Shorebirds

by John Rakestraw, posted in identification challenges, OR Birding Sites

The big news in Oregon birding this week is the Wood Sandpiper found at Fern Ridge Reservoir west of Eugene (Birding Oregon p. 90). This is the first record for Oregon, and one of only a few records for North America south of Alaska. Of regional interest was a Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Tualatin River NWR, just west of Tigard. I wasn’t able to chase either of these birds, so I had to settle for a few more common species at Fernhill Wetlands (Birding Oregon p. 61).


While we can’t see the bill on this individual, the bold stripes and orange tail identify this bird as a Wilson’s Snipe.


Here is a Greater Yellowlegs. The bill is more than half the total length of the head. On a Lesser Yellowlegs, the bill is about half the total head length, and the bird is considerably smaller overall.

Autumn Movements

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

With the autumnal equinox this week, we are seeing migrants returning to the Willamette Valley. The first flocks of Cackling Geese have arrived along with good numbers of Greater White-fronted Geese. The brambles are once again hosting Golden-crowned Sparrows.


Sandhill Cranes are gathering on Sauvie Island (Birding Oregon p. 55). These birds were seen along Sturgeon Lake on Oak Island.


Flocks of Yellow-rumped Warblers were moving through the woods and brushy areas of Oak Island today. This individual is a female of the Myrtle race. Notice how the white throat is cleanly separated from the gray cheek, with the white starting to wrap around the ear coverts. Audubon’s race does not show this clear demarcation.

The best laid plans

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

It is sometimes the case, when I plan to look for a certain type of bird, that my target species are nowhere to be found. On those days we have to let go of our expectations and open ourselves to whatever treasures the birding fates have for us. I helped with a field trip today that was supposed to visit a hawk watch site. The ridge was completely socked in by low clouds, so we had to scrap our plans and instead birded open range and farm land.

Likewise, I recently visited Fernhill Wetlands (Birding Oregon p. 61) to look for shorebirds. Despite the decent amount of mudflat habitat available, shorebirds were almost non-existent. While I was disappointed in the lack of waders, there is always something interesting to watch.


Always common, but always worth a look, Great Blue Herons will often surprise you with the interesting creatures they are attempting to swallow. On this day I watched one bird swallow a large catfish.


Great Egrets congregate this time of year to fish in the receding waters.


This Peregrine Falcon was keeping watch over the wetlands. This might explain the lack of shorebirds.


We are still in the “ugly brown duck season,” when many birds are still in eclipse plumage. Despite the lack of characteristic colors, most birds can be identified by shape or by tell-tale field marks. This picture shows two Northern Pintails on either side of a Green-winged Teal. The pintails are identified by their pointy backsides and their blue sloping bills. The tiny teal is displaying the green speculum on the wing that give the species its name.

Along the Columbia River

by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, reptiles & amphibians

I walked for several hours at the Sandy River Delta this afternoon (Birding Oregon p. 63). Aside from two American Pipits and a Peregrine Falcon, birding was pretty slow, which was not too surprising given the heat and time of day. Even when there aren’t a lot of birds around, there is always something to see.


I spent a lot of time exploring the tidal ponds along the Columbia River. The river level is affected daily by tides and by releases from dams upstream. The water was low today, so lots of wildlife was crowded into the shrinking pools.


The little pools were filled with Banded Killifish. This species has been introduced to Oregon.


Along the with many non-native Bullfrogs was this Pacific Treefrog in a brilliant green.


Here’s another Pacific Treefrog in brown. He was “hiding” under water.


Of course, where you have fish and frogs in shallow pools, you will have garter snakes. I believe this is a Northwestern Garter.

Northwestern Garter Snakes are supposed to have seven scales on their upper lips, but this guy has eight.


And for those of you who don’t appreciate fish and herps, enjoy these lovely flowers (and tell me what they are if you know).

Urban Otters (and birds)

by John Rakestraw, posted in mammals, OR Birding Sites

Two Northern River Otters have been hanging out at Koll Center Wetlands in Beaverton, so I went out this morning to see them. Otters are always a treat, but it is especially nice to see them thriving in such an urban setting.


Here is one of the two otters munching on a fish. Check out those teeth.


After breakfast, it is time to wrestle,

and then wrestle some more.


Then they were off to find something else to do.


Good numbers of birds use this little wetland, as well. Here is a Northern Shoveler. How do they hold those massive bills up?


Two Killdeer feed within a flock of Long-billed Dowitchers. This flock flew off when a Cooper’s Hawk flew by.

Common Murre

by John Rakestraw, posted in behavior

I watched two Common Murres, a male with a nearly-grown chick,  at the south jetty of the Columbia River. Common Murres are common nesters on offshore rocks and cliffs along the Oregon coast. When the chicks are still very small, they leap into the sea and spend the rest of the summer following Dad around as they continue to grow.

The parent/child pair are very vocal. The young murre calls with a high peeping noise, while this adult sounded amazingly similar to a Mallard.


young Common Murre following male parent


The adult starts his dive for food. Murres use their wings to fly under water, so the wings unfold as the dive begins.


Dad disappears as the chick calls. (what did we do before cameras had “burst mode”?)


The young murre waits for the parent to return with a fish. This chick was large enough to dive on his own, and spent almost as much time under water as the parent.

Seaside Gulls

by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites

The town of Seaside (Birding Oregon p. 121) is an interesting sandwich, great birding spots on the edges and touristy stuff in the middle. On the south side of town is The Cove, a pebble beached cove teaming with gulls, seabirds, rock-loving shorebirds, and marine mammals. To the north is the Necanicum River Esturary, a feeding and resting area for gulls, terns, and sand and mud-loving shorebirds. The Seaside area is a great spot to study gulls, with a diversity of species and age groups.


In mid to late summer, large numbers of Heeman’s Gulls hang out at The Cove. These birds are stunning, even in their winter plumage. Even the most devout Laridaephobe must appreciate these gray velvet beauties with the crimson bills.


“It’s exhausting being this beautiful!”


This gull is also primarily gray, but doesn’t quite have the rich color saturation of a Heerman’s. This is a first cycle Western Gull.


Here is a distant shot of an adult Western Gull tackling a very large crab. The gull is either very ambitious or very hungry.

North Coast Shorebirds

by John Rakestraw, posted in seasonal movements

I birded Fort Stevens and Seaside on the coast today. I met a birder from the east who asked me when the shorebirds would be coming through. I explained that shorebirds were on the move now, but they tended to trickle through. The northern part of the Oregon coast doesn’t currently have any big shorebird staging areas. The birds stage at Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay in Washington, then tend to head straight for California. Oregon gets its share of migrants, but you have to be at the right place at just the right time to see them.

I found a few shorebirds today.


This Western Sandpiper had an injured right wing and foot. The line of rusty-fringed scapular feathers is part of this specie’s juvenal plumage.


Whimbrel


Here are two species in the “rockpiper” group of shorebirds, named for their preferred habitat. The bird on the left is a Black Turnstone. On the right is a Surfbird.


Surfbird

Sad Anniversary, September 4, 1963

by John Rakestraw, posted in conservation issues

The date was September 4, 1963. I was two months shy of my second birthday. So in my little world, the most profound events involved soiling myself and chugging baby root beers at the A&W Drive-In.

But on the island nation of Barbados, something much more grave occurred. A hunter shot and killed an Eskimo Curlew. Aside from the abominable act of shooting migrant shorebirds (which still occurs every year on Barbados), this incident is especially noteworthy, as it marks the last instance when we had physical evidence that Eskimo Curlews still existed.

Once one of the most common species of shorebird, Eskimo Curlews were a favorite target of market hunters in the latter half of the 19th Century (Passenger Pigeons had already been effectively eliminated). By 1900, the large flocks were gone. A few scattered birds persisted into the mid-20th Century. Reports of Eskimo Curlew sightings still trickle in occasionally. But since that fateful day in Barbados, there has not been a single specimen or photograph that proves the species still exists.

There is very little hope that any Eskimo Curlews remain. I cling to that hope, at least on some level.

Black-headed Grosbeaks

by John Rakestraw, posted in seasonal movements

We are starting to see some songbird movement in the Portland area. Swainson’s Thrushes can be heard flying overhead at night. Several people are reporting Black-headed Grosbeaks under their feeders. Most of the adult grosbeaks have already headed south by the end of August, so many of the birds being reported now are young of the year.


Two grosbeaks have been hanging out under my feeder in recent days. The pattern on these birds is really stunning, so it is nice to see them on the ground. I’m not positive whether the bird above is a female or first-winter male.


The intesity of the breast color on this bird suggests a young male. You can see just a bit of the yellow area under the bird’s wing.