[obol] [Fwd: Coffin Butte probable gnatcatcher + larkspurs, alligator lizard & more]

From: Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx>
To: Oregon Birders OnLine <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 23 May 2014 20:00:35 -0700
-------- Forwarded Message --------
From: Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx>
To: MidValley Birds <birding@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Mid-Valley Nature
<mid-valley-nature@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Coffin Butte probable gnatcatcher + larkspurs, alligator lizard
& more
Date: Fri, 23 May 2014 19:54:49 -0700

Hi all,

Martha (15) and I just took a walk up Coffin Butte (annex of E.E. Wilson
Wildlife Area, west side of Hwy 99W just north of the regional landfill
which is midway between Corvallis and Monmouth). It was pretty obvious
that no one has been up there for some time, as even the lower part of
the trail is getting overgrown with non-native sweet-peas and a few
blackberries.

YELLOW MONKEYFLOWER is now blooming in the seep along the first stretch
of trail. Among the mostly non-native grasses sprouting up in the
roadway/trail, there is still quite a bit of Californa oatgrass. We
checked the spring-fed pool in the upper quarry, and saw dozens of
half-grown PACIFIC CHORUS-FROG tadpoles, a couple of them just beginning
to sprout legs.

At the viewpoint which overlooks the main part of E.E. Wilson, we were
watching a group of TURKEY VULTURES careening close to the cliff, and
listening to a LAZULI BUNTING singing directly below us, when I started
hear a buzzy little "mew" call from up the slope behind the bench. A
couple of noisy LESSER GOLDFINCHES were prattling on which made
listening difficult, but I heard about 7 calls farther back in the oak
woodland understory which sounded very much like the calls of the
BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER that was at our place last year.There were also a
couple of BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES back in there, but I don't think it
was them.

We continued our walk and enjoyed the always overwhelmingly vivid
blue-purple bloom of MENZIE'S LARKSPUR, which is peaking right now on
the butte. Some Cat's Ear (Tolmie's mariposa-lily a.k.a. Calochortus) is
also still in bloom, and Oregon sunshine is just beginning to bloom, but
the tough-leafed iris (Iris tenax) is pretty well done blooming and is
now setting seed.

I was dismayed to see how the tall European grasses (mainly tall fescue
and tall oatgrass plus a bit of orchardgrass) have come to dominate the
entire meadow area at the top of the butte. It will take a concerted
effort to get these back under control and keep them from swamping the
uncommon native prairie species, in this oak savanna remnant. However,
we were pleased to see that one small meadow near the end of the trail,
where our family and a few volunteers did some hand-mowing & weeding in
years past, is in relatively good shape and even has some FORK-TOOTHED
OOKOW (Brodiaea congesta?) blooming.

While checking out a rather large mammal burrow in that meadow, I was
surprised to see a SOUTHERN ALLIGATOR LIZARD on the ground right above
the burrow. We had a long, long look as the lizard remained perfectly
still, just occasionally twisting its head toward one side or the other.
There was also a very cool black-and-reddish BEETLE (which reminded me
of a Lightning Beetle from back in the Midwest, though it had long
feathery antennae) crawling around within a few inches of the lizard. 

We also looked for Western Fence Lizards on our way up & down the trail,
but didn't see any. Usually on sunny days you can hear -- and
occasionally catch a glimpse of them scurrying or sunning themselves --
among the dry leaves on the rocks near the viewpoint.

On our way back down we enjoyed a stunning view of a male WESTERN
TANAGER who was calling from atop a snag (and a little further down, a
female that was also giving the pic-i-tick! call from a small tree near
the viewpoint; Martha was able to approach within a few yards as the
bird trusted in her camouflage). We also enjoyed a WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE
calling at close range but we never saw it (nor did we look very hard).

While we were admiring the female tanager, I noticed a tiny, slim,
long-tailed bird moving through the interior of a Pacific madrone tree
near the view point. I only saw it in silhouette, but it sure looked
right for a gnatcatcher. So I'm beginning to suspect that we could have
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers nesting here. This is the same site, and within
about 150 yards of where Lauren Franko and Michael Dossett found a
gnatcatcher in August some years back.

Happy exploring,
Joel

P.S. If you want to park your car at the Coffin Butte trailhead, you'll
need the same parking pass as you'd need for the regular part of E.E.
Wilson Wildlife Area. $7/day or $22/year. As I've mentioned previously,
I'm encouraging folks to opt for the Wildlife Conservation Stamp:
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/conservationstrategy/habitat_conservation_stamp.asp
which includes the annual parking pass as part of the deal, and --
though it costs more -- has the advantage that the funds are explicitly
earmarked for native species conservation.

P.P.S. On the very short drive home, we noticed about 10 more Turkey
Vultures performing aerial acrobatics above the highway. Martha
spontaneously composed some new lyrics to the "Reading Rainbow" theme
song:

  Vultures in the sky-y,
  I can fly twice as high-igh!
  Take a whiff,
  it's in a corpse,
  eating carrion!
  I *can* eat any-thing ....

  etc etc. 

Hopefully Levar Burton would approve.

--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis





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[obol] [Fwd: Coffin Butte probable gnatcatcher + larkspurs, alligator lizard & more]

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