Sauvie Island - Part two

All the Sparrows got us excited to see more, so it was off to explore the island.

Lots of pairs of American Robins. Love them.

Tundra Swans

Spotted Towhee.  Very curious of Jeff.

Neat little nest.

Golden-Crowned Sparrow

This one came right up to me. :D

While looking at a Chipping Sparrow and wondering where the Harris's Sparrow might be, I turned to my right, to see him looking right at me, closer than ever!  

Harris's Sparrow - Notice quite different than the Harris's in the last post - I think this one is an older juvenile, or maybe an adult.

Female Red-Winged Blackbird

Sandhill Cranes

White-Crowned Sparrow

A fun sequence of a Golden-Crowned Sparrow picking at the Pussy Willow Tree.

The Gorge

11.25.12
Early B-day gift for me!  I had been to the Gorge birding one other time, visiting different places.  It was about a year ago, and like then, it was super chilly.

• Red-Tailed Hawks
• Great Egrets
• Bufflehead - male - first of the season!
• Northern Flickers

Rowena Crest

• Oregon Juncos
• Common Ravens
• Bald Eagles + juveniles 

(We also saw 5 Black-Tailed deer!)

Juvenile Bald Eagles

Tom McCall Nature Preserve (across the street from Rowena Crest)

• Northern Flicker
• Western Scrub-Jays
• American Robins
• Steller's Jays
• Mallards
• Purple Finches
• Red-Winged Blackbirds - male
• Song Sparrows
• Varied Thrush

Excellent views

Confusing with no sky, only water.

Hope shining through the distant clouds.  It was a cold first half of birding.

An American Robin among all the Red-Winged Blackbirds.

Across the river, on the Washington side, we tried for Horsetheif Butte, but it was closed for the season.  Must try again after April...

Chamberlain Lake

• American Kestrels
• Double-Crested Comorants + juveniles
• Mountain Chickadees - These, and the next 4 species were seen at the rest stop, who knew?  Granted it was a nice rest stop... :)
• White-Breasted Nuthatches
• Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
• Canada Geese
• Red-Tailed Hawk

Rowland Lake 

• Golden-Crowned Kinglet
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Golden-Crowned Sparrows
• Spotted Towhee
• Western Scrub-Jays

We stared at this rock for a long time, thinking it was where an Acorn Woodpecker has been spotted.  Turns out it was the wrong spot.  Do'h!  Pretty area though.

Cooper Mountain

11.07.12
My cousin's first trip to Cooper Mountain, I was happy to share it with him. 

• Oregon Juncos 
• Golden-Crowned Sparrows 
• American Crows
• Lesser Goldfinches
• Red-Tailed Hawks
• American Kestrels - males
• Steller's Jays
• Spotted Towhee
• American Robins
• Northern Flickers
• Golden-Crowned Kinglets
• Black-Capped Chickadees
• Anna's Hummingbird - audio
• Bewick's Wren
• Western Scrub-Jays

The sometimes overlooked American Robin.  My cousin has a good point that a more suitable name would be American Thrush, give it the respect it deserves. :)

Mmm... berries!  

Summer in closing

This summer has been one heck of a birding adventure.  

Multiple coastal birding trips.

Malheur.

Coos Bay shorebird festival and pelagic tour.

Three sisters.

Country livin'/birds galore. 

Lifers, lifers, lifers!

After reviewing my list of summer birds I wanted to see, I did better than I expected:

• Bulldock's Oriole
• Blue-Winged Teal
• Virginia Rail
• Pigeon Guillemot
• Common Nighthawk
• Olive-Sided Flycatcher
• Western Wood-Pewee
• Willow Flycatcher
• Hutton's Vireo
• Warbling Viero
• Bank Swallow
• Northern Rough-Winged Swallow
• Purple Martin
• House Wren
• Black-Throated Gray Warbler
• Wilson's Warbler - I had seen only one once last summer and hoped to see them again, and boy did I ever! Lots-o-Wilson's! 
• Chipping Sparrow - Again, one I had already seen, a while back and wanted to see again.
• Lazuli Bunting
• Eared Grebe
• Black-Crowned Night-Heron
• Swainson's Hawk
• Black-Necked Stilt
• American Avocet
• Wilson's Phalarope
• Williamson's Sapsucker
• Say's Phoebe
• Western Kingbird
• Loggerhead Shrike
• Lark Sparrow
• Brewer's Sparrow

I even saw some birds left over from my winter's list:

• Pacific Loon
• Clark's Grebe
• White-Faced Ibis

The birds left on my summer list, I have yet to see:

• Sora
• Cassin's Vireo
• Long-Billed Curlew
• Common Poorwill
• Black-Chinned Hummingbird
• Calliope Hummingbird
• Red-Naped Sapsucker
• Dusky Flycatcher
• Gray Flycatcher

Maybe next Summer?  
Next I need to work on a new winter list, can't wait!

In other developments, at the end of August we moved out of the country Manning house and back into an apartment in Beaverton.  It's for the better, despite all the cool birds and wildlife there, but I would like to finish this post with one last look at the end of my summer in Manning.

Pine Siskins

The always present, White-Crowned Sparrow

Pretty purple flowers

Odd bark of a birch tree

Weeds are pretty too

Lots of pretty purple flowers

A juvenile White-Crowned Sparrow

Handsome American Robin

Eating worms

Spotted Towhee

The resident ground hog.  I was glad to see him make new holes all summer, despite the land lord's talk of 'gassing him'. :(

My indoor cat, Thomas, got to walk around the yard with me and pretend to hunt for mice.

The bird bath visited by many of the birds.  The jays liked to drink from it.

Lots of feathers, mostly Steller's Jay feathers.

I will not soon forget the Swifts living in the chimney and this one that was down in the fire place.

MacGillivray's Warbler.  One of 3 lifers I got at the Manning house.  The first was Evening Grosbeaks.

Black-Headed Grosbeak - male

A frequent visitor, the Red-Breasted Sapsucker in his favorite tree.

So cute.

Never a shortage of White-Crowned Sparrows.

This little guy and one other W.C. Sparrow had no tail.  It was strange, but he could still fly.  

Crow flight

A petrified tree frog, found in my living room and became a mascot of sorts.

Moth 1

Moth 2

Willow Flycatcher.  Note no eye ring.  My third Manning lifer.

Yikes, run for it!

Great Summer, but now it's time to bring on the Winter birding! :D

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)