Hi all,
As Sally Hill notes, this has been a good winter for Lewis's Woodpeckers
in the Willamette Valley.
There are actually more than you've heard about, as some locations on
private land could account for nine or ten more than have been reported
on OBOL, the MidValley list, and eBird combined.
Unfortunately this probably doesn't represent an increase in the overall
population.
Rather, it might result from the unusual situation following fires in
the Columbia Gorge area this summer, which drew unprecedented numbers of
Lewis's Woodpeckers into that area during fall migration (they are often
drawn to recent burns during migration). And then some of them trickled
into the Willamette Valley, perhaps aided by the mild winter which has
kept insect populations high.
Good birding,
Joel
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
