From: LCain at astoria.k12.or.us (Lee Cain) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 04:27:55 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Eurasian Wigeon on Wireless Message-ID: Evan found a EURASIAN WIGEON drake on Wireless Road (just south of Astoria) today, causing me to finally leave the pile of work at school and come have look at it at about 4:50 PM. In pasture puddles just west of the cyclone fence/old wireless station. Lee Cain >//////> >//////> >//////> >//////> Aquatic Biology/Integrated Science Astoria High School From mntsprg at wizzards.net Tue Jan 10 22:39:55 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:39:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] interesting birds in Oregon Message-ID: <656D83800A614D1FAAD49F732C5BD336@MitherPC> the three images of a fox sparrow are the same bird, same day...it looks rather red for a sooty, my question is ...is this a red fox sparrow? or which other?? thank you Laura https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2977885446191.2155360.1233522376&type=1&l=ab61457d82 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From larmcqueen at msn.com Tue Jan 10 23:16:12 2012 From: larmcqueen at msn.com (Larry McQueen) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:16:12 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] interesting birds in Oregon In-Reply-To: <656D83800A614D1FAAD49F732C5BD336@MitherPC> References: <656D83800A614D1FAAD49F732C5BD336@MitherPC> Message-ID: Laura, Interesting bird indeed -- not the usual Fox Sparrow we get in the valley. It could be a Red Fox Sparrow. Apparently, some Slate-colored Foxes can approach this amount of color. Larry On Jan 10, 2012, at 8:39 PM, Laura Mountainspring wrote: > the three images of a fox sparrow are the same bird, same day...it looks rather red for a sooty, my question is ...is this a red fox sparrow? or which other?? > thank you > Laura > > https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2977885446191.2155360.1233522376&type=1&l=ab61457d82 > _______________________________________________ > 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 Tue Jan 10 23:37:19 2012 From: cgates326 at gmail.com (Charles R. Gates) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:37:19 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county Message-ID: <4F0D200F.8090303@gmail.com> Coos County recently added it's 399th species with a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that was well photographed. Soon it will join Lane, Lincoln, and Curry counties as Oregon counties with over 400 species on their county list. I thought I would do an annual update on these county lists and publish the totals. Below, you will find a table with all 36 counties and the number of species that have been seen in each. You can go online and check your county's list or any other county in Oregon (http://www.birdingoregon.info/). If you haven't seen this website, it's also a good spot to find birding locations in Oregon. Here are the current species totals for each county. Lane 408 Lincoln 403 Curry 400 Coos 399 Harney 377 Douglas 373 Clatsop 366 Tillamook 366 Lake 363 Klamath 344 Multnomah 343 Deschutes 342 Jackson 336 Columbia 319 Benton 318 Marion 315 Linn 313 Polk 309 Umatilla 308 Washington 300 Wallowa 294 Crook 292 Clackamas 291 Union 291 Grant 288 Malheur 287 Jefferson 285 Wasco 280 Yamhill 280 Josephine 273 Baker 271 Hood River 270 Sherman 267 Morrow 257 Wheeler 256 Gilliam 246 -- Chuck Gates Crook County High School NAMC State Coordinator - East Cascades Audubon Society Online Oregon Birding Site Guide - birdingoregon.info 541-923-1320 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rick.lumen at gmail.com Wed Jan 11 00:58:43 2012 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Richard Leinen) Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:58:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Not Oregon, but Ocean Shores Emperor Goose pictures. In-Reply-To: <012a01cccf63$bcf11590$36d340b0$@com> References: <012a01cccf63$bcf11590$36d340b0$@com> Message-ID: FUD?! :-) Nice pics Don. On Jan 9, 2012, at 10:47 PM, Don wrote: > > We were up in Ocean Shores over the weekend. Took just 10 minutes to locate the goose by scanning the golf course. This goose is a lot easier to see close than the TRNWR Goose. > > A foggy day, just clearing, down at the beach. NO evidence of atmospherics, mist from ocean, or other problems with using long lenses?don?t believe that FUD. I am 35-45 meters away from the bird according to the EXIF. > > http://www.pbase.com/donnelson/emperorgoosewashington > > For those that want to make the trip ? Its been on the Ocean Shores golf course since late November. Won?t be long before it heads north. This species normally winters in the Aleutians. Check the golf course behind the Fire Station on Point Brown Ave, and across the Point Brown Ave from the Fire station next to the canal. IF not there, cross the canal onto Canal Street, as the golf course continues between Canal and Puffin, and Octopus and Dophin avenues. If desperate, stop at the pro shop off Canal and ask the staff ? they know the bird and know where it is (we didn?t have to use them but I talked to one guy on the course. ). A note of caution ? don?t be on the golf course when someone is playing through the fairway on a hole. There isn?t any safety in standing next to the fairway either (Fore!). Stay off the greens-they work hard to maintain them. > > Also seen ? Barred Owl on the wires just south of hotel row on Pt Brown Rd early morning (not by me) > > plus Black Turnstone/Surfbird/Rock Sandpiper on the Jetty at high tide (when they get pushed up close by the waves), > > and of course the hen King Eider was present in a mixed flock of mostly Surf Scoter and one white winged scoter ? I didn?t scope all the birds ; someone else said they saw Black Scoter as well. > > Western Grebes and Harlequin Ducks were off the point at Damon Point. I flushed a pair of Horned Larks while walking in an area thinly vegetated by grass. They ran off rather than fly. > > An early morning predawn walk two hours before sunrise on Saturday to Damon Point revealed 12 Snowy Owls. As the hordes arrived ? birders and photographers ? many of the shyer owls departed by 9 am for the tree areas, leaving just a few then three very calm birds for the remainder of the day. These three birds seemed to like company. Like movie stars they stayed on their perch and seemed to enjoy people photographing and viewing from a respectful distance. > > Two of the three did fly a short distance with no one moving close to them ? one moved ten feet closer to a small group of photographers( who would have thought this after all the angst on tweeters list about starving stressed birds? ) and the other similarly moved in the afternoon closer to photographers onto its favorite (was there in the morning so I presume favorite) perch on a small hump of grassy sand. One of the owls permitted a birder to come within an estimated 10 feet to take a snap with their point and shoot. Another woman with 400mm lens managed to trip and flush an owl, but this was purely accidental ? the person was much further away than other birders and photographers ? it wasn?t the closeness but the unusual action that caused the bird to fly. Other than that the birds didn?t move very much. If they were stressed by the crowds they would have headed elsewhere ? they are far more mobile than humans. Plenty of Snowy pictures ? I haven?t edited them yet so not posted. > > If I were you, I?d make the trip. They won?t be here too much longer (until maybe end of February ? your guess may differ. We?ll have to wait and see). The tidal spit out to Damon Point has been built up by the winter ? it was awash on December 3 at 8.2 tide ? on Sunday the tide as 10.2 and it wasn?t being washed over. > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Wed Jan 11 09:28:16 2012 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:28:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Message-ID: <1326295697.1517.19.camel@clearwater1> Hi all, Just trying to think like an engineer here, in response to Chris Grant's question below. One thing that large trees do, particularly when lined up in a row without smaller trees in front of them, is to topple in windstorms. This can happen particularly when something (such as river currents) has been undercutting the roots on the upwind side, and during very wet weather when soils are fully saturated. When a large tree topples -- or a whole row of them topple -- that could take quite a chunk out of a dike, and possibly at the least favorable time if you happen to be an engineer in charge of flood control. The argument that riparian vegetation helps to reduce erosion, on average, is certainly true. However, an engineer's response might be, "So what? We can always armor the bank with more rip-rap. That's a method that we know how to design and manage." Relying on natural systems to help in an unnatural effort to control natural processes like floods is ... well, something that doesn't come naturally to engineers. The long-term trend seems to point more in that direction, but classical engineering approaches still hold sway. In classical engineering, you want something that you can hang a parameter value on, something that has uniform properties, and that if it fails, will fail in a gradual and observable, non-catastrophic way. Big cottonwoods or Douglas-firs that topple and tear up big chunks of dike with their roots might not fit that specification. Sorry if this suggestion doesn't fit the general flow of discussion. I agree with the aesthetic concerns, and also agree that the effectiveness of this method ought to be evaluated. However, there might actually be a non-orcish rationale to the tree removal. Good birding, Joel Chris Grant wrote: > This outside my area of expertise, but it seems to me that > riparian vegetation would slow flood waters and trap sediment, > both of which would seem to stabilize a dike. Also, it seems > to me that the roots of trees and shrubs in the riparian zone > would help knit together the toe of the dike, and thereby protect > it. This action by the Corp appears to expose the dike to > damage, not protect it. Anyone have any insight to share? -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis From mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Wed Jan 11 10:16:58 2012 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:16:58 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Message-ID: <1326298618.21590.YahooMailMobile@web39706.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Joel, While reading this thread, someone commented that trees of 2000 yrs. age will be removed. My comment to those of engineering backgrounds would be to consider the age of the trees that have held their positions for this long. I would question whether the engineering calculations are designed to protect dikes for longer than the old trees already have. My background is engineering, but not civil engineering, so there are probably mitigating circumstances. It would be nice to have all this clearly explained. Losing these ancient trees reduces avian habitat ( so as to connect this thread to birding). Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wlrisser at gmail.com Wed Jan 11 10:40:17 2012 From: wlrisser at gmail.com (William Risser) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:40:17 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Portland orange-crowned race; no gray head Message-ID: <000001ccd07f$b479d8d0$1d6d8a70$@com> We saw an orange-crowned warbler in our SE Portland neighborhood this morning. It was quite yellow and definitely had a yellow head, suggesting that it was lutescens. Jan and Will Risser, Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tlove at linfield.edu Wed Jan 11 10:46:14 2012 From: tlove at linfield.edu (Thomas Love) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:46:14 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county Message-ID: Thanks Chuck for these data. It would be interesting to analyze these raw totals by observer effort and by size. With tongue in cheek, let?s play with this a bit. For example, Lane?s 408 vs. Multnomah?s 343 looks a little different when you adjust by size of county (a very rough proxy for habitat diversity), since Lane is one of the largest counties in the state and Multnomah is the smallest: 408 species/4,722 sq. mi = .086 species/sq. mi. 343 species/466 sq. mi. = 0.736 species/sq. mi. By this measure, Multnomah County is way ahead - apparently over 8X as productive as Lane. On the other hand, Multnomah is one of the most intensively birded counties in the state, while Malheur, say, is one of the least. Assuming the ratio of birders (and their birding effort) to the general population is similar, we find: 343 species/735,334 people = .000466 species/person 287 species/31,313 people = .00917 species/person By this measure, Malheur County is way ahead ? about 20X as productive as Multnomah. Of course year lists would be a better indicator here. Back to work! Tom L. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dpvroman at budget.net Wed Jan 11 10:53:14 2012 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis Vroman) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:53:14 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] interesting birds in Oregon References: <656D83800A614D1FAAD49F732C5BD336@MitherPC> Message-ID: <6B8209B5A85E49AEA0540A5D661C7531@your4dacd0ea75> Pretty close to "eastern" race Fox. Here's some web links to some "eastern" birds for comparison. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ic2.pbase.com/u16/rcm1840/upload/38928277.FoxSparrowC.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.pbase.com/rcm1840/image/38928277&h=600&w=750&sz=101&tbnid=0-uzSswWB5SqIM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=118&prev=/search%3Fq%3Deastern%2Bfox%2Bsparrow%2Bphoto%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=eastern+fox+sparrow+photo&docid=zAO-ehdZvRfZNM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=R70NT9KyI6zWiAKbqKGCDQ&ved=0CDEQ9QEwAg http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.uvm.edu/~chansen/Ohio%2520Bird%2520Banding%2520-%2520Fall%2520Migration%25202009/slides/AHY%2520Eastern%2520Fox%2520Sparrow.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.uvm.edu/~chansen/Ohio%2520Bird%2520Banding%2520-%2520Fall%2520Migration%25202009/index4.html&h=800&w=449&sz=63&tbnid=N6HtlB2CkV1X6M:&tbnh=116&tbnw=65&prev=/search%3Fq%3Deastern%2Bfox%2Bsparrow%2Bphoto%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=eastern+fox+sparrow+photo&docid=wXpJHhXhPAqgjM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=R70NT9KyI6zWiAKbqKGCDQ&ved=0CDQQ9QEwAw&dur=16 Links long...hopefully will work, Dennis ----- Original Message ----- From: Larry McQueen To: Laura Mountainspring Cc: OBOL Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 9:16 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] interesting birds in Oregon Laura, Interesting bird indeed -- not the usual Fox Sparrow we get in the valley. It could be a Red Fox Sparrow. Apparently, some Slate-colored Foxes can approach this amount of color. Larry On Jan 10, 2012, at 8:39 PM, Laura Mountainspring wrote: the three images of a fox sparrow are the same bird, same day...it looks rather red for a sooty, my question is ...is this a red fox sparrow? or which other?? thank you Laura https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2977885446191.2155360.1233522376&type=1&l=ab61457d82 _______________________________________________ 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 dpvroman at budget.net Wed Jan 11 10:58:23 2012 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis Vroman) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:58:23 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] interesting birds in Oregon References: <656D83800A614D1FAAD49F732C5BD336@MitherPC> Message-ID: <43E9002776534FD089CDEBCF880CDD9C@your4dacd0ea75> Here's a link to a Ontario, Canada banding site with in-hand Fox photos. http://www.migrationresearch.org/mbo/id/fosp.html Close up and personnel photos, include some of Alberta race birds. Dennis ----- Original Message ----- From: Larry McQueen To: Laura Mountainspring Cc: OBOL Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 9:16 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] interesting birds in Oregon Laura, Interesting bird indeed -- not the usual Fox Sparrow we get in the valley. It could be a Red Fox Sparrow. Apparently, some Slate-colored Foxes can approach this amount of color. Larry On Jan 10, 2012, at 8:39 PM, Laura Mountainspring wrote: the three images of a fox sparrow are the same bird, same day...it looks rather red for a sooty, my question is ...is this a red fox sparrow? or which other?? thank you Laura https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2977885446191.2155360.1233522376&type=1&l=ab61457d82 _______________________________________________ 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 deweysage at frontier.com Wed Jan 11 11:09:02 2012 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:09:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging In-Reply-To: <1326298618.21590.YahooMailMobile@web39706.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <1326298618.21590.YahooMailMobile@web39706.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4F0DC22E.9010201@frontier.com> I don't know anything about this issue, but, I have to question, if I read this right, how can they possibly be 2000 yr old trees on a human made dike? Am I missing something? Cheers Dave Lauten On 1/11/2012 8:16 AM, Richard and Marilyn Musser wrote: > Hi Joel, > While reading this thread, someone commented that trees of 2000 yrs. > age will be removed. My comment to those of engineering backgrounds > would be to consider the age of the trees that have held their > positions for this long. I would question whether the engineering > calculations are designed to protect dikes for longer than the old > trees already have. My background is engineering, but not civil > engineering, so there are probably mitigating circumstances. It would > be nice to have all this clearly explained. Losing these ancient trees > reduces avian habitat ( so as to connect this thread to birding). Best > regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *From: * Joel Geier ; > *To: * Oregon Birders OnLine ; > *Subject: * Re: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging > *Sent: * Wed, Jan 11, 2012 3:28:16 PM > > Hi all, > > Just trying to think like an engineer here, in response to Chris Grant's > question below. > > One thing that large trees do, particularly when lined up in a row > without smaller trees in front of them, is to topple in windstorms. This > can happen particularly when something (such as river currents) has been > undercutting the roots on the upwind side, and during very wet weather > when soils are fully saturated. > > When a large tree topples -- or a whole row of them topple -- that could > take quite a chunk out of a dike, and possibly at the least favorable > time if you happen to be an engineer in charge of flood control. > > The argument that riparian vegetation helps to reduce erosion, on > average, is certainly true. However, an engineer's response might be, > "So what? We can always armor the bank with more rip-rap. That's a > method that we know how to design and manage." > > Relying on natural systems to help in an unnatural effort to control > natural processes like floods is ... well, something that doesn't come > naturally to engineers. The long-term trend seems to point more in that > direction, but classical engineering approaches still hold sway. > > In classical engineering, you want something that you can hang a > parameter value on, something that has uniform properties, and that if > it fails, will fail in a gradual and observable, non-catastrophic way. > Big cottonwoods or Douglas-firs that topple and tear up big chunks of > dike with their roots might not fit that specification. > > Sorry if this suggestion doesn't fit the general flow of discussion. I > agree with the aesthetic concerns, and also agree that the effectiveness > of this method ought to be evaluated. However, there might actually be a > non-orcish rationale to the tree removal. > > Good birding, > Joel > > Chris Grant wrote: > > > This outside my area of expertise, but it seems to me that > > riparian vegetation would slow flood waters and trap sediment, > > both of which would seem to stabilize a dike. Also, it seems > > to me that the roots of trees and shrubs in the riparian zone > > would help knit together the toe of the dike, and thereby protect > > it. This action by the Corp appears to expose the dike to > > damage, not protect it. Anyone have any insight to share? > > -- > 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 joel.geier at peak.org Wed Jan 11 11:30:36 2012 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:30:36 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging In-Reply-To: <1326298618.21590.YahooMailMobile@web39706.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <1326298618.21590.YahooMailMobile@web39706.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1326303036.1517.37.camel@clearwater1> Hi Dick & All, I saw a mention of 2000 trees being removed, and some of those being 24" dbh (diameter at breast height) cottonwoods but agree with Dave that 2000-yr-old trees seems unlikely, especially within the footprint of dikes that were built with heavy machinery within the past century. I'm not sure about the Washington side, but the oldest known trees in Oregon (in the Crabtree Creek drainage of Linn County) are supposed to be right around 1000 years old. I am not trying to justify this action, just suggesting that there is probably an engineering rationale. Not all engineering rationales are necessary good ones, but usually some degree of thought and calculation is involved. Big trees are unpredictable, and a 24-inch dbh cottonwood is getting close to as big as they get before they fall over. No doubt someone can point to bigger ones that are still standing (Luckiamute State Natural Area has a few in the relatively protected interior of the gallery forest), but for each one of those, it wouldn't be hard to find another one that's toppled in recent years. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis From redeyegravy at gmail.com Wed Jan 11 11:42:53 2012 From: redeyegravy at gmail.com (Mike Clarke) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:42:53 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Vancouver Tufted Duck Message-ID: The Tufted Duck is currently present just off of the boat ramp at Marine Park w/ a group of Lesser Scaup. They are about 50 YDS. off shore, slowly heading east. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From romain at frontiernet.net Wed Jan 11 12:00:31 2012 From: romain at frontiernet.net (Romain Cooper) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:00:31 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging In-Reply-To: <1326303036.1517.37.camel@clearwater1> References: <1326298618.21590.YahooMailMobile@web39706.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <1326303036.1517.37.camel@clearwater1> Message-ID: Maybe 200 years was meant and even that seems very, very unlikely. Thanks to Joel for contributing very good info on the engineering side of things. However, there are (probably?) thousands of black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa; considered a sub-species of balsamifera by some) over 2 ft. dbh in OR. There are a couple score greater than 2 ft. dia on the floodplains of our place (Josephine Co, OR). Cottonwood are relatively short-lived trees notorious for falling down and breaking (so the general point is true) but they are relatively fast growing and can get quite big in a hundred years or so. The champ (national register of big trees) is about 9 ft. dbh. (Washington, not Oregon). Joel had some caveats but "a 24-inch dbh cottonwood is getting close to as big as they get before they fall over. " is an overstatement, in my opinion (though again, no argument with Joel's general point in his email). At 09:30 AM 1/11/2012, Joel Geier wrote: >Hi Dick & All, > >I saw a mention of 2000 trees being removed, and some of those being 24" >dbh (diameter at breast height) cottonwoods but agree with Dave that >2000-yr-old trees seems unlikely, especially within the footprint of >dikes that were built with heavy machinery within the past century. I'm >not sure about the Washington side, but the oldest known trees in Oregon >(in the Crabtree Creek drainage of Linn County) are supposed to be right >around 1000 years old. > >I am not trying to justify this action, just suggesting that there is >probably an engineering rationale. Not all engineering rationales are >necessary good ones, but usually some degree of thought and calculation >is involved. Big trees are unpredictable, and a 24-inch dbh cottonwood >is getting close to as big as they get before they fall over. No doubt >someone can point to bigger ones that are still standing (Luckiamute >State Natural Area has a few in the relatively protected interior of the >gallery forest), but for each one of those, it wouldn't be hard to find >another one that's toppled in recent years. > >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 Romain Cooper 10398 Takilma Road Cave Junction, OR 97523 541-592-2311 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paultsullivan at onlinenw.com Wed Jan 11 12:23:18 2012 From: paultsullivan at onlinenw.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:23:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county Message-ID: Tom, et al, This topic interests me more than many other that get a lot of time on OBOL. Big counties like Lane & Douglas that reach from the coast to the Cascades have great potential for big lists, but very different observer effort. Coastal counties offer seabirds. Populous counties get more observer effort. Klamath, Lake, and Harney have more refuges and observers than Malheur, evern though they're similar size. Polk & Benton, with Nat'l Wildlife Refuges get more birds than Yamhill with only one good sewage pond. Josephine and Hood River have all trees and no marsh. Sherman & Gilliam have all wheatfields and no trees. Sherman has the sloughs below John Day dam, while Gilliam has only the deep pool above the dam and almost no sloughs along the Columbia. Put Namitz or Rodenkirk or Gates or ___________ in any county and watch the list grow. Which county is the best? Wallowa, of course. ;-) Good birding, everyone, Paul T. Sullivan Audubon Birding Weekends (503) 472-5306 http://audubonportland.org/trips-classes-camps/adult/weekends ------------------------ Subject: Re: species totals by county From: Thomas Love Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:46:14 +0000 Thanks Chuck for these data. It would be interesting to analyze these raw totals by observer effort and by size. With tongue in cheek, let?s play with this a bit. For example, Lane?s 408 vs. Multnomah?s 343 looks a little different when you adjust by size of county (a very rough proxy for habitat diversity), since Lane is one of the largest counties in the state and Multnomah is the smallest: 408 species/4,722 sq. mi = .086 species/sq. mi. 343 species/466 sq. mi. = 0.736 species/sq. mi. By this measure, Multnomah County is way ahead - apparently over 8X as productive as Lane. On the other hand, Multnomah is one of the most intensively birded counties in the state, while Malheur, say, is one of the least. Assuming the ratio of birders (and their birding effort) to the general population is similar, we find: 343 species/735,334 people = .000466 species/person 287 species/31,313 people = .00917 species/person By this measure, Malheur County is way ahead ? about 20X as productive as Multnomah. Of course year lists would be a better indicator here. Back to work! Tom L From bls42 at cornell.edu Wed Jan 11 12:28:36 2012 From: bls42 at cornell.edu (Brian Sullivan) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:28:36 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Tom et al. Yes, very interesting topic. We have recently been looking at total eBird checklist submissions by county across the US. A visual representation of these data can be found here, built by Paul Hurtado: https://plus.google.com/photos/110463962218302154116/albums/5696222248971096145?banner=pwa There are many subtleties when looking at these maps, and this is a first pass at presenting these data. But in looking at Oregon, it really shows how the rate of data submission is closely linked to the population centers. Something we'd like to do is inspire people to get out and fill the gaps on these maps. To me birding in underbirded areas is really fun. Looks like I should schedule an eBird trip to northeast Oregon this spring! Thanks Brian On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 10:23 AM, Paul T. Sullivan < paultsullivan at onlinenw.com> wrote: > Tom, et al, > > This topic interests me more than many other that get a lot of time on > OBOL. > > Big counties like Lane & Douglas that reach from the coast to the Cascades > have great potential for big lists, but very different observer effort. > > Coastal counties offer seabirds. > > Populous counties get more observer effort. > > Klamath, Lake, and Harney have more refuges and observers than Malheur, > evern though they're similar size. > > Polk & Benton, with Nat'l Wildlife Refuges get more birds than Yamhill > with only one good sewage pond. > > Josephine and Hood River have all trees and no marsh. Sherman & Gilliam > have all wheatfields and no trees. > > Sherman has the sloughs below John Day dam, while Gilliam has only the > deep pool above the dam and almost no sloughs along the Columbia. > > Put Namitz or Rodenkirk or Gates or ___________ in any county and watch > the list grow. > > Which county is the best? Wallowa, of course. ;-) > > Good birding, everyone, > > Paul T. Sullivan > Audubon Birding Weekends > (503) 472-5306 > http://audubonportland.org/**trips-classes-camps/adult/**weekends > > ------------------------ > Subject: Re: species totals by county > From: Thomas Love > Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:46:14 +0000 > > > Thanks Chuck for these data. > > It would be interesting to analyze these raw totals by observer effort and > by > size. With tongue in cheek, let?s play with this a bit. > > > For example, Lane?s 408 vs. Multnomah?s 343 looks a little different when > you > > adjust by size of county (a very rough proxy for habitat diversity), since > Lane > is one of the largest counties in the state and Multnomah is the smallest: > > > 408 species/4,722 sq. mi = .086 species/sq. mi. > > 343 species/466 sq. mi. = 0.736 species/sq. mi. > > By this measure, Multnomah County is way ahead - apparently over 8X as > productive as Lane. > > > > On the other hand, Multnomah is one of the most intensively birded > counties in > the state, while Malheur, say, is one of the least. Assuming the ratio of > birders (and their birding effort) to the general population is similar, we > find: > > > 343 species/735,334 people = .000466 species/person > > 287 species/31,313 people = .00917 species/person > > By this measure, Malheur County is way ahead ? about 20X as productive as > Multnomah. Of course year lists would be a better indicator here. > > > > Back to work! > > > Tom L > > ______________________________**_________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/**mailman/listinfo/obol_**oregonbirds.org > -- =========== Brian L. Sullivan 49 Holman Road Carmel Valley, CA 93924 eBird/AKN Project Leader www.ebird.org www.avianknowledge.net Photographic Editor, Birds of North America Online http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd. Ithaca, NY 14850 Photographic Editor, North American Birds American Birding Association www.americanbirding.org bls42 at cornell.edu 609-694-3280 ------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sitka at comcast.net Wed Jan 11 12:43:20 2012 From: sitka at comcast.net (Jeffrey St Clair) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:43:20 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Message-ID: <06BC1122-1801-48C7-A4D8-CBA754FB741B@comcast.net> The oldest trees here are probably 80 years old. They are just beginning to develop mature characteristics--cavities, dead limbs, broken tops, etc, which has made them attractive roosting sites for wintering eagles. Indeed, one of the larger cottonwoods was being investigated as a nest site by a pair of eagles last winter. In my opinion none of these trees pose any structural threat to the dike. Indeed, on this fully-dammed river, the Columbia dike no longer serves any flood-control purpose. I'm especially distressed by the Corps' presumptuousness in logging INSIDE the National Wildlife Refuge without an EIS & the FWS's apparent passivity in the face of this unwelcome intrusion. Last year, I counted 8 eagles on the north (ie, Stiegarwald) side of the river. This year there were no eagles visible on the north side of the river--though there were several visible in the strip of cottonwoods on the south side of the river & two sub adults soaring high overhead. Cause-and-effect? Jeffrey St Clair sitka at comcast.net From whoffman at peak.org Wed Jan 11 12:47:11 2012 From: whoffman at peak.org (whoffman at peak.org) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:47:11 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county In-Reply-To: <1383741638.179296.1326307241162.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Message-ID: <1153686069.179328.1326307631631.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Hi - The Ecological literature from a few decades ago was full of papers about species-area relationships. They are rarely ever linear. In other words, larger areas (or islands) likely have more species than smaller ones, but not more species/acre. A good way to think about this is to ask whether a chunk of Lane County the size of Multnomah County has as many species as Multnomah County. I suspect that you could find 2 such chunks in Lane County (without excessive gerrymandering). One would be the coastal strip and ocean, extending into the coast range, and the other the area surrounding Eugene, including Fern Ridge Res. and extending into the Cascades past Oak Ridge and/or up the McKenzie to high elevation. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Love" To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 8:46:14 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county Re: species totals by county Thanks Chuck for these data. It would be interesting to analyze these raw totals by observer effort and by size. With tongue in cheek, let?s play with this a bit. For example, Lane?s 408 vs. Multnomah?s 343 looks a little different when you adjust by size of county (a very rough proxy for habitat diversity), since Lane is one of the largest counties in the state and Multnomah is the smallest: 408 species/4,722 sq. mi = .086 species/sq. mi. 343 species/466 sq. mi. = 0.736 species/sq. mi. By this measure, Multnomah County is way ahead - apparently over 8X as productive as Lane. On the other hand, Multnomah is one of the most intensively birded counties in the state, while Malheur, say, is one of the least. Assuming the ratio of birders (and their birding effort) to the general population is similar, we find: 343 species/735,334 people = .000466 species/person 287 species/31,313 people = .00917 species/person By this measure, Malheur County is way ahead ? about 20X as productive as Multnomah. Of course year lists would be a better indicator here. Back to work! Tom L. _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From jsiporin at mac.com Wed Jan 11 14:08:43 2012 From: jsiporin at mac.com (Julia Siporin) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:08:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Black-headed Grosbeak at feeder in Eugene Today Message-ID: As I was counting birds for Project Feederwatch this morning, a female Black-headed Grosbeak popped in for a visit! This is a first for my yard. For the record: The last BHGR I saw in our yard was Sept. 3, 2011; they had been in the yard since May 7, 2011. - Julia From jsiporin at mac.com Wed Jan 11 14:14:37 2012 From: jsiporin at mac.com (Julia Siporin) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:14:37 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Oops, forgot to add photo of BH Grosbeak Message-ID: <05E173F9-0A17-4B7E-9001-A1A69331F6CF@mac.com> Here's a link to a picture of the Black-headed Grosbeak in our yard this morning. Since my camera battery was dead, I had to scramble to find my iPhone. So, this shot was taken through the kitchen window. By the time I got outside... you guessed it, she flew away. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsiporin/6680295673/ - Julia From mntsprg at wizzards.net Wed Jan 11 15:03:16 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:03:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] Oops, forgot to add photo of BH Grosbeak In-Reply-To: <05E173F9-0A17-4B7E-9001-A1A69331F6CF@mac.com> References: <05E173F9-0A17-4B7E-9001-A1A69331F6CF@mac.com> Message-ID: <120364B2B27A442580C206F433DD6264@MitherPC> I am wondering with the obvious white eye mark if this is a first winter male of the black headed grosbeak......this would be another odd wintering over occurrence ??? I tend to have several pairs during the summer months... Laura -----Original Message----- From: Julia Siporin Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 12:14 PM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Oops, forgot to add photo of BH Grosbeak Here's a link to a picture of the Black-headed Grosbeak in our yard this morning. Since my camera battery was dead, I had to scramble to find my iPhone. So, this shot was taken through the kitchen window. By the time I got outside... you guessed it, she flew away. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsiporin/6680295673/ - Julia _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From larmcqueen at msn.com Wed Jan 11 15:23:00 2012 From: larmcqueen at msn.com (Larry McQueen) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:23:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Wed morning, Eugene Message-ID: In spite of the cold, the sunny weather this morning was just what we needed. The birds seemed to respond in kind, as we walked the Delta Ponds roundabout. As usual, we may at first attempt to keep count of individuals, but we finish with estimates. Canada Goose - 150+ Cackling Goose - 2 Wood Duck - 15 American Wigeon - 45 Mallard - 30 Gadwall - 35+ Green-Winged Teal - 60 Northern Shoveler - 25 CINNAMON TEAL - 1 Lesser Scaup - 15 Ring-necked Duck - 10+ Bufflehead - 12 Common Merganser - 1 Hooded Merganser - 3 Pied-billed Grebe - 10 Double-crested Cormorant - 12 Great Blue Heron - 6 Great Egret - 2 American Coot - 200 Red-tailed Hawk - 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1 Greater Yellowlegs - 2 Spotted Sandpiper - 1 Long-billed Dowitcher - 4 Wilson?s Snipe - 7 Ring-billed Gull - 20 Mew Gull - 1 Glaucous-winged Gull - 15 Hybrid Western x Gl-w.Gull - 1 Anna?s Hummingbird - 2 Belted Kingfisher - 4 Downy Woodpecker - 1 Northern Flicker - 7 Black Phoebe - 4 American Crow - 20 Western Scrub Jay - 8 Black-capped Chickadee - 18 Bushtit - 30 Brown Creeper - 3 Bewick's Wren - 5 Pacific Wren - 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2 American Robin - 8 European Starling - few Yellow-rumped Warbler - 20 Spotted Towhee - 1 Song Sparrow - 10 Lincoln's Sparrow - 1 White-throated Sparrow - 1 Golden-crowned Sparrow - 35 White-crowned Sparrow - 3 Dark-eyed Junco - 25 Red-winged Blackbird - 4 American Goldfinch - 8 Lesser Goldfinch - 20 Pine Siskin - 12 House Sparrow - 6 Kit Larsen, Fred Chancey, Don Schrouder, Sylvia Maulding, Sarah Vasconcellos, Dave Brown, Dennis Arendt, Sally Hill, Jim Regali, Shannon and Rae Dennehy (new), and Larry McQueen -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rabican1 at gmail.com Wed Jan 11 15:45:32 2012 From: rabican1 at gmail.com (Bob Archer) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:45:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county In-Reply-To: <1153686069.179328.1326307631631.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> References: <1383741638.179296.1326307241162.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> <1153686069.179328.1326307631631.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Message-ID: Hi there: If we are going down this road, we might guess as to what square mile of Oregon has seen the most species. Without really checking anyones list, I would nominate somewhere around Clatsop or Coos counties. ...wonder what are the totals for the spit at Coos Bay or Clatsop Spit.. Bob Archer PDX On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 10:47 AM, wrote: > Hi - > > The Ecological literature from a few decades ago was full of papers about > species-area relationships. They are rarely ever linear. In other words, > larger areas (or islands) likely have more species than smaller ones, but > not more species/acre. > > A good way to think about this is to ask whether a chunk of Lane County > the size of Multnomah County has as many species as Multnomah County. I > suspect that you could find 2 such chunks in Lane County (without excessive > gerrymandering). One would be the coastal strip and ocean, extending into > the coast range, and the other the area surrounding Eugene, including Fern > Ridge Res. and extending into the Cascades past Oak Ridge and/or up the > McKenzie to high elevation. > > Wayne > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Thomas Love" > To: obol at oregonbirds.org > Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 8:46:14 AM > Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county > > > Re: species totals by county Thanks Chuck for these data. > > It would be interesting to analyze these raw totals by observer effort and > by size. With tongue in cheek, let?s play with this a bit. > > For example, Lane?s 408 vs. Multnomah?s 343 looks a little different when > you adjust by size of county (a very rough proxy for habitat diversity), > since Lane is one of the largest counties in the state and Multnomah is the > smallest: > > 408 species/4,722 sq. mi = .086 species/sq. mi. > > 343 species/466 sq. mi. = 0.736 species/sq. mi. > > By this measure, Multnomah County is way ahead - apparently over 8X as > productive as Lane. > > > On the other hand, Multnomah is one of the most intensively birded > counties in the state, while Malheur, say, is one of the least. Assuming > the ratio of birders (and their birding effort) to the general population > is similar, we find: > > 343 species/735,334 people = .000466 species/person > > 287 species/31,313 people = .00917 species/person > > By this measure, Malheur County is way ahead ? about 20X as productive as > Multnomah. Of course year lists would be a better indicator here. > > > Back to work! > > > Tom L. > _______________________________________________ > 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 acontrer56 at gmail.com Wed Jan 11 15:50:58 2012 From: acontrer56 at gmail.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:50:58 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Most species per square mile In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Malheur HQ from the hilltop to the lakeshore. Speaking of which, I understand that the refuge is going to reopen to the public the old "short dike" road just east of HQ that led to the old Benson Boat landing before it was inundated by the floods of the 1980s. I'm not sure of the timing of this. That's the only place I have ever found a Least Bittern at Malheur. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com From: Bob Archer Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:45:32 -0800 To: OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county Hi there: If we are going down this road, we might guess as to what square mile of Oregon has seen the most species. Without really checking anyones list, I would nominate somewhere around Clatsop or Coos counties. ...wonder what are the totals for the spit at Coos Bay or Clatsop Spit.. Bob Archer PDX On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 10:47 AM, wrote: > Hi - > > The Ecological literature from a few decades ago was full of papers about > species-area relationships. They are rarely ever linear. In other words, > larger areas (or islands) likely have more species than smaller ones, but not > more species/acre. > > A good way to think about this is to ask whether a chunk of Lane County the > size of Multnomah County has as many species as Multnomah County. I suspect > that you could find 2 such chunks in Lane County (without excessive > gerrymandering). One would be the coastal strip and ocean, extending into the > coast range, and the other the area surrounding Eugene, including Fern Ridge > Res. and extending into the Cascades past Oak Ridge and/or up the McKenzie to > high elevation. > > Wayne > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Thomas Love" > To: obol at oregonbirds.org > Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 8:46:14 AM > Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county > > > Re: species totals by county Thanks Chuck for these data. > > It would be interesting to analyze these raw totals by observer effort and by > size. With tongue in cheek, let?s play with this a bit. > > For example, Lane?s 408 vs. Multnomah?s 343 looks a little different when you > adjust by size of county (a very rough proxy for habitat diversity), since > Lane is one of the largest counties in the state and Multnomah is the > smallest: > > 408 species/4,722 sq. mi = .086 species/sq. mi. > > 343 species/466 sq. mi. = 0.736 species/sq. mi. > > By this measure, Multnomah County is way ahead - apparently over 8X as > productive as Lane. > > > On the other hand, Multnomah is one of the most intensively birded counties in > the state, while Malheur, say, is one of the least. Assuming the ratio of > birders (and their birding effort) to the general population is similar, we > find: > > 343 species/735,334 people = .000466 species/person > > 287 species/31,313 people = .00917 species/person > > By this measure, Malheur County is way ahead ? about 20X as productive as > Multnomah. Of course year lists would be a better indicator here. > > > Back to work! > > > Tom L. > _______________________________________________ > 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 tc at empnet.com Wed Jan 11 15:59:56 2012 From: tc at empnet.com (Tom Crabtree) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:59:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Most species per square mile In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <68A60662F4004D77946040E53DB42762@UserPC> Good news, Alan. Not only is it the only place I've had Least Bittern at Malheur, it is also the only place I've had Common Moorhen there. Tom Crabtree, Bend -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jmeredit at bendnet.com Wed Jan 11 18:28:13 2012 From: jmeredit at bendnet.com (judy) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:28:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fw: [COBOL] Sisters to Suttle Lake to Shadow Lake burn, Wednesday Birders ECAS Message-ID: <7B137B34CD014EFAA26D19F9DFD8282F@home> Seven of us worked our way into the newest burn, Shadow Lake, with help from Steve Shunk, fun. There were no birds at the feeders at the Sisters Ranger district office and we didn't see a raptor around. Variety of ducks on Suttle Lake has diminished but I have to admit we didn't stop at every opportunity to scope nooks and crannies. The trees were covered in hoarfrost and at one point we had fine snow falling - quite beautiful. Good to see what snow actually looked like but not enough of it for us! This report was mailed for Judy Meredith by http://birdnotes.net Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Canada Goose 60 - flock by Sisters Elementary Trumpeter Swan 3 - Deschutes, the non-wild birds Mallard 2 Lesser Scaup 1 Bufflehead 1 - no Long-tailed girl out with them Common Goldeneye 1 Common Merganser 15 Pied-billed Grebe 1 - On Blue Lake Great Blue Heron 1 Bald Eagle 3 Red-tailed Hawk 4 American Kestrel 2 American Coot 40 Eurasian Collared-Dove 2 Mourning Dove 2 Belted Kingfisher 1 - Blue Lake Hairy Woodpecker 5 Clark's Nutcracker 2 Common Raven 6 Mountain Chickadee 5 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1 -with Mountains and RB Nut, Shadow Lake Burn Red-breasted Nuthatch 5 Pygmy Nuthatch 3 American Dipper 3 - singing bird, so lovely Townsend's Solitaire 2 American Robin 200 European Starling 10 Dark-eyed Junco 8 Total number of species seen: 28 Birders today Steve Shunk, Ginger Sanders, Sherrie Pierce, Howard Horvath, Allison Boucher, Cal Elshoff, and Judy Meredith. Next week, Houston Lake, Powell Butte, Alfalfa etc. Judy Meredith 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 jeanbb24622 at gmail.com Wed Jan 11 18:34:46 2012 From: jeanbb24622 at gmail.com (Jean Baecher Brown) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:34:46 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Message-ID: Just to clarify the "2000 year" comments on the cottonwood trees. On January 9th, Wilson Cady blogged on OBOL the following: *Wilson Cady wrote: >Mike is right, this is a nationwide mandate of the Corps of Engineers. >They are removing all trees within 15 feet of the toe of the dikes they >built and maintain. They are removing nearly 2,000 trees along over >five miles of the Washougal Dike.* I was curious, so looked up the lifespan of cottonwood trees and it is about 100 years. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pdcrane at comcast.net Wed Jan 11 18:48:26 2012 From: pdcrane at comcast.net (pdcrane at comcast.net) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:48:26 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Tufted duck still present off Marine Park In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <1385857762.450023.1326329306213.JavaMail.root@sz0081a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> The tufted duck was still present today at 1:2 0 pm in a small raft of scaup? near the pilings outside the ?cove with the yachts .? The wind was causing a wave effect, so the ducks were bobbing up and down, but I was able to finally get a good look at its tufted head.? Its black back and white sides make it stand out from the scaup.? While observing the tufted duck a Marine Assistance boat came speeding across the Columbia and right into the cove with the yachts, so all the ducks took flight and flew east.? They hadn't returned when I had to leave at 1:45pm. Pat Crane Lake Oswego, OR ----- Original Message ----- From: obol-request at oregonbirds.org To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 10:00:01 AM Subject: OBOL Digest, Vol 21, Issue 29 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: Columbia Dike Logging (Joel Geier) ?? 2. Vancouver Tufted Duck (Mike Clarke) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:30:36 -0800 From: Joel Geier To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Message-ID: <1326303036.1517.37.camel at clearwater1> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Hi Dick & All, I saw a mention of 2000 trees being removed, and some of those being 24" dbh (diameter at breast height) cottonwoods but agree with Dave that 2000-yr-old trees seems unlikely, especially within the footprint of dikes that were built with heavy machinery within the past century. I'm not sure about the Washington side, but the oldest known trees in Oregon (in the Crabtree Creek drainage of Linn County) are supposed to be right around 1000 years old. I am not trying to justify this action, just suggesting that there is probably an engineering rationale. Not all engineering rationales are necessary good ones, but usually some degree of thought and calculation is involved. Big trees are unpredictable, and a 24-inch dbh cottonwood is getting close to as big as they get before they fall over. No doubt someone can point to bigger ones that are still standing (Luckiamute State Natural Area has a few in the relatively protected interior of the gallery forest), but for each one of those, it wouldn't be hard to find another one that's toppled in recent years. Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:42:53 -0800 From: Mike Clarke To: "obol at oregonbirds.org" Subject: [OBOL] Vancouver Tufted Duck Message-ID: ???????? Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" The Tufted Duck is currently present just off of the boat ramp at Marine Park w/ a group of Lesser Scaup. ?They are about 50 YDS. off shore, slowly heading east. -------------- 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 21, Issue 29 ************************************ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From winkg at hevanet.com Wed Jan 11 18:57:49 2012 From: winkg at hevanet.com (Wink Gross) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:57:49 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Pittock, NW Portland, week ending 01/11/12 Message-ID: <54BF51A1-C813-46F2-BC22-DA6AB0AB52F3@hevanet.com> Here is the summary of my morning dogwalks from NW Seblar Terrace to the Pittock Mansion for the week 01/05/12 to 01/11/12. 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 6 days this week. Species # days found (peak #, date) Cackling Goose 1 (?[heard only], 1/8) Band-tailed Pigeon 4 (6, 1/8) Mourning Dove 1 (1, 1/6) Anna's Hummingbird 6 (4) Downy Woodpecker 4 (2) Hairy Woodpecker 4 (1) Northern Flicker 6 (4) HUTTON'S VIREO 1 (1, 1/11) Steller's Jay 5 (5) Western Scrub-Jay 3 (2) American Crow 4 (4) Black-capped Chickadee 6 (12) Chestnut-backed Chickadee 4 (5) Bushtit 3 (10) Red-breasted Nuthatch 6 (6) Brown Creeper 2 (1, 1/6 & 10) Pacific Wren 5 (3) Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 (1+, 1/7 & 10) HERMIT THRUSH 3 (2, 1/8) American Robin 6 (24, 1/8) Varied Thrush 5 (10, 1/5) European Starling 3 (11, 1/8) Spotted Towhee 6 (7, 1/5) Fox Sparrow 1 (1, 1/6) Song Sparrow 6 (11) Dark-eyed Junco 6 (38, 1/5) House Finch 5 (15, 1/8) Red Crossbill 5 (15) Pine Siskin 6 (15, 1/8) Lesser Goldfinch 1 (2, 1/5) In the neighborhood but not found on dogwalk: Cooper's Hawk, Townsend's Warbler Misses (birds found at least 3 days in previous 2 weeks but not found this week): Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Pileated Woodpecker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet Wink Gross Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From surfbird at q.com Wed Jan 11 19:00:05 2012 From: surfbird at q.com (Diane Pettey) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:00:05 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Woodburn Brambling? Message-ID: Has anyone seen the Brambling in the past day? I've not seen any reports. thanks, Diane in too sunny Florence surfbird at q.com From fbisaacs at peak.org Wed Jan 11 19:47:07 2012 From: fbisaacs at peak.org (Frank Isaacs) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:47:07 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1AB92BA5-B1FB-4202-835A-86C891FAF6B0@peak.org> For what its worth... when I started searching for bald eagle nests along the lower Columbia River in 1979, the late Bob Ziak (native Astorian, logger, and eagle fan) said that bald eagle nesting in cottonwoods in the floodplain was a relatively new phenomenon. His reason was that Columbia River floods prior to the dams and dikes kept the floodplain free of trees large enough to hold an eagle's nest. - Frank ______________________ Frank B. Isaacs Oregon Eagle Foundation, Inc. 24178 Cardwell Hill Drive Philomath, OR 97370-9735 541-929-7154 fbisaacs at peak.org ______________________ On Jan 11, 2012, at 4:34 PM, Jean Baecher Brown wrote: > Just to clarify the "2000 year" comments on the cottonwood trees. On January 9th, Wilson Cady blogged on OBOL the following: > > Wilson Cady wrote: > >Mike is right, this is a nationwide mandate of the Corps of Engineers. > >They are removing all trees within 15 feet of the toe of the dikes they > >built and maintain. They are removing nearly 2,000 trees along over > >five miles of the Washougal Dike. > > I was curious, so looked up the lifespan of cottonwood trees and it is about 100 years. > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From jdmjeremy at gmail.com Wed Jan 11 19:57:12 2012 From: jdmjeremy at gmail.com (Jeremy Breese) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:57:12 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Woodburn Brambling-YES Message-ID: Today I made a quick trip to Linda Longs house at 1015 Orchard ln. Woodburn, Or where I ran into John Gatchet, the yard was very birdy where we waited for the Brambling to show. After waiting for about 45 min it finally showed up on it's designated feeder with the white post feeding very rapidly flying in and out, dropping to the ground and feeding in nearby trees after gathering it's seed. It didn't stay long but gave good views of it's beautiful orange collared breast. Looking at pics it is definitely a different individual than the one that was in Scapoose. Thanks to Linda for opening her yard to everyone. Good birding! Jeremy Breese Sent from my iPhone From jdmjeremy at gmail.com Wed Jan 11 20:00:48 2012 From: jdmjeremy at gmail.com (Jeremy Breese) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:00:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fw: [COBOL] Sisters to Suttle Lake to Shadow Lake burn, Wednesday Birders ECAS In-Reply-To: <7B137B34CD014EFAA26D19F9DFD8282F@home> References: <7B137B34CD014EFAA26D19F9DFD8282F@home> Message-ID: <89273164-9224-4A9B-82FD-ACCF172B38E5@gmail.com> Did you guys try for the Great Grey? I can't believe there were no woodpeckers at all! Sent from my iPhone On Jan 11, 2012, at 4:28 PM, "judy" wrote: > Seven of us worked our way into the newest burn, Shadow Lake, with help from > Steve Shunk, fun. There were no birds at the feeders at the Sisters Ranger > district office and we didn't see a raptor around. Variety of ducks on Suttle > Lake has diminished but I have to admit we didn't stop at every opportunity > to scope nooks and crannies. The trees were covered in hoarfrost and at > one point we had fine snow falling - quite beautiful. Good to see what > snow actually looked like but not enough of it for us! > > This report was mailed for Judy Meredith by http://birdnotes.net > > Birds seen (in taxonomic order): > Canada Goose 60 - flock by Sisters Elementary > Trumpeter Swan 3 - Deschutes, the non-wild birds > Mallard 2 > Lesser Scaup 1 > Bufflehead 1 - no Long-tailed girl out with them > Common Goldeneye 1 > Common Merganser 15 > Pied-billed Grebe 1 - On Blue Lake > Great Blue Heron 1 > Bald Eagle 3 > Red-tailed Hawk 4 > American Kestrel 2 > American Coot 40 > Eurasian Collared-Dove 2 > Mourning Dove 2 > Belted Kingfisher 1 - Blue Lake > Hairy Woodpecker 5 > Clark's Nutcracker 2 > Common Raven 6 > Mountain Chickadee 5 > Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1 -with Mountains and RB Nut, Shadow Lake Burn > Red-breasted Nuthatch 5 > Pygmy Nuthatch 3 > American Dipper 3 - singing bird, so lovely > Townsend's Solitaire 2 > American Robin 200 > European Starling 10 > Dark-eyed Junco 8 > > Total number of species seen: 28 > Birders today Steve Shunk, Ginger Sanders, Sherrie Pierce, Howard Horvath, > Allison Boucher, Cal Elshoff, and Judy Meredith. > Next week, Houston Lake, Powell Butte, Alfalfa etc. > > Judy Meredith > 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. > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From paultsullivan at onlinenw.com Wed Jan 11 20:18:38 2012 From: paultsullivan at onlinenw.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:18:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county, or, island country Message-ID: <698DE37BAF6444B0B57C6B2020563FDC@dell307ac3e2b6> OBOL: Following up on Wayne's comment about islands... It was pointed out to me when I visited Ireland, which has fewer species than England, which has fewer species than France... It was pointed out that the last ice age covered the British Isles, and they've had to be repopulated with birds from mainland Europe. Thus the closer island has got more birds than the farther one. Not sure this pertains to Oregon (?) Certainly, southern latitudes get more species diversity than northern ones. Paul T. Sullivan Subject: Re: species totals by county From: whoffman AT peak.org Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:47:11 -0800 (PST) Hi - The Ecological literature from a few decades ago was full of papers about species-area relationships. They are rarely ever linear. In other words, larger areas (or islands) likely have more species than smaller ones, but not more species/acre. A good way to think about this is to ask whether a chunk of Lane County the size of Multnomah County has as many species as Multnomah County. I suspect that you could find 2 such chunks in Lane County (without excessive gerrymandering). One would be the coastal strip and ocean, extending into the coast range, and the other the area surrounding Eugene, including Fern Ridge Res. and extending into the Cascades past Oak Ridge and/or up the McKenzie to high elevation. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Love" To: obol AT oregonbirds.org Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 8:46:14 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county Re: species totals by county Thanks Chuck for these data. It would be interesting to analyze these raw totals by observer effort and by size. With tongue in cheek, let's play with this a bit. For example, Lane's 408 vs. Multnomah's 343 looks a little different when you adjust by size of county (a very rough proxy for habitat diversity), since Lane is one of the largest counties in the state and Multnomah is the smallest: 408 species/4,722 sq. mi = .086 species/sq. mi. 343 species/466 sq. mi. = 0.736 species/sq. mi. By this measure, Multnomah County is way ahead - apparently over 8X as productive as Lane. On the other hand, Multnomah is one of the most intensively birded counties in the state, while Malheur, say, is one of the least. Assuming the ratio of birders (and their birding effort) to the general population is similar, we find: 343 species/735,334 people = .000466 species/person 287 species/31,313 people = .00917 species/person By this measure, Malheur County is way ahead - about 20X as productive as Multnomah. Of course year lists would be a better indicator here. Back to work! Tom L. From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Wed Jan 11 20:47:15 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:47:15 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Oops, forgot to add photo of BH Grosbeak References: <05E173F9-0A17-4B7E-9001-A1A69331F6CF@mac.com> Message-ID: <1326336435.37020.YahooMailNeo@web45304.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I can't say for sure but this bird looks to have quite a bit of streaking on its breast, one of those things you hope to see on a female Rose-breasted which is probably just as likely as a Black-headed this time of year. Do you have any other photos? Tim R Coos Bay ________________________________ From: Julia Siporin To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 12:14 PM Subject: [OBOL] Oops, forgot to add photo of BH Grosbeak Here's a link to a picture of the Black-headed Grosbeak in our yard this morning.? Since my camera battery was dead, I had to scramble to find my iPhone. So, this shot was taken through the kitchen window.? By the time I got outside... you guessed it, she flew away. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsiporin/6680295673/ - Julia _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pointers at pacifier.com Wed Jan 11 21:23:10 2012 From: pointers at pacifier.com (Lyn Topinka) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:23:10 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Sauvie Island and Scappoose Bottoms 1-11 In-Reply-To: <1326336435.37020.YahooMailNeo@web45304.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <05E173F9-0A17-4B7E-9001-A1A69331F6CF@mac.com> <1326336435.37020.YahooMailNeo@web45304.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: hi ... Gene and I decided to head to Sauvie Island today to see what was there ... well, so did hundreds (or so it seemed) of hunters too ... NOT the ideal place to look for Snow Geese or Sandhill Cranes or raptors or much else for that matter ... we did see the Leucistic House Sparrow at the blind tho ... cute little bird ... nothing much on Rentenaar Road, altho we did get excited about the two male Eurasian Wigeons we saw ... they were in the pond on the right with two male Pintails and three Mallards ... took us a bit to realize they weren't moving ... DECOYS !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... gosh but were they good Decoys (grin) ... about that time we decided to leave the Island to the hunters and head over to Scappoose Bottoms to look for the Golden Eagle ... no Golden Eagle but we came across a GORGEOUS Rough-legged Hawk in a tree right next to the road !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... we were on Honeyman (???) Road at the time ... it was a nice bird to see as I've not seen one in a couple of years ... later, Lyn Lyn Topinka http://EnglishRiverWebsite.com http://ColumbiaRiverImages.com http://RidgefieldBirds.com From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Wed Jan 11 21:29:14 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:29:14 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county In-Reply-To: <4F0D200F.8090303@gmail.com> References: <4F0D200F.8090303@gmail.com> Message-ID: <1326338954.38915.YahooMailNeo@web45314.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Another waty to gauge how "birdy" a county is, may be seeing how many species you can find in a day. I think Coos is on top and Lake is second. You would think that Lane could get more species than any other county, but I haven't heard of anyone even trying for a serious Big Day there in years... Tim R Coos Bay ________________________________ From: Charles R. Gates To: obol Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 9:37 PM Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county Coos County recently added it's 399th species with a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that was well photographed.? Soon it will join Lane, Lincoln, and Curry counties as Oregon counties with over 400 species on their county list.? I thought I would do an annual update on these county lists and publish the totals.? Below, you will find a table with all 36 counties and the number of species that have been seen in each.? You can go online and check your county's list or any other county in Oregon (http://www.birdingoregon.info/).? If you haven't seen this website, it's also a good spot to find birding locations in Oregon.? Here are the current species totals for each county. Lane 408 Lincoln 403 Curry 400 Coos 399 Harney 377 Douglas? 373 Clatsop? 366 Tillamook 366 Lake? 363 Klamath? 344 Multnomah 343 Deschutes? 342 Jackson? 336 Columbia? 319 Benton 318 Marion 315 Linn 313 Polk 309 Umatilla 308 Washington 300 Wallowa 294 Crook 292 Clackamas 291 Union 291 Grant 288 Malheur? 287 Jefferson? 285 Wasco 280 Yamhill 280 Josephine 273 Baker? 271 Hood River 270 Sherman 267 Morrow 257 Wheeler 256 Gilliam 246 -- Chuck Gates Crook County High School NAMC State Coordinator - East Cascades Audubon Society Online Oregon Birding Site Guide - birdingoregon.info 541-923-1320 _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Wed Jan 11 21:31:18 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:31:18 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county In-Reply-To: <1326338954.38915.YahooMailNeo@web45314.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <4F0D200F.8090303@gmail.com> <1326338954.38915.YahooMailNeo@web45314.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1326339078.92128.YahooMailNeo@web45313.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> My memory is failing me here, was it Klamath and not Lake County that Steve Summers and others had the Big Day record from for years? Tim ________________________________ From: Tim Rodenkirk To: Charles R. Gates ; obol Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 7:29 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county Another waty to gauge how "birdy" a county is, may be seeing how many species you can find in a day. I think Coos is on top and Lake is second. You would think that Lane could get more species than any other county, but I haven't heard of anyone even trying for a serious Big Day there in years... Tim R Coos Bay ________________________________ From: Charles R. Gates To: obol Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 9:37 PM Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county Coos County recently added it's 399th species with a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that was well photographed.? Soon it will join Lane, Lincoln, and Curry counties as Oregon counties with over 400 species on their county list.? I thought I would do an annual update on these county lists and publish the totals.? Below, you will find a table with all 36 counties and the number of species that have been seen in each.? You can go online and check your county's list or any other county in Oregon (http://www.birdingoregon.info/).? If you haven't seen this website, it's also a good spot to find birding locations in Oregon.? Here are the current species totals for each county. Lane 408 Lincoln 403 Curry 400 Coos 399 Harney 377 Douglas? 373 Clatsop? 366 Tillamook 366 Lake? 363 Klamath? 344 Multnomah 343 Deschutes? 342 Jackson? 336 Columbia? 319 Benton 318 Marion 315 Linn 313 Polk 309 Umatilla 308 Washington 300 Wallowa 294 Crook 292 Clackamas 291 Union 291 Grant 288 Malheur? 287 Jefferson? 285 Wasco 280 Yamhill 280 Josephine 273 Baker? 271 Hood River 270 Sherman 267 Morrow 257 Wheeler 256 Gilliam 246 -- Chuck Gates Crook County High School NAMC State Coordinator - East Cascades Audubon Society Online Oregon Birding Site Guide - birdingoregon.info 541-923-1320 _______________________________________________ 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 garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Wed Jan 11 21:44:37 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:44:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Birds of Late Message-ID: <1326339877.76021.YahooMailNeo@web45314.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Some miscellaneous sightings of mine from recent days: Millicoma Marsh, today- 1/11/12, sunny PM, 50's: 2- LESSER YELLOWLEGS- we had one on the CBC, I was surprised to find the second one. ?Also there shorebird-wise were a couple G. Yellowlegs, 15 LB Dowitchers, 20 BB Plovers, a couple hundred Dunlin and about 70 Least Sandpipers. Johnson Mill Pond, Coquille, 1/10, sunny, 50's, PM: 1- NORTHERN SHRIKE no swallows there since the 2nd Floras Lake (whoops, Curry here), 1/8- sunny as usual lately: 1- LAPLAND LONGSPUR (just north of the lake)? and of course a couple Palm Warblers and the Say's Phoebe Coos Bay, behind the 7-11, neighborhood birding, 1/8 (where I saw the BT Gray on the CBC): 2 or 3 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS a few Lesser Goldfinches and Townsend's Warblers also Charleston, 1/6: 1- LONG-BILLED CURLEW with gulls at Point Adams, it had been over in Empire, it gets around I guess. 1- LONG-TAILED DUCK in Empire off Fossil Point, easy to see for once. Oh, I heard from Rick Foster that the male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE was still hanging around his neighborhood in Myrtle Point, at least through a couple days ago when he e-mailed me last. That's all I can think of for now, ENJOY! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bcombs232 at gmail.com Wed Jan 11 22:02:02 2012 From: bcombs232 at gmail.com (Barbara Combs) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:02:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Harrisburg Coburg Raptor Route Message-ID: Robin Gage and I did the Harrisburg-Coburg Raptor Route on Tuesday, January 10. We had clear skies to start, with a few clouds moving in near the end of the run. Temperatures were high 30s to low 40s. We drove 70.3 miles in 4 hours and 4 minutes. Our favorite bird was the PRAIRIE FALCON we found just east of the freeway to the north of Van Duyn Road from the pullout across from the gas station. All the raptors: 23 Red-tailed Hawk 37 American Kestrel 6 Northern Harrier 9 Bald Eagle (7 adults, 1 immature) 2 Rough-legged Hawk 1 Prairie Falcon -- Barbara Combs obie '70 Lane County, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marknebeker at msn.com Wed Jan 11 22:36:01 2012 From: marknebeker at msn.com (MARK NEBEKER) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:36:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Most species per square mile In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Great news, my first Northern Waterthrush there in 1975. ----- Original Message ----- From: Alan Contreras To: OBOL Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 1:50 PM Subject: [OBOL] Most species per square mile Malheur HQ from the hilltop to the lakeshore. Speaking of which, I understand that the refuge is going to reopen to the public the old "short dike" road just east of HQ that led to the old Benson Boat landing before it was inundated by the floods of the 1980s. I'm not sure of the timing of this. That's the only place I have ever found a Least Bittern at Malheur. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com From: Bob Archer > Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:45:32 -0800 To: OBOL > Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county Hi there: If we are going down this road, we might guess as to what square mile of Oregon has seen the most species. Without really checking anyones list, I would nominate somewhere around Clatsop or Coos counties. ...wonder what are the totals for the spit at Coos Bay or Clatsop Spit.. Bob Archer PDX On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 10:47 AM, > wrote: Hi - The Ecological literature from a few decades ago was full of papers about species-area relationships. They are rarely ever linear. In other words, larger areas (or islands) likely have more species than smaller ones, but not more species/acre. A good way to think about this is to ask whether a chunk of Lane County the size of Multnomah County has as many species as Multnomah County. I suspect that you could find 2 such chunks in Lane County (without excessive gerrymandering). One would be the coastal strip and ocean, extending into the coast range, and the other the area surrounding Eugene, including Fern Ridge Res. and extending into the Cascades past Oak Ridge and/or up the McKenzie to high elevation. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Love" > To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 8:46:14 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county Re: species totals by county Thanks Chuck for these data. It would be interesting to analyze these raw totals by observer effort and by size. With tongue in cheek, let's play with this a bit. For example, Lane's 408 vs. Multnomah's 343 looks a little different when you adjust by size of county (a very rough proxy for habitat diversity), since Lane is one of the largest counties in the state and Multnomah is the smallest: 408 species/4,722 sq. mi = .086 species/sq. mi. 343 species/466 sq. mi. = 0.736 species/sq. mi. By this measure, Multnomah County is way ahead - apparently over 8X as productive as Lane. On the other hand, Multnomah is one of the most intensively birded counties in the state, while Malheur, say, is one of the least. Assuming the ratio of birders (and their birding effort) to the general population is similar, we find: 343 species/735,334 people = .000466 species/person 287 species/31,313 people = .00917 species/person By this measure, Malheur County is way ahead - about 20X as productive as Multnomah. Of course year lists would be a better indicator here. Back to work! Tom L. _______________________________________________ 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 _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tjanzen at comcast.net Wed Jan 11 22:46:44 2012 From: tjanzen at comcast.net (Tim Janzen) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:46:44 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county In-Reply-To: <1326339078.92128.YahooMailNeo@web45313.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <4F0D200F.8090303@gmail.com> <1326338954.38915.YahooMailNeo@web45314.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> <1326339078.92128.YahooMailNeo@web45313.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <014a01ccd0e5$2f5b42e0$8e11c8a0$@net> Dear Tim, It was in Klamath County that Steve Summers, Steve Gordon, and Jim Carlson set a Big Day record of 171 species on May 12, 1984. Sincerely, Tim Janzen From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Tim Rodenkirk Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 7:31 PM To: Tim Rodenkirk; Charles R. Gates; obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county My memory is failing me here, was it Klamath and not Lake County that Steve Summers and others had the Big Day record from for years? Tim -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shlurie at spiritone.com Wed Jan 11 23:03:51 2012 From: shlurie at spiritone.com (Me) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:03:51 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] sharp shinned hawk and white tailed robin in Laurelhurst In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <31875d2a-7af5-4283-84ec-18577d0657e4@blur> Probably no big deal, but a juvenile sharp shinned hawk got a house sparrow in my backyard today. We've seen Coopers hawks fairly often but this was the first sharp shinned...also the first time an attacking hawk has actually gotten its prey. And yesterday I saw a white tailed juvenile robin. It looked perfectly normal except that all its tail feathers were solid white. Have others seen this? Sylvia Lurie Connected by DROID on Verizon Wireless -----Original message----- From: obol-request at oregonbirds.org To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Thu, Jan 12, 2012 04:46:58 GMT+00:00 Subject: OBOL Digest, Vol 21, Issue 31 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. Woodburn Brambling? (Diane Pettey) 2. Re: Columbia Dike Logging (Frank Isaacs) 3. Woodburn Brambling-YES (Jeremy Breese) 4. Re: Fw: [COBOL] Sisters to Suttle Lake to Shadow Lake burn, Wednesday Birders ECAS (Jeremy Breese) 5. Re: species totals by county, or, island country (Paul T. Sullivan) 6. Re: Oops, forgot to add photo of BH Grosbeak (Tim Rodenkirk) 7. Sauvie Island and Scappoose Bottoms 1-11 (Lyn Topinka) 8. Re: species totals by county (Tim Rodenkirk) 9. Re: species totals by county (Tim Rodenkirk) 10. Coos Birds of Late (Tim Rodenkirk) 11. Harrisburg Coburg Raptor Route (Barbara Combs) 12. Re: Most species per square mile (MARK NEBEKER) 13. Re: species totals by county (Tim Janzen) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:00:05 -0800 From: "Diane Pettey" To: "obol" Subject: [OBOL] Woodburn Brambling? Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Has anyone seen the Brambling in the past day? I've not seen any reports. thanks, Diane in too sunny Florence surfbird at q.com ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:47:07 -0800 From: Frank Isaacs To: OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging Message-ID: <1AB92BA5-B1FB-4202-835A-86C891FAF6B0 at peak.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii For what its worth... when I started searching for bald eagle nests along the lower Columbia River in 1979, the late Bob Ziak (native Astorian, logger, and eagle fan) said that bald eagle nesting in cottonwoods in the floodplain was a relatively new phenomenon. His reason was that Columbia River floods prior to the dams and dikes kept the floodplain free of trees large enough to hold an eagle's nest. - Frank ______________________ Frank B. Isaacs Oregon Eagle Foundation, Inc. 24178 Cardwell Hill Drive Philomath, OR 97370-9735 541-929-7154 fbisaacs at peak.org ______________________ On Jan 11, 2012, at 4:34 PM, Jean Baecher Brown wrote: > Just to clarify the "2000 year" comments on the cottonwood trees. On January 9th, Wilson Cady blogged on OBOL the following: > > Wilson Cady wrote: > >Mike is right, this is a nationwide mandate of the Corps of Engineers. > >They are removing all trees within 15 feet of the toe of the dikes they > >built and maintain. They are removing nearly 2,000 trees along over > >five miles of the Washougal Dike. > > I was curious, so looked up the lifespan of cottonwood trees and it is about 100 years. > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:57:12 -0800 From: Jeremy Breese To: "OBOL at oregonbirds.org" Subject: [OBOL] Woodburn Brambling-YES Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Today I made a quick trip to Linda Longs house at 1015 Orchard ln. Woodburn, Or where I ran into John Gatchet, the yard was very birdy where we waited for the Brambling to show. After waiting for about 45 min it finally showed up on it's designated feeder with the white post feeding very rapidly flying in and out, dropping to the ground and feeding in nearby trees after gathering it's seed. It didn't stay long but gave good views of it's beautiful orange collared breast. Looking at pics it is definitely a different individual than the one that was in Scapoose. Thanks to Linda for opening her yard to everyone. Good birding! Jeremy Breese Sent from my iPhone ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:00:48 -0800 From: Jeremy Breese To: judy Cc: obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] Fw: [COBOL] Sisters to Suttle Lake to Shadow Lake burn, Wednesday Birders ECAS Message-ID: <89273164-9224-4A9B-82FD-ACCF172B38E5 at gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Did you guys try for the Great Grey? I can't believe there were no woodpeckers at all! Sent from my iPhone On Jan 11, 2012, at 4:28 PM, "judy" wrote: > Seven of us worked our way into the newest burn, Shadow Lake, with help from > Steve Shunk, fun. There were no birds at the feeders at the Sisters Ranger > district office and we didn't see a raptor around. Variety of ducks on Suttle > Lake has diminished but I have to admit we didn't stop at every opportunity > to scope nooks and crannies. The trees were covered in hoarfrost and at > one point we had fine snow falling - quite beautiful. Good to see what > snow actually looked like but not enough of it for us! > > This report was mailed for Judy Meredith by http://birdnotes.net > > Birds seen (in taxonomic order): > Canada Goose 60 - flock by Sisters Elementary > Trumpeter Swan 3 - Deschutes, the non-wild birds > Mallard 2 > Lesser Scaup 1 > Bufflehead 1 - no Long-tailed girl out with them > Common Goldeneye 1 > Common Merganser 15 > Pied-billed Grebe 1 - On Blue Lake > Great Blue Heron 1 > Bald Eagle 3 > Red-tailed Hawk 4 > American Kestrel 2 > American Coot 40 > Eurasian Collared-Dove 2 > Mourning Dove 2 > Belted Kingfisher 1 - Blue Lake > Hairy Woodpecker 5 > Clark's Nutcracker 2 > Common Raven 6 > Mountain Chickadee 5 > Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1 -with Mountains and RB Nut, Shadow Lake Burn > Red-breasted Nuthatch 5 > Pygmy Nuthatch 3 > American Dipper 3 - singing bird, so lovely > Townsend's Solitaire 2 > American Robin 200 > European Starling 10 > Dark-eyed Junco 8 > > Total number of species seen: 28 > Birders today Steve Shunk, Ginger Sanders, Sherrie Pierce, Howard Horvath, > Allison Boucher, Cal Elshoff, and Judy Meredith. > Next week, Houston Lake, Powell Butte, Alfalfa etc. > > Judy Meredith > 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. > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:18:38 -0800 From: "Paul T. Sullivan" To: "obol" Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county, or, island country Message-ID: <698DE37BAF6444B0B57C6B2020563FDC at dell307ac3e2b6> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original OBOL: Following up on Wayne's comment about islands... It was pointed out to me when I visited Ireland, which has fewer species than England, which has fewer species than France... It was pointed out that the last ice age covered the British Isles, and they've had to be repopulated with birds from mainland Europe. Thus the closer island has got more birds than the farther one. Not sure this pertains to Oregon (?) Certainly, southern latitudes get more species diversity than northern ones. Paul T. Sullivan Subject: Re: species totals by county From: whoffman AT peak.org Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:47:11 -0800 (PST) Hi - The Ecological literature from a few decades ago was full of papers about species-area relationships. They are rarely ever linear. In other words, larger areas (or islands) likely have more species than smaller ones, but not more species/acre. A good way to think about this is to ask whether a chunk of Lane County the size of Multnomah County has as many species as Multnomah County. I suspect that you could find 2 such chunks in Lane County (without excessive gerrymandering). One would be the coastal strip and ocean, extending into the coast range, and the other the area surrounding Eugene, including Fern Ridge Res. and extending into the Cascades past Oak Ridge and/or up the McKenzie to high elevation. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Love" To: obol AT oregonbirds.org Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 8:46:14 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county Re: species totals by county Thanks Chuck for these data. It would be interesting to analyze these raw totals by observer effort and by size. With tongue in cheek, let's play with this a bit. For example, Lane's 408 vs. Multnomah's 343 looks a little different when you adjust by size of county (a very rough proxy for habitat diversity), since Lane is one of the largest counties in the state and Multnomah is the smallest: 408 species/4,722 sq. mi = .086 species/sq. mi. 343 species/466 sq. mi. = 0.736 species/sq. mi. By this measure, Multnomah County is way ahead - apparently over 8X as productive as Lane. On the other hand, Multnomah is one of the most intensively birded counties in the state, while Malheur, say, is one of the least. Assuming the ratio of birders (and their birding effort) to the general population is similar, we find: 343 species/735,334 people = .000466 species/person 287 species/31,313 people = .00917 species/person By this measure, Malheur County is way ahead - about 20X as productive as Multnomah. Of course year lists would be a better indicator here. Back to work! Tom L. ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:47:15 -0800 (PST) From: Tim Rodenkirk To: Julia Siporin , obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: [OBOL] Oops, forgot to add photo of BH Grosbeak Message-ID: <1326336435.37020.YahooMailNeo at web45304.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" I can't say for sure but this bird looks to have quite a bit of streaking on its breast, one of those things you hope to see on a female Rose-breasted which is probably just as likely as a Black-headed this time of year. Do you have any other photos? Tim R Coos Bay ________________________________ From: Julia Siporin To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 12:14 PM Subject: [OBOL] Oops, forgot to add photo of BH Grosbeak Here's a link to a picture of the Black-headed Grosbeak in our yard this morning.? Since my camera battery was dead, I had to scramble to find my iPhone. So, this shot was taken through the kitchen window.? By the time I got outside... you guessed it, she flew away. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsiporin/6680295673/ - Julia _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:23:10 -0800 From: Lyn Topinka To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Sauvie Island and Scappoose Bottoms 1-11 Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed hi ... Gene and I decided to head to Sauvie Island today to see what was there ... well, so did hundreds (or so it seemed) of hunters too ... NOT the ideal place to look for Snow Geese or Sandhill Cranes or raptors or much else for that matter ... we did see the Leucistic House Sparrow at the blind tho ... cute little bird ... nothing much on Rentenaar Road, altho we did get excited about the two male Eurasian Wigeons we saw ... they were in the pond on the right with two male Pintails and three Mallards ... took us a bit to realize they weren't moving ... DECOYS !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... gosh but were they good Decoys (grin) ... about that time we decided to leave the Island to the hunters and head over to Scappoose Bottoms to look for the Golden Eagle ... no Golden Eagle but we came across a GORGEOUS Rough-legged Hawk in a tree right next to the road !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... we were on Honeyman (???) Road at the time ... it was a nice bird to see as I've not seen one in a couple of years ... later, Lyn Lyn Topinka http://EnglishRiverWebsite.com http://ColumbiaRiverImages.com http://RidgefieldBirds.com ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:29:14 -0800 (PST) From: Tim Rodenkirk To: "Charles R. Gates" , obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county Message-ID: <1326338954.38915.YahooMailNeo at web45314.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Another waty to gauge how "birdy" a county is, may be seeing how many species you can find in a day. I think Coos is on top and Lake is second. You would think that Lane could get more species than any other county, but I haven't heard of anyone even trying for a serious Big Day there in years... Tim R Coos Bay ________________________________ From: Charles R. Gates To: obol Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 9:37 PM Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county Coos County recently added it's 399th species with a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that was well photographed.? Soon it will join Lane, Lincoln, and Curry counties as Oregon counties with over 400 species on their county list.? I thought I would do an annual update on these county lists and publish the totals.? Below, you will find a table with all 36 counties and the number of species that have been seen in each.? You can go online and check your county's list or any other county in Oregon (http://www.birdingoregon.info/).? If you haven't seen this website, it's also a good spot to find birding locations in Oregon.? Here are the current species totals for each county. Lane 408 Lincoln 403 Curry 400 Coos 399 Harney 377 Douglas? 373 Clatsop? 366 Tillamook 366 Lake? 363 Klamath? 344 Multnomah 343 Deschutes? 342 Jackson? 336 Columbia? 319 Benton 318 Marion 315 Linn 313 Polk 309 Umatilla 308 Washington 300 Wallowa 294 Crook 292 Clackamas 291 Union 291 Grant 288 Malheur? 287 Jefferson? 285 Wasco 280 Yamhill 280 Josephine 273 Baker? 271 Hood River 270 Sherman 267 Morrow 257 Wheeler 256 Gilliam 246 -- Chuck Gates Crook County High School NAMC State Coordinator - East Cascades Audubon Society Online Oregon Birding Site Guide - birdingoregon.info 541-923-1320 _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 9 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:31:18 -0800 (PST) From: Tim Rodenkirk To: Tim Rodenkirk , "Charles R. Gates" , obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county Message-ID: <1326339078.92128.YahooMailNeo at web45313.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" My memory is failing me here, was it Klamath and not Lake County that Steve Summers and others had the Big Day record from for years? Tim ________________________________ From: Tim Rodenkirk To: Charles R. Gates ; obol Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 7:29 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county Another waty to gauge how "birdy" a county is, may be seeing how many species you can find in a day. I think Coos is on top and Lake is second. You would think that Lane could get more species than any other county, but I haven't heard of anyone even trying for a serious Big Day there in years... Tim R Coos Bay ________________________________ From: Charles R. Gates To: obol Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 9:37 PM Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county Coos County recently added it's 399th species with a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that was well photographed.? Soon it will join Lane, Lincoln, and Curry counties as Oregon counties with over 400 species on their county list.? I thought I would do an annual update on these county lists and publish the totals.? Below, you will find a table with all 36 counties and the number of species that have been seen in each.? You can go online and check your county's list or any other county in Oregon (http://www.birdingoregon.info/).? If you haven't seen this website, it's also a good spot to find birding locations in Oregon.? Here are the current species totals for each county. Lane 408 Lincoln 403 Curry 400 Coos 399 Harney 377 Douglas? 373 Clatsop? 366 Tillamook 366 Lake? 363 Klamath? 344 Multnomah 343 Deschutes? 342 Jackson? 336 Columbia? 319 Benton 318 Marion 315 Linn 313 Polk 309 Umatilla 308 Washington 300 Wallowa 294 Crook 292 Clackamas 291 Union 291 Grant 288 Malheur? 287 Jefferson? 285 Wasco 280 Yamhill 280 Josephine 273 Baker? 271 Hood River 270 Sherman 267 Morrow 257 Wheeler 256 Gilliam 246 -- Chuck Gates Crook County High School NAMC State Coordinator - East Cascades Audubon Society Online Oregon Birding Site Guide - birdingoregon.info 541-923-1320 _______________________________________________ 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: ------------------------------ Message: 10 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:44:37 -0800 (PST) From: Tim Rodenkirk To: "obol at oregonbirds.org" Subject: [OBOL] Coos Birds of Late Message-ID: <1326339877.76021.YahooMailNeo at web45314.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Some miscellaneous sightings of mine from recent days: Millicoma Marsh, today- 1/11/12, sunny PM, 50's: 2- LESSER YELLOWLEGS- we had one on the CBC, I was surprised to find the second one. ?Also there shorebird-wise were a couple G. Yellowlegs, 15 LB Dowitchers, 20 BB Plovers, a couple hundred Dunlin and about 70 Least Sandpipers. Johnson Mill Pond, Coquille, 1/10, sunny, 50's, PM: 1- NORTHERN SHRIKE no swallows there since the 2nd Floras Lake (whoops, Curry here), 1/8- sunny as usual lately: 1- LAPLAND LONGSPUR (just north of the lake)? and of course a couple Palm Warblers and the Say's Phoebe Coos Bay, behind the 7-11, neighborhood birding, 1/8 (where I saw the BT Gray on the CBC): 2 or 3 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS a few Lesser Goldfinches and Townsend's Warblers also Charleston, 1/6: 1- LONG-BILLED CURLEW with gulls at Point Adams, it had been over in Empire, it gets around I guess. 1- LONG-TAILED DUCK in Empire off Fossil Point, easy to see for once. Oh, I heard from Rick Foster that the male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE was still hanging around his neighborhood in Myrtle Point, at least through a couple days ago when he e-mailed me last. That's all I can think of for now, ENJOY! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 11 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:02:02 -0800 From: Barbara Combs To: Oregon Birders OnLine Subject: [OBOL] Harrisburg Coburg Raptor Route Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Robin Gage and I did the Harrisburg-Coburg Raptor Route on Tuesday, January 10. We had clear skies to start, with a few clouds moving in near the end of the run. Temperatures were high 30s to low 40s. We drove 70.3 miles in 4 hours and 4 minutes. Our favorite bird was the PRAIRIE FALCON we found just east of the freeway to the north of Van Duyn Road from the pullout across from the gas station. All the raptors: 23 Red-tailed Hawk 37 American Kestrel 6 Northern Harrier 9 Bald Eagle (7 adults, 1 immature) 2 Rough-legged Hawk 1 Prairie Falcon -- Barbara Combs obie '70 Lane County, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 12 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:36:01 -0800 From: "MARK NEBEKER" To: "OBOL" , "Alan Contreras" Subject: Re: [OBOL] Most species per square mile Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Great news, my first Northern Waterthrush there in 1975. ----- Original Message ----- From: Alan Contreras To: OBOL Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 1:50 PM Subject: [OBOL] Most species per square mile Malheur HQ from the hilltop to the lakeshore. Speaking of which, I understand that the refuge is going to reopen to the public the old "short dike" road just east of HQ that led to the old Benson Boat landing before it was inundated by the floods of the 1980s. I'm not sure of the timing of this. That's the only place I have ever found a Least Bittern at Malheur. -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com From: Bob Archer > Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:45:32 -0800 To: OBOL > Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county Hi there: If we are going down this road, we might guess as to what square mile of Oregon has seen the most species. Without really checking anyones list, I would nominate somewhere around Clatsop or Coos counties. ...wonder what are the totals for the spit at Coos Bay or Clatsop Spit.. Bob Archer PDX On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 10:47 AM, > wrote: Hi - The Ecological literature from a few decades ago was full of papers about species-area relationships. They are rarely ever linear. In other words, larger areas (or islands) likely have more species than smaller ones, but not more species/acre. A good way to think about this is to ask whether a chunk of Lane County the size of Multnomah County has as many species as Multnomah County. I suspect that you could find 2 such chunks in Lane County (without excessive gerrymandering). One would be the coastal strip and ocean, extending into the coast range, and the other the area surrounding Eugene, including Fern Ridge Res. and extending into the Cascades past Oak Ridge and/or up the McKenzie to high elevation. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Love" > To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 8:46:14 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county Re: species totals by county Thanks Chuck for these data. It would be interesting to analyze these raw totals by observer effort and by size. With tongue in cheek, let's play with this a bit. For example, Lane's 408 vs. Multnomah's 343 looks a little different when you adjust by size of county (a very rough proxy for habitat diversity), since Lane is one of the largest counties in the state and Multnomah is the smallest: 408 species/4,722 sq. mi = .086 species/sq. mi. 343 species/466 sq. mi. = 0.736 species/sq. mi. By this measure, Multnomah County is way ahead - apparently over 8X as productive as Lane. On the other hand, Multnomah is one of the most intensively birded counties in the state, while Malheur, say, is one of the least. Assuming the ratio of birders (and their birding effort) to the general population is similar, we find: 343 species/735,334 people = .000466 species/person 287 species/31,313 people = .00917 species/person By this measure, Malheur County is way ahead - about 20X as productive as Multnomah. Of course year lists would be a better indicator here. Back to work! Tom L. _______________________________________________ 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 _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 13 Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:46:44 -0800 From: "Tim Janzen" To: "'obol'" Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county Message-ID: <014a01ccd0e5$2f5b42e0$8e11c8a0$@net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Dear Tim, It was in Klamath County that Steve Summers, Steve Gordon, and Jim Carlson set a Big Day record of 171 species on May 12, 1984. Sincerely, Tim Janzen From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Tim Rodenkirk Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 7:31 PM To: Tim Rodenkirk; Charles R. Gates; obol Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county My memory is failing me here, was it Klamath and not Lake County that Steve Summers and others had the Big Day record from for years? Tim -------------- 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 21, Issue 31 ************************************ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gorgebirds at juno.com Wed Jan 11 23:20:08 2012 From: gorgebirds at juno.com (Wilson Cady) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:20:08 GMT Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike logging - Background information Message-ID: <20120111.212008.7050.0@webmail02.vgs.untd.com> As the education chair for the "friends" group,the Columbia Gorge Refuge Stewards for Steigerwald Lake, Franz Lake and Pierce National Wildlife Refuges, I would like to present some information about the logging. This tree removal has been planned for a couple of years and is not a surprise to the NWR or us and was publicized in the local newspapers. The refuge is mostly with the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, so there has been a fair amount of discussion on the subject. The cottonwood trees in this discussion number about 2,000 and were there before the dike was built. Steigerwald Lake NWR is a former floodplain of the Columbia River before it was diked in 1964. On the visitor's trail from the parking lot on Highway 14, you cross a large wetland before you come to the cottonwoods which are growing in long rows on low ridges running parallel to the river. These ridges are sandbars deposited at the edge of the current line as the river flowed around the cliffs at Cape Horn during high water. As the river level dropped the large wetland between Highway 14 and the trees was cut-off from the river by these low ridges and then became Steigerwald Lake as it Over the years the Corps of Engineers has had most of the area along the dike mowed and cut back to some degree. As far as ownership of the dike, that is owned by the Corps and maintained by the Port of Camas-Washougal but the land underneath it is USF&WS property.I disagree with the logging but agree with the earlier statement that engineers look for engineering solutions to problems. Like a good friend of mine said "If you ask a welder to make you a bookcase, don't be surprised if it is made out of metal". Wilson CadyColumbia Gorge Refuge StewardsEnvironmental Education Chairperson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com Wed Jan 11 23:41:33 2012 From: woodpecker97330 at yahoo.com (Jamie S.) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:41:33 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county, or, island country In-Reply-To: <698DE37BAF6444B0B57C6B2020563FDC@dell307ac3e2b6> Message-ID: <1326346893.36981.YahooMailClassic@web161601.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Paul wrote: "Certainly, southern latitudes get more species diversity than northern ones." Paul, what I think you meant to write (and were probably thinking of) is that species diversity increases the closer you get to the equator (or lower numbered latitudes). Jamie Simmons Corvallis --- On Wed, 1/11/12, Paul T. Sullivan wrote: From: Paul T. Sullivan Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county, or, island country To: "obol" Date: Wednesday, January 11, 2012, 6:18 PM OBOL: Following up on Wayne's comment about islands... It was pointed out to me when I visited Ireland, which has fewer species than England, which has fewer species than France... It was pointed out that the last ice age covered the British Isles, and they've had to be repopulated with birds from mainland Europe.? Thus the closer island has got more birds than the farther one.? Not sure this pertains to Oregon (?) Certainly, southern latitudes get more species diversity than northern ones. Paul T. Sullivan Subject: Re: species totals by county From: whoffman AT peak.org Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:47:11 -0800 (PST) Hi - The Ecological literature from a few decades ago was full of papers about species-area relationships. They are rarely ever linear. In other words, larger areas (or islands) likely have more species than smaller ones, but not more species/acre. A good way to think about this is to ask whether a chunk of Lane County the size of Multnomah County has as many species as Multnomah County. I suspect that you could find 2 such chunks in Lane County (without excessive gerrymandering). One would be the coastal strip and ocean, extending into the coast range, and the other the area surrounding Eugene, including Fern Ridge Res. and extending into the Cascades past Oak Ridge and/or up the McKenzie to high elevation. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Love" To: obol AT oregonbirds.org Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 8:46:14 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county Re: species totals by county Thanks Chuck for these data. It would be interesting to analyze these raw totals by observer effort and by size. With tongue in cheek, let's play with this a bit. For example, Lane's 408 vs. Multnomah's 343 looks a little different when you adjust by size of county (a very rough proxy for habitat diversity), since Lane is one of the largest counties in the state and Multnomah is the smallest: 408 species/4,722 sq. mi = .086 species/sq. mi. 343 species/466 sq. mi. = 0.736 species/sq. mi. By this measure, Multnomah County is way ahead - apparently over 8X as productive as Lane. On the other hand, Multnomah is one of the most intensively birded counties in the state, while Malheur, say, is one of the least. Assuming the ratio of birders (and their birding effort) to the general population is similar, we find: 343 species/735,334 people = .000466 species/person 287 species/31,313 people = .00917 species/person By this measure, Malheur County is way ahead - about 20X as productive as Multnomah. Of course year lists would be a better indicator here. Back to work! Tom L. _______________________________________________ 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 Wed Jan 11 23:43:27 2012 From: dnkmunson at gmail.com (Don & Karen Munson) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:43:27 -0800 (Pacific Standard Time) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Birds of Late References: <1326339877.76021.YahooMailNeo@web45314.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4F0E72FF.000011.08036@KAREN-PC> Tim, those must have been huge Dowitchers. While we're on the subject of Curry Say's Phoebes, there was one (possibly two) in the usual area along Oceanview Drive south of Brookings Monday, Jan 9. Don Munson Brookings -------Original Message------- From: Tim Rodenkirk Date: 1/11/2012 7:45:15 PM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Coos Birds of Late Some miscellaneous sightings of mine from recent days: Millicoma Marsh, today- 1/11/12, sunny PM, 50's: 2- LESSER YELLOWLEGS- we had one on the CBC, I was surprised to find the second one. Also there shorebird-wise were a couple G. Yellowlegs, 15 LB Dowitchers, 20 BB Plovers, a couple hundred Dunlin and about 70 Least Sandpipers. Johnson Mill Pond, Coquille, 1/10, sunny, 50's, PM: 1- NORTHERN SHRIKE no swallows there since the 2nd Floras Lake (whoops, Curry here), 1/8- sunny as usual lately: 1- LAPLAND LONGSPUR (just north of the lake) and of course a couple Palm Warblers and the Say's Phoebe Coos Bay, behind the 7-11, neighborhood birding, 1/8 (where I saw the BT Gray on the CBC): 2 or 3 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS a few Lesser Goldfinches and Townsend's Warblers also Charleston, 1/6: 1- LONG-BILLED CURLEW with gulls at Point Adams, it had been over in Empire, it gets around I guess. 1- LONG-TAILED DUCK in Empire off Fossil Point, easy to see for once. Oh, I heard from Rick Foster that the male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE was still hanging around his neighborhood in Myrtle Point, at least through a couple days ago when he e-mailed me last. That's all I can think of for now, ENJOY! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 34164 bytes Desc: not available URL: From 5hats at peak.org Wed Jan 11 23:43:43 2012 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:43:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Siletz Bay Goldeneyes Message-ID: <9EB69076FB41472A828653B822A7E899@DarrelPC> Obolites, As Dawn previously reported, there are two male Barrow's Goldeneye now hanging out near the rock pinnacles in Siletz Bay, just south of the mouth of Schooner Creek at the south end of Lincoln City. There are also three female goldeneye present in the same location. But try as I might, I cannot make the females anything but Common Goldeneye. They have the more sloped forehead and peaked crown of that species, and the typical black bill with yellow tip. It would be interesting to hear comments from anyone else who happens to observe these birds. I watched them for about ten minutes today. Most of the time the females were separate from the male Barrow's. They did swim together briefly, but for the more part of the time there was no interaction between them. It just seems odd that there should be the mix of male Barrow's and female Common Goldeneye with no other birds of either species in the area. Darrel & Laura -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From LCain at astoria.k12.or.us Wed Jan 11 23:57:41 2012 From: LCain at astoria.k12.or.us (Lee Cain) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:57:41 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Evening Grosbeaks at Astoria High Message-ID: A fellow staff member has reported EVENING GROSBEAKS coming to a feeder outside their classroom at Astoria High School. I don't recall too many winters that I have seen them here in Clatsop Cty -- last year's Col. Est CBC was an exception when a flock passed over me. Lee Cain >//////> >//////> >//////> >//////> Aquatic Biology/Integrated Science Astoria High School -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kolwicz at minetfiber.com Thu Jan 12 00:15:17 2012 From: kolwicz at minetfiber.com (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:15:17 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Excessive re-quoting Message-ID: <4F0E7A75.30202@minetfiber.com> I know I'll be saying this to my dying day, but *PLEASE* stop quoting excessive amounts of text in your messages to the list! It makes reading the list in digest format extremely frustrating and tedious. List etiquette is to only quote back the necessary parts of messages that you are REPLYING to and never for new messages and never quotes of quotes (of quotes of quote of quotes. . .). Frank in Monmouth From 5hats at peak.org Wed Jan 11 23:59:07 2012 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:59:07 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging In-Reply-To: <1326295697.1517.19.camel@clearwater1> References: <1326295697.1517.19.camel@clearwater1> Message-ID: Joel, Maybe so, but as a private landowner/logger, I can tell you that I would be in big trouble if for any reason I harvested trees used by Bald Eagles for either roosting or nesting. Darrel -------------------------------------------------- From: "Joel Geier" Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 7:28 AM To: "Oregon Birders OnLine" Subject: Re: [OBOL] Columbia Dike Logging > Hi all, > > Just trying to think like an engineer here, in response to Chris Grant's > question below. > > One thing that large trees do, particularly when lined up in a row > without smaller trees in front of them, is to topple in windstorms. This > can happen particularly when something (such as river currents) has been > undercutting the roots on the upwind side, and during very wet weather > when soils are fully saturated. > > When a large tree topples -- or a whole row of them topple -- that could > take quite a chunk out of a dike, and possibly at the least favorable > time if you happen to be an engineer in charge of flood control. > > The argument that riparian vegetation helps to reduce erosion, on > average, is certainly true. However, an engineer's response might be, > "So what? We can always armor the bank with more rip-rap. That's a > method that we know how to design and manage." > > Relying on natural systems to help in an unnatural effort to control > natural processes like floods is ... well, something that doesn't come > naturally to engineers. The long-term trend seems to point more in that > direction, but classical engineering approaches still hold sway. > > In classical engineering, you want something that you can hang a > parameter value on, something that has uniform properties, and that if > it fails, will fail in a gradual and observable, non-catastrophic way. > Big cottonwoods or Douglas-firs that topple and tear up big chunks of > dike with their roots might not fit that specification. > > Sorry if this suggestion doesn't fit the general flow of discussion. I > agree with the aesthetic concerns, and also agree that the effectiveness > of this method ought to be evaluated. However, there might actually be a > non-orcish rationale to the tree removal. > > Good birding, > Joel > > Chris Grant wrote: > >> This outside my area of expertise, but it seems to me that >> riparian vegetation would slow flood waters and trap sediment, >> both of which would seem to stabilize a dike. Also, it seems >> to me that the roots of trees and shrubs in the riparian zone >> would help knit together the toe of the dike, and thereby protect >> it. This action by the Corp appears to expose the dike to >> damage, not protect it. Anyone have any insight to share? > > -- > Joel Geier > Camp Adair area north of Corvallis > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > From 5hats at peak.org Wed Jan 11 23:49:04 2012 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:49:04 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] species totals by county In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Paul, Au contraire! Gilliam County does have trees. But just like for the birds, you have to know where to look for them! Darrel -------------------------------------------------- From: "Paul T. Sullivan" Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 10:23 AM To: "obol" Subject: Re: [OBOL] species totals by county > Tom, et al, > > This topic interests me more than many other that get a lot of time on > OBOL. > > Big counties like Lane & Douglas that reach from the coast to the Cascades > have great potential for big lists, but very different observer effort. > > Coastal counties offer seabirds. > > Populous counties get more observer effort. > > Klamath, Lake, and Harney have more refuges and observers than Malheur, > evern though they're similar size. > > Polk & Benton, with Nat'l Wildlife Refuges get more birds than Yamhill > with only one good sewage pond. > > Josephine and Hood River have all trees and no marsh. Sherman & Gilliam > have all wheatfields and no trees. > > Sherman has the sloughs below John Day dam, while Gilliam has only the > deep pool above the dam and almost no sloughs along the Columbia. > > Put Namitz or Rodenkirk or Gates or ___________ in any county and watch > the list grow. > > Which county is the best? Wallowa, of course. ;-) > > Good birding, everyone, > > Paul T. Sullivan > Audubon Birding Weekends > (503) 472-5306 > http://audubonportland.org/trips-classes-camps/adult/weekends > > ------------------------ > Subject: Re: species totals by county > From: Thomas Love > Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:46:14 +0000 > > Thanks Chuck for these data. > > It would be interesting to analyze these raw totals by observer effort and > by > size. With tongue in cheek, let?s play with this a bit. > > > For example, Lane?s 408 vs. Multnomah?s 343 looks a little different when > you > adjust by size of county (a very rough proxy for habitat diversity), since > Lane > is one of the largest counties in the state and Multnomah is the smallest: > > > 408 species/4,722 sq. mi = .086 species/sq. mi. > > 343 species/466 sq. mi. = 0.736 species/sq. mi. > > By this measure, Multnomah County is way ahead - apparently over 8X as > productive as Lane. > > > > On the other hand, Multnomah is one of the most intensively birded > counties in > the state, while Malheur, say, is one of the least. Assuming the ratio of > birders (and their birding effort) to the general population is similar, > we > find: > > > 343 species/735,334 people = .000466 species/person > > 287 species/31,313 people = .00917 species/person > > By this measure, Malheur County is way ahead ? about 20X as productive as > Multnomah. Of course year lists would be a better indicator here. > > > > Back to work! > > > Tom L > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > From jsiporin at mac.com Thu Jan 12 01:05:59 2012 From: jsiporin at mac.com (Julia Siporin) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:05:59 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] A closer look at the Grosbeak in Eugene... Message-ID: A few people have asked me if I had any other pictures of that Grosbeak in my yard. I enlarged the picture & added more contrast without effecting the color. If it helps any of you further identify it as a Black-headed or Rose-breasted Grosbeak - great. I'll be on the lookout tomorrow morning with a keener sense of what I need to look for now. (Thanks to OBOL birders!) I apologize for the poor quality. My camera battery was dead, so this is from my iPhone inside the kitchen. By the time I got outside, it was gone. I'll be better prepared tomorrow - with a good battery in my camera. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsiporin/6681835925/ (There are some other photos of a Townsend Warbler at our suet feeder today as well.) Julia From hnehls6 at comcast.net Thu Jan 12 01:41:11 2012 From: hnehls6 at comcast.net (Harry Nehls) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:41:11 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] RBA: Portland, OR 1-12-12 Message-ID: - RBA * Oregon * Portland * January 12, 2012 * ORPO1201.12 - birds mentioned Emperor Goose Tufted Duck Long-tailed Duck Barrow?s Goldeneye American White Pelican Brown Pelican Turkey Vulture Golden Eagle Black-bellied Plover Dunlin Snowy Owl Red-naped Sapsucker BLUE JAY Barn Swallow Snow Bunting Yellow Warbler Wilson?s Warbler Red Fox Sparrow Black-headed Grosbeak Bullock?s Oriole BRAMBLING Pine Siskin - transcript hotline: Portland Oregon Audubon RBA (weekly) number: 503-292-6855 To report: Harry Nehls 503-233-3976 compiler: Harry Nehls coverage: entire state Hello, this is the Audubon Society of Portland Rare Bird Report. This report was made Thursday January 12. If you have anything to add call Harry Nehls at 503-233-3976. A BRAMBLING is now coming to a feeder in Woodburn. A male TUFTED DUCK is now being seen on the Columbia River off Vancouver City Park. The Bald Hill BLUE JAY in Corvallis continues to be seen. SNOWY OWL reports during the week came from along Zumwalt Prairie Road near Enterprise and east of Burns. Good sized flocks of PINE SISKINS are now being reported in the Willamette Valley. A few BROWN PELICANS are still being reported along the coast. On January 6 a male BULLOCK?S ORIOLE visited a feeder in Myrtle Point. A TURKEY VULTURE was reported during the week in Coos Bay. Four BARROW?S GOLDENEYES were on Siletz Bay January 8. On January 10 a GOLDEN EAGLE was in Scappoose Bottoms. Up to eight BARN SWALLOWS were at Smith/Bybee Lakes in North Portland January 8. The Portland Airport SNOW BUNTING continues to be seen. On January 9 a GOLDEN EAGLE was at Gresham. A YELLOW WARBLER and a WILSON?S WARBLER were in North Portland January 8. The Tualatin River NWR EMPEROR GOOSE is still being seen. On January 5 a GOLDEN EAGLE was near Lafayette. A juvenile RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER is now being seen in Eugene. A female BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK was seen January 11 in Eugene. On January 6 two WHITE PELICANS, 60 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, and several thousand DUNLIN were at Fern Ridge Reservoir. A bright RED FOX SPARROW is now coming to a feeder in winston. On January 6 a TURKEY VULTURE was at Maryhill State Park east of The Dalles. The LONG-TAILED DUCK continues to be seen at the Prineville Sewage Ponds. That?s it for this week. - end transcript -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Thu Jan 12 01:55:55 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:55:55 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Siletz Bay Goldeneyes In-Reply-To: <9EB69076FB41472A828653B822A7E899@DarrelPC> References: <9EB69076FB41472A828653B822A7E899@DarrelPC> Message-ID: Darrel et al. I took a quick look at Dawn's photo and the female with the two male Barrow's Goldeneye's seemed like a pretty straight forward Common to me. Common X Barrow's goldeneye hybrids are actually one of the more frequently detected waterfowl hybrids (there has been a male hanging out near the Yaquina Bay bridge for two winters in a row. It's quite possible that these birds are indeed mated pairs that have migrated here together. Just something to think about. Dave Irons Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Thu Jan 12 02:03:27 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:03:27 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Most species per square mile In-Reply-To: References: , Message-ID: Referencing the Malheur portion of the this thread: Presumably, the "road" that Alan is referring to is what used to be known as "Cole Island Dike." This area once had some really great cattail and bulrush marsh. I had my one and only Oregon Common Gallimoorhen along this road about 30 years ago. That entire area has been closed for at least two, perhaps going on three decades. Dave Irons Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mntsprg at wizzards.net Thu Jan 12 01:33:36 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:33:36 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] A closer look at the Grosbeak in Eugene... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <449ED9A00BDE40D0908B45F15F0E3298@MitherPC> Hi Julia...my husband says to see if you can ID the color UNDER THE WING at the (pit) . A photo would be great..but just seeing it and relaying that would help...pink = rose breasted and orange the black headed when reviewing the image I am leaning towards a female rose breasted as I saw no strong color at the breast/chest best wishes in seeing more!!! Laura -----Original Message----- From: Julia Siporin Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 11:05 PM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] A closer look at the Grosbeak in Eugene... A few people have asked me if I had any other pictures of that Grosbeak in my yard. I enlarged the picture & added more contrast without effecting the color. If it helps any of you further identify it as a Black-headed or Rose-breasted Grosbeak - great. I'll be on the lookout tomorrow morning with a keener sense of what I need to look for now. (Thanks to OBOL birders!) I apologize for the poor quality. My camera battery was dead, so this is from my iPhone inside the kitchen. By the time I got outside, it was gone. I'll be better prepared tomorrow - with a good battery in my camera. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsiporin/6681835925/ (There are some other photos of a Townsend Warbler at our suet feeder today as well.) Julia _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From llsdirons at msn.com Thu Jan 12 03:30:07 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:30:07 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] [] A closer look at the Grosbeak in Eugene... In-Reply-To: <449ED9A00BDE40D0908B45F15F0E3298@MitherPC> References: , <449ED9A00BDE40D0908B45F15F0E3298@MitherPC> Message-ID: Greeting all, This is part of comment that was posted earlier with regard to the Eugene grosbeak: ID the color UNDER THE WING at the (pit) . A photo would be great..but just seeing it and relaying that would help...pink = rose breasted and orange the black headed when reviewing the image I am leaning towards a female rose breasted as I saw no strong color at the breast/chest. I'll start by saying that I don't think we can see enough in this image to ID this bird to species. Adult female Rose-breasted and Black-headed Grosbeaks can both show a lack of "strong color" on the breast and Black-headeds are highly variable in this regard. Secondly, the wing lining color, if pink or rose-colored, is diagnostic for an adult male or young male Rose-breasted, but is of no use in separating females. Females of both species have yellow or yellowish (not orange) wing linings. Sibley indicates that the wing linings of female Rose-breasteds are more buffy (not as bright) yellow. This can be a challenging ID even with good photos. Dave Irons Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer56 at gmail.com Thu Jan 12 09:24:22 2012 From: acontrer56 at gmail.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:24:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Most species per square mile In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8BB5483F-A0A1-4E77-975F-96AB3971BBAC@gmail.com> No, I meant the short road, maybe a mile long, that runs along the east edge of the HQ shop and housing complex and out to the edge of the lake. Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon Sent from my iPhone acontrer56 at gmail.com On Jan 12, 2012, at 12:03 AM, David Irons wrote: > > Referencing the Malheur portion of the this thread: > > Presumably, the "road" that Alan is referring to is what used to be known as "Cole Island Dike." This area once had some really great cattail and bulrush marsh. I had my one and only Oregon Common Gallimoorhen along this road about 30 years ago. That entire area has been closed for at least two, perhaps going on three decades. > > Dave Irons > Portland, 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 d_villa at mail.com Thu Jan 12 10:57:23 2012 From: d_villa at mail.com (dawn) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:57:23 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Siletz Bay Goldeneyes Message-ID: <20120112165723.284490@gmx.com> Darrel & Laura, Thanks for taking another look and your feedback. When I saw the birds there were two males and two females together and I paid more attention to the males than the females (not being strong in female ID yet). So I made the assumption they were pairs - I was happy that one of my female photos turned out semi-decent so David (and others) could have a look. I've been doing some reading online (Sibley & others) since I saw them and have to agree with you. And now I finally have a day off so I can go back and look again too :o) Thanks again, this is very helpful! (Now to fix my ebird report) dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jblowers at ix.netcom.com Thu Jan 12 11:37:37 2012 From: jblowers at ix.netcom.com (Joseph Blowers) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:37:37 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Brambling Backyard will be off limits after Jan. 13 References: <1326384527.82638.YahooMailNeo@web113919.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1C068D2B-DCCA-4929-8437-E75C9DE028E3@ix.netcom.com> Linda Long, who has graciously allowed birders access to her backyard (see forwarded email below), will no longer be able to provide access to her backyard after January 13. If you go on Friday, make sure you say a big thank you to Linda for her hospitality. Again, the address is 1015 Orchard In., Woodburn, OR. Joe Blowers eBird Reviewer Begin forwarded message: > > > > Hi Joseph, > > > I am sending this email to let you know I have to return to work, I am sorry I have to do this but I will not be available to give people access. Everyone who has been here to see the Brambling has been wonderful! The last day I can let people into my backyard will be Friday 1/13/2012. . Could you pass this information on to people? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From larmcqueen at msn.com Thu Jan 12 12:28:41 2012 From: larmcqueen at msn.com (Larry McQueen) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:28:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] A closer look at the Grosbeak in Eugene... In-Reply-To: References: , <449ED9A00BDE40D0908B45F15F0E3298@MitherPC> Message-ID: Grosbeakers: I got a look at this grosbeak this morning, as the bird is not far from my home. I found it in a holly tree just a few houses from Julia's feeder. It really has more ventral coloring than the bird in the photo indicates and the streaking is not as apparent. I wonder if it is even the same bird, but I do know how deceptive photos can be. If I were to see this bird in a normal season, I would without questioning, call it a Black-headed Grosbeak. Julia might be able to get a better look next time at her feeder, and a better photo. Wing lining is the critical feature at this point, as the coloring of underparts would indicate that if it is a Rose-breasted, it would have to be a male. Larry On Jan 12, 2012, at 1:30 AM, David Irons wrote: > Greeting all, > > This is part of comment that was posted earlier with regard to the Eugene grosbeak: > > ID the color UNDER THE WING at the (pit) . A photo would be great..but just seeing it and relaying that would help...pink = rose breasted and orange the black headed when reviewing the image I am leaning towards a female rose breasted as I saw no strong color at the breast/chest. > > I'll start by saying that I don't think we can see enough in this image to ID this bird to species. Adult female Rose-breasted and Black-headed Grosbeaks can both show a lack of "strong color" on the breast and Black-headeds are highly variable in this regard. Secondly, the wing lining color, if pink or rose-colored, is diagnostic for an adult male or young male Rose-breasted, but is of no use in separating females. Females of both species have yellow or yellowish (not orange) wing linings. Sibley indicates that the wing linings of female Rose-breasteds are more buffy (not as bright) yellow. This can be a challenging ID even with good photos. > > Dave Irons > Portland, 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 mntsprg at wizzards.net Thu Jan 12 12:48:34 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:48:34 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] [] A closer look at the Grosbeak in Eugene... In-Reply-To: References: , <449ED9A00BDE40D0908B45F15F0E3298@MitherPC> Message-ID: <4543754B24154C299F4BDE87821A579C@MitherPC> the color would matter IF it( female[?]in question) were a first winter male....which I had wondered about. I did not see a post prior to Larry?s noting an adult male being seen, thank you Laura From: Larry McQueen Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2012 10:28 AM To: OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] [] A closer look at the Grosbeak in Eugene... Grosbeakers: I got a look at this grosbeak this morning, as the bird is not far from my home. I found it in a holly tree just a few houses from Julia's feeder. It really has more ventral coloring than the bird in the photo indicates and the streaking is not as apparent. I wonder if it is even the same bird, but I do know how deceptive photos can be. If I were to see this bird in a normal season, I would without questioning, call it a Black-headed Grosbeak. Julia might be able to get a better look next time at her feeder, and a better photo. Wing lining is the critical feature at this point, as the coloring of underparts would indicate that if it is a Rose-breasted, it would have to be a male. Larry On Jan 12, 2012, at 1:30 AM, David Irons wrote: Greeting all, This is part of comment that was posted earlier with regard to the Eugene grosbeak: ID the color UNDER THE WING at the (pit) . A photo would be great..but just seeing it and relaying that would help...pink = rose breasted and orange the black headed when reviewing the image I am leaning towards a female rose breasted as I saw no strong color at the breast/chest. I'll start by saying that I don't think we can see enough in this image to ID this bird to species. Adult female Rose-breasted and Black-headed Grosbeaks can both show a lack of "strong color" on the breast and Black-headeds are highly variable in this regard. Secondly, the wing lining color, if pink or rose-colored, is diagnostic for an adult male or young male Rose-breasted, but is of no use in separating females. Females of both species have yellow or yellowish (not orange) wing linings. Sibley indicates that the wing linings of female Rose-breasteds are more buffy (not as bright) yellow. This can be a challenging ID even with good photos. Dave Irons Portland, 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 larmcqueen at msn.com Thu Jan 12 13:09:11 2012 From: larmcqueen at msn.com (Larry McQueen) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:09:11 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] [] A closer look at the Grosbeak in Eugene... In-Reply-To: <4543754B24154C299F4BDE87821A579C@MitherPC> References: , <449ED9A00BDE40D0908B45F15F0E3298@MitherPC> <4543754B24154C299F4BDE87821A579C@MitherPC> Message-ID: Laura, I did not mention an adult male. If the bird in question is the one I saw in the area, it would have to be either an adult female Black-headed or a 1st winter male Rose-breasted. The wing-lining color is therefore critical. But having seen this bird (presumably the one photographed), the overall plumage did not differ from a Black-headed. Larry On Jan 12, 2012, at 10:48 AM, Laura Mountainspring wrote: > the color would matter IF it( female[?]in question) were a first winter male....which I had wondered about. I did not see a post prior to Larry?s noting an adult male being seen, > thank you > Laura > > From: Larry McQueen > Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2012 10:28 AM > To: OBOL > Subject: Re: [OBOL] [] A closer look at the Grosbeak in Eugene... > > Grosbeakers: > > I got a look at this grosbeak this morning, as the bird is not far from my home. I found it in a holly tree just a few houses from Julia's feeder. It really has more ventral coloring than the bird in the photo indicates and the streaking is not as apparent. I wonder if it is even the same bird, but I do know how deceptive photos can be. If I were to see this bird in a normal season, I would without questioning, call it a Black-headed Grosbeak. > > Julia might be able to get a better look next time at her feeder, and a better photo. Wing lining is the critical feature at this point, as the coloring of underparts would indicate that if it is a Rose-breasted, it would have to be a male. > > Larry > > > On Jan 12, 2012, at 1:30 AM, David Irons wrote: > >> Greeting all, >> >> This is part of comment that was posted earlier with regard to the Eugene grosbeak: >> >> ID the color UNDER THE WING at the (pit) . A photo would be great..but just seeing it and relaying that would help...pink = rose breasted and orange the black headed when reviewing the image I am leaning towards a female rose breasted as I saw no strong color at the breast/chest. >> >> I'll start by saying that I don't think we can see enough in this image to ID this bird to species. Adult female Rose-breasted and Black-headed Grosbeaks can both show a lack of "strong color" on the breast and Black-headeds are highly variable in this regard. Secondly, the wing lining color, if pink or rose-colored, is diagnostic for an adult male or young male Rose-breasted, but is of no use in separating females. Females of both species have yellow or yellowish (not orange) wing linings. Sibley indicates that the wing linings of female Rose-breasteds are more buffy (not as bright) yellow. This can be a challenging ID even with good photos. >> >> Dave Irons >> Portland, 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 mntsprg at wizzards.net Thu Jan 12 13:33:41 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:33:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] [] [] A closer look at the Grosbeak in Eugene... In-Reply-To: References: , <449ED9A00BDE40D0908B45F15F0E3298@MitherPC> <4543754B24154C299F4BDE87821A579C@MitherPC> Message-ID: <91D0D28F17ED4DA7886A49679E01E80F@MitherPC> Larry..its ok...I was wondering if the 1st post had mentioned an ID on a male..I thought there had been a lack of black headed...and there have been sightings of the ROSE , so either female is possible and unusual ...I was wondering if this could be a 1st winter male, as there looks to be a tad more contrast to the head markings, but that could be the photo...If it is a 1st year male then the under color would play in...sorry if I was foggy in my replies. Laura From: Larry McQueen Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2012 11:09 AM To: Laura Mountainspring Cc: OBOL Subject: Re: [] [] A closer look at the Grosbeak in Eugene... Laura, I did not mention an adult male. If the bird in question is the one I saw in the area, it would have to be either an adult female Black-headed or a 1st winter male Rose-breasted. The wing-lining color is therefore critical. But having seen this bird (presumably the one photographed), the overall plumage did not differ from a Black-headed. Larry -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jsiporin at mac.com Thu Jan 12 13:44:26 2012 From: jsiporin at mac.com (Julia Siporin) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:44:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] BH Grosbeak confirmed in Eugene-Day 2 Message-ID: <886DBC9E-9850-46ED-A73C-CF892D6E3C29@mac.com> I just got a better picture at 11:15 a.m. of the Grosbeak which I now believe is a Black-headed Grosbeak & not a Rose-breasted. I watched him preening & when he went to preen under his wing, I saw the armpit color - yellow - not pink. The streaking was fine, not coarse, & it didn't go completely across her chest. His bill was more strongly bicolored than RBGB pictures I've seen which show a more pale pinkish bill. She (am I safe to say that?) had a white belly patch. Here's the link to the new photo. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsiporin/6685815535/ Thanks for of your ID tips! Julia From larmcqueen at msn.com Thu Jan 12 14:30:15 2012 From: larmcqueen at msn.com (Larry McQueen) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:30:15 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] BH Grosbeak confirmed in Eugene-Day 2 In-Reply-To: <886DBC9E-9850-46ED-A73C-CF892D6E3C29@mac.com> References: <886DBC9E-9850-46ED-A73C-CF892D6E3C29@mac.com> Message-ID: Good job, Julia. This is more than likely a 1st yr male. Even this photo looks palid compared to what I observed earlier, but it has to be the same bird. Larry On Jan 12, 2012, at 11:44 AM, Julia Siporin wrote: > I just got a better picture at 11:15 a.m. of the Grosbeak which I now believe is a Black-headed Grosbeak & not a Rose-breasted. I watched him preening & when he went to preen under his wing, I saw the armpit color - yellow - not pink. The streaking was fine, not coarse, & it didn't go completely across her chest. His bill was more strongly bicolored than RBGB pictures I've seen which show a more pale pinkish bill. She (am I safe to say that?) had a white belly patch. > Here's the link to the new photo. > http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsiporin/6685815535/ > > > Thanks for of your ID tips! > Julia > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > From d_villa at mail.com Thu Jan 12 14:55:23 2012 From: d_villa at mail.com (dawn) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:55:23 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Bald Eagle pair (Lincoln City) Message-ID: <20120112205524.284470@gmx.com> I stopped by the Siletz bridge turnout - tide was too low for waterfowl but a pair of BALD EAGLES in the air had caught my eye. One of them landed on a branch, the other dipped around a bit then landed also -- all the while they were chattering to one another - the 2nd one who landed was facing the other, and flapped its wings a few times as it chattered. They then settled down, kindof inched toward one another until they were shoulder to shoulder, facing the bay. It was way cool -- is it too early for them to be starting mating? (I haven't downloaded my pix, so not sure I got any good photos of them) dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From d_villa at mail.com Thu Jan 12 15:01:38 2012 From: d_villa at mail.com (dawn) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:01:38 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Bald Eagle pair (Lincoln City) Message-ID: <20120112210138.284500@gmx.com> Speaking of Bald Eagles, found this article on an annual Bald Eagle count (you probably know about this but it was new to me) -- the article says "The survey is a joint project of the American Eagle Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. " http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45888675/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.Tw9JVlZ5BH0 dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Blogging About the Coast dvillabirds.blogspot.com Sometimes things come when you stop looking ----- Original Message ----- From: dawn Sent: 01/12/12 12:55 PM To: OBOL obol Subject: [OBOL] Bald Eagle pair (Lincoln City) I stopped by the Siletz bridge turnout - tide was too low for waterfowl but a pair of BALD EAGLES in the air had caught my eye. One of them landed on a branch, the other dipped around a bit then landed also -- all the while they were chattering to one another - the 2nd one who landed was facing the other, and flapped its wings a few times as it chattered. They then settled down, kindof inched toward one another until they were shoulder to shoulder, facing the bay. It was way cool -- is it too early for them to be starting mating? (I haven't downloaded my pix, so not sure I got any good photos of them) dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From spjacobsens at hotmail.com Thu Jan 12 15:53:35 2012 From: spjacobsens at hotmail.com (Shawn & Paul Jacobsen) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:53:35 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Field Guide Recommendations Please Message-ID: Hi, I am visiting some Caribbean islands in the Spring - the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Grand Cayman. Can anyone recommend good birding guides for these areas? Thanks, Paul Dallas, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ensatina3 at hotmail.com Thu Jan 12 17:16:16 2012 From: ensatina3 at hotmail.com (Bobbett Pierce) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:16:16 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Honeyman Road loop Message-ID: Highlight on the Honeyman Road loop in the Scappoose lowlands this afternoon was a light ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK sitting on a fencepost at the owl corner. It was quite close for a nice look. Lona Pierce, Columbia County -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From larmcqueen at msn.com Thu Jan 12 18:02:16 2012 From: larmcqueen at msn.com (Larry McQueen) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:02:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eugene Grosbeak correction Message-ID: The recent grosbeak report is about a female Black-headed Grosbeak, not a male as I had reported earlier, in a rare moment of confusion. Larry From withgott at comcast.net Thu Jan 12 18:29:59 2012 From: withgott at comcast.net (Jay Withgott) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:29:59 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Willamette Valley highlights 11 Jan. - Brambling, Trumpeter Swans, Black Phoebe, etc. Message-ID: Hi OBOL -- Yesterday, 11 Jan., Andy Frank and I made a little (non-motorless) tour of Willamette Valley spots, missing many of our target birds but finding a few new things on an enjoyable day. We started out at Coffee Creek wetlands near Wilsonville, where we failed to find Dave and Bjorn's Swamp Sparrow or Northern Shrike. But we enjoyed Snipe, Pheasant, several Lincoln's Sparrows, and a gorgeous sunrise. We checked Coffee Lake and found 4 swans tucked away in the very back. Although scoped distantly and keeping their heads submerged most of the time, we feel confident they were 3 TRUMPETER SWANS (2 ad. & 1 imm.) and 1 Tundra Swan. We celebrated ticking Trumpeter Swan for Clackamas County until realizing that the county line bisects the lake and the birds were actually in Washington County! Three CINNAMON TEAL were also on this pond amid an assortment of ducks. We then headed to Woodburn and enjoyed the gracious hospitality of Linda Long and her father, in the company of other birders, and, at last, an all-too-brief view of the BRAMBLING. It visited the feeder at 11:00 a.m. for literally 2-3 seconds and then disappeared. Linda's feeders are among the most active and birdy feeders I've seen in a long time, so it's plenty of fun watching all the activity while waiting for the (overly shy) star of the show. THANK YOU, Linda, for being such a welcoming host! We then continued south to Benton Co. but got skunked by the Mountain Plover. The visibility was excellent at Llewellyn Road, but we could not find the bird on its December fields. There were 20 Killdeer there and a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK. We passed through Philomath and found a BLACK PHOEBE behind the house at the corner of Chapel and S. 19th Sts., where Acorn Woodpeckers were commuting between feeders and oaks and Collared Doves were hanging out looking fluffed and stuffed. I was looking forward to my first visit to the Philomath Sewage Ponds in several years, only to discover why I hadn't noticed any bird reports from there in a while -- the ponds are gone! It shows how out-of-the-loop I've been with Benton County birding, I guess. I trust the good residents of Philomath have found some other way to treat their wastewater that they just hadn't told me about. We then headed over to Bald Hill and got skunked by the Blue Jay, although we only put in 45 min. in the shady & cold late afternoon. A Pileated Woodpecker and some Myrtles were here. 5 WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were near Adair Village where Tampico Rd meets 99W, and 3 THAYER'S GULLS were at the Coffin Butte landfill ponds. In the final 45 minutes of daylight we checked Baskett Slough NWR, and I'd say there were more waterfowl present than at any other time I've visited. We made a rough estimate of about 14,000 ducks and 5,500 Cackling Geese. Most of the ducks, perhaps about 11,000, were Northern Pintail. Wish we'd had more daylight to really sort through them all. Of the 80 or more swans present, at least two were safely TRUMPETER SWANS. Eight DUNLIN were observed in flight, and on our way out east on Coville Road we saw a small group of HORNED LARKS and then 2 GREATER YELLOWLEGS on the wetland at Coville and 99W. All in all, a fun day. Jay Withgott, Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birder at iinet.com Thu Jan 12 18:44:27 2012 From: birder at iinet.com (Sherry Hagen) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:44:27 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Vancouver Tufted Duck In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: It was there in the same area this afternoon but there are around 1000 or more scaup & ducks to go through and since this bird doesn?t have a very big ?Tuft? it can be overlooked until you find it then it stands out more in the crowd. There were also Common Goldeneyes & at least one female Surf Scoter Sherry Hagen littlebirder at comcast.net Vancouver, WA From: Mike Clarke Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 9:42 AM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Vancouver Tufted Duck The Tufted Duck is currently present just off of the boat ramp at Marine Park w/ a group of Lesser Scaup. They are about 50 YDS. off shore, slowly heading east. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ 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 Thu Jan 12 19:25:31 2012 From: d_villa at mail.com (dawn) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:25:31 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Bald Eagle pair (Lincoln City) Message-ID: <20120113012531.284490@gmx.com> If you're interested, here's the sequence of the BALD EAGLE activity in the tree this morning (sorry the pix are so dark). Click on the link to see the first one, then click "Previous" for the sequence (sorry, they are backwards in my album) http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/?action=view¤t=IMG_8759_1.jpg dawn -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From watice at msn.com Thu Jan 12 19:25:49 2012 From: watice at msn.com (BILL ROSIE TICE) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:25:49 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] More on Swans Message-ID: Hi All,I was challenged by Joel's assessment that the Trumpeter Swans that historically have wintered in the southern part of the county are fanning out eastward and elsewhere. ( I wanted to prove him wrong and not see "our" trumpeters" leaving for greener grasss) Since 1/1 I have driven by Maple Grove a few times and noted a swan flock just east of the, across from where Simpson Rd meets the Airlie Rd. I was able to get there this afternoon and scope some of the flock of about 35 birds or so. I could not see most of them well as there was a line of tall grass impeding my view, but there were a few that were out in the open, and 6-7 of these were Trumpeters. So maybe there is hope that all of them will not get on the ban wagon and head elsewhere. Otherwise, there was a Peregrine where the Elkins Rd joins the Airlie Rd, and there was a Canvasback at MSP which Brandon Wagner texted me about earlier in the day. Bill Tice: Birding - The best excuse for getting outdoors, and avoiding chores. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From leavens4209 at comcast.net Thu Jan 12 19:38:53 2012 From: leavens4209 at comcast.net (Linda Leavens) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:38:53 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Vancouver Tufted Duck Message-ID: <53A4BFFE-5C7B-4957-B66C-9268087C4297@comcast.net> Apparently I was very fortunate in seeing the duck about 2pm when there were only 50 or so scaup. I was able to view it for about 15 minutes, swimming and diving. It was not there in the morning at 10am when I stopped on my way to Ridgefield. Beautiful bird. Linda From leavens4209 at comcast.net Thu Jan 12 19:58:00 2012 From: leavens4209 at comcast.net (Linda Leavens) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:58:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Revisiting Tufted Duck Message-ID: <0BE6CAB5-1437-4386-8D76-737051496E0C@comcast.net> After I posted I sat down with my larger size Sibley's that I keep at home and realized that the bird I saw looked more like the picture of Tufted Duck x Scaup Hybrid. The tuft was larger and thicker than the picture, but was definitely not a long, loose tuft. Has anyone gotten a picture of it. Linda From kcboddie at bendbroadband.com Thu Jan 12 20:49:32 2012 From: kcboddie at bendbroadband.com (Kim Boddie) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:49:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Christmas Valley Raptor Survey Message-ID: <22C5A52861154E4ABB89F1EFE0745AAC@KimPC> Lowell Franks and I conducted the ECAS Christmas Valley Raptor Survey Today. It was a Golden Day as you will see, under clear skies, no wind and temperatures from 7 to 35 degrees F. from 0830 to 1500 hours. We counted 86 raptors as follows on the route with way over 100 overall in the basin. The strange thing was we saw only 3 Robins ( they are all over the place up around Bend) and no Bluebirds or Horned Larks. The big thing was we had 21 Golden Eagles on the survey route plus another 8 outside the route. Survey count: Red-tailed Hawk 22 American Kestrel 4 Northern Harrier 1 Bald Eagle 4 adult Golden Eagle 21 Rough-legged Hawk 20 Ferruginous Hawk 4 Unidentified Buteo 7 a lot of hawks way out there Prairie Falcon 2 Cooper's Hawk 1 It was a great day to be out on the desert. Kim Boddie Bend -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffgill at teleport.com Thu Jan 12 22:19:09 2012 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:19:09 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Congratulations to Evan Cain bird photographer. Message-ID: His most excellent photographs of Least Sandpipers with their reflections in shallow water, was the photograph of the year in the contest that is sponsored by the publishers of the Chinook Observer, The Daily Astorian, and the North Coast Citizen. The contest was not limited to wildlife photographs. (I subscribe to two of those, but not The Boregonian because of its pseudo-sorts writer Cansano). His photographs were also of course properly identified as to species, which is an exception in those newspapers - though I give them credit for caring about birds. Jeff Gilligan From pointers at pacifier.com Thu Jan 12 22:49:26 2012 From: pointers at pacifier.com (Lyn Topinka) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:49:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Congratulations to Evan Cain bird photographer. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: CONGRATS to Evan !!!!!!!!!!!!! ... is there a place we can see this photograph ??? Lyn Vancouver, Washington At 08:19 PM 1/12/2012, Jeff Gilligan wrote: >His most excellent photographs of Least Sandpipers with their reflections in >shallow water, was the photograph of the year in the contest that is >sponsored by the publishers of the Chinook Observer, The Daily Astorian, and >the North Coast Citizen. The contest was not limited to wildlife >photographs. (I subscribe to two of those, but not The Boregonian because of >its pseudo-sorts writer Cansano). His photographs were also of course >properly identified as to species, which is an exception in those newspapers >- though I give them credit for caring about birds. > > >Jeff Gilligan > > > >_______________________________________________ >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 jeffgill at teleport.com Thu Jan 12 22:52:53 2012 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:52:53 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] "King" tides January 20-23, and comments about tide pool birds. Message-ID: A series of what are called ""king tides" in New Zealand and Australia (high tide cycles of extreme height that occur only once or twice per year), will begin about January 20. The reason I am posting this is that perhaps that is an opportunity that Oregon birders haven't explored fully. Elsewhere, such as California, such tide cycles are good times to look for Nelson's Seaside Sparrows, Black Rails, Clapper Rails, etc. If vagrants such as these or other surprises lurk in our salt marshes, this may be a chance for discovery. (A website is soliciting "king tide" photographs.) I have been at a rocky ocean shore location in Depoe Bay for a few days. In addition to the normal winter sea birds, there have been a few tide pool surprises. One is how frequently a Song Sparrow feeds at the edges of the pools. Another was that a Hermit Thrush did the same today. The tide pools in question are not close to trees or bushes, but instead are bordered by open ground and short grass. Similar habitat in Chile is the territory of the Seaside Cincloides, I found it a bit surprising to see these species acting much the same here. Jeff Gilligan From jeffgill at teleport.com Thu Jan 12 22:59:40 2012 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:59:40 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Congratulations to Evan Cain bird photographer. In-Reply-To: <201201122349.1rLz4W5Px3Nl34a1@mx-herron.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: I looked briefly at The Daily Astorian, but couldn't find the article. I get the Chinook Observer and North Coast Citizen by mail. I think you need to subscribe to the on-line version to see articles on-line. Jeff On 1/12/12 8:49 PM, "Lyn Topinka" wrote: > > CONGRATS to Evan !!!!!!!!!!!!! ... is there a place we can see this > photograph ??? > > Lyn > Vancouver, Washington > > > > > At 08:19 PM 1/12/2012, Jeff Gilligan wrote: >> His most excellent photographs of Least Sandpipers with their reflections in >> shallow water, was the photograph of the year in the contest that is >> sponsored by the publishers of the Chinook Observer, The Daily Astorian, and >> the North Coast Citizen. The contest was not limited to wildlife >> photographs. (I subscribe to two of those, but not The Boregonian because of >> its pseudo-sorts writer Cansano). His photographs were also of course >> properly identified as to species, which is an exception in those newspapers >> - though I give them credit for caring about birds. >> >> >> Jeff Gilligan >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 jeffgill at teleport.com Thu Jan 12 23:01:25 2012 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:01:25 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] "King" tides January 20-23, and comments about tide pool birds. (CORRECTION) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows....... On 1/12/12 8:52 PM, "Jeff Gilligan" wrote: > A series of what are called ""king tides" in New Zealand and Australia (high > tide cycles of extreme height that occur only once or twice per year), will > begin about January 20. The reason I am posting this is that perhaps that > is an opportunity that Oregon birders haven't explored fully. Elsewhere, > such as California, such tide cycles are good times to look for Nelson's > Seaside Sparrows, Black Rails, Clapper Rails, etc. If vagrants such as > these or other surprises lurk in our salt marshes, this may be a chance for > discovery. (A website is soliciting "king tide" photographs.) > > I have been at a rocky ocean shore location in Depoe Bay for a few days. In > addition to the normal winter sea birds, there have been a few tide pool > surprises. One is how frequently a Song Sparrow feeds at the edges of the > pools. Another was that a Hermit Thrush did the same today. The tide pools > in question are not close to trees or bushes, but instead are bordered by > open ground and short grass. Similar habitat in Chile is the territory of > the Seaside Cincloides, I found it a bit surprising to see these species > acting much the same here. > > > Jeff Gilligan > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From pointers at pacifier.com Thu Jan 12 23:41:38 2012 From: pointers at pacifier.com (Lyn Topinka) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:41:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Revisiting Tufted Duck In-Reply-To: <0BE6CAB5-1437-4386-8D76-737051496E0C@comcast.net> References: <0BE6CAB5-1437-4386-8D76-737051496E0C@comcast.net> Message-ID: Tufted Duck near Marine Park, Vancouver Washington, Jan.12, 2012, about 4:30 p.m. http://columbiariverimages.com/Birds/Images12Jan/vancouver_tufted_duck_01-12-12.jpg Lyn Vancouver, Washington At 05:58 PM 1/12/2012, Linda Leavens wrote: >After I posted I sat down with my larger size Sibley's that I keep >at home and realized that the bird I saw looked more like the >picture of Tufted Duck x Scaup Hybrid. The tuft was larger and >thicker than the picture, but was definitely not a long, loose >tuft. Has anyone gotten a picture of it. Linda >_______________________________________________ >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 celata at pacifier.com Thu Jan 12 23:46:53 2012 From: celata at pacifier.com (Mike Patterson) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:46:53 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Congratulations to Evan Cain bird photographer. Message-ID: <4F0FC54D.1040703@pacifier.com> Evan posted the original photos on his flickr site back when they were first taken. http://www.flickr.com/photos/townsendi/6032663855/in/set-72157625336549810 The Coastweekend contest article is at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/townsendi/6032663855/in/set-72157625336549810 -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Manx Shearwater or something like it... http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=222 From withgott at comcast.net Thu Jan 12 23:49:54 2012 From: withgott at comcast.net (Jay Withgott) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:49:54 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Correction: Philomath ponds alive and well Message-ID: My report of the death of the Philomath sewage ponds was greatly exaggerated. I have learned that I was simply looking in the wrong place. The ponds are NOT at the site on Chapel St. on the south edge of town that is all disked up where I led Andy through a gate and we stumbled over a muddy dike in order to find nothing more but a weedy field ... but instead the ponds are, astonishingly, RIGHT WHERE THEY ALWAYS WERE, a mile or two southeast of town. And I don't even need to take Doug Robinson's and Mark Nikas's word for it (though thanks to both of you for kindly pointing out my error (and Mark, for your delicious diplomacy: "I think you may have just missed [them] unless they were removed in the past week." : ) )). Indeed, a quick look at Google Maps reveals their continued existence -- as rectangular, wet, and enticing as always, and with a lovely algal bloom in the southern half of the south pond. Clearly I should not try venturing outside of my own county if I want to avoid making a fool of myself. However, in my defense, I maintain that there IS indeed something fishy going on. Google Maps reveals the field immediately north of the ponds to contain a clearly Alien-Created crop-circle-like design in the shape of a stretched out leaning saguaro or a twisted clade from a phylogenetic tree. I have no idea what it signifies, but clearly SOMETHING is up in Philomath -- I'm sure of it! Signed, Paranoid in Portland From deborah.holland at star-thrower.com Thu Jan 12 23:56:28 2012 From: deborah.holland at star-thrower.com (deborah.holland at star-thrower.com) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:56:28 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Yes, Blue Jay at Bald Hill Message-ID: <20120113055628.76D4C29D@victory.cnchost.com> After two hours of careful examination/aimless wandering around the barn and oak grove without a Blue Jay sighting, I walked back to the parking lot. As I fished for my car keys, I noticed a bird flying from the north into a line of trees, east of the parking area. It was the Blue Jay. Deb Deb Holland Newport, Oregon From range.bayer at gmail.com Fri Jan 13 00:37:16 2012 From: range.bayer at gmail.com (Range Bayer) Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:37:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Darrel Faxon Leads Jan. 21 Bird Field Trip in Lincoln Co. Message-ID: Hi, ? ? ? Saturday, Jan. 21. ?"Birding Field Trip to Ona Beach, Seal Rocks, Alsea Bay, Eckman Lake, and South Beaver Creek." ?Darrel Faxon will lead this Yaquina Birders & Naturalists field trip. ?Please wear or bring clothes for variable weather and meet at Ona Beach State Park at 7:15 AM. ?The route will be to loop to Alsea Bay and return to Ona Beach by about noon. ?This event is free and open to the public. Beginning birders are welcome. ? ?For more info, call 541-265-2965. -- Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon From jsiporin at mac.com Fri Jan 13 10:25:44 2012 From: jsiporin at mac.com (Julia Siporin) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:25:44 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] BH Grosbeak still visiting Eugene Feeder Message-ID: <23C279D8-C26E-4A99-916A-0484D2161F25@mac.com> This is the third day a female Black-Headed Grosbeak has been here. She was at the feeder at 8:05 this morning. Julia Siporin Eugene, OR From shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com Fri Jan 13 10:27:41 2012 From: shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com (Shawneen Finnegan) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:27:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] BRAMBLING still present at 8:05 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: The BRAMBLING was seen by Greg Baker and myself at 8:05 AM. There must be an accipiter somewhere as all the birds blew out of the yard a bit ago. The are trickling back in. We had a nice long look at it--like a minute or so before it was chased off its favorite feeder (corner one with the white post on top. It is chilly but as mentioned before, an amazingly birdy yard. Thanks, Linda! Shawneen Finnegan -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dpvroman at budget.net Fri Jan 13 10:51:00 2012 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis Vroman) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:51:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos Message-ID: <0AE8BA7837FA421F84B9126C1C414D9A@your4dacd0ea75> Not something that happens when your out birding everyday, Dennis http://www.utahbirds.org/ThisAndThat/SnakeRiver.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffgill at teleport.com Fri Jan 13 11:03:34 2012 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:03:34 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Brown Pelican - No. Point, Depoe Bay today (NT) Message-ID: From deweysage at frontier.com Fri Jan 13 11:11:19 2012 From: deweysage at frontier.com (DJ Lauten and KACastelein) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:11:19 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos In-Reply-To: <0AE8BA7837FA421F84B9126C1C414D9A@your4dacd0ea75> References: <0AE8BA7837FA421F84B9126C1C414D9A@your4dacd0ea75> Message-ID: <4F1065B7.20903@frontier.com> Gopher snake??? Cheers Dave Lauten On 1/13/2012 8:51 AM, Dennis Vroman wrote: > Not something that happens when your out birding everyday, Dennis > http://www.utahbirds.org/ThisAndThat/SnakeRiver.htm > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Fri Jan 13 11:23:41 2012 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:23:41 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos In-Reply-To: <4F1065B7.20903@frontier.com> Message-ID: Looks like a Gopher Snake to me. They are constrictors. The hawk looked like me in the mirror this morning. On 1/13/12 9:11 AM, "DJ Lauten and KACastelein" wrote: > Gopher snake??? > > Cheers > Dave Lauten > > > On 1/13/2012 8:51 AM, Dennis Vroman wrote: >> >> Not something that happens when your out birding everyday, Dennis >> >> >> >> http://www.utahbirds.org/ThisAndThat/SnakeRiver.htm >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 dpvroman at budget.net Fri Jan 13 11:28:12 2012 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis Vroman) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:28:12 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos References: <0AE8BA7837FA421F84B9126C1C414D9A@your4dacd0ea75> <4F1065B7.20903@frontier.com> Message-ID: <8E1575CFE4DA45A79E1A8514F306B4AC@your4dacd0ea75> I'm not an expert on snakes, but there's a lot of pattern variation with Gopher Snakes. This snake appears to have the attitude of one. Maybe there's a Snake expert lurking on OBOL that can verify it. Dennis ----- Original Message ----- From: DJ Lauten and KACastelein To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 9:11 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos Gopher snake??? Cheers Dave Lauten On 1/13/2012 8:51 AM, Dennis Vroman wrote: Not something that happens when your out birding everyday, Dennis http://www.utahbirds.org/ThisAndThat/SnakeRiver.htm _______________________________________________ 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 mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Fri Jan 13 11:35:55 2012 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:35:55 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos In-Reply-To: <0AE8BA7837FA421F84B9126C1C414D9A@your4dacd0ea75> References: <0AE8BA7837FA421F84B9126C1C414D9A@your4dacd0ea75> Message-ID: <1326476155.460.YahooMailNeo@web39702.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hello, ???? This doesn't look like a falcon to me----more like an imm. redtail----and not a very big one. This is however, a great story! Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) ________________________________ From: Dennis Vroman To: obol at oregonbirds.org Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 8:51 AM Subject: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos Not something that happens when your out birding everyday, Dennis ? http://www.utahbirds.org/ThisAndThat/SnakeRiver.htm _______________________________________________ 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 Fri Jan 13 11:47:14 2012 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:47:14 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Marine Park (Vancouver) Tufted Message-ID: This does look like a hybrid. I catch a glimpse of grey on the shoulder, where only black should be. Of course the tuft looks too solid, unwispy. What about a back-cross? The scaup traits are understated. Lars From pointers at pacifier.com Fri Jan 13 11:52:48 2012 From: pointers at pacifier.com (Lyn Topinka) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:52:48 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Marine Park (Vancouver) Tufted In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: hi ... I would think the gray in on the shoulder is more a result of lighting on the bird than actual feather colors ... Lyn At 09:47 AM 1/13/2012, Norgren Family wrote: > This does look like a hybrid. I catch >a glimpse of grey on the shoulder, where >only black should be. Of course the tuft >looks too solid, unwispy. What about a >back-cross? The scaup traits are understated. >Lars > >_______________________________________________ >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 dan-gleason at comcast.net Fri Jan 13 11:53:11 2012 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:53:11 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos In-Reply-To: <0AE8BA7837FA421F84B9126C1C414D9A@your4dacd0ea75> References: <0AE8BA7837FA421F84B9126C1C414D9A@your4dacd0ea75> Message-ID: <6A241EF1-C3B4-4D65-8028-176F68EC5953@comcast.net> These same series of photos and the same narrative, came to me a couple of weeks ago only then the claim was that they were taken along the Comal River in central Texas. Seems like there are different people wanting to take credit for this. When these were first sent to me, someone from that region of Texas said that the bird is an immature Red-shouldered Hawk. It look small, but the subspecies found there is typically smaller than ours. It most certainly is not a falcon. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason at comcast.net 541 345-0450 On Jan 13, 2012, at 8:51 AM, Dennis Vroman wrote: > Not something that happens when your out birding everyday, Dennis > > http://www.utahbirds.org/ThisAndThat/SnakeRiver.htm > _______________________________________________ > 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 Fri Jan 13 11:55:11 2012 From: rick.lumen at gmail.com (Rick Leinen) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:55:11 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: LOL! I have one of those mirrors too. Sent from my iPad On Jan 13, 2012, at 9:23 AM, Jeff Gilligan wrote: > Looks like a Gopher Snake to me. They are constrictors. The hawk looked like me in the mirror this morning. > > > On 1/13/12 9:11 AM, "DJ Lauten and KACastelein" wrote: > > Gopher snake??? > > Cheers > Dave Lauten > > > On 1/13/2012 8:51 AM, Dennis Vroman wrote: > > Not something that happens when your out birding everyday, Dennis > > > > http://www.utahbirds.org/ThisAndThat/SnakeRiver.htm > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Fri Jan 13 11:57:46 2012 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:57:46 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] All of the accipiters here! Message-ID: <1326477466.19012.YahooMailNeo@web39702.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hello, ???? This is a first for me here----and I wonder just how common this is. About an hour ago I went outside to "open up the pigeons" and was greeted by an adult female goshawk, paying close attention to what I was doing. As it moved into position for any flushing pigeons, it flushed an imm. female coopers hawk, which was hunting sparrows near the pigeon coop. Immediately after this treat, I walked 100 ft. to "open up" the chicken coop, and as I did this, I flushed an adult female sharp-shinned hawk. There was no interaction between these hawks, each giving the other a "wide berth." My question to the list: How often do you see all our accipiters at the same time? How often do you see them on the same day---(when they are not on migration)? I look forward to any replies. Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From barbara.millikan at gmail.com Fri Jan 13 12:33:53 2012 From: barbara.millikan at gmail.com (Barbara Millikan) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:33:53 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] crow roof tubing Message-ID: http://youtu.be/YP9RnDp_tms -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ac7zg at frontier.com Fri Jan 13 12:50:43 2012 From: ac7zg at frontier.com (Don Nelson) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:50:43 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Brambling Pictures from yesterday Message-ID: <1704486284.387621.1326480643917.JavaMail.root@cl07-host01.dlls.pa.frontiernet.net> Brambling present three times yesterday afternoon from 1:30 to 4:15 --- 3:04, 3:35, 4:05 Very Birdy backyard. Sharp shinned Hawk swept the area twice -- on the first pass it passed the north side of the house, around the front and into the tree on the south side just behind the feeders. Linda told me it does this often -- says it seems attracted when there are Eurasian Doves around the feeders . First three images are posted on http://www.pbase.com/donnelson/brambling More will be posted tomorrow. Thanks, Linda, for allowing all of us to share your very birdy backyard, and especially this rarity. Don Nelson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Fri Jan 13 13:05:51 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:05:51 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] three new Antarctica blog pieces posting today Message-ID: Greetings All, For those following Jim Danzenbaker and Ann Nightingale's Antarctic adventure, we have three new entries loading today. One is already up, another will go live at 12:30 and the third will post at 4:45pm. We are trying to close up the real time gap a bit after getting off to a delayed start. Today's posts will bring us up to date through 9 January. Jim and Ann continue to have some difficulty sending e-mails from the ship. On a positive note, they have been able to send new images taken on this trip, so Ann is offering some new visuals to augment the images Jim provided from earlier trips. Ann's perspective as first-timer is utterly refreshing and fun. Check in daily at: http://www.birdfellow.com/journals Dave IronsContent Editor BirdFellow.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birder at iinet.com Fri Jan 13 13:45:54 2012 From: birder at iinet.com (birder at iinet.com) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:45:54 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Two "Tufted" Ducks at Marine Park in Vancouver In-Reply-To: <20120113175329.C311F3CEDC@mx6.pacifier.net> References: <20120113175329.C311F3CEDC@mx6.pacifier.net> Message-ID: <49776.24.22.109.59.1326483954.squirrel@webmail.iinet.com> We found both "tufted" ducks at Marine Park in Vancouver this morning around 11 AM. I saw the short & heavy tufted duck (maybe a hybrid) yesterday while my husband had spotted a TUFTED DUCK and when we looked at the photo by Lyn realized there must be two different ducks and went back this morning and found both ducks. We also made the trip to see the Brambling which we saw at 10:05 AM. It had been seen at 8:05 and 9:05...wonder if it was seen at 11:05? Sherry Hagen Vancouver, WA From shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com Fri Jan 13 14:31:00 2012 From: shawneenfinnegan at gmail.com (Shawneen Finnegan) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:31:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Coffee Creek & Lake birds Message-ID: <726B31D3-5E29-4A0D-A3EE-5BAEFE0E2659@gmail.com> On our way back to Portland from seeing the BRAMBLING in Woodburn (the 8:05 and 9:05 sightings), George Neavoll and I stopped at Coffee Creek Wetlands in Wilsonville. No Swamp Sparrow or Northern Shrike that Dave Irons and Bjorn Hinrichs had seen last week. Next we stopped at Coffee Lake Wetlands and had better success. Most of the birds were in the Washington Count part of the lake and we drove part way up NW Wheatland Road and scoped from there. The lake was partially frozen so the birds were concentrated towards the west end. We had 7 TUNDRA SWANS but no Bewick's, one "EURASIAN" or "COMMON" GREEN-WINGED TEAL, one hybrid COMMON/GREEN-WINGED TEAL (had both the horizontal white stripe and a faint vertical white bar), two male CINNAMON TEAL (one adult and one first-winter which still had a lot of brown female type feathers along its flanks); and one male EURASIAN WIGEON. All in all, a very successful morning out birding. The toes have thankfully thawed out. Shawneen Finnegan Portland From mntsprg at wizzards.net Fri Jan 13 14:37:12 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:37:12 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] sharp-shinned Message-ID: finally this guy landed in a clear open spot!! http://www.shutterpoint.com/Photos-ViewPhoto.cfm?id=900069 Laura Winston -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jt_johnson at comcast.net Fri Jan 13 15:30:47 2012 From: jt_johnson at comcast.net (jt_johnson at comcast.net) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:30:47 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Vancouver, WA, Tuftish Duck Message-ID: <362359325.888994.1326490247962.JavaMail.root@sz0014a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Sherry Daubert and I checked out the Columbia at Marine Park (Vancouver, WA) at about 11:45 am today and did not see any Tufted Duck candidates at that time, however there were not many scaup within scoping range either. A surprise was when a single BARN SWALLOW flew in from the west low over the river, made a loop off the little harbor, then went back downstream. We could see masses of distant scaup further upstream, so we went up to Wintler Park. No tufty candidates there either, but there were at least 6 BARROW'S GOLDENEYES (3 males, 3 females). We returned to Marine Park just before 1:00 pm and we did see a "tufted" duck. The tuft was short and whispy (not thick), and there was some pretty obvious dark smudging along the top and hind margins of the otherwise clean white flanks. The back appeared to be black, but it's hard to say whether it was pure black or not because of the distance, low viewing angle, and lighting. I'm certainly no expert, but this bird seems consistent with an immature male TUFTED DUCK. Jim Johnson Vancouver, Washington http://nwdragonflier.blogspot.com/ http://odonata.bogfoot.net/ Jim From mariam at easystreet.net Fri Jan 13 15:42:15 2012 From: mariam at easystreet.net (Maria Michalczyk) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:42:15 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] crow roof tubing In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: That was awesome. Crows are annoying but I think one of th smartest and most resourceful birds. On Friday, January 13, 2012, Barbara Millikan wrote: > http://youtu.be/YP9RnDp_tms > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jt_johnson at comcast.net Fri Jan 13 16:30:12 2012 From: jt_johnson at comcast.net (Jim Johnson) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:30:12 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Vancouver, WA, Tuftish Duck and Barn Swallow In-Reply-To: <362359325.888994.1326490247962.JavaMail.root@sz0014a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> References: <362359325.888994.1326490247962.JavaMail.root@sz0014a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Message-ID: <000c01ccd242$ea780370$bf680a50$@net> I should have included "Barn Swallow" in the subject line of my previous e-mail since that was the real surprise of the day for us... Jim -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of jt_johnson at comcast.net Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 1:31 PM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Vancouver, WA, Tuftish Duck Sherry Daubert and I checked out the Columbia at Marine Park (Vancouver, WA) at about 11:45 am today and did not see any Tufted Duck candidates at that time, however there were not many scaup within scoping range either. A surprise was when a single BARN SWALLOW flew in from the west low over the river, made a loop off the little harbor, then went back downstream. Jim Johnson Vancouver, Washington http://nwdragonflier.blogspot.com/ http://odonata.bogfoot.net/ From hnehls6 at comcast.net Fri Jan 13 16:35:09 2012 From: hnehls6 at comcast.net (Harry Nehls) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:35:09 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Yellow-billed Loon In-Reply-To: <201201132000.q0DK0IjH006486@mxout11.cac.washington.edu> Message-ID: Just received a call from Wally Tordoff (209-605-4979) reporting a Yellow-billed Loon in the boat basin at Ilwaco, WA. Been kind of scarce this winter, but here is one at the mouth of the Columbia River. Harry Nehls Portland, Oregon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jt_johnson at comcast.net Fri Jan 13 16:38:16 2012 From: jt_johnson at comcast.net (Jim Johnson) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:38:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Revisiting Tufted Duck References: <0BE6CAB5-1437-4386-8D76-737051496E0C@comcast.net> Message-ID: <001301ccd244$0b40d8b0$21c28a10$@net> I'll just add that the bird I described from earlier today did not look like the bird pictured here. The tuft was longer (maybe about half the length of normal Tufted tuft) and thin. Much of the time it laid against the back of the head and was not visible. Jim Johnson Vancouver, Washington http://nwdragonflier.blogspot.com/ http://odonata.bogfoot.net/ -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Lyn Topinka Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2012 9:42 PM To: Linda Leavens; OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] Revisiting Tufted Duck Tufted Duck near Marine Park, Vancouver Washington, Jan.12, 2012, about 4:30 p.m. http://columbiariverimages.com/Birds/Images12Jan/vancouver_tufted_duck_01-12 -12.jpg Lyn Vancouver, Washington From pseudacris at gmail.com Fri Jan 13 16:54:02 2012 From: pseudacris at gmail.com (Josef Uyeda) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:54:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: There is no way that this series was taken on the Snake River in Washington. That is a Texas Rat Snake, and definitely not a gopher snake. The Comal River in central Texas would certainly be reasonable. Another possibility is that there is a Snake River in Texas as well, and this was misreported. Regardless of where it's from, it's an awesome series of photos! Josef Uyeda Dan Gleason Wrote: >These same series of photos and the same narrative, came to me a couple of >weeks ago only then the claim was that they were taken along the Comal River in >central Texas. Seems like there are different people wanting to take credit for >this. When these were first sent to me, someone from that region of Texas said >that the bird is an immature Red-shouldered Hawk. It look small, but the >subspecies found there is typically smaller than ours. It most certainly is not >a falcon. >Dan Gleason ------------- >Dan Gleason >dan-gleason AT comcast.net From glenn_rie at yahoo.com Fri Jan 13 16:59:32 2012 From: glenn_rie at yahoo.com (Rie Luft) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:59:32 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Bramble Message-ID: <1326495572.60638.YahooMailNeo@web122516.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Glenn and I arrived in Woodburn around 9:30 (must just have missed you, Shawneen!) and the Bramble showed up again at 10:05.? Good looks and, yes, a very birdy yard. Rie Luft, Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cathy.nowak at state.or.us Fri Jan 13 17:29:09 2012 From: cathy.nowak at state.or.us (Cathy Nowak) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:29:09 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <503161DD2F45F941BB25668E08FDACD40115B919@fwhqeb.odfw.int> Well, I feel better. I kept trying to make it a gopher snake but the head wasn't right. I was limiting myself to the choices that might be found on the Snake River in Washington, Oregon or Idaho. So, that makes red-shouldered hawk a bit more likely, too. 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 "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift." Eleanor Roosevelt -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Josef Uyeda Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 2:54 PM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos There is no way that this series was taken on the Snake River in Washington. That is a Texas Rat Snake, and definitely not a gopher snake. The Comal River in central Texas would certainly be reasonable. Another possibility is that there is a Snake River in Texas as well, and this was misreported. Regardless of where it's from, it's an awesome series of photos! Josef Uyeda Dan Gleason Wrote: >These same series of photos and the same narrative, came to me a couple of >weeks ago only then the claim was that they were taken along the Comal River in >central Texas. Seems like there are different people wanting to take credit for >this. When these were first sent to me, someone from that region of Texas said >that the bird is an immature Red-shouldered Hawk. It look small, but the >subspecies found there is typically smaller than ours. It most certainly is not >a falcon. >Dan Gleason ------------- >Dan Gleason >dan-gleason AT comcast.net _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From mntsprg at wizzards.net Fri Jan 13 19:33:32 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:33:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] did I call this in to the garden? Message-ID: I have a question about calling in birds I was trying out my new app with bird calls on my android...tried all in a group...even got a few calls back, but what I am wondering is ...did I actually use a distress song that brought the sharp shinned into the garden this close?? like using a screaming rabbit call to bring in a bear??? Laura here is a 2nd shot of the sharp shinned..head up, I think a tad better over all http://www.shutterpoint.com/Photos-ViewPhoto.cfm?id=900074 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From withgott at comcast.net Fri Jan 13 20:20:52 2012 From: withgott at comcast.net (Jay Withgott) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:20:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] TRNWR Emperor Goose this afternoon Message-ID: The Emperor Goose was in the fields across the highway from the Tualatin River NWR with about 800 Cackling Geese today at 4:00 pm. Third time's a charm. - J From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Fri Jan 13 20:39:35 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:39:35 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Birds 1/13/2012 Message-ID: <1326508775.89661.YahooMailNeo@web45305.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I decided to head over to the Coquille Valley later in the PM and enjoy the last sunny day here for a while- it was a beauty, 57F when I was there. My first stop was in Coquille to see the PALM WARBLERS that Mary Anne Sohlstrom and Patti Bernardi saw on the CV CBC. ?They had three but I only saw one the last time I was there. ?Today there were four! I also saw an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER in the same area. I then headed down to Myrtle Point to try and see the Bullock's Oriole that was coming to Rick Foster's feeder without luck. ?I saw Rick after waiting for 45 minutes and he told me he hadn't seen it since Monday. There were three Townsend's Warblers in his yard though.? I then went to Myrtle Point marsh and Johnson Mill Pond- no swallows at either place (to nice) but Johnson was loaded with ducks, at least 2000 A. Wigeon, another couple thousand coots, a Eurasian Wigeon (I didn't look hard, there had to be more) and tens of Gadwall, shovelers, 4 C. Mergansers, pintail, Ring-necks, etc. In Norway nearby I saw another Orange-crowned Warbler and 50 collared-doves, 20 Mourning Doves, and a few other of the regular suspects. Oh, earlier in the day, while working up in the Coast Range, I heard my first singing Hutton's Vireo of the year and a pygmy-owl tooting away. I'm going to miss this sunny, dry weather on the coast. Batten the hatches and get your snow gear ready! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birder at iinet.com Fri Jan 13 20:44:36 2012 From: birder at iinet.com (birder at iinet.com) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:44:36 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Vancouver, WA, Tuftish Duck In-Reply-To: <362359325.888994.1326490247962.JavaMail.root@sz0014a.emeryville.ca.ma il.comcast.net> References: <362359325.888994.1326490247962.JavaMail.root@sz0014a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Message-ID: <49505.24.22.109.59.1326509076.squirrel@webmail.iinet.com> The birds weren't there because a boat came up the river just before that and scared both Tufted Ducks (one a hybrid?? and the normal one) along with all the scaup, etc. into flight. They were both there just before 11:45 AM Sherry Hagen Vancouver, WA > Sherry Daubert and I checked out the Columbia at Marine Park (Vancouver, > WA) at about 11:45 am today and did not see any Tufted Duck candidates at > that time, however there were not many scaup within scoping range either. > A surprise was when a single BARN SWALLOW flew in from the west low over > the river, made a loop off the little harbor, then went back downstream. > > We could see masses of distant scaup further upstream, so we went up to > Wintler Park. No tufty candidates there either, but there were at least 6 > BARROW'S GOLDENEYES (3 males, 3 females). > > We returned to Marine Park just before 1:00 pm and we did see a "tufted" > duck. The tuft was short and whispy (not thick), and there was some pretty > obvious dark smudging along the top and hind margins of the otherwise > clean white flanks. The back appeared to be black, but it's hard to say > whether it was pure black or not because of the distance, low viewing > angle, and lighting. I'm certainly no expert, but this bird seems > consistent with an immature male TUFTED DUCK. > > Jim Johnson > Vancouver, Washington > http://nwdragonflier.blogspot.com/ > http://odonata.bogfoot.net/ > > Jim_______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org > From d_villa at mail.com Fri Jan 13 20:47:01 2012 From: d_villa at mail.com (dawn) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:47:01 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] Bald Eagle pair (Lincoln City) Message-ID: <20120114024701.284470@gmx.com> Thanks everyone for the helpful replies! Apparently this is an established pair in the Siletz Bay area (I see them regularly but didn't know much about mating so didn't realize they were the same individuals). I put the photos on my blog so you can see the sequence better if you're interested - it was so fun to watch. Hope someday I'll be able to see the aerial display that they do! http://dvillabirds.blogspot.com/2012/01/eagles-in-love.html dawn Lincoln City/Nelscott Sometimes things come when you stop looking -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From barbara.millikan at gmail.com Fri Jan 13 20:48:05 2012 From: barbara.millikan at gmail.com (barbara.millikan at gmail.com) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 02:48:05 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos In-Reply-To: <503161DD2F45F941BB25668E08FDACD40115B919@fwhqeb.odfw.int> Message-ID: You can also tell it's not our Snake river because we wouldn't have that much sunlight at 5 pm on Nov 19th, or someone in shorts, sandals and a tan handling the pair. Barbara On , Cathy Nowak wrote: > Well, I feel better. I kept trying to make it a gopher snake but the > head wasn't right. I was limiting myself to the choices that might be > found on the Snake River in Washington, Oregon or Idaho. > So, that makes red-shouldered hawk a bit more likely, too. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From plfer9381 at msn.com Fri Jan 13 21:07:42 2012 From: plfer9381 at msn.com (Keith Phifer) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:07:42 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Barn Swallows Douglas County Message-ID: Today around 1:30 pm there was a single barn swallow at the ponds at Fred Meyer in Roseburg. I see where Jim Johnson reported one in Vancouver and Ron Maertz says he had 2 on the coast yesterday. I hope they don't all freeze to death. Keith -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From whoffman at peak.org Fri Jan 13 21:39:57 2012 From: whoffman at peak.org (Wayne Hoffman) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:39:57 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos In-Reply-To: <503161DD2F45F941BB25668E08FDACD40115B919@fwhqeb.odfw.int> References: <503161DD2F45F941BB25668E08FDACD40115B919@fwhqeb.odfw.int> Message-ID: <028601ccd26e$3029c0e0$907d42a0$@peak.org> Hi - I do not think it is a Red-shouldered Hawk - underparts are too white. Also the feet look wrong for a Shoulder. But if it was in Texas, immature Broad-winged is a possibility. It seems to be about the right size for a Broadwing, and disheveled as it is, I do not see anything in the plumage that is really wrong. Wayne -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Cathy Nowak Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 3:29 PM To: Josef Uyeda; obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos Well, I feel better. I kept trying to make it a gopher snake but the head wasn't right. I was limiting myself to the choices that might be found on the Snake River in Washington, Oregon or Idaho. So, that makes red-shouldered hawk a bit more likely, too. 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 "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift." Eleanor Roosevelt -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Josef Uyeda Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 2:54 PM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos There is no way that this series was taken on the Snake River in Washington. That is a Texas Rat Snake, and definitely not a gopher snake. The Comal River in central Texas would certainly be reasonable. Another possibility is that there is a Snake River in Texas as well, and this was misreported. Regardless of where it's from, it's an awesome series of photos! Josef Uyeda Dan Gleason Wrote: >These same series of photos and the same narrative, came to me a couple of >weeks ago only then the claim was that they were taken along the Comal River in >central Texas. Seems like there are different people wanting to take credit for >this. When these were first sent to me, someone from that region of Texas said >that the bird is an immature Red-shouldered Hawk. It look small, but the >subspecies found there is typically smaller than ours. It most certainly is not >a falcon. >Dan Gleason ------------- >Dan Gleason >dan-gleason AT comcast.net _______________________________________________ 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 pointers at pacifier.com Fri Jan 13 22:11:51 2012 From: pointers at pacifier.com (Lyn Topinka) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:11:51 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Vancouver, WA, Tuftish Duck In-Reply-To: <49505.24.22.109.59.1326509076.squirrel@webmail.iinet.com> References: <362359325.888994.1326490247962.JavaMail.root@sz0014a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> <49505.24.22.109.59.1326509076.squirrel@webmail.iinet.com> Message-ID: hi ... I was there about 3:00, not knowing there were 2 Tufteds to look for ... but didn't matter ... nary a Scaup or Tufted in sight ... Lyn Vancouver, Washington At 06:44 PM 1/13/2012, birder at iinet.com wrote: >The birds weren't there because a boat came up the river just before that >and scared both Tufted Ducks (one a hybrid?? and the normal one) along >with all the scaup, etc. into flight. They were both there just before >11:45 AM > >Sherry Hagen >Vancouver, WA > > > Sherry Daubert and I checked out the Columbia at Marine Park (Vancouver, > > WA) at about 11:45 am today and did not see any Tufted Duck candidates at > > that time, however there were not many scaup within scoping range either. > > A surprise was when a single BARN SWALLOW flew in from the west low over > > the river, made a loop off the little harbor, then went back downstream. > > > > We could see masses of distant scaup further upstream, so we went up to > > Wintler Park. No tufty candidates there either, but there were at least 6 > > BARROW'S GOLDENEYES (3 males, 3 females). > > > > We returned to Marine Park just before 1:00 pm and we did see a "tufted" > > duck. The tuft was short and whispy (not thick), and there was some pretty > > obvious dark smudging along the top and hind margins of the otherwise > > clean white flanks. The back appeared to be black, but it's hard to say > > whether it was pure black or not because of the distance, low viewing > > angle, and lighting. I'm certainly no expert, but this bird seems > > consistent with an immature male TUFTED DUCK. > > > > Jim Johnson > > Vancouver, Washington > > http://nwdragonflier.blogspot.com/ > > http://odonata.bogfoot.net/ > > > > Jim_______________________________________________ > > 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 Lyn Topinka http://EnglishRiverWebsite.com http://ColumbiaRiverImages.com http://RidgefieldBirds.com From forrest.english at gmail.com Fri Jan 13 22:17:27 2012 From: forrest.english at gmail.com (Forrest English) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:17:27 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] did I call this in to the garden? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Sometimes it does seem to work that way, I've pished in Cooper's Hawks before. On Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 5:33 PM, Laura Mountainspring wrote: > I have a question about calling in birds > I was trying out my new app with bird calls on my android...tried all in a > group...even got a few calls back, but what I am wondering is ...did I > actually use a distress song that brought the sharp shinned into the garden > this close?? like using a screaming rabbit call to bring in a bear??? > Laura > > here is a 2nd shot of the sharp shinned..head up, I think a tad better > over all > > http://www.shutterpoint.com/Photos-ViewPhoto.cfm?id=900074 > > _______________________________________________ > 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 dan-gleason at comcast.net Fri Jan 13 22:29:09 2012 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:29:09 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos In-Reply-To: <028601ccd26e$3029c0e0$907d42a0$@peak.org> References: <503161DD2F45F941BB25668E08FDACD40115B919@fwhqeb.odfw.int> <028601ccd26e$3029c0e0$907d42a0$@peak.org> Message-ID: <17254779-4ED3-4D7A-ACB2-7B794FEB4375@comcast.net> Dick Musser asked me about the Red-shouldered ID. When I first saw the photos, I also thought of an immature Broad-winged Hawk, but Red-shouldered does seem to fit as well. Here is the response I sent to Dick Musser a few moments ago. When these photos were first sent to me a couple of weeks ago, it was with the question "what is this bird?" The person asking knew it was not a falcon and that it looked like a small Buteo, but she was puzzled. Since it was then identified as having come from central Texas (not the Snake River of the west), I was trying to find something that could be present there. The plumage is so wet and matted that ID is hard. Someone suggested a young Zone-tailed Hawk, but they rarely reach Texas, the eye color is all wrong and there is to my eye, too much brown and streaking for white-morph Zone-tailed (and dark morph looks nothing like this). Roadside Hawk seemed like it might fit, but again, I think one would be very rare in Texas. Their normal range in Mexico is still well south of Texas. My guess was a young Broad-winged Hawk. It was someone who lives in central Texas who said that it was a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk. That seems to fit well for me. The eye color is right, there are light underparts with brown streaks and brown patterning over the back, something that is consistent with eastern juvenile Red-shouldered Hawks. Western juveniles tend to look more barred than streaked. (A hard distinction to make with this wet plumage.) At first, I ruled that out because the bird looked too small, but I realized later that Red-shouldered Hawks in the south are the smallest of the Red-shouldered Hawks, about the size of a Broad-winged. Also, Red-shouldered Hawks frequently take snakes. I can see a juvenile making a mistake like this, where an adult would probably know better. The date on the photos is 11/19/2011 so hatching years birds would still probably have much of the juvenile plumage showing. Unless a better assessment is made, Red-shouldered Hawk did seem to be the best fit with the information available. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason at comcast.net 541 345-0450 On Jan 13, 2012, at 7:39 PM, Wayne Hoffman wrote: > Hi - > > I do not think it is a Red-shouldered Hawk - underparts are too white. > Also the feet look wrong for a Shoulder. But if it was in Texas, immature > Broad-winged is a possibility. It seems to be about the right size for a > Broadwing, and disheveled as it is, I do not see anything in the plumage > that is really wrong. > > Wayne > > -----Original Message----- > From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On > Behalf Of Cathy Nowak > Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 3:29 PM > To: Josef Uyeda; obol at oregonbirds.org > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos > > Well, I feel better. I kept trying to make it a gopher snake but the head > wasn't right. I was limiting myself to the choices that might be found on > the Snake River in Washington, Oregon or Idaho. > > So, that makes red-shouldered hawk a bit more likely, too. > > 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 > > "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift." Eleanor > Roosevelt > > -----Original Message----- > From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] > On Behalf Of Josef Uyeda > Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 2:54 PM > To: obol at oregonbirds.org > Subject: Re: [OBOL] Tall Tail...check these photos > > There is no way that this series was taken on the Snake River in Washington. > That is a Texas Rat Snake, and definitely not a gopher snake. The Comal > River in central Texas would certainly be reasonable. > Another possibility is that there is a Snake River in Texas as well, and > this was misreported. Regardless of where it's from, it's an awesome series > of photos! > > Josef Uyeda > > > Dan Gleason Wrote: > >> These same series of photos and the same narrative, came to me a couple > of >> weeks ago only then the claim was that they were taken along the Comal > River in >> central Texas. Seems like there are different people wanting to take > credit for >> this. When these were first sent to me, someone from that region of > Texas said >> that the bird is an immature Red-shouldered Hawk. It look small, but > the >> subspecies found there is typically smaller than ours. It most > certainly is not >> a falcon. > > >> Dan Gleason > ------------- >> Dan Gleason >> dan-gleason AT comcast.net > > _______________________________________________ > 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 From robin_birder at hotmail.com Fri Jan 13 22:35:23 2012 From: robin_birder at hotmail.com (Rob Conway) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 04:35:23 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] "King" tides January 20-23, and comments about tide pool birds. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: These "King tide" events are the only times I have seen California Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris obsoletus) and California Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus) when they have been driven to open ground in marshlands around San Francisco Bay (Oakland Estuary and Palo Alto Baylands respectively). Unfortunately the single Black Rail was gobbled up by a Great Blue Heron after about only 30 seconds of scurrying between the flooded intertidal zone and a raised path. Both of these birds are endangered and highly secretive, so seeing them was thrilling. These tides really are a great opportunity to see "hidden" birds almost everywhere they occur - thanks for the heads up Jeff. Rob Conway SW Portland 45.46?N 122.68?W (Elev. 473ft) robin_birder at hotmail.com > Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:52:53 -0800 > From: jeffgill at teleport.com > To: obol at oregonbirds.org > Subject: [OBOL] "King" tides January 20-23, and comments about tide pool birds. > > A series of what are called ""king tides" in New Zealand and Australia (high > tide cycles of extreme height that occur only once or twice per year), will > begin about January 20. The reason I am posting this is that perhaps that > is an opportunity that Oregon birders haven't explored fully. Elsewhere, > such as California, such tide cycles are good times to look for Nelson's > Seaside Sparrows, Black Rails, Clapper Rails, etc. If vagrants such as > these or other surprises lurk in our salt marshes, this may be a chance for > discovery. (A website is soliciting "king tide" photographs.) > > I have been at a rocky ocean shore location in Depoe Bay for a few days. In > addition to the normal winter sea birds, there have been a few tide pool > surprises. One is how frequently a Song Sparrow feeds at the edges of the > pools. Another was that a Hermit Thrush did the same today. The tide pools > in question are not close to trees or bushes, but instead are bordered by > open ground and short grass. Similar habitat in Chile is the territory of > the Seaside Cincloides, I found it a bit surprising to see these species > acting much the same here. > > > Jeff Gilligan > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hatlevis at comcast.net Fri Jan 13 22:37:51 2012 From: hatlevis at comcast.net (Susan) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:37:51 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Evan Cain photos Message-ID: <4F11069F.1050802@comcast.net> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lindaphelanlmt at gmail.com Fri Jan 13 22:51:22 2012 From: lindaphelanlmt at gmail.com (linda phelan thompson) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:51:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Rough-legged Hawk @ Scappoose bottoms Message-ID: Dear OBOLers, I've read a few reports of a Golden Eagle, and I went out to Scappoose and looked for it. I hadn't birded out there, but I google mapped it and found it okay. It was initially bright sunshine, which gave way to clouds, but I hardly noticed it. On Dike rd there were Kestrels every half mile or so, Harriers working the fields, Sandhill Cranes having fun in the corn fields, and robins and song birds aplenty. I even saw an adult Bald Eagle with a juvenile a few trees down. What a place! Out on Honeyman I found a place to pull over and take a few notes. When I finished I figured I'd look around a moment, and then a Red Tail flew low up the irrigation ditch, and then low along the grass. I hadn't seen that before, but I saw it again later on. Then I noticed another Red Tail up in a tree, they were everywhere, then a majestic bird flew directly over me, which I then followed with my binoculars, and I think there's a pretty good chance it was a Gyrfalcon. It wasn't an eagle, it seemed more substantial than a Red Tail, but it was the steady, substantial wing beat that reminded me of the report and photos near Hillsboro of a suspected Gyrfalcon. The more I recount my memory, the more I think I may have experienced something I didn't expect at all. Further down Honeyman a Rough-Legged Hawk landed in a tree right next to the road, which I got to watch for quite awhile before it took off for the field. This individual has a somewhat blotchy white head whose white color circles all the way around and down to the breast. It is a gorgeous bird. So I missed the golden eagle, but had a great first Rough-legged, and I think, Gyrfalcon. Maybe others will be fortunate enough to catch sight of this, I think it was a grey morph. Kesrtrels 9 Sandhill Cranes 30+ Red Tail Hawks 6 Rock Doves 12ish Robins 56+ Red Shouldered Hawk 1 (on Cornelius Pass, So. of Skyline) Northern Harriers 3 Bald Eagles 3 adults 1 juvenile Gyrfalcon 1 Rough-Legged Hawk 1 Black Tail Deer 3 Snow-covered Mountains 3 St Helen's, Hood, Adams It may be too easy to take for granted what a beautiful place we live in. Linda Tigard, Fanno Creek Greenway -- *Linda Lee* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pointers at pacifier.com Fri Jan 13 22:52:01 2012 From: pointers at pacifier.com (Lyn Topinka) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:52:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Scappoose Bottoms --- WOW ... In-Reply-To: <20120114041306.7D5893CDA0@mx6.pacifier.net> References: <362359325.888994.1326490247962.JavaMail.root@sz0014a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> <49505.24.22.109.59.1326509076.squirrel@webmail.iinet.com> <20120114041306.7D5893CDA0@mx6.pacifier.net> Message-ID: hi all ... Gene and I headed back to Scappoose Bottoms today to explore the area more ... it was a GREAT "rator-ous" and "golden" day !!!!! ... we saw a GOLDEN EAGLE --- my first !!!!!!! ... it was so nice to finally see that white/dark-edged tail that everyone mentions ... I also got to see his eyeballs as he swept low over the car !!! ... we also had two mature Bald Eagles, TWO Rough-legged Hawks which were battling overhead, numerous Red-tails including one gorgeous Rufous-morphed, numerous Harriers, and one lonely Kestrel ... we walked some on the Crown Zellerback trail and hoped to re-discover the Brambling (no luck) ... we also discovered the McDonalds in town AND we made it back across the I-5 bridge before friday rush-hour traffic !!! ... I've seen all the references on OBOL to Scappoose Bottoms but until this week had never really gone out there before ... definitely want to go back again ... neat place ... my thanks to John Gatchet and Bobbett Pierce for helping us to familiarize ourselves with the area ... later, Lyn Vancouver Lyn Topinka http://EnglishRiverWebsite.com http://ColumbiaRiverImages.com http://RidgefieldBirds.com From jblowers at ix.netcom.com Fri Jan 13 23:11:05 2012 From: jblowers at ix.netcom.com (Joseph Blowers) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:11:05 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Woodburn Brambling Update Message-ID: <7C20BBCC-02EF-40A1-897F-742148E92CDF@ix.netcom.com> The Brambling was last seen about 4:00 PM today, Jan. 13. Linda Long's backyard (1015 Orchard Ln., Woodburn) will continue to be available on a limited basis. Linda is returning to work for the next four days. Her parents, who also live in the house, are hard of hearing, so they may not respond to the doorbell when Linda is absent. Basically, if the backyard gate located beside the house is open, please feel free to enter the backyard, take a seat in a lawn chair, and watch the feeders for the Brambling. If the gate is shut, please consider the backyard off limits. Linda will be home Wed. through Friday of next week, so those would be good days to visit. Joe Blowers Sent from my iPod From mntsprg at wizzards.net Fri Jan 13 23:22:21 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:22:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Woodburn Brambling Update In-Reply-To: <7C20BBCC-02EF-40A1-897F-742148E92CDF@ix.netcom.com> References: <7C20BBCC-02EF-40A1-897F-742148E92CDF@ix.netcom.com> Message-ID: <57E38E91901C48BEAF671984C0AEE2CB@MitherPC> does anyone know if Linda would except donations of bird seed IF one were to visit her grounds??? Laura -----Original Message----- From: Joseph Blowers Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 9:11 PM To: OBOL Subject: [OBOL] Woodburn Brambling Update The Brambling was last seen about 4:00 PM today, Jan. 13. Linda Long's backyard (1015 Orchard Ln., Woodburn) will continue to be available on a limited basis. Linda is returning to work for the next four days. Her parents, who also live in the house, are hard of hearing, so they may not respond to the doorbell when Linda is absent. Basically, if the backyard gate located beside the house is open, please feel free to enter the backyard, take a seat in a lawn chair, and watch the feeders for the Brambling. If the gate is shut, please consider the backyard off limits. Linda will be home Wed. through Friday of next week, so those would be good days to visit. Joe Blowers Sent from my iPod _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From ac7zg at frontier.com Fri Jan 13 23:35:49 2012 From: ac7zg at frontier.com (Don) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:35:49 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Woodburn Brambling Update In-Reply-To: <57E38E91901C48BEAF671984C0AEE2CB@MitherPC> References: <7C20BBCC-02EF-40A1-897F-742148E92CDF@ix.netcom.com> <57E38E91901C48BEAF671984C0AEE2CB@MitherPC> Message-ID: <012901ccd27e$602e48a0$208ad9e0$@com> Brambling was eating only shelled sunflower seed yesterday (based upon what was in the bill in the images I made). Cash donations might be a good alternative? -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org [mailto:obol-bounces at oregonbirds.org] On Behalf Of Laura Mountainspring Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 9:22 PM To: Joseph Blowers Cc: OBOL Subject: Re: [OBOL] Woodburn Brambling Update does anyone know if Linda would except donations of bird seed IF one were to visit her grounds??? Laura -----Original Message----- From: Joseph Blowers Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 9:11 PM To: OBOL Subject: [OBOL] Woodburn Brambling Update The Brambling was last seen about 4:00 PM today, Jan. 13. Linda Long's backyard (1015 Orchard Ln., Woodburn) will continue to be available on a limited basis. Linda is returning to work for the next four days. Her parents, who also live in the house, are hard of hearing, so they may not respond to the doorbell when Linda is absent. Basically, if the backyard gate located beside the house is open, please feel free to enter the backyard, take a seat in a lawn chair, and watch the feeders for the Brambling. If the gate is shut, please consider the backyard off limits. Linda will be home Wed. through Friday of next week, so those would be good days to visit. Joe Blowers Sent from my iPod _______________________________________________ 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 hatlevis at comcast.net Sat Jan 14 00:16:12 2012 From: hatlevis at comcast.net (Susan) Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:16:12 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Salishan Snowy Owl Message-ID: <4F111DAC.1000802@comcast.net> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wlrisser at gmail.com Sat Jan 14 08:31:30 2012 From: wlrisser at gmail.com (William Risser) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 06:31:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] donations to Linda Long and the brambling are good Message-ID: The Kohls and we made a cash donation to Linda after seeing the brambling, and she gratefully accepted. Jan and Will Risser, Portland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Oropendolas at aol.com Sat Jan 14 10:43:49 2012 From: Oropendolas at aol.com (Oropendolas at aol.com) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:43:49 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] Raptor Survey: Lane Unit 2 Message-ID: <3f94d.1780ca59.3c430ac5@aol.com> Hello All, I ran the route for the second time this season yesterday. The 82 mile route took 5 hours, covers the West Eugene Wetlands area and north between Green Hill Road and River Road to Hwy 36 near Junction City then between Hwy 99W and Washburn Road to the Lane County line. Numbers dropped from last month's all-time high count, but Red-tail numbers are still above average. Here are yesterday's numbers along with averages from 2003 - 2011. Red-tail Hawk - 54 / 36.3 American Kestrel - 36 / 42.7 Northern Harrier - 14 / 11.0 White-tailed Kite - 4 / 4.5 Red-shouldered Hawk - 1 / .5 Bald Eagle - 6 Adults / 4.9 Rough-legged Hawk - 1 / 1.5 Cooper's Hawk - 1 / 1.0 Good Birding, John Sullivan Springfield, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Oropendolas at aol.com Sat Jan 14 10:50:23 2012 From: Oropendolas at aol.com (Oropendolas at aol.com) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:50:23 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] Fern Ridge Kite Roost Message-ID: <3fc3a.4991ffd.3c430c4f@aol.com> Hello All, There were 26 WHITE-TAILED KITES in the roost North of the Royal Avenue parking lot at dusk last night. Good Birding, John Sullivan Springfield, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acontrer56 at gmail.com Sat Jan 14 11:08:01 2012 From: acontrer56 at gmail.com (Alan Contreras) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:08:01 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] "Next Bird" article in Oregon Birds Message-ID: I was asked by an Oregon Birds subscriber to explain a couple of things about the article "Predicting the next Oregon bird" that appeared in the last issue of OB. "You say that the votes in 2007 were weighted, but you don't explain the weighting system. How did that work? Did you compile a list of candidate species, then put it out there for a second round of voting? Were the weights 5,4,3,2,1? Was the same system used in 2011?" YES, IT WAS A 5-4-3-2-1 SYSTEM USING A SINGLE ROUND OF VOTING AND IS THE SAME AS USED IN 2011. "I'm totally confused by the table on page 78. What are the three columns of numbers next to the bird names? The first column is labeled 2007. Are the numbers the ranking of the species in that survey? If so, where is #4, #5, etc? Or is it something else?" THIS COLUMN IS NOT ACCURATE. I AM NOT SURE WHAT I DID TO SCREW IT UP. I WILL INCLUDE THE ACTUAL 2007 NUMBERS AT THE END FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED. "The second column labeled "V" seems straightforward, the number of voters selecting the species in their top 5. The third column is labeled "Tot." Is that total votes in 2011? If so, what was the weight? How many votes were possible? If all 28 voters ranked a species #1, would it have received 28 X 5 =140 votes?" YES, THAT IS HOW IT WORKED, USING A 5-4-3-2-1 SYSTEM. 2007 RESULTS BELOW 24 birders cast 5 weighted votes each in early November, 2007 for their top five birds most likely to be added to the Oregon list. The top 10, with cumulated vote totals (left) and number of first-place votes (in parentheses right), are: 30 Black Vulture (3) 26 Siberian Accentor (1) 26 White-eyed Vireo (3) 25 Black Skimmer (2) 20 Greater Shearwater (2) 18 Cave Swallow (2) 17 Lesser Nighthawk (1) 13 Common Greenshank (2) 13 Black-tailed Gull (2) 12 Gray-tailed Tattler Others receiving at least five points or votes from at least two people, with their totals (and first-place votes), are: 11 Fork-tailed Flycatcher 11 YC Nightheron (1) 10 Temminck's Stint 9 N Sharptail Sparrow (1) 8 BB Cuckoo 8 Craveri's Murrelet 8 Wood Stork (1) 7 Yg Vireo (1) 6 Bean Goose (1) 6 Mississippi Kite 5 Chimney Swift (1) 5 Great BB Gull 4 Great-cr Fly 4 Cassin's Sparrow 4 Eurasian Kestrel 4 Cerulean Warbler 2 Field Sparrow 2 Dusky Warbler The remaining species receiving votes are: 4 Brown Shrike 3 Sulphur-b Flycatch 3 Parkinson's Petrel 2 Far Eastern Curlew 2 Sky Lark 2 Northern Hobby 2 YB Magpie 2 Great-winged Petrel 2 Am Oystercatcher 1 Yellow-bellied Fly 1 Dusky Thrush 1 Xantus's Hummer 1 Lesser Frigatebird 1 Least Storm-Petrel 1 Red-faced Warbler 1 Henslow's Sparrow 1 Ivory Gull -- Alan Contreras Medford, Oregon acontrer56 at gmail.com From watice at msn.com Sat Jan 14 11:32:22 2012 From: watice at msn.com (BILL ROSIE TICE) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:32:22 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Owl Question Message-ID: Hi All,The last 2 evenings I have been to a few places where various species of owls have been reliable, only to come up completely empty, not even a Great Horned Owl. It was clear and moonless. Does anyone have any thoughts on why owls were quiet? In past years, on the Dallas CBC (late Decembers) , I have had Great Horned, Screech and Long Eared Owls vocal, so it seems strange that they were quiet. Bill Tice: Birding - The best excuse for getting outdoors, and avoiding chores. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kolwicz at minetfiber.com Sat Jan 14 11:46:37 2012 From: kolwicz at minetfiber.com (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:46:37 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Take a guess Message-ID: <4F11BF7D.5030406@minetfiber.com> I very briefly saw a bird in front of my bay window that struck me as a Yellow-rumped Warbler: evenly gray all over, like a Bushtit, but sleek like a YRW and I could not see any yellow anywhere on it, nor the contrasty wing bars and breast stripes for the few seconds it was in view. Does that sound like anything else? Note that the lighting is very dark and overcast this morning, so colors are generally rather dim and the bird could have shadings of green or brown and I probably would not notice. The bird was rather nervous hanging around in the bushes and the magnolia near the Hummingbird feeder that the Townsend's and Yellow-rumps monopolize. Frank in Monmouth From llsdirons at msn.com Sat Jan 14 12:24:10 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:24:10 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Fern Ridge Kite Roost In-Reply-To: <3fc3a.4991ffd.3c430c4f@aol.com> References: <3fc3a.4991ffd.3c430c4f@aol.com> Message-ID: Wow, this tally is very near if not a record for Royal. Dave Irons Portland, OR From: Oropendolas at aol.com Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:50:23 -0500 To: OBOL at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Fern Ridge Kite Roost Hello All, There were 26 WHITE-TAILED KITES in the roost North of the Royal Avenue parking lot at dusk last night. Good Birding, John Sullivan Springfield, 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 Sat Jan 14 12:34:20 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:34:20 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Vancouver Tufted Duck and Tufted Duck X ??? (probably scaup) Message-ID: Shawneen and I just got back from a quick pre-work run to Vancouver to see the TUFTED DUCK and the hybrid. We found both. The "hybrid" suggests Tufted Duck X Scaup (I would lean towards Lesser). The partial tuft (when not being blown up by the wind) looks nearly identical to tuft on the hybrid illustration in Sibley. The sides of this bird are dingier, approximating the flank color of the dingier male Greater and Lesser Scaup in the swarm. We had the birds just off Marine Park (pure Tufted Duck) and along the river straight south of the park at the Water Resources Education center (hybrid). Both of these sites are along Columbia Drive. There were also at least two Barrow's (one male, one female) Goldeneyes and several Common Goldeneyes along this section of the river. In all, we had about 3000 scaup which by my estimation were 80/20 Greater to Lessers. They were actively feeding, all coming up with mussels/mollusks. Dave Irons Portland, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From holly.reinhard at gmail.com Sat Jan 14 13:03:29 2012 From: holly.reinhard at gmail.com (Holly Reinhard) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:03:29 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tropical Kingbird, Newport Message-ID: Obol: Has anyone seen (or tried and failed to see) the Tropical Kingbird at Newport lately? The last Obol message I have about it was from the CBC on New Year's Day. Or for that matter, if anyone has other reports of interesting birds in Newport, please let me know. Thanks, Holly Reinhard Corvallis, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Oropendolas at aol.com Sat Jan 14 13:35:02 2012 From: Oropendolas at aol.com (Oropendolas at aol.com) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:35:02 -0500 (EST) Subject: [OBOL] Fern Ridge Kite Roost Message-ID: <441c4.6f3e8b00.3c4332e6@aol.com> Hello Dave and All, I'm not the best record keeper, but high counts I have for the Royal Kite roost are: Jan. 13, 2012 - 26 Oct. 30, 2009 - 26 Dec. 20, 2003 - 24 Jan. 02, 2004 - 19 Dec. 26, 2003 - 13 Nov. 14, 2009 - 12 Jan. 02, 2010 - 10 Good Birding, John Sullivan Springfield, OR In a message dated 1/14/2012 10:24:11 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, llsdirons at msn.com writes: Wow, this tally is very near if not a record for Royal. Dave Irons Portland, OR ____________________________________ From: Oropendolas at aol.com Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:50:23 -0500 To: OBOL at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Fern Ridge Kite Roost Hello All, There were 26 WHITE-TAILED KITES in the roost North of the Royal Avenue parking lot at dusk last night. Good Birding, John Sullivan Springfield, 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 jeffharding at centurytel.net Sat Jan 14 13:42:43 2012 From: jeffharding at centurytel.net (Jeff Harding) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:42:43 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Pied Harlan's Hawk near Crabtree, Linn County Message-ID: There was an interesting almost-black and white mottled Harlan's Hawk at the corner of Richardson's Gap and Fish Hatchery Drive near Crabtree, Linn County this morning. I have a photo from this morning here: https://picasaweb.google.com/106965511049981757965/Raptors#56975661884695243 86 Also in the album are some photos I took of (presumably) the same bird in 2009 when it was nearby on Freeman Road just north of Fish Hatchery Drive. Bill Thackaberry and I saw the bird at the present location the next winter, in 2010, but we did not find it last winter. It was nice to see again. I was in the area looking for the White-tailed Kite reported on the Mid-Valley List by Amber Beck, but failed to locate it. One of their neighbors said they saw it yesterday, though, so I'll look again. Good birding, Jeff -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From uuspirit at yahoo.com Sat Jan 14 13:59:31 2012 From: uuspirit at yahoo.com (Mary Reese) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:59:31 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Emperor Goose still at Tualatin NWR, Saturday 1/14 8:00am Message-ID: <1326571171.72306.YahooMailNeo@web120705.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Got up at the crack of dawn to find the EMPEROR GOOSE at Tualatin NWR. We were on the observation deck between the two buildings, looking at thousands of Cacklers and Canadas, but not finding the Emperor. Then almost all of the geese flew away and we thought we were sunk. Just as we were about to leave (around 8:00am), Jim spotted the Emperor back behind the grasses with a bunch of Pintails and a small handful of Cacklers that had not flown. The Emperor casually foraged and swam closer & closer to the deck, affording everyone great views. So our tip is this - don't automatically assume that the Emperor joins the morning fly-out. Keep looking. He's hard to spot - the white on the head is not bright & sparkling like in the book. It's more tan, so he blends in. And I was not prepared for how small he is. Other birds seen: Northern Shoveler Bufflehead MallardBald Eagle Great Blue Heron Happy Emperor Viewing! Mary Reese & Jim Allen Portland / Gresham, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ensatina3 at hotmail.com Sat Jan 14 14:10:34 2012 From: ensatina3 at hotmail.com (Bobbett Pierce) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:10:34 -0500 Subject: [OBOL] 4 grosbeaks Message-ID: I had four male EVENING GROSBEAKS at a feeder a short while ago -- the most at once so far this season. Meager compared to the 30-50 I have been getting every winter, but they are so showy any number brightens the yard. Anyone got a European beech tree nearby? I read online that bramblings favor the seeds. An offering might make Linda's brambling feel right at home. Lona Pierce, Warren -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From brandon.green18 at gmail.com Sat Jan 14 14:31:35 2012 From: brandon.green18 at gmail.com (Brandon Green) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:31:35 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Emperor Goose photos? Message-ID: If anybody was able to digiscope a decent photo of the Tualatin NWR Emperor Goose, Oregon Birds would be interested in publishing it. Brandon Green Photo Editor, Oregon Birds From greg at thebirdguide.com Sat Jan 14 14:41:13 2012 From: greg at thebirdguide.com (Greg Gillson) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:41:13 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Oregon 2012 pelagic trip schedule Message-ID: <4435B23872DB4C448AE0881F940482A3@GregPC> The Bird Guide?s pelagic schedule is now online. http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/ The schedule is pretty much the same as it has been the past few years?3 spring trips (March-May) and 6 autumn trips (July-October), including a deep water trip and a shorter trip for the Oregon Shorebird Festival. If you are searching for a particular species, then you want to look at the abundance bar chart, annotated checklist: http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/bar_chart.htm http://thebirdguide.com/pelagics/annotated_checklist.htm Many trips have early signup discounts. The discount will be ending soon for our first trip, March 10th. This trip targets LAYSAN ALBATROSSES, ANCIENT MURRELETS, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, and RHINOCEROS AUKLETS with a chance also for SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS. Rare birds on some March trips have included MANX SHEARWATER (twice), SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSS (twice), and HORNED PUFFIN (7 birds once). Plan you trips now?several trips will fill early (August deep water and August Shorebird Festival trips, especially). Greg Gillson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sylviam at clearwire.net Sat Jan 14 14:57:58 2012 From: sylviam at clearwire.net (Sylvia Maulding) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:57:58 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eugene Osprey Message-ID: I had an OSPREY fly over Hwy 105 in Eugene today about 12:15. It flew from the area of the stadium heading north. -- Sylvia Maulding Springfield, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From stewart at gorge.net Sat Jan 14 15:35:53 2012 From: stewart at gorge.net (Catherine Flick & Stewart Fletcher) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:35:53 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Brant - Deschutes R State Park Message-ID: <38DFD545A09848AE9E0CF3BDD901E549@HAL> Jan 13 and 14, 2012: Brant - 1 adult (Black) with a group of 46 Canada Goose eating lawn grass next to pedestrian trailhead, Deschutes River State Park. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pointers at pacifier.com Sat Jan 14 15:49:47 2012 From: pointers at pacifier.com (Lyn Topinka) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:49:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Golden Eagle "eye-to-eye" ... In-Reply-To: <4435B23872DB4C448AE0881F940482A3@GregPC> References: <4435B23872DB4C448AE0881F940482A3@GregPC> Message-ID: hi all ... our Golden Eagle from Scappoose Bottoms yesterday ... 400mm lens, cropped as close as can be ... day was high overcast ... this bird was a "lifer" for me !!!!!!!!!!!! ... "eye-to-eye" ... http://columbiariverimages.com/Birds/Images12Jan/scappoose_bottoms_golden_eagle_eye-to-eye_01-13-12.jpg in tree ... http://columbiariverimages.com/Birds/Images12Jan/scappoose_bottoms_golden_eagle_01-13-12.jpg "Calumet Eagle" http://columbiariverimages.com/Birds/Images12Jan/scappoose_bottoms_golden_eagle_flying_01-13-12.jpg enjoy, Lyn Lyn Topinka http://EnglishRiverWebsite.com http://ColumbiaRiverImages.com http://RidgefieldBirds.com From st.murphy at comcast.net Sat Jan 14 15:57:52 2012 From: st.murphy at comcast.net (S Murphy) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:57:52 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Back yard rare birds and donations Message-ID: Thanks to those who brought up the issue of giving donations to these folks who host rare birds, then host the birders who pursue them. I offered a cash donation on Weds after enjoying the backyard hospitality in the freezing cold, and Linda reluctantly accepted it. I think it is a good practice for birders in general to consider supporting these folks as everyone knows the price of seed has increased. If every birder left $5 on the table where they had a guest book, that feeding station would be supported through the winter. Its another way of participating and showing appreciation, some might even say good manners. I?ve had folks decline in the past as well, but still appreciate the offer. Suzy Murphy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pointers at pacifier.com Sat Jan 14 16:15:05 2012 From: pointers at pacifier.com (Lyn Topinka) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:15:05 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Back yard rare birds and donations In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: if leaving money sounds too impersonal then perhaps bring a small gift like a bag of seed ... I took a suet block which I handed to Linda with my words of appreciation ... she readily accepted it and seemed genuinely pleased ... sure, not alot of value but any little bit helps feed the birds ... and a bag of seed or suet block or something else the birds can eat for some people might be perhaps a little less awkward than handing money ... Lyn At 01:57 PM 1/14/2012, S Murphy wrote: >Thanks to those who brought up the issue of >giving donations to these folks who host rare >birds, then host the birders who pursue them. >I offered a cash donation on Weds after enjoying >the backyard hospitality in the freezing cold, >and Linda reluctantly accepted it. I think it is >a good practice for birders in general to >consider supporting these folks as everyone >knows the price of seed has increased. If every >birder left $5 on the table where they had a >guest book, that feeding station would be >supported through the winter. Its another way of >participating and showing appreciation, some >might even say good manners. I???ve had folks >decline in the past as well, but still appreciate the offer. Suzy Murphy >_______________________________________________ >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 alex at bark-out.org Sat Jan 14 16:16:22 2012 From: alex at bark-out.org (Alex Brown) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:16:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] orange crowned warbler, white throated sparrow in SE Pdx Message-ID: <266D143E6ABA8B478D9EF666938934580D67DEC0B7@sbs01> Hi all, first posting. New birds in our backyard near SE 39th and Powell Blvd as of today: ORANGE CROWNED WARBLER YELLOW RUMPED WARBLER Not new but also fun seen today: WHITE THROATED SPARROW TOWNSENDS WARBER (female) RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET tons of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Sat Jan 14 16:33:07 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:33:07 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos Birds 1/14/2012 Message-ID: <1326580387.22372.YahooMailNeo@web45315.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Just back from a Cape Arago Audubon field trip to the Empire and Charleston area of Coos Bay. There were seven of us, and we managed to get the field trip in before the rain started around 12:30. It is now pouring with lots of wind and the temp seems to be dropping, brrrr! ?We were mainly birding the bay, so the passerines listed were birds that just happened to be around while we scoped the bay. ?Bird numbers are estimates in most cases. Here is the complete list of birds seen, I have capped the birds I thought were more unusual: 1- EURASIAN WIGEON 300+ American Wigeon 20- Mallard 60- Northern Pintail 1- Northern Shoveler 10- Green-winged Teal 300+ Greater Scaup 300+ Surf Scoter 20- White-winged Scoter 2- LONG-TAILED DUCKS 60+ Bufflehead 2- Common Goldeneye 14- Red-breasted Merganser 8- Red-throated Loon 1- Pacific Loon 8- Common Loon 1- Pied-billed Grebe 70+ Horned Grebe 14- Red-necked Grebe 3- Eared Grebe 20+ Western Grebe 6- Double-crested Cormorant 30- Pelagic Cormorant 6- Great Blue Heron 1- SNOWY EGRET 25- American Coot 60- Black-bellied Plover 8- Killdeer 1- LONG-BILLED CURLEW 19- MARBLED GODWITS 25- Black Turnstone 4- Sanderling 50- Dunlin 50- Mew Gull 200+ Western Gull 80- Glaucous-winged Gulls 4- PIGEON GUILLEMOT 2- RHINOCEROS AUKLETS 1- Downy Woodpecker 1- Steller's Jay 50+ American Crows 2- Chestnut-backed Chickadees 1- Black-capped Chickadee 10+ Bushtits 1- Bewick's Wren 1- Golden-crowned Kinglet 4- American Robin 1- Townsend's Warbler 6- Song Sparrows 10- Dark-eyed Juncos 1- Hairy Woodpecker (seen by me after everyone had left) Mike Wihler and I were the only ones that made it to Charleston. ?There weren't really many gulls around and it started raining so we quit before really covering Charleston well, it would have been nice to refind the Glaucous Gull Russ Namitz found on the CBC, another time... Merry 2012! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From christopher.hinkle2 at gmail.com Sat Jan 14 16:44:47 2012 From: christopher.hinkle2 at gmail.com (Christopher Hinkle) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:44:47 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Brambling seen this AM Message-ID: We saw the Woodburn BRAMBLING at 10:00 and 10:40 this morning with two birders from out of state. Thank you Linda! On the way home we stopped by Tualatin River NWR where we briefly saw the EMPEROR GOOSE before it flew off to the west with a flock of cacklers. There was also a flock of Western Bluebirds by the parking lot. Good birding, Christopher Hinkle, Adrian Hinkle, Em Scattaregia -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffgill at teleport.com Sat Jan 14 17:24:25 2012 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:24:25 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Fern Ridge Kite Roost In-Reply-To: <441c4.6f3e8b00.3c4332e6@aol.com> Message-ID: I as recently birding in the Santa Barbara, CA area. A friend there (Nick Lethaby) said that WT Kites are in a population upswing. Jeff Gilligan On 1/14/12 11:35 AM, "Oropendolas at aol.com" wrote: > Hello Dave and All, > > I'm not the best record keeper, but high counts I have for the Royal Kite > roost are: > > Jan. 13, 2012 - 26 > Oct. 30, 2009 - 26 > Dec. 20, 2003 - 24 > Jan. 02, 2004 - 19 > Dec. 26, 2003 - 13 > Nov. 14, 2009 - 12 > Jan. 02, 2010 - 10 > > Good Birding, > > John Sullivan > Springfield, OR > > > In a message dated 1/14/2012 10:24:11 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, > llsdirons at msn.com writes: >> >> Wow, this tally is very near if not a record for Royal. >> >> Dave Irons >> Portland, OR >> >> >> >> >> >> From: Oropendolas at aol.com >> Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:50:23 -0500 >> To: OBOL at oregonbirds.org >> Subject: [OBOL] Fern Ridge Kite Roost >> >> >> Hello All, >> >> >> >> There were 26 WHITE-TAILED KITES in the roost North of the Royal Avenue >> parking lot at dusk last night. >> >> >> >> Good Birding, >> >> John Sullivan >> Springfield, 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 jeffgill at teleport.com Sat Jan 14 17:27:55 2012 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:27:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Pied Harlan's Hawk near Crabtree, Linn County In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Intersting bird. There is a remarkably plumaged Harlan?s Hawk near Amado, Arizona. Superficially it looks very much like a Rough-legged Hawk. Another bird very similar to it can be seen by googling Harlan?s Hawk images and looking for the photo with the white head and black belly. The one near Amado also has a white base tot eh tail with a black terminal zone. The similarity to a Rough-legged Hawk is striking. Jeff Gilligan On 1/14/12 11:42 AM, "Jeff Harding" wrote: > There was an interesting almost-black and white mottled Harlan?s Hawk at the > corner of Richardson?s Gap and Fish Hatchery Drive near Crabtree, Linn County > this morning. > > I have a photo from this morning here: > > https://picasaweb.google.com/106965511049981757965/Raptors#5697566188469524386 > > Also in the album are some photos I took of (presumably) the same bird in 2009 > when it was nearby on Freeman Road just north of Fish Hatchery Drive. Bill > Thackaberry and I saw the bird at the present location the next winter, in > 2010, but we did not find it last winter. It was nice to see again. > > I was in the area looking for the White-tailed Kite reported on the Mid-Valley > List by Amber Beck, but failed to locate it. One of their neighbors said they > saw it yesterday, though, so I?ll look again. > > Good birding, > Jeff > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Sat Jan 14 17:41:37 2012 From: ronaldgp at onlinemac.com (ronaldgp at onlinemac.com) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:41:37 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] TRNWR Emperor Goose - Yes Message-ID: <1195501547-1326584499-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-1882800328-@b5.c3.bise6.blackberry> Seen on the southern portion of the usual dike this afternoon at 3:30. It was loosely associated with some Cacklers, but slightly off to the side. Third time was a charm for me too. Ron Peterson McMinnville Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Sat Jan 14 19:56:08 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:56:08 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] 3 swallow afternoon- Coos 1/14/2012 Message-ID: <1326592568.58075.YahooMailNeo@web45312.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I went for a late afternoon walk to Johnson Mill Pond near Coquille. ?It was raining, and in the low 40's, perfect for swallow viewing, if any were around. ?We walk around the pond and back without seeing anything. As I was leaving a bunch of swallows suddenly flew out of an alder tree right before I would have been out of sight of the pond. ?I quickly pulled over and ran over to the pond and was able to check?them out closely as it was getting dark- I had good looks at all of them as they flew low around the pond and circled me while I was on the dock there and even landed in an alder a couple times. ?There were: 6- BARN SWALLOWS 3- TREE SWALLOWS 1- VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW The Trees (up to 5) and Violet-green have been around since 12/26 but I haven't seen any since the 2nd and have checked the pond several times. ?It has been really nice though, and they could have been anywhere in the valley. ?When it gets rainy and cool, they tend to favor the pond and fly low over it making viewing pretty east. ?First time I have ever seen three species of swallow in Oregon in January! ENJOY, Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thomasmeinzen at gmail.com Sat Jan 14 21:14:51 2012 From: thomasmeinzen at gmail.com (Thomas Meinzen) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:14:51 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eugene Backyard Merlins and Orange-crowned Warbler Message-ID: Our yard hosted two MERLINS today - one a typical black Pacific race, the other a lighter Taiga-looking race. An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER continues at our suet feeders. Good birding! Thomas Meinzen Eugene -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From range.bayer at gmail.com Sat Jan 14 23:55:18 2012 From: range.bayer at gmail.com (Range Bayer) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 21:55:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tropical Kingbird, Newport In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi, Unfortunately, I have not seen any reports of the Tropical Kingbird near the Oregon Coast Aquarium since the Yaquina Bay CBC or that anyone has looked and did not find it. Nothing rare has been reported at Newport either since the CBC. A slow time for rarities but, I suspect, for observation effort, too. Sorry, -- Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon On Sat, Jan 14, 2012 at 11:03 AM, Holly Reinhard wrote: > Obol: > > Has anyone seen (or tried and failed to see) the Tropical Kingbird at > Newport lately? The last Obol message I have about it was from the CBC on > New Year's Day. > ?Or for that matter, if anyone has other reports of interesting birds in > Newport, please let me know. > > Thanks, > > Holly Reinhard > Corvallis, OR > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From rabican1 at gmail.com Sun Jan 15 00:52:38 2012 From: rabican1 at gmail.com (Bob Archer) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:52:38 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Sauvie Is :Snow v Cacklers Message-ID: Hi all: I went to Sauvie today and in between a bit of wind and rain had a good time looking to see what was out and about. Nothing really out of the ordinary except by the end of my little trip I had far more Snow Geese on my list than Cacklers. Not saying there are more Snow Geese out there than Cacklers but my estimate of Snow Geese was close to 5000 and Cacklers were in the 3000 range. One flock of Snow Geese was one of the largest flocks of geese I have seen on Sauvie period. Got me to thinking that maybe soon Snow Geese would out number Cacklers on the island for the winter. I have nothing scientific to support that of course. Bob Archer PDX -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sun Jan 15 00:55:13 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:55:13 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] report on Tufted Duck and hybrid Tufted X Scaup (presumably) at Marine Park, Vancouver, WA. Message-ID: http://www.birdfellow.com/members/dave_irons/field_reports/496-marine-park-vancouver-washington-14-january-2012 There is a satellite image of the area and complete list of what we saw at the link above. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sun Jan 15 01:03:08 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:03:08 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Sauvie Is :Snow v Cacklers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Bob, I have to wonder where the Cacklers are hiding, as this number would be quite low for Sauvie. As for the Snow Geese, their numbers are blowing up continent-wide. Their population increase has corresponded with major increases in the number on Sauvie Island. Last winter, Shawneen, Elias Elias, and Cecilia Gage and I had one flock of nearly 2500 birds at the intersection of Reeder Road and Gillihan Loop Road. Your count from today is the highest ever (that I know of) for Sauvie I. It seems that each successive winter has yielded record tallies over the past decade or so. Dave Irons Portland, OR Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:52:38 -0800 From: rabican1 at gmail.com To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Sauvie Is :Snow v Cacklers Hi all: I went to Sauvie today and in between a bit of wind and rain had a good time looking to see what was out and about. Nothing really out of the ordinary except by the end of my little trip I had far more Snow Geese on my list than Cacklers. Not saying there are more Snow Geese out there than Cacklers but my estimate of Snow Geese was close to 5000 and Cacklers were in the 3000 range. One flock of Snow Geese was one of the largest flocks of geese I have seen on Sauvie period. Got me to thinking that maybe soon Snow Geese would out number Cacklers on the island for the winter. I have nothing scientific to support that of course. Bob Archer PDX _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From holly.reinhard at gmail.com Sun Jan 15 01:26:19 2012 From: holly.reinhard at gmail.com (Holly Reinhard) Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:26:19 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Off-topic: Scope for sale Message-ID: Obol, Having purchased a new-to-me scope a month ago, I am selling my old scope. Here is the information on it: It is a Leupold Sequoia 15-45 x 60mm straight angle scope. I will sell it with its "kit", which includes a tabletop tripod and a case, as well as my Sunpak tripod 8001 UT. The crank to raise the tripod middle part broke off, but you can loosen the middle thing and just raise it by hand. The scope is in good condition and works fine. The zoom is ok but not the best. It's waterproof, which is nice. I'll sell it all for $200 if you like. The scope and its "kit" (tabletop tripod) sell for about 300 on amazon new. Please reply offline if you are interested or have any questions. Thanks, Holly Reinhard Corvallis, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 5hats at peak.org Sun Jan 15 09:17:26 2012 From: 5hats at peak.org (Darrel & Laura) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:17:26 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Tropical Kingbird, Newport In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <0A5500BAEDC6430F8F0A12D91EFA14E3@DarrelPC> Holly, Range I have looked several times since Jan. 1 for the Tropical Kingbird without finding it. Darrel -------------------------------------------------- From: "Range Bayer" Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2012 9:55 PM To: "Holly Reinhard" Cc: "OBOL" Subject: Re: [OBOL] Tropical Kingbird, Newport > Hi, > > Unfortunately, I have not seen any reports of the Tropical Kingbird > near the Oregon Coast Aquarium since the Yaquina Bay CBC or that > anyone has looked and did not find it. > > Nothing rare has been reported at Newport either since the CBC. A > slow time for rarities but, I suspect, for observation effort, too. > > Sorry, > -- > Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon > > > On Sat, Jan 14, 2012 at 11:03 AM, Holly Reinhard > wrote: >> Obol: >> >> Has anyone seen (or tried and failed to see) the Tropical Kingbird at >> Newport lately? The last Obol message I have about it was from the CBC on >> New Year's Day. >> Or for that matter, if anyone has other reports of interesting birds in >> Newport, please let me know. >> >> Thanks, >> >> Holly Reinhard >> Corvallis, 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 > From mntsprg at wizzards.net Sun Jan 15 11:47:49 2012 From: mntsprg at wizzards.net (Laura Mountainspring) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 09:47:49 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] interesting birds in Oregon Message-ID: <691A83195FDF4C96A36B117BB3BD0709@MitherPC> oddly colored House and Purple finches...and Anna?s shows up! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2977885446191.2155360.1233522376&type=3&l=ab61457d82 Laura Winston -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paultsullivan at onlinenw.com Sun Jan 15 13:43:45 2012 From: paultsullivan at onlinenw.com (Paul T. Sullivan) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:43:45 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Gilliam County Raptor Runs Message-ID: OBOL: Carol Karlen & I did the Gilliam County raptor runs on Jan. 13-14, 2012. We had sunny, crisp skies, with views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams. On Friday the 13th we started with a Merlin in Arlington. The temperatures were in the 20's all day. We had a slow start, but ended up in Condon after 125 miles with 22 Red-tails 8 Rough-legs 19 Kestrels 4 N. Harriers 1 Golden Eagle 3 Prairie Falcons 1 Merlin 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 Gt. Horned Owl 4 N. Shrikes 2 Loggerhead Shrikes 1 flaming glorious sunset!!!!!! On Saturday we had more overcast skies and temperatures in the low 30's, but with a stiff, biting wind that kept activity down. In 150 miles of the route, we found 32 Red-tails 7 Rough-legs 28 Northern Harriers -- and outstanding number! 3 Kestrels - only 3, another amazing number (so few because of the wind) 2 Golden Eagles 3 Prairie Falcons 1 Merlin (in Condon, where there are legions of House Sparrows and E. Collared-doves) 2 Gt. Horned Owls 2 N Shrikes We made it home through the gorge ahead of the weather. The rain began as we returned to Yamhill county. Good birding, everyone, Paul & Carol From triciasnyder at clear.net Sun Jan 15 13:55:22 2012 From: triciasnyder at clear.net (Tricia Snyder) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:55:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Western Bluebirds Message-ID: <2F49BCD2-0712-437C-A657-5EEF868B2F16@clear.net> Just had a Western Bluebird perch on the hood of my car while I was waiting for my daughter and husband in Netarts. There were about 5-6 once I looked around. Cool! Tricia Snyder Sent from my iPhone From brrobb at comcast.net Sun Jan 15 14:34:05 2012 From: brrobb at comcast.net (Roger Robb) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 12:34:05 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Horned Larks, Lane County Message-ID: <000001ccd3c5$06ef35e0$14cda1a0$@comcast.net> This morning I found a flock of apx 40 HORNED LARKS along with about 25 AMERICAN PIPITS on Vogt Rd about 0.6 miles south of Rt 36. (This is between the Eugene Airport and Junction City) I also found a MERLIN near the intersection of Meadowview Rd and Greenhill Rd. Roger Robb Springfield, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From whoffman at peak.org Sun Jan 15 15:26:48 2012 From: whoffman at peak.org (whoffman at peak.org) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:26:48 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Possible Gyrfalcon, Alsea Bay In-Reply-To: <2042285351.183578.1326662775558.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Message-ID: <1887027010.183580.1326662808649.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Hi - Yesterday and today I accompanied Rebecca Cheek and Walt Nelson on the coastal Lincoln County raptor run. We got about half done yesterday, then got blown out by a front coming in - so finished it today. Rebecca will post the results. Anyway, yesterday morning (Jan 14) I got a very brief look at a large falcon that I now think was a Gyrfalcon. The location was in the Bayview area on the north shore of Alsea Bay. We had just finished scoping at our stop at a pullout on Bayview Road just east of the intersection with South Beaver Creek Road, and were departing, when I saw the falcon come by very close to us, but behind a screen of leafless alder trees. I immediately yelled "Peregrine" but no longer think it was one. It was about 20 feet off the ground and no more than 150 feet from us. Moments later it appeared several hundred feet in front of us at treetop level above the road. The first observation was bare eye only, but above the road I got binocs on it (thru the windshield) for a few seconds. Walt also saw it but without binocs (he was driving) above the road. In the initial view I saw a large falcon - big for a Peregrine but not huge - with broad wing bases, and generally pale gray colored. It had no black hood, nor much obvious streaking. In the second view - above the road - I could again see no dark hood, and two structural features that were wrong for Peregrine: The tail seemed overly long for a Peregrine, and the wingtips were not quite as pointed as is normal for a Peregrine. In fact the two longest primaries on the near (left) wing separated slightly and appeared to be the same length. Molt could cause this appearance on a Peregrine, but it certainly was not typical. So, I think it was a Gyrfalcon, an adult male gray phase bird. It was not as large as some female Gyrs I have seen (e.g. the Perrydale bird several winters ago), but very big for a Peregrine. The lack of obvious streaking and the even gray color make me think adult. Given the brief observation entirely through vehicle windows and mostly without binocs, I cannot call it confirmed, but I think its worth checking out. Wayne From nelsoncheek at charter.net Sun Jan 15 15:43:54 2012 From: nelsoncheek at charter.net (WALTER NELSON) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:43:54 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Lincoln Co. Coast Raptor Run Message-ID: Wayne Hoffman, Walt Nelson and I completed the January edition of our raptor route along the Lincoln Co. coast, but it took two days due to weather. We started yesterday morning (1/14) but about halfway through were closed down by blowing rain that blotted out visibility. Today we picked up the route again and completed it despite occasional hail showers. Overall numbers were about average, and a nice assortment of species including an adult Red-shouldered Hawk, a beautiful adult male Taiga Merlin, and a large falcon briefly seen by Wayne that may have been a Gyr. Wayne will provide details separately. Total mileage for the entire route was 60.4 mi, done in 4hr 27 min (no lingering in the cold wind yesterday!). Weather Saturday was upper 30s with SW winds 15-25mph and heavy overcast turning to rain by 10 AM. Sunday was calm except for brief NW winds with incoming squalls, conditions ranging from sun to brief snow/hail showers, mid-upper 30s. Birds seen: Red-tailed Hawk 8 Northern Harrier 2 Bald Eagle 11 (8 adults, 3 immatures) Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Peregrine Falcon 2 Merlin 1 Large falcon sp. 1 (possible Gyrfalcon) ______________________ Rebecca Cheek South Beach, OR 97366 nelsoncheek AT charter.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jsiporin at mac.com Sun Jan 15 16:07:09 2012 From: jsiporin at mac.com (Julia Siporin) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:07:09 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Question: What do you do with dead birds? Message-ID: <36176FF1-F8DB-49C1-997C-E844945B28A7@mac.com> When birds fly into your window & die, what do you do? Bury it? Leave it for another animal to feast upon... away from any feeders so as not to attract predators?? In the past we've buried the bird, covered it with some dirt, and put a flower bulb above that. Maybe that's interfering too much. A female Varied Thrush just crashed into our window (no decals there... I can't put decals everywhere!). Sigh. Other notes: The BH Grosbeak made an appearance again today at our feeder here in Eugene. I've seen her 4 of the last 5 days. A male House Finch was singing atop a tree across the street. Snow continues to fall here. Julia From jeffandlaurettayoung at comcast.net Sun Jan 15 17:02:30 2012 From: jeffandlaurettayoung at comcast.net (Jeff and Lauretta Young) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:02:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] mating Mallards? Message-ID: <484D2343-FB9B-41C6-849B-B1F8A18669DC@comcast.net> In our Bethany area pond today we had Mallards doing their " head bobbing up and down" repeatedly and then mating isn't it rather early to produce ducklings? or maybe they are just practicing? From mussermcevoy at yahoo.com Sun Jan 15 17:33:18 2012 From: mussermcevoy at yahoo.com (Richard and Marilyn Musser) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:33:18 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Possible Gyrfalcon, Alsea Bay In-Reply-To: <1887027010.183580.1326662808649.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> References: <2042285351.183578.1326662775558.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> <1887027010.183580.1326662808649.JavaMail.root@zmail-store01.peak.org> Message-ID: <1326670398.46915.YahooMailNeo@web39701.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi Wayne, ???? If I'm not mistaken, primaries 3 & 4 (the longest) are the same length in gyrfalcons (counting from the outside in). In peregrines, the longest primary is #2 ( this would be the second long feather from the wing tip), so the peregrine wing tip appears more "pointy." So yes, your observation could have been a gyr. Best regards, Dick Musser (15 mi. south of Burns) ________________________________ From: "whoffman at peak.org" To: OBOL Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2012 1:26 PM Subject: [OBOL] Possible Gyrfalcon, Alsea Bay Hi - Yesterday and today I accompanied Rebecca Cheek and Walt Nelson on the coastal Lincoln County raptor run. We got about half done yesterday, then got blown out by a front coming in - so finished it today.? Rebecca will post the results. Anyway, yesterday morning (Jan 14) I got a very brief look at a large falcon that I now think was a Gyrfalcon.? The location was in the Bayview area on the north shore of Alsea Bay.? We had just finished scoping at our stop at a pullout on Bayview Road just east of the intersection with South Beaver Creek Road, and were departing, when I saw the falcon come by very close to us, but behind a screen of leafless alder trees.? I immediately yelled "Peregrine" but no longer think it was one.? It was about 20 feet off the ground and no more than 150 feet from us.? Moments later it appeared several hundred feet in front of us at treetop level above the road.? The first observation was bare eye only, but above the road I got binocs on it (thru the windshield) for a few seconds.? Walt also saw it but without binocs (he was driving) above the road. In the initial view I saw a large falcon - big for a Peregrine but not huge - with broad wing bases, and generally pale gray colored.? It had no black hood, nor much obvious streaking.? In the second view - above the road - I could again see no dark hood, and two structural features that were wrong for Peregrine:? The tail seemed overly long for a Peregrine, and the wingtips were not quite as pointed as is normal for a Peregrine.? In fact the two longest primaries on the near (left) wing separated slightly and appeared to be the same length.? Molt could cause this appearance on a Peregrine, but it certainly was not typical. So, I think it was a Gyrfalcon, an adult male gray phase bird. It was not as large as some female Gyrs I have seen (e.g. the Perrydale bird several winters ago), but very big for a Peregrine.? The lack of obvious streaking and the even gray color make me think adult.? Given the brief observation entirely through vehicle windows and mostly without binocs, I cannot call it confirmed, but I think its worth checking out. Wayne _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffandlaurettayoung at comcast.net Sun Jan 15 17:46:15 2012 From: jeffandlaurettayoung at comcast.net (Jeff and Lauretta Young) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:46:15 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Banded Tundra Swan, Bethany Wetlands, Cedar Mill Oregon Message-ID: Hello, We have been delighted to have several sightings of this banded Tundra Swan in the Bethany Wetlands this past couple weeks. According to information we have obtained about this bird, it was collard 18 Jul 2010 near King Salmon Alaska when it was a second year female. It was marked as part of the avian flu monitoring program, run by Dr. Ely 2006-2010. We have been delighted to see her several times behind our house this past couple weeks. Apparently other birds that were part of this bird's original flock and were also banded, have been spotted in Ridgefield NWR recently. This is bird is on her own. www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl I have posted a couple pictures here: www.flickr.com/photos/youngbirders Happy birding, Jeff Young -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dan-gleason at comcast.net Sun Jan 15 17:56:04 2012 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:56:04 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] mating Mallards? In-Reply-To: <484D2343-FB9B-41C6-849B-B1F8A18669DC@comcast.net> References: <484D2343-FB9B-41C6-849B-B1F8A18669DC@comcast.net> Message-ID: This is the proper season for mating displays to begin in ducks. For the majority of our ducks, males are now in their best breeding plumage and they are courting females. There will be many different attempts with several females before a bond is forged. The female will ultimately decide which male she will choose as a mate, but males often still attempt to mount hens. Mating in ducks is sometimes referred to as a "rape" because it is forceful on the part of the male. Sometimes more than one male try to mount a single female. Most matings will not be successful yet, but there may be attempts. It is likely that at this point in time, a females ovaries have not yet enlarged and started to produce this seasons eggs. (In birds, the gonads shrink significantly and become non-functional during the non-breeding season. The testes of some male passerines are nearly 500X larger in the breeding season than during the non-breeding season when they are resorbed into the bodys' tissues. This does help with weight reduction for flight, but is likely not the only reason for this to occur. These changes are stimulated by day length and under hormonal control.) By the time spring arrives, males will have become bonded to their mate for that season. When the female leaves for her mating site (often near where she was hatched), the male will now be so bonded that he will follow. Once successful breeding occurs in the spring, the bond begins to break apart. The timing of when that happens differs between species. Some males lose interest as soon as the female begins to build a nest. For others, males may remain until chicks begin to hatch. Later, in spring or summer, when you see a "family" of ducks, the male you see with the female and her brood, is often not the male she mated with initially. But males are still attempting opportunistic matings with other females, rarely forming a new pair-bond. Males will also often fly to a new location, perhaps hundreds of miles away in a few cases. Here they may form males flocks or still seek the attention of new females. One of the ducks that does not follow the above pattern is Ruddy Duck. Note that male Ruddy Ducks do not have a bright breeding plumage now as other ducks do. For Ruddy Ducks, pair formation occurs on the breeding ground after the spring migration rather than before. Male Ruddy Ducks will also often stay with a mate until after all of the chicks have hatched, but usually play little role in their care and will abandon before the chicks have fledged. Notice, in contrast, that most geese and swans mate for life, or at least form very long pair-bonds. Males remain with their females and help care for the young. They have no need of the bright colors like male ducks that need to attract a new mate each year. The duller plumage also helps with concealment for female ducks and both sexes of geese and swans. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason at comcast.net 541 345-0450 On Jan 15, 2012, at 3:02 PM, Jeff and Lauretta Young wrote: > In our Bethany area pond today we had Mallards doing their " head bobbing up and down" repeatedly and then mating > > isn't it rather early to produce ducklings? or maybe they are just practicing? > > > > _______________________________________________ > OBOL mailing list > OBOL at oregonbirds.org > http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From foglark at att.net Sun Jan 15 19:35:57 2012 From: foglark at att.net (David Fix & Jude Power) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:35:57 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] northwest CA update Message-ID: <1326677757.17234.YahooMailRC@web80011.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Here are reports from the past week called in to the Bird Alert (707-822-5666) or posted to nwcalbird at yahoogroups.com: 1/8: N. SHRIKE, from Fleener Ck. overlook shortly s. of Centerville Beach (Camden Bruner). This bird was a surprise during a fall/winter in which only one other N. Shrike has been reported in Humboldt (serendipitously, for the Arcata CBC at Lanphere Dunes, 12/17) 1/10: NASHVILLE WARBLER in yard, Port Kenyon Rd., near Ferndale (Owen Head) Owen's place is just off the Salt R., a sleepy willow-lined creek that's the lowermost tributary of the Eel. The smaller cargo ships of a bygone era actually used to be able to make it up to Port Kenyon, thus the name. Now it's just dairy cow pastures, riparian stringers, and scattered residences. An Army Corps project, in the early stages now, will clear out the presently established riparia--host to many vagrants across the years--but ultimately will, they say, result in improved stream and floodplain health. 1/12: WILSON'S WARBLER, yard, St. Maru Lane, s. McKinleyville (Carol Wilson) 1/13: Two GLAUCOUS GULLS and an imm. FRANKLIN'S GULL, Eel R. at Fernbridge (Todd Easterla) 1/14: Tony Kurz and John Oliver birded the Eel R. delta and found a PALM WARBLER and a 1st-cycle GLAUCOUS GULL at Fernbridge, 4 FERRUGINOUS HAWKS along Waddington Rd.; a dark-morph imm. HARLAN'S HAWK at Waddington Rd. and Pleasant Point Rd., and Loleta's continuing TROPICAL KINGBIRD, which today was by the first house w. of the e. foot of Cannibal I. Road. From the overlook just s. of Centerville Beach they saw 3 ANCIENT MURRELETS, an above-average 12 MARBLED MURRELETS, and a few BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES. 1/14: At the north jetty of Humboldt Bay were a WANDERING TATTLER, 3 LONG-TAILED DUCKS, 2 HARLEQUIN DUCKS, a fly-past ANCIENT MURRELET, 20 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, only one ROCK SANDPIPER, and the obligatory female BLACK SCOTER (Rob Fowler). Later at the Arcata Marsh, Rob counted 22 FORSTER'S TERNS flying about as the tide covered the flats, a RUDDY TURNSTONE and 10 BLACK TURNSTONES (each uncommon in ne. North Bay generally), and the continuing flock of 80 BONAPARTE'S GULLS. 1/14: Intergrade male GREEN-WINGED TEAL (Am X Eur/Com), Butcher Slough, Arcata Marsh (Cindy Moyer, Jude Power et al.); slow otherwise, with this every-Saturday Aud. Soc. field trip held at low tide 1/15: Imm. GOLDEN EAGLE contnued at Humboldt Bay NWR, along with 4 ROSS'S GEESE and one SNOW GOOSE; at Fernbridge was a different 1st-cycle GLAUCOUS GULL than on the previous day, and a Palm Warbler (Tony Kurz) David Fix Arcata, California -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Sun Jan 15 20:55:39 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:55:39 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Coos swallows and warblers 1/15/2012 Message-ID: <1326682539.82883.YahooMailNeo@web45304.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I went over to Johnson Mill Pond in Coquille in the balmy 35 degree weather this afternoon (we had hail and rain, no snow but the hills are white outside town) to see what was up with the swallows there. ?I briefly saw two BARN SWALLOWS and then found four TREE SWALLOWS. The Trees were feeding just above the water and going back and forth north and south along the east end of the pond. ?In order to get better looks at them (I was looking for the VG Swallow which I didn't see), I walked over to the south end of the pond and then north along the overgrown east side of the pond. While watching swallows from there I kicked up a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT. ?I wish I had come over to this side of the pond on the Coquille Valley CBC! ?On the way out I saw an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, the 4th location I've seen them in the county since the 1st. Earlier in the day I saw the LAPLAND LONGSPUR on the north side of Floras Lake, Curry. ?Only one there this winter. ENJOY! Tim R Coos Bay -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeanbb24622 at gmail.com Sun Jan 15 21:07:00 2012 From: jeanbb24622 at gmail.com (Jean Baecher Brown) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:07:00 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Turkey Vultures Message-ID: I was surprised to see two *Turkey Vultures *soaring above a field along I-5 (north of Salem), yesterday. Aren't they suppose to be further south this time of year? Or, maybe on the east side of the state? hope thisisn't another sign of global warming.... -- Jean Baecher Brown 503-939-4684 jeanbb24622 at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffgill at teleport.com Sun Jan 15 21:30:18 2012 From: jeffgill at teleport.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:30:18 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Turkey Vultures In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Good find. While no location in Oregon is within the species? normal winter range, a very small number have been seen in winter in the Willamette Valley in some recent winters. Turkey Vultures are early spring migrants to western Oregon, though but not normally until sometime in February. Whether these were early migrants or wintering birds is of course speculative, but a few nice weather days (as we just experienced) would be enough for a few migrants to get here from the northern limit of their regular winter range, which is around Redding, CA. A Turkey Vulture could reach Oregon from the Redding area in just a few hours. I doubt that either possible explanation for these birds involves global warming. More likely a few birds are benefiting from livestock losses (perhaps early lambs?). Jeff Gilligan On 1/15/12 7:07 PM, "Jean Baecher Brown" wrote: > I was surprised to see two Turkey Vultures soaring above a field along I-5 > (north of Salem), yesterday.? Aren't they suppose to be further south this > time of year?? Or, maybe on the east side of the state?? hope thisisn't > another sign of global warming.... -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sun Jan 15 23:20:35 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:20:35 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Antarctica earthquake and the safety of Jim and Ann Message-ID: Greetings All, I got one private query asking if I had heard from Jim Danzenbaker and Ann Nightingale (our Antarctica bloggers) since the 6.6 earthquake in Antarctica. Ann sent out a quick note to me and some other friends this morning assuring us that they are fine. They are well offshore, thus they were unaffected by the quake and any wave action created by it. Ann, who gets seasick without trying too hard, assured us that the normal sources of waves were providing all the swell that they needed. Dave Irons -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From llsdirons at msn.com Sun Jan 15 23:23:25 2012 From: llsdirons at msn.com (David Irons) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:23:25 +0000 Subject: [OBOL] Turkey Vultures In-Reply-To: References: , Message-ID: A modest flock of Turkey Vultures has been wintering around Eugene for at least a decade and they were all over Humboldt County, CA when I visited there in early December. Dave Irons Portland, OR Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:30:18 -0800 From: jeffgill at teleport.com To: jeanbb24622 at gmail.com; obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: [OBOL] Turkey Vultures Re: [OBOL] Turkey Vultures Good find. While no location in Oregon is within the species? normal winter range, a very small number have been seen in winter in the Willamette Valley in some recent winters. Turkey Vultures are early spring migrants to western Oregon, though but not normally until sometime in February. Whether these were early migrants or wintering birds is of course speculative, but a few nice weather days (as we just experienced) would be enough for a few migrants to get here from the northern limit of their regular winter range, which is around Redding, CA. A Turkey Vulture could reach Oregon from the Redding area in just a few hours. I doubt that either possible explanation for these birds involves global warming. More likely a few birds are benefiting from livestock losses (perhaps early lambs?). Jeff Gilligan On 1/15/12 7:07 PM, "Jean Baecher Brown" wrote: I was surprised to see two Turkey Vultures soaring above a field along I-5 (north of Salem), yesterday. Aren't they suppose to be further south this time of year? Or, maybe on the east side of the state? hope thisisn't another sign of global warming.... _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rivers.mike at gmail.com Sun Jan 15 23:35:55 2012 From: rivers.mike at gmail.com (Mike Rivers) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:35:55 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] 3 Meadowlarks again a week later: GPS details References: <2105620734.23864.1326667258741.JavaMail.javamailuser@localhost> Message-ID: <17D6AF7C-A35D-40B3-AC31-EFF525638967@gmail.com> Scotch broom is blooming already. Don't mistake it for the 3 colorful Western Meadowlarks! Park at corner at Cedar and Huckleberry Streets in Waldport. Walk towards the bay. They may be on the left towards the old Middle School. Location: Latitude: 44? 25.7158' N Longitude: 124? 03.9147' W -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnorgren at earthlink.net Sun Jan 15 23:50:56 2012 From: gnorgren at earthlink.net (Norgren Family) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:50:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] "Winter "Turkey Vultures Message-ID: <822F9302-26D4-4A8F-AE5F-BDC545925AD1@earthlink.net> As Dave Irons has already pointed out, there is a well established winter group of Turkey Vultures centered around the Crow Highway/Coyote Creek where the two come out of the hills just southeast of the Royal Avenue birding area. Multiple sectors of the Eugene CBC tend to report the species. The first detection on the Eugene Count was in the mid=Fifties. The species (but a different sub=species) is a more abundant winter resident in New Jersey/Pennsylvania where the weather is far colder. A surfeit of road= killed deer may sustain them. The Eugene birds could easily cruise north to the Salem area in little over an hour. Lambing has begun. I presume the large Bald Eagle population severely restricts potential expansion of wintering TVs. Eastside TVs typically show up a month later than westside birds and well may represent a different winter cohort. Birds that nest in Saskatchewan winter in Venezuela, to which they repair with remarkable dispatch. Lars From range.bayer at gmail.com Mon Jan 16 01:00:57 2012 From: range.bayer at gmail.com (Range Bayer) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:00:57 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Dec. Lincoln Co. Bird Notes Received Through Dec. 27 Message-ID: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ BIRD FIELD NOTES from the December 2011 Sandpiper 32(10) for Observations Received Through 12/27 by Range Bayer The Sandpiper is a publication of Yaquina Birders and Naturalists, a Lincoln County (Oregon) natural history group. There is room here for only some of the many Lincoln County sightings posted to Oregon Birders On-Line (OBOL), Lincoln Co. Birding & Nature Observing (LCBNO), eBird.org, or BirdNotes.net; or emailed, telephoned, or mailed to me. If the same date and number of birds of a species given in eBird.org are reported in OBOL, LCBNO, or BirdNotes.net, I will assume the eBird report is a duplicate and will use the other reports that give more details. 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/): BEAVER CREEK (#78, in part): creek flowing through Ona Beach State Park that includes Beaver Creek State Natural Area (http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_261.php), BOILER BAY STATE WAYSIDE (#59): about 0.5 mi north of Depoe Bay, CUTLER CITY: part of Lincoln City between north and south Siletz Bay, ECKMAN LAKE (#84): lake 2 mi east of Waldport along HWY 34, HMSC (#75): OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center, IDAHO FLATS: large embayment just east of the HMSC, 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, SALLY'S BEND (#66): large Yaquina Bay embayment east of the LNG tank, WANDEMERE: about 0.5 mi north of Ona Beach State Park near HWY 101, YBNJ: Yaquina Bay North Jetty, YBSJ (#71): Yaquina Bay South Jetty, YAQUINA HEAD OUTSTANDING NATURAL AREA (#65): headland north of Newport (vehicle entrance fee, http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/yaquina/). WATERFOWL BLl found a lone SNOW GOOSE at the YBSJ near where all the gulls often hang out on 12/7. It was also appreciated on 12/8-9 (CP; DV; DH; RL; BLl). BLl's sighting inspired him to reminisce: "This reminds me of when I first moved to Newport in December of 1977, and I saw an Emperor Goose on the beach near Jump Off Joe. That led to my meeting BO, LO, PR, and RBa." Though geese and time fly, BLl, BO, LO, PR, and RBa continue bird watching. [Image Not Included: Dawn Villaescusa's Dec. 8 photo of a Snow Goose grazing on the short grass adjacent to the YBSJ road, presumably to rest and fuel up for its continued migration. This is cropped from http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/?action=view¤t=IMG_6972_1.jpg] On 12/19, ME found the remains of a dead EMPEROR GOOSE on the beach north of the mouth of Siletz Bay. This is the first since a live one in Dec. 2001, and only our third record since 1992 (FN). 213 BRANT, all at Yaquina Bay embayments, was our high count on 12/21 (RBa). We had two reports of SWANS that were most likely Tundra Swans. RBa saw 4 flying north over the ocean past SW Newport on 12/4, and RL found 1 adult at Eckman Lake on 12/13. Single EURASIAN WIGEON graced Eckman Lake on 12/8 (DH), Beaver Creek on 12/11 (LO), and Idaho Flats on 12/24 (DH). A pair of REDHEADS were at D River Open Space (Lincoln City) on 12/9 (DV), and singletons were at Idaho Flats on 12/7 (DD) and across the Yaquina River from Nute Slough on 12/26 (CP). A LONG-TAILED DUCK visited Boiler Bay on 12/6 (BW). An adult male COMMON X BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was at the YBSJ on 12/4 (DI & SF), and a male Barrow's was at the Newport Bayfront area on 12/24 (MMa & MMi). FULMAR-EGRET Dead NORTHERN FULMARS abruptly started washing ashore the week of 11/21, with a Nov. total of 21 along 4.6 miles of beach north of Ona Beach (B&SLo, L&VO). 7 of the 21 (33%) were white-phase, which is a higher proportion of white-phase than normal there. For example, in 2003-2005, 5%, 7%, and 11% were white-phase, respectively; but the proportion of white-phase can sometimes be higher, such as in December 2007 (44%) (BLo's data). BROWN PELICAN number and frequency dropped down to what used to be normal in December several years ago. The high count was 12 at Boiler Bay on 12/1 (BW), then 2-3 were found intermittently at Seal Rocks or Yaquina Head on 12/9-10 (LO; DH) and Seal Rocks on 12/22 (RL), with DH having our latest report of a singleton at the YBSJ on 12/25. An adult GREAT BLUE HERON remained at Seal Rocks on 12/9 & 11 (LO). Some have learned to survive the wave action and unimpeded winds of the open coast. 1-3 GREAT EGRETS were at Beaver Creek on 12/11, the 12/17 YBNFT (LO), and 12/19 (LO; DH); and at D River Open Space on 12/2 (DV), Eckman Lake and Alsea Bay on 12/8 (DH), and south Siletz Bay on 12/15 (DV). [Image Not Included: Roy Lowe's photo of a Horned Grebe running across the water with a wiry Bay Pipefish hanging from its bill. It is being chased by another grebe interested in taking the pipefish.] RAPTORS-ALCIDS 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 60 miles and runs along Hwy 101 from the north side of Alsea Bay to the Taft area of Lincoln City, with nearby inland valleys. It was completed in about 5 hours on 12/17 by WN & RC. The Inland or Yaquina River-Siletz Raptor Route is about 65 miles long. It was done in 4 hours on 11/11 and 12/7 by CP & JL. The December route observers were surprised by much sunnier weather than usual that may have been the reason for reduced numbers of raptors along both routes. This month, BALD EAGLES were the most abundant raptor along the Coast Route, and RED-TAILED HAWKS were most abundant along the Inland Route. Continuing the trend of the past, kestrels were more common Inland, while Red-shouldered Hawks were only noted along the Coast. RC wrote about the 12/17 Coast Route: "To make up for the low numbers of birds we got to watch a couple of fascinating dramas. First we were privileged to see an inexperienced first-winter Cooper's Hawk chase a small group of Hooded Mergansers around the willow stumps and snags in a beaver pond by the road (the mergansers won and the Coop left w/o breakfast). Later we observed what seemed to be a Peyton Place kind of interaction among the adult Bald Eagles in Yaquina Bay, when after some initial yelling by unseen parties Eagle 1 came tearing out from the ridgeline trees of Idaho Point (south side of the bay) with E-2 in hot pursuit. Directly overhead there was a brief talon-to-talon tumble, and then the flight resumed but suddenly turned into a graceful side-by-side dance of synchronized flying. They swooped and dove all around Idaho Flat, and we thought it was a bonded pair courting -- until Eagle 3 flew out of the south-side trees and purposefully headed toward the dancers. At that point E-1 and E-2 separated with E-1 heading off toward the north jetty area, E-2 returning to Idaho Point, and E-3 looping back to its perch. Somebody flirting with one of the neighbors till a spouse broke it up?" ----------------------------------------- Coast Route |Inland Route 12/ |11/ 12/ Raptor 17 | 11 7 ----------------------------------------- N. Harrier 2 | 1 0 Wh-t. Kite 0 | 3 0 Sharp. Hawk 0 | 0 0 Coop. Hawk 1 | 0 0 unk. accipit. 0 | 0 1 R-shld. Hawk 1 | 0 0 R-tail. Hawk 6 | 11 9 B. Eagle ad. 5 | 5 0 " subadults 2 | 0 0 " unknown 0 | 0 0 Am. Kestrel 0 | 1 2 Peregrine F. 0 | 0 0 unk. raptor 0 | 0 0 RAPTOR SUM 17 | 21 12 2 WHITE-TAILED KITES continued in the Logsden area, with 1 chasing a Common Raven on 12/25 (BLl). A BALD EAGLE made an impression to the 12/17 YBNFT participants at Beaver Creek by consuming a lamprey (LO)! A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was viewed during the Coastal Route and also near the entrance to South Beach State Park on 12/6 (WH) and along the HMSC Nature Trail to Oregon Coast Aquarium on 12/7 & 16 (DD; BLl). Besides being along the Inland Raptor Route, our only other AMERICAN KESTREL was at Yaquina Head in early Dec. (TF). Our only 1 MERLIN was along Salishan Nature Trail, Siletz Bay on 12/15 (DV). 2 PEREGRINE FALCONS regularly hunted Yaquina Head in early Dec. (TF), and 1-2 were noticed at least weekly at Yaquina Bay through 12/25 (TS; PL; DH). 4 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS lingered at Idaho Flats on 12/7 (DD), and our largest flocks of 9-14 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS were at Seal Rocks on 12/9-21 (LO). Last reports of the season include HEERMANN'S GULL at Boiler Bay on 12/1 (BW) and BONAPARTE'S GULL at Seal Rocks on 12/11 (LO). Our only report of murrelets was of 10 ANCIENT MURRELETS at Boiler Bay on 12/1 (BW). YAQUINA HEAD SEABIRD RESEARCH OSU researchers RS, CH, AGl, & AGu completed their "Yaquina Head Seabird Colony Monitoring 2011 Season Summary." An excerpt: "In 2011 we logged 372 hours during 79 days of observations between 16 May (some eggs were already present) and 20 August (Table 1). Common Murre chicks were first observed on 28 June and median hatch date was 8 July, similar to 2010, but two weeks later than the previous three years (2007-2009). Colony Rock and Flattop Rock were again synchronous in median hatch date. Among plots, only 36% (+ 0.07 SE, 0.00-0.79 range) of the eggs laid hatched a chick (hatching success) and 22% (+ 0.04 SE, 0.00-0.47 range) of the eggs laid produced chicks that fledged (reproductive success; chicks >15 days were considered fledged; Table 1). Reproductive success in 2011 was less than half of the previous 4 years (Table 1) and the second lowest recorded for this colony during 10 years of data collection. Only the reproductive success during the very strong 1998 El Nino was slightly lower. "Much of the reproductive loss in 2011 was due to egg and chick predators. The total number of disturbances, the number of species causing disturbances, and the rate of murre, egg, and chick loss was much greater in 2011 than the previous 4 years (Table 1). Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) were again the dominant disturbance source (72%, 133 of 186 disturbances) at YHONA (Fig. 5). In 2011, there were more eagles causing disturbances, more regions of the colony disrupted, and the disturbances continued through the murre chick-rearing period into late June and July. This is in contrast to previous years when disturbance by eagles was greatly reduced after mid-June, and more localized on the north end of Colony Rock. A new predator of murre eggs that created the second greatest number of disturbances (11%) was Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura). 2011 is the first year that Turkey Vultures were observed disturbing the colony during the murre breeding season. Disturbance by California Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) was also much greater in 2011 than in 2010 (the first year pelicans were observed eating murre chicks). Pelicans actively pursued and consumed murre chicks and caused general disruption of breeding murres by roosting, flapping and walking through the colony. During 372 hrs of observation, we witnessed 186 disturbance events where 1034 eggs, 142 chicks, and 70 adult murres were taken (Table 1). Depredation rates were three to ten times higher than in previous years. Unobserved disturbance during the early season (before egg laying) does appear to affect lay dates and, again this year, no chicks (murres or cormorants) were reared on the headland itself, likely due to predator disturbance (avian or mammalian)." DOVE-SPARROW CP noted that EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES in Toledo seemed to disappear after cold weather started on about 12/1. As many as 11 MOURNING DOVES continued at L&JM's feeder east of Sally's Bend through 12/15. [Image Not Included: Jack Doyle's Dec. 24 photo of a Snowy Owl perched on driftwood with a background of Sitka spruce at Siletz Bay. A Snowy can blend in with such bleached driftwood and be harder to detect.] The second SNOWY OWL this season was at Siletz Bay in a sensitive area where the first observer saw it on 12/13 and told DV about the owl and requested that she not report the specific location. DV saw it on 12/15, 18, & 23, and it lingered to at least 12/24 (DP, J& LD, CW). The third appeared at the YBNJ on 12/24 (D&AB). A BARRED OWL head was found along 4.6 miles of beach north of Ona Beach on 11/25 (B&SLo, L&VO), and live ones were recognized at Devils Lake State Park on 12/2 (DM), north Beaver Creek on 12/21 (LO), and east of Wandemere on 12/22 (RC). ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS are regularly here in winter, but 2 female RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS were an unseasonal rarity at L&JM's feeder east of Sally's Bend in mid-December. Our only RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER was at the Cutler City Wetlands nature trail on 12/2 (DV). DF found a late TROPICAL KINGBIRD in Lincoln City on 12/7; prior to 1993, our latest record was on 11/15 (SemiL). 2 GRAY JAYS visited Idaho Point, Yaquina Bay on 12/8 (TS), and 4 were at BB's Yachats suet feeder daily through at least 12/18. On 12/22, RC hiked a mix of clearcut and wooded areas east of Wandemere and "3 (maybe 4) Gray Jays came by to check me out. I've hiked the same area several times since late Oct. and the jays have been fairly reliable." Our only WESTERN SCRUB-JAY flew and landed in a tree about 1 block south of Newport City Hall in mid-Dec. (fide RBa). 2-6 WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were appreciated at Yaquina Head on 12/13 (BLo), a clearcut east of Wandemere on 12/22 (RC), and near a PUD substation by Olalla Slough in Toledo on 12/26 (CP). An unseasonal ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was at the HMSC on 12/21 (EH). A PALM WARBLER was encountered in Toledo on 12/12 & 17 (CP) and at the HMSC on 12/17 & 19 (RBe; EH). They are usually only reported near the coast in Lincoln Co. EH espied our only LINCOLN'S SPARROW on 12/21 at the HMSC, and CP glimpsed our only WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS (2) on 12/3 at Toledo. [Image Not Included: Dawn Villaescusa's Dec. 15 photo of a Hermit Thrush at Salishan Nature Trail stretching 1 leg and keeping the other leg short to keep an even keel while perched. Cropped from http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/villaesc/Birds/?action=view¤t=IMG_7420_1.jpg] OBSERVERS/SOURCES: Betty Bahn, Daniel & Ariel Battaglia, Range Bayer (RBa), Renee Bellinger (RBe), Birding Oregon (http://birdingoregon.info/), BirdNotes.net, Rebecca Cheek, Dick Demarest, eBird.org (location and observer not accessible in "View and Explore Data" for "All Observations" but available through "Bar Charts"), Jack & Laura Doyle, Mark Elliott, Darrel Faxon, fide ("as reported by" someone other than the observer), Shawneen Finnegan, Tim Fisher of BLM, Amanda Gladics (AGl), Alexandra Gulick (AGu), Wayne Hoffman, Deb Holland, Cheryl Horton, Eric Horvath, Dave Irons, Janet Lamberson, Pete Lawson, Lincoln Co. Birding & Nature Observing (LCBNO) (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LCBNO/), Bob Llewellyn (BLl), Bob Loeffel (BLo) & Shirley Loeffel (SLo), Roy Lowe, Linda & John MacKown, Marcia Marvin (MMa), Mark Miller (MMi), Don Munson, Field Notes (FN; Lincoln County records from the Sandpiper since 1992 are searchable at http://yaquina.info/ybn/bird/bird.htm#recent), Bob Olson, Oregon Birders On-Line (OBOL; recent postings at http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/OBOL.html), Laimons & Vicki Osis, Chuck Philo, Diana Polisensky, Paul Reed, Trent Seager, SemiL (semimonthly Lincoln Co. bird records through 1992 for each species at ScholarsArchive at OSU [http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8070]), Robert Suryan, Dawn Villaescusa, Bradley Waggoner, Caren Willoughby, Yaquina Bay CBC (YCBC) compiled by DG, Yaquina Birders & Naturalists (http://yaquina.info/ybn/) Field Trip (YBNFT) led by LO. -- Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon Lincoln Co. Bird Information at http://yaquina.info/ybn/bird/bird.htm From bcombs232 at gmail.com Mon Jan 16 01:21:27 2012 From: bcombs232 at gmail.com (Barbara Combs) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:21:27 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Crowboarding Message-ID: This is really unique. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2086345/Snowboarding-crow-slides-snow-covered-rooftop-mini-board.html -- Barbara Combs obie '70 Lane County, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kolwicz at minetfiber.com Mon Jan 16 01:35:02 2012 From: kolwicz at minetfiber.com (kolwicz at minetfiber.com) Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:35:02 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Speaking of birds mating this time of year. . . Message-ID: <4F13D326.1080504@minetfiber.com> Kildeer in a flock at the newly-constructed, bare-dirt, conservation area on Coville Rd, east of Baskett Slough, were suddenly very noisy and aggressive again today after a weeks-long period of quiet and calm. I watched and photographed them defending feeding patches in the run-off area from the new diked pond and going through the body-tipping mating sequence with selected partners. The mixed flock also had Dowitchers, Dunlin, a couple of Yellowlegs (Greater, I presume, as those were reported very nearby earlier), Robins, a few Blackbirds and/or Starlings, but no Snipe, as I'd been hoping for. The shorebirds and Kildeer were quite successful in consuming what looked like earthworms, but that area is so wet and has been for a month since the pond filled, that I'm surprised that earthworms would tolerate the saturation level. Whenever I've seen earthworms in standing water, they were either dead or trying to escape it. Frank in Monmouth From dpvroman at budget.net Mon Jan 16 08:09:06 2012 From: dpvroman at budget.net (Dennis Vroman) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:09:06 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Turkey Vultures References: , Message-ID: Re: [OBOL] Turkey VulturesTVs are around Del Norte County as well this winter, Dennis ----- Original Message ----- From: David Irons To: Jeff Gilligan ; Jean Baecher Brown ; OBOL obol Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2012 9:23 PM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Turkey Vultures A modest flock of Turkey Vultures has been wintering around Eugene for at least a decade and they were all over Humboldt County, CA when I visited there in early December. Dave Irons Portland, OR ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:30:18 -0800 From: jeffgill at teleport.com To: jeanbb24622 at gmail.com; obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: Re: [OBOL] Turkey Vultures Good find. While no location in Oregon is within the species? normal winter range, a very small number have been seen in winter in the Willamette Valley in some recent winters. Turkey Vultures are early spring migrants to western Oregon, though but not normally until sometime in February. Whether these were early migrants or wintering birds is of course speculative, but a few nice weather days (as we just experienced) would be enough for a few migrants to get here from the northern limit of their regular winter range, which is around Redding, CA. A Turkey Vulture could reach Oregon from the Redding area in just a few hours. I doubt that either possible explanation for these birds involves global warming. More likely a few birds are benefiting from livestock losses (perhaps early lambs?). Jeff Gilligan On 1/15/12 7:07 PM, "Jean Baecher Brown" wrote: I was surprised to see two Turkey Vultures soaring above a field along I-5 (north of Salem), yesterday. Aren't they suppose to be further south this time of year? Or, maybe on the east side of the state? hope thisisn't another sign of global warming.... _______________________________________________ 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 dhewitt37 at gmail.com Mon Jan 16 10:14:30 2012 From: dhewitt37 at gmail.com (David Hewitt) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:14:30 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Swan Lake - Dairy Raptor Run in Klamath; numbers DOWN; 15 Jan 2012 Message-ID: I ran the January edition of the Swan Lake-Dairy Raptor Route yesterday. Mostly cloudy with light snow flurries in places, esp. Swan Lake Valley, and some wind. Not ideal, but not too bad. Temp steady around 30 deg F, and still bare ground everywhere. Numbers of all species except Prairie Falcon were down, back to levels seen on previous years for this route since 2008. Complete miss on Golden Eagle. I imagine the weather had something to do with the lower numbers, but also perhaps the food that was concentrating so many birds in certain areas has finally gotten trimmed down. Did manage to find both of the Harlan's RTHAs that were found on the Nov route, and were missed on the Dec route. Maybe they don't like crowds. Red-tailed Hawk 66 (2 Harlan's) American Kestrel 6 Northern Harrier 9 Bald Eagle 8 Rough-legged Hawk 13 Ferruginous Hawk 6 Prairie Falcon 3 - Dave Hewitt, Klamath Falls From gneavoll at comcast.net Mon Jan 16 10:42:21 2012 From: gneavoll at comcast.net (George Neavoll) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:42:21 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Mountain Plover query Message-ID: Does anybody know if the Mountain Plover has been seen recently at the Llewellyn Road site s. of Corvallis? George Neavoll S.W. Portland From triciasnyder at clear.net Mon Jan 16 11:34:53 2012 From: triciasnyder at clear.net (Tricia Snyder) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:34:53 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eurasian Collared Doves Message-ID: <5FB57366-C406-4B60-9C58-237C9DDF51EB@clear.net> Just had two EURASIAN COLLARED DOVES perch on some power lines here in Netarts. Sibley's says they are rare here, but I seem to remember several OBOL reports of seeing them over the past couple of years. What seems to be their latest status or trend? Thanks , Tricia Sent from my iPhone From andydfrank at gmail.com Mon Jan 16 11:43:56 2012 From: andydfrank at gmail.com (Andy Frank) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:43:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Portland Surf Scoter Message-ID: This morning there was a first winter male SURF SCOTER with a flock of 200+ scaup (and some Mallards) on the Willamette River just north of the Broadway Bridge in Portland. It initially was mixed in with the flock, then separated itself and slowly drifted north away from the rest of the flock. I called Tait Anderson who was able to get a distant photo http://www.qfwfq.org/willamette/surf-scoter-20120116b.jpg Less exciting but unusual for the area was a male AMERICAN WIGEON with the more usual Mallards, Coots and Wood Ducks between the Steel and Broadway Bridges. I had never seen one there before. Andy Frank -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From w.douglas.robinson at gmail.com Mon Jan 16 12:06:56 2012 From: w.douglas.robinson at gmail.com (Douglas Robinson) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:06:56 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Mountain Plover seems to be gone Message-ID: <22149AF8-1068-4C8D-A84D-E6FC8A366B17@gmail.com> I have not seen the Mountain Plover since 4 January. I checked the site 5 times since then. As you were, Doug Corvallis From garbledmodwit at yahoo.com Mon Jan 16 12:15:52 2012 From: garbledmodwit at yahoo.com (Tim Rodenkirk) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:15:52 -0800 (PST) Subject: [OBOL] Turkey Vultures In-Reply-To: References: , Message-ID: <1326737752.83017.YahooMailNeo@web45315.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> As I understand it, Del Norte is the north end of where Turkey Vultures typically winter (or should I say, are year-round residents) with a bird or two occasionally wandering north into southern Curry in December and January. ?Coos, however, rarely sees vultures in December, although there are three Coos Bay CBC records now (in the last 38 years). The first northbound birds have been showing up in late January in Coos the past few years. ?They use to show up more into February, but this seems to be changing (earliest record is 19 January for Coos). ?The four on the Coos Bay CBC this past December and the one or two around Coos in early January this year are a bit harder to figure out. ?They could be birds that wandered north from Del Norte, they could be birds that are attempting to overwinter, or they could be late birds? ?I think the pattern will become more evident in subsequent years, but certainly the first northbound records have been getting earlier and earlier in just the past 10 years. Black ice everywhere around Coos Bay this morning. ?Snow here and there. ?The big bridge into North Bend was closed early on, but it is open now as the temp creeps up into the mid-30's. While getting coffee this morning, a trucker was talking about a double semi that went out of control on the bottom of the long hill into Winchester Bay and went through the wall into a motel there. ?Nasty morning for the amateur ice drivers in Coos Bay. Steady as she goes... Tim R Coos Bay ________________________________ From: Dennis Vroman To: David Irons ; Jeff Gilligan ; Jean Baecher Brown ; OBOL obol Sent: Monday, January 16, 2012 6:09 AM Subject: Re: [OBOL] Turkey Vultures Re: [OBOL] Turkey Vultures TVs are around Del Norte County as well this winter, Dennis ----- Original Message ----- >From: David Irons >To: Jeff Gilligan ; Jean Baecher Brown ; OBOL obol >Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2012 9:23 PM >Subject: Re: [OBOL] Turkey Vultures > > >A modest flock of Turkey Vultures has been wintering around Eugene for at least a decade and they were all over Humboldt County, CA when I visited there in early December. > >Dave Irons >Portland, OR > > > >________________________________ > Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:30:18 -0800 >From: jeffgill at teleport.com >To: jeanbb24622 at gmail.com; obol at oregonbirds.org >Subject: Re: [OBOL] Turkey Vultures > >Good find. ?While no location in Oregon is within the species? normal winter range, a very small number have been seen in winter in the Willamette Valley in some recent winters. ?Turkey Vultures are early spring migrants to ?western Oregon, though but not normally until sometime in February. ?Whether these were early migrants or wintering birds is of course speculative, but ?a few nice weather days (as we just experienced) would be enough for a few migrants to get here from the northern limit of their regular winter range, which is around Redding, CA. A Turkey Vulture could reach Oregon from the Redding area in just a few hours. ?I doubt that either possible explanation for these birds involves global warming. ?More likely a few birds are benefiting ?from livestock losses (perhaps early lambs?). ??Jeff Gilligan > > >On 1/15/12 7:07 PM, "Jean Baecher Brown" wrote: > > >I was surprised to see two Turkey Vultures soaring above a field along I-5 (north of Salem), yesterday.? Aren't they suppose to be further south this time of year?? Or, maybe on the east side of the state?? hope thisisn't another sign of global warming.... >> > >_______________________________________________ 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 jt_johnson at comcast.net Mon Jan 16 12:55:39 2012 From: jt_johnson at comcast.net (jt_johnson at comcast.net) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:55:39 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [OBOL] Emperor Goose, TRNWR Message-ID: <1268527070.990099.1326740139376.JavaMail.root@sz0014a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net> Sherry Daubert and I saw the Tualatin EMPEROR GOOSE this morning, and it is still here. It was not with a big mass of Cacklers which came and went while we were here--it was with a small band of Cacklers loafing and grazing on one of the distant dike/roads. Jim Johnson Vancouver, Washington http://nwdragonflier.blogspot.com/ http://odonata.bogfoot.net/ From emessis at hotmail.com Mon Jan 16 13:05:22 2012 From: emessis at hotmail.com (D J) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:05:22 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Mallard wing deformity Message-ID: Hi all, Yesterday while birding along a slough, my mom and I spotted a male mallard with what appears to be some sort of bilateral wing deformity. The picture below doesn't capture it quite as well as I would have liked, but has anyone seen something like this before? https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=625659306864&set=a.625236419334.2090206.29300430&type=3&theater It was difficult to tell if the deformity involved more than just the primaries growing out at odd angles or if the wings themselves were abnormal in some way. Either way, flight looks impossible for this fellow. There are photos of a number of other species in the album as well, but most are not to be found in Oregon --we're on O'ahu on family matters for a short time, apparently escaping Portland's first snow of the season! Devon Johnstone --------------------------------- I doubt, therefore I might be. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pamelaj at SpiritOne.com Mon Jan 16 13:08:32 2012 From: pamelaj at SpiritOne.com (pamelaj@spiritone.com) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:08:32 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Eurasian Collared Doves In-Reply-To: <5FB57366-C406-4B60-9C58-237C9DDF51EB@clear.net> References: <5FB57366-C406-4B60-9C58-237C9DDF51EB@clear.net> Message-ID: <34B32F28EE7A40639DFABC68FE0C8B4C@OwnerPC> It's the transcontinental march of the Eurasian Collared-Doves. They have crossed to country, come up against the ocean, and are settling in. Pamela Johnston -----Original Message----- From: Tricia Snyder Sent: Monday, January 16, 2012 9:34 AM To: obol at oregonbirds.org Subject: [OBOL] Eurasian Collared Doves Just had two EURASIAN COLLARED DOVES perch on some power lines here in Netarts. Sibley's says they are rare here, but I seem to remember several OBOL reports of seeing them over the past couple of years. What seems to be their latest status or trend? Thanks , Tricia Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________ OBOL mailing list OBOL at oregonbirds.org http://oregonbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/obol_oregonbirds.org From dan-gleason at comcast.net Mon Jan 16 13:46:08 2012 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:46:08 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Mallard wing deformity In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <6EE5AA12-42D3-4A1B-8CE8-A01FCDD1516D@comcast.net> This looks a condition known as "Angel wing." It only occurs where people feed waterfowl bread and other high carbohydrate foods. Angel wing affects geese, and to a lesser extent, ducks and swans, but does not occur in wild populations. It is found only where people feed birds, mostly in parks where waterfowl congregate. Much is unknown about angel wing, but it only occurs as young birds are growing. A diet high in carbohydrates and protein is the problem and this is precisely what some human foods (popcorn, bread, etc.) contain. Large amounts of these foods raise the birds? sugar and protein levels and decrease levels of manganese and vitamins D and E. The imbalance of these dietary constituents causes the feathers of young birds to grow too fast. Thus, the weight of the feathers in the wings becomes greater than the birds? developing wrist bones can support and the bones twist outward. As the bones grow and solidify, the wings? twisted position becomes permanent, condemning the bird to a flightless existence. Both wings are often affected, but sometimes only the left wing is twisted. For reasons we don?t understand, rarely is only the right wing affected. By not feeding the birds foods unnatural to them, angel wing can be completely prevented. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason at comcast.net 541 345-0450 On Jan 16, 2012, at 11:05 AM, D J wrote: > Hi all, > > Yesterday while birding along a slough, my mom and I spotted a male mallard with what appears to be some sort of bilateral wing deformity. The picture below doesn't capture it quite as well as I would have liked, but has anyone seen something like this before? > > https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=625659306864&set=a.625236419334.2090206.29300430&type=3&theater > > It was difficult to tell if the deformity involved more than just the primaries growing out at odd angles or if the wings themselves were abnormal in some way. Either way, flight looks impossible for this fellow. > > There are photos of a number of other species in the album as well, but most are not to be found in Oregon --we're on O'ahu on family matters for a short time, apparently escaping Portland's first snow of the season! > > > > Devon Johnstone > > --------------------------------- > I doubt, therefore I might be. > _______________________________________________ > 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 Mon Jan 16 14:36:24 2012 From: joel.geier at peak.org (Joel Geier) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:36:24 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] Mountain Plover query In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1326746184.2881.8.camel@clearwater1> Hi George & All, I checked the location along Llewellyn Rd. this morning (within the past 2 hours) and also nearby fields along Greenberry Rd and Finley Refuge Rd. I didn't see any Mountain Plover despite good visibility (and fairly good contrast provided by nearly continuous snow cover). There are now two FLAMINGOS (pink plastic variety, not sure if they are supposed to be Greater or Lesser Flamingos) out in the fog-plover field along Llewellyn Rd. Who says Larry Vennell doesn't have a sense of humor? There are quite a few AMERICAN PIPITS scattered around the area. An immature GOLDEN EAGLE (presumably the same one that has been seen around Finley NWR recently) flew south over Llewellyn Rd just west of Muddy Creek around 10:15 AM. A PEREGRINE FALCON was stirring up the KILLDEER, STARLING, BLACKBIRD and PIPIT flocks along Refuge Rd. around 09:15. SAVANNAH SPARROWS are sticking like glue to the roadsides, except for a few that were trying to forage on some frozen puddles. Happy birding, Joel > Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:42:21 -0800 > From: George Neavoll > To: obol at oregonbirds.org > Subject: [OBOL] Mountain Plover query > Does anybody know if the Mountain Plover has been seen recently at the > Llewellyn Road site s. of Corvallis? > > George Neavoll > S.W. Portland -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis From dlrobbo at comcast.net Mon Jan 16 15:23:16 2012 From: dlrobbo at comcast.net (Douglas Robberson) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:23:16 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] mating Mallards? In-Reply-To: References: <484D2343-FB9B-41C6-849B-B1F8A18669DC@comcast.net> Message-ID: I might add that it is call "rape" because ducks do not mate in the typical cloaca to cloaca method as other birds do. I was very surprised last year in an ornithology class when I learned why. Doug Robberson Tigard, OR > This is the proper season for mating displays to begin in ducks. For the majority of our ducks, males are now in their best breeding plumage and they are courting females. There will be many different attempts with several females before a bond is forged. The female will ultimately decide which male she will choose as a mate, but males often still attempt to mount hens. Mating in ducks is sometimes referred to as a "rape" because it is forceful on the part of the male. Sometimes more than one male try to mount a single female. Most matings will not be successful yet, but there may be attempts. It is likely that at this point in time, a females ovaries have not yet enlarged and started to produce this seasons eggs. (In birds, the gonads shrink significantly and become non-functional during the non-breeding season. The testes of some male passerines are nearly 500X larger in the breeding season than during the non-breeding season when they are resorbed into the bodys' tissues. This does help with weight reduction for flight, but is likely not the only reason for this to occur. These changes are stimulated by day length and under hormonal control.) > > By the time spring arrives, males will have become bonded to their mate for that season. When the female leaves for her mating site (often near where she was hatched), the male will now be so bonded that he will follow. Once successful breeding occurs in the spring, the bond begins to break apart. The timing of when that happens differs between species. Some males lose interest as soon as the female begins to build a nest. For others, males may remain until chicks begin to hatch. Later, in spring or summer, when you see a "family" of ducks, the male you see with the female and her brood, is often not the male she mated with initially. But males are still attempting opportunistic matings with other females, rarely forming a new pair-bond. Males will also often fly to a new location, perhaps hundreds of miles away in a few cases. Here they may form males flocks or still seek the attention of new females. > > One of the ducks that does not follow the above pattern is Ruddy Duck. Note that male Ruddy Ducks do not have a bright breeding plumage now as other ducks do. For Ruddy Ducks, pair formation occurs on the breeding ground after the spring migration rather than before. Male Ruddy Ducks will also often stay with a mate until after all of the chicks have hatched, but usually play little role in their care and will abandon before the chicks have fledged. > > Notice, in contrast, that most geese and swans mate for life, or at least form very long pair-bonds. Males remain with their females and help care for the young. They have no need of the bright colors like male ducks that need to attract a new mate each year. The duller plumage also helps with concealment for female ducks and both sexes of geese and swans. > > Dan Gleason > ------------- > Dan Gleason > dan-gleason at comcast.net > 541 345-0450 > > > On Jan 15, 2012, at 3:02 PM, Jeff and Lauretta Young wrote: > >> In our Bethany area pond today we had Mallards doing their " head bobbing up and down" repeatedly and then mating >> >> isn't it rather early to produce ducklings? or maybe they are just practicing? >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 Doug Robberson Tigard, OR From dan-gleason at comcast.net Mon Jan 16 15:57:14 2012 From: dan-gleason at comcast.net (Dan Gleason) Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:57:14 -0800 Subject: [OBOL] mating Mallards? In-Reply-To: References: <484D2343-FB9B-41C6-849B-B1F8A18669DC@comcast.net> Message-ID: I think you may have left some people wondering why. The "rape" in ducks is mostly called that because that is what it looks like, a very aggressive act. However, you are right that there is more to the story. There still seems to be a surprising amount of reluctance to openly talk about sex and sexual anatomy, even in birds. As a result, many people do not know a lot about reproductive anatomy in birds and other animals. In most birds, sperm is transferred by a series of brief contacts between male and female cloaca, known as a cloacal kiss. In only a few kinds of birds do males have penis-like structures. These include: ratites, most waterfowl, chickens and turkeys, and a few parrots. For some species, like ostriches, these organs can become very enlarged and are involved in elaborate mating rituals. In ducks, this erectile organ is inserted into the end of the female cloaca and sperm is transferred along a groove on the outside of this structure, which is usually spiral in shape when enlarged with lymph. This arrangement helps facilitate an adequate transfer of sperm because mating occurs in the water where sperm might be washed away by a simple cloacal kiss. The risk of sperm being washed away is less of a problem for other waterbirds, such as grebes, because mating occurs on the nest, not in the water. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason at comcast.net 541 345-0450 On Jan 16, 2012, at 1:23 PM, Douglas Robberson wrote: > I might add that it is call "rape" because ducks do not mate in the typical cloaca to cloaca method as other birds do. I was very surprised last year in an ornithology class when I learned why. > > Doug Robberson > Tigard, OR > --------