White-throated Sparrow – Page 2

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.

April Teasers

April 16, 2012April 16, 2012 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

After the wettest March on record, April has provided a few sunny days to help awaken us from our rain-induced torpor.

I made a quick trip out to Fernhill Wetlands to look for the Swamp Sparrow that has been reported there. Between the sunbreaks, I still had to dodge a few passing squalls.

I missed the Swamp Sparrow, but this Song Sparrow was very cooperative.

Here is the same Song Sparrow in a little more natural setting, if you consider invasive Reed Canary Grass to be natural.

Much of the loop around Fernhill Wetlands has been blocked off, supposedly to reduce disturbance to the new Bald Eagle nest.

A pair of eagles has been hanging out in this little grove of cottonwoods for years, so I would imagine they are used to birders and joggers going by, but better safe than sorry.

The Yellow-rumped Warblers have molted into their flashy breeding plumage. This one is an example of the “myrtle” race.

On Saturday I took some clients out to Sauvie Island for a morning of birding. This view of Mt. St. Helens is from the west end of Rentenaar Road.

Sandhill Cranes, seen here with a flock of Cackling Geese, were common in the morning. But as the day progressed, many birds circled up on thermals and then headed north. By noon, most of the cranes were gone.

Most of the sparrows seen just a week earlier had moved on. Two White-throated Sparrows were a treat. Singing Orange-crowned Warblers and five species of swallows were other good signs that migration is stepping up. I’m looking forward to the next sunny day.

Sauvie Island 4/5/12

April 7, 2012 by John Rakestraw, posted in behavior, OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

I took advantage of the dry weather to scout Sauvie Island (Birding Oregon p. 55) for my Little Brown Birds field trip.

Sandhill Cranes are still present in good numbers.

The Osprey nest along Rentenaar Road is occupied again.

We just had our wettest March on record, so water levels are high. This is the view from the end of Rentenaar Road. The white speck on the lake is an American White Pelican. White Pelicans have become increasing common on Sauvie Island in recent summers, but sightings this early in the year are unusual.

Here is the same bird coming in to land.

I take my LBB class to Sauvie for the abundance of sparrows. (We ended up with ten species of sparrow on our trip.) Here is a White-throated Sparrow, one of the rarer species in our area.

This Fox Sparrow was bathing in a puddle.

still bathing

all clean

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.

Lincoln’s Sparrow, with a Song Sparrow in the background

Fox Sparrows tend to lurk in the thicker cover.

He finally emerged for some millet.

White-crowned Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow, first winter

Golden-crowned Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow, with a Golden-crowned in the background

Spotted Towhee

Maine, 6-2011

July 7, 2011July 7, 2011 by John Rakestraw, posted in beyond OR, mammals, reptiles & amphibians

I spent just over a week along the coast of Maine, visiting sites between Ellsworth and Cutler. It is always fun to get reacquainted with eastern bird species and to hike in the boreal forest.

I saw 14 species of warblers on this trip. The vast majority of birds I saw were male, presumably because the females were on nests. Their small size, active habits, and dense habitat take them beyond the realm of point-and-shoot photography, but I managed to capture useuable images of two species. Black-throated Green Warblers were by far the most common species.

Ovenbird

This Spruce Grouse was at Petit Manan NWR. She had several downy chicks with her. The chicks are actually capable of flight, and flew into dense cover when startled. The adult remained on foot, keeping an eye on me and making contact calls to keep her brood together.

Blue-headed Vireo

White-throated Sparrow

Common Loon

Hermit Thrush, calling with a bill full of food for nestlings.

Red Squirrels were common and noisy in wooded areas.

This White-tailed Deer fawn was well-hidden in the woods. I only located her because she got up to take a stretch just as I was looking in that direction.