You're right it's a great way to spend a summer day. Thank you for the
idea.
I located just one nesting pair in a 100 acre meadow at the the 4000 ft
elevation level in Linn County yesterday. Thanks for the idea.
My eBird report is here: https://ebird.org/pnw/view/checklist/S57952902
And my trip report can be found here:
https://www.jack-n-jill.net/blog/2019/7/2019-07-04-lincoln-sparrow-lost-lake-linn-co-oregon
Jack Williamson
West Linn, Oregon
On Mon, Jun 3, 2019 at 9:44 AM Matthew G Hunter <matthewghunter@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Hi Folks,
How many of you have witnessed a LINCOLN'S SPARROW singing on its
breeding territory in a high elevation brushy meadow in Oregon? Their song
is some combination of House Wren, Swainson's Thrush, and a babbling brook.
Their breeding habitat--high elevation wet brushy meadows--is a beautiful
place to be on a summer day. There are often abundant wildflowers,
butterflies, and other insects to observe.
This summer (June and July) I will be conducting a small field study
sampling a range of meadow sizes in the otherwise forested landscape of the
High Cascades in the Umpqua Basin (Douglas County). My objective is simply
to document Lincoln's Sparrow presence or absence along a range of meadow
sizes. I thought some of you might want to join me in doing this elsewhere
in Oregon, and add to my data set. :-)
If so, here's what you could do:
1. Find and visit one or more high elevation meadows during June or July
(earlier the better) this year. To find a meadow in an area of interest,
look for pale green patches on google earth/maps, or just go for a hike on
a trail in the high elevations of the Cascades (>3,000 ft, >4,000 ft is
more likely). You'll likely end up near a meadow at some point, but note
that Lincoln's Sparrows require both brush and some wet area (seep, stream,
wetland).
2. Spend at least 30 minutes at the meadow listening and looking for
Lincoln's Sparrows. Be sure to familiarize yourself with their song before
you head out! Obtain GPS coordinates for the site you visit, and let me
know whether or not you detect Lincoln's Sparrows. The best thing would be
to submit an eBird checklist or an iNaturalist observation, then just send
me a link to your checklist or observation. Otherwise, you can just send me
the GPS coordinates and the date/time and results of your visit.
If you're interested and have questions, please contact me.
Best Regards,
Matt Hunter
Umpqua Basin
541-670-1984
