I see them so infrequently in migration around Eugene that I don’t really know
the normal arrival time. These two were very pale gray and thus probably
east-side birds.
Alan Contreras
acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx
Eugene, Oregon
www.alanlcontreras.com
http://osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/edge-of-awe
On Mar 19, 2019, at 8:07 PM, David Bailey <davidcbaileyoregon@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
On Vespa Sparrows, I think of them showing up around tax day, April 15th.
Would you consider them early migrants? Perhaps they're riding newer models.
Really I meant Vesper Sparrows.
David
David C. Bailey
Seaside, Oregon
On Tue, Mar 19, 2019, 18:10 Alan Contreras <acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx
<mailto:acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Daniel Farrar and I decided to do something a little different in today’s
good weather so we birded the morning around Oakridge with Mary Lee Sayre. We
then checked Hills Creek Dam and went up to the Salt Creek-Willamette Pass
area.
The morning was great birding. Mary Lee showed us around the city-owned old
industrial park at the east end of Oakridge and it was very birdy. We saw a
remarkable 8 SAY’S Phoebe, five in the industrial park (three together and
two others singing) and three more just below it at the pond by the side of
Salmon Creek at the dead end of Coho Street. That’s easily the most I have
ever seen in one day, let alone a bit over an hour, in western Oregon. There
could have been more; 8 is a conservative number.
Also at the Industrial Park were two VESPER Sparrows with one Savannah (an
interesting side by side comparison of color and size) and four HORNED Larks
that Mary Lee found a couple of days ago. I have several photos of the larks
to send to lark people. They look very pale and plain.
Also present in those two areas were 7 Western Bluebird, dozens of swallows
(a mix of VG and Tree), one RUFOUS hummer, four Lincoln’s Sparrows at the
creekside area, two Dippers along the creek and a Virginia Rail at the pond
in the industrial park.
After lunch we went up the hill. This was generally slow and we failed to
find the Gray Jay and Mountain Chickadee we hoped for. Along with things
starting with “Sage.” Siskins were widespread in small numbers, otherwise
the warm, windy afternoon produced a very thin soup. The cone crop looks good
but there were no crossbills at all. The Salt Creek Falls road is only open
to the ski trail sno-park
In the late afternoon we checked the Dexter Reservoir causeway. Most of the
winter ducks are gone; two Eared and one Horned Grebe were highlights. All
of them had a fair bit of spring color.
The devastation from recent heavy snowfall is extraordinary. From Lookout
Point Dam to just above Oakridge, hundreds upon hundreds of trees along the
roads have been knocked down and eventually cut back from the highway. The
highway guardrails have been bent nearly flat from tree impacts in so many
places that the torn-up sections were impossible to count. In some sections
ALL of the trees near the highway are flattened. 25 miles of smackdown. I
have not seen anything like it before.
Daniel can add anything I forgot.
Alan Contreras
acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx>
Eugene, Oregon
www.alanlcontreras.com <http://www.alanlcontreras.com/>
http://osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/edge-of-awe ;
<http://osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/edge-of-awe>
