Bird Watching - The Outdoor Directory for Birding

One of my favorite mountain birds is the Clark's Nutcracker, Nucifraga columbiana. We saw several on a recent hike in the sub alpine region of the Cascades. Year round residents I am looking forward to seeing them again this winter when the snows begin. Many of the mountain summer birds will be gone but the Clark's Nutcracker will be there as we snowshoe through the same woods. With its gray body, black wings, white outer tail feathers and noisy call it is distinctive. They eat seeds of various pine trees, insects, small mammels and carrion. They cache seeds in the fall generally on exposed slopes where their caches won't be completely buried by winter snows. Last winter I labored up Newton Creek through heavy snow drifts and pausing to catch my breath and give my legs a rest I heard the raucus sounds of many Clark's Nutcrakers reverberating off the sunny, south facing canyon cliffs of Newton Creek. I wonder if we might not see some of the same birds this winter that we saw last weekend. I'd like to think so.

Posted by bill@birdingguide.com at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We spent a couple of days on the Oregon Coast birding. The big action right now is the movement of shorebirds. In thirty minutes we saw six groups of Western Sandpipers. From 30 to 60 birds in a group with a few Sanderlings in the midst. They swirl in unison above the waters edge, drop onto the beach running together as they feed and off again. Offshore groups of Pelicans three to twelve together flew back and forth over the Scoters and Gulls bobbing on the ocean but the real fun was standing on the shore watching the Sandpipers flying past us only a few yards way.

Posted by bill@birdingguide.com at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Now that the warm days of summer are giving way to the cooler days of autumn the birding opportunities get better for most of the country with shorebirds, raptors and waterfowl on the move. Along with my binoculars and field guide I often carry a lightweight backpacking stove with me to quickly heat up a warm lunch of soup or leftovers from dinner the night before. Having a warm meal outdoors instead of a cold sandwich or one of those "energy bars" makes birding more fun and comfortable in autumn and winter. There are many excellent brands of backpacking stoves like MSR and others. Take one along on your next birding trip. If you bring any non-birders along like a friend and especially your spouse, a warm lunch or dinner prepared on your stove just may prevent them from concluding that your enthusiasm for walking around wet cold marshes looking for new birds for your ife list is an insane activity.

Posted by bill@birdingguide.com at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Pacific Northwest is often characterized as a gray, wet rainy part of the country. The reality is that most of the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho are are semi-arid, if not desert, once you cross the Cascade mountains eastward as we did Labor Day Weekend for an end of summer camping and birding trip. We camped at the Canyon Creek Campground where the waters of Canyon Creek flowing off the east side of Three Fingered Jack, an extinct volcano, join the Metolius River. Every footstep stirred up clouds of dust in this waterless campsite. Bring your own water.

A lush green riparian edge along the Metolius River and Canyon Creek creates a good area for birding and wildlife observing. Common Mergansers were with us constantly, noisey Belted Kingfishers patrolled their territories along the water while Sapsuckers and Woodpeckers rapped on the trees for insects. Year after year of wildfires in the area have left many old snags rich in insect life for food and habitat for birds. On this birding outing a fire was burning between Mt Washington and Suttle Lake. Smoke drifitng overhead made the sun a dark, orange-red and cast the Ponderosa Pines and soil, which are reddest to begin with, in an eery, red light that was beautiful to experience. Our hike through the sub alpine forest to the base of Three Fingered Jack revealed many Oregon Juncos with their white tail feathers flashing as they flew past. Evening coyotes and owls made the night air rich with sound as we planned our next birding trip.

Posted by bill@birdingguide.com at 08:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)