Hi All,
I decided to head to Tillamook County today since the Dickcissel and
Mockingbird were likely staying put, and at the same time working on my
Tillamook County list. About a mile north of the town of Hebo I finally saw my
first Tillamook Red-shouldered Hawk. I reviewed my county list prior to
leaving this morning and saw that Starling and White-crowned Sparrow were not
checked, a certain oversight from transferring records from one source to
another. Another bird I needed was a Wood Duck, so I was checking flooded farm
ponds along the way. Upon reaching the Tillamook area it was plain there was
plenty of flooding, with gulls and ducks seemingly everywhere, but still no
wood duck.
When I reached the spit I checked the messages on OBOL for more specifics on
the cissel and mocker and also learned of the snowy owl across the bay. So I
headed out on the spit and found a couple (sorry I cannot remember their names)
looking at the Mockingbird. A short time later the Dickcissel was relocated
as well. Next went over to the snowy owl location and found Ken Chaimberlin
scoping it out, so I joined him, admiring the bird. In discussing birds with
Ken, who was much more familiar with the county than I, I learned of the
wetland virtually across the hwy where Swamp Sparrow was findable, and as Ken
was not in any hurry, we headed over there. A few hundred yards along
Goodspeed Rd we found the road flooded, so I left my car there and hopped in
Ken's truck which was much higher off the road surface than my car.
(Otherwise I would be birding by periscope or checking out diving ducks outside
the car window had I tried it with my car).
Just before parting the waters, we saw a flock of 12 Marbled Godwits off in the
field on the north side of the road. On the far side of the farm we heard a
Pheasant (wow, a county bird!) and had a rail respond to playback. We then
parked at the end of the road and walked a ways. By the time our jaunt was
over we saw 4 Red-shouldered Hawks, 1 Peregrine, 1 Merin, 1 Bald Eagle, 1
harrier, 1 Red-tail, 1 Kestrel, 1 Kite. Ken said it is a great place for
raptors, and this was certainly realized from our short trip. We did not see
any Wood Ducks along the way.
When I got back home, I dug out my old county checklist booklet to make sure
starling and white-crowned sparrow was an oversight, which it was. I also
noted wood duck was also. Must be getting dislexic as I age....................
Bill Tice: Birding - The best excuse for getting outdoors, and avoiding chores.
