Hi Jim,
I think that bad egg laid by the Oregon State Senate failed to hatch in
the House chamber. At last word (in late June) the House leadership were
signaling that they had more important things to deal with.
But like a female cowbird, I'm sure Sen. Girod will keep coming back to
try this tactic in future seasons.
I've cc:d the BOO list here in case anyone wants to prolong the
discussion off of OBOL.
Cheers,
Joel
On Sun, 2017-09-10 at 15:55 -0700, Jim Anderson wrote:
Howdy All,
Is the Western Meadowlark still our State Bird or did those knuckle
heads in Salem mess that up as well...
Jim-in-Sisters
On Sun, Sep 10, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Hi David (and others who might have similar questions).
Baskett Slough NWR is one of the best places in the Willamette
Valley to
see Western Meadowlarks, year-round. There is a nesting
population of 30
or more pairs which are easiest to see in April through June
when males
are singing from perches.
Finley NWR and the West Eugene Wetlands also have substantial
nesting
populations, and there are also some nesting on private
agricultural
land in Linn County, and in the Umpqua Valley. But those
places are a
longer drive from the Portland metro area.
At this point in the year, they're more difficult to see than
during
nesting season but they still should be around. Good places to
look are
along Coville Road east of the refuge (where nearly the whole
area north
of the road is being restored with native prairie plants), and
along
Morris Rd (off of Smithfield Rd.) and Livermore Rd. north of
the
refuge.
You could also try walking up the Rich Guadagno memorial trail
to the
top of Baskett Butte. The native upland prairie remnant on the
upper
part of the butte is prime nesting habitat. I'd guess there
are still
meadowlarks up there, taking advantage of insects which tend
to be
abundant in botanically diverse grasslands.
Over the next month or so, meadowlark numbers in the valley
will
increase as the resident population is bolstered by arrival of
wintering
birds from east of the Cascades.
Once those birds arrive, there could be flock of up to 50
meadowlarks in
practically any grass field in areas with open landscapes in
the
mid-Willamette Valley (particularly in eastern Polk County,
western Linn
County, eastern Benton County, and adjacent parts of Lane
County). It
becomes a matter of random chance to spot them. Often they'll
feed right
alongside of European Starlings (which are remarkably similar
in shape
and winter foraging habits), so watch for "starlings" with
white outer
tail feathers when a flock picks up and flies for a short
distance.
Good luck!
Joel
From: David Lantz <lantz503@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 9 Sep 2017 11:19:37 -0700
Subject: [obol] Western MeadowLark help
A friend of mine has never seen a Western Meadowlark and would
like to
see one for they migrate to. It looks like baskets Slough
might be my
best chance. I am in Washington County. Does anyone have a
recommendation?
Thank you in advance, David
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
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Jim
Please note my new email address: jimnaturalist@xxxxxxxxx
