We ended our New Years Day at the Bald Eagle roost near the intersection of
Seward and McLagan, west of the town of Tangent and the Calapooia River.
After counting 21 BALD EAGLES (seems like a low number of birds, but we
didn't use a scope) we sat in the pullout on McLagan Drive and watched the
changing of the guard in the fields to the southeast of us:
At 5:05 pm there were 9 NORTHERN HARRIERS working the field between the
river and McLagan Drive.
By 5:13 pm all but two Harriers had settled down for the night.
At 5:18 pm we saw the first of 16 SHORT-EARED OWLS cross McLagan in front
of our car. Over the next five minutes, we watched owls come from the field
between the road and the river (the same field where the Harriers had been
hunting) and head to the northwest in groups of two and three. By the end
there wasn't much light left, but we were able to see owls silhouetted
against the orange sky. We turned around, drove west down Seward Drive and
saw (and heard) several owls flying over the field to the north. This is
the same field where we have been seeing a number of raptors hanging out
during the day. There must be some yummy rodents there.
Earlier in the day we were able to easily relocate the Cheadle Lake
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER. It spent most of the time in a tree near the blue
house that Doug Robinson mentioned, but flew across the canal a couple of
times for closer looks.
Lora Minty
Bill Bradford
