Hi all,
Late this afternoon I went back up Coffin Butte (annex of E.E. Wilson Wildlife
Area along Hwy 99W, midway between Monmouth and Corvallis) for the first time
since last Saturday. About 250 gulls were up on the landfill in the
garbage-tipping area, though out of view most of the time, from the nearest
viewpoint that I recommended last Saturday, until an adult BALD EAGLE flew over
and briefly put the whole flock into the air.
Among the group of 50 or so gulls that were resting on the geotextiles and open
garbage slopes facing the viewpoint, there was one very dark brownish
first-winter WESTERN GULL, plus and one marginally possible adult Western Gull
(dark mantle as on northern Western Gulls but with some streaking visible on
the nape, so more likely a hybrid). I didn't see any gulls that were obviously
larger than the other large gulls present, even when the whole flock was up in
the air.
Higher up the trail, a third-year "osprey-headed" BALD EAGLE was perched in one
of the now-leafless big-leaf maples, acting like it might have settled in for
the night.
A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK glided over from northeast to southwest, heading for the
Soap Creek Valley. Pretty sure this is the first one I've ever seen in or over
the Coffin Butte annex, in 15+ years of visits.
Earlier today, there was a rare-bird-alert on eBird for a "Common Ringed
Plover" supposedly at Finley NWR that turned out to be a creative marriage
proposal. Going up the Coffin Butte trail reminded me of another creative
proposal some years back, where someone (99% sure I know who) had mowed "Will
you marry me ___" into the grass below the first viewpoint, atop a steep quarry
face. I hope that today's proposal will work out better than that one did!
Happy pre-CBC season,
Joel
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
