[obol] Hillsboro Rusty Blackbird?
- From: DRW2326@xxxxxxx
- To: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 05:58:13 -0400 (EDT)
OBOL,
While walking at Dawson Creek Park around 3 pm this past afternoon, I saw
a bird that I think was a RUSTY BLACKBIRD.
The bird was near the pond with the island; it was right about where a path
to TriQuint branches off from the path around the pond. It was similar in
shape and size to (or perhaps slightly bigger than) other icterids, such as
Brewer's and Red-winged Blackbirds (several individuals of the latter
species were nearby). The bird had the solid dark plumage typical of some
icterids. The wings and tail were black or very dark gray; the back and head
were a dark reddish brown color that seemed too reddish for Brewer's, and
this reddish brown color was solid unlike the streaked plumage of female
Red-winged; and there was a prominent pale supercilium, far more prominent
than
I have ever seen on Brewer's. The bird had light-colored eyes.
I have never seen either Rusty Blackbird or Great-tailed Grackle before; at
the time I saw the bird, I considered Rusty Blackbird but not Great-tailed
Grackle. Looking at pictures of both species now, the bird seems to be the
right shape for Rusty rather than Great-tailed, and its size was certainly
more like a blackbird than a crow.
Other highlights of that day's walk included Belted Kingfisher and
Townsend's Warbler. On Monday and Tuesday I saw a Bald Eagle there, not a
species
I usually see at that location.
Other recent Dawson Creek Park highlights:
In recent weeks, I have seen Red-shouldered Hawk, Greater White-fronted
Goose, and White-throated Sparrow at the park. A couple of months ago, an
Osprey was hanging around the park for a few weeks, and apparently developed a
taste for the large orange fish there; I got a great look at it diving at
one point.
I saw a deformed Mallard there a couple months ago; the lower mandible was
normal, but the upper mandible was significantly shorter, and bent to one
side.
In spring, I saw an Osprey, Kestrel, and Turkey Vulture all flying overhead
at the same time; the Osprey then flew east to the Intel campus, where it
was harassed by the resident Red-tailed Hawks.
Also in spring, a tree fell at the park, putting a Robin's nest just inches
above the ground. When I returned to the scene a few days later, the tree
was gone, and a large cut branch (presumably the one that contained the
nest) had been placed in another nearby tree.
(As a sidenote, in late April I took a vacation to Maui, and I had 20
lifers there.)
-Mark Wilkinson
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