Other birds coming up from the south: Great-tailed Grackle now nest in
Jackson County as do Mockingbirds and White-tailed Kites. The California
Towhee, Wrentit and Oak Titmouse are well-established there as well as
breeding BG Gnatcatchers...I suspect many of these species move up the
coast first and then follow rivers inland...not coming over the 4300 foot
high Siskiyou Pass...but once in the Rogue or Umpqua or Willamette Valley
they should thrive. Nuttall's may have a harder time because it is highly
dependent on oaks and cottonwoods, not common along the coast or in
Siskiyou and Modoc Counties on the northern Cal border. THere is some
suspicion but no proof yet that Cak Thrashers are also breeding in Jackson
County. I am currently working on an update to a federal publication of
1975, Birds of Jackson County...two major trends stand out: 1) we know a
hell of a lot more about birds there now (i.e. where the Great Grays and
Spotted Owls nest), 2) several species have moved north and gotten
established...I've seen Red-shouldered Hawks as high as 4500'
elevation...Anna's Hummingbird in 1975 was considered a rare summer
visitor, now males stay year round along with s few females who don't
migrate out.
In 1975 there had been no record of even a sighting of Red-shoulder or kite
in Jackson County!
On Fri, Jan 11, 2019 at 5:21 AM <clearwater@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi all,
Yesterday afternoon I was out for a stroll through vineyards and and oak
woods on a small winery between Dallas and Monmouth, in sunshine and
pleasant 50 F temperatures.
A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was sneaking around the woods along a small creek.
A BLACK PHOEBE was chirping and catching insects around the barn.
I heard ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS grinding away at their song, at three
different spots along the walk.
Two or three decades ago, all three of these species were more associated
with northern California and the southwest corner of Oregon. Now they are
part of our regular local avifauna in the mid-Willamette Valley.
Turkey Vultures have also become a frequent though still uncommon sight on
warm, sunny days in winter, and Acorn Woodpeckers colonies are widespread.
We're still missing Nuttall's Woodpecker, Oak Titmouse, and California
Towhee, at least for the time being.
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
