[wisb] Hello from Oregon with many photos!

From: Erik Bruhnke <birdfedr@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Wisconsin Birding Network <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 10 May 2010 21:10:39 -0700
Hello everyone,
It sounds like the marshes in Wisconsin have been bringing rarities through
the state! I've been checking the Wisbirdnet posts everyday. Thanks for
keeping everyone in touch with the fun sightings you're having!.Speaking of
recent migrants, there was an influx of Yellow-rumped Warblers yesterday
that just showed up here in Cottage Grove.  I can't wait to show all of you
my bird photos, so here they are (my typed details of the time spent out
here so far are after the photo links). I like to think of my photos as a
journal of the beauty I'm seeing out here. I hope you enjoy the photos!

My road trip adventure from Wisconsin to Oregon (birds from the prairies,
mountains & forests, amazing scenic views, mammals and more!):
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/roadtrip__heading_to_oregon

Ocean photos (birds, mammals, scenic views and more!)
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/pacific_ocean_birdwatching_adventures

Inland photos (Saw-whet Owl photos so far, but more to come!)
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/inland_birdwatching_adventures

For my job I drive around on the logging roads going to specific locations
within the different-aged stands of evergreens and survey for cavity-nesting
birds. I found the first recorded active Red-breasted Nuthatch cavity for
this study (this is 3rd year/last year) for this study. In addition, I found
a Saw-whet Owl cavity 3 weeks ago. I went up to the snag, did the basic
inventory (stability, cavity count, etc) and shortly after a little fluffy
head popped out and just stared at me! Today there was an influx of
Olive-sided Flycatchers and Yellow-breasted Chats throughout the plot... I'm
thinking they arrived relatively recently.

It's fun learning about the nesting process in cavity-nesting birds, and
while doing so I'm also seeing new species too like Red-naped Sapsucker (the
most common sapsucker on our plots). The most common birds on our plots are
Chestnut-backed Chickadees. These little chickadees are so beautiful, and
have a call somewhat reminiscent of those beautiful, northern-dwelling
Boreal Chickadees. Wrentits are also very common in some areas, and they're
a very tricky bird to find... They sing and sing like an all-day-long thrush
(bubbly, but brief song) however they are rarely seen. In my Ocean photo
album, I got a good close up of one alongside a ocean-side road with dense
flowering bushes on lining the road edges. A few minutes before I took the
photo of my first-seen Wrentit, I was treated to another beautiful bird...
Golden-crowned Sparrow. They are somewhat similar to White-crowned Sparrows,
but have a slightly different posture (still a chunky sparrow) with a
beautifully topped-off head of black and sunny yellow.

On my weekends I've been going out to the Pacific Ocean and camping out. The
air is crisp and pure, the water is vivid in color, the waves calm the
senses & spark deep thoughts about stuff, and the wildlife are elegantly
beautiful! Watching pelagic birds is such a fun experience. Hawkwatching is
my true favorite birdwatching activity that I've ever experienced, however
watching a group of Pacific Loons fly by, by the hundreds is also a thing of
beauty. Pigeon Guillemots fly by in smaller groups, but they are vocal and
are quite distinctive with their all black bodies and wings, except for the
white wing markings and cherry-red feet. The dark-bodied Brandt's Cormorants
fly by with their neon-blue throat patches shining and white face 'whiskers'
blowing in the wind, whereas the slightly smaller Pelagic Cormorants zip on
by with white vents lining their hind-quarters. Double-crested Cormorants
are also found here as well. Oh and I forgot to mention the gulls... While
on my initial trip west, I drove through most of Oregon on the northern side
of the state, along the Columbia River. I saw several Olympic Gulls at one
of the pulloffs (all of different ages)... and had never seen a
Glaucous-winged Gull or Western Gull in my life yet (Olympic Gull is a cross
between these two species). It was frustrating at first, looking at the
group of gulls and wondering even what to make of these sharp-looking, but
not well-defined gulls. With my trips to the ocean coast, I've identified
gulls in large numbers on my own. In addition to the wonderful wildlife I've
been observing, I have been making some wonderful connections with many
people out here (managers of National Wildlife Refuges, trip leaders, and
local birdwatching enthusiasts).

It's so nice out here, however to be honest, I'm still biased towards the
northwoods of WI and MN. Not to say that any place is 'better than another
place' by any means, but there's that something about the northwoods back
home that is a true home for me... I've established my sense-of-place in the
northwoods, but every day I'm learning to identify more plants and birds,
and soaking up the beautiful wooded hilly habitats of western OR.

One of the interesting things about living here in western OR (about 1 1/2
hours from the coast) is that there is little if any raptor migration that
has occurred since I got here back in early April. Some raptors overwinter
here (Red-tailed Hawks, some Rough-legged Hawks, and from what I've been
told many White-tailed Kites). My trip out west from WI to OR back in late
March/early April tallied 179 raptors total, including several Ferrugenous
Hawks. The raptors that are found here now will most likely breed in the
area, and those raptors consist of Red-tails (uncommon), American Kestrel
(I'd say uncommon to rare) and Turkey Vultures (dozens of daily sightings).
It's fun to hear how the hawk migration is going throughout the Lake
Michigan/Lake Superior area. Just curious, has anybody gone up to Lapham
peak to scan for raptors?

I hope all of you are doing well. Keep in touch, good birdwatching, and I
hope to see you up at Hawk Ridge this fall!!

Erik Bruhnke
Cottage Grove, OR

NATURALLY AVIAN - Bird photography and guided bird hikes
www.pbase.com/birdfedr
birdfedr@xxxxxxxxx


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[wisb] Hello from Oregon with many photos!

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