Dear Obolers,
I went to find some raptors on Milne Rd today in
Washington Co. This is near North Plains, west of Portland, for those not
familiar with the area. I used to be able to count on seeing lots of
raptors here, but the local land owners have made big changes in the use of
their land, and the fields where I would see so many Red Tails on the
ground, and frequently a Rough-Legged Hawk, are greatly lessened.
So I drove around the area, to see where the birds
may have gone. Who knows, maybe the rodents aren't as abundant this winter.
I did see a female NORTHERN HARRIER on Milne Rd, and another off of Zion's
Church Rd. I did ultimately find a pair of RED TAIL HAWKS off of Gordon Rd,
out between it and Milne. The one closer to see had quite blotchy wings,
something I haven't seen before in this species, rather more like a young
eagle.
Other than a couple AMERICAN KESTRELS, I was
delighted to see two ACORN WOODPECKERS on a phone pole, near a cluster of
Oak trees, and surprised to see five TUNDRA SWANS fly over Vadis Rd. I
passed two more pairs of RED TAILS very near there, on Hwy 26, and two more
single Red Tails on 26, and 217, so a total of 8 Red Tail Hawks all
together for my trip, but only two for the target area.
I will need help from other birders to post
where the Rough-Leggeds are being found, and which fields are rich with
rodents this year.
Linda Lee
Tigard
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*Linda Lee*
