Tristen Hynes and I saw two swallows of unknown species near the North Fork
bridge east of Florence on January 3. We were driving in traffic and heading
into frozen roads so did not go back to try to id them.
Alan Contreras
Eugene, Oregon
acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx
Sent from my iPhone
On Feb 1, 2016, at 8:49 PM, 5hats@xxxxxxxx wrote:
Wayne, et al,
I wish I had the exact date, and I don't, but around the 20th of January
about 2004 I was shocked to see a small group of about eight Bank Swallows
fly over Yaquina Bay. They swept by me about fifty feet away near the
second rock finger west of the bridge and continued on east up the bay. I am
absolutely positive they were Bank Swallows. The species is quite rare in
the county at any season, and seeing some in January was shocking.
Darrel
From: whoffman@xxxxxxxx
To: "Tim Rodenkirk" <timrodenkirk@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "Alan Contreras" <acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx>, "obol" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, February 1, 2016 7:56:14 PM
Subject: [obol] Re: Calliope Hummers in January????
Hi, Tim -
I do not disagree with your analysis, but Martins ARE swallows. You pointed
out first CBC records for Coos in 1996 and 1997. By about 2002 they had been
recorded on several other counts as well, but at that point all were either
Barn or Tree. Since then we have also had winter records/reports of
Violet-green and Cliff (Ridgefield NWR for the latter, I think). With this
kind of progression I would not be shocked if Rough-winged and Bank join the
parade too. And yes the Martins could have been Southern, and when the
Cliffs were first reported comments were made that they could have been
Cave...
When I was in college, no hummingbirds were known to winter in Oregon.
Anna's came to visit and stayed, and now small numbers of female Selasphorus
(presumably Rufous) are wintering at feeders. One yard near Newport has had
a single for four winters now, and another one turned up this winter, about 4
miles away.
I think there are two ways to look at the effects of climate change on
migratory birds' winter ranges. One is that warming is allowing birds to
stay farther north (TV, Osprey) and survive. The other is that the
(generally not fully understood) cues that birds use to time their migrations
are getting altered, to the extent that some birds are migrating early, not
necessarily because the climate is good, but rather that the cues that used
to be good predictors of survivable conditions are coming earlier, whether or
not they are still good predictors.
The most recognized predictor is day-length, but it is clear that some birds
are not tied tightly to it. You may remember that several years ago people
we asking for postings of first arrivals of Rufous Hummingbirds throughout
the region, and that the arrivals were staged over more than a month (6
weeks+?) - first on the south coast, then up the coast, then interior
valleys, and finally on the east side weeks after the south coast. It is
very difficult for me to square this pattern with an innate response to just
day length, particularly since males appear to keep moving, and breeding in
multiple locations, thus preventing local genetic adaptation in schedules.
Wayne
From: "Tim Rodenkirk" <timrodenkirk@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Alan Contreras" <acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "Wayne Hoffman" <whoffman@xxxxxxxx>, "obol" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, February 1, 2016 5:42:25 PM
Subject: [obol] Re: Calliope Hummers in January????
From what several folks have sent me, the martin report was in January? In
Coos the latest fall record is mid-September although I imagine there could
be stragglers into the end of the month. From October through mid-March
there are no records. However, there is no precedent I know of for
mid-winter Purple Martin records in OR. Perhaps there were late reports in
CA this year- would be worth checking. Also, common birds in the fall are
often not the ones to expect in winter. For instance, a kingbird in November
or later is likely not a Western, more likely a Tropical or even a Cassin's
(we have a couple OR records). Same with winter grosbeaks, as likely or maybe
more likely Rose-breasted. Mid-winter Chipping Sparrow reports along the
south coast are usually either juvie WC Sparrows or Clay-colored Sparrows.
Mid-winter tanagers- don't rule out Summer, etc. etc. It has been quite a
year for asian vagrants in the NW and BC so I would say that a January martin
report might more likely be a vagrant martin from elsewhere than a Purple.
Thus I would tend toward calling it a martin sp. versus a Purple, at least on
what we know about this Purple Martins which winter in South America and have
never been seen before in OR. It sure would have been nice to collect that
bird!
Merry February,
Tim Rodenkirk
Coos Bay
On Mon, Feb 1, 2016 at 12:51 PM, Alan Contreras <acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
There was a martin report at Fern Ridge.
Alan Contreras
Eugene, Oregon
acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx
Sent from my iPhone
On Feb 1, 2016, at 12:47 PM, Tim Rodenkirk <timrodenkirk@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Wayne et al.,
Our first swallows on CBCs in Coos were back in 1996 and then again the
following year. We have had them on several other CBCs also. Yep, it must
have been weird at the time for sure. Purple Martins in winter- can you
enlighten me on that sighting??? I have seen them in January in Homestead,
Florida but that is the eastern subspecies. The western ones typically
arrive in Coos Bay by 1 April although we have had really early records in
late March. We are almost always the earliest to report them in OR. Winter
records??? Got photos : )
With the Calliope report we are talking about a report that is close to two
months early (especially in WA), I would hope a few people would scratch
their heads and maybe even ask for a description of the bird and hopefully
maybe get a confirmation if possible? From what I remember of the posting
the observer made it sound like he expected more to follow instead of
saying- wow, how crazy, a Calliope in January which is what I would have
thought if I saw one! That isn't to say one day one will be reported in
January and will be confirmed. It would just be nice to hear some more
about the bird that was observed- male, female? Did the observer get good
looks? Did he maybe mean Rufous or Anna's and not Calliope? Even Rufous
would be on the real early end? Makes me wonder about Anna's or even
Costa's? Lots of Anna's moving now, we have one feeder I have to fill up
every day now, there are a bunch of male Anna's hitting it. Anyhow, lots of
questions in my mind...
In this age of climate change I think many less experienced bird watchers
are of the mind set that anything is possible anytime anywhere. Sometimes
yes, more often probably no. It can't hurt to treat early and late dates
like rare bird reports can it? Of course knowledge of what is considered
early and late only comes with experience which is really valuable in
helping one know where and when to look for birds. Also, I would hope that
people would not take offense to being challenged on really early or late
dates in the same manner people are asked for documentation on rare bird
sightings. When I was a newbie birder I frequently got called on my IDs,
some of which were way out in left field. I learned a lot in the process.
Understanding bird phenology only comes with time and experience though so I
think it should be one of those things us "old timers" mention when we see
early and late dates that don't jive with our years of birding experience.
In our current birding world people of all experience levels are sharing
their sightings on forums such as this and mistakes will be made, it is part
of birding. Hopefully OBOL can continue to be a good forum for helping
people learn about bird phenology in their area so that they can recognize
when a bird is really early or late. This is a skill many of us old timers
take for granted but which many younger birders have not yet cultivated. In
Coos I have spent many a spring scouring the county for early and late birds
and have developed a really good feeling for phenology in my neck of the
woods and elsewhere in the state. Anyhow, I feel like I should say something
on OBOL when early and late information is reported that just doesn't sound
right.
Still hoping to see my first Rufous in Coos- could be any day now but
usually not until middle of Feb.
Merry early migration- pseudospring is upon us!
Tim Rodenkirk
Coos Bay
On Mon, Feb 1, 2016 at 9:39 AM, <whoffman@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi -
Your reaction reminds me of my reaction the first time I heard of swallows
being seen on an Oregon CBC. And Purple Martins this winter too???
Wayne
From: "Tim Rodenkirk" <timrodenkirk@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "obol" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, February 1, 2016 4:59:14 AM
Subject: [obol] Re: Calliope Hummers in January????
I looked in BOGR and the earliest record they have for Calliope is March
22, 1998 at Lebanon- no wintering records. Interestingly, no one has even
commented on this bird on OBOl (I had one person reply to me saying they
thought the earliest migrant day would be 1 April) I guess with global
climate change hasppening- some people believe anything is possible? Sure
seems like one of the most unusual reports I have seen on OBOL in a long
time.
Tim Rodenkirk
Coos Bay
On Sun, Jan 31, 2016 at 5:48 PM, Tim Rodenkirk <timrodenkirk@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
I was quickly going through my OBOL e-mails this morning and forgot to
comment on the Calliope report which I believe was for WA. Is this the
earliest ever for WA- maybe would be for OR also? Are there wintering
records even in NW? I know they don't usually show up until April so I
was wondering what the heck when I saw the posting- to early for April
fools?
Tim Rodenkirk
Coos Bay
PS: I know of Costa's winter records for OR so maybe there are Calliopes
also? Way to early for migrants.
