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8 Feb Re: Merganser chows down ["Mr David Heath" ] 8 Feb Tillamook East Raptor run [Barbara and John Woodhouse ] 8 Feb Kings Valley and Alsea raptor surveys [Jeff Fleischer ] 8 Feb Eugene Siskins [Brandon Green ] 8 Feb Early Osprey ["Sumner Sharpe" ] 9 Feb Wigeons Diving [] 09 Feb Birding Trip Report: William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Benton County, Oregon on February 08, 2010 [] 8 Feb Clark County Sage Sparrow [Scott Carpenter ] 8 Feb Obol: Off topic - thanks to all for SE Arizona info ["woodenapple AT juno.com" ] 08 Feb pre-Super Bowl birding at Smith & Bybee Lakes, N. Portland OR [] 8 Feb one more species [Bobbett Pierce ] 8 Feb Re: Merganser chows down ["Dennis Vroman" ] 8 Feb Boiler Bay [Norgren Family ] 8 Feb Gander and Goose also at Fernhill near Forest Grove? ["Annette \(Lange\) Hildebrand" ] 8 Feb Short Eared Owl- Columbia County [Henry Horvat ] 7 Feb N. Saw-whet Owl, Eared Grebe, Townsend's Solitaire ["John Gatchet" ] 7 Feb Re: Christmas Valley Raptor Survey ["Tom Crabtree" ] 7 Feb Re: [obol] Christmas Valley Raptor Survey ["Tom Crabtree" ] 7 Feb Western screech owl [tristen gholson ] 08 Feb Census Count: William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Benton County, Oregon on February 07, 2010 [] 07 Feb Lincoln coast birds [Alan Contreras ] 7 Feb Re: Merganser chows down [Roy Lowe ] 7 Feb Re: Merganser chows down [Don Baccus ] 7 Feb Re: Merganser chows down ["Mr David Heath" ] 7 Feb Merganser chows down ["David Heath" ] 7 Feb Eugene Birders Night ["Tom & Allison Mickel" ] 7 Feb Fern Ridge & Vicinity, Lane County ["Roger & Betty Robb" ] 7 Feb Tonight 6:30 PM--OPB Field Guide Story on Oregon Coast Murres & Eagles--also Link to Online Story if Miss [Range Bayer ] 7 Feb B-t Pigeon [Roy Lowe ] 6 Feb Vanport Owl ["Cliff & Joanne Weber" ] 7 Feb Hybrid Gander Mated to Canada Goose [] 06 Feb Lower Columbia Birders Trip - 2/6/2010 [Mike Patterson ] 6 Feb Coos Birds 2/6/2010 [Tim Rodenkirk ] 6 Feb East Cascades Audubon Society raptor survey - Linn Co. Unit 3 [Jeff Fleischer ] 06 Feb Oregon Birds needs... [Alan Contreras ] 06 Feb Recommended reading [Alan Contreras ] 6 Feb daily grosbeaks at feeders [Bobbett Pierce ] 6 Feb East coast Boreal Owl photo ["Dennis Vroman" ] 6 Feb Oregon Field Ornithologists (OFO) [] 5 Feb Tillamook Palm Warbler, Mockingbird, Rock Sandpiper [Andy Frank ] 5 Feb Birding Hilgard SP, Union Co. ["Mike and MerryLynn" ] 5 Feb Fernhill Wetlands - Brant [Steve Nord ] 6 Feb Merlin, Hatfield Pond, Bend [david smith ] 05 Feb Re: EE Wilson law-breaking -- NOT [Joel Geier ] 5 Feb Re: lewis's woodpeckers ["R. Adney Jr." ] 5 Feb Red Breasted Sapsucker ["R. Adney Jr." ] 05 Feb Re: EE Wilson law-breaking -- NOT [Jim Greaves ] 05 Feb Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead [Jeff Gilligan ] 5 Feb Nice Afternoon in Eugene [Jim Carlson ] 03 Feb lewis's woodpeckers [Peter Frazier ] 05 Feb EE Wilson law-breaking -- NOT [Joel Geier ] 5 Feb Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead ["Wayne Weber" ] 05 Feb Eurasian Wigeon at Wireless Rd [Mike Patterson ] 5 Feb Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead [Daniel Farrar ] 5 Feb Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead [Pat Waldron ] 5 Feb Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead [Norgren Family ] 05 Feb Re: Y-B Sapsucker: YES!!! [Jim Greaves ] 5 Feb Free Malheur Raptor Tours [Stephen Shunk ] 5 Feb Free Malheur Raptor Tours [Stephen Shunk ] 5 Feb Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead ["Tom Crabtree" ] 5 Feb Danzenbaker Tour Journal on BirdFellow.com [David Irons ] 5 Feb Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead [Tim Rodenkirk ] 5 Feb Selasphorus Hummers back 2/5/2010 [Tim Rodenkirk ] 5 Feb Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead [Tim Rodenkirk ] 5 Feb Jo Co Collard-Doves and more ["Dennis Vroman" ] 5 Feb Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead [Dan Gleason ] 5 Feb Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead [Norgren Family ] 05 Feb Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead [Alan Contreras ] 5 Feb Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead ["Tom Crabtree" ] 5 Feb Baikal Teal at Brownsmead [Owen Schmidt ] 5 Feb Re: Listing -- last call!! ["Jamie S." ] 5 Feb Re: Baikal Teal shot at Brownsmead ["Lee and Lori Cain" ] 5 Feb Hummingbird DVDs [] 5 Feb Thank you. ["matthew fisher" ] 5 Feb Re: eBird versus BirdNotes [Brian Sullivan ] 5 Feb Red Shouldered Hawk- Columbia County [Henry Horvat ] Subject: Re: Merganser chows down From: "Mr David Heath" <drheath82 AT verizon.net> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 22:51:57 -0800 I watched (and took pictures) for about 25 minutes, while the bird "gummed" the fish and occasionally tried to get it down. I gave up because I was expecting company for the Super Bowl. The fish was already dead when I first arrived on the scene, so it had no doubt been going on for at least a little time. I started editing and posting the snaps, and after she arrived my friend went down to check out the bird; she said he was calm, "digesting," so evidently he'd finally succeeded within about 20 minutes of the time I left. The struggle probably occupied him on the order of 45 minutes or more. No doubt neutralizing the spines was part of the problem. David -----Original Message----- From: Dennis Vroman [mailto:dpvroman AT budget.net] Sent: Monday, February 08, 2010 8:25 AM To: Don Baccus; Mr David Heath Cc: obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org Subject: Re: [obol] Merganser chows down The fish the Merganser was snacking on appeared to be what I grew up knowing as a Bullhead (called Catfish out our way). These fish have three needle-sharp spines that lock straight out when they wish. One on the back and two on the sides around its head. You have to be pretty careful getting these fish off hooks or you end up with spines in you hand. Can't imagine it would be a great fish to swallow whole without spine removal. Dennis Subject: Re: [obol] Merganser chows down On Feb 7, 2010, at 3:28 PM, Mr David Heath wrote: > Well, that was dumb. Here's the link: > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/drheath/sets/72157622950221080/detail/ > Nice! I don't imagine the merg tried to fly off after getting that thing down its gullet! ---- Don Baccus http://donb.photo.net http://birdnotes.net http://openacs.org _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Tillamook East Raptor run From: Barbara and John Woodhouse <jbw AT oregoncoast.com> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 22:45:12 -0800 Sunny pleasant day so we thought the Raptors would be out sunning themselves NOT we had a very low count compared to last month. 4 hrs 10 mins 65 miles Redtail Hawks 20 American Kestrel 4 Bald Eagle A 1 White Tailed Kite 2 Barn Owls 2 29 raptors this month 42 last month Barbara & John Woodhouse Tillamook _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Kings Valley and Alsea raptor surveys From: Jeff Fleischer <raptorrunner97321 AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 22:19:07 -0800 (PST) Obolers, Today I completed the subject surveys as part of the East Cascades Audubon Society's Winter Raptor Survey Project.  I did the KV route first and dealt with some fog first thing but only for about a half hour when it lifted to a pretty clear day.  The KV route proved to be quite dramatic as I found three new species for this particular route.  The first part of the route is along Hwy 20 just west of the little community of Wren which is west of Philomath and Corvallis.  I usually pull off the highway where it intersects with Priest Rd in order to scan a fairly large meadow area south of the highway.  As I was pulling to a stop I noticed a single bird in the top of a tree in the middle of the field.  Turned out to be a MERLIN looking for breakfast.  I took it as an omen for a good survey beings this was the first bird of the day and a new species for the route!  The route extends west from this location and then doubles back where I turn onto Priest and drive east to meet up with Hwy 223 which then leads north to Kings Valley.  When I got back to the 223/Priest intersection and turned onto 223, the next turn was a hundred yards or so onto Cardwell Hill Dr.  As I was making that turn, out of the corner of my eye I saw a bird perched on top of a fir snag next to the road.  Turned out to be a PEREGRINE FALCON, something I no way expected to see in this habitat!  So in the space of about 45 minutes I found two new species for the route.  The PEFA was still present a half hour later when I returned to the intersection to continue north on 223.  Towards the end of the route I found my third new species, an adult BALD EAGLE which was perched on a snag near the Luckiamute River west of the town of Kings Valley. The route took a total of 3 hours 15 minutes to complete for the 41.3 miles driven.  Total species take was:  RED-TAILED HAWK - 15, AMERICAN KESTREL - 10 (a new high count for the route), NORTHERN HARRIER - 2, BALD EAGLE - 1 adult, MERLIN - 1, and PEREGRINE FALCON - 1.  A glaring miss on the route was not seeing any White-tailed Kites which is unusual. This was a great survey for this route none the less! :) I next drove west to the town of Alsea to do that route.  This is a new route this year and was added to primarily include more WHITE-TAILED KITE habitat.  Back in December, I found 6 of them but could only muster up one of them this time.  I really scoured the habitat along the route and it seemed like they just flat disappeared from the area.  I don't call them ghost birds for nothing :)  The route took a total of 2 hours and 20 minutes to complete for the 28.2 miles driven.  Total species take was; RED-TAILED HAWK - 4, AMERICAN KESTREL - 8, NORTHERN HARRIER - 3 (new high count for this route), BALD EAGLE - 1 adult, WHITE-TAILED KITE - 1, and one unidentified raptor which I only got a fleeting glimpse of as it ducked behind a line of trees some distance away while I was driving.  My impression was a Cooper's Hawk but couldn't commit to it even being an accipiter it was too quick of a look :( It was a good survey for this route despite not finding most of the WTKIs that I figure to reside in the Alsea area. All in all a great day in the field with a total of 7 species of raptors for two isolated routes in the project! :) Jeff Fleischer, Albany Project Coordinator Winter Raptor Survey Project East Cascades Audubon Society _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Eugene Siskins From: Brandon Green <brandon.green18 AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 21:40:20 -0800 On Sunday morning, two PINE SISKINS were at my sunflower feeder, accompanied by a small flock of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES. These were the first Siskins that I've seen in my yard(s) since September. I was surprised at their paltry representation in the Eugene CBC, but am wondering if they're finally beginning to trickle down into the Valley now. Brandon Eugene _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Early Osprey From: "Sumner Sharpe" <md AT teleport.com> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 21:15:08 -0800 Sighted over Sturgeon Lake during Raptor Road Tour of Saturday. Sumner Sharpe _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Wigeons Diving From: Bigrocketman AT comcast.net Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2010 05:11:26 +0000 (UTC)      I saw an unusual thing on the Willamette River in the Eugene area today. A flock of American Wigeons was diving to the bottom and feeding on water plants. I could sometimes see the plants trailing from their bills as they surfaced. They don't often dive like this, nor do other members of the Anas Genus, although last year, I saw Mallards doing the same thing in this location. There was also a flock of Lesser Scaup diving nearby, but they may have been taking small periwinkle snails, which are a favorite food. The HD video is here: http://www.vimeo.com/9313499 Steve McDonald http://flickr.com/photos/22121562 AT N00/ http://www.vimeo.com/user458315/videos http://video.yahoo.com/people/4019627 http://cid-229807ce52dd4fe0.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Video?uc=2 _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Birding Trip Report: William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Benton County, Oregon on February 08, 2010 From: monika.wieland AT gmail.com Date: Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:09:46 GMT This report was mailed for Monika Wieland by http://birdnotes.net Date: February 8, 2010 Location: William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Benton County, Oregon Percentage of sky covered by clouds: 100% Precipitation: none Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Canada Goose Cackling Goose American Wigeon Mallard Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-Winged Teal Ring-necked Duck Pied-billed Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron White-tailed Kite [1] Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Cooper's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk [2] American Kestrel Killdeer [3] Dunlin Northern Flicker Steller's Jay Western Scrub-Jay American Crow Black-capped Chickadee Ruby-crowned Kinglet American Robin European Starling Spotted Towhee Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird Western Meadowlark [4] Footnotes: [1] At the Prairie Overlook [2] Perched on a telephone pole about 1 mile north of Greenberry on Hwy 99W. It was there both while coming and going from the refuge. [3] 20+ near the Prairie Overlook [4] Heard at the Prairie Overlook Total number of species seen: 32 _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Clark County Sage Sparrow From: Scott Carpenter <slcarpenter AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 17:38:18 -0800 At about 2:30 pm today, I came across a SAGE SPARROW on LaFrambois Rd in Vancouver, Clark County. The sparrow was loosely associating with a large flock of GOLDEN-CROWNED and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS. Also in this loose flock was a single LINCOLN'S SPARROW. I managed to snap a few quick photos before the sparrow disappeared. I waited in the area, continuously scanning the sparrows from my car, until about 3:20, but never got good looks at it again, though I thought I saw it in flight twice with my naked eye. I have no reason to think it left the area. A relatively bad photo, but sufficient for documentation, can be found online at: http://www.westerngrebe.com/SageSparrow/ The flock of sparrows was on both sides of the road, and both sides of the yellow gate and red sign that signify you are entering the Shillapoo Unit of Vancouver Lake. This is relatively close to the location of the Swainson's Hawk that Lyn Topinka found last winter. As some of you may recall, there was also a Sage Sparrow last year in February at Ridgefield NWR. Steve Nord and I came across that bird on 23 February 2009, though there is some indication that one of the Ridgefield regulars may have seen that bird the week prior to that. Perhaps now is a good time to re-examine all of those wintering sparrow flocks. Though not as unusual, early this afternoon there was a male Eurasian Green-winged (Common) Teal on the auto-tour route of the River S Unit of Ridgefield NWR. Scott Carpenter Portland, Oregon_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Obol: Off topic - thanks to all for SE Arizona info From: "woodenapple AT juno.com" <woodenapple@juno.com> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 20:34:41 GMT Greetings, Obolists! We returned yesterday from a 10-day trip to Arizona, 7 of which were spent birding in the SE part. Collective thanks to all who provided invaluable planning information! We had a great time and found 118 species, including 22 life birds, plus two new junco races. More detailed information upon request when I have time in between catching up on 10 days of miscellany. Rudi Rudolph and Carrie Werth-Rudolph ____________________________________________________________ Search Marketing Click for free info on using seach engines to expand your business. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/c?cp=8CSbB4NMyFzkrPhGA57l6wAAJ1AHcaoQFB_Xw2ggvz9-JEKpAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARBwAAAAA= _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: pre-Super Bowl birding at Smith & Bybee Lakes, N. Portland OR From: bigburd_jh AT yahoo.com Date: Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:21:53 GMT This report was mailed for Jeff Hayes by http://birdnotes.net Date: February 7, 2010 Location: Smith and Bybee Lakes Wildlife Area, Multnomah County, Oregon Prevailing wind speed: < 1 km/h Percentage of sky covered by clouds: 70% Precipitation: none Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Canada Goose 10 Cackling Goose 300 Gadwall 8 American Wigeon 1 Mallard 10 Green-Winged Teal 2 Unknown Scaup 300 Ruddy Duck 20 Pied-billed Grebe 7 Double-crested Cormorant 3 Great Blue Heron 13 Bald Eagle 3 [1] Red-shouldered Hawk 1 [2] Red-tailed Hawk 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 [3] American Coot 400 Glaucous-winged Gull 4 Rock Dove 15 Belted Kingfisher 1 Northern Flicker 1 Western Scrub-Jay 2 American Crow 9 Black-capped Chickadee 6 Brown Creeper 4 Bewick's Wren 2 Winter Wren 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3 American Robin 20 European Starling 40 Cedar Waxwing 75 Yellow-rumped Warbler 8 Spotted Towhee 2 Song Sparrow 10 Golden-crowned Sparrow 7 Dark-eyed Junco 2 Red-winged Blackbird 5 Brewer's Blackbird 20 House Finch 2 American Goldfinch 3 Footnotes: [1] 2 adults perched on powerline pylon, 1 subadult flying overhead with fish [2] Immature, flying and calling [3] Perched on far side of lake, overlooking raft of Scaup Total number of species seen: 40 _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: one more species From: Bobbett Pierce <ensatina3 AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 13:14:38 -0500 There were also a half dozen bald eagles in yesterday's south Columbia County Raptor count -- only one was an adult. One was "teasing" the wigeons at the wetland across from the pallet factory on the Scappoose lowlands. It landed several times at the water's edge. Lona Pierce, Columbia County _________________________________________________________________ Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469229/direct/01/_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Merganser chows down From: "Dennis Vroman" <dpvroman AT budget.net> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 08:25:15 -0800 The fish the Merganser was snacking on appeared to be what I grew up knowing as a Bullhead (called Catfish out our way). These fish have three needle-sharp spines that lock straight out when they wish. One on the back and two on the sides around its head. You have to be pretty careful getting these fish off hooks or you end up with spines in you hand. Can't imagine it would be a great fish to swallow whole without spine removal. Dennis Subject: Re: [obol] Merganser chows down On Feb 7, 2010, at 3:28 PM, Mr David Heath wrote: > Well, that was dumb. Here’s the link: > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/drheath/sets/72157622950221080/detail/ > Nice! I don't imagine the merg tried to fly off after getting that thing down its gullet! ---- Don Baccus http://donb.photo.net http://birdnotes.net http://openacs.org _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Boiler Bay From: Norgren Family <gnorgren AT earthlink.net> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 07:39:33 -0800 A weekend work detail in Lincoln City meant I spent not one but two nights in the heart of Oregon's Twenty Miserable Miles. Saturday morning was drizzly at best but Sunday was dazzling. I beat the sun to Boiler Bay by thirty minutes or more. My first seawatch at this storied point was less than underwhelming. The best bird was a flock of five Black Oystercatchers northbound, further from shore than one would expect. There were far more birds about the night before at sunset. I left around 8:30. Returning at 12:30 Sunday afternoon I found a flock of 50 Brewer's Blackbirds in the parking lot. This is a hard to get, easy to miss, species on the Coos Bay CBC. Are they more common on the North Coast? Lars Norgren _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Gander and Goose also at Fernhill near Forest Grove? From: "Annette \(Lange\) Hildebrand" <nettielh AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 06:54:49 -0800 (PST) Very interesting. I saw something similar Sunday while spending three hours at Fernhill Wetlands just south of Forest Grove. The "gander" never left the side of the native goose. They even switched ponds, flying from the #1 mitigation pond to the main Fernhill pond. I think it was a cackling goose, though not positive.  Later a huge flock of Cacklers flew in. I had been looking for the Brandt ... no luck. Rather quiet day actually.  Swans, many different ducks etc.   Annette Lange Hildebrand Fellow Carer of Birds and Nature _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Short Eared Owl- Columbia County From: Henry Horvat <henry AT formandstructure.net> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 08:34:26 -0500 OBOL'ers: On Sunday from 1:00 to 3:00 PM I was joined by Lona Pierce during the St. Helens-Scappoose Raptor Survey. We saw one Short Eared Owl at the Ellis farm at the sharp corner of N. Honeyman and E. Honeyman Road. It was quite a distance away. The raptor count was the best of the winter with 19 Red Tail's, 13 Kestrels, 1 Harrier, 2 Rough Legged Hawks, and 1 Peregrine. We observed a pair of Red Tail Hawks copulating and a pair of Kestrels from close range copulating. Henry Horvat Scappoose Bottoms_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: N. Saw-whet Owl, Eared Grebe, Townsend's Solitaire From: "John Gatchet" <john.gatchet AT oc.npuc.org> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 21:59:02 -0800 I birded Hood River County today starting at Cascade Locks. I found an EARED GREBE at the marina. Crossing the locks there was a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE on the eastern end of the island and two SNOW GEESE. Two BARROW'S GOLDENEYE were swimming in the locks and the SNOW GEESE swam into the locks in the company of five Canada Geese. A flock of 41 CEDAR WAXWING were in the Marine Park. At the Quarry where Herman Creek Road joins the Columbia River a MERLIN flew by me. I took Herman Creek Road away from the River and had a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL and a PILEATED WOODPECKER. The owl responded to my call of a Pygmy Owl, but did not come in when I switched to a Northern Saw-whet Owl call. North of Parkdale just off the Hood River Highway along Woodworth Road I had a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK and a COOPER'S HAWK as well as several RED-TAILED HAWKS. It was a good day of birding with the sun shining through a high overcast after clouds in the early morning. I found 64 species in the county today. John F. Gatchet Gresham, OR _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Christmas Valley Raptor Survey From: "Tom Crabtree" <tc AT empnet.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 21:45:23 -0800 My son and I did the Christmas Valley Raptor Count yesterday in the snow. Fort Rock had about an inch, but it disappeared by the time we got to Christmas Valley. We saw the following raptors: Rough-legged Hawk 12 Red-tailed Hawk 13 Ferruginous Hawk 1 Prairie Falcon 3 Merlin 1 Kestrel 2 Golden Eagle 4 Bald Eagle 2 What was really unusual was that when we retraced our path later in the afternoon none of the Rough-legs were around, though all the other species were still out. The most unusual sightings we had were 3 Eurasian Collared Doves and two Scrub Jays at the Christmas Lake golf course. Tom Crabtree, Bend _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: [obol] Christmas Valley Raptor Survey From: "Tom Crabtree" <tc AT empnet.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 21:45:23 -0800 My son and I did the Christmas Valley Raptor Count yesterday in the snow. Fort Rock had about an inch, but it disappeared by the time we got to Christmas Valley. We saw the following raptors: Rough-legged Hawk 12 Red-tailed Hawk 13 Ferruginous Hawk 1 Prairie Falcon 3 Merlin 1 Kestrel 2 Golden Eagle 4 Bald Eagle 2 What was really unusual was that when we retraced our path later in the afternoon none of the Rough-legs were around, though all the other species were still out. The most unusual sightings we had were 3 Eurasian Collared Doves and two Scrub Jays at the Christmas Lake golf course. Tom Crabtree, Bend _______________________________________________ COBOL mailing list COBOL AT lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/cobol To unsubscribe, send a message to: COBOL-request AT lists.oregonstate.edu with the word "unsubscribe" in the body. Subject: Western screech owl From: tristen gholson <tmanindahouse AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 21:32:59 -0800 Just went outside and did some screech-owl calls and sure enough i had one come and sit in a tree right in front of me, i put a flash light on it and got great looks! This is my first time acually seeing an Owl so i am pretty excited ! Tristen Gholson 541-971-9315 _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Census Count: William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Benton County, Oregon on February 07, 2010 From: potrzebie AT clear.net Date: Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:58:57 GMT This report was mailed for Erik Knight by http://birdnotes.net Date: February 7, 2010 Location: William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Benton County, Oregon Prevailing wind speed: < 1 km/h Percentage of sky covered by clouds: 30% Precipitation: none from 12:39PM to 5:31PM. large herd (19) of Roosevelt Elk seen SW of Cabell Marsh. 3 River Otters seen on Cabell Marsh as well. Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Greater White-fronted Goose 4 [1] Canada Goose 3000 Eurasian Wigeon 5 [2] American Wigeon 500 Mallard 1500 Northern Shoveler 150 Northern Pintail 1000 Green-Winged Teal 100 Ring-necked Duck 300 Lesser Scaup 1 Pied-billed Grebe 2 Double-crested Cormorant 19 Great Blue Heron 3 White-tailed Kite 2 [3] Bald Eagle 6 [4] Northern Harrier 7 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 [5] Red-tailed Hawk 18 Rough-legged Hawk 2 [6] American Kestrel 5 American Coot 11 Killdeer 6 Dunlin 240 Lewis' Woodpecker 1 [7] Acorn Woodpecker 3 Downy Woodpecker 1 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 7 Steller's Jay 6 Western Scrub-Jay 9 Black-capped Chickadee Bushtit 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 White-breasted Nuthatch 3 Brown Creeper 5 Bewick's Wren 2 Winter Wren 4 Marsh Wren 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet American Robin 200 Varied Thrush 1 European Starling Yellow-rumped Warbler 24 Spotted Towhee 5 Fox Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 11 Lincoln's Sparrow 1 Golden-crowned Sparrow 7 Dark-eyed Junco 16 Red-winged Blackbird Western Meadowlark 1 Brewer's Blackbird Purple Finch 1 Footnotes: [1] West side of Cheadle Marsh [2] ad pair SE of McFadden Marsh, males & female at Cheadle Marsh [3] NE prairie [4] 3 adults, 3rd year bird, 2nd year bird, juvenile [5] West of Prairie overlook [6] Cheadle Marsh & NE Prairie [7] SW side of Bald Top Total number of species seen: 54 _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Lincoln coast birds From: Alan Contreras <acontrer AT MINDSPRING.COM> Date: Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:37:17 -0800 I spent Sunday Feb 7 around Newport and Waldport with Tristen Gholson and Niko Ranta. A gorgeous day on the coast. Highlights were at least three and maybe four Rock Sandpipers at the south jetty Newport just past the sandy area. I can't remember the last time I saw more than one at a time, and even that is now irregular on the south coast. Also of possible note was a Whimbrel standing on a rock along the s jetty road. Yaquina Bay was well supplied with waterfowl and we had no trouble finding plenty of Common Goldeneye, a Eurasian Wigeon and a wide variety of dux. Two Red-throated Loons were between the jetties along with a couple of Red-necked Grebes, two pelicans, lots of Common Loons and scoters. The Pelagic Cormorants are getting white flank patches. Waldport had a couple of pelicans, a flock of 7 Common Goldeneye well below the bridge where I don't usually see them and a flock of Sanderlings and Dunlin roosting on a log well upriver from Waldport at LOW tide, which seemed odd. They had miles of mud at hand. Two Great Egrets were in Alsea Bay near Eckman Lake. The lake itself had lots of Gadwall but duck numbers seemed well below normal and there were no Ring-necked Ducks at all, odd at that site. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer AT mindspring.com _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Merganser chows down From: Roy Lowe <rlowe AT casco.net> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 17:42:04 -0800 And here's a common loon trying to bite off more than it could chew! http://www.flickr.com/photos/24707703 AT N06/4339556616/in/photostream/ Roy On Feb 7, 2010, at 3:28 PM, Mr David Heath wrote: > Well, that was dumb. Here’s the link: > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/drheath/sets/72157622950221080/detail/ > > David > > From: obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org [mailto:obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org > ] On Behalf Of David Heath > Sent: Sunday, February 07, 2010 3:19 PM > To: obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > Subject: [obol] Merganser chows down > > Obolistas, > > I’ve uploaded a series of photos of a Common Merganser on my duck > pond, struggling with a fish that should be just about all it needs > to eat today. > > David > Cedar Mill > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Merganser chows down From: Don Baccus <dhogaza AT pacifier.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 16:54:37 -0800 On Feb 7, 2010, at 3:28 PM, Mr David Heath wrote: > Well, that was dumb. Here’s the link: > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/drheath/sets/72157622950221080/detail/ > Nice! I don't imagine the merg tried to fly off after getting that thing down its gullet! ---- Don Baccus http://donb.photo.net http://birdnotes.net http://openacs.org _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Merganser chows down From: "Mr David Heath" <drheath82 AT verizon.net> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 15:28:34 -0800 Well, that was dumb. Here's the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/drheath/sets/72157622950221080/detail/ David From: obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org [mailto:obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org] On Behalf Of David Heath Sent: Sunday, February 07, 2010 3:19 PM To: obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org Subject: [obol] Merganser chows down Obolistas, I've uploaded a series of photos of a Common Merganser on my duck pond, struggling with a fish that should be just about all it needs to eat today. David Cedar Mill _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Merganser chows down From: "David Heath" <drheath82 AT verizon.net> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 15:18:51 -0800 Obolistas, I've uploaded a series of photos of a Common Merganser on my duck pond, struggling with a fish that should be just about all it needs to eat today. David Cedar Mill _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Eugene Birders Night From: "Tom & Allison Mickel" <tamickel AT rio.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 12:09:48 -0800 Everyone, Eugene Birders Night is the second Monday of each month (tomorrow, 7 Feb) at Sacred Heart Medical Center - University District (1255 Hilyard St) in Conference Room A starting at 7 PM. I'll have my laptop if anyone wants to bring photos to share with the group - the room has a digital projector. To get to conference room A - go in the main front doors on Hilyard St and continue past the information desk to the first hallway on the left; take this hallway (past the cafeteria) to the end and turn right; continue down this hallway (past the dining room) to the end and turn right again; go a short distance down this hallway to the first hallway on the left; take this hallway almost to the end and conference room A is on the right (across from the auditorium). Tom Mickel _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Fern Ridge & Vicinity, Lane County From: "Roger & Betty Robb" <brrobb AT comcast.net> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 11:47:47 -0800 I spent a few hours birding around Fern Ridge and the Eugene Airport this morning. At Kirk Pond I found 2 EURASIAN WIGEON along with nine GREATER SCAUP. There was a flock of 25 EURASIAN COLLARED DOVES just north of Alvadore and a NORTHERN SHRIKE on Franklin Rd. Just west of Meadowview Rd I found 23 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE in with a flock of apx 650 TUNDRA SWANS. Roger Robb Springfield, OR_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Tonight 6:30 PM--OPB Field Guide Story on Oregon Coast Murres & Eagles--also Link to Online Story if Miss From: Range Bayer <range.bayer AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 11:40:12 -0800 Hi, If you miss the OPB Oregon Field Guide showing tonight (Sunday) at 6:30 PM of "Murres & Eagles," the 9 minute video is available online as a segment in Episode 2108 at http://www.opb.org/programs/ofg/episodes/view/2108 The USFWS' Roy Lowe and OSU's Rob Suryan are named and interviewed; OSU graduate student Amanda Gladics is unnamed but included in part of the video with Rob. The video discusses the issue of the increased numbers of Bald Eagles along the Oregon Coast resulting in reduced Common Murre nesting. In particular, the failure of all nesting murres along the Oregon Coast north of Yaquina Head. An interesting and challenging story! Cheers, Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon Lincoln Co. Bird Information at http://yaquina.info/ybn/bird/bird.htm _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: B-t Pigeon From: Roy Lowe <rlowe AT casco.net> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 09:15:11 -0800 The first band-tailed pigeon of the season arrived at my feeder in Waldport yesterday and quickly relieved the feeder all of the it's seed. Roy _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Vanport Owl From: "Cliff & Joanne Weber" <WeberHome AT att.net> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 19:19:55 -0800 OBOL, hello; The mommy Great Horned owl (whom we've named Natiri after the Na'vi tomboy in Avatar) reported recently at Vanport is still there. Natiri's nest is pretty easy to find, but she herself is not so easy. Natiri's horns stick up just enough to give her away and even then you have to kind of move around a bit and find a good spot to see them. Where? . . Page 566, square D2 of the Thomas Bros Portland Street Guide; which is located on the west side of Vanport Lake; which itself is right across from the Portland Speedway near the Expo Center. Natiri's nest is situated in the upper right corner of square D2, at the intersection of Force Avenue and North Broadacre; which are just access roads. They're paved, but not always open to traffic. Today they were gated so we parked our car at the gate located just past Force Lake in Square D1 and hoofed it to the intersection. It's maybe a quarter-mile walk, but nice and flat. A powered wheel chair can make this trip very easily. The intersection is easily identified by the enormous gravel parking area bordering it to the south. Natiri's nest is on the north side of the road. Cliff & Joanne Weber Beaverton (Bethany Area)_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Hybrid Gander Mated to Canada Goose From: Bigrocketman AT comcast.net Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 03:16:37 +0000 (UTC)      At Island Park, I found that a large hybrid gander, that appears to be from Canada (Branta) and Greylag (Anser) ancestry, seems to have become mated to a female Canada Goose. They were engaging in typical Canada Goose courtship behavior and never left each other's side, while I watched them.      It is expected, that Branta/Anser hybrids won't be fertile. When hybrid pairs such as this hatch eggs, it may be due to a male interloper of the same species as the female, which can give a false indication of hybrid fertility. This would be more likely among ducks, due to their less exclusive mating relationships.      I'll keep an eye on this pair and see what develops. It's likely that they would mate and the female would produce eggs. If they did hatch and the offspring looked like normal Canada geese, then the male Canada Goose interloper theory might be correct. If the young ones looked like hybrids, that would be inconclusive, as there could possibly have been an interloper that was of non-hybrid Anser ancestry. Only genetic analysis of all birds concerned, would determine the male parentage with good certainty. The HD video of this pair is here: http://www.vimeo.com/9261537      On another issue, the young Gr. White-fronted Goose that was first seen in October, is still here with the flock at this park. It now seems a bit lighter in its body colors and its whitefront above the bill is larger, but it still has only a few dark streaks on its belly and breast. It has become very assertive and aggressive about its personal space, not hesitating to charge at large geese that are five times its size. I've seen this among other wintering geese of its species. The young Lesser Canada Goose that was here several months ago, has been gone for at least two months. Steve McDonald http://flickr.com/photos/22121562 AT N00/ http://www.vimeo.com/user458315/videos http://video.yahoo.com/people/4019627 http://cid-229807ce52dd4fe0.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Video?uc=2 _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Lower Columbia Birders Trip - 2/6/2010 From: Mike Patterson <celata AT pacifier.com> Date: Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:22:26 -0800 Lower Columbia Birders Trip - 2/6/2010 We went out in search of Eurasian waterfowl on this month's trip. We began with an attempt at the Tufted Duck at Wallace Slough in Columbia County. We did not see any ducks with tufts, but we saw plenty of other interesting stuff including REDHEAD and EURASIAN WIGEON at the mitigation site on Marshland Rd. There were also 40+ TUNDRA SWANS there. We flushed a BARN OWL from the willows along the east end of River Front Rd at Wallace Slough and carefully noted the 5000+ GREATER/LESSER SCAUP there. There are 120+ TUNDRA SWAN at Svensen Island. Lower Columbia Birders - February trip including: Marshland, Wallace Slough, Brownsmead and Svensen Island. Birds seen (in taxonomic order): Canada Goose Cackling Goose Tundra Swan [1] Gadwall Eurasian Wigeon [2] American Wigeon Mallard Cinnamon Teal Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-Winged Teal Canvasback Redhead [3] Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Pied-billed Grebe Western Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Peregrine Falcon American Coot Black-bellied Plover Greater Yellowlegs Dunlin Ring-billed Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Mourning Dove Barn Owl [4] Belted Kingfisher Northern Flicker Steller's Jay Western Scrub-Jay American Crow Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Bewick's Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet American Robin Varied Thrush European Starling Spotted Towhee Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow Golden-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird Western Meadowlark Brewer's Blackbird House Finch Pine Siskin House Sparrow Footnotes: [1] Port of Portland Mitigation Area on Marshland Rd. [2] At least two at Port of Portland Mitigation Area on Marshland Rd. [3] Four at Port of Portland Mitigation Area on Marshland Rd. [4] Flushed from willows at east end of River Front Rd, Wallace Slough. Total number of species seen: 60 -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Tales from the Junco Yard http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/14091/ _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Coos Birds 2/6/2010 From: Tim Rodenkirk <garbledmodwit AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 17:15:23 -0800 (PST) South end of the north spit of Coos Bay, PM, light rain, low 50's: 1- ROCK SANDPIPER (first one I've seen in Coos in 2 years, Joe Metzler found a one out here about a month ago or so, probably the same one)2- HARLEQUIN DUCKS2- BROWN PELICANS24- BRANT (up from 2 in late December)3- PIGEON GUILLEMOTS (still in basic plumage) ENJOY!Tim RCoos Bay _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: East Cascades Audubon Society raptor survey - Linn Co. Unit 3 From: Jeff Fleischer <raptorrunner97321 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 16:45:43 -0800 (PST) Obolers, Yesterday, with the help of Glen Lindeman, Sue Hecox, and Wes Craven, the western portion of the 183 mile Linn County Unit 3 raptor route was completed. A couple years ago, this route was split into two halves east and west of I-5 to better cover the whole area. I completed the eastern half the day before. This route covers the area bounded on the north by Hwy 34, on the south by Hwy 228, on the west by the Willamette River, and on the east by the foothills of the Cascades north of Brownsville. Highlights on the first day included seeing an immature GOLDEN EAGLE near the Sand Ridge cemetery interacting midair with two subadult BALD EAGLES, 8 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS one of which was the blackest bird I had ever seen (strikingly beautiful!), and a beautiful adult PEREGRINE FALCON perched about 10 feet away from a RED-TAILED HAWK in a tree just NW of the north Brownsville STP. Highlights yesterday on the western part included eight more RLHAs, two SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS one of which offered one of the best views I have seen of the frontal view of an adult perched bird along White Oak Rd, and two different plumaged PEFAs one on Bell Plain Rd west of Hwy 99E and the other on Witt Dr adjacent to I-5. Following are totals for both sections of the route: east of I-5 west of I-5 totals Red-tailed Hawk 66 88 154 American Kestrel 49 83 132 Northern Harrier 12 40 52 Bald Eagle 18a,20s 29a,18s,1u 86 Golden Eagle 1 -- 1 Rough-legged Hawk 8 8 16 Peregrine Falcon 1 2 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk -- 2 2 TOTALS 175 271 446 For all of the listed species, the numbers this month exceeded the amount seen in January. The total number of birds represented a new high count for this area of Linn County. The 132 AMKEs and the 86 BAEAs were new high counts and the 154 RTHAs was the second highest count for this route. The weather was perfect for our count yesterday, the four of us were treated to an awful lot of great looks at lots of birds, and a great time was had by all! :) Jeff Fleischer Project Coordinator East Cascades Audubon Society Winter Raptor Survey Project _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Oregon Birds needs... From: Alan Contreras <acontrer AT MINDSPRING.COM> Date: Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:35:35 -0800 I'm assembling a monster issue of Oregon Birds which will include field notes from summer 2008 through December, 2009. So far I have authors for the south coast, Metro, Willamette Valley, Central Oregon, South-Central Oregon (Klamath-Lake) and north-central Oregon (roughly Umatilla-Morrow). We are still waiting to hear back from an invitee for the interior southwest. We need someone to write up a summary of highlights for the NORTH COAST (Clatsop, Tillamook, Lincoln). Ideally, we also need someone for the far NORTHEAST (Wallowa, Union, Baker, maybe Grant) and for SOUTHEAST (Harney-Malheur), though we can fudge the latter into south-central a little bit, at least for Malheur rarities. Is anyone willing to prepare these sections? If not, we'll just run available photos. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer AT mindspring.com _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Recommended reading From: Alan Contreras <acontrer AT MINDSPRING.COM> Date: Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:50:21 -0800 In 2008 Darrel Faxon of Lincoln County self-published his "A Year in Paradise: 365 Days on the Oregon Coast." At first I thought oh yawn, 'Steller's Jays of the Coast Range,' and didn't buy one. I finally got a copy and read it, finishing last night. This is one of the finest works of natural history that I have ever read. It is absolutely a must-read for anyone interested in ecology and the natural world of western Oregon. It is stuffed with birds, but also with an extraordinary variety of mushrooms, flowers, trees, insects and the odd bear. It is in the form of a 365-day journal. It is available from the author ( 5hats AT peak.org ) for $25 postpaid. It is a limited run, privately published, and you won't hear about it anywhere else, most likely. Don't let it get away. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer AT mindspring.com _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: daily grosbeaks at feeders From: Bobbett Pierce <ensatina3 AT hotmail.com> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 13:16:22 -0500 For over a week the EVENING GROSBEAKS -- anywhere from a dozen to over 30 -- have been visiting the feeders several times a day. A male PHEASANT has been showing up again for the past two weeks, as well. The CALIF. QUAIL are down to two, but oodles of siskins. Yesterday a male SHARPSHIN perched for a long time above a feeder, with a troupe of chickadees scolding him practically the whole time. Three Stellar's came close and eyed him, but didn't do anything other than to eat a few pussy willow buds that are now opening. Other signs of spring: salamanders are moving (large NW salamander in driveway two days ago), violets in bloom, chorus frogs getting noisier, and our song sparrow sang a long time from his brush pile first thing this morning. On a Thursday walk on the Wapato Access Trail on Sauvie Island (around Victoria Lake) hundreds of honeybees were visiting filbert "tassels" in bloom. Lona Pierce, Warren in Columbia County _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469228/direct/01/_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: East coast Boreal Owl photo From: "Dennis Vroman" <dpvroman AT budget.net> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 08:04:35 -0800 Boreal Owls are one of those species in demand in our State. To help you recognize one, here's a good photo (see web page below) from the east coast (near my old stomping grounds of northern NY). The pale-colored bill is one feature different from Saw-whets. Dennis http://nynaturephotozw.blogspot.com/_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Oregon Field Ornithologists (OFO) From: Jfitchen AT aol.com Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 01:34:42 EST Hello Obol, I received in today's mail a letter from Jeff Harding (President of OFO) and the OFO Board (Dan Heyerly, Shawneen Finnegan, Dan Gleason, Russ Nimitz, Alan Contreras, David Smith and Mary Anne Sohlstrom) describing sweeping changes in OFO's mission and operations. The bold moves described in the letter are striking and bring the organization firmly into the 21st century. I have always been proud to be a member of OFO and have admired its pure focus on birds and birding. I congratulate the board for their courageous and decisive actions and look forward to engaging the organization in its new configuration. Kudos! John Fitchen Portland _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Tillamook Palm Warbler, Mockingbird, Rock Sandpiper From: Andy Frank <andydfrank AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 21:23:34 -0800 Wink Gross and I birded various places in Tillamook County today. Highlights were a PALM WARBLER and a WHITE-TAILED KITE at Fenk Road. At Nehalem Sewage Ponds, we saw a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD in the same location described some time ago. There were 34 WHITE-FRONTED GEESE in the field by the ponds. At Barview Jetty, there were large numbers of BLACK TURNSTONES and SURFBIRDS, and 2 ROCK SANDPIPERS. Photos are at http://andyfrank.blogspot.com/. Left-clicking enlarges them. I believe these are first year birds with some brown in the coloration, and more white around the eye. We also stopped at Cape Meares lighthouse where we found the gait closed, presumably from the recent vandalism to the lighthouse. However one is able to walk in and we went to the viewpoint by the parking lot but found nothing of interest. We did not walk down to the lighthouse itself. Andy Frank_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Birding Hilgard SP, Union Co. From: "Mike and MerryLynn" <m.denny AT charter.net> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 20:08:44 -0800 Hello All, Yesterday afternoon while on my way to La Grande and a meeting concerning Bull Trout. I stopped at Hilgard SP to see what was moving around. The Grand Ronde river was clear and moderatly low. I saw the following species there. Bald Eagle.....................2 ad. Red-tailed Hawk...........1 ad. Am. Dipper...................1 bird Belted Kingfisher...........1 ad. male Red-breasted Nuthatch..1 ad. Nothing rare, but worth a stop. Later Mike .................................................................................. Mike and MerryLynn Denny Birding the beautiful Walla Walla Valley If you have not birded, you have not lived _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Fernhill Wetlands - Brant From: Steve Nord <stevernord AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 19:44:45 -0800 OBOL; This afternoon at Fernhill Wetlands, I found a BRANT among the 600 Cackling Geese on the main pond. Water levels have dropped, so now able to walk over to Eagle Perch Pond. Overall waterfowl numbers were low. Highlights: 1 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE 1 BRANT 2 GREAT EGRET 9 TUNDRA SWAN 4 BALD EAGLES (2 adults, 2 immatures) 1 COOPER'S HAWK 4 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS 350 MEW GULLS Some fresh sign of BEAVER activity, chewing down trees in northeast area. On way home, traveled down Harrington Road to look for the previously reported PRAIRIE FALCON. I did not see the falcon, but found 2 ACORN WOODPECKERS and an adult male MERLIN. Good Birding Steve Nord Hillsboro, OR_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Merlin, Hatfield Pond, Bend From: david smith <smithdwd AT hotmail.com> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 03:41:59 +0000 This morning an adult Merlin was on some low rocks in the 2nd pond. I watched it for about 10 minutes until 3 Mallards displaced it; it flew NE, never to be seen again. Almost a dozen Common Goldeneyes were also present: adults, 1st yr males, and females. Amongst about 50 Canada Geese were 3 smaller, small billed, dark breasted, probable Cacklers. One could see as far north as Mt Adams. Nice birding; shoulda been skiing. David Smith _________________________________________________________________ Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. https://signup.live.com/signup.aspx?id=60969_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: EE Wilson law-breaking -- NOT From: Joel Geier <joel.geier AT peak.org> Date: Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:01:04 -0800 Hello folks, I've responded to the issues raised by Jim Greaves off-line. I trust that most Oregon birders are well aware by now that E.E. Wilson State Wildlife Area is state land, and thus public property, not private land. If in doubt please see: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/visitors/ee_wilson_wildlife_area/ Good birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: lewis's woodpeckers From: "R. Adney Jr." <rfadney AT hotmail.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 18:28:24 -0800 I love that, HAT factor. Kind of like Kestrels, 80'-100' HAT factor! You can also describe it as vertical and horizontal HAT factor, like Kestrels having a VHAT of 30' by HHAT of 80'. Rich Adney http://avianpics.blogspot.com/ http://adneyvisualarts.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/adneyvisualarts/ Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 15:18:09 -0800 From: petefrazier AT centurytel.net To: obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org Subject: [obol] lewis's woodpeckers a loose group of lewis's are seen regularly at b.l.m. property (formerly dunning ranch), north bank road, glide. these birds arrived in the fall and seem content with existing acorn supply. follow black-tail basin trail from parking area for possible view. i've tried to get a detailed picture on numerous attempts and found the h.a.t. factor to be 60' to 80,' a distance not conducive for my purposes. these are wary birds. (h.a.t: acronym for human approach tolerance) peter frazier glide, or _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469228/direct/01/_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Red Breasted Sapsucker From: "R. Adney Jr." <rfadney AT hotmail.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 17:53:00 -0800 For months, my son and daughter in-law have been telling me about this pretty little woodpecker that hangs around their house. They finally got me a picture of it and I couldn't help but post it. This Red Breasted Sapsucker is a year round resident at their house. I posted the picture on my blog if anyone is interested in seeing it. Rich Adney http://avianpics.blogspot.com/ http://adneyvisualarts.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/adneyvisualarts/ _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469227/direct/01/_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: EE Wilson law-breaking -- NOT From: Jim Greaves <lbviman AT blackfoot.net> Date: Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:06:35 -0700 Thanks Joel - I hope I did not sound snippy. As an owner's rep for private lands in Virginia in the past, and having dealt with "unintended" trespassers, snippiness was not my intent. Perhaps a reminder to make it clear where "trespass" is legal, and to NOT advertise similar behavior regarding private lands. We would not want birders to get a bad rep! Having been witness to fellow-birders kicked off private land in Death Valley decades ago, I am sympathetic to the "rush" of an out-of-place Yellow-throated vireo [and wish I could have got the photo that was obtained], but also want to ensure that our "hobby" does not offend the rights of the private landowner's, MANY of whom, if asked, are and may be amenable to birders "trespassing with permission" - Jim, MT At 03:42 PM 2/5/2010, Joel Geier wrote: >Jim Greaves wrote: > > > I have to really wonder why the fence is there, and why not use the > > gate? Seems to me to encourage law-breaking - Jim in MT > >The gate is there to keep vehicles out, not pedestrians, since that road is >open to public access by foot, bicycle, or horseback -- no law-breaking >going on. > >It just so happens that this is one of only a few gates at E.E. Wilson that >hasn't yet been made bike/wheelchair accessible, so you have to climb >around the gate where a diagonal wire helps to hold up the gate post. >We got wheelchair access added to a similar gate last year, thanks to >volunteers from the Marys Peak Hounds Club (rabbit hunters). Too bad I >didn't think to mention this gate at the same planning meeting. > >-- >Joel Geier >Camp Adair area north of Corvallis _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead From: Jeff Gilligan <jeffgill AT teleport.com> Date: Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:46:00 -0800 The Baikal Teal is a really good candidate for being in Oregon of wild provenance. The species is becoming more abundant in northeastern Asia, (large flocks now in Korea) and records are increasing in the various Pacific states and province. On 2/5/10 12:45 PM, "Daniel Farrar" wrote: > The Fern Ridge Baikal Teal was photographed.  At least 2 photos exist.  It was > submitted to the OBRC and has been accepted.  "139.1-07-03 Fern Ridge > Reservoir, Lane Co., 1 shot male on 31 December 2007 (details By RKe, photos > by DvH)." > > Last I heard the guy was getting it stuffed to give to his friend/hunting > companion.  There were no signs of captive breeding and it was with a large > group of teal at a very busy duck hangout. > > Daniel Farrar > > On Fri, Feb 5, 2010 at 10:40 AM, Dan Gleason wrote: >> A Baikal Teal was reported for the Eugene CBC count period last year. A >> hunter shot one at Fern Ridge Res. the day after the count. I don't have the >> photos but I did see them at the time. The people who handled the bird were >> asked to submit a report but I don't know if that happened and I have no >> contact information for follow up. >> >> Dan Gleason >> >> ------------- >> Dan Gleason >> dan-gleason AT comcast.net >> 541 345-0450 >> >> >> >> On Feb 5, 2010, at 10:24 AM, Owen Schmidt wrote: >> >>> >>> >>> ........... I phoned the guy who knows the guy who shot the bird, and the >>> news is that the bird has been sent to a taxidermist.  Good news that the >>> specimen will be preserved.  I've asked for help in getting photos of the >>> bird and whatever details are possible for the Oregon Bird Records >>> Committee.  We shall see what transpires.  There is a 1974 specimen record >>> from Benton County and a 2007 sight record from Lane County ....... they're >>> out there ........ >>> >>> oschmidt AT att.net >>> Friday, February 5, 2010 >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> obol mailing list >>> obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org >>> http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol >>> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> obol mailing list >> obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org >> http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol > > _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Nice Afternoon in Eugene From: Jim Carlson <jmcrlsn AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 15:57:02 -0800 (PST) Too nice to stay indoors today so I took a long walk along the Willamette River in Eugene coming up with a few notable birds-nothing rare tho. 5 Hooded Mergansers (2m, 3f) Delta Ponds Osprey perched near Marist High School Peregrine Falcon adult perched north of Owosso Bridge Gull flock (mostly Mews) north of Owosso Bridge Great Horned Owl on nest near Willamette Oaks 3 Black Phoebes near Metro Wastewater Plant Orange-crowned warbler in the copse just east of the Metro Wastewater Plant Jim Carlson _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: lewis's woodpeckers From: Peter Frazier <petefrazier AT centurytel.net> Date: Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:18:09 -0800 a loose group of lewis's are seen regularly at b.l.m. property (formerly dunning ranch), north bank road, glide. these birds arrived in the fall and seem content with existing acorn supply. follow black-tail basin trail from parking area for possible view. i've tried to get a detailed picture on numerous attempts and found the h.a.t. factor to be 60' to 80,' a distance not conducive for my purposes. these are wary birds. (h.a.t: acronym for human approach tolerance) peter frazier glide, or_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: EE Wilson law-breaking -- NOT From: Joel Geier <joel.geier AT peak.org> Date: Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:42:02 -0800 Jim Greaves wrote: > I have to really wonder why the fence is there, and why not use the > gate? Seems to me to encourage law-breaking - Jim in MT The gate is there to keep vehicles out, not pedestrians, since that road is open to public access by foot, bicycle, or horseback -- no law-breaking going on. It just so happens that this is one of only a few gates at E.E. Wilson that hasn't yet been made bike/wheelchair accessible, so you have to climb around the gate where a diagonal wire helps to hold up the gate post. We got wheelchair access added to a similar gate last year, thanks to volunteers from the Marys Peak Hounds Club (rabbit hunters). Too bad I didn't think to mention this gate at the same planning meeting. -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead From: "Wayne Weber" <contopus AT telus.net> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 13:42:09 -0800 Tim and Oregon Birders, Then how come most of the reports of Baikal Teal are in the Pacific States? (There are also several recent records for WA.) It's hard to prove that none of these birds are escapees, but the overall pattern is strongly suggestive of wild vagrants. Wayne C. Weber Delta, BC contopus AT telus.net From: obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org [mailto:obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org] On Behalf Of Tim Rodenkirk Sent: February-05-10 11:02 AM To: 'Owen Schmidt'; 'OBOL'; tc AT empnet.com Subject: Re: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead If you really want to see some you can order a pair from Squaw Creek Farms in Iowa, only $600 a pair, plus shipping.. I wonder how many of the birds we see are escaped ("full-winged") farm-bred birds? Oh, shoot, I shouldn't have gotten off on this thread..... Tim R Coos Bay --- On Fri, 2/5/10, Tom Crabtree wrote: From: Tom Crabtree Subject: Re: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead To: "'Owen Schmidt'" , "'OBOL'" Date: Friday, February 5, 2010, 10:31 AM There out there, you can usually find them hanging out with the Jack Snipe.... Tom Crabtree, Bend -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org [mailto:obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org ] On Behalf Of Owen Schmidt Sent: Friday, February 05, 2010 10:24 AM To: OBOL Subject: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead ........... I phoned the guy who knows the guy who shot the bird, and the news is that the bird has been sent to a taxidermist. Good news that the specimen will be preserved. I've asked for help in getting photos of the bird and whatever details are possible for the Oregon Bird Records Committee. We shall see what transpires. There is a 1974 specimen record from Benton County and a 2007 sight record from Lane County ....... they're out there ........ oschmidt AT att.net Friday, February 5, 2010 _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Eurasian Wigeon at Wireless Rd From: Mike Patterson <celata AT pacifier.com> Date: Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:02:04 -0800 At Wireless Rd this morning there was a flock 650+ AMERICAN WIGEON in the corner pasture near Implements of Destruction Kack. Among these were at least 6 (six) EURASIAN WIGEON, 5 males and an unequivocal female (a really rusty one). No anomalous teal, though... RED-SHOULDERED HAWK at the Airport. Singing HUTTON'S VIREO at Circle Creek. -- Mike Patterson Astoria, OR Tales from the Junco Yard http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/northcoastdiaries/14091/ _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead From: Daniel Farrar <jdanielfarrar AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 12:45:58 -0800 The Fern Ridge Baikal Teal was photographed. At least 2 photos exist. It was submitted to the OBRC and has been accepted. "139.1-07-03 Fern Ridge Reservoir, Lane Co., 1 shot male on 31 December 2007 (details By RKe, photos by DvH)." Last I heard the guy was getting it stuffed to give to his friend/hunting companion. There were no signs of captive breeding and it was with a large group of teal at a very busy duck hangout. Daniel Farrar On Fri, Feb 5, 2010 at 10:40 AM, Dan Gleason wrote: > A Baikal Teal was reported for the Eugene CBC count period last year. A > hunter shot one at Fern Ridge Res. the day after the count. I don't have the > photos but I did see them at the time. The people who handled the bird were > asked to submit a report but I don't know if that happened and I have no > contact information for follow up. > > Dan Gleason > ------------- > Dan Gleason > dan-gleason AT comcast.net > 541 345-0450 > > > On Feb 5, 2010, at 10:24 AM, Owen Schmidt wrote: > > > > ........... I phoned the guy who knows the guy who shot the bird, and the > news is that the bird has been sent to a taxidermist. Good news that the > specimen will be preserved. I've asked for help in getting photos of the > bird and whatever details are possible for the Oregon Bird Records > Committee. We shall see what transpires. There is a 1974 specimen record > from Benton County and a 2007 sight record from Lane County ....... they're > out there ........ > > oschmidt AT att.net > Friday, February 5, 2010 > > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol > > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol > -- Daniel Farrar Dunes City, Oregon jdanielfarrar AT gmail.com_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead From: Pat Waldron <puma AT smt-net.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 12:33:07 -0800 Hi Tim, There are more folks out there than we realize... who collect all sorts of exotic creatures. My farrier, who visits many small farms, is full of stories about birds and animals he's never seen before. I once saw a flock of SECRETARY BIRDS (Sagittarius Serpentarius) from Africa in a barn outside of Salem. Pat Waldron East of Scio On Feb 5, 2010, at 11:01 AM, Tim Rodenkirk wrote: > If you really want to see some you can order a pair from Squaw > Creek Farms in Iowa, only $600 a pair, plus shipping.. I wonder > how many of the birds we see are escaped ("ful-winged") farm-bred > birds? Oh, shoot, I shouldn't have gotten off on this thread..... > > Tim R > Coos Bay > > --- On Fri, 2/5/10, Tom Crabtree wrote: > > From: Tom Crabtree > Subject: Re: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead > To: "'Owen Schmidt'" , "'OBOL'" > > Date: Friday, February 5, 2010, 10:31 AM > > There out there, you can usually find them hanging out with the Jack > Snipe.... > > Tom Crabtree, Bend > > -----Original Message----- > From: obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org > [mailto:obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org] On Behalf Of Owen Schmidt > Sent: Friday, February 05, 2010 10:24 AM > To: OBOL > Subject: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead > > > > ........... I phoned the guy who knows the guy who shot the bird, > and the > news is that the bird has been sent to a taxidermist. Good news > that the > specimen will be preserved. I've asked for help in getting photos > of the > bird and whatever details are possible for the Oregon Bird Records > Committee. We shall see what transpires. There is a 1974 specimen > record > from Benton County and a 2007 sight record from Lane County ....... > they're > out there ........ > > oschmidt AT att.net > Friday, February 5, 2010 > > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead From: Norgren Family <gnorgren AT earthlink.net> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 10:48:40 -0800 The photo of the dead duck included a male Cinnamon Teal as well. I've never heard of anyone bagging this rare species in Oregon in the winter. Lars Norgren On Feb 5, 2010, at 10:40 AM, Dan Gleason wrote: > A Baikal Teal was reported for the Eugene CBC count period last year. A hunter shot one at Fern Ridge Res. the day after the count. I don't have the photos but I did see them at the time. The people who handled the bird were asked to submit a report but I don't know if that happened and I have no contact information for follow up. > > Dan Gleason > ------------- > Dan Gleason > dan-gleason AT comcast.net > 541 345-0450 > > > On Feb 5, 2010, at 10:24 AM, Owen Schmidt wrote: > >> >> >> ........... I phoned the guy who knows the guy who shot the bird, and the news is that the bird has been sent to a taxidermist. Good news that the specimen will be preserved. I've asked for help in getting photos of the bird and whatever details are possible for the Oregon Bird Records Committee. We shall see what transpires. There is a 1974 specimen record from Benton County and a 2007 sight record from Lane County ....... they're out there ........ >> >> oschmidt AT att.net >> Friday, February 5, 2010 >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> obol mailing list >> obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org >> http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Y-B Sapsucker: YES!!! From: Jim Greaves <lbviman AT blackfoot.net> Date: Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:23:51 -0700 I have to really wonder why the fence is there, and why not use the gate? Seems to me to encourage law-breaking - Jim in MT At 01:00 PM 2/5/2010, "Gail Andrews" Subject: [obol] Y-B Sapsucker: YES!!! wrote: >We climbed through the fence [snipped] >The sapsucker was working the area just south of the gate, on the west side >[snipped] >Good view standing next to the inside of >the gate. (Just in case anyone wants to see the spot where the famous >sapsucker once sat..) >[snipped] >Mike R. from Portland drove up as we were studying the perched bird, got out >of his car, climbed through the fence _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Free Malheur Raptor Tours From: Stephen Shunk <steve AT paradisebirding.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 12:14:58 -0800 Hello All, As some of you know, I am currently on a winter sabbatical at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. One of my roles here is to help the Refuge develop their visitor services programs, and one step in that direction is to lead some exciting free tours this winter. *FREE Malheur Winter Raptor Tours *The raptor abundance at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is astounding, with many dozens of individuals of a dozen species recorded this winter alone, including both Red-shouldered and Broad-winged Hawks found in the Blitzen River Valley. The Refuge invites birders of all skill levels to visit this winter and participate in free raptor tours led by professional naturalist and Refuge volunteer, Steve Shunk. Tours include transportation while on the Refuge, including access to areas normally closed to the public, and instruction in the identifcation and natural history of all the wintering birds of Malheur. Emphasis will be on raptor identification, with over 100 individual birds possible in a single day, including buteos, accipiters, falcons, eagles, and harriers. The buteos in particular offer an outstanding opportunity for study, with all ages and color morphs present of Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks. Tours are offered in February and March on a first-reserved, first-served basis, with space for up to 6 people per day. The departure and return times of a given day's tour will depend on the participants and the weather, but tours will generally run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (with optional evening observation of Bald Eagle fly-in at the historic Sod House ranch). There is no cost associated with the tours, but reservations are required, as some dates may not be available. For information or reservations, call Malheur at 541-493-2612 and ask for Steve Shunk or Carey Goss, Visitor Services Manager. We hope to see you at Malheur this winter! -- Stephen Shunk Paradise Birding Sisters, OR USA www.paradisebirding.com 541-408-1753_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Free Malheur Raptor Tours From: Stephen Shunk <steve AT paradisebirding.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 12:14:58 -0800 Hello All, As some of you know, I am currently on a winter sabbatical at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. One of my roles here is to help the Refuge develop their visitor services programs, and one step in that direction is to lead some exciting free tours this winter. *FREE Malheur Winter Raptor Tours *The raptor abundance at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is astounding, with many dozens of individuals of a dozen species recorded this winter alone, including both Red-shouldered and Broad-winged Hawks found in the Blitzen River Valley. The Refuge invites birders of all skill levels to visit this winter and participate in free raptor tours led by professional naturalist and Refuge volunteer, Steve Shunk. Tours include transportation while on the Refuge, including access to areas normally closed to the public, and instruction in the identifcation and natural history of all the wintering birds of Malheur. Emphasis will be on raptor identification, with over 100 individual birds possible in a single day, including buteos, accipiters, falcons, eagles, and harriers. The buteos in particular offer an outstanding opportunity for study, with all ages and color morphs present of Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks. Tours are offered in February and March on a first-reserved, first-served basis, with space for up to 6 people per day. The departure and return times of a given day's tour will depend on the participants and the weather, but tours will generally run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (with optional evening observation of Bald Eagle fly-in at the historic Sod House ranch). There is no cost associated with the tours, but reservations are required, as some dates may not be available. For information or reservations, call Malheur at 541-493-2612 and ask for Steve Shunk or Carey Goss, Visitor Services Manager. We hope to see you at Malheur this winter! -- Stephen Shunk Paradise Birding Sisters, OR USA www.paradisebirding.com 541-408-1753_______________________________________________ COBOL mailing list COBOL AT lists.oregonstate.edu http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/cobol To unsubscribe, send a message to: COBOL-request AT lists.oregonstate.edu with the word "unsubscribe" in the body. Subject: Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead From: "Tom Crabtree" <tc AT empnet.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 11:32:11 -0800 Sounds good, Tim. Count the Bend & Prineville Counts in for a pair, too. And thanks OBOLians for being kind and not correcting my grammatical error. That should have read, "They're out there . . . . Tom Crabtree, Bend _____ From: obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org [mailto:obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org] On Behalf Of Tim Rodenkirk Sent: Friday, February 05, 2010 11:14 AM To: John Notis Cc: obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org Subject: Re: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead I'm not sure you can rent them. Hey, with 144 people on the Eugene CBC why not just have everyone throw in a few bucks, they could by a pair, and release them about a week before the count. If the word got out about some exotic teal being in the neighborhood, they may even have 244 people on the CBC and the cost would even be cheaper : ) Daffy D. Uck in sunny Coos Cay --- On Fri, 2/5/10, John Notis wrote: From: John Notis Subject: Re: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead To: "Tim Rodenkirk" Date: Friday, February 5, 2010, 11:04 AM That's a little steep. How much are they to rent? John Notis Portland On Feb 5, 2010, at 11:01 AM, Tim Rodenkirk wrote: > If you really want to see some you can order a pair from Squaw Creek Farms in Iowa, only $600 a pair, plus shipping.. I wonder how many of the birds we see are escaped ("ful-winged") farm-bred birds? Oh, shoot, I shouldn't have gotten off on this thread...... > > Tim R > Coos Bay > > --- On Fri, 2/5/10, Tom Crabtree > wrote: > > From: Tom Crabtree > > Subject: Re: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead > To: "'Owen Schmidt'" >, "'OBOL'" > > Date: Friday, February 5, 2010, 10:31 AM > > There out there, you can usually find them hanging out with the Jack > Snipe.... > > Tom Crabtree, Bend > > -----Original Message----- > From: obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org > [mailto:obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org ] On Behalf Of Owen Schmidt > Sent: Friday, February 05, 2010 10:24 AM > To: OBOL > Subject: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead > > > > ........... I phoned the guy who knows the guy who shot the bird, and the > news is that the bird has been sent to a taxidermist. Good news that the > specimen will be preserved. I've asked for help in getting photos of the > bird and whatever details are possible for the Oregon Bird Records > Committee. We shall see what transpires. There is a 1974 specimen record > from Benton County and a 2007 sight record from Lane County ....... they're > out there ........ > > oschmidt AT att.net > Friday, February 5, 2010 > > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Danzenbaker Tour Journal on BirdFellow.com From: David Irons <llsdirons AT msn.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 19:28:36 +0000 Greetings All, After a couple technical glitches, including a crash of Jim Danzenbaker's hard drive, the final installments of his tour journal from South America/Antarctica are finally up at BirdFellow.com. It has been a lot of fun sharing these writings and the accompanying images and definitely sparks my own interest in someday visiting this amazing corner of the world. In a way, it feels like I've been there already. The journal may be a bit quiet in the coming days, as we are feverishly working behind the scenes to get images loaded and soon to be released features and content fine-tuned for launch. Dave Irons Content Editor BirdFellow.com _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469227/direct/01/_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead From: Tim Rodenkirk <garbledmodwit AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 11:13:38 -0800 (PST) I'm not sure you can rent them. Hey, with 144 people on the Eugene CBC why not just have everyone throw in a few bucks, they could by a pair, and release them about a week before the count.  If the word got out about some exotic teal being in the neighborhood, they may even have 244 people on the CBC and the cost would even be cheaper : )   Daffy D. Uck in sunny Coos Cay --- On Fri, 2/5/10, John Notis wrote: From: John Notis Subject: Re: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead To: "Tim Rodenkirk" Date: Friday, February 5, 2010, 11:04 AM That's a little steep.  How much are they to rent? John Notis Portland On Feb 5, 2010, at 11:01 AM, Tim Rodenkirk wrote: > If you really want to see some you can order a pair from Squaw Creek Farms in Iowa, only $600 a pair, plus shipping..  I wonder how many of the birds we see are escaped ("ful-winged") farm-bred birds?  Oh, shoot, I shouldn't have gotten off on this thread..... > > Tim R > Coos Bay > > --- On Fri, 2/5/10, Tom Crabtree wrote: > > From: Tom Crabtree > Subject: Re: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead > To: "'Owen Schmidt'" , "'OBOL'" > Date: Friday, February 5, 2010, 10:31 AM > > There out there, you can usually find them hanging out with the Jack > Snipe.... > > Tom Crabtree, Bend > > -----Original Message----- > From: obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org > [mailto:obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org] On Behalf Of Owen Schmidt > Sent: Friday, February 05, 2010 10:24 AM > To: OBOL > Subject: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead > > > > ........... I phoned the guy who knows the guy who shot the bird, and the > news is that the bird has been sent to a taxidermist.  Good news that the > specimen will be preserved.  I've asked for help in getting photos of the > bird and whatever details are possible for the Oregon Bird Records > Committee.  We shall see what transpires.  There is a 1974 specimen record > from Benton County and a 2007 sight record from Lane County ....... they're > out there ........ > > oschmidt AT att.net > Friday, February 5, 2010 > > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Selasphorus Hummers back 2/5/2010 From: Tim Rodenkirk <garbledmodwit AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 11:07:16 -0800 (PST) Glenn Harkleroad reports seeing a RUFOUS HUMMER in his yard in Bandon this morning. I was at New River yesterday and heard a Selasphorus Hummer, but never could see it.   Merry springtime all!   Tim Rodenkirk on the beautiful south coast _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead From: Tim Rodenkirk <garbledmodwit AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 11:01:56 -0800 (PST) If you really want to see some you can order a pair from Squaw Creek Farms in Iowa, only $600 a pair, plus shipping.  I wonder how many of the birds we see are escaped ("ful-winged") farm-bred birds?  Oh, shoot, I shouldn't have gotten off on this thread....   Tim R Coos Bay --- On Fri, 2/5/10, Tom Crabtree wrote: From: Tom Crabtree Subject: Re: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead To: "'Owen Schmidt'" , "'OBOL'" Date: Friday, February 5, 2010, 10:31 AM There out there, you can usually find them hanging out with the Jack Snipe.... Tom Crabtree, Bend -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org [mailto:obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org] On Behalf Of Owen Schmidt Sent: Friday, February 05, 2010 10:24 AM To: OBOL Subject: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead ............ I phoned the guy who knows the guy who shot the bird, and the news is that the bird has been sent to a taxidermist.  Good news that the specimen will be preserved.  I've asked for help in getting photos of the bird and whatever details are possible for the Oregon Bird Records Committee.  We shall see what transpires.  There is a 1974 specimen record from Benton County and a 2007 sight record from Lane County ....... they're out there ........ oschmidt AT att.net Friday, February 5, 2010 _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Jo Co Collard-Doves and more From: "Dennis Vroman" <dpvroman AT budget.net> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 10:55:17 -0800 This morning went to see if any early Swallows were around...Nope. Some birds found include: With the discussion of EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE numbers increasing, what should turn up but at least 25 (more likely 30+) hanging around farm buildings near the junction of Upper and Lower River Roads (west of GP). First large flock that I have found near Grants Pass. Perhaps the farmers are ok with them, for they seem to have replaced the Rock Pigeons that are usually there. Was a flock of 50 or more found in Cave Junction on the CJ CBC. BALD EAGLE roosting near nest tree down from Whitehorse Park. CINNAMON TEAL pair along Upper River Rd, with about 5 NORTHERN PINTAILS and other Quackers (flooded field). A PINE SISKIN turned up at our place (just east of the Merlin I-5 exit) this morning...1st for some time. Still NO Purple Finches around our place, been gone from some time now. Dennis (north of Grants Pass)_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead From: Dan Gleason <dan-gleason AT comcast.net> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 10:40:07 -0800 A Baikal Teal was reported for the Eugene CBC count period last year. A hunter shot one at Fern Ridge Res. the day after the count. I don't have the photos but I did see them at the time. The people who handled the bird were asked to submit a report but I don't know if that happened and I have no contact information for follow up. Dan Gleason ------------- Dan Gleason dan-gleason AT comcast.net 541 345-0450 On Feb 5, 2010, at 10:24 AM, Owen Schmidt wrote: > > > ........... I phoned the guy who knows the guy who shot the bird, > and the news is that the bird has been sent to a taxidermist. Good > news that the specimen will be preserved. I've asked for help in > getting photos of the bird and whatever details are possible for > the Oregon Bird Records Committee. We shall see what transpires. > There is a 1974 specimen record from Benton County and a 2007 sight > record from Lane County ....... they're out there ........ > > oschmidt AT att.net > Friday, February 5, 2010 > > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead From: Norgren Family <gnorgren AT earthlink.net> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 10:38:47 -0800 Actually the Lane County record is a specimen, shot in the West Coyote GMU the day after the Eugene CBC. I assume the hunter got it stuffed and ODF&W may still have his name. Alan Contreras and I both haad passes to enter this closed area the day before it was harvested but neither of us took the opportunity. Hindsight is hideous. Lars Norgren On Feb 5, 2010, at 10:24 AM, Owen Schmidt wrote: > > > ........... I phoned the guy who knows the guy who shot the bird, and the news is that the bird has been sent to a taxidermist. Good news that the specimen will be preserved. I've asked for help in getting photos of the bird and whatever details are possible for the Oregon Bird Records Committee. We shall see what transpires. There is a 1974 specimen record from Benton County and a 2007 sight record from Lane County ....... they're out there ........ > > oschmidt AT att.net > Friday, February 5, 2010 > > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead From: Alan Contreras <acontrer AT MINDSPRING.COM> Date: Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:34:41 -0800 Baikal Teal populations are up considerably from a few years back, so I am not surprised that we have had a couple of recent records. The Fern Ridge bird of a couple years back was also shot by a hunter and photos were obtained. There is also a recent record from Tule Lake and, as I recall, from Ridgefield or nearby. Now if we could get the Spoon-billed Sandpiper population to increase.... -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer AT mindspring.com > From: Owen Schmidt > Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 10:24:19 -0800 > To: obol > Subject: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead > > > > ........... I phoned the guy who knows the guy who shot the bird, and the news > is that the bird has been sent to a taxidermist. Good news that the specimen > will be preserved. I've asked for help in getting photos of the bird and > whatever details are possible for the Oregon Bird Records Committee. We shall > see what transpires. There is a 1974 specimen record from Benton County and a > 2007 sight record from Lane County ....... they're out there ........ > > oschmidt AT att.net > Friday, February 5, 2010 > > > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead From: "Tom Crabtree" <tc AT empnet.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 10:31:44 -0800 There out there, you can usually find them hanging out with the Jack Snipe.... Tom Crabtree, Bend -----Original Message----- From: obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org [mailto:obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org] On Behalf Of Owen Schmidt Sent: Friday, February 05, 2010 10:24 AM To: OBOL Subject: [obol] Baikal Teal at Brownsmead ........... I phoned the guy who knows the guy who shot the bird, and the news is that the bird has been sent to a taxidermist. Good news that the specimen will be preserved. I've asked for help in getting photos of the bird and whatever details are possible for the Oregon Bird Records Committee. We shall see what transpires. There is a 1974 specimen record from Benton County and a 2007 sight record from Lane County ....... they're out there ........ oschmidt AT att.net Friday, February 5, 2010 _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Baikal Teal at Brownsmead From: Owen Schmidt <oschmidt AT att.net> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 10:24:19 -0800 ........... I phoned the guy who knows the guy who shot the bird, and the news is that the bird has been sent to a taxidermist. Good news that the specimen will be preserved. I've asked for help in getting photos of the bird and whatever details are possible for the Oregon Bird Records Committee. We shall see what transpires. There is a 1974 specimen record from Benton County and a 2007 sight record from Lane County ....... they're out there ........ oschmidt AT att.net Friday, February 5, 2010 _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Listing -- last call!! From: "Jamie S." <woodpecker97330 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 09:48:20 -0800 (PST) From: Jamie S. Subject: Re: Listing -- last call!! To: "obol" , "Paul Sullivan" Date: Friday, February 5, 2010, 9:37 AM Paul, What is your EXACT deadline for receiving listing results. With a busy personal and work life, I need a fixed date to shoot for. Thanks for your efforts, Jamie Simmons Corvallis _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: Baikal Teal shot at Brownsmead From: "Lee and Lori Cain" <4cains AT charter.net> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 07:29:16 -0800 I did hear about it -- I know somebody who knows the hunter who shot it... but that's all I know. Lee Cain Astoria, Or_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Hummingbird DVDs From: sandyleapt AT comcast.net Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 15:05:06 +0000 (UTC) Hi Doug, I will check out the hummingbird DVD you mentioned. I have one called Hummingbirds of North America--Advanced Birding Video Series. For me it is money well spent, I watched the entire presentation a few times and continue to refer to sections on identifying the local hummingbirds. Sandy Leaptrott NE Portland ----- Original Message ----- From: obol-request AT oregonbirdwatch.org To: obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org Sent: Wednesday, February 3, 2010 12:00:01 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Subject: obol Digest, Vol 23, Issue 3 Send obol mailing list submissions to obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to obol-request AT oregonbirdwatch.org You can reach the person managing the list at obol-owner AT oregonbirdwatch.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of obol digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Question about May Sage Grouse (steven siegel) 2. Re: Audubon scam: eating its own? (Jim Greaves) 3. Re: Audubon scam: eating its own? (Alan Contreras) 4. Re: Audubon scam: eating its own? (Jim Greaves) 5. Re: Backyard Dove Numbers "Exploding" (Marti Ligocki) 6. Y-B Sapsucker: YES!!! (Gail Andrews) 7. Re: [birding] Y-B Sapsucker: YES!!! (Joel Geier) 8. Great Horned Owl on nest - Eugene (Peter Patricelli) 9. Hummingbird DVD (Doug Robberson) 10. South Benton County wanderings (Jeff Fleischer) 11. Albino/Leucistic Robin (KEITH PHIFER) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 15:32:36 -0500 From: steven siegel Subject: [obol] Question about May Sage Grouse To: obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" I am planning an Oregon trip in May, and would like to visit a Sage Grouse lek (yes, I know it's late). My experience with Sharp-tails and Lesser PCs suggest that some males remain around the lek and display well into May, and I hope the Sage Grouse are similar. I have talked to the folks at Fish and Wildlife about Foster Flats Rd, and they assure me that activity is over in April. No one there seems to have looked in May, however. I wonder if any local birders can give me some advice or encouragement. Thanks, Steve Siegel, Miami -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/attachments/20100202/483db146/attachment-0001.html ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:52:34 -0700 From: Jim Greaves Subject: Re: [obol] Audubon scam: eating its own? To: obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org Message-ID: <20100202204614.5B9F39B00C9 AT mail.blackfoot.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed I love it! I was wondering how long it would before some groups started to try to eat their "children"! - Jim in Montana >Message: 16 >Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:06:06 -0800 >From: Alan Contreras >Subject: Re: [obol] OT: Audubon bill scam? >To: , obol >Message-ID: >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" > >I made an inquiry to an acquaintance at Audubon, who says this appears to be >a scam. He will inquire to see what he can find out. > >-- >Alan Contreras >EUGENE, OREGON >acontrer AT mindspring.com > > > From: > > Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:15:43 +0000 > > To: obol > > Subject: [obol] OT: Audubon bill scam? > > > > We have just received our second bill for Audubon Magazine for $100 for the > > year. > > It has the official logo on it, and says our membership has been suspended > > until we pay. > > I see no notice of any price increase in the magazine proper, and a careful > > scan of the magazine masthead > > shows a different address for the "Membership Data Center" > > But they have our correct mailing address. > > Has anyone else gotten these bills? I think it must be a scam,and I plan to > > call the offices in the morning. > > Anyone know anything more than me? > > > > Oh, and so as to not be entirely off topic, we are hearing three Great > > horned owls and one or two saw-whets > > most nights. > > Rural NW Polk county > > Barbara > > _______________________________________________ > > obol mailing list > > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol > >------------------------------ > >Message: 17 >Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:23:18 +0000 >From: barbara.millikan AT gmail.com >Subject: Re: [obol] OT: Audubon bill scam? >To: Oregon Birders OnLine >Message-ID: <0016e648d6dc063d2c047ea085dc AT google.com> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > >It was Audubon! >Oops, that sent while I was still talking to the Audubon marketing office. >The part that is questionable is that we are billed that amount because "we >agreed to it" in a telemarketing campaign Audubon ran -- in December, I >think. >Well, we didn't. >Looks like it was an overly ambitious telemarketer. Didn't know they could >do that. >They canceled the charge and billed us our usual -- (it was the final >warning, hence the stern wording.) >Barbara ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:58:54 -0800 From: Alan Contreras Subject: Re: [obol] Audubon scam: eating its own? To: Jim Greaves , obol Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Apparently this really IS an Audubon renewal promotion, but the firm doing it has been a little, er, overenthusiastic. -- Alan Contreras EUGENE, OREGON acontrer AT mindspring.com > From: Jim Greaves > Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:52:34 -0700 > To: obol > Subject: Re: [obol] Audubon scam: eating its own? > > I love it! I was wondering how long it would before some groups > started to try to eat their "children"! - Jim in Montana > >> Message: 16 >> Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:06:06 -0800 >> From: Alan Contreras >> Subject: Re: [obol] OT: Audubon bill scam? >> To: , obol >> Message-ID: >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" >> >> I made an inquiry to an acquaintance at Audubon, who says this appears to be >> a scam. He will inquire to see what he can find out. >> >> -- >> Alan Contreras >> EUGENE, OREGON >> acontrer AT mindspring.com >> >>> From: >>> Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:15:43 +0000 >>> To: obol >>> Subject: [obol] OT: Audubon bill scam? >>> >>> We have just received our second bill for Audubon Magazine for $100 for the >>> year. >>> It has the official logo on it, and says our membership has been suspended >>> until we pay. >>> I see no notice of any price increase in the magazine proper, and a careful >>> scan of the magazine masthead >>> shows a different address for the "Membership Data Center" >>> But they have our correct mailing address. >>> Has anyone else gotten these bills? I think it must be a scam,and I plan to >>> call the offices in the morning. >>> Anyone know anything more than me? >>> >>> Oh, and so as to not be entirely off topic, we are hearing three Great >>> horned owls and one or two saw-whets >>> most nights. >>> Rural NW Polk county >>> Barbara >>> _______________________________________________ >>> obol mailing list >>> obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org >>> http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 17 >> Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:23:18 +0000 >> From: barbara.millikan AT gmail.com >> Subject: Re: [obol] OT: Audubon bill scam? >> To: Oregon Birders OnLine >> Message-ID: <0016e648d6dc063d2c047ea085dc AT google.com> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" >> >> It was Audubon! >> Oops, that sent while I was still talking to the Audubon marketing office. >> The part that is questionable is that we are billed that amount because "we >> agreed to it" in a telemarketing campaign Audubon ran -- in December, I >> think. >> Well, we didn't. >> Looks like it was an overly ambitious telemarketer. Didn't know they could >> do that. >> They canceled the charge and billed us our usual -- (it was the final >> warning, hence the stern wording.) >> Barbara > > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:32:18 -0700 From: Jim Greaves Subject: Re: [obol] Audubon scam: eating its own? To: Alan Contreras Cc: obol Message-ID: <20100202212556.0682B9B00B7 AT mail.blackfoot.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Putting it mildly. I KNOW I will be lambasted for "loving it", but it seems to me, the way this nation is going at the moment, everyone is "fare" game when it comes to raising money for pet causes! ;-) - Jim At 01:58 PM 2/2/2010, Alan Contreras wrote: >Apparently this really IS an Audubon renewal promotion, but the firm doing >it has been a little, er, overenthusiastic. > >-- >Alan Contreras >EUGENE, OREGON >acontrer AT mindspring.com ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 11:42:23 -0800 From: "Marti Ligocki" Subject: Re: [obol] Backyard Dove Numbers "Exploding" To: "John Thomas" , Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Our mourning doves numbers also have exploded in the past few weeks. Some mornings and afternoons we've recently seen about 20 front and back combined. Three or four would be normal in December and in past years all winter long. We haven't seen any EC Doves in the area, yet. Marti Ligocki Southeast Salem near former Battle Creek Golf Course ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Thomas" To: Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 10:07 AM Subject: [obol] Backyard Dove Numbers "Exploding" > We had 16 Mourning Doves and 11 European Collared Doves at our feeder area > yesterday. Have been doing a weekly Cornell FeederWatch Count and this was > really an overnight "explosion" in numbers. Usually we have maybe 3-6 > Mourning Doves and 3 EC Doves until just a couple days ago.The EC Doves > went from 3-4-5-11 in maybe three days. Have no idea where they are all > coming from, although we do have some horsey neighbors nearby with barns, > corrals, etc that might be of interest to dove. > > I see 10 EC Doves out there right now. This is going to leave a lot less > feed on the ground for the other species.... > > We still have the usual sparrows, finches, etc including a White-throated > Sparrow. A very wild band of about 17 California Quail comes in right at > dusk. They mostly seem to avoid the Cooper's though she cornered one at > the front of the house at dusk about a week ago. > > John Thomas > 5 mi N of Silverton > _______________________________________________ > obol mailing list > obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.432 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2663 - Release Date: 02/02/10 07:35:00 ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 15:32:43 -0800 From: "Gail Andrews" Subject: [obol] Y-B Sapsucker: YES!!! To: , "'Mid-Valley Birders'" Message-ID: <473DCBD19F4A4014BD21F67B73758AD1 AT hal9000> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Finally after many visits, I got GREAT views of the famous Yellow Bellied Sapsucker at EE Wilson this morning about 10 a.m. Five women from Corvallis gathered at the parking lot at 9:45 a.m. (The "Bird Chicks" we walk, we talk, we watch birds, if it is raining we sip tea and play cards - what were the chances that this gabby group would see the elusive bird? I didn't even take my scope or camera.) There was light fog, heavy overcast, no precip--I mention this because 2 miles away the sun was shining and skies blue. We climbed through the fence and immediately I saw a white flash and heard the call. We waited and watched. It flew, flashed, called, and disappeared again. After doing this 3 times, it landed on a low branch with an open view and stayed put. We all got excellent views with binocs. The red on the head and the yellow on the belly were quite evident, as was the head marking. Lighting wasn't perfect, but quite adequate. The bird moved around to give us good views from all angles. Much better view than I had hoped for based on other reports. The sapsucker was working the area just south of the gate, on the west side of the road, as others have described - never returned to the same spot twice while we were there. The great view was with the bird in the big tree next to the fence, about 50 yards (rough est.) west of the gate. It was sitting a little above eye level on one of the side branches that sloped down from the trunk to the ground. Good view standing next to the inside of the gate. (Just in case anyone wants to see the spot where the famous sapsucker once sat..) Mike R. from Portland drove up as we were studying the perched bird, got out of his car, climbed through the fence, and joined in the viewing-talk about luck! (I at least felt a little better knowing that this was his second trip.) I'm going to miss meeting folks at the Sapsucker Crossing, but not enough to keep hanging out there day after day. Nice to finally be able to enter this into eBird (sorry, couldn't resist!) Gail Andrews Corvallis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/attachments/20100202/50b325af/attachment-0001.html ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:13:42 -0800 From: Joel Geier Subject: Re: [obol] [birding] Y-B Sapsucker: YES!!! To: Gail Andrews Cc: 'Mid-Valley Birders' , obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org Message-ID: <1265156022.13652.378.camel AT clearwater1> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Glad your persistence paid off, Gail! As to this: > Nice to finally be able to enter this into eBird (sorry, couldn?t > resist!) ... doggone it, I think the bird must have switched allegiance from BirdNotes to eBird. I haven't been able to log it in BirdNotes for over a week now. Well, what do you expect, it probably came from Sapsucker Woods! ;) Cheers, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 16:33:53 -0800 From: "Peter Patricelli" Subject: [obol] Great Horned Owl on nest - Eugene To: Message-ID: <4FF912CC26C74000AF84B3BC30E7AA8F AT PeterPatricelli> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" I have been waiting for the right weather, bright morning sun, to try pics of the GH Owl on nest on the bike path just off the Willamette River and Delta Ponds in Eugene. This morning it unexpectedly happened. The fog bank was holding just north of the site and the sun angle was right. Carrying Big Bertha and tripod that far on foot is a bit of a committment...but it was worth it. Not sure how long we have before the leaf budding closes off view of the nest. Once the eggs hatch this could be interesting. 4 pics (first three run as a slide show) starting here: http://www.flyfishingfotography.com/gh_owl_nest_001.htm Peter Patricelli www.flyfishingfotography.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/attachments/20100202/1f067b53/attachment-0001.html ------------------------------ Message: 9 Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:39:25 -0800 From: Doug Robberson Subject: [obol] Hummingbird DVD To: Oregon Birders On Line Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" I have found a fantastic DVD on hummingbirds by Charles W Melton. It's called "Amazing Hummingbirds of the US". It can be found at www.nearfamous.com. I do not get a kickback for this. Doug Robberson Tigard, OR ------------------------------ Message: 10 Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 20:33:40 -0800 (PST) From: Jeff Fleischer Subject: [obol] South Benton County wanderings To: OBOL Message-ID: <668324.13942.qm AT web50906.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Obolers, After doing the Benton County South raptor survey on Sunday, today I decided to go back to the area south of Finley NWR and just do some plain ole birding for my own fun :) It was a relaxing day. Some highlights included: 1. One adult PEREGRINE FALCON along the railroad tracks on McFarland Rd just west of Hwy 99 2. One MERLIN at the bridge on McFarland Rd just north of Alpine Rd west of Monroe 3. 45 GREAT EGRETS near the McFarland Rd / Dawson Rd intersection. There were 30 perched in trees near the gray newer house about a quarter mile south and east of the intersection and an additional 15 feeding in corn stubble just south of the dairy farm right alongside McFarland Rd. For a minute there I thought I was in Florida! :) 4. 300 MOURNING DOVES tightly lined up on an above ground sprinkler line along Eureka Rd about a mile east of Hwy 99. They looked like a line of starlings! Believe it or not, on the same line about 75 yards away at the other end was a perched MERLIN! :) 5. Of course, I enjoyed the thousands of ducks and geese along Bruce Rd :) Results of the Benton County South raptor survey on Sunday: Red-tailed Hawk 59 American Kestrel 44 Northern Harrier 4 Bald Eagle 2 ad, 2 sub ad Rough-legged Hawk 6 Peregrine Falcon 2 Merlin 2 Cooper's Hawk 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 This route covers everything south of Bruce Rd / Eureka Rd, west to Bellfountain Rd with a few roads spurring west off of Bellfountain, south to Ingram Island Rd, and east to the Willamette River. Jeff Fleischer Albany ------------------------------ Message: 11 Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 08:27:40 -0800 From: "KEITH PHIFER" Subject: [obol] Albino/Leucistic Robin To: "OBOL Oregon Birders Online" Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" My parents took pictures of what they decided was a an Albino Robin at Pass Creek Park in Curtain Oregon on Saturday. Neat looking bird I will try and attatch a picture and see if it can be enjoyed by you other Oboler's. I am actually unsure if attatchements come through well to OBOL it seems like people usually send a link to Flikr or something but I'll give this a try. Photo E-mail Play slideshow | Download images Here is those pictures expanded from original photos. This MSN Photo E-mail slideshow will be available for 30 days. To share high quality pictures with your friends and family using MSN Photo E-mail, join MSN. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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From: "matthew fisher" <mwfisher AT chaoticstorm.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 08:23:16 -0600 I would like to thank everyone who replied to my inquiry of birds in Oregon for my trip in April, there was a lot of useful information and I will reply to people as soon as I can. I am looking forward to visiting your state and I think it is going to take a lot more planning if I want to see most of the birds I would like to! Matthew Fisher Katy, Tx_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Re: eBird versus BirdNotes From: Brian Sullivan <bls42 AT cornell.edu> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 06:06:19 -0800 Hi Wayne and OBOL birders Thanks for the note RE eBird. There are a few things I'd like to clear up. The first is the statement that eBird lacks open data access to raw data. All eBird data in their raw form are available for download free to anyone at the Avian Knowledge Network (www.avianknowlege.net). Raw data broken out by state/province and season specifically designed for NAB editors are available here: (http://ebird.org/downloads/nab/). If you can't get what you need from those two sources, we can set you up with individual database access using a tool called ART, but you'll need to contact me to get that. The other thing is the concept that eBird lacks location specificity. While it is true right now that we use points to describe locations, they are linked to higher geography using GIS. This is how we build all your lists. Each point is labeled with IBA, county, state, country, and various other tags. We use Oracle Spatial for this. For birders that do traveling counts we record the mid-point of the transect, and then record the transect distance. This gives analysts a measure of location specificity. For point counts we can't do much better than we have. For area counts we record the area sampled. The only thing we lack at the moment is the ability to record your actual route on a map, or a polygon describing the area you birded. Hope this helps Thanks Brian On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 3:15 PM, Wayne Weber wrote: > Oregon Birders, > > > > Many thanks to Brian Sullivan for his years of work on behalf of eBird, for > his message to OBOL explaining the goals and history of eBird, and for his > efforts to find common ground with the people behind BirdNotes. > > > > For the record, I have entered some hundreds of checklists into BirdNotes > from Oregon and Washington, although I haven’t done so for a few years; I > have become discouraged with the decreasing use of BirdNotes outside Oregon, > as more and more birders use eBird. I haven’t entered any data directly into > eBird, but large amounts of my data have been uploaded from my Excel files > by Dick Cannings, the provincial coordinator for eBird for B.C. As a > result, I am now the 6th most prolific birder in B.C. in terms of eBird, > with a total of 2981 of my checklists on file. > > > > Let me explain why I strongly prefer BirdNotes to eBird as a repository for > birding field notes: > > > > (1) eBird is point-based, and assumes that all observations were made > from a single point, and assigns coordinates to that point. This does not > work well for my bird notes, a large percentage of which consists of birds > seen along a road between Point A and Point B (rarely more than a 30-mile > stretch of road, but not exactly a point). BirdNotes, on the other hand, is > area-based, and allows a nested hierarchy of localities within a county or a > state, which seems to be a far more sensible way of doing things. > > > > (2) eBird, for the most part, does not allow users to see the observers > responsible for sightings other than their own. It also, apparently, does > not allow access to individual checklists, with the attached information > including date, weather, and observer’s name. This, in my opinion, is by far > the most serious drawback of eBird, and it needs to be rectified ASAP. It is > very different from BirdNotes, which allows all users to access individual > checklists. > > > > eBird does allow access to various summaries of data, but for many of the > purposes for which I would like to use the data, summaries of data are of > little use compared to the raw data themselves, or the individual > checklists. > > For example, eBird data that can be retrieved by ordinary observers cannot > be used for: > > > > Compiling seasonal reports for “North American Birds” or “Oregon Birds” > > > > Compiling a comprehensive bird checklist for a local area > > > > Assessing an area proposed for a proposed wildlife preserve, park, or other > protected area > > > > Preparing an EIS for a proposed development > > > > For such purposes as these, one needs access to the individual checklists, > with observer names and other details. General summaries simply are not good > enough. > > > > My understanding is that, for each state or province, only a few > coordinators or administrators have access to the raw data, including the > individual checklists. (If this is incorrect, please let me know.) Ordinary > contributors of data, and non-contributors, if they can get access to such > data at all, must make a request to one of the administrators. This is such > a tedious process that it severely restricts access to the eBird data, and > in my opinion, severely limits the value of the whole program. > > > > I am very skeptical about contributing large amounts of data to a database > when access to the data is restricted so severely, and I doubt that I will > contribute any more data to eBird until access to the data is made much > easier than it is now. > > > > I would greatly appreciate a response from Brian or from others familiar > with eBird. Perhaps some of my perceptions about eBird are erroneous, in > which case I would appreciate being corrected. I hope to hear that there is > a plan to improve access to the data in future, but if not, I will remain > skeptical. > > > > Wayne C. Weber > > Delta, BC, Canada > > contopus AT telus.net > > (Long-time OFO member and founder of BC Field Ornithologists) > > > > > > > > *From:* obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org [mailto: > obol-bounces AT oregonbirdwatch.org] *On Behalf Of *Brian Sullivan > *Sent:* January-30-10 7:39 PM > *To:* obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org > *Subject:* [obol] Some thoughts about eBird > > > > Greetings OR birders, > > > > I am one of three project leaders for eBird (with Chris Wood and Marshall > Iliff), based in California and in charge of managing eBird in the West. > I’ve spent the last five years engrossed in this project, so the recent > discussion on OBOL has been of great interest to me. We learn the most when > people are honest critics, and David Irons is absolutely correct in stating > that if birders like Mike Patterson and he do not use eBird, then something > is amiss. I’d like to continue this discussion, and figure out exactly what > Oregon birders need eBird to become, and then help steer its development in > that direction. If eBird is not useful for Oregon birders, then something > indeed has to change. I would also like to address a few things that have > been mentioned, and to clarify a few misperceptions. > > > > The Goal of eBird > > The broad vision for eBird is that of a worldwide citizen-based bird > monitoring network, able to detect patterns of bird occurrence, distribution > and abundance in real time. Its overarching hypothesis is that data > collected by birdwatchers can be used for science and conservation, and that > when pulled together across large spatial scales in an organized and easily > accessible format, these observations become even more powerful, realizing > their full potential. The Christmas Bird Count and Breeding Bird Survey > clearly illustrate the utility of citizen-based bird observations, and our > goal was to build something that could be used everyday by birders to keep > track of birds year-round. But how do we provide incentive for people to > participate? > > > > When eBird was launched in 2002 it was admittedly clunky. I tried it > myself, and while I was really engaged by the concept, I found that it > didn’t suit my birding needs. It was made by scientists for scientists, and > didn’t really give me any reward or incentive to stay with it. In 2005 > Cornell hired Chris and me, and later Marshall, to bring a birder’s > perspective to the project. Our idea was to change eBird into a tool that > serves the needs of the birding community first, and to let science extract > the data it needs from the larger data pool. This meant changing eBird a bit > to provide the kinds of output birders would be interested in, so we > designed that on what you now see as the “View and Explore Data” and “My > eBird” pages. This general direction changed worked well, and participation > increased dramatically. > > > > eBird is a relatively young project, having now collected about five years > worth of good data. The birding community has used it widely, but so has > conservation and science to help inform management decisions, explore > broad-scale patterns in bird populations, and to develop hypothesis worthy > of further exploration and targeted research. We’ve published several > scientific papers on it so far, including a project description and overview > in Biological Conservation. Some of the most exciting analyses have been in > the fields of data mining and machine learning—eBird providing the data to > develop pioneering new statistical techniques to analyze large, and yes > sometimes messy, data sets. And this is just the tip of the iceberg, many > more papers are in the works, and scientists are increasingly interested in > eBird as a data resource. > > > > Pulling the Wheat from the Chaff > > eBird is designed to allow birders to contribute their bird observations in > a variety of ways, with the minimum criteria for a record being species, > location, and date. More importantly, eBird is focused on the collection of > complete checklists of birds, rather than single observations of rarities or > birding highlights. By submitting complete checklists from discrete > locations, we can better understand patterns in common birds—the collective > biomass of which underpin the basic ecosystem services that we all enjoy. > Moreover, eBird allows people to provide detailed effort information, and to > choose from various ‘effort-based’ protocols like ‘stationary counts’ or > ‘traveling counts’. By providing some detail about how you collected your > bird observations, it allows analysts to slice and dice the data to look at > whatever piece they find most interesting. For example, the latest paper > published using eBird data only used ‘Traveling counts’ of less than five > miles in length for analysis. The point is that eBird will accept all kinds > of data, and all of it is useful for analysis at some level. But more > importantly it tries to steer people in the direction of maximizing the > value of their observations by pushing the basic concepts of birding from > discrete locations, for smaller intervals (no more day lists), hopefully > repeatedly over many years, or a lifetime. > > > > Data Access > > One of the criticisms leveled in the previous posts revolved around the > lack of data access. How can birders (and scientists) get the data out of > eBird in a useful way? The tools on the “View and Explore Data” page are > designed to provide quick summaries of data in ways that might be > interesting to birders; for example, seasonal bar charts of bird occurrence > for a county or specific location. Simple ways to visualize the data. In > addition to these, we have three ways for people to access ALL the eBird > data in its raw form. > > > > 1. Birders and scientists can download the entire eBird dataset or > write their own specific queries against it using tools available through > the Avian Knowledge Network ( > http://www.avianknowledge.net/content/download). The resulting files can > be massive, and are best suited for people with lots of computer savvy, or > specific scientific interests. > > 2. As long-time contributors to North American Birds, Chris, Marshall > and I believe strongly in establishing a firm relationship between eBird and > North American Birds. To make access to seasonal summaries of eBird data > more easily available for NAB editors, we created a simple interface where > all eBird data can be downloaded for a state broken out by year and season. > That is available here: http://ebird.org/downloads/nab/ > > 3. If you are a data analyst, birder, or scientist and you can’t get > what you need from either of the sources above, we have one last resort. We > use a tool called ART to enable user-specific access to the eBird dataset > through custom queries that can be run anytime from any home computer. If > you have a specific data need that can’t be met, let us know and we’ll set > you up with individual access to the raw database. > > > > Data Quality > > Another criticism is that eBird suffers from data quality issues. As with > any project that gathers data from a wide variety of users, there are bad > records that get submitted, there’s no denying that. But I would argue that > eBird has the most advanced data quality process of any project of its kind. > We have automated filters that can be customized at the county level (and > soon smaller), to vet incoming data. Data that are flagged as unusual get > vetted by a network of volunteer editors, typically local experts with an > interest in bird records (often the NAB subregional editors). The idea is > to build a system where beginners can interact with experts about their > records, learn from their mistakes, and benefit from expert-peer > communication. > > > > In many states this process has worked well, in others it is still a work > in progress. Here in California we have different editors in nearly every > county, and each county with its own data quality filter. In Oregon the > network has been slow to develop, and areas of the state are still poorly > covered. The eastern half is still running off the old Oregon state filter, > so records there are given less scrutiny. This is soon to change though, as > several folks have recently stepped up to help improve the situation there. > On the Oregon coast several counties have their own filters and data > editors, and the situation is much better. The nice thing about eBird is > that once new and improved filters are implemented, the entire data set can > be run against them, and the erroneous records that once slipped through > will now get flagged and reviewed by experts. Again, this is a work in > progress, and while we strive for perfection it sometimes takes a while to > get there. We greatly appreciate the work of these local experts, and it > should be stated again that they are volunteers. You can read more about the > data quality process here: > > > > http://ebird.org/content/ebird/about/ebird-data-quality > > > > Funding > > eBird was initially developed based on a National Science Foundation grant, > in conjunction with a large grant from Audubon. Since then, we have found > funding to maintain and develop eBird mostly by submitting grants to various > sources in the field of computer science, but also through private > foundation support. The statement that your 5-dollar CBC fee goes to support > eBird is wholly incorrect. We received a grant from Audubon in 2002, but > since then their support has not been financial. > > > > eBird is a free resource to the birding community, and it will stay that > way. There are no hidden fees, you don’t need to be a Lab member, or a > member of Audubon to use it. We have spent lots of time and energy making > sure that various funding streams are in place so that eBird can continue in > perpetuity. Despite what some might think, however, we also suffer from > economic effects. We’d like to do so much more with eBird, and our priority > development list grows ever longer. Right now we’re focused on improving the > database structure to handle new growth, and have to put off new > developments on the front end. We have one full-time programmer, who spends > most of his time keeping the whole thing intact, and pieces of several other > Lab staff (e.g., database admin, web designer). A project of this magnitude > does require full time staff, and we thank Cornell for having the vision to > keep eBird a part of its core programs. > > > > eBird in Oregon > > When I first started working on the project in the West, I became aware of > BirdNotes, and its wide use throughout Oregon. It is a great tool, and Joel > and Don should be commended for their forward thinking and development of > something that was well ahead of its time. Recognizing this, I contacted > them to see if we could figure out a way to work together—to share data. My > goal was to allow the Oregon birders to use whatever system they liked best, > with the big picture goal of all the data being shared between both > applications. It seemed like a win-win. In discussions with Don and Joel it > became clear that years before, they had approached Cornell about a > potential collaboration, and it was met with cold opposition. I regret that, > and although I wasn’t involved personally at the time, I feel this exchange > has limited my ability to develop eBird in Oregon ever since. The reality > was that back when eBird was launched, we didn’t have the technical capacity > to share data in the ways that we do now via Internet tools. It was in its > infancy, and eBird was focused inwardly. However that information was > communicated, apparently very poorly and with little tact, it created a > rivalry that does little to advance our bigger causes now. Because of this > sensitivity, I have not actively promoted the use of eBird in Oregon, and > have chosen to let it grow there organically, in hopes that in the meantime > I could continue to develop a partnership with BirdNotes. For the various > reasons Joel just outlined, this has not yet happened. While the Avian > Knowledge Network could be a viable option for this, I hold out hope for an > eBird – BirdNotes handshake, as I think the data would be better and more > easily accessed by birders there. I have had nothing but positive > interactions with Joel and Don on this topic, and I hope that we can one day > move forward with this process. > > > > As several people already pointed out, the eBird experience can be somewhat > uneven from state to state. It works best in places where the birding > community has embraced it (lots of data coming in), and the regional editors > have created excellent data quality processes behind the scenes (automated > filters and a network of human beings to vet data at the local level). The > tools are there to achieve this kind of quality experience anywhere, but as > with any project this big in scope, it takes time. This illustrates clearly > that eBird is a collective, it is a living organism as delicate as any > ecosystem—if even one of the critical pieces are missing, the whole system > begins to break down. It is not owned by anyone person, instead it is owned > by everyone who enters data, downloads data, or uses eBird for any purpose. > We think of eBird as a series of tools, ever changing and developing, and > our goal is to get these tools into the hands of locals and let them take > the ball and run with it—and ultimately to develop these tools to better > meet their needs. eBird is ‘open source’, all data is freely accessible, and > the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has no proprietary interest over it. It is > free for anyone to use in all its forms, indeed this notion is a central > tenet of eBird. Lastly, eBird users have decided on the two new eBird > development directions through participating online surveys. They help us > prioritize, and we value their opinions. We are trying to engage and listen > to the audience in every way possible, the best we can. > > > > Thanks for reading all this, > > > > Brian Sullivan > > -- > > > =========== > Brian L. Sullivan > Pacific Grove, CA > > eBird/AKN Project Leader > www.ebird.org > www.avianknowledge.net > > Photographic Editor, > Birds of North America Online > http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA > > Cornell Lab of Ornithology > 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd. > Ithaca, NY 14850 > > Photographic Editor, > North American Birds > American Birding Association > www.americanbirding.org > > bls42 AT cornell.edu > 609-694-3280 > ------------------------------- > -- =========== Brian L. Sullivan Pacific Grove, CA eBird/AKN Project Leader www.ebird.org www.avianknowledge.net Photographic Editor, Birds of North America Online http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd. Ithaca, NY 14850 Photographic Editor, North American Birds American Birding Association www.americanbirding.org bls42 AT cornell.edu 609-694-3280 -------------------------------_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol Subject: Red Shouldered Hawk- Columbia County From: Henry Horvat <henry AT formandstructure.net> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 08:34:52 -0500 OBOL'ers: Yesterday, 2/4/10 I found a Red Shouldered Hawk on a fence post abour fifty feet off the Crown-Zellerback walking trail in Scappoose. The portion of the trail where I found the hawk was at the East end. I watched it for about ten minutes and was able to view it at close range. Henry Horvat Scappoose Bottoms_______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol