Folks,
I am well aware of the migration pattern of Sandhill Cranes over the west side
of the Willamette Valley. For those of us who keep annual county lists, it is
a challenge to look for cranes in the counties west of the Willamette River.
One can search and search without success. Sandhill cranes are seen
occasionally, but it is a rare treat.
Yes, we can go to Sauvie Island or Malheur and see lots of cranes every year.
That's not the point.
I just want the folks who live under the flyway to appreciate the fact that
they can hear and maybe see the species just by going about daily activities in
their backyards. Lucky you.
Paul Sullivan
==========================
Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: testing an hypothesis #2
Date: Thu Oct 15 2015 11:40 am
From: baro AT pdx.edu
On the other hand, farther north, in Carver, I've neither heard nor seen
Sandhill Cranes
in 42 years here. Canada geese (other than wintering birds) are regular but
not abundant;
White-fronts are regular but only occasional in spring.
Bob OBrien
-------------------
On Thu, Oct 15, 2015 at 9:37 AM, Alan Contreras wrote:
My impression is that the crane route is basically from Sauvie-Ridgefield
across Portland (more or less following the Willamette) with eventual
edging down the foothills not until somewhere around Mt. Angel. I would
not expect many in the eastern 2/3 of Clackamas County. Any observers
there to comment?
I also have the impression that a lot of them turn southeast around
Creswell, just like the White-fronts, following the Willamette canyon
across to the Klamath marshes. I don’t think very many go straight south
over the western Siskiyous, though observers there could correct me.
Alan Contreras---------------------------
On Oct 15, 2015, at 9:28 AM, Robert O'Brien wrote:
Date: Thu, Oct 15, 2015 at 9:28 AM
Subject: Re: [obol] Re: testing an hypothesis #2
To: carrotguy55@xxxxxxxxx
On the other hand, farther north, in Carver, I've neither heard nor seen
Sandhill Cranes
in 42 years here. Canada geese (other than wintering birds) are regular but
not abundant;
White-fronts are regular but only occasional in spring.
Bob OBrien-------------------------------
Just to add to this discussion, I can't speak for the west side of the
Willamette valley, but I live in the hills east of Silverton, essentially
the Cascade foothills, and I hear Sandhill Crane flocks every October
flying over. And I am not home that often, so I can imagine I miss many
flocks that may pass over.
--------------------------Roger Freeman
East of Silverton
On Wednesday, October 14, 2015, David Irons wrote:
Crane movements through the Willamette Valley seem to be mostly if not
entirely confined to the eastern part of the trough. In all my days of
running Schwan's routes in Yamhill County (nearly five years) I never heard
or saw Sandhill Cranes. We get birds over Portland's West Hills, probably
funneling along the north-south section of the Columbia (Woodland, WA south
to Portland) and then the flight path seems to shift east passing over
Silverton, Lebanon, Brownsville and Marcola east of Springfield. I've
always presumed that cranes move to the east side of the valley to take
advantage of the combination of thermals coming off the valley floor and
the uplift over the western foothills of the Cascades. When I lived in
Eugene I would regularly see and hear cranes over the Coburg Hills and up
against the eastern edge of the valley, but rarely had them farther to the
west.
------------------------------Dave Irons
Portland, OR
From: paultsullivan@xxxxxxxxxxxx
To: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; YamhillBirders@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [obol] testing an hypothesis #2
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2015 21:17:12 -0700
To test whether the reports of Sandhill Cranes migrating over Portland
could be seen in Yamhill County (where the species is really hard to find)
I went to the east end of Parrett Mt., then Chehalem Mt. from 12:25 – 3:25
this afternoon. The vantage point has a great view of Wilsonville all the
way to Mt. Hood.
Result: No cranes
I have done a couple watches from there previously with the same result.
Carol & I did see 6 Sandhill Cranes flying over Burgerville in Newburg on
Mar. 4, 2007.
Paul Sullivan
