[obol] Morrow County Blitz initial results
- From: "W. Douglas Robinson" <w.douglas.robinson@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OBOL <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Midvalley Midvalley Birding <birding@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2014 07:29:25 -0700
The Morrow County blitz was held 31 May - 1 June. Although the final tally of
results is still a few days away while we await getting all the data compiled,
I thought it would be interesting to share some initial results.
We had a super group out in the field birding in and around the 59 Oregon 2020
Hotspot Squares in Morrow County.
We are very thankful for the contributions from all the folks who helped out.
It was a fun group of people and a really beautiful and birdy county to
explore. Thanks to:
Mark Baldwin
Megan Creegan
Jenna Curtis
Jim Danzenbaker
Mike Ellis
Shawneen Finnegan
Tyler Hallman
Dave Irons
Evan Jackson
Spencer Mair
Ann Nightingale
Sean Toomey
Wayne Weber
Jay Withgott
Current tally is that we found 158 species. A few highlights have hit OBOL
already. Some of those, plus others are:
LEAST FLYCATCHERS on the Boardman Tree Farm; Jim Danzenbaker, Ann Nightingale
and Jenna Curtis found a singing male in the mature poplars in one of our
Hotspot Squares on Saturday. This is private property where various research
projects (including one of mine) are also happening so we were able to get
access. When I returned on Sunday I found 3 additional singing males within a 1
mile stretch. Given that there are thousands of acres of similar habitat there,
who knows how many there might be this year.
VEERY in Lexington found by Shawneen Finnegan and Dave Irons.
A NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH and a RED-EYED VIREO were heard singing on Long Walk
Island from a boat in the Columbia River. Interestingly, our only Black-capped
Chickadees for the weekend were also on that island, where they were common.
A large TRICOLORED BLACKBIRD colony was found on Tower Road just north of the
RR track crossing about 3 miles south of I-84. I counted at least 140 birds
there Sunday morning. This is easily accessible for folks who want to take a
look. Most of the birds are in the marsh on the west side of Tower Road.
Five gull species were along the Columbia River on Monday morning, including a
HERRING GULL, 4 FRANKLIN'S GULLS, 5 BONAPARTE'S GULLS, and of course
Ring-billed and California.
Other interesting birds were several FERRUGINOUS HAWKS (they have nested in the
county for years now), DUSKY GROUSE (found by Evan Jackson in the southeastern
part of the county), AMERICAN AVOCETS (Tyler and Mike found one along 3 mile
Canyon Rd and two were on island on the River Monday [technically in
Washington]), a HERMIT WARBLER (heard by Dave and Shawneen), a few
YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS scattered across the county, and the NORTHERN SAW-WHET
OWLS which breed on the private Boardman Tree Farm.
More results to come as we tally up checklists, how many squares we visited,
etc. But I think we all had a great time exploring such a nice part of the
state.
Doug
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