Spotted Towhee – Page 2 – Ethical Birder

Post-Snowpocalypse Ramblings

January 28, 2017January 28, 2017 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites

The Portland area got a dump of about 10″ of snow recently. It was lovely on the first day, but for the next week it was a pain, with roads being impassable from the ice and snow. When I was finally able to get out, I went to Amberglen office park in Hillsboro to scout for my Hillsboro Parks and Rec gull class. This Ring-billed Gull was posing on the ice.

I found a few California Gulls on my scouting trip, but they were a no-show on class day.

This Lesser Scaup was bathing at Dawson Creek. The bill color on these birds is striking.

On Thursday I went to Sauvie Island, partly just to go birding and partly to scout for my upcoming waterfowl class. There was so much water from the melting snow that the ducks were scattered everywhere. Raptors put on a good show. Here is a young Red-tailed Hawk.

This Peregrine Falcon was keeping an eye on the ducks.

Northern Harrier

I laid down some millet in various spots to chum for sparrows (class in March, hint, hint).

Golden-crowned Sparrow, one of the more common winter residents.

White-throated Sparrows were a big deal when I first moved to Oregon, but they are now considered rare but regular in the winter.

Spotted Towhees are so common they tend to be overlooked. But it is nice to stop and appreciate just how gaudy and beautiful they are.

Lots to see in the Portland area this time of year. Cheers.

Baby Towhees

June 19, 2014 by John Rakestraw, posted in identification challenges

Young Spotted Towhees have been showing up at the feeder. It is always fun to see them, as they look so different from their parents. This plumage can be confusing to those unfamiliar with it, but there are clues to the bird’s identity, other than the parents that are usually nearby.
Despite the overall dark coloring, they still show spots on their wing coverts, like their parents. By the time they leave the nest, they possess the large size and long tail of the adults. Like most fledgelings, the young towhees show yellow at the gape (corner of the mouth).

Little Brown Birds

March 31, 2013 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, rarities

I took my Little Brown Birds class to Sauvie Island. The sparrow flock along Rentenaar Road is thinning out, but all the expected species are still there. For the third year in a row, the star of the day was a Harris’s Sparrow. There is a White-throated and a Golden-crowned Sparrow in the background.

Harris’s Sparrow with Golden-crowned Sparrows

Fox Sparrow

A sparrow mix of White-crowned, Golden-crowned, and Song Sparrow, along with a Red-winged Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird, surrounded by Golden-crowned Sparrows and a White-crowned in the background

One of four White-throated Sparrows that came to our seed slick

Spotted Towhee

Winter in the Wetlands

February 16, 2013 by John Rakestraw, posted in behavior, mammals, OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

We are in that late winter season when birding seems to slow. I don’t know whether there are actually fewer birds around this time of year or we have just already seen the local winter residents so they don’t hold our attention. In any case, the best birding is usually found in and around wetlands. Here are some recent shots from area wetlands from the past couple of weeks.

Great Blue Herons are always around, and have started hanging out in their nesting colonies.

This Dusky Canada Goose was enjoying the sunshine at Ankeny NWR.

Coyote, Vanport Wetlands

Another Coyote, at Ankeny NWR

This Nutia at Fernhill Wetlands seemed unconcerned with the group of birders walking by.

Here is a Red-winged Blackbird sharing a nyjer feeder with a Lesser Goldfinch at Jackson Bottom. I don’t recall seeing blackbirds eating nyjer before.

Spotted Towhee, Jackson Bottom

Rentenaar Road, Sauvie Island

January 2, 2013January 2, 2013 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, rarities

Rentenaar Road, on Sauvie Island, is one of the better sparrow patches in the Portland area. I found ten species this morning, about typical for this time of year. This boldly patterned White-throated Sparrow was one of the prettier ones.

Dark-eyed Junco

Golden-crowned Sparrows are the most common sparrows along this stretch of road.

Lincoln’s Sparrow, one of my favorites and one of the hardest to photograph

Song Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Spotted Towhee with two Golden-crowned Sparrows

The rarest bird of the day was this Harris’s Sparrow. This is the third winter in a row that a Harris’s (perhaps the same bird) has been wintering at this location.

Harris’s Sparrow with Golden-crowns

Harris’s with White-crowned

and finally, the Harris’s with a tan-morph White-throated Sparrow in the background. It’s nice that this visitor from the Great Plains gets along with everyone.

While certainly not a sparrow, this American Robin was just begging to be photographed, so here you go.

Sparrowpalooza

December 1, 2011December 1, 2011 by John Rakestraw, posted in seasonal movements

I spent the morning in Scappoose, OR, this morning looking for a Brambling that was seen about a week ago. I didn’t have any luck with the Brambling, but it was great fun watching the variety of sparrows that were feeding in the area. Winter brings great flocks of sparrows to the Portland area. I saw the eight species pictured below, all within a few minutes, while sitting at the edge of the trail.

Dark-eyed Junco

Song Sparrow

Lincoln’s Sparrows are among the most beautiful sparrows in North America, but are also rather shy, so they tend to stay out of range of point-and-shoot photography.