Thanks for the summary of changes in the Rogue Valley, Harry!
California Towhees seem to have found their way into the Umpqua Valley where
Matt Hunter et al. have been finding them with some regularity, as far north as
Roseburg.
Wrentits could be found as far north as Saddleback Mountain in the Coast Range
west of Grand Ronde, back in the 1940s when Jane Claire Dirks-Edmunds and her
colleagues from Linfield College found them as part of an effort to document
all flora and fauna in a study area (later described in her book, "Not Just
Trees," published by Washington State University Press). That followed a wave
of logging in the 1930s-40s, which left a lot of brushy habitat. After that,
they seemed to go through a range contraction, but they've been expanding again
in recent decades, following the logging boom of the 1970s-1980s.
In 2002 Matt Hunter documented the first part of this re-expansion in an Oregon
Birds article. That year we recorded 3 on the first Airlie-Albany CBC, all of
them up in Dunn Forest as I recall. On last Saturday's count, we found a total
of 28, including one singing in the south unit of Luckiamute State Natural
Area, within 50 yards of the Willamette River.
From: "Harry Fuller" <atowhee@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "clearwater" <clearwater@xxxxxxxx>
Cc: "birding" <birding@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "OBOL" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2019 7:57:07 AM
Subject: Re: [obol] Nice January walk in California? No, Polk County, Oregon
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
