Bird Watching - The Outdoor Directory for Birding

Sanderlings in the Fall and Winter

2008-10-06T22:44:51Z

Sanderlings are our mot common shorebird in the fall and winter. Nesting and breeding north of the Arctic Circle they move south down both the West and East Coasts to spend their winters foraging along our beaches. Some continue further south to South America until it is time to return to the Arctic in the spring. A beautiful bird you can watch on your winter beach walks. They form loose flocks foraging along the beaches for young clams and crabs. A few can be found inland along ponds and waterways. Keep an look out for them this winter.
Happy Birding

Bill@birdingguide.com

2008-10-06T22:44:18Z

Fall Bird Feeder Cleaning

2008-10-03T03:38:33Z

It has been raining all afternoon here in the Coast Range of the Pacific Northwest. These fall rains are a reminder to clean all the bird feeders. It is important to keep the feeders clean all year long because of the density of birds around feeders. Disease can spread easily. Clean feeders are especially important during the wet months when mold can grown so easily in the feeders.

Another sign of fall are the ripening apples. Our trees are laden with apples this season after last years "rest year" with few apples. The deer congregate in family groups under the apple trees especially after sunset. A wave of the flashlight from the front porch illuminates the eyes of many deer.

Happy Birding!
Bill@birdingguide.com

Birding Abroad

2008-09-14T18:45:10Z

We are travelling between Berlin and Rome this September with stops in Dresden and Prague. Lots of interesting birding with new birds to add to our list of birds seen. What I find most interesting for my self is not so much the new birds we have seen but the ones that are familiar but not quite the same as familar species at home. I find a special thrill in looking at the gray and black crows in Berlin and Rome. They behave like crows at home, have the same comfortable relationship with city dwellers as at home, yet are a new bird to observe. The chickadees are so familar yet different in immediately noticeable ways at the same time. While eating dinner outside tonight on our friends patio south of Berlin I heard a familiar but different harsh croak of a heron flying overhead but was not quick enough to identify our evening visitor. Tommorrow we head to Spreewald south of Berlin to visit this world heritage site, the home of Sorbish people for many centuries. The area is also known for its Stork populations. They finished breeding much earlier in the season but we are looking forward to seeing many stork nests.

Summer's End and the Vaux's Swifts

2008-08-29T04:01:11Z

The afternoons are still warm as summer comes to an end, but the nights are becoming quite cool. An extra blanket has gone on the bed, the hummingbirds have left along with the violet green swallows and we are preparing for the arrival of the Vaux's Swifts at Chapman Elementary School in Northwest Portland, Oregon. This gathering of swifts in the chimney of the school is an annual birding event attracting thousands of people on September evenings to watch the 15,000 to 40,000 swifts swirl in a huge cloud of birds that dives into the chimney to roost for the night. Cooper's hawks and Peregrine Falcons can also be seen in expectation of a meal

Violet-green Swallows

2008-07-16T04:26:02Z

My swallow nest boxes have been a big hit with the Violet-green swallows this year. the nest box on the east side of the house over the kitchen window has been home for two broods of swallows this year. Different adults Ii assume. It has been a delight watching the adult swallows flying back and forth to the nest box as they feed their young. Yesterday morning about 10:00 am I was lucky enough to be out on the deck and watching them when the first nestling shot out of the nest box hole on its first flight. Moments later the second swallow took flight, then the third and the fourth were airborne. That's all of them I thought as I looked upward at the little cloud of swallows chasing their parents. Then the fifth nestling poked its head out of the nest hole. The nest box hole is only big enough for two nestlings to look out, three if they squeeze together, so I never knew how many nestling swallows were in the box. What a surprise to see the fifth. Periodically the adults flew by the nest. the adults even perched on top of the nest box in an attempt to coax the last one out. After an hour the fifth and last young Violet-green swallow took flight. It seems too quiet now when I look out the kitchen window. But higher up above the Douglas firs I will see the swallows in the evening until it is time for the season to change and for these swallows to head south.

The Red-breasted Sapsucker and the Willow Tree

2008-06-20T02:13:29Z

I noticed the tell tale even rows of holes of the Red-breasted Sapsucker in the bark of a willow tree. The dull, light green bark of the tree had turned dark and shiny where the sap oozing from the dozens of holes was dripping down the side of the willow. I waited for the Sapsucker to makes its appearance which the bird did after a short time. Its beautiful red head darted back and forth feeding on the willow sap and the insects attracted to the sap. Turning its head to look at me, a mere 4 feet away, it flew off and a Rufus Hummingbird replaced the Sapsucker at the tree. The little hummer's tongue flitting in and out it feed until a more aggressive Rufus Hummingbird chased it away. As the two hummingbirds spun around each other the Sapsucker returned. For two hours I took close photographs of the Hummingbirds and the Sapsucker feeding. A few Black cap Chickadees also plucked insects off the willows wounds. A steady flight of various bees and yellow jackets and small midgy insects fed on the sap and flew off. Others insects became stuck and were held until they became food for the birds. I finally left this little microcosmic world created by the Sapsucker on the side of the willow with over 70 photos in my camera

Cedar Waxwings

2008-06-02T18:29:38Z

While walking through the woods I was delighted to hear the beautiful sounds of Cedar Waxwings high in the trees. I counted 43 Cedar Waxwings. There were many more that I could hear in the distance. Their long, conspicuous crest, black mask and yellow tail band make these very striking birds. Fruit, berries, insects and sap are their diet. When searching the trees with for birds like these I prefer binoculars with a wide field of view and 6 to 8 power, never more than 8 power. In the fall when we are searching the distant skies for migrating hawks and eagles I will use my 10x40 binoculars but in the woods like a set of 8x32 binoculars works great.

Rescuing Birds

2008-06-02T18:13:26Z

We always get many inquiries in the Spring about birds people have found that appear to have been abandoned by their parents and about injured birds. Our Website Birdingguide.com has a good article on rescuing birds and links to Audubon Society Chapters around the country. Look also under our Menu, click on "clubs" for list of Audubon chapters nearest you for contact information and advice on injured birds. Young fledglings that are found on the ground are most often best just left alone. Their parents are nearby and many young birds do spend a couple of days on the ground before learning to fly. this is a time when young birds are especially prone to being killed by house cats and feral cats. Your Audubon chapter is a good contact source and also your State Fish and Game departments for injured birds. Just recently an injured Osprey was brought to our Audubon Care Center. The Osprey had gunshot wounds to its neck and wing. It was partially paralyzed and had to be humanely euthenized. A Red tail hawk was also brought in with gunshots wounds but happily it was able to be treated and released.

Bill@birdingguide.com

Birds On The Move

2008-05-16T01:10:00Z

The spring migration of birds here in the Northwest is in full swing. The beginning of May was the peak of the shorebird migration along the coast. At home our invasion of Goldfinches and Grosbeaks continues where three bird feeders of sunflowers seeds a day are emptied. Unfortunately, many of our migratory birds are declining. The Audubon society lists over 210 species of American birds in decline. You can personally do a lot to help migratory birds by e-mailing your congressional representatives to fund the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act at a higher level of funding. Check the web for more information on the NMBCA and the important work it does. A short e-mail to your Senators and Representatives in the House will help.

A Sunday Walk In The Woods

2008-05-11T18:31:11Z

Nature's varied shades of green in Spring are so lovely with yellow the dominant base of all the varied spring greens unfolding on the trees and shrubs and grasses. Later in the year the sun will harden the greens of spring into the darker even brownish and blackish greens of summer. But for this morning yet the unfolding of all the hues of spring green drew us out into the woods for a walk midst the morning chorus of bird songs. The woods here are filled with small clouds of birds this time of year. Some are active with the breeding colors of the new season others feeding and foraging heavily as they pause on their journey northward to their breeding grounds.

The trees tops this morning are heavy with Evening Grosbeaks and Black Headed Grosbeaks. A small cloud of Pine Siskins are feeding in the alders and birches. Several Purple Finches are mixed in with all the Grosbeaks. After a brief rain shower we turn our focus from the tree tops to the ground shrubbery and spotted several Song Sparrows. A Rufus Hummingbird darts past my head. As always the ever present local residents are flying by throughout the morning: the Black Cap Chickadees, the Chestnut Backed Chickadees and Red Breasted Nuthatches.

Red Tail Hawks Nesting On Portland, OR Fire Escape

2008-04-28T02:47:09Z

For another season a pair of Red Tail Hawks are nesting on a fire escape in downtown Portland OR. The young hawks have hatched. You can follow their growth and nest activity from a camera mounted at the nesting site. Go to KGW.com/raptorcam for past photos and a live camera feed.

Spring and Winter

2008-04-21T15:54:19Z

Spring and winter are pushing against each other for dominance this year here in the Northwest. We have had a light snow fall for three mornings at our elevation of only 660 feet, which is most unusual for the Coast Range. Such late freezing weather is a big concern for the fruit orchards with are in bloom. With spring and winter overlapping so much I went on a mid April snowshoe trip to Mt Hood in celebration of my 62nd birthday. With over 15 feet of snow on the ground I snowshoed up a steep mountain ridge on the east side of Mt Hood to Elk Meadow, a lovely bowl of wild flowers in the spring, but still deeply covered in snow. Pushing back against winter the birds of spring are arriving even with all the snow. Dozens of Tree Creepers were in the forest, the songs of Robins were ever present and I caught a glimpse of a couple of warblers. The forest around Elk Meadow at 4,500 feet in elevation, though still snowbound, had many orange and brown California Tortiseshell butterflies flying through the trees. A wonderful day it was but I do hope the butterflies in the snow signal the end of winter soon.

Varied Thrush

2008-04-04T02:48:57Z

Here in the coastal range of the Pacific Northwest we are experiencing a delightful invasion of Varied Thrushes. One can not look out any window of our house without seeing these black, gray and striking orange birds foraging in the lawns for insects, worms and snails. Any apples that have remained all winter on the trees are attractive to the Varied Thrush. Typical of the far west, British Columbia and Alaska they sometimes stray all the way to the Atlantic. They nest in conifers but sometimes also on the ground. Their songs, especially at dawn and dusk, are enchanting. Each evening I enjoy walking the old logging road to listen to their music. In the mornings I pause before getting into my car to listen again to their morning song. There is something about their song that makes it difficult to locate the position of the singer. Their numbers will taper off as many will move on to Alaska before their return in the Fall. but for now what a delight to see them running across the yard and flying through our trees.

Easter Greetings

2008-03-24T02:39:32Z

Our male Rufus Hummingbirds returned right on schedule last weekend. The females will soon follow. Some birding excitement around here last week. Our neighbors spotted a couple of Banannaquits. One hit their window and was stunned but recovered quickly. These birds are tropical and are only known as strays in southern Florida. The birds at my neighbors are obviously escapees but still it was nice to get a close look before they flew off.

HAPPY EASTER

Bill@birdingguide.com