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.

Oregon Birding - Day Three

Yesterday was the warmest day for the next several - today being overcast, much cooler, and windy. As a result, the bird activity around the neighborhood is minimal. There were no birds inside the nearby Oregon Ash woodland that I search around yesterday, but there was a little bit of activity on the eastern, leeward side of the trees. Other than occasional swallows swooping over the grassland, and one hawk floating by over head,
there were few birds to hear, and even fewer to see. Near the sidewalk is a pushed up pile of tree trunks and old branches, probably the remnants of the street being cut through the woodland. Beyond the pile of spent trees, extends the grassland. Walking across the area, it is obvious that in winter much of the area is covered in water.  The three birds shown below were seen in and around this pile today.

American Goldfinch

I can't tell whether this is a female American Goldfinch, or something else that is yellow. The bird seem more rotund than the typical female goldfinch I am used to seeing in Maryland, and does match up with the Lesser Goldfinch, either.

Bushtit

Similarly for difficulty with identification, I think this bird is a Bushtit. With the poor results I got for this photograph with all of the brush placed at different depths in front of and behind the bird, I consulted with my daughter on how to set the auto-focus on my camera so that it will ignore the other distractions.

American Robin

This American Robin must be used to people, he was quite the subject - letting me walking around him, getting closer with each shot. There were a good number of robins perched on neighbors' roofs this evening, seeming to make up a flock intent in hanging out together for the evening.

Other flying critters included the following - they like the woodland margin and open grassland:

Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Widow Skimmer Dragonfly

Twelve-spotted Skimmer Dragonfly