My experience with the distribution of House Wrens puts them in
Southeast Clatsop Co. pretty much as David describes his experiences.
Much of this habitat is on industrial forest land behind locked gates.
One can access some of this area, if one is willing brave the web of
roads which may or may not be open through State forest lands (I have a
Clatsop State Forestry map, so does David).
These spots in the southeast corner are the most "Willamette Valley"
like. Temperatures in the summer are routinely 10 to 15 degrees warmer.
They are less prone to days on end of the marine air drizzle and fog;
conditions we live with farther west and along the Columbia River
corridor (like today). They are also the best butterfly spots in the
county.
Where one WILL NOT find House Wren is Coffenbury Lake, a reality not
reflected by eBird submissions, the source of almost all of my
ranting about House Wren distribution in the County, and the reason
why I believe it should be flagged on eBird. While I might expect to
find a Rock Wren just about anywhere in the county, any basalt outcrop,
abandoned quarry or pile of big rocks is fair game (South Jetty being
the most extreme example), House Wrens are only likely in the
transitional margin that is Southeast Clatsop County.
The nature of forest practices, especially on heavy rotation industrial
forests (some now on a 30-year rotation) means that habitat for House
Wrens is in a constant state of flux. Some years are better than
others. There are very few spots where one can consistently find a
House Wren from one year to the next. The nature of David's job puts
him in these habitats (often behind locked gates) at a frequency which
allows him to provide a higher level of constant effort distributional
information.
So, where would I send you to find a House Wren for your county list?
Jewell Meadows Wildlife Refuge
Highway 26 rest area
Campy Rd
Upper Spruce Run (there's also intriguing habitat for Rock Wren)
East Highway 202 and Fishhawk Lake Rd around the county line
--
Mike Patterson
Astoria, OR
The phenological margins
http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/?p=2753
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