Common Garter – Ethical Birder

Spring Herps

April 19, 2024 by John Rakestraw, posted in reptiles & amphibians

While waiting for spring bird migration to pick up, I have been enjoying the local reptiles and amphibians. Here are a few highlights.

The first herps to appear each year (in February) are Common Garters. Our local subspecies is called Red-spotted Garter for obvious reasons.

another Red-spotted Garter, paler in color

This little specimen had the most intense red I have seen on this species.

Our other species of garter is Northwestern Garter. They have smaller heads and lack the red on the face.

This Northwestern Garter had an intensely red dorsal stripe.

The only species of salamander I have found so far this year is Long-toed Salamander, but I have found them in several different locations.

American Bullfrog is an invasive species that wreaks havoc on local wetland ecosystems, eating native frogs, baby turtles, and anything else they can catch.

Another non-native is the Red-eared Slider (native to the southeastern U.S). When I was little, back when dinosaurs ruled the earth, you could buy baby turtles in pet stores. They were almost always this species. Unwanted pets were released into the environment, where they flourished.

Western Painted Turtle is one of only two turtles native to Oregon. I was delighted to find this massive specimen at the Sandy River Delta.

Birding will be heating up in the next week, so I will have to start looking up again.

Happy Spring

Jackson Bottom

March 13, 2022 by John Rakestraw, posted in mammals, OR Birding Sites, reptiles & amphibians, seasonal movements

Despite air temperatures in the 40s, the sunshine brought out some signs of spring on a recent visit to Jackson Bottom Wetlands Reserve in Hillsboro.

Tree Swallows are usually the first swallow species to arrive in spring. When the weather is still cold, they hunt for insects close to the water’s surface.

tree swallo perched Some Tree Swallows were already laying claim to the many nest boxes at this site.

ca ground squirrel small This California Ground Squirrel was singing (screaming) from a log perch.

Northwestern Garters insta The sunshine brought out a good number of snakes, despite the cold temperature. These are Northwestern Garters.

Common Garter insta This is a typical Common (Red-spotted) Garter.

pale Common Garter left insta This Common Garter is lacking the red pigment shown by most members of this subspecies.

This Long-toed Salamander was hanging out under a big piece of bark.

Happy last days of winter.

Still Waiting for Spring – Jackson Bottom

April 21, 2020 by John Rakestraw, posted in mammals, OR Birding Sites, reptiles & amphibians, seasonal movements

Jackson Bottom is another site that I can visit during the pandemic, assuming I get there early. The big push of spring migration has not hit, but you can tell it’s so close. Tree Swallows have been back for quite a while now. They are usually perched on the many bird houses at this site, so it was nice to catch a couple actually using a tree.
The Savannah Sparrows are setting up territory. This would have been a nice shot if I could have caught a reflection in the bird’s eye.

There we go.

This Osprey spent a lot of time preening while I was there. He still looks pretty disheveled.

Anna’s Hummingbird, just high enough that I can’t get a good flash from his gorget

Common Yellowthroat

witchity-witchity-witchity

I’m still waiting for shorebirds to show up. Greater Yellowlegs have been the only arrivals so far.

Some Killdeer have started nesting already.

Brush Rabbit

Long-toed Salamander

Several Common Garters (Red-spotted) were sunning themselves on this rock pile.

This garter had propped her body up against a log to better catch the morning sun.

I don’t remember seeing Camas at Jackson Bottom before, but they were in full bloom on this trip.

Happy spring

Jackson Bottom

March 26, 2020 by John Rakestraw, posted in behavior, OR Birding Sites, reptiles & amphibians

Spring migration hasn’t really revved up yet, but a recent warm sunny day drew me out to Jackson Bottom Wetlands. I was as interested in herping as I was birding, and some cooperative herps easily filled the void created by relatively low bird numbers.

This Pacific Chorus Frog (also known as Pacific Tree Frog) was a neat find. I hear this species most of the year, but I seldom get a good look at one.

I normally leave herps that I find in situ, but I couldn’t resist picking up this little Northwestern Garter. The problem with combining birding and herping is that after an encounter like this, your hand smells like garter snake musk. So every time you raise your binocular to your face you get a nose full of snake skank.

Here is a much larger Northwestern Garter.

This Red-spotted Garter (a subspecies of Common Garter) was exploring a Red-flowering Currant. I don’t know what he was looking for, but he explored the whole bush before climbing back down.
Here is another Red-spotted Garter drinking at a water feature. This individual was at least three feet long.

I did actually see a few birds on this trip, although they were not nearly as photogenic.
There are still flocks of Golden-crowned Sparrows around. I would expect them to head north pretty soon.

Green-winged Teal

Green-winged Teal making friends

Happy Spring

Slow Spring

April 3, 2014 by John Rakestraw, posted in behavior, mammals, nesting, OR Birding Sites, reptiles & amphibians, seasonal movements

The end of March and beginning of April have been cool and wet. Spring is progressing, but seemingly very slowly. Here are a few images from the past week.

Pacific Wrens are singing everywhere. This bird was at Powell Butte Nature Park in SE Portland.