Scappoose - Warbler Woods

A nice stroll through the woods with Mario, my mom's toy poodle.  He caught on pretty quick and even spotted a Brown Creeper for me!

• Red-Tailed Hawk
• American Crow
• American Robins
• Swainson's Thrush
• Oregon Juncos + juveniles and various stages of growth
• Spotted Towhees
• Red-Breasted Nuthatches
• Downy Woodpeckers - males
• Brown Creepers
• Steller's Jays
• Wilson's Warblers
• Golden-Crowned Kinglet
• Evening Grosbeak - male
• Turkey Vulture
• Violet-Green Swallows
• Anna's Hummingbird - male
• Red-Breasted Sapsucker

No camera with me today.

Great Blue Heron Cam

Just a quick update on the GBHs... I hadn't checked the cam in a while and was surprised to see that not only did the eggs hatch, but they're huge! 


Check it out!


http://www.allaboutbirds.org/page.aspx?pid=2433

Backyard Birds Misc...

Since last week I've only seen two new species at my "inside-out log cabin" in the country:

• Yellow Warblers - males
• Western Tanagers - male and female

BUT... I've still got all the regular visitors... ;D

Sittin' pretty...

Pine Siskin

White-Crowned Sparrow

Pine Siskin 

Purple Finch

Purple Finch

Eurasian Collared Dove

Female Evening Grosbeak

Male Evening Grosbeak.  To right, Female Black-Headed Grosbeak.

Western Tanager - male

A-flutterin', flappin' and a-flyin'...
 

Purple Finch - male

Black-Headed Grosbeak - male

Evening Grosbeak - male

Black-Headed Grosbeak and Pine Siskins

Black-Headed Grosbeak - female

American Goldfinch - male

Pine Siskins

Eurasian Collared Dove

Black-Headed Grosbeak - male

The Goal: 60 Species in 2 Days

Day 2

Canon Beach

5.19.12

My cousin, husband, brother (I just love getting new people involved in birding!) and I.

• House Sparrows
• Barn Swallows
• Western Gulls 
• Bald Eagle
• Pelagic cormorants
• Surf Scoters
• Common Murre
• Pigeon Guillemot*
• Brant's Cormorant
• Harlequin Ducks - males
• Tufted Puffins
• Tree Swallow
• Violet-Green Swallows
• American Crow

58 species (8 new species at Haystack Rock)

Well, we needed 60 species to meet the goal, and not only that, but we've only just begun birding for the day, we needed to hit up at least one other spot.

Harlequin Ducks (on the rocks)

Gull of sorts

Unlike the last trip to Haystack Rock, the place was swarming with birds.

Cannon Beach Settling Ponds (One of those waste water treatment centers.. I wasn't expecting a lot out of it, but I was in for a surprise!)

• Red-Necked Phalaropes* - a lifer, right off the bat!  The place was looking good!
• Mallards + 2 duckling sets
• Red-Winged Blackbirds
• Spotted Sandpipers
• Yellow Warblers - Lots of them! 
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Barn Swallows
• Violet-Green Swallows
• Song Sparrows
• American Robins
• Brown-Headed Cowbirds
• Steller's Jay
• Wilson's Warbler
• Wood Ducks
• Common Raven
• Eurasian Collared Doves

Add 6 more species to the list..

Grand total:

64 Species!  We made our goal, and with 4 lifers!!!

*Lifers!

Red-Necked Phalaropes

Spotted Sandpiper

Red-Winged Blackbird

Mallard - female with curious ducklings <3

Song Sparrow

Male Mallard in floating algae water

American Crow

Yellow Warbler - male

Wilson's Warbler - male

Red-Necked Phalarope

The Goal: 60 Species in 2 Days

Day one
Tualatin River Wildlife Refuge 
5.18.12
My cousin and I

• Killdeer(s)
• Great Blue Heron
• Barn Swallows
• Canada Geese + goslings 
• White-Crowned Sparrow
• Belted Kingfisher - male
• Northern Flicker
• Red-Winged Blackbirds
• Mallards
• Bald Eagles
• Gadwalls - males
• Violet-Green Swallows
• American Crows
• Brewer's Blackbird - male
• Vaux's Swifts
• Song Sparrows
• Common Yellowthroat
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Bank Swallows
• Cedar Waxwings
• Western Scrub-Jay
• Chestnut-Backed Chickadee
• Brown-Headed Cowbird - male
• Tree Swallow
• American Goldfinches
• Ringed-Necked Ducks - males
• American Coot
• Cliff Swallow
• Savannah Sparrows
• Purple Finches
• Orange-Crowned Warbler
• Western Wood-Peewee*
• Red-Breasted Sapsuckers
• Black-Headed Grosbeaks
• European Starlings
• Bushtit
• Lazuli Buntings* - both sexes!
• Spotted Towhee
• American Kestrel

*Lifers!!

We certainly mopped the floor at TRWR, it was awesome!

Then, later that day, at my house and randomly:

• House Sparrows
• Rock Doves
• Pine Siskins
• Turkey Vultures
• Yellow Warbler
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Oregon Juncos
• Mourning Dove
• Rufous Hummingbird - female
• Steller's Jay

The total species for the day:

50!

The always GREAT Blue Heron

Bald Eagles making quite the raucous. 

Red-Breasted Sapsucker flailing about comically. 

Lazuli Bunting - male

Lazuli Bunting - female

Playing bird blog catch up again... :)

I haven't been able to post very often since moving to the country, where internet is hard to come by.... for the time being anyway! ;) 


Also, I haven't been birding nearly as much as I would like to lately, but this weekend I'm playing catch up on that too.  Most of Friday and Saturday is going to be birding time.  My cousin and I have set a goal to see at least 60 different species.  I'm also hoping to go birding tomorrow evening with my "intructee" aka student, aka husband who is newer to birding than I am.  If that plan works out, my goal for the 3 days of birding will be 70.  Yikes... I'm just pulling these numbers out of no where, so I hope I can fulfill them! 


Okay, so that's the plan.  I'm really excited for it and I'll post again asap...which may be a while... We'll see! :D

Scappoose Field 5.06.12

My mom and I went birding in the woods that lead to a field by my parent's house, as well as the field itself.  We saw so many warblers that my mom decided she's going to start calling it Warbler Woods.  :)

• Spotted Towhee
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Orange-Crowned Warblers
• Golden-Crowned Kinglet
• Bushtit
• Wilson's Warblers
• Anna's Hummingbird
• Turkey Vultures
• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Audubon's Warblers
• Townsend's Warblers*
• Brown Creepers
• Mourning Doves
• Oregon Junco
• American Goldfinch - male

*Lifer!

Commonwealth Lake Park 5.08.12

I have a theory that birds, like humans are creatures of habit.  I was really hoping to see the Green Heron I've seen there before.  No such luck.  Many people, even non-birders have seen it there, so I just know it'll be there next time.  

• Barn Swallows
• American Wigeon
• Mallards + ducklings
• Song Sparrows
• Canada Geese
• Red-Winged Blackbirds
• Domesticated Waterfowl (of course.  It's the same exact ones every time, they're actually kind of cool looking too!)
• Audubon's Warbler
• American Goldfinches
• Yellow Warbler - male
• House Sparrows
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• American Robin
• Northern Harrier
• Bushtits

Oak's Bottom - Bird Fest 5.12.12

Bird walks are hit or miss a lot of times... especially with kids involved, but it was a nice time and it's good to see kids take such an interest in birds.

• American Crow
• Oregon Junco
• Osprey
• Anna's Hummingbirds
• Mallards + 6 ducklings
• Great Blue Herons
• Song Sparrows
• Northern Flicker - male
• Bald Eagle + juvenile 
• Wood Ducks + 10 ducklings in tight cluster
• Downy Woodpeckers - doing a mating dance on a branch - quite entertaining! 
• Bushtits
• Spotted Towhee
• American Goldfinches
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Red-Winged Blackbird

And, of course, I continue to see more and more new species at my country house in Manning, Oregon.  I'll refrain from another new post about it, but I must still list them. :P

• Orange-Crowned Warblers
• Wilson's Warblers
• Vaux's Swifts
• Brown-Headed Cowbirds - male and female
• Cedar Waxwings
• Bald Eagle
• House Wren* -my cousin already made fun of the fact that I hadn't seen one before...but hey better late than never! :)

*Lifer! 

Parking Lot Birds

I've been meaning to post this for a while now.  Back in March, a pair of Killdeer laid their eggs in the parking lot at my husband's work.  This has been going on for generations now.  What's weird, is they made their nest right in the middle of the parking lot, in a median, on top of bark mulch that the Killdeer and their eggs blended right into.  I was so afraid someone would accidentally step on them, luckily the parent Killdeer were pretty vocal when anyone came near.

Killdeer on nest

Oops, I scared her away. (I really didn't mean to, I was keeping a distance and being quick about it.)

Then, in mid April, three of the eggs hatched.  No one knows what happened with the fourth egg, but there were some crows and starlings that had been bothering them.

As a size reference, check out the regular sized curb it's standing in front of.

Worried Mom keeps a close eye on things.

fast motion!

A week or two after this, they were flying!

This list goes on...

I can't help but to post again about the birds I've been seeing at my new place in Manning.  Just as I was thinking I've seen all that I'll see there, more new things show up!

• Brown Creeper
• American Kestrel
• American Crows
• Anna's Hummingbird - female
• Evening Grosbeaks* - male and female
• Red-Breasted Nuthatch
• Turkey Vultures - 10 overhead! The most I've ever seen at once.
• Great Blue Heron
• Eurasian Collared Doves - I don't know how plausible that is, but I'm pretty sure of it, and I think we see them more often than we realize and quickly categorize them as Mourning Doves and move on.  I know Doves aren't the most interesting bird to study, but it's something to think about next time you're birding. :)
• Purple Finches
• American Goldfinches
• Owl pellets - last sunday afternoon
• Great Horned Owl! - Sunday night
• Black-Headed Grosbeak - male + several male and female Evening Grosbeaks
• Mallards - pair flying by
• Chipping Sparrow

*Lifer! First lifer at my new residence. 

Lots of Golden-Crowned Sparrows in the yard and at the feeder.  When I saw the Chipping Sparrow yesterday, it was surrounded by  G.C. Sparrows and looked so tiny in comparison. 

American Goldfinch.  I think they're so funny looking when their black cap is more of a mask.  Hee hee <3

American Goldfinch.  I think they're so funny looking when their black cap is more of a mask.  Hee hee <3

American Kestrel 

Evening Grosbeaks - female and male

Yikes!  Here we have a Mourning Dove's egg (or possibly Eurasian Collared Dove) that I believe was the victim of a brutal murder.  (By the way, this happened right before I found out about Eurasian Collared Doves, and they have now fled the area.)

European Starling AKA the murderers.  The doves and starlings were fighting over a tree, and, sadly the starlings won.

On a lighter note, Yay, an American Robin!

Worst picture ever... supposed to be a male Purple Finch... all crappy, like an attempt to prove Bigfoot exists.... ha!

Worst picture ever... supposed to be a male Purple Finch... all crappy, like an attempt to prove Bigfoot exists.... ha!

Owl pellet, possibly from a Great Horned Owl.  See the yellow buck teeth of a mouse?

Evening Grosbeaks came back.

Male Black-Headed Grosbeak

Robin's egg (not murdered by starlings)