Oregon Birding - Day Four, Morning On The Margin

Stump pile observation post

I went back to the pile of tree stumps and brush this morning, and found waves of birds would come through every ten to fifteen minutes - it was just a matter of waiting in one place for the birds to come to me. I had walked along the margin of the woodland and could hear a lot of bird activity, but rarely saw anything other than what flew overhead. Going back to the stump pile and standing still, after a while the margins of the leafed branches would move differently than with the rhythm of the wind-blown movement - birds were appearing. Taking photographs of the birds that hung out on the margin of the woodland wasn't easy - most of their appearances were behind branches and leaves, but eventually the subjects would move into the open for a clear shot. It wasn't pleasant standing there - the remains of an Opossum were nearly all decomposed except for the hide and bones. Off in the distance to the north, a rooster Ring-necked Pheasant made its clucking call.  Here are three birds that appeared this morning on the woodland margin:

Bewick's Wren

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

Other morning sights, seen while waiting for waves of birds to appear:

Cinnabar Moth larvae on Tansy Ragwort

Bumble Bee on thistle

Honey Bee on thistle

Spotted Towhee on Blackberries

Woodland floor, with Spotted Towhee

Evening Post Script - Day Four: The entire height of the woods was alive with birds around 5:45 PM. Spotted Towhee were on the floor, as well as on the tree trunks along with Bushtit and Bewick's Wren, and Black-capped Chickadee hopping on branches up in the canopy. The lighting was subdued, so I was having to shoot at 1/15th of a second - not the best setting for stopping movements. I was engrossed in trying to get close-up pictures, so when a friendly teenage boy carrying a bag of groceries came up behind me on the path, I about jumped out of my New Balance running shoes.

Barn Swallow on air

After dinner, Jan, Tobby the Labradoodle, and I walked down to the near-by primary school. I took a quick look inside the woodland as we walked by on the sidewalk, but there was no apparent activity going on as earlier. As we approached the school, we saw a pair of American Robin and an adult Killdeer trying to lure me away from a youngster running across the athletic track. In the air, Barn Swallow floated effortlessly across the sky - darting this way and that, making it difficult to get a steady photograph.