[obol] Ricketts Rd., Eugene LBB Gull no - Tundra Swans yes - 12/11/2014
- From: "Anne & Dan Heyerly" <tanager@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 11:57:18 -0800
Obolinks,
During a break in storms, or perhaps the lull before the biggie that is late
but purportedly on the way, I thought I'd check the Ricketts Rd. pond and
fields this morning (around 11am) just to see if the Lesser Black-backed
Gull happened to be present. There were maybe 25 gulls present in a field
approximately one-quarter mile north of Ricketts Rd., but none fit the
description of a LBBG. I saw no gulls in the "sheep" field to the south of
Ricketts Rd. I thought there might be a better view of the field where there
were gulls from Dillard Rd., which parallels Ricketts Rd. approximately one
mile north, but the field where the gulls were located was even farther away
than looking from Ricketts. In fact, the birds must have been in a low spot
because they were not even visible from Dillard Rd.
There were six Tundra Swans on the pond to the north of Ricketts Rd., a
handful of Mallards and at least one Northern Pintail. A Common Raven was
chasing a Northern Harrier around in that vicinity, and a Red-tailed Hawk
watched from a perch over the railroad right-of-way.
An interesting event occurred right after I arrived at the Ricketts Rd. site
this morning. I looked over toward the security guard shack at the entrance
to the land fill and a red flare had been shot up high into the air in the
general vicinity of the guard shack. It was giving off a trail of black
smoke as it drifted north and gradually descended and went out. I have no
explanation as to why this happened in the middle of the day.
Good Birding and Tie Yourselves Down,
Dan Heyerly, Eugene
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