[obol] Ice on the Estuary
- From: Lee Cain <lcain@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: OBOL Listserve <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 7 Dec 2013 19:23:12 -0800
Baby its cold outside!
One of the side effects of a cold snap like this is the sudden apparent
tameness of birds, from the ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD that was feeding on nectar
while I was holding the feeder today, to the KILLDEER on Wireless Rd that
were feeding in the bare patches on the road while moving just ahead of my
slowly idling car. Sparrows everywhere would fly up from underfoot, like
from under my car parked in the driveway, or the shrubbery around my house.
A brilliantly clear but extremely cold sunlight illuminated the Wireless Rd
SWAMP SPARROW near the Gull Barn. Gulls are not really around the barn
right now, but the roof of the barn is a clear statement of their roosting
habits for anyone trying to locate it. A WESTERN MEADOWLARK was foraging
along the somewhat defrosted roadside.
The west fields of Wireless were being grazed by a flock of Western CANADA
GEESE and one SNOW GOOSE. Cook Slough (by J & H Boatworks) was frozen
over, which gave a roosting surface for 22 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and half
that many LEAST & WESTERN SANDPIPERS. It occurred to me that maybe the
dowitchers were thinking over their recent decision to not fly a little
farther south this winter. See (
http://www.flickr.com/photos/threespine/11262064155/in/set-72157627086341046
)
The Airport Rd cow fields are currently supporting a wintering group of
about 200 Aleutian CACKLING GEESE and about 25 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE.
And while my frostbitten eyes found no Snowy Owls yet, I did find one
DUNLIN with about 25 LEAST SANDPIPERS and a few KILLDEER in the South Jetty
ponds. Ice waves in the ponds:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/threespine/11262646293/
Raptors in the area included BALD EAGLE, NORTHERN HARRIER, and a COOPER'S
HAWK.
Right now the local GREAT HORNED OWL pair is hooting outside. They seem to
always do this right before the Christmas Bird Count, then go completely
silent during count week.
--
Lee Cain
Astoria
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