Author: John Rakestraw

Black-tailed Gull

by John Rakestraw, posted in beyond OR, mammals, rarities

A Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris) has been hanging out on a log boom in Tacoma, WA, for the past couple of weeks. Tacoma is normally far outside my “chase radius” for a single bird, but Marsha was working a conference in Seattle last Saturday, so it was only a half-hour drive from there to the bird. Since this is probably the only chance I will have to see this Asian species, I was happy to spend the four and a half hours standing on the shoreline waiting for this bird to appear.


While waiting for the gull, I enjoyed watching the many Harbor Seals in the area. Most were just resting on the logs, while others swam around munching on salmon.


I really want to give this seal a belly rub.


The Black-tailed Gull finally arrived around 2:30 and provided extended views of the field marks that make this species so distinctive. This photo and the ones that follow were taken through my scope. While the camera and scope are obviously not compatible for digiscoping, these photos show that you can obtain documentation of rarities without a lot of special equipment. The key field marks for this species include: yellow drooping bill with bright red tip and black subterminal band, solid black tail with white terminal band, pale irises, white crescents above and below the eyes, and dusky markings on the nape that wrap around the head (winter).


Tillamook Bay, 9/24/11

by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites


I took my Portland Audubon class to Tillamook Bay (Birding Oregon p. 125). We found strong winds, high tides, and rough seas, but the weather was warm and mostly sunny. This photo was taken on the bayside of Bayocean Spit. The water was high enough to cover the mudflats, so we didn’t find any shorebirds, but we did find good numbers of gulls loafing in the shallow water.


Here is a first-cycle California Gull with two adult Western Gulls and a probable third-cycle Western Gull.


The largest concentration of birds was at the Bay City Oyster Plant. This little jetty was covered with gulls, Brown Pelicans, and Black Turnstones.


Western Gull, two Heerman’s Gulls, and a California Gull


Brown Pelicans


juvenile Brown Pelican and Heerman’s Gull


We found at least four Black Oystercatchers at the Three Graces Tidal Area.


At Barview Jetty, the rough seas and howling winds kept the expected seabirds out of the channel. But the big waves did reveal lots of Ochre Sea Stars.


This lone Black Turnstone was the only shorebird we found braving the rough conditions.

Mt. Hood National Forest, 9/17/2011

by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements


Nala and I walked part of the Pacific Crest Trail in Mt. Hood National Forest, starting at Little Crater Lake (Birding Oregon p. 75) and walking north for about seven miles before turning around. The edge of this old clearcut provides a view into the valley below. If it weren’t for the low cloud cover on this day, you would be able to see Mt. Hood in this photo.


As expected this time of year, the forest held very few birds. Once the nesting season ends in July, most birds on the west slope of the Cascades take off. For some reason, forests on the east slope maintain a higher species diversity. In five hours of walking, I found (in order of decreasing abundance) Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Red Crossbills, Gray Jays, American Robins, Swainson’s Thrushes, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Common Ravens,  Dark-eyed Juncos, and singles of Brown Creeper (above) and Wilson’s Warbler.


There was plenty of evidence of woodpecker activity. The rectangular holes suggest Pileated Woodpecker.


Various berries provided a dash of color.


Nala on the trail


Douglas’ Squirrel


the wet meadow near Little Crater Lake

Pelagic trip, September 10, 2011

by John Rakestraw, posted in behavior, OR Birding Sites

On Saturday I went on another excellent pelagic trip out of Newport with Greg Gillson and his band of wonderful guides. The weather was cool, windy, and foggy. Seas were very rough, so many cookies were tossed and chunder was blown among my fellow birders. But thanks to Bonine, my stomach survived the trip unscathed. Rough seas made photography very challenging, but here are a few images from the day.


A foggy sunrise beneath the Yaquina Bay Bridge.


Once we we got well offshore, the fog cleared and the Black-footed Albatrosses appeared. These are common birds on virtually every Oregon pelagic trip, but they are always magnificent to see.


Black-footed Albatross


Black-footed Albatross next to a Northern Fulmar


This Northern Fulmar is dining on a chunk of beef fat.


The Northern Fulmars make a hasty retreat at the appearance of a South Polar Skua. Skuas make their living beating up smaller seabirds and stealing their lunch.


While I have seen South Polar Skuas on many other trips, this is the first time I have seen them resting on the water.


In flight, South Polar Skuas are easily recognized by their barrel-chested shape and white patches at the base of the primaries.


As we got back closer to shore, we found this Tufted Puffin.


Yaquina Head, just north of Newport. The rocks just offshore here are important nesting colonies for many seabirds.

Fernhill Dog Days

by John Rakestraw, posted in identification challenges, OR Birding Sites, rarities, seasonal movements

In preparation for my shorebirds class for Portland Audubon, I have made several trips to Fernhill Wetlands (Birding Oregon p. 61) in recent weeks. As expected in the Willamette Valley in late summer, species diversity is fairly low, but there is always something to see.


Green Herons are common at this site, flushing from the shores of the main lake or hunting in Dabblers Marsh.


High water levels this year have left little mud for the shorebirds. This Killdeer has found some higher ground.


Greater Yellowlegs


The shorebird class found at least six Stilt Sandpipers on their field trip. This species is a rare migrant in Oregon. I had only seen one individual in Oregon prior to this trip, also at Fernhill.

Two Stilt Sandpipers


Late summer is the ugly duck season, with most birds in their summer alternate, or “eclipse” plumage. I think I know what this little duck is, but I would be interested in your opinions. Leave a comment.


This is a school of young bullheads, I assume Black Bullheads. The young school together while the adult male stays close by to protect them. There were many broods of these little fish in Cattail Marsh.


I haven’t learned to ID the local dragonflies, so if you know who this is, leave a comment.

Barview Jetty

by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements


Barview Jetty (Birding Oregon p. 125) forms the northern edge of the entrance to Tillamook Bay. It is a good site for viewing rock-loving shorebirds, gulls, and seabirds. The jetty was rebuilt last year, so the surface is now smooth enough that you can walk out all the way to the end. After the first few winter storms, most of the gravel and smaller rocks will wash away, leaving the jetty too rough to safely walk on. The photo was taken from the end of the jetty. I broke my first rule of jetty birding to take this picture; Never turn your back on the ocean. One never knows when a big sneaker wave will wash over the jetty, sweeping oblivious bird-nerds such as myself into the sea.


The only shorebirds visible on this visit were this flock of Red-necked Phalaropes swimming near the end of the jetty. A cold front had just gone through, creating strong NW winds. You might think those conditions would have brought in migrating shorebirds. But it has been my experience that cold fronts move out any shorebirds that have been staging in an area. It then takes several days for new migrants to trickle in. So the the longer it has been since the last cold front, the more likely it is that you will find larger numbers of south-bound migrants.


Two Harbor Seals were swimming in the channel, along with a few Pelagic and Double-crested Cormorants, and a very distant Rhinoceros Auklet.

Seaside, OR 8-4-11

by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, rarities, seasonal movements

I spent the day birding sites around Seaside, OR (Birding Oregon p. 121).


The tide was the lowest I have seen at The Cove, revealing its sandy bottom.


The low tide allowed lots of beach-combers to wander along the rocky edges, so the only shorebirds present was a small flock of Black Turnstones.


This is a Western Gull in very worn plumage. Note the black-tipped primary just starting to grow in. The lumpy neck on this bird was caused by the large sea star he had just swallowed.


Heerman’s Gulls are normally one of the most beautiful gull species, but this individual was also extremely worn.


These birds were in better shape.


California Gulls are starting to gather along the Oregon coast. This juvenile was keeping company with an adult Western Gull.


At the north end of town is the Necanicum Estuary, also at very low tide. The exposed mud and aquatic vegetation attracted nice numbers of shorebirds.


Semipalmated Plover


Least Sandpipers


Western Sandpiper


The rarest bird of the day was this Semipalmated Sandpiper.


Notice on these shorebird tracks that the toes are partially webbed, or semipalmated. So these tracks were made by either a Western Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, or Semipalmated Sandpiper.


These tracks don’t show any sign of webbing, so they were probably made by a Least Sandpiper.


The estuary is a favorite hang-out for Caspian Terns, here joined by California Gulls.

 

Eastern Kingbird

by John Rakestraw, posted in birding philosophy, OR Birding Sites

A few years ago I blogged on birding and aesthetics , describing how beautiful birds and beautiful scenery do not always occur together. I saw another example of this recently.


Tucked away in this scene of power lines and invasive Himalayan Blackberries is a lovely Eastern Kingbird. This species is very hard to find in the Portland area, regularly occurring in small numbers only at the Sandy River Delta.

Part of birding’s appeal is the fact that birds can show up just about anywhere. No matter how badly we have degraded the landscape, there is still a chance that some wonderful creature might fly in, at least for a brief stop.

Sandy River Delta

by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites


The Sandy River Delta (Birding Oregon p. 63) lies at the western end of the Columbia River Gorge. Habitats include large areas of grassland and riparian forest.


Within the grassy areas are little islands of Himalayan Blackberry. This is an alien invasive which can overwhelm native plant communities, but Common Yellowthroats (above), Willow Flycatchers, and Lazuli Buntings (below) will take advantage of the cover and perches offered by the thorny vegetation.


The groves of cottonwoods are home to many of the common woodland species found in the Willamette Valley. Bushtits (above), Black-headed Grosbeaks, Bullock’s Orioles, Swainson’s Thrushes, Red-eyed Vireo, and Yellow-breasted Chat can all be found here.


The Sandy River Delta is also known as the 1000 Acre Dog Park. Dogs are allowed off-leash except in the parking lot and on one trail. Despite the many trash cans available, some people do not pick up after their dogs, so watch your step. Here is a photo of Nala, The Birding Dog, showing off her retriever moves.