Pacific NW Birder

Cackling Goose

2012-01-28T05:00:00.000-08:00

Ridgway's Cackling Goose, Hillsboro, Oregon, 10 January 2012 by Greg Gillson.

Still having trouble telling Cackling Geese from Canada Geese? You'll want to revisit last year's post: Greg's white-cheeked goose rant... I mean, primer.

And don't forget this great resource (pdf): Identification Field Guide to the Geese of the Willamette Valley and Lower Columbia River by Kelly Warren for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

eBirder interview: Shawneen Finnegan

2012-01-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

Name: Shawneen Finnegan
Home town: Portland, Oregon
How long birding? 29 years
How long eBirding? 4 years

Why is eBird important?
eBird has several levels of importance for me. First, it is easy to use and allows me to track my personal observations. Admittedly I have always been a chronic list keeper. The most important aspect of using eBird is that it allows me to easily contribute to the understanding of bird status and distribution no matter where I go. While my individual sightings may not be significant, when added together with those of other observers, it can make a huge impact. Many people watch birds everyday, be it out their kitchen window or birding hard all day long. Consider the database we might generate if all of these people kept track of what they saw and entered it into eBird. The number of data points collected would be staggering and invaluable in monitoring trends. This is citizen science at its best. No matter how many scientists are working on collecting scientifically-based data, they can't match amount of data that amateur birdwatchers can generate if we all start contributing our checklists to the eBird database. Fascinating animations are already being created using our data. One of my favorite animations is that of the Pacific Wren / Winter Wren pair. It helps one visually understand why the species was split. See http://ebird.org/content/ebird/about/occurrence-maps/pacific-winter-wren.

The most valuable type of data comes from observations made during regular (daily/weekly) visits to the same area, especially if you cover that area using consistent protocols (i.e. covering the same route at the same time of day). Keeping track of what you see in your backyard, home patch, or a favorite birding locale can provide valuable information. For example, Wink Gross recently shared a program at our local Portland Audubon Birder's Night about what he has learned by keeping track of the birds he sees and hears during daily dogwalks in the neighborhood around Pittock Mansion. Wink has been recording his observations over many years, thus his data reveals population changes in some species that wouldn't necessarily be evident otherwise. Entering this sort of collection of observations into eBird makes it easy to do and gives those interested in analyzing the data access to your information.

Somewhere in my storage locker are trip lists, birding notes, and rare bird writeups that eventually I would like to enter into eBird. Though my notes vary in detail, eventually having that information go into a database means that there is some greater use for my notes than just keeping track of lists.

How has eBird changed the way you watch birds?
It has greatly enriched my birding experience and taught me be more observant. I always kept track of what I saw, but now instead making a list at the end of the day I keep lists for separate locations. It makes one look more closely at age and gender, which really helps one learn how to identify birds. Counting birds was never something I enjoyed doing, but now it is fairly automatic and rewarding in its own way.

In what areas has eBird not changed the way you watch birds?
It hasn't changed at all the fact that I love to look at birds, or my appreciation of them.

How has eBird changed the face of birding?
I believe that eBirders become much better birders faster. It changes the way you look at birds. It has provided a citizen-science platform more accessible to all of us than any other that I am aware of. And the data we provide helps us understand what is going on with birds in far more detail than ever before. Data is now being submitted for many Christmas Bird Counts and Point Counts.

Why should someone start eBirding? What's the incentive?
For starters, I think it's fun. It is easy to keep track of what you see and where. If you bird with other people it is simple to share both note taking and data entry duties. For example, if you are birding with a friend or a field trip full of people, you can share your combined sightings with them either by emailing them a copy of the list or if they are already an "eBirder" then the list can automatically be added to their eBird account. Did you see something the other person didn't? Just add it in. If they spotted something you didn't see, it's just as easy to delete that species from your copy of the checklist without affecting the person's list who entered the data. It is fun to look at a map to seen how many different places one has submitted notes, not only in one's local haunts, but virtually anywhere one travels.

Do you have any personal eBird goals as respect special birding locations or species?
I want to try and keep better track of what is going on in my neighborhood and at the house. It is pretty slim pickings at my abode so it isn't much work! eBird makes me want to explore more. There are many far flung corners of Oregon and even in my local area that is underbirded. By looking at eBird generated maps the rarely birded areas become more obvious. There is a good article recently posted to the eBird website showing such examples at: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/data_gaps_Jan_2012.

How do you use eBird data?
In a variety of ways. I am signed up for several bird alerts--my local county, Oregon, and the USA so I can see what interesting birds are being seen. One very cool use is for navigating to an interesting location or rare bird. Using a smart phone or other GPS device one can click on a sighting and get the map and directions with just a few keystrokes. When traveling one can also use this technique to get to locations that you are not familiar with.

I have used the "Explore Data" links to research bird occurrence for trips, at my job, and in the past year since becoming a subregional editor for North American Birds I mine the data for interesting sightings and date spans. The national alert helps me track new sightings for BirdArea, a global database I have worked on for over 20 years.

House Finch

2012-01-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

House Finch, Beaverton, Oregon, 28 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

This common backyard bird wasn't always as common. For more information see In the backyard... House Finch.

Field-friendly bird sequencePart One

2012-01-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

It happened to most people who are now bird watchers. They saw some bird that was so colorful, or so unusually-shaped, or behaved in such an interesting manner that they decided to find out more about it. They picked up a field guide to birds...

If they are like most people they couldn't immediately find the bird. The birds seemed to be arranged randomly throughout the field guide. Eventually, in frustration, they began a page-by-page picture search trying to match what they saw with the bewildering array of birds in the field guide.

Most field guides are arranged in taxonomic order, with birds presumed to be closely related next to each other. The trouble is, birds may be closely related and not look like each other. Other birds, not closely related, can have the same basic appearance. The sequence of birds on a checklist or in a taxonomically-oriented field guide is necessarily linear, but bird relationships are web-like. And scientists are constantly rearranging the sequence!

But, if the purpose of a field guide is to truly help people identify a bird they have seen, shouldn't birds that look alike appear together in the book, regardless of constantly-shifting presumed relationships?

For instance, the Great Blue Heron (below) is known by birders and non-birders throughout North America.

Of course, many non-birders call the Great Blue Heron a "crane" or "blue crane." But herons are not cranes. They are not closely related, and are not found near each other in most field guides.

But they do share long neck and long legs in common. They are both similar in bill shape, size, and coloration. They may even be found in the same locations at the same time. Why shouldn't the Sandhill Crane (below) be placed in the field guide next to the heron?

The crane is, however, very closely related to the American Coot (below), at least, internally. But they don't look that much alike on the outside. The coot looks more like a duck than a heron. But in the field guides the coot is next to the crane, not to ducks or other waterbirds.

In fact, the coot looks quite a bit like the Pied-billed Grebe (below). But are the coot and grebe close together in the field guide? You know the answer. They are nowhere near each other!

Part Two will discuss proposed arrangements to address this problem.

Green-backed Chickadee?

2012-01-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

Black-capped Chickadee, Beaverton, Oregon, 7 December 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Sibley, in his account of Black-capped Chickadee, has a box explaining the ID pointers that will separate Black-capped from Carolina Chickadee. This is an identification challenge we do not really have to worry about here in the Pacific Northwest.

Sibley states that the Black-capped Chickadee "has a greenish back and buffy flanks."

Hmm... the back of Black-capped Chickadee has always appeared rather medium gray to me. But now that you mention it... does the back have a greenish cast in the photo above? Perhaps.

Gabrielson and Jewettt in their 1940 book Birds of Oregon, use Florence Merriam Bailey's textual descriptions from her 1921 Handbook of Birds of the Western United States. That description states: "back dark gray, tinged with olive brown."

Please see a previous post on Black-capped Chickadees: (In the backyard... Black-capped Chickadee)

Where should I go birding in February?

2012-01-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I find February a hard month to decide where to go birding. This last month of winter has no new bird movements. This can actually be a good thing, as any rare bird reported in the last several weeks is likely sitting tight wherever it is, waiting for spring.

There is one group of birds for which February is often the best time... gulls. Because they are difficult to identify in their immature plumages, many birders "don't do gulls." But there are known concentration points, such as landfills, sewage lagoons, and city parks, where these birds gather in late winter. They allow close study (and photos).

One such place is Westmoreland Park in Portland, Oregon. (See Birding Oregon info.)

Where are you planning on watching birds in the coming month and what species do you hope to see there? Are you a field trip organizer? We want to hear what you offer (fee or free). Leave your response in the Comments section as ideas for others.

I am scheduled to give a presentation at the Winter Wings Festival in Klamath Falls, February 19 (see below). I hope the passes over the Cascades are free of ice and snow! My second wish is for sunny weather for photos that weekend--as I haven't birded in this area in many years!

Bird Festivals:

San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival
February 10-12, 2012
Mare Island, California
http://www.sfbayflywayfestival.com/

Winter Wings Festival
February 17-19, 2012
Klamath Falls, Oregon
Begun as the Klamath Falls Eagle Conference over 30 years ago, this is the longest-running festival in the United States! Naturalist, birder, and author Kenn Kaufmann and international photographer Darrell Gulin will be the keynote speakers.
http://www.winterwingsfest.org/

Whooping Crane Festival
February 23-26, 2012
Port Aransas, Texas
http://www.whoopingcranefestival.org/

California Duck Days
February 24-25, 2012
Davis, California
abrice@yolobasin.org

Cove Palisades Eagle Watch
February 25-26, 2012
Madras, Oregon
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_32.php?eventid=4026&md=event

Port Susan Snow Goose and Birding Festival
February 25-26, 2012
Stanwood, Washington
http://www.snowgoosefest.org/Home.html

Ball o' Bushtits

2012-01-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

"Come join us--there's plenty of room!" Bushtits, Beaverton, Oregon, 8 December 2011 by Greg Gillson.

One of the familiar Pacific NW backyard birds, especially west of the Cascades, is the Bushtit. While they glean the foliage in little straggling twittering flocks, they all share pleasantly at the suet feeder. How many are there on this suet feeder? Over 20 (not counting the one on the fence)!

eBird best practicesEnter Complete Checklists

2012-01-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Note: For the past year I have been trying to convince you, no matter your skill level, to use eBird to record your bird sightings (Here is a link to bring up all my posts related to eBird). This citizen science project unites birders around the world and in your local community. I challenge you to try it just once--enter a list of birds from your next bird trip.

If you start, or already are, using eBird, there are practices you can use to make your data more useful to science, and thus help the birds themselves. For the remainder of the year, I will present a monthly recommendation of eBird best practices. Below is the first one.

The most useful checklist to submit to eBird is the Complete Checklist.

eBird asks: "Are you submitting a complete checklist of the birds you saw/heard?"

Record every species seen and heard--even common ones.

When you select the Complete Checklist, eBird is then able to compute accurate range maps and bird frequency (how many checklists report that species during that particular week). For instance, if you select Complete Checklist and do not have American Robin on your list, eBird knows that you did not see any--not just that you didn't feel them interesting or unusual enough to write down.

Entering lots of complete checklists doesn't necessarily mean that a person spends any more time birding than you do now. Got 5-10 minutes to observe birds at your feeder? How about doing so more than once during the day? Did you take a 20 minute dog walk or jog today and note any birds? Can you take 15 minutes out of your lunch time to watch birds anywhere? If you record all birds seen during these short time periods, you'll find there are numerous opportunities during each day to submit complete checklists.

All of these data are useful and add to the knowledge of status and distribution of birds. In fact, we know a lot more about birds at wildlife refuges and parks than we know about birds in residential neighborhoods or towns. Your complete checklists--even if only 5-10 minutes--in such areas are likely to add more new bird information than your weekend visit to the local birding hotspot.

In September 2011 I checked the number of eBirders in Oregon submitting the most complete checklists. There were 69 birders submitting at least 1 checklist per week, on average, over the whole year of 2011. Of these, one-third were averaging 1 checklist every other day, or 3-1/2 checklists per week. Combined with hundreds of others submitting far less often it all adds up. In September 2011, Oregon eBirders submitted over 1600 complete checklists. Remember, eBird is worldwide. Just think how much information on bird status and distribution is being gathered by eBird!

More information on this topic can be found on the eBird site, Are you reporting all species?

White-throated Sparrow

2012-01-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

White-throated Sparrow, Beaverton, Oregon, 16 December 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Finding a White-throated Sparrow at my feeder is always a delight. But three? That's special! A tan-striped adult has been present since November, and this white-striped adult for a couple of weeks. Then these two and a streaky immature bird were all together feeding on the ground in late December!

And there's nothing remarkable about our tiny yard in suburban Beaverton, Oregon. In fact, I wouldn't think it worthy of the special birds I've seen this and last winter.

Here are the White-throated Sparrow records in eBird from Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. They show, that when seen, the average is only one-and-a-quarter birds. And they are only found on less of 3% of all checklists, fall through spring.

I discussed this species in a previous post this spring when one of these birds graced my feeders back then.

Separating first winter Thayer's Gull from "Olympic" Gull

2012-01-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

First year Olympic Gull and Thayer's Gull. Which is which? Forest Grove, Oregon, 23 March 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Right here in the Pacific Northwest we have one of the most confusing arrays of winter gulls in the world.

As if the 13 regular gull species weren't enough, we have numerous rarities and hybrids. In fact, in many locations on the Oregon and Washington coast, the hybrids between Western and Glaucous-winged Gull may be more common than the pure parent species. But we also have hybrids between Herring and Glaucous-winged, Herring and Glaucous, and Glaucous and Glaucous-winged!

The larger gulls take 4 years to reach adult plumage and change appearance twice each year as they do so. No wonder many birders never get comfortable identifying immature gulls--truly one of the more difficult topics of bird identification!

Olympic Gull
Western Gulls breed along the Washington coastline southward. Glaucous-winged Gulls breed from the central Oregon coast northward. Thus, their breeding ranges overlap for about 200 miles, centered at the mouth of the Columbia River. In this area of overlap there is considerable hybridization. Due to backcrosses, there is complete clinal variation from one end of the spectrum to the other. South of the Columbia River birds looking more like Western Gulls become more common. To the north, gulls that appear more like Glaucous-winged Gulls become more prevalent. This swarm of Western, Glaucous-winged, and hybrid Western x Glaucous-winged gulls is called the "Olympic Gull."

In winter, these coastal breeding hybrid gulls are found also inland in the Puget Sound and the Willamette Valley, and south along the coast regularly to at least San Francisco. Pure Western Gulls are rare inland; most adult "Western Gulls" reported inland show some evidence of past hybridization if you look closely at winter head streaking and intensity of black in the wingtips.

Hybrids, especially those tending toward Glaucous-winged Gulls in appearance, are easily confused with Thayer's Gulls. This post discusses these birds in the first year only. However structural features are consistent across various age groups.

First, correctly age the gull by looking at the back
First year gulls are rather brown-barred throughout. In the second year the upper back feathers become smooth gray similar to the adult coloration. Thus, on first year gulls the back is barred brownish. Most first year gulls have blackish bills and pink legs, so the color of these important adult ID field marks are of little to no use during the first year or two.

Look at the size and shape of the bill
Because there is so much plumage variation with hybrids, look next at the bill. Western Gulls and Glaucous-winged Gulls (and, thus, hybrids between the two species) have very large, thick bills. There is considerable size variation between the sexes (males are larger) but, even so, the bills are thicker than all regular Pacific NW gulls, and average longer than all gulls except the largest Glaucous Gulls. The bills are widest on the gonys. This is the point on the lower mandible where the right and left halves fuse together and angle up sharply to the bill tip, as shown on the adult Glaucous-winged Gull head photo, below.

The bills of Thayer's Gulls are shorter and thinner than the Olympic Gull. The female Thayer's Gull has an especially small bill, often described as "petite." The angle of the gonys is not as sharp as the Olympic Gull--the lower mandible of Thayer's Gull appears straighter.

Look at the primary/tertial/rest-of-wing contrast
Now turn your attention to the other end of the gull. It is important to be able to identify correctly the back, the scapulars, wing coverts, secondaries, tertials, primaries, and tail.

In the photo below, the tertials, primaries, and tail are identified. Most first year gulls have back, scapulars, wing coverts and secondaries very similar in color and pattern, as below. It is the contrast (or lack thereof) between the primaries, tertials, and the rest of the folded wing, that provides the final clues to reaching an accurate identification.

Most of the larger white-headed gulls in first winter plumage (Mew, Ring-billed, California, Herring, Western) have blackish primaries and tertials, contrasting with the rest of the wing which is barred brownish and pale.

Pure Glaucous-winged Gulls have matching colors to the primaries, tertials, and barring of the rest of the wing on a first year bird. Often the color is a very pale gray-brown.

First year Thayer's Gulls are the only pure gulls that show medium-brown primaries, contrasting with a paler wing panel.

Hybrids--the Olympic Gulls--show a similar pattern to pure Glaucous-wingeds. There will be little contrast between the various wing feathers, but they are often much darker brown than pure Glaucous-winged Gulls, especially on the primaries.

If the primaries on a first year gull are brown, you are probably looking at a Glaucous-winged hybrid (most-likely an Olympic Gull) or a Thayer's Gull.

The key is in the contrast of the primaries, tertials, and rest of wing. These match in coloration on Glaucous-winged hybrids. Thayer's Gulls show a unique difference--three shades. The tertials are darker than the secondaries and wing coverts, and the primaries are darker than the tertials.

Are you ready to identify these gulls? What do you see on the next photo? Big and thick bill or smaller and slight? Do the primaries, tertials, and rest-of-wing all contrast strongly with each other and get paler with each feather group?

Hybrid Western x Glaucous-winged Gull ("Olympic Gull"), Forest Grove, Oregon, 7 February 2009 by Greg Gillson.

How about the next photo? Same questions. Big and thick bill or smaller and slight? Do the primaries, tertials, and rest-of-wing all contrast strongly with each other and get paler with each feather group?

Thayer's Gull, Portland, Oregon, 19 February 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Now you are ready to go back to the top photo and puzzle it out.

American Wigeon portrait

2011-12-30T05:00:00.000-08:00

American Wigeon, Beaverton, Oregon, 15 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

A previous post on American Wigeon.

How eBird makes you a better birder

2011-12-28T05:00:00.000-08:00

In my previous post ("eBird revisited: one year later") I discussed how eBird is an essential birding tool for you, even if you decide not to submit your own sightings.

Adding your own personal sightings to eBird contributes to citizen science, makes your sightings valuable beyond your own enjoyment, and makes eBird that much better.

However, the way eBird is structured when submitting observations gives the one submitting a better understanding of bird status in the area being reported.

You see, when you submit your list of sightings from a field trip, you choose from a checklist of birds that are expected in that specific county during that specific month. If the bird isn't on the default checklist, then it is considered rare by local experts. If you then switch to the "Show Rare Species" checklist, all birds ever recorded (in any month) in the county are listed. If your bird is not on this list, either? Then it is likely a first county record! You select "Add Species" and type in the name.

But there is more. Every species ever recorded in the county has a filter number for each month of the year. If you report more individuals of a selected species than the filter considers "normal" you are notified that you have seen an unusually high number!

A third option for checklists that you can turn on or off is the ability to "Show subspecies." This option displays on the checklist such things as Red-shafted Flickers, Slate-colored Juncos, Myrtle Warblers, but also subspecies local experts deem worthy of recording. Thus, you can learn of important regional subspecies in the county you are reporting. If a certain subspecies isn't on the list? Try "Add Species" and look to see if it exists on the eBird master species list.

eBird works very hard to make sure the data collected is accurate. Thus, any time you record a high number of individuals or a species not on the default checklist, eBird asks you to confirm and give comments. This is the place to write a brief description or add a photo or photo link. Every location in the world has a volunteer local expert that reviews these unusual sightings. They tag unusual species as likely correctly identified or possibly not by what you say in your comments and a personal email, if necessary to gather more information. These expert Reviewers can help you with status and ID questions.

You can, of course, add comments for any species, rare or not. eBird's "Comments" section allows you to record age and gender data as well as breeding bird codes. Besides simply noting presence ('X') you are encouraged to estimate numbers of individuals. Instead of recording just the highlights, you are encouraged to record every species. Rather than a day's list, eBird encourages you to record species in more and smaller areas.

All of these things will make you a better birder.

Rebecca in the Woods started eBirding in September 2011. In October 2011 she wrote: How eBird is making me a better birder.

Nate Swick of the Drinking Birder also tells How eBird makes me a better birder.

We're starting a new year. This is the perfect time for you to start entering your field birding sightings. No more excuses! Become an eBirder in 2012.

eBird revisited: one year later

2011-12-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

It was just a year ago when I wrote my first blog post about eBird (What is eBird?), the citizen science and personal listing program sponsored by Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.

eBird may be most simply described as an online checklist program. It allows one to input their bird sightings and keep track of their lists. All sightings are pooled from around the world and the data is accessible both to the user and to any interested person, scientist or hobbyist. (Read About eBird from their own web site.)

About the same time as my post, Dave Irons, over on the BirdFellow blog wrote about eBird, too (The eBird Conundrum). I recommend reading all the comments, as you can see how the program has grown and improved over the years. Read especially Shawneen Finnegan's comments (Comment #9). Of those who weren't as excited about eBird, they were concerned with the possible time and effort of changing the way they birded and entering their sightings checklists.

Everyone is missing the point!

Forget entering data for a minute. (Anathema!)

Without you ever entering a single personal checklist...

eBird is an absolutely indispensable real time world-wide bird status and distribution tool.

How do I emphasize this sufficiently? eBird is tracking the location and abundance of every bird in the world. Right now. From Abdim's Stork to Zosterops (species). Ten-thousand species plus thousands of field identifiable forms (subspecies, species pairs, "spuh's" (Empidonax sp., gull sp., etc.), and even exotics).

The world-wide aspect is just over a year old now, so obviously the bulk of users (because of the 6 year head start) are in North America and New Zealand. But use is increasing throughout the world.

Birders in California lead the way with nearly 15,000 checklists submitted each month (based on November 2011 rate)! Ottawa, New York, Texas, and Florida led the pack in November 2011. The number of checklists submitted in California has nearly doubled in one year (8500 to 15,000 per month in November of both years). Brian Sullivan, one of eBird's founders, reports that about 80,000 birders have submitted at least one checklist to eBird; 6,000 birders are regular contributors right now. A recent article in PLoS Biology (eBird: Engaging Birders in Science and Conservation) estimates that the 2011 total will be 1.7 million checklists from 210 countries! Every new checklist submitted--whether historical lists from the past, or this morning's field outing--increases eBird's accuracy and usefulness.

The maps generated by eBird are often better than those appearing in field guides. Maps can be made at the resolution of individual months (or any requested block of months or years). Frequency is shown on the maps at large scales by latitude-longitude blocks until you zoom in to see the individual details of each and every sighting.

So, even if you have decided not to contribute your sightings to eBird, the useful information about where birds are being seen today is such that every birder would want to search eBird each day. What can you find out? Here are two items you may find useful. 1) eBird Alerts: Sightings of birds you haven't seen ever or just this year in a specified county or state emailed to you. 2) Rare birds (ABA Code 3 and above) nationally emailed to you. 3) Weekly frequency and abundance bar charts for every bird in a birding hotspot or county where you may plan to visit. 4) Maps and details of any species in the world showing actual sightings in the last 30 days. Oops! That's four useful items.

I suggest you go to eBird.org and explore for yourself and see what you've been missing!

My next post will tell you why you should submit sightings to eBird. No, not because it contributes to citizen science, helps the birds, and makes the world a better place. Rather, I will show how eBird makes you a better birder!

Orbital rings

2011-12-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

Western Gull, Beaverton, Oregon, 15 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

On adult gulls the skin around the eye is often colored brightly. This can be a clue to identification. The hue and intensity can change with breeding condition or other factors.

Typical adult Western Gulls have yellow-orange orbital rings.

eBirder interview: Robert Mortenson

2011-12-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

Name: Robert Mortensen
Blog: Birding is Fun!
Home town: Bountiful, Utah
How long birding? 7 years
How long eBirding? 6 years

Why is eBird important?
eBird is important to me personally because I can keep track of my bird sightings and I love to be able to see the comings and goings of the various species in my personal birding patches and in my backyard. eBird is important to bird science and conservation and I believe it will continue to be more and more relevant to science and politics. eBird really is the best tool to understand bird distribution and migration patterns, which in turn tells us which habitats are most critical.

How has eBird changed the way you watch birds?
eBird has greatly changed, improved, and enhanced the way I watch birds. I used to be a trip-ticker...just a big list of all the birds seen on a bird outing. Now I count the birds of each species I see and hear. I even pay attention to gender and age if I have learned it for that species. When I take a bird trip, I now break it down into checklists for each stop - and even five-mile sections of highway if its the same kind of habitat.

In what areas has eBird not changed the way you watch birds?
Counting the birds and reporting them in eBird has not diminished in any way my enjoyment and amazement of the birds themselves. The color of Bullock's Orioles, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Western Tanagers, and Yellow Warblers is what hooked me on birding...and they still hook me every time I see them.

How has eBird changed the face of birding?
I think many birders used to keep track of their sightings in their own field guides, notebooks, or on a spreadsheet. I think all of us eBirders now go about birding a bit differently, but for the better. Now our citizen-scientist sighting data can be used and is available for free to the world. I believe that all this data will improve the quality and accuracy of range maps in field guides. We are gaining a greater understanding of migration ranges and for the frequency of vagrant birds in locations outside of their typical range. The information is quickly and easily communicated across the globe through eBird, when in the past, such bird data would have to be collected from each region of the world.

Why should someone start eBirding? What's the incentive?
I started eBirding simply because it was a free online service that did a good job keeping track of my sightings. Then I discovered how it contributes to bird science and it made me feel good. Later I discovered I could play around with the data and have fun learning new things about birds. eBird is also a great tool for birding in locations new to you. You can find out what species are being seen during each week of the year. eBird is really the birders best friend, tool, and resource. I hope all birders everywhere will recognize the personal and global benefits of using eBird, the greatest citizen-science project of all time.

Do you have any personal eBird goals as respect special birding locations or species? I love to track the birds in my local patch and my goal is to have at least one checklist for each week. I feel compelled to eliminate all those hatched/grayed-out columns showing that I missed a week here and there. I also do my best to average submitting at least one checklist a day...even if its only from my own backyard feeders, that data is important. Through my birding blog, I am currently encouraging others to join me in taking the "One-a-Day eBird Challenge." I also use the eBird "alerts" to notify me of birds I have not recorded for the county in which I live. I have a goal to never get an alert email, because I have already seen all of those species. That alert email is actually pretty helpful in letting me know where species are being seen, so I can go there myself.

How do you use eBird data?
One of my favorite ways of using eBird data is making animated maps of bird migration patterns. eBird has some really fancy animated maps that they are creating for many species, but not all species have these fancy maps yet. I take screenshots of the eBird sightings maps and convert them into animated GIF's with picasion.com. Sometimes I look at month-by-month patterns to understand seasonal migration. Other times I look at species expansion over the years...the Eurasian Collared-dove is the prime example.

When I was preparing to go to Ohio for the Midwest Birding Symposium, I looked at the bird sightings in Ottawa County for the middle two weeks of September. I downloaded the data into Excel and from there pared down the list to just the life birds I was hoping to see. Then I sorted the data by the frequency of eBird reports for each species, which gave me an idea of the probability of seeing those species. It worked splendidly and accurately.

Green Heron

2011-12-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

Green Heron, Beaverton, Oregon, 15 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

A previous post on Green Herons.

Where should I go birding in January?

2011-12-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

The Coast? Mountains? Desert? Gorge? Sound? Valley? The Pacific Northwest has it all. But sometimes I just can't decide where I should go birding. If I don't plan in advance, I'll end up at the local sewage pond wetlands... again. Not that this is a bad thing, but sometimes I'd like to go to a new place and see different birds.

In this monthly post I ask: Where are you planning on watching birds in the coming month and what species do you hope to see there? Leave your response in the Comments section as ideas for others. While I am looking primarily for birding locations and target species in the Pacific NW, please feel free to mention other places in western North America, or anywhere in the world.

Field trip organizers are also welcome to use the Comments section to announce field trips in the Pacific NW. Be sure to indicate if free or fee and contact information for those interested in attending.

Additionally, I'll list next month's bird festivals, as well. If you organize or regularly attend one of these festivals, what do you especially like about the Festival and what are the target birds? If you know of birding events or festivals next month, leave a comment as well.

As for myself, I like to bird the Oregon coast in January, searching for Rock Sandpipers at Seal Rock or Depoe Bay, and Long-tailed Ducks and Ancient Murrelets from Boiler Bay.

Bird Festivals:

Wings Over Wilcox
11-15 January 2012
Wilcox, Arizona
http://wingsoverwillcox.com/

Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival
13-16 January 2012
Morro Bay, California
http://www.morrobaybirdfestival.org/

St. George Winter Bird Festival
26-28 January 2012
St. George, Utah
http://www.redcliffsaudubon.org/

Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyway
26-29 January 2012
Chico, California
http://www.snowgoosefestival.org/

Winter Bird Festival
28 January 2012
Galt, California
http://www.ci.galt.ca.us/index.aspx?page=495

Bath time!

2011-12-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

House Sparrow, Beaverton, Oregon, 6 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

As winter weather approaches, remember that having a daily source of unfrozen water is more important for survival than food.

A previous post on House Sparrows.

The Cosmopolitan Sanderling

2011-12-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Sanderling, Coos Bay, Oregon, 28 August 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Flocks of small sandpipers chasing the waves in-and-out on the beach--anywhere in the world--are likely to be Sanderlings. Like wind-up toys they run in quick bursts on stiff legs.

Sanderlings are circumpolar nesters in the remote Arctic of both Siberia and Canada. They winter along nearly all the coasts of North America. But that's not all. Some birds migrate south from their breeding grounds through all continents south to southern South America, southern Africa, Australia, and New Zealand! In other words, there aren't too many places in the world where Sanderlings don't visit.

Sanderling, Coos Bay, Oregon, 28 August 2011 by Greg Gillson.

In the non-breeding season they are pale gray; in the breeding season they have a brownish-red plumage. They can sometimes be mistaken for other shorebirds--even the rare Red-necked Stint. However, as you can see by the top photo, Sanderlings lack hind toes, while most other smaller shorebirds have them.

In the Pacific Northwest, Sanderlings are common on the outer beaches from August to February, less common March-May and July. A few non-breeders may be found in summer, but mostly they are absent from the last week of May to the first week of July. Rare inland, nearly all inland records are from August, during the southbound migration.

Sunshine at the feeder

2011-12-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

Lesser Goldfinch, Beaverton, Oregon, 19 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

A nice surprise at the feeder!

A previous post on Lesser Goldfinches.

Horned Grebe

2011-12-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

Horned Grebe, Hagg Lake, Washington County, Oregon, 1 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

In autumn, Horned Grebes move from their breeding grounds to deeper ponds and lakes south or coastally to winter wherever deeper waters remain ice-free. Two birds were swimming and diving right under the floating dock at Hagg Lake on November 1, allowing me really great looks at 10-15 feet away.

Where can you find them right now?

Map of Horned Grebe sightings in the Pacific NW in eBird, October-December 2011.

A previous article: ID Challenge: Horned and Eared Grebes in winter

Anna's Hummingbird in flight

2011-12-04T10:24:00.000-08:00

Year-round resident Anna's Hummingbird, Beaverton, Oregon, 6 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Even though I recently sang the praises of the new National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds (6th Edition), it didn't help with the identification of the hummingbird outside my window. Though I knew that the hummingbird was likely an Anna's Hummingbird, the NatGeo6 hasn't changed its artwork of Costa's Hummingbirds since the first edition. Frankly, this field guide doesn't help with the separation of female Costa's and Anna's Hummingbirds.

That's why I have many field guides, and specialty guides too. No book can be all things to all people. And even if one field guide was superior, there's nothing wrong with variety.

In his book, the Kaufman Field Guide to Advanced Birding, Kenn Kaufman has a chapter on hard-to-identify hummingbirds.

Perhaps because I rarely go to places with any hummingbirds but Rufous and Anna's, I've always had trouble with female hummingbirds of the Anna's/Costa's/Ruby-throated/Black-chinned type--in other words, hummingbirds that look very similar to the one depicted above.

So I spent some time recently observing the hummingbirds at the feeders outside my window. I practiced observing tail feather shape, facial pattern, and inner primary width--with the help of my camera. I feel a bit better prepared now in case some unexpected female hummingbird pops up (as they can do in the autumn of the year). Better prepared, yes, but I still would hope that a future rare hummer at my feeder will be an easier to identify male!

Map of winter range of Anna's Hummingbird in the Pacific NW based on eBird data.

A previous post on Anna's Hummingbirds.

The wing

2011-12-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

Black-footed Albatross, off Newport, Oregon, 15 May 2011 by Greg Gillson.

The wing of birds is analogous to the arm of humans. This is most evident on longer-winged birds like the albatross above. They have a shoulder, elbow, and wrist. They have similar bones--a humerus in the upper arm, and radius and ulna in the lower arm. The hand, or manus, is composed of several fused hand and finger bones--it's more like one long finger.

Primaries are attached to the hand. Primaries are numbered from inner to outer, P1 to P10 in the photo above. Birds have from 8-11 primaries, depending upon species. In general, most non-Passerines have 10 primaries; most Passerines have 9 primaries.

Secondaries are attached to the ulna. Secondaries are numbered from outer to inner. Birds have a variable number of secondaries depending upon the length of the wing.

Primaries and secondaries are called the flight feathers of the wing, or remiges. (The tail with its retrices, are also considered "flight feathers.")

True tertials or tertiaries are feathers attached to the humerus, the bone from shoulder to elbow. They are not considered to be flight feathers, or remiges. Very long-winged birds have more tertials than shorter winged birds. Some bird families, including shorebirds and gulls, have modified tertials that are longer and distinctively marked.

In many smaller birds the humerus is so short as to be lacking separate tertial feathers. However, sometimes the inner 3 secondary feathers on passerines are called tertials when differently shaped or colored than the other secondary feathers.

Black-footed Albatrosses have 10 primaries, 25-29 secondaries, and numerous tertiaries or tertials.

Western Gull, Beaverton, Oregon, 17 February 2009 by Greg Gillson.

Most gulls have 10 primaries and 24 secondaries. They also have some true tertial feathers.

Vaux's Swift, Forest Grove, Oregon, 22 September 2009 by Greg Gillson.

Vaux's Swifts have 10 primaries, but only 6 (or 8, if you count very tiny) secondaries.

The very different lengths of the parts of the arm cause different styles of flapping.

More details on the upcoming Forest Grove CBC

2011-11-29T12:05:00.000-08:00

Hooded Oriole, Gaston, Oregon, 26 December 2009 by Greg Gillson.

Many birders got to see this wonderful rare bird at a private feeder, in the tiny burg of Gaston, soon after it was found on the Forest Grove Christmas Bird Count (CBC). My feeling is that there should be time available for each group to go "poach" a rare bird or productive area for an hour or so, outside of their assigned sector (count area). See the previous post (Forest Grove CBC: Join us December 17).

Each sector has certain "target" species that they should try to find, as they may only be found in that sector. Some sectors are mostly driving, some mostly walking. As of this time, all sectors are available and open to request. We need sector leaders, responsible to read the map, track the mileage and time, count all birds seen or heard, and take less experienced ones along for a fun day.

All volunteers should contact me, Greg Gillson, at greg@thebirdguide.com, and let me know what sector you prefer. Please consider being a sector leader.

If you live in the count circle (Roy to Gaston, Forest Grove to west part of Hillsboro) we need feeder watchers. Just keep track of all birds coming to your feeder and keep track of the time you spent watching. Most Anna's Hummingbirds are reported from feeders. If a Hooded Oriole comes to visit, well, one can dream!

Forest Grove Christmas Bird Count, Saturday, December 17, 2011.
Meet at Elmer's Pancake House, 390 SW Adams, Hillsboro, Oregon at 7:00 AM (earlier if having breakfast).

Sector 1)
Northern Forest Grove, NW Hillsboro, Verboort, Roy. Mostly driving.
Target birds: Peregrine Falcon, Prairie Falcon, Herring Gull, Thayer’s Gull, Glaucous Gull, Mourning Dove, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Anna’s Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Northern Shrike, Horned Lark, Common Raven, American Pipit, Cedar Waxwing, Western Meadowlark, Brown-headed Cowbird.

Sector 2)
Southern Forest Grove, Gales Creek, Stringtown Road, Gales Peak, David Hill. Driving and walking.
Target birds: Redhead, Great Egret, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Northern Shrike, Common Raven, Western Bluebird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Lesser Goldfinch.

Sector 2A-optional)
Roderick Road. Steep, rough logging road walking up to 5 miles into clearcuts/forest.
If enough people, assign to separate group, otherwise include in Sector 2.
Target birds: Ruffed Grouse, Blue Grouse, Mountain Quail, Barred Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Hutton’s Vireo, Gray Jay, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Brown Creeper, Hermit Thrush, Townsend’s Warbler, Red Crossbill, Evening Grosbeak

Sector 3A)
Hagg Lake (West side) and nearby areas. Site guide. Driving and walking.

Sector 3B)
Hagg Lake (East side). Mostly walking up to 6 miles of trails and park area.
Target birds for all of Hagg Lake: Eurasian Wigeon, Greater Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Ruffed Grouse, Common Loon, Western Grebe, Horned Grebe, Eared Grebe, Spotted Sandpiper, California Gull, Herring Gull, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Brown Creeper, American Dipper, Purple Finch.

Sector 3C)
Logging Roads on Scoggins Creek Road above Hagg Lake. 2-1/2 miles driving logging road and walking another 3 miles of rough logging roads.
Target birds: Blue Grouse, Mountain Quail, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Barred Owl, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Hutton’s Vireo, Gray Jay, Western Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Townsend’s Warbler, Red Crossbill, Purple Finch, Evening Grosbeak

Sector 4)
Patton Valley. Mostly driving.
Target birds: White-tailed Kite, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Ring-necked Pheasant, Mourning Dove, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Northern Shrike, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Western Bluebird, Townsend's Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, Purple Finch.

Sector 5)
Spring Hill Road, Laurelwood, Bald Peak, Dixon Mill Road (both sides), Firdale Road. Mostly driving.
Target species: Ruffed Grouse, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Northern Shrike, Western Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, American Pipit, White-throated Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Lesser Goldfinch.

Sector 5A-optional)
Metro’s Chehalem Ridge property on Dixon Mill Road may be assigned to a separate team with special permission to enter.

Sector 6)
Fernhill Wetlands and surrounding areas. Walking and driving.
Target species: Trumpeter Swan, Wood Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Ring-necked Pheasant, California Quail, Western Grebe, Horned Grebe, Great Egret, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, Wilson’s Snipe, Mew Gull, Ring-billed Gull, California Gull, Herring Gull, Thayer’s Gull, Western Gull, Mourning Dove, Northern Shrike, Common Raven, Marsh Wren, Western Bluebird, American Pipit, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Lincoln’s Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Western Meadowlark, Brown-headed Cowbird, Purple Finch, Lesser Goldfinch.

Sector 7)
Jackson Bottom and surrounds. Lots of wet walking if Jackson Bottom is not flooded, otherwise mostly driving.
Target species: Trumpeter Swan, Wood Duck, Great Egret, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Ring-necked Pheasant, California Quail, Wilson’s Snipe, California Gull, Herring Gull, Anna’s Hummingbird, Northern Shrike, Marsh Wren, Western Bluebird, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Savannah Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow.

Sector 8)
Forest Grove. Walking in town. This is the official "poaching" team. After covering town last year, Tim Rodenkirk and I poached at Fernhill Wetlands and Hagg Lake. Combined with the early morning owling we did, we ended the day personally recording 91 of the 117 total count species.
Target birds: Merlin, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Anna’s Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Brown Creeper, Cedar Waxwing, Townsend’s Warbler, White-throated Sparrow.

Forest Grove CBC: Join us December 17

2011-11-29T12:01:00.000-08:00

From December 14 to January 5, birders at thousands of locations across the Americas will count early winter birds in prescribed areas from dawn to dusk. For over 100 years the National Audubon Society has sponsored these Christmas Bird Counts (CBC). Read the History of the Christmas Bird Count on the Audubon site.

In Forest Grove, Oregon, volunteers will meet at 7:00 AM on Saturday, December 17, 2011, at Elmer's Pancake House at 390 SW Adams (near the corner of First Street and Baseline Avenue) in Hillsboro, Oregon. There birders will be divided up into car groups and sent birding in one of 8 sectors of the count circle. Everyone should meet back at Elmer's about 5:00 PM where you turn in your count forms and count fees are collected (yes, $5 per person is collected to help defray publishing the data in a special issue of American Birds). You may stay for a count-down dinner (each person buys their own), where the species seen are informally tallied.

I started helping organize the Forest Grove CBC two years ago. I was guided by two thoughts. First, I was vacationing in Arizona one winter and decided to attend a count near Phoenix that regularly tallies nearly 200 species--many species I highly desired to see. However, I was assigned to a group in a rural area of cotton fields with very few birds. When we finished covering our area by noon? Our leader had us do it again, with very few additional birds. All the while, I could see the greenery along the nearby river with all the birds I so desired to see but which was "not our area." Second, I knew the Forest Grove area so well. At the countdown dinner I realized that the birds that were missed that day were not hard to find--in fact, I knew exactly what tree and bush or part of the stream these missing birds hung out in. I figured if each team concentrated on finding these hard-to-find, but usually present, birds, then the common birds would take care of themselves. Counts since implementing this idea 2 years ago have exceeded the high count of all previous years.

This led me to redesign the count in such a way that teams could cover their area fairly well by noon, and "poach" in other team's areas for good birds--just keep track of where you were. I recommend teams "poach" at Fernhill Wetlands or Jackson Bottom Wetlands during the day. There is a good turnover of waterfowl at these locations, and many other sparrows and smaller birds hiding in the marsh. I also divided up Hagg Lake into three sectors rather than one. The special resident birds here are hard to find and quiet, and found no where else in the count circle. To help in this regard, I created sector material for the sector leaders specifying each sector's target birds and where to find them.

This year Christmas Day falls on a weekend and, unlike the very first CBC, few counts these days are actually scheduled for Christmas Day. That means most counts will be either December 17 and 18th or December 31 and January 1. Forest Grove isn't one of the "glamor" counts in Oregon. So we'll have lots of competition for our volunteer counters.

My next post will tell you why you should join us and what you might see.

Western Bluebird

2011-11-29T05:00:00.000-08:00

Western Bluebird, Champoeg State Park, Oregon, 8 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

I stopped by Champoeg State Park recently, and was able to photograph this Western Bluebird using my car as a blind.

This bird is banded, probably in concert with the Prescott Bluebird Recovery Project, which builds bluebird nest boxes and monitors populations locally in the northern Willamette Valley.

Champoeg was a town between Portland and Salem, Oregon. In the early 1840's the rapidly increasing number of settlers met at Champoeg and voted to set up a local provisional government. Up until that time both the United States and Great Britain jointly occupied the Oregon Territory, with the British Hudson Bay Company having a presence at Fort Vancouver (near present day Vancouver, Washington). Relations were friendly-enough between American and British subjects (and French-Canadian, Spanish, and Russian fur trappers), but there was really no "government" to speak of for the American settlers. This provisional government ruled until 1848 when Oregon became an official territory of the United States. Oregon became a state in 1859. In December 1861 a huge flood swept away the town of Champoeg and it was never rebuilt.

A previous post on Western Bluebirds.

Learning about birds... at your feeder

2011-11-27T12:10:00.001-08:00

Male Spotted Towhee, Beaverton, Oregon, 27 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

For improving one's birding skills, Kenn Kaufman (Kaufman Field Guide to Advanced Birding) recommends a bird feeder as a learning tool. Even a common species observed closely over time can teach about age and gender differences, molt and plumages, hybridization, and individual or population variation. Learning how to observe these items on common birds will let us more quickly and accurately identify rare birds--a source of joy and excitement for many birders.

Earlier this year I learned something very interesting by observing the birds at my feeder. Although perhaps not surprising, I observed a subspecies of Spotted Towhee not previously documented in western Oregon. I wrote about it here: (Barely spotted towhee gets super spotted visitor).

Now that I am attune to this particular ID challenge, I was ready today when I again spotted an unusual towhee visitor to my feeder. The top photo shows a resident male Spotted Towhee, typical of those found in western Washington and Oregon, the so called Oregon Towhee (Pipilo maculatus oreganus).

The ID of the above bird is straightforward. Compared to all other populations it has fewer spots on its scapulars and wings. The rufous sides are darker than other populations. Finally, the spots on the undertail are very small, perhaps restricted to only the outermost tail feathers of each side of the tail.

Compare the bird above with the bird below, seen about 15 minutes apart in the same tree--photographed through my very dirty window!

Male Spotted Towhee, Beaverton, Oregon, 27 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

This bird is paler orange on the side and undertail coverts. It has more and larger spots on the scapulars and wings. Obviously, the white tail spots take up more than half the tail and are spread out on at least three of the outer tail feathers.

This bird matches one of the "Interior" forms of Spotted Towhee. The new National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Sixth Edition has range maps showing the various subspecies of Spotted Towhees.

Without a specimen to measure fine variations, it is only speculation as to which exact subspecies may be represented. And due to individual variation, even a specimen may not be unequivocally decisive in this matter. However, it is sufficient to separate the Pacific form (to which the Oregon Towhee belongs) from the Interior form to report this to eBird. In fact, birders in Washington are noting the winter influx of the Interior form of Spotted Towhees into western Washington where, as in western Oregon, they were previously undocumented.

These new winter distribution records are found, not from scientists studying specimens or conducting field research, but by amateur bird watchers at their backyard feeders!

What's in your feeder?

Brambling chase

2011-11-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

Brambling, Scappoose, Oregon, 26 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

It's been several years since I "chased" a rare bird outside of my home county. ('Chase' means to drop everything and try to go see a rare bird found by someone else, often far away.) Last year I worked on a County Big Year, setting a new record by seeing 199 species in tiny Washington County, Oregon. So I went looking for every unusual bird seen locally last year. This year I did more "relaxed" birding, with no numerical goals.

It took me a while to remember the last bird I chased outside of my local county. It was a Northern Wheatear on the coast in September 2009. I did get several good photos of this rare Eurasian (even rarely Alaskan-nesting) thrush-like bird.

When I heard of the Brambling (boldly-colored Eurasian finch) Friday afternoon in Scappoose, I was under the influence of cold medication and didn't really care. By evening I had convinced myself I felt better and would leave at dawn and join the chase! It was only 20 miles away, after all, and it was supposed to be sunny! There are only 11 previous Oregon records of Brambling. All prior records were birds that were found at residential feeders and most remained several days or longer. This one was in a wetlands with flocks of other sparrows, so would likely be more of a challenge to refind...

It was just starting to get light when I pulled into the parking lot at 7:20 AM. But it was a gloomy, cloudy day, not sunny as forecasted. For such a rare state bird I was surprised no one else was there yet. Where was Russ Namitz, who is working on a state Big Year this year?

I walked down the path toward the green shed where the bird was seen yesterday afternoon. There were 3 birders gathered near the shed. They had walked in from the other side. The three birders soon built to five. No joy. No bird. We were prepared for a long wait.

Photo above by Marlene Gillson just after we'd seen the bird!

At 8:10 AM, after we'd been waiting there by the shed about 30 minutes without success, a birder approached. It was Lona Pierce, who had discovered the bird yesterday. She didn't make it to us when she stopped and pointed and said, "There it is!"

True enough, we all got brief looks as it appeared in a hawthorn tree above the blackberries. I snapped off some quick photos, but none were very good. It was so dark that I tried flash, but that always makes birds look so horrible. Then it was gone.

Over the next hour and more, additional birders came. Some names I remembered, some I did not. Sadly, I am better at identifying birds than bird watchers. I think the following birders were present: John Gatchet, Bob Stites, Scott Carpenter, Don Wardwell, Henry Horvat, and Lona Pierce were the others I believe saw the bird. Birders that showed up later were Jay Withgott, Shawneen Finnegan, Dave Irons, Liz Gordon (wife of American Birding Association president, Jeff Gordon), Diana Byrne, Jim Danzenbaker, and several others. By the time I left, about 9:30 AM, the bird hadn't returned.

My other photos of the Brambling are linked here.

The complete area checklist from eBird.

Declining Barn Swallows

2011-11-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

Barn Swallow, Hillsboro, Oregon, 12 May 2010 by Greg Gillson.

You'd think that the warming climate that is thawing out the northern latitudes would make Canada more desirable to Barn Swallows. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be happening. Instead, the November 2011 issue of Birding magazine has an article explaining that Barn Swallows have been proposed as an endangered bird in Canada.

Barn Swallow frequency on roadside Breeding Bird Surveys in Canada fell 82% from 1966 to 2009. In the US, the population as a whole fell 15% during the same period. But, as in Canada, the most severe declines were on the East and West coasts. This isn't some far away problem. Right here in the Pacific Northwest, Barn Swallow populations fell 65-75% in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, from 1966 to 2009.

What does it mean? No one yet knows, but with the proposed listing in Canada it is starting to get attention.

You may find a previous article on Barn Swallows here.

Cinnamon Teal

2011-11-24T11:31:00.000-08:00

Cinnamon Teal, Beaverton, Oregon, 8 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

What does eBird tell us about the status and distribution of Cinnamon Teal in the Pacific NW?

You may be interested in visiting the eBird page on Cinnamon Teal in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

The quick-view weekly bar chart shows that Cinnamon Teal can be found somewhere in the Pacific NW all year, they are regular February through November, and most frequently observed April through June. Digging deeper, the 'Frequency' tab shows that nearly 10% of all birder's checklists report Cinnamon Teal the week starting May 15. The 'Abundance' graph shows two peaks in average number of birds per checklist--both in May and in August-September, after the young-of-the-year are out and about. Finally, the 'Average Count' when birds are detected, shows that when you do see Cinnamon Teal in the Pacific NW you can expect to see an average of about 20 individuals from mid-August to mid-September.

Looking now at the map of sightings, one can see that Cinnamon Teal are widely distributed in the Pacific NW, away from the mountains and extensive desert or grasslands lacking water. They are less common on the immediate coast. If you switch to the winter month of December, sightings are restricted to the valleys west of the Cascades with unfrozen water. Switch to the current month of the year and you can see all sightings within the last 30 days highlighted in orange rather than blue.

Click on any of those orange flags to find out details about the sighting and click on 'checklist' to see that observer's full list of species for that date and location.

Read a previous post on Cinnamon Teal.

eBird tutorial: finding Pinyon Jays

2011-11-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

Pinyon Jay, Best Western Ponderosa Lodge, Sisters, Oregon, 27 May 2009 by Greg Gillson.

Throughout most of its range, the Pinyon Jay is found in pinyon pine and juniper woodlands. Thus, this species reaches its northern limit in southern Idaho where a few pinyon pine exist. However, there is an isolated pocket of Pinyon Jays in central Oregon, found in juniper and ponderosa pine. Why it is found only here, when this habitat is widespread in the Great Basin, is unknown. These jays occur in large noisy flocks throughout the year, and are highly nomadic.

This post will serve as a tutorial of how to use eBird to create sightings maps.

First, point your web browser to ebird.org.

The eBird Welcome page appears as follows (click on the image below to bring up a larger view):

Next, choose the "View and Explore Data" tab to bring up the following screen (click on the image below to bring up a larger view):

To create species maps and abundance bar charts limited to a certain area, choose "Bar Charts." Then you are asked to choose your location. We want the Pacific Northwest, so we choose Idaho, and then, holding down the CTRL key, select Oregon and Washington too! Then select "continue" at the bottom of the page (click on the image below to bring up a larger view):

What this has done is create a monthly bar chart of annual bird abundance for the combined three states (click on the image below to bring up a larger view):

Scroll down to Pinyon Jay and click it to bring up that species' information. Here you can change the date range and location, down to a specific county within a state. Looking at the bar chart, you can see that Pinyon Jay is present all year in the chosen range (Idaho, Oregon, and Washington), but harder to find early in the year (click on the image below to bring up a larger view).

Now click on the map button or tab to bring up the map below (click on the image below to bring up a larger view):

The map shows Pinyon Jay abundance in latitude-longitude blocks in two areas of southern Idaho, and central Oregon, with a smattering of sightings in the Klamath Basin of south-central Oregon. As you zoom in closer, these blocks are resolved into the individual sightings markers.

If you zoom in on the Central Oregon sightings, you'll notice a bunch of sightings near Sisters, Oregon. If you click on the sightings marker, the specific information comes up: date, number of individuals seen, location name and observer. Sightings within the last 30 days are shown with orange markers, older sightings are blue. Let's look at what I've selected (click on the image below to bring up a larger view):

I switched the Google map from Terrain view to the Satellite view, and zoomed in to an area of town. Then I clicked on one of the markers, whereupon the information about that sighting location is revealed. Here it is, then. This marker is located at a place called "Best Western Ponderosa Lodge" in Deschutes County, Oregon. The date was 4/4/10 and 21 Pinyon Jays were reported here. The observer? Why, Best Western Ponderosa Lodge! What?!!! Why not? Yes, someone at the Lodge signed up to eBird perhaps simply to "advertise" the birds you can find at their motel!

Is this "legal"? Of course! While eBird would like each observer to contribute more than just one checklist, one is better than nothing. Remember, eBird includes sightings not just from scientists and fanatical birders, but also elementary school science classes, backyard birders and, yes, even motels! Now that's what I call Citizen Science!

Can you really find Pinyon Jays at this motel? Well, I did! See the caption for the Pinyon Jay photo above. Also note that another visitor to the motel recorded Pinyon Jays there in June 2011.

A recent new addition to eBird is the ability to click on the word "checklist" next to the sighting report to see all the other birds seen at that location that day! So, for instance, also found were ponderosa pine specialists like White-headed Woodpecker and Pygmy Nuthatch. And, yes, Eurasian Collared-Dove has invaded there, too.

eBird embeds photos to checklists!

2011-11-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

A great new feature added to eBird is the ability to add photos to your checklists.

Using the HTML IMG tag, you are allowed to link and display an image from your online photo gallery, whether from Flickr, Picasaweb, or other web sites. eBird asks you to restrict your photos to about 400x400 pixels.

These show up when displaying checklists. For instance, if you go to eBird and the "View and Explore Data" tab, "Range and Point Maps," and type in "Green Heron," selecting November 2011. You can see the map of sightings and zoom into NW Oregon area. Click on the flag in the Beaverton area and the details of my 11-15-2011 sighting from Commonwealth Lake. Then click on the checklist link.

Up pops my checklist for the day with several embedded photos, including the Green Heron.

For more details, see the eBird site and the article eBird Update--Now embed photos in your checklists!

Golden Grebe

2011-11-15T17:24:00.000-08:00

Pied-billed Grebe, Commonwealth Lake, Beaverton, Oregon, 15 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.

The sun unexpectedly broke out this afternoon. So I ran out to a local city park before sunset. What leaves are still on the trees are mostly golden yellow. This makes for colorful reflections on waterbird portraits.

Other posts featuring Pied-billed Grebes.

Western Sandpiper

2011-11-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Western Sandpiper, Gearhart, Oregon, 6 August 2011 by Greg Gillson.

In the winter, flocks of small sandpipers chasing the waves in-and-out on the beach are likely to be Sanderlings. However, during spring and fall migration, nearly any shorebird may be found on the beach.

These "peep" (small sandpipers in the genus Calidris, named for their peeping calls) are Western Sandpipers.

I took this photo near sunset while on a picnic at the beach this summer.

What else can we learn from this photo above?

The sandpipers have partial webs between the toes that you can see in these photos as a wedge at the base of the toes. The presence or absence of this feature is important to note for identifying certain rare Asian stints (name of peep in Europe and Asia) that show up from time to time in the Pacific NW. The abundant Least Sandpiper has unwebbed toes--practice seeing this field mark with these two common species so you are better prepared when something unusual shows up!

Sanderlings do not have hind toes. You can clearly see the small hind toe on the one raised foot of the Western Sandpiper above.

There are three bright, colorful, and crisply-plumaged juveniles on the right, one disheveled dull-backed adult on the left with chevrons on the sides of the breast. Most adults start migrating back to the wintering grounds several weeks before the juveniles. This photo was taken during the period of overlap in early August.

Juvenile Western Sandpiper, Gearhart, Oregon, 6 August 2011 by Greg Gillson.

You may also like:

ID challenge... Western Sandpiper and Semipalmated Sandpiper

Advanced birding means learning the basics

2011-11-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

When we learned our native tongue we grew into it slowly. We spoke it at home. We slowly added vocabulary through primary school. There comes a point in middle school, though, when we are finally taught the parts of speech--nouns and verbs, how to diagram a sentence, etc. At the time we thought this unnecessary--we already knew how to read and speak--so what's the point? Learning the parts of speech and how words go together to form sentences is especially important if we try to learn another language when we are older. To advance to learn another language, or to use our native tongue properly, in all circumstances, we go back to basics and learn the rules.

Most of us came to bird watching the same way. We started slowly at first, perhaps at a home bird feeder. Then we moved farther afield and added more species. But there were always a few birds that escaped our attempts to put a name on them. Perhaps it is those streaky sparrows that give us trouble, or female ducks, or immature gulls. Like language, in order to advance in birding, we need to go back and learn the basics. We don't need to memorize more field marks (build a bigger birding list or "vocabulary")--we need to learn how to look at birds and how they are put together.

Advanced Birding, 2011 by Kenn Kaufman.
Birding Essentials, 2007 by Jonathan Alderfer and Jon L. Dunn.
Birding Basics, 2002 by David Sibley.

The books above are quite similar, all excellent, and all serve the same general purpose... to teach us how to advance in our bird spotting and identification skills. But notice that "advanced" to these authors is synonymous with understanding the "essentials" and the "basics" of identifying birds.

For argument's sake, let's define an "advanced birder" as one who can quickly and accurately identify nearly every bird seen... near or distant, well-studied or barely glimpsed, or even heard-only. (There are, of course, some individual birds that even experts can't name after extensive study, but we're not talking about those right now.)

Identifying nearly every bird you can see is not about memorizing some secret and subtle field mark. First and foremost, it is about learning the basics of how to look at birds and "understanding what you see and hear," as is the subtitle of Kaufman's book.

Like a toddler learning the parts of the face, a birder needs to intimately understand the parts of a bird, including feather groupings and names. These are often called "topology" in the introduction of many field guides. As Kaufman says, "understanding the visible structure of the bird may do more than anything else to enhance your skill at identification."

Best North American field guide... again!

2011-10-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

There are 3 worthy North American field guides. But the one I carry with me on trips, the one I turn to first, has been updated to compete strongly with the others. Yes, with its 2011 printing, Jon L. Dunn and Jonathan Alderfer did it again with the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, now in its 6th Edition!

The back cover advertises: "America's #1 Bird Guide Just Got Even Better!". While I don't necessarily agree with the grammar, I agree with the thought.

You may argue that The Sibley Guide to Birds is your favorite. Fine. That was an amazing book when it first came out, and is still a strong contender. The songbirds shown in flight in that book still haven't been matched by any other guide. But when Sibley's guide first hit the market in 2000, the National Geo was in its 3rd Edition with just over 800 species shown, matching the 810 in Sibley. The 5th Edition of the National Geo was a complete make-over, and this 6th Edition is also a redesign--now with 990 species (including 92 Accidentals and Extinct)!

While many of the illustrations in the National Geo are familiar through all versions of the book, this 6th edition claims 300 new art pieces in addition to all the changes in the 5th Edition! Averaging over 3 illustrations per species (as opposed to 8 for Sibley), the National Geo's bird illustrations are larger and more detailed than Sibley's. I noticed many new illustrations, including standing and close-up head views of jaegers. I notice the goatsuckers no longer have "shrunken heads" as those illustrations were re-done. Many of the warblers were re-drawn. The comparison views of the foreheads of Tundra and Trumpeter Swans are a great new ID illustration.

This new edition places helpful identification text next to the illustrations, making it similar to the arrows and text in Sibley. This seems to add almost 50% more identification text than the previous edition of this guide. Imagine having an expert write additional ID comments next to each illustration in your field guide. Wow!

Following the lead of The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America the new National Geographic guide also heavily stresses field identifiable subspecies, with 59 maps showing subspecies in the main text, and an additional 37 subspecies maps in the appendix.

The subspecies are especially helpful for the white-cheeked geese, carefully delineating range and plumages of the various populations of Canada Goose and Cackling Goose--something birders really need, based on the amount of confusion I have witnessed among birders.

The maps are updated, too. The 3-color maps of the 5th Edition (breeding, winter, year-round) have been replaced with 6-colors (adding 3 different colors for migration: spring, fall, both). Hurray!

The new edition also adds more voice annotations. For instance, previous versions of the guide did not list the distinctive calls of swallows and some shorebirds (Red Knot, Surfbird, Rock Sandpiper)--it does now.

Finally! We now have a field guide that shows North American seabirds correctly and completely! It is updated with rarities and subspecies that may actually be separate species. The illustrations of wing molt in Wilson's Storm-Petrel was a nice surprise.

A new feature is a quick-find index on the front cover, and a visual index to bird families on both front and back covers. These will help newer birders find birds and learn the taxonomic sequence.

All the way around, this is a great field guide. In fact, compared to previous editions (especially the 4rd Edition or earlier), this seems like a brand new field guide to hit the market!

Related: A review of the new Stokes guide.

Golden-crowned Kinglet

2011-10-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Golden-crowned Kinglet, Cooper Mountain Nature Park, Beaverton, Oregon, 13 October 2011 by Greg Gillson.

On a recent slow drive with my window down I heard numerous Golden-crowned Kinglets in the lowland woods. Although some birds will remain through the winter in the snow-covered mountains where they breed, most move down-slope or southward for winter.

The photo above was taken on a recent cloudy morning at the nearby nature park. These low-light weather conditions will be frequent through the winter in western Oregon, where I live. At 1/30th of a second, hand-held, 400mm, and 800 ISO, it is amazing I got even one good photo of this energetic little bird. So I'll probably add a flash to my camera for my photo outings for the next few months. Birds look more realistic and three-dimensional with natural light. But without flash my bird photography would be very sparse from late October into April.

Earlier this year I posted a more in-depth article on Golden-crowned Kinglets.

Heermann's Gull

2011-10-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

Heermann's Gull, Seaside, Oregon, 6 August 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Over 90% of the world's population of Heermann's Gulls nests on Isla Riza in the Gulf of California, Mexico. After the nesting season concludes, Heermann's Gulls join Brown Pelicans moving north into the productive waters of the California Current, as far north as British Columbia. They are often seen feeding together, the gulls stealing food from the pelicans.

The eBird frequency chart (below, click for larger view) shows that a major movement of Heermann's Gulls on the Oregon and Washington coasts begin the first week in July. They are most widespread the first week of August and remain common through October. By the end of November, most are gone.

While Grant in his 1986 book "Gulls" says that Heermann's attains adult plumage in the 3rd year, Sibley indicates that Heermann's may take 4 years to become an adult. Indeed, I believe the bird above is in third summer plumage. The primaries and tail are worn but apparently not in adult plumage, the body plumage does have an adult-like aspect. This bird will likely undergo a full molt into adult non-breeding plumage before it heads back to Baja in November.

Guest post at Birding is Fun!

2011-10-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

Robert at Birding is Fun! asked me to guest post once each month. So, my posts will appear on that blog on the 11th of each month.

This month's post was on the Northern Harrier and entitled: Blue Circler.

Please check it out!

What I learned about Ruddy Turnstone from eBird

2011-10-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

Ruddy Turnstone, Seaside, Oregon, 6 August 2011 by Greg Gillson.

I don't get to see Ruddy Turnstones very often, especially adults in breeding plumage, like this bird.

They breed on rocky coasts and tundra in the Arctic. In the Pacific Northwest, spring migration is primarily mid-April to mid-May. Adults heading south arrive in mid-July, juveniles arrive in mid-August. By October most birds have departed, though there are always a few that winter, especially on the southern Oregon coast.

Unlike many shorebirds, turnstones in the Pacific Northwest are restricted to the outer coast--they are very rare on inland pond edges.

Thus, I was quite surprised to see the range map in the new Stokes guide. It showed regular migration through the Mississippi Flyway. No other field guide shows that.

So I thought I'd check it out in eBird.

Below is the winter range of Ruddy Turnstone in North America, showing the coastal preference of this species (click on the map for a larger view):

Next is the spring migration during May. Note the birds in the Mississippi Flyway and Midwest:

The exact breeding range is a bit hard to determine from eBird. That is because many birds are still migrating north in early June, and many adults are already heading south in July. Mapping for eBird currently is by month, not week.

The main southward migration is shown below (August-October). Notice again that there is a good migration through the Mississippi Flyway, but also widely in the Northeast and generally everywhere east of the Great Plains:

So, then, the migration range in North America is mostly coastal and the Mississippi Flyway. I learned something I didn't know before! How about you?

Interestingly, this individual bird hung around for several days at the "Cove" in Seaside, Oregon, where others also found and photographed it.

Mike Patterson's photo of this same individual on August 8.

Jen's photo of this same individual on August 8.

Check out eBird Version 3 – The ultimate birding tool

2011-10-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

As you may know from reading my blog, I have been using eBird for the past 12-14 months and am totally hooked! eBird is for everyone! In fact, over the next year I will be having monthly posts on how to use eBird--both how to submit useful data and get amazingly useful information out of eBird. My very next post will be "What I learned about Ruddy Turnstones from eBird." In November I will present an eBird tutorial on finding Pinyon Jays.

Thus I am excited to post the following announcement from the eBird team:

If you haven’t been to eBird (www.ebird.org) in a while, it’s time for another look. Over the past few months we’ve updated eBird so that it’s easier to use and more useful than ever to the birding community. eBird can help you find birds through our “Alerts” or by exploring our newly revised mapping tools and bar charts. Recording and keeping track of your birds is easier than ever with a completely redesigned data entry system and our automated listing pages (My eBird). Most importantly, you’ll become part of a growing community of tens of thousands of birders around the world whose data are now being used in real science and conservation. Best of all – it’s free!

eBird Version 3 includes:

Global scope—enter and explore observations from anywhere around the world
Streamlined data entry—getting your data into the system is faster and more customizable than ever
Improved range maps—explore interactive range maps for any bird in the world
Alerts system—get customized reports about birds of interest to you in a region
eBird Top 100—find out how your totals rank among other birders in any region
Birding + Science connection—by participating, your data become available to the science and conservations communities

We’re proud of the new developments at eBird, and we hope you’ll take the time to take the new tools for a test spin. Even if you don’t enter data, you can still explore the information submitted by other eBirders. Moving forward we’ll continue to develop eBird as the ultimate tool to serve the birding community, while always ensuring that the data we collect for science is of the highest possible quality. Join the flock, become an eBirder!

Black Bullet

2011-10-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

Merlin, Forest Grove, Oregon, 29 September 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Last week I was able to get a couple of decent photos of a Merlin. These birds tend to be wary and speedy!

While superficially the size and shape of an American Kestrel, in flight the Merlin is a race car to the Kestrel's moped. The Merlin never hovers!

Merlins tend to favor open country where they often hunt from low perches. Even migration is low and direct--hugging the terrain, just over the shrub-tops. When they see their prey (usually other small birds or dragonflies) they pursue in quick, direct flight. They then may take their prey to a perch (top of a telephone pole or fence post in open country) to pluck and eat.

Merlin, Forest Grove, Oregon, 29 September 2011 by Greg Gillson.

This particular bird is the subspecies suckleyi, formerly called the Black Pigeon Hawk. It is very dark--and heavily streaked below. This race breeds in British Columbia and winters along the coast to southern California.

I have noted this species chasing shorebirds in coastal estuaries and Pine Siskins over coastal sitka spruce forests. Once I noted a flock of Bushtits flying (crawling through the air) over the beach at the south jetty of the Columbia River. Silly birds. A Merlin flew leisurely (for a Merlin) and snatched a Bushtit out of the air without breaking stride.

Other races of Merlins are found September through April in the Pacific Northwest. The Prairie race (richardsonii) is very pale blue-gray, females pale tannish-gray. The northern taiga form (columbarius) is intermediate (see The Sibley Guide to Birds ).

Recognition and Identification

2011-10-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking quite a bit, lately, about how birders identify birds. Well, actually, by "lately" I mean the past few years--but more so in recent months.

Two blogs discussed this topic in June. A post by Blake Mathys on the ABA blog (How do we identify birds?) and by Ann Nightingale and Dave Irons on the BirdFellow blog (The Recognition vs. Identification Gap) provide an introduction to this topic.

My thoughts ponder the following types of questions.

Why can one person accurately identify a distant and poorly-glimpsed bird, while the person next to him, with the same view and apparently equal field experience and desire to identify birds, has no idea what the bird might have been?

Everyone does it; it's not just beginners who misidentify birds. Why do some experienced birders, who know all the correct field marks, sometimes badly misidentify a common and well-seen bird?

Why does a bird photo sent to the local bird discussion list generate so many diverse (and strongly held) opinions about what it is--even though it is unambiguously identifiable?

I think the answer to these questions comes down to two different reasons.

One reason is that some birders recognize birds based on clues in addition to the standard "field marks" listed in the book. Besides the plumage description (color pattern, wingbars, etc.) in the field guide, each bird comes with a certain shape, a set of behaviors, a certain habitat and specific niche within that habitat. Flying birds have a characteristic flight pattern. And most birds are not silent. And we're seeing them on a certain date, a specific season or time period during the year. (Birds in photos lack these supporting additional clues, thus why they sometimes fool even the best birders.)

Of course, each birder brings with them their own unique set of experiences with the birds they've seen in the past. Certainly, the more time in the field each birder has, the more opportunity they have to form patterns of bird recognition. Thus, to get better at bird ID, spend more time watching birds. (Duh.)

But to a large degree, shape, habitat, niche, behaviors, flight style, songs and calls, and status and distribution can be precisely described--they aren't totally subjective. They can be taught and can be learned--even without direct field experience with the bird under consideration. [See the series of posts: Seven methods of identifying birds.]

Oh, and the second reason some birders have trouble getting to the "advanced" level (meaning quickly and accurately identifying nearly every bird they see)? A future post ("Advanced birding means learning the basics") discusses this.

ABA blog: Ten Ways to be a Better Birder

2011-09-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

A recent post by Ted Floyd on the ABA blog was quite interesting. Titled "Ten Ways to be a Better Birder," the article makes for some thought-provoking reading.

Some of the things you have no control over. For instance, you can't go back and start birding at a younger age.

But I think that point number 5, on understanding status and distribution, is worthy of a future discussion. So also are points number 2-4, learn vocalizations, understand behavior, and put down your binoculars ("go naked").

eBird updated!

2011-09-23T07:49:00.000-07:00

I had a nice surprise this morning when I logged into eBird to upload a few birds seen at my feeder.

The eBird team has updated the "View and Explore Data" page with some long-requested features.

Now, you get the same maps whether you view maps directly for one species, or make bar charts for a region or area. Good, zoom out to see the world range and zoom in to see the individual sightings. Better, click on the individual sighting locations to see when and who has seen the species at that location in the past. Best, click on an individual record and see that person's entire checklist for the day!

These changes really make 'viewing and exploring data' useful and addicting!

Well done, eBird!

Wrentit

2011-09-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

Wrentit, near Lincoln City, Oregon, 30 July 2011 by Greg Gillson.

The Wrentit is a small little mouse of a bird found in coastal scrub and chaparral from extreme northern Baja California Norte to the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon. It stays hidden and fly-hops from branch to branch, rarely crossing an opening. If it wasn't for its bouncing whistled song and quiet rattling call, no one might ever know it existed!

In the Pacific NW it is only found in Oregon, along the entire coast, inland in clearcuts nearly to the summit of the Coast Range. It is found in SW Oregon inland in the California-type vegetation habitats of the Rogue Valley and Klamath Mountains to Klamath Falls.

In the past century it has slowly expanded its range. It has crawled its way northward in western Oregon to the Umpqua and edges of the southern Willamette Valley. In the past decade or two it has colonized new locations along the edges of both the eastern and western edges of the mid-Willamette Valley. Imagine everyone's surprise when they showed up in the last year at the mouth of the Sandy River into the Columbia east of Portland!

Will it ever cross the Columbia into Washington State? Well, it has been common in Astoria for at least 200 years and hasn't crossed the River, nor even expanded upriver toward Portland. The recent birds in Portland evidently came from the south, not the west.

The bird is not closely related to any other bird in the New World. At present, it is listed with the Old World Babblers--the only New World representative in that group.

Bird Watcher, Birder, Ornithologist--Who cares?

2011-09-11T05:00:00.001-07:00

People watching birds--whatever you call it--at Abbott Creek Burn, Jefferson County, Oregon, 7 June 2009 by Greg Gillson.

It's a perennial discussion. What do bird watchers call themselves? Although you would think that it is silly and doesn't matter, the name we associate with ourselves is very personal and self-defining. Such discussions can be quite emotional.

Recently, there has been discussion of changing the name of the Oregon Field Ornithologists in order to possibly increase membership. It seems that many bird watchers think that this birding organization is only for professional biologists. Not even close to true. Likewise, the organization that is the very definition of the word "birder," the American Birding Association, still wrestles with the word, as it did from its very inception. Having "birding" in its name does not keep the ABA from losing membership in the Internet age.

Very broadly, anyone who watches birds is a bird watcher. The old man that feeds bread to the ducks at the local city park, the neighbor with the empty hummingbird feeder hanging outside the window, visitors to the wildlife refuge to view the Bald Eagles, and the enthusiast who plans her third trip to Borneo this year just to view that one species missing from her huge list of birds she has seen in the world--all these are bird watchers.

Though not without argument, the term that describes a person who searches out and tries to identify all the birds they see, is usually called a birder. Birding often (but not always) includes listing--keeping careful track of birds they see, ticking them off on their list(s). There are life lists, country lists, state lists, county lists, backyard lists, and year lists of all these types and more. A friend once compared it (without bias) to stamp collecting. Birders are concerned with identification and distribution of birds in order to find (collect sightings of) them.

Field ornithology is the study of living birds in their natural habitat. Population status, behavior, and nesting are some of the topics of field ornithology. Recording data (including counting the number of individual birds seen) is a major component of field ornithology.

So, if you like to watch birds and desire to know their names you can be considered a birder. If you have ever participated on a Christmas Bird Count or breeding bird atlas, helped create a park checklist, or submitted sightings to eBird, you are, in fact, participating in a field ornithology activity.

Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia all have their Field Ornithology organizations. These are primarily birding organizations. They host their respective Bird Records Committees, which keep track of, and sanction, the official state bird list and vet rare bird sightings. They often produce a periodical that includes an updated state bird checklist, a comprehensive list of recent bird sightings, details about rare birds discovered, site guides to relatively unknown birding locations, and identification articles.

If you want actual field ornithology, then the East Cascades Audubon Society in Bend, Oregon does many more field ornithology projects than many state field ornithology organizations. Of course, Audubon Societies, in general, are environmental advocacy organizations that have membership primarily made up of the generic "bird watchers" and birders, and very few actual biologists or professional ornithologists.

So, no matter what you call your bird watching activities, you're probably also participating in birding and field ornithology.

Rare Bird Report: Red-necked Stint

2011-09-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

Image 7573: Red-necked Stint, New River, Coos County, Oregon, 27 August 2011 by Greg Gillson.

On July 12, 2011, Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein discovered a small sandpiper that they initially identified as a Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla), a rather rare, but regular migrant through the Pacific NW. One oddity, though, it lacked partial webbing between the toes. In other words, the supposed Semipalmated Sandpiper was not semipalmated! With some prompting by Shawneen Finnegan, Dave and Kathy re-identified the bird as a Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis) in non-breeding plumage.

If a Semipalmated Sandpiper without semipalmations raised eyebrows, the new identification even more so! There are very few North American records south of Alaska of Red-necked Stint (primarily an Asian Arctic breeder that winters in Australia). Most records are either juveniles or breeding-plumaged adults. The plain non-breeding, or "winter," plumage is very difficult to identify.

The Oregon Shorebird Festival in Charleston, Oregon, gave me an opportunity to see this bird. To do so required a 3 mile hike on loose sand and for me to remove my shoes and role up my pants legs to wade a creek!

Even then, the bird was no slam-dunk to identify. I observed carefully and took notes--even though I also took photos. Photos alone are often not enough to document a rare bird. Sometimes the photos don't show the salient identification features. Worse yet, sometimes shadows or odd angles or exposure or color settings can misrepresent the actual appearance in the field! And this bird didn't let me get close and the wind was making my shots unsteady and a bit blurry.

The following is an edited version of my report to the Oregon Rare Bird Records Committee. Such a rare bird report needs to describe the bird so that others can "see" it in their mind and identify it themselves based on the description of the bird alone, and not the reputation of the birder.

Rare Bird Report
Red-necked Stint
End of Fourmile Road, south of Bandon, then north on New River to nearly due west of Hoffer Lane.
New River, Coos Co.
27 August 2011
3:30 PM

In view about 30 minutes from 50 to 150 feet, with 8x binoculars, Canon Xti with 100-400 zoom (through the lens magnification of about 12x), borrowed Russ's 40x scope for 5 minutes.

With Tim Rodenkirk, Tim Shelmerdine, and Russ Namitz after pelagic trip.

General: Obvious Calidris sandpiper: compact body, rounded head on short neck, wings to the end of short tail. Bill short for a sandpiper, legs black. Approximately 6-7 inches from bill tip to tail tip. Gray above, white below, non-breeding plumage.

Habitat and behavior: Shallow tidal river behind ocean dunes. Spent most of time with Western Sandpipers (all 350 were juveniles) foraging in an inch or less of water, with entire bill submerged, or resting on small sandstone ridge of about 8 inches in height with small potholes of water, where it may have been able to get out of the wind. Consistently was the aggressor against all juvenile Western Sandpipers of both sexes.

Image 7542: Red-necked Stint (second from right) amid juvenile Western Sandpipers. Note size equal to Western Sandpiper, neckless and humpbacked. [click all photos for larger views]

Size and shape: Appeared as large as Western Sandpipers with which it associated. It was consistently differently-shaped, however, so it was difficult to compare overall length. The bird appeared pot-bellied and neckless, accentuated by a humpbacked look that gave it a very round appearing body [Image 7542 and 7578]. Thus, the bird was fatter, belly to upper back, than the Western Sandpipers, but not as long. On the few occasions when it moved near Least Sandpipers it was significantly larger and bulkier.

Image 7578: neckless, hunchbacked, good angle to judge tapered bill shape

Head and bill: Eye dark, entire head very pale gray and without strong contrasting patterns. The eyebrow stripe was faint but fairly wide, and appeared to go over the bill, barely contrasting with a slightly darker (brownish tinged or faintly streaked?) crown and darker lores. Ear coverts generally pale but a small post-ocular brownish feather or two in the center of the ear coverts at some angles. Bill short, as shortest Western Sandpiper male (shorter than >95% of male Western Sandpipers). Bill tapered (more so than typical Semipalmated Sandpiper and similar to Western Sandpiper), with a slight constriction just before the tip and slight droop. [Image 7578 is a bit soft in focus but shows the bill length and shape best. Image 7574 best shows the ear coverts.]

Image 7574: ear coverts, breast collar

Underparts: White and unmarked from chin to vent except for a blurry patch on the sides of the upper breast and, at certain angles, photos [Image 7574] reveal a narrow very faint gray (complete?) collar across the breast.

Image 7570: P9 molted?

Underwing: The bird stretched and raised its wings once and I was able to get a photo [Image 7570. Note that bill tip is behind sandstone and appears blunt.]. The wing linings, including axillars, were entirely white and the flight feathers and tertials were silvery gray underneath with no pattern. I count only 9 primaries with perhaps a slight gap between the outer two primaries on both wings, perhaps indicating P9 is shed, if so then near the end of wing molt. Molt of the flight feathers would confirm the age as an adult.

Image 7573: good view of back, scapular, and tertial feather patterns

Back and wings: The rounded back feathers appeared mostly gray with pale browner centers and thin white tips. The messy scapulars were gray with brownish shaft streaks becoming wider, grayer (less brown), and darker on the inner scapulars. The tertials were darker grayish-brown, darker toward the feather shaft, white on the edges, wider white on the tip. [Image 7573 shows mantle feathers clearly, but dark shadow in water makes bill tip appear odd.]

My photos are ambiguous as to length of primaries compared to the tail. In many of the photos the tertials cover the primaries completely, and the tail is not clearly visible in any photo (except when wings raised). The primaries certainly do not fall short of the tail tip. In one photo [7559] it appears as if the tail end and wing tips are equal.

Image 7559: compare end of tail to wing tips.

Legs and feet: Black. Exposed tibia noticeably short compared to Western Sandpipers. Often only the tarsus emerged from the feathers of the round fat belly. The toes were clearly unwebbed in several scope views. Photos didn't really catch the toes at an advantageous angle, though webbing can clearly be seen on accompanying Western Sandpipers with no hint of such on any photo of the stint.

Voice: I heard the bird call as it flushed once. It was clearly different than Western's “jeet” call or Least's raspier “kreet” call. I described it as a rather smooth, drawn out “churrr.” On all of the Macaulay Library recordings I found only one call of Semipalmated Sandpiper that is similar (http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/3124 time stamp 26-29 seconds). What I heard is NOT the short rough “chrrt” call of Semipalmated Sandpiper that is most common (http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/3116 time stamp 50-54 seconds). The Red-necked Stint has a call similar to what I heard: http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/63771 time stamp 37 and 48 seconds; and http://www.xeno-canto.org/recording.php?XC=61957 the very first call. Thus, the call I heard could match either Semipalmated or Red-necked Stint.

Similar species: Western Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and Little Stint in non-breeding plumage are the only contenders.

Most (>95% of males in my experience) Western Sandpipers have longer bills. Westerns show longer legs, longer neck. Non-breeding plumaged Westerns show more streaking and contrast on the crown and sides of the breast. Westerns have obvious partial webs that this bird clearly did not. Voice does not match.

The observed bird was much larger than Least Sandpiper, thus also Little Stint. The bill on the observed bird is probably thicker than any Little Stint. Voice does not match.

Image 7549: blunter looking bill shape in this photo compared to other photos

I believe that the bill on the observed bird is more tapered than Semipalmated Sandpiper. Several of my photos seem to show blunter bill [Image 7549]. But I also have a couple other photos with more pointed looking bills [7553, 7578]. The posture of the observed bird is extremely different than the taller aspect with longer legs and neck that I associate with Semipalmated Sandpiper. The non-breeding plumage photos I have seen of Semipalmated Sandpiper do not show the strongly contrasting shaft streaks and white feather edges to mantle feathers. The observed bird clearly did not have webbed toes. However, at least one recording of Semipalmated Sandpiper has a call similar to calls of Red-necked Stint, and similar to what I heard.

Semiplamated Sandpiper is variable, but differs with the observed bird in plumage color and contrast of the mantle, bill thickness and shape, webbing between toes, neckless, humpbacked, and pot-bellied aspect of the observed bird, and apparent length of tibia.

Image 7553: tapered bill

You may find a previous article, ID Challenge: Western Sandpiper and Semipalmated Sandpiper, of interest.

Birdfest & Bluegrass Festival: October 8-9, 2011

2011-09-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

Vancouver, Washington is the site of the 12th Annual Birdfest & Bluegrass Festival, October 8-9, 2011.

The press announcement states:

Birders from around the country will be gathering at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge for the annual BirdFest & Bluegrass Festival. Now in its 12th year, the Festival celebrates the natural beauty and rich culture of the Refuge as well as the beginning of the fall migration and the return of the Sandhill cranes. The Refuge provides habitat to more than 200 species of birds and is an amazing showcase of birds in the Pacific Flyway. The mild winter climate and wetlands along the Columbia River create ideal resting and feeding areas for Canada Geese, Sandhill Cranes, Great Blue Herons, swans, shore and song birds, and a variety of waterfowl.

Events include:

Sandhill crane tours
Raptor shows
Audubon-guided family bird walks and bus tours
Kayak and canoe tours
Guided photography walks
Bluegrass bands
A Birders’ Marketplace with great local food and bird related crafts and art
Guided tours of the historic Cathlapotle village archaeological site

For more information and a schedule of activities, visit www.ridgefieldfriends.org

Surfbird

2011-09-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

Surfbird, Barview Jetty, Tillamook, Oregon, 8 January 2011 by Greg Gillson.

"Rockpipers." This is an informal term birders in the Pacific Northwest use to identify several species of shorebirds (sandpiper family) that prefer rocky intertidal zones over mudflats or sand beaches.

Most gaudy is the crow-sized Black Oystercatcher with its long thick pink legs, orange eye, blood-red knife-shaped bill, and piercing cries. These birds favor the volcanic headlands and offshore rocks where they eat shellfish (clams, oysters, mussels) at low tide.

Another very sought-after rockpiper is the rare winter-visiting Rock Sandpiper, usually found on jetties, November-March.

During spring and fall migration, you may find the gray Wandering Tattlers on headlands and jetties of the NW.

Most abundant, from late August into April, are the Black Turnstones and Surfbirds. You may find these birds on the rocky substrates described above, but also add cobble beaches and wharfs to their habitats.

Rockpipers often feed right at the sea's edge, gleaning small marine invertebrates at low tide. To search for these birds, watch each incoming wave force them to fly up higher on the rocks, and then scamper back down as the wave passes.

When standing on the wet rocks Surfbirds blend right in. However, when they fly up--usually as one flock--they reveal their diagnostic wing stripe and white rump.

Surfbirds often flock together with Black Turnstones. The turnstones have a harlequin wing pattern with many more white patches in flight. Feeding, Surbirds are grayer and slightly larger than Black Turnstones (10 inches long bill-tip to tail-tip), with thicker bill and legs.

In summer, Surfbirds breed in the mountainous tundra of interior Alaska and Yukon.

Wilson's Warbler

2011-08-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

Wilson's Warbler, Gearhart, Oregon, 6 August 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Here's a bit of color that I wanted to share with you. This bird was hiding in a stunted Sitka spruce near the edge of the beach dunes. It's already migration time and several of these birds were seen on the extreme outer coast, where they likely do not nest.

This species was featured in a previous post: Wilson's Amazing Green Black-capped Flycatching-Warbler

Photography tip

2011-08-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

Here's a great bird photography tip by Bill Schmoker on the ABA blog. Get low: A matter of perspective

Backyard birds of Portland, Oregon updated

2011-08-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

For over 2 years the 4th post to this blog (Backyard Birds of Portland, Oregon) has been by far the most popular. Since the time it was first written I have posted photos and life history information on each bird listed. Thus, it only makes sense to update this post. Now you can click on each bird name listed to read these more in-depth articles. I hope this update will make this post even more useful. Enjoy! - Greg

I have another favorite bird guide... and even I don't believe it!

2011-08-01T05:00:00.001-07:00

I've never met Donald and Lillian Stokes, but I owe them an apology. Based on their previous books I didn't take them seriously. I viewed them as a quaint mom-and-pop duo, producing beginner bird books in a "Birds and Blooms" vein--pretty pictures with little substance.

In fact (shameful admission), it was an afterthought to purchase their new field guide. I needed to spend $10 more to get free shipping on my other books ordered from Amazon!

Back in December, John Rakestraw had written a review of the new Stokes guide (The Stokes, Redeemed), so I was curious. He said, "there is currently no better photographic guide to all the birds of North America than the new Stokes. This book has taken the Stokes from the periphery of the field guide genre to the forefront." High praise indeed. But not enough to make me go out and buy it. Rakestraw discussed the abundance of photos, but he didn't discuss the real reasons this is such a great guide.

The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America (2010) has real meat. This 800+ page bird guide really teaches the identification of North American birds. It is the only modern guide that starts out with shape as the first field mark, before plumage colors. Well done! That's exactly correct. Then it follows up with tips to the identification of birds in flight. Birds have wings and most fly. Why is this the first field guide to teach us how to identify birds in flight? Donald and Lillian did this?

The Stokeses use to great advantage an ancient invention severely lacking in many recent bird books: ample text. That's right, this book has words describing bird identification. What a concept!

This book includes a "bonus" CD with the songs and calls of 150 common North American birds. But they didn't use the CD as an excuse to skimp on voice descriptions in the text. Both song quality and mnemonic renditions are given.

I have not been a fan of photographic field guides. There is so much variation that a single photo of one individual bird is not as accurate for the species as a whole as an artists' painting. The Stokeses get around this problem by including many photos of each species. They label each photo with sex, age, plumage, location and date photographed, when appropriate. They have addressed the most common "photos versus paintings" arguments in a satisfactory way.

Yes, the 3400 color photos show all the non-downy plumages of over 850 species, but that's not all. This book describes, and often shows with photos, all North American subspecies. That's right, Donald and Lillian do subspecies. Donald and Lillian!

Paul Lehman drew the 4-color maps. So these are very accurate and include migration paths and the "regular extralimital" range.

Who is this book for? While beginners usually appreciate photographic guides, "photo-matching" will not work here--there are just too many plumages shown. Thus, this book is your next step, helping you go forward toward advanced birding--identifying females, juveniles, non-breeders, and well-marked subspecies by shape, voice, plumage, and flight characters.

For a first edition, this book has been edited fairly well, so that I didn't notice any glaring errors. Some reviewers have complained that the coverage of Western birds is not as thorough as those in the East--especially pelagic birds. And, it is true, some of the photos of seabirds are grainy or pixelated--an artifact of magnifying a digital photo too much. The photo of summer Glaucous-winged Gull in California is an obvious hybrid. Since this guide also discusses known hybrids, that photo should have been labeled as such. Manx Shearwaters aren't shown in the Pacific--they occur regularly from Baja to Alaska and are no longer even on the California rare bird list. And the wonderful addition of the ID of birds in flight is uneven. Some describe flight style (wing beats and pattern), others plumage as seen in flight, but few species accounts describe both. There is room for improvement to this novel and welcome addition to North American field guides.

I look forward to future field guides building upon the work pioneered here.

In the backyard... Rock Pigeon

2011-07-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Rock Pigeon, Portland, Oregon, 19 February 2011 by Greg Gillson.

You may find the Rock Pigeon in older field guides listed as Rock Dove. Their name was recently changed.

Regardless, this is the common domestic pigeon. They are widely raised as free-flying "pets." However, they are also widely distributed as wild birds, breeding on highway overpasses, large bridges, and tall city buildings. You can find them in city parks in nearly every city in the world. They also breed on cliffs in remote settings.

The typical, "natural," plumage is blue-gray with wide dark wing bars and white rump--as in the photo above. They have been bred to be various colors and patterns, and even with feathered legs or odd neck ruffles or crests.

Though many people view these birds as dirty city birds, I can't help feeling a bit of attachment as they fly by--thanks to my favorite childhood movie, Mary Poppins!

Now where did I put my tuppence?

Mystery Gull

2011-07-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

Mystery Gull. 26 June 2011 at Newport, Oregon by Chet Conklin.

Every summer a few very white gulls--similar to the one photographed above and sent to me by Chet Conklin--show up and really confuse birders. [Thank you, Chet, for allowing me to use your photos.]

Gulls like this with a bit more pink on the bill are often reported as first-year Glaucous Gulls on the West Coast in summer. But with the dark bill, one may be tempted to match this with an illustration of a juvenile Iceland Gull!

This is not a Glaucous Gull nor is it an Iceland Gull. Here is why.

Ignore the bright white feather color for a minute and look at other field marks, especially shape. This fairly stocky gull has wings that extend barely beyond the tail (it is “short-winged”). The eye is dark, but I do see a paler iris than pupil in one photo. The forehead is rather flat and sloping. Legs and feet are pink. The bill is nearly entirely black, with pink gape (the corners of the mouth on the face) and a bit of paleness at the base of the lower mandible. The bill is heavy and thick, “swollen” at the gonys (where the red spot would be on the lower mandible, if this was an adult of one of the larger species of gulls). The bill is strongly hooked.

The body shape of Iceland Gull is long and thin, with long wings. The bill is small and petite on Iceland Gull, and doesn’t show such a strong hook. The head should be quite round. The Iceland Gull as a whole is “petite.” The bird in the photo is stocky.

The body shape is all right for Glaucous Gull, but the bill is wrong. The bill of Glaucous Gull is stout, but not overly wide at the gonys. The bill shape is not a good fit. More importantly, the bill of young Glaucous Gull is 3/4 to 4/5 pink with the outer 1/4 (or 1/5) of the bill sharply black.

Now go back to the color. Only the Ivory Gull is this all-over-white in normal plumage. Other white gulls will show darker gray or brown bars on the body plumage. So this gull is not in “normal” plumage.

One condition that could explain the white coloration is leucism, a condition where the feathers are unnaturally pale or even white. This is not albinism, as that condition is the lack of all color, which would include pale legs and bill, with an eye with a colorless iris—blood in the vessels making the eye appear pink. I learned recently it was incorrect to call a bird a “partial albino.” But this bird is not leucistic, either, as a close examination of the feathers will reveal.

Take a look at the top photo. Click it to bring up a larger view. Can you make out any nice-looking individual feathers?

Not really. The feathers are shaggy and many look more like hair. This bird is extremely worn. The feather vanes are mostly worn away and only the feather shafts remain. White feathers are weaker than dark feathers; they wear away more quickly. Even though this bird did get new head and breast feathers in April or May, this bird is in desperate need of new feathers again. But it’s not going to get any soon. Gulls go through a complete molt of all their feathers in fall, September through November.

Because this bird has a mostly black bill, we can say it was hatched 1 year ago, probably June 2010. After a few weeks in a downy state, it grew its first set of feathers. But juvenile birds do NOT turn around and molt right away again in the fall. Thus it keeps its first feathers (wing and tail) for over a year. (Body feathers—head, neck, breast, belly, back—are replaced also in spring.) Such one-year old gulls can become very worn and sun-bleached by summer—especially the wings and tail. Thus, this is a very worn and bleached gull.

Now that we know this vital piece of information we can go on to ask: "what species is this?" Well, the angled head and “monster” bill, as well as short wings and stocky body, point to the common West Coast gulls: Glaucous-winged Gull or Western Gull. Since the bird is so pale and worn—and paler feathers wear faster than dark feathers—we can say that this bird was originally quite pale. That makes this a first cycle Glaucous-winged Gull (some plumage descriptions of the past may call this a “first summer” plumage, in the sequence of downy, juvenile, first-winter, first-summer, second-winter, etc. until it becomes an adult in the 4th winter).

As noted earlier, many Glaucous-winged Gulls of this age have a much paler pink base to the bill (though uneven) and are reported as Glaucous Gulls.

There. More, I’m sure, than you ever wanted to know.

But in case you're not satiated yet, here is more:

A previous post on Glaucous-winged Gulls.

My pBase photo album images of Glaucous-winged Gulls.

Brown-headed Cowbird: "North America's most reviled native bird"

2011-06-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

Brown-headed Cowbird, Hines, Oregon, 24 May 2009 by Greg Gillson.

Brood parasite: "Organisms that use the strategy... involving the... use of host individuals... to raise the young of the brood-parasite." -- Wikipedia.

The Brown-headed Cowbird does not build its own nest. Instead, it lays its eggs in nests of other birds. In fact, at least 221 known bird species have been hosts to Brown-headed Cowbirds. They usually only lay one egg per host nest. The host parent, often a much smaller species of bird, raises the cowbirds' young, usually to the detriment of its own young.

In "Brown-headed Cowbird: Villain or Scapegoat?" Birding 31:448–451, August 2004, author Stephen I. Rothstein argues that widespread population declines of host species by cowbirds is not scientifically supported. He believes that "North America's most reviled native bird" is unfairly blamed for declines in bird populations largely caused by habitat loss. Of course, we know who is responsible for altering and destroying the established natural landscape, now don't we?

So let's take a step back for a moment and view this bird without prejudice.

The Brown-headed Cowbird is a migratory blackbird. It arrives in the Pacific NW in April and remains into October. A few birds may be found in winter mixed in flocks with other blackbirds at cattle feedlots and similar concentration points.

The male has a black body and brown head; the female is slate-colored gray-brown. The young birds are brownish-gray with paler feather edgings. The bill is pointed and rather thick. Thus, as with female Red-winged Blackbirds, this combination causes some confusion with beginners in thinking juvenile cowbirds might be a sparrow or bunting.

Juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird, Hillsboro, Oregon, 13 July 2010 by Greg Gillson.

Two hundred years ago, this bird was restricted to the Great Plains. They followed great herds of American bison as they traveled, eating the insects kicked up as the huge mammals walked through the grass. Because of the nomadic lifestyle of the bison, cowbirds couldn't stay in one place to raise their young. Thus, the strategy formed of laying its eggs in other bird's nests.

With the subsequent cutting of forests, both in the East and West, the cowbird substantially increased its range. Cowbirds became common west of the Cascades only in the 1960's. In the past 50 years they have increased tremendously in the Pacific Northwest.

Male cowbirds give a rising squeaking call (starling-like) as they chase females in courtship. They also give a bubbly rattle call, similar to Bullock's Oriole.

Besides insects, cowbirds eat seeds. So, you may host cowbirds at your bird feeder--especially, it seems, east of the Cascades.

Note: I write some of my "natural history" articles weeks in advance and have them published on a schedule. As sometimes happens in blogging about birds, another blogger posted an article on cowbirds while mine was in the queue (in news parlance, I was scooped!). Please read Dave Iron's account on Brown-headed Cowbirds that appeared on the BirdFellow blog on June 18.

Friday Foto: Black-throated Gray Warbler

2011-06-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Black-throated Gray Warbler, Beaverton, Oregon, 18 May 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Black-throated Gray Warblers are abundant migrants through the lowlands west of the Cascades and nest there and quite locally in juniper woodlands east of the Cascades.

We have discussed Black-throated Gray Warbler previously.

The bird that shouldn't be

2011-06-21T13:17:00.001-07:00

If there really is such a thing, you should be able to call these crows in Victoria, British Columbia, Northwestern Crows. 16 September 2007 by Greg Gillson.

Regular readers of this blog know that on occasion I like to discuss field identifiable forms, or subspecies, of our Pacific Northwest birds. Such forms look and sound different than the "same" species elsewhere, and might be raised to full species status in the future.

However, this time, I'd like to discuss a species that is in your field guide that probably should not be there.

No, I'm not talking about the Pacific-slope/Cordilleran Flycatcher mess, or the 10 types of Red Crossbills proposed by call. I'm going to discuss the elephant in the room--the bird problem no one wants to acknowledge--the supposed "Northwestern Crow."

The range of Northwestern Crow (Corvus caurinus) is usually defined as along the immediate coastline from SE Alaska through British Columbia. Then its range is less well-defined, but into the Puget Sound region and northwestern Olympic Peninsula of Washington. You may find reference of birds to Long Beach and Vancouver, Washington, and even along the Columbia River from Astoria to Portland in Oregon.

As far as identification, it is supposed to be smaller than American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) with faster wing beats and a deeper, raspier voice.

But guess what? There are pockets of crows along the Oregon coast, and even along the northern California coast, that are smaller than their counterparts 20 miles inland, and some are within the measurement range of Northwestern Crows (Measurements of Possible Northwestern Crows from Oregon. 1989. Range D. Bayer. Oregon Birds 15(4):281). They have more rapid wing beats and deeper calls. Are these, then, Northwestern Crows? This question has been asked for decades, with the usually accepted answer being "no."

The question of the status of Northwestern Crow in Oregon is somewhat of a template for discussing whether Northwestern Crow exists at all.

Northwestern Crows have been reported in Oregon since the time of Lewis and Clark. But Gabrielson and Jewett in their 1940 book Birds of Oregon had this to say: "Lewis and Clark... found crows abundant on November 30, 1805, at the mouth of the Columbia and listed them as Northwestern Crows, but unless the distribution of the two species has radically changed since that time, the Western Crow... was the more abundant species." Gabrielson and Jewett considered only 4 of the numerous crow skins taken in Oregon prior to 1936, and labeled Northwestern Crow, to actually be that species.

Subsequent evaluation of crow specimens from Oregon found none that could be clearly assigned to Northwestern Crow, and many were definitely female and juvenile American Crows. The book, Birds of Oregon: a general reference (2003, page 620-621, Marshall, Hunter, Contreras, editors) summed it up: "Given the lack of reliable specimen evidence, it cannot be shown that the Northwestern Crow has ever occurred in Oregon."

A study by D. W. Johnston in 1961 (The biosystematics of American Crows) found that Northwestern and American Crows were very closely related and may be conspecific (the same species).

The National Geographic book, Complete Birds of North America (2006, Jonathan Alderfer, editor) has this to say about the ID of Northwestern Crow: "Unfortunately, [C. b.] hesperis [Western American Crow] found in the Pacific Northwest is identical." That's pretty damning. As is: "Field identification within the suspected range of overlap in WA is probably impossible."

Thus, it is apparently only range that separates American Crows and Northwestern Crows. If you are in SE Alaska or the coastal slope of British Columbia and Queen Charlotte and Vancouver Islands, the crows are Northwestern. Inland in British Columbia and the rest of the West, including Oregon and California, they are American Crows. If you are in Puget Sound or on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, well, then, I guess you can call them whatever you want.

That doesn't sound like a "good" species to me. Does it to you?

Pacific NW specialty... Varied Thrush

2011-06-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

Varied Thrush, Beaverton, Oregon, 27 March 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Visiting birders to the Pacific Northwest often have Varied Thrush on their "target list" of bird species to see. Fortunately, this species is not rare, and are not difficult to find, if one knows where to look.

When I think of Varied Thrush habitat, my search image is of damp, dark, moss-covered Sitka spruce forests on steep, foggy hillsides overlooking the ocean in the Pacific Northwest. I know! My search image is something like this photo I took at Cape Perpetua on the central Oregon coast way back in August 2003:

Likewise, Varied Thrushes find their home in similar dense, damp high-elevation old-growth forests in mountains from Alaska to extreme NW California. Periodically, in winter, vagrant birds will be found far to the south, and even to the East Coast.

In winter, birds from the north or higher elevations move into the lowlands west of the Cascades. A winter snow storm will bring these birds out of cover and into backyard feeders and landscaping, where they favor fallen apples. As soon as the snow melts they disappear back into the dense brush. The bird photographed above spent the winter in my backyard in Beaverton, Oregon. But it never ventured out far from cover.

These birds eat berries, seeds, acorns, insects, and invertebrates that they forage from on or near the ground.

Their eerie songs are single hummed whistled notes, each given with a pause of about 3 seconds between them. Each note is a different pitch, first higher, then lower, but each far apart from each other. For instance, if they give a note in the middle of their frequency range, the next will be at the extreme end. This is very typical of thrush songs, even though this song is nothing like the flutelike, ethereal and very complex songs of that master singer, the Hermit Thrush.

Varied Thrushes appear similar to American Robins, also a thrush. They differ in the orange eyestripe and orange patterning in the wings, and black necklace across the chest. Males, such as the one in the photo, are darker gray-black above and deeper orange below than females.

Friday Foto: Common Yellowthroat

2011-06-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Common Yellowthroat, Forest Grove, Oregon, 2 June 2011 by Greg Gillson.

We have discussed Common Yellowthroats previously.

New eBird data entry page released!

2011-06-15T07:21:00.000-07:00

eBird today released their new data entry page. I've been testing the beta version for a few weeks and appreciate the new layout and changes.

Some of the new tweaks that I appreciate are...

-- Two pages instead of 3 to submit a list: This makes adding a new checklist even quicker and easier. A checklist with 35 species in an area you've birded before only takes a minute or two to enter.

-- Single column species entry: I didn't mind the 3-column species entry, because I didn't have to scroll down as much. However, it seems most people do like the single column format. It eliminates problems accidentally entering data in the wrong species box. It will be easier for using smart phone and hand-held computer eBird apps.

-- Customizable species entry list: This is exceptionally nifty. You can choose to show the full checklist, including subspecies and rare birds, or just a portion. You can also choose to show just the most likely species for each location! I think this will help newer birders know what to expect in season--teaching status and distribution!

-- Easy species comments information: As eBird is a scientific tool, as well as a public list keeping program, it is very important that species entered are correctly identified. eBird is used by scientists, birders, and school children. Thus, an army of volunteers examine data for possible errors.

In the previous version, if you saw something unexpected, the eBird program would tell you and ask if you were sure. Then, a Reviewer would look at your report and send an email to you asking for more details.

Now, this is more automatic. When you see an unusual bird, add comments about what plumage or behavior you saw to make the ID, who else saw it, or anything else that you think the Reviewer needs to know about your unusual sighting. Then the Reviewer can read your comments without the need to contact you further!

-- Breeding bird codes: This feature was not enabled on the beta version. It's been a dozen years since Oregon finished its 5-year breeding bird atlas project. I must say, searching for breeding birds was a very fun thing to do in late spring and summer (right now). So I'm anxious to see how this feature is used.

In the backyard... Western Wood-Pewee

2011-06-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

Western Wood-Pewee, Trout Creek, Deschutes Co., Oregon, 5 August 2005 by Greg Gillson.

The Western Wood-Pewee is widespread throughout the West.

As with most flycatchers, it sits upright and motionless on an exposed twig. When an insect flies by, the bird sallies out and chases it, often clicking its bill several times during the chase. Once it catches its prey, it often returns back to the same or nearby perch.

It has the prototypical flycatcher shape--the head is large and slightly crested. The bill is quite wide and flat, but this is only obvious when viewed from directly below.

On a perched pewee the primaries are very long and pointed. The tail also looks quite long. This flycatcher has wide buffy wing bars, but lacks an eye ring. Smaller Empidonax flycatchers (Willow, Dusky, etc.) have both eye rings and wing bars. Even though larger than these other flycatchers, it is only 6-1/4 inches long--the length of a junco. It is much smaller than than some other flycatchers, such as Say's Phoebes and Western Kingbirds, for instance.

These birds arrive in the Pacific NW in mid-May, after there are many larger flying insects to eat. They remain into late September before migrating south. They winter farther south than most Neotropical migrants in the West, to Colombia and Venezuela.

These flycatchers are found in open woods, preferably deciduous trees, thus most likely to be found in mature trees in residential areas. They avoid breeding in sage, grasslands, and dense conifers.

Their voice is loud: a plaintive, drawn out, slightly buzzy descending pee-year and a similarly burry rising weep.

Friday Foto: Red-winged Blackbird

2011-06-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

Red-winged Blackbird in red elderberry tree, Forest Grove, Oregon, 2 June 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Visit any wetlands in North America right now and you'll likely see (and hear!) this bird!

We have discussed Red-winged Blackbirds in the past.

Oregon Shorebird Festival: August 26-28, 2011

2011-06-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

The Oregon Shorebird Festival Celebrates 25 years - August 26-28, 2011

Experience the wonder of shorebird migration along the scenic Oregon coast at the 25th Oregon Shorebird Festival to be held August 26-28, 2011. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Cape Arago Audubon Society, South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve and many other sponsors will have a full weekend of activities planned for birders of all skill levels. The festival is headquartered at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston, OR. Activities include expertly guided land based field trips to Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Millicoma Marsh and the greater Coos Bay area. And for those who want to experience birding on the water, The Bird Guide, Inc. will offer a five hour pelagic trip on Saturday. Expected seabirds include Black-footed Albatross, Parasitic Jaeger, Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, Sooty & Pink-footed Shearwater, Pomarine Jaeger, Red-necked Phalarope, Cassin's Auklets, and more. The Friday evening program will feature a live bird of prey from exhibit by staff and volunteers from the Free Flight Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. The keynote speaker on Saturday will be Samantha Franks from the Centre for Wildlife Ecology at Simon Fraser University. Her presentation is titled "Have Feathers, Will Travel: The Migration Strategies of Shorebirds."

Bring your best pair of binoculars as Bandon Marsh and Coos Bay are renowned for shorebird watching and each year a few rarities have delighted festival attendees. Regular migrants include Black-bellied plover, Semipalmated plover, Western sandpiper, Least sandpiper, Dunlin, Whimbrel, Long-billed dowitcher, and Red-necked phalarope. Please join us on the southern coast of Oregon for a weekend of birding fun and challenges. To register for the festival or for more information please visit our website at www.fws.gov/oregoncoast/shorebirdfestival.htm or contact Dawn Grafe at 541-867-4550.

Bird songs and calls

2011-06-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

Singing Marsh Wren, Forest Grove, Oregon 2 June 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Listen. Do you hear it?

No, because this is a photo without sound. But I hear it in my mind.

Here's a link to a sample song of Marsh Wren.

O, what a quiet world this would be without birds! Well, quiet except for human-made sounds. When we think of the sounds of nature, we usually include the calls of birds.

Many birders have trouble identifying bird songs and calls. No wonder; it takes just as much (or more) work than learning to identify birds by sight. And there isn't a workable "field guide" to bird songs and calls.

However, Nathan Pieplow, on the EarBirding blog, wrote this brief guide to
describing what you hear. He writes "How to identify bird sounds in six easy steps." Great stuff.

This gives a framework for describing bird sounds. Even playing a recording of a bird song doesn't help you remember it, if you can't describe it to yourself--if you can't hear it in your own mind when the bird is no longer singing.

Michele, at Northwest Nature Nut recently recorded 50 seconds of audio at the Ridgefield wildlife refuge, in her post:Ridgefield bird songs of May. How many different bird songs and calls can you pick out? I heard 11 species and in the post's comment field recorded the first time I heard each species and the second count of the recording when it calls, so you can compare. Try it!

Bird trip: Fossil, Oregon: June 19, 2011

2011-06-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

Here's another birding opportunity.

This is in the very interesting John Day Fossil Beds of north central Oregon.

Greg

Paula Fontenot
Volunteer
Oregon Paleo Lands Institute
333 4th Street, Fossil, Oregon 97830
541.763.4480
www.paleolands.org

OPLI Adventure Trip ~ Bluebirds and Other Avian Wonders of the Fossil Area

Sunday, June 19, 2011 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Meet at the OPLI Field Center at 6:00 a.m.

Join naturalist Char Corkran as we peek into nest boxes to see how Western Bluebirds, Mountain Bluebirds, Mountain Chickadees, and House Wrens are faring. Then it’s off to look for American Kestrels and other raptors. Songbirds will be singing, and other avian species of the grasslands, junipers, ponds, and riparian areas will add to our enjoyment of the bird nesting season in this rich and beautiful region. We will end the examining bird skulls and skeletons, and discussing adoptions to varied habitats and lifestyles. Char Corkran, has studied bluebirds in the Fossil, OR area since 1988. Round Trip Transportation available from Portland to Fossil via I-84 (Hood River, The Dalles).

Trip Fee: $85 Adults/ $50 kids under 12
Pre-registration is required. For more information and registration call OPLI at (541)763-4480 or email explore@paleolands.org

Woodpecker weekend: Sisters, Oregon: June 24-26, 2011

2011-06-06T16:29:00.000-07:00

Here's an announcement for a fun birding excursion.

My wife and I went 2 years ago and head a wonderful time... and saw lots of woodpeckers and other birds!

Here are posts from my visit to the Woodpecker Wonderland Festival 2 years ago.

I recommend this fun weekend.

Greg

Birders,
Drumming up some attention for the upcoming 2011 Woodpecker Weekend! !

East Cascades Audubon Society (ECAS) is bringing a low cost, casual and fun birding weekend to you on June 24, 25, and 26. It will be based in Sisters.

The weekend will be of interest to birders with any level of experience and interest in birds. We will specialize in woodpeckers and 11 are possible here. But we will have a variety of trips to focus on much more than woodpeckers … a Friday trip to Summer lake, Saturday and Sunday trips to a variety of burns, forests and lakes … and early morning trips for dawn chorus and other specialties. All trips will be led by 2 to 3 local birders who are eager to share their enthusiasm for the Central Oregon birds and who have a real knowledge of the local areas and wildlife. Any profits will go to ECAS to fund cool projects to help birds. We are keeping the costs down so anyone can afford to participate. We will car pool on field trips and will have a pizza pot luck instead of a banquet on Saturday p.m. Note that we are limiting registration and use of playback to avoid excessive disturbance to the birds and to fulfill the requirements of our special use permit from the USFS.

So register soon! See the link for more details and for the registration form, found on the ECAS website: http://ecaudubon.org/Projects/WoodpeckerWeekend/tabid/246/Default.aspx

Judy Meredith
jmeredit@bendnet.com

In the woods: Golden-crowned Kinglet

2011-06-06T05:00:00.002-07:00

Golden-crowned Kinglet, Cooper Mountain Nature Park, Beaverton, Oregon, 19 March 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Tiny little balls of fluff, moving nervously through the forest branches.

Sibilant, soft, high-pitched notes from birds unseen in the tree-tops.

Golden-crowned Kinglets.

Was that a haiku? It wasn't meant to be. Just some brief notes I put down to include in my post, to be finished later. But those sentence fragments capture the impression of these common, yet unfamiliar (to many) birds.

I feel privileged that my "over 50" ears can still hear the high frequency songs and calls of Golden-crowned Kinglets. The National Geographic field guide describes the song as an "almost inaudibly high... series of tsee notes accelerating into a trill."

And they are truly tiny. At only 4 inches long, they are the same length, bill tip to tail tip, as Anna's Hummingbird, though the kinglet has a larger body and shorter bill and is about 50% heavier, overall. Still, it is 1-1/2 inches shorter than a Black-capped Chickadee.

These little sprites are tough little birds, though, living on bark beetles, scale insects, aphids and their eggs, year-round in the conifer-covered mountains of the West. Some birds move into the lowland woods in winter. Eastern birds breed in the taiga forests across Canada and barely into northern US, including northern Appalachians, and winter throughout the US.

Golden-crowned Kinglet, Cooper Mountain Nature Park, Beaverton, Oregon, 26 January 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Sexes are similar, though the male has a bit of orange on the crown that is best seen when the crown feathers are raised in agitation.

Those long claws and strong feet are perfect for gleaning insects from the tips of branches. They often hang upside down from branch tips as they search for insects. They may hover-glean, flying in place as they pick at insects.

Constantly on the move in small flocks, they are handsome little birds--a fact only appreciated in these larger-than-life-sized photos of frozen time.

Friday Foto: Black-footed Albatross

2011-06-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Black-footed Albatross, 25 miles off Newport, Oregon, 15 May 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Found in the Pacific NW only far offshore where they eat squid, the Black-footed Albatross has a 7 foot wingspan. This actually makes them one of the smallest albatrosses in the world!

I organize guided birding boat trips offshore specifically to see these and other seabirds that cannot usually be seen from land in the Pacific NW.

We have discussed Black-footed Albatrosses previously.

Paul, John, and Anna

2011-05-30T05:00:00.001-07:00

Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens), Beaverton, Oregon, 4 May 2011 by Greg Gillson.

A previous post on subspecies (Why I disagree with Roger Tory Peterson) generated quite a dichotomy of viewpoints on the local birding listserv. It seems that a good number of birders are not anxious to observe so intently as to identify subspecies. They want to, if I may paraphrase, enjoy the beauty of birds without the burden of making it study. Such work would take away their fun.

Of course, I take the opposite view. Learning something new is the ultimate joy, and nothing is more fun than knowledge gained through intense, rigorous study, thought, and observation. I love puzzles and brain teasers. And bird identification can be such a fun mental challenge!

The difference between certain species and subspecies can come down to little more than the annual opinion of a small group of persons on the AOU checklist committee. So, rather than get too technical with subspecies, I will instead treat the birds pictured here more intimately.

Thus, the bird above is not an Orange-crowned Warbler of the subspecies lutescens. This is a photo of Paul. Paul Lutescens.

Paul and his family all look very much alike. While generally olive-green, they are more yellowish throughout than others of their relatives. They are very young-looking; they never turn gray-headed. They always show a broken yellow eyering.

The men in Paul's family are known for their singing. Actually, the other relatives kind of make fun of them. Paul's family sings their little weak trill faster than other relatives do.

Paul and his family build their little summer nest on the Pacific Coast, anywhere from California to SE Alaska. In winter they travel to western Mexico. One year they even visited Guatemala for their winter vacation.

Orange-crowned Warbler (orestera), Cooper Mountain, Beaverton, Oregon, 12 May 2011 by Greg Gillson.

The bird above is John Orestera. Though to many bird watchers he and his family looks just like Paul Lutescens, John is happy to set things straight. His family genes makes his family slightly gray-headed--not too much, mind you--just the right amount. Some of his family members have yellowish eyerings, some white.

John and his family are taller than their relatives. And they have longer noses. (Don't stare--it's impolite!)

John has a proud family heritage as Mountain Men. His family spends the summers in the Rocky Mountains or Great Basin ranges. He doesn't travel as far south in winter, only going down to Arizona or Texas, or into northern Mexico. One year the family even went to Disneyland for the winter!

Orange-crowned Warbler (celata), Newport, Oregon, 14 May 2011 by Greg Gillson.

This is Anna. Anna Celata. She and her family have their ancestor's very gray head and white eyering. She takes pride in the fact that someone once mistook her oldest daughter, Jenny, for a Tennessee Warbler. Imagine!

Anna and her family don't like the summer heat. They spend the summers in the cool boreal forests, anywhere from central Alaska east to Quebec. Later in fall than other of their relatives, her family travels south in winter to Florida or the Gulf Coast, Texas, Baja, or sometimes southern Mexico.

Paul, John, and Anna all traveled through western Oregon this May on their way to their summer homes.

Now that you know a little more about them you can be friendly. The next time you see the families of Paul, John, or Anna, don't be snooty and pretend you don't recognize them. "Oh, it's just those Orange-crowned Warblers." You know their full names and what they look like.

Say hello for me.

Friday Foto: American Robin portrait

2011-05-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

American Robin, Beaverton, Oregon, 8 April 2011 by Greg Gillson.

The white marks on the face of American Robin don't correspond exactly to full feather tracts as named in the "topology" or "parts of a bird" as listed in your field guides.

There is a white spot on the supralorals, another above and to the back of the eye, and a third below the eye, but beyond the limits of an "eye ring."

Telling male from female robins apart by plumage is not always easy. On average, the head of the male is darker than the female. The bill is usually all yellow on the male, while the female's bill has a dark tip (not always easy to tell after the bird has been digging around in the mud with its bill).

We've discussed American Robins in more detail in the past.

Seven methods of identifying birds: Conclusion

2011-05-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

Western Meadowlark at Newport, Oregon on 7 March, 2010 by Greg Gillson.

We have now concluded the Seven methods of identifying birds.
[Answer to Quiz 7: Turkey Vulture]

To improve your bird identification skills you will want to practice using all 7 of these clues that birds give to you.

How did you do on the quizzes? They were designed to be fairly easy and to show that you already use these 7 methods to some degree.

Remember that your view may not allow you to identify the bird to species with each method. In some cases you may get to just the family, such as nuthatch or gull.

Obviously, if the bird doesn't sing or fly while you observe it, you can't use that method this time.

Let's review, using the bird in the above photo.

The Western Meadowlark in the photo above can be identified using all 7 methods.
1: Color and pattern-- The yellow breast with black breast band instantly identifies this bird as a meadowlark.
2: Structure-- The flat head with sharp pointed bill nearly as long as the head, plump body, and short tail identify this bird as a meadowlark.
3: Feather-by-feather-- The yellow on the submustachial stripe identifies this bird as Western Meadowlark, rather than Eastern Meadowlark. Also, if you could see the outer 3rd tail feather, it would have much less extensive white on it than an Eastern Meadowlark.
4: Sounds-- The flute-like song of Western Meadowlark is quite different from the rising and falling whistle of Eastern Meadowlark.
5: Expectation-- No Eastern Meadowlark has ever been found in the Pacific Northwest. Any meadowlark here must be Western Meadowlark--though you are certainly welcome to look.
6: Behavior-- Lone or paired pudgy, short-tailed birds sitting rather horizontally on a fenceline or telephone wire in open country will separate most meadowlarks from similarly sized and shaped birds, including starlings.
7: Flight-- Meadowlarks fly distinctively in rather level flight with periodic bursts of flapping and brief glides on rounded wings.

Seven methods of identifying birds: #7: Flight style

2011-05-23T05:00:00.001-07:00

This post continues the discussion of the Seven methods of identifying birds.
[Answer to Quiz 6: American Dipper]

Flight style

Flight is such an important behavior that I consider it separately. How fast are the wing beats? Are the wing beats continuous or with a pause between bursts? How far above and below the body do the wing strokes go? Is the flight progression straight, undulating, or irregular? Are the wings rounded or pointed? Are the wings held straight out or forward at the wrist and swept back?

Does the bird fly in a flock or singularly? Is the flock 'v' shaped, rounded, or a straggling line?

For more information see the article on separating Cedar Waxwings and Starlings in flight.

Quiz) This bird soars unsteadily for long periods of time, with its wings in a dihedral.

Next: Conclusion

Seven methods of identifying birds: #6: Behavior

2011-05-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

This post continues the discussion of the Seven methods of identifying birds.
[Answer to Quiz 5: Western Meadowlark]

Behavior

Observing how birds behave can quickly narrow down a bird to the correct family. Then, even if you don't see all the plumage field marks, you can still identify it based on minimal plumage patterns, but well-seen behavior. For instance, though Hutton's Vireos and Ruby-crowned Kinglets are very similar in plumage, their behavior is enough to separate them.

Does the bird walk or hop? Does it flick its wings or wag its tail? Does it pick at the surface or probe deep into the mud? Does it hitch itself up the tree using its tail as a prop or walk freely?

Quiz) A bird bobbing on a rock in the middle of a mountain stream in the West, walks into the water and disappears below the surface.

Next: Flight style

Seven methods of identifying birds: #5: Expectation: Status, Distribution, Habitat

2011-05-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

This post continues the discussion of the Seven methods of identifying birds.
[Answer to Quiz 4: American Bittern]

Expectation: Status, Distribution, Habitat

When you see a bird it is not usually necessary to compare it with every bird in the world in order to come to a reasonably accurate identification.

Each continent and bioregion has primarily unique bird species.

During the year, the amazing miracle of migration will mean that at some times of year, certain birds are just not present locally at all, even if common at another time of year.

You wouldn't look for a rail in a tree, or a woodpecker diving into a lake.

Quiz) A flock of meadowlarks in Montana.

Next: Behavior

Seven methods of identifying birds: #4: Sounds

2011-05-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

This post continues the discussion of the Seven methods of identifying birds.
[Answer to Quiz 3: Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitchers]

Sounds

Some birds sing to attract a mate or declare their territory. Some birds have alarm calls, feeding calls, and flight calls--all different. In woodpeckers, drumming takes the place of song, and the drumming pattern of many woodpeckers are unique. Certain birds make distinctive sounds with their wings or tail feathers.

Some people do have poor hearing. But most people just need practice listening. You already know some bird sounds, even if it is only Old MacDonald who has a duck that goes "quack, quack." Build from there. Find a sound you don't recognize and track it down. Add it to your auditory birding repertoire.

Quiz) A deep, resonating, bubbly "oong-ka-loonk" coming from a grassy marsh in spring.

Next: Expectation: Status, Distribution, Habitat

Seven methods of identifying birds: #3: Feather-by-feather analysis

2011-05-15T15:53:00.000-07:00

This post continues the discussion of the Seven methods of identifying birds.
[Answer to Quiz 2: American Avocet]

Feather-by-feather analysis

In several families of birds, identification is aided or clinched by noting either individual feathers or feather groups. Such is the case for gulls and shorebirds. Sometimes in-field study of the specific feather group patterns can determine age, which then eliminates other certain species at the same or different age.

When you are discussing scapulars or tertials or molt, you are using this method of bird identification.

Quiz) The internal pattern on the tertials of juveniles of this long-billed shorebird easily separates these two species.

Next: Sounds

Seven methods of identifying birds: #2: Structure

2011-05-13T05:00:00.001-07:00

This post continues the discussion of the Seven methods of identifying birds.
[Answer to Quiz 1: Western Tanager]

Structure:

The end plates of the Peterson field guides are silhouettes: "Roadside Silhouettes" and "Shore Silhouettes." These show size and shape among most of the different orders of common birds.

The section "How to Watch Birds" in Peterson's field guides gives an excellent primer on structure of bill, tail, and wing. Don't skip the introductory material in field guides!

Earlier this spring I wrote a post, Dabbling duck silhouette quiz, which uses shape alone to identify female ducks.

Quiz) This medium to large slender bird has extremely long legs, very long neck, and long, thin, upturned bill.

Next: Feather-by-feather analysis

Seven methods of identifying birds: #1: Color and pattern

2011-05-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

This post continues the discussion of the Seven methods of identifying birds.

Color and pattern:

This is the basis of the "Peterson System" of bird identification. The Peterson System illustrates birds all in the same pose, with patternistic drawings. Arrows then point to the unique area of color or pattern on a bird that separate it from similar species. Wing bars, eye rings, eyebrow stripes, tail spots, and all such feather groupings are used in a stylized way to aid identification. Ingenious.

Newer birders start here. Sadly, many never advance because they don't learn the remaining methods of identifying birds. And it doesn't help that some "field guides" are arranged by color, effectively preventing bird watchers from advancing further.

Quiz) A yellow bird with black wings and tail and red face.

Next: Structure

Seven methods of identifying birds: Introduction

2011-05-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

Western Meadowlark at Newport, Oregon on 7 March, 2010 by Greg Gillson.

Are you amazed at the skill of some birders in identifying quickly-viewed and distant birds? Whether they know it or not, they are likely using a combination of up to 7 different methods in identifying birds.

Would you like to improve your bird identification skills? Then you will want to use all 7 of these clues that birds give to you.

In fact, you may already be using these methods to a small degree.

In each of the discussions that follow there will be a quiz example of each method. See how many of the quiz birds you can identify. Then practice and hone your skills by concentrating on using each of these different methods on every bird you see.

Next: Color and pattern

What makes Mount Tabor such a good place for migration?

2011-05-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

Dusky Flycatcher, a rare spring migrant west of the Cascades, Mount Tabor, Portland, Oregon, 7 May 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Yesterday I talked about Mount Tabor park in Portland, Oregon. I asked: "What makes Mount Tabor so good for Neotropical migrants? When is the best time to visit?"

The information here applies specifically to spring migration in the lower valleys west of the Cascades in the Pacific Northwest. But it also applies more generally to the entire the West Coast.

The insectivorous Neotropical migrants that breed in or migrate through the Pacific NW--warblers, vireos, tanagers, orioles, buntings, grosbeaks, flycatchers, and others--winter in western Mexico or central America. As days become longer and spring arrives, with trees leafing out and insects hatching, bird migration begins.

The first migrants arrive in mid-April (swallows by April 1), but many do not arrive until early May--each species is different (and predictable). Migration is usually over by the first week of June. In most species, adult males arrive first, adult females a few days later, and first-year birds (hatched last year) often a bit later.

Birds migrate first through the warmer lowlands, then move north or upslope as it becomes warmer. So, for instance, migrants may appear on the coast first, western valleys next, east of the Cascades later, and the mountains lastly. In years with heavy snow pack, mountain breeders may remain unseasonably late in nearby lowland areas (into June).

In general, a species of bird will arrive in Eugene, Oregon a week before Portland. Then a week later they arrive in Seattle. It seems there are always a few scouts--individual birds well in advance of the main movement. Finding these first of year (FOY) migrants is a fun challenge for many birders.

These birds migrate primarily at night. They don't want to fly into strong headwinds, thus wait for winds from the south. In the Pacific NW, that means unsettled weather in spring. Clear skies in spring are accompanied most often by cold winds from the north, impeding migration.

If a cold front is over you at dawn, all migration will stop at this front--you'll have an incredible "fall out" of migrants. So, wise birders watch the weather and weather maps in spring.

Migration proceeds in "waves" as the weather promotes or impedes migration.

But why is the city park of Mount Tabor so good for migrants?

Mount Tabor's top is just over 600 feet elevation. This old volcanic cone, now covered in trees, rises sharply 400 feet higher than the surrounding city of Portland. When dawn ascends, migrating birds over the industrial, commercial, residential landscape of Portland see the green slopes of Mount Tabor and land there. It is an island effect.

As the sun hits the eastern part of the mount first, insects wake up and warm up there first. As the warm air rises, insects move upslope. So migrant bird activity is often most observed first on the east and southern exposures near the top of such hills where the tired and hungry birds have a needed food source. In order to see birds best, it helps to have openings, such as a clearing or parking lot near the top of such hills.

So, what time of day are we talking about? Soon after dawn. In early May, arrive by 7 am on cloudy days, earlier if sunny. By 9:00 am, activity may be over. Birds have eaten, so they sleep the rest of the day away, preparing for the next night's migration to continue on their journey.

A visit to Mount Tabor, Portland, Oregon

2011-05-07T13:39:00.000-07:00

Birders enjoying spring migration on Mount Tabor, Portland, Oregon, 7 May 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Today I joined an Oregon Field Ornithologists' public field trip to Mount Tabor, in the middle of Portland, Oregon. Shawneen Finnegan and Dave Irons led the trip, and it was joined by almost 20 others.

This was my first visit to Mount Tabor, thus I was glad to have experienced local guides showing us the best birding areas.

The purpose of the field trip was to view Neotropical migrants. Migration is best with unsettled weather. Today was such a day, with 95% cloud cover and occasional sprinkles. Birds were actively moving through the tree tops, backlit by the overcast skies. Thus, while it was good bird migration weather, it was not good bird photography weather.

We didn't have a "fall out"--a spectacular migration event with thousands of birds of scores of species arriving overnight. Still, we did have good numbers of birds.

I saw several species for the first time this year, including several flycatchers: Hammond's, Dusky, and Olive-sided. The Dusky is a rather rare migrant west of the Cascades. But some migrate through the west side lowlands and then move upslope as spring advances up the mountains. We also saw a couple Pacific-slope Flycatchers.

Olive-sided Flycatcher, Mount Tabor, Portland, Oregon, 7 May 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Other birds included a rare west side (of the Cascades) Calliope Hummingbird, which I did not identify. I heard, but never saw, a Western Tanager. There were various sparrows on the slopes, identified as migrants as they weren't in habitats or areas that they would be found in during winter or breeding season. A couple of Warbling Vireos were evident in the budding big leaf maples. Numerous Hermit Thrushes were present, as was an early Swainson's Thrush.

Most conspicuous were the warblers: I saw perhaps a dozen Nashville Warblers, 30 Orange-crowned Warblers, a couple MacGillivray's Warblers, numerous Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, and Yellow-rumped Warblers, several Wilson's Warblers, and a single Hermit Warbler. These birds sing and call during migration, making warbler watching an enjoyable annual spring event.

Bird list on eBird (52 species).

Townsend's Warbler, Mount Tabor, Portland, Oregon, 7 May 2011 by Greg Gillson.

What makes Mount Tabor so good for Neotropical migrants? When is the best time to visit? That's a topic for tomorrow.

Friday Foto: Western Bluebird

2011-05-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

Western Bluebird, Cooper Mountain Nature Park, Beaverton, Oregon, 19 March 2011 by Greg Gillson.

See a previous article on Western Bluebirds.

eBird and the State of the Birds

2011-05-04T09:18:00.000-07:00

On May 3, 20011 Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Harris Sherman released the 2011 State of the Birds Report.

The report overview states:

This year’s report provides the nation’s first assessment of the distribution of birds on public lands and helps public agencies identify which species have significant potential for conservation in each habitat. The state of our birds is a measurable indicator of how well we are doing as stewards of our environment. The signal is clear. Greater conservation efforts on public lands and waters are needed to realize the vision of a nation sustained economically and spiritually by abundant natural resources and spectacular wildlife.

You can read the full report at:
http://www.stateofthebirds.org/SOTB_2011-05-03-1200-WEB.pdf

The State of the Birds report is written by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, U.S. Committee:

American Bird Conservancy
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Bureau of Land Management
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Department of Defense/DoD Partners in Flight
Klamath Bird Observatory
National Audubon Society
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Park Service
The Nature Conservancy
University of Idaho
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
USDA Forest Service
U.S. Geological Survey

Best of all, birders themselves contributed to this report by recording their sightings in the citizen science program eBird.

The report has this thank you side bar.

"Thank You to eBird Volunteers"

Our understanding of bird distributions has greatly improved thanks to the thousands of bird watchers who have contributed observations to eBird (www.eBird.org). This effort is especially important for tracking seasonal and fine-scale changes in bird distributions, which is not possible with other bird-monitoring programs. However, even this massive observation network provides only imperfect information for assessing the year-round status of birds on many remote public lands across the U.S., including Alaska, Hawaii, and island territories. We urge birders to submit more observations to eBird from public refuges, parks, forests, and wilderness areas. We also urge agencies to support the submission of current and historical records to eBird and other data archives.

What do I have in common with Spiderman?

2011-05-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Myrtle Warbler, Oregon, 29 April 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Blank stares.

I might as well as have been speaking a foreign language. Perhaps I was.

This birding couple was looking at a dozen or so warblers flitting about in the oak tree. They were obviously not just "eagle watchers." They were birders.

The birds were all singing the same sweet rolling song: weevee-weevee-weevee-weevee-swee-swee-swee-swee.

Wanting to be friendly I approached this birding couple.

It was a simple enough statement. I said, "All I hear are Myrtle Warblers."

Then I got those blank stares.

"Myrtle Warblers. You know, the white-throated form of Yellow-rumped Warblers?"

"Oh," they said. And then to themselves, "Butter-butts."

As they turned and walked quickly away they said, "We don't identify birds by song." Was that a disdainful tone? I must be mistaken.

Why do I feel like Peter Parker?

Peter Parker: Some spiders change colors to blend into their environment. It's a defense mechanism.
Harry Osborn: Peter, what possibly makes you think I would want to know that?
Peter Parker: Who wouldn't?
- - - - - - -
Spiderman (2002)

Who wouldn't want to know every field identifiable form of bird?

Who wouldn't want to learn to identify birds by ear?

So, what do I have in common with Spiderman? Only Peter Parker.

Move over Peter Parker. Make room for another nerd.

Why I disobey Roger Tory Peterson

2011-05-02T05:00:00.003-07:00

Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrow, one of 3 subspecies of White-crowned Sparrows in the Pacific NW, and one of 5 subspecies in North America--all easy to tell apart, Newport, Oregon, 15 September 2008 by Greg Gillson.

"Subspecies have no definite entity, but merely represent subdivisions within the geographic range of a species. They are races, usually determined by morphological characteristics such as slight differences in measurements, shades of color, etc. These subdivisions, generally discernible only by comparison of museum series, are seldom apparent in the field and should not concern the field observer.... No one but an expert comparing specimens would detect the difference. So forget about subspecies."
Roger Tory Peterson
A Field Guide to Western Birds. 1969.

My 1969 Peterson Field Guide is well worn. The pages and binding are barely held together with several types of tape. Every page of that treasured "obsolete" field guide has annotations--new birds added to the North American list, key field marks underlined, changes in bird's names, additional ID pointers and my personal voice descriptions added in the margins.

That field guide is also full of annotations of "lumps" of formerly considered full species into subspecies, as well as "splits" of formerly considered subspecies into full species.

Just paging through, here are some that I recorded or remember....

Pacific Loon split from Arctic Loon
Clark's Grebe split from Western Grebe
Black-vented Shearwater split from Manx Shearwater
Nazca Booby split from Masked Booby
Green Heron lumped with Striated Heron to form Green-backed Heron
Green Heron and Striated Heron split from Green-backed Heron
Bewick's Swan and Whistling Swan lumped into Tundra Swan
Cackling Goose split from Canada Goose
Common Teal lumped with Green-winged Teal (America's only)
Black Scoter split from Common Scoter
White-tailed Kite lumped with Black-shouldered Kite
White-tailed Kite split from Black-shouldered Kite
Harlan's Hawk lumped with Red-tailed Hawk
Blue Grouse split into Sooty Grouse and Dusky Grouse
Lesser Golden Plover split into Pacific Golden-Plover and American Golden-Plover
Wilson's Snipe lumped with Common Snipe
Wilson's Snipe split from Common Snipe
Yellow-footed Gull split from Western Gull
Thayer's Gull split from Herring Gull
Long-billed Murrelet split from Marbled Murrelet
Screech Owl split into Western Screech-Owl and Eastern Screech-Owl
Whip-Poor-Will split into Eastern Whip-Poor-Will and Mexican Whip-Poor-Will
Red-shafted Flicker, Yellow-shafted Flicker, and Gilded Flicker lumped into Common Flicker
Common Flicker split into Northern Flicker and Gilded Flicker
Red-naped Sapsucker and Red-breasted Sapsucker split from Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Couch's Kingbird split from Tropical Kingbird
Traill's Flycatcher split into Willow Flycatcher and Alder Flycatcher
Western Flycatcher split into Pacific-slope Flycatcher and Cordilleran Flycatcher
Scrub Jay split into Western Scrub-Jay, Florida Scrub-Jay, and Island Scrub-Jay
Plain Titmouse split into Oak Titmouse and Juniper Titmouse
Brown-throated Wren lumped into House Wren
Winter Wren split into Eastern Winter Wren, Pacific Wren, and Eurasian Wren
Bicknell's Thrush split from Gray-cheeked Thrush
Solitary Vireo split into Cassin's Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, and Plumbeous Vireo
Myrtle Warbler and Audubon's Warbler lumped into Yellow-rumped Warbler
Bullock's Oriole and Baltimore Oriole lumped into Northern Oriole
Northern Oriole split into Baltimore Oriole and Bullock's Oriole
Great-tailed Grackle split from Boat-tailed Grackle
Gray-crowned Rosy Finch, Black Rosy Finch, and Brown-capped Rosy Finch lumped into Rosy-Finch
Rosy-Finch split into Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, Black Rosy-Finch, and Brown-capped Rosy-Finch
Rufous-sided Towhee split into Spotted Towhee and Eastern Towhee
Brown Towhee split into California Towhee and Canyon Towhee
Oregon Junco, White-winged Junco, Gray-headed Junco, and Slate-colored Junco lumped into Dark-eyed Junco

If subspecies "have no definite entity" and differences "are seldom apparent in the field," then why were 36 of these non-entities turned into full species, complete with definite field identification characters?

On average, since I began birding in 1972, nearly one subspecies per year in North America has magically become a species from its former status as a non-entity!

Frankly, there are many more subspecies that will likely become full species in the near future. Splits are likely to come from within Warbling Vireos, Fox Sparrows, Marsh Wrens, Yellow-rumped Warblers (again), Western Scrub-Jays (further), Leach's Storm-Petrels, and more.

So, though I respect what Peterson started, please forgive me if I disobey his advice on this topic and continue to identify White-crowned Sparrow or Canada Goose subspecies or Fox Sparrow groups when I am just as sure of them as I am of Clark's Grebes, Black-vented Shearwaters, Western Scrub-Jays, Red-breasted Sapsuckers, and Spotted Towhees--all former subspecies. [See David Sibley's list of field identifiable subspecies.]

And please pardon me when I take notice and document subspecific variation in Song Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows, or Spotted Towhees--even if I can't tell for sure what subspecies they are. After all, such exercises help improve my identification and observational skills.

Peterson would approve of that.

Friday Foto: Gadwall

2011-04-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

Gadwall, Portland, Oregon, 19 February 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Though not colorful, the drake Gadwall is exquisitely patterned.

See a previous post on Gadwall.

How did Townsend get away with it?

2011-04-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

Townsend's Warbler, Beaverton, Oregon, 22 January 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Townsend's Warbler Dendroica townsendi (Townsend, 1837)

The above reference is the scientific listing of Townsend's Warbler. Let's analyse this further.

Townsend's Warbler is the common English name as established by the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU).

The binomial is a Latinized set of words, the genus name first and species name second (always non-capitalized). The person who describes a new species to science (by being the first to publish the description in a scientific journal) gets to choose this name. This bird is named townsendi, for John Kirk Townsend.

The final part (in parentheses) is the person who described the bird to science and the year of publication. Seems simple enough. It was John Kirk Townsend in 1837 in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.

Now wait just a minute!

There aren't too many rules about naming a species. But I do know that you can't name a species after yourself!

How did Townsend get away with it?

John Kirk Townsend was born 200 years ago, in 1809. As a young man he distinguished himself in medicine and natural history, especially bird collecting (shooting and stuffing). He was asked by botanist Thomas Nuttall to join him on Nathaniel Wyeth's second expedition to the Oregon Territory from 1835-1837. The expedition was a failed business venture on Wyeth's part, but was scientifically rewarding.

Townsend wrote about his adventures in the 1839 book: "Narrative of a Journey Across the Rocky Mountains."

It turns out, though, that the article in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia was actually written by Thomas Nuttall in Townsend's name.

Thus, Nuttall named Townsend's Warbler in a journal using Townsend's name as author. Confusing? Yes. Sneaky? Perhaps. But certainly interesting!

This new species of warbler wasn't the only new bird described to science that Townsend collected. He also collected Mountain Plover, Vaux's Swift, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Sage Thrasher, and Black-throated Gray Warbler.

Several birds and mammals are named after Townsend, including Townsend's Solitaire, Townsend's Chipmunk, etc. [The Townsend's Shearwater was named after Charles Haskins Townsend (1859-1944) an ornithologist and ichthyologist.]

Being a doctor, you'd think Townsend would have been more careful. But he died of arsenic poisoning in 1851 when only 41 years old. Arsenic was the main preservative in bird specimens. So birding was the direct cause of his death!

More images and history of Townsend's Warbler:

Audubon's Birds of America

Columbia River Images

Townsend's Warbler

2011-04-25T05:00:00.001-07:00

Townsend's Warbler, Beaverton, Oregon, 22 January 2011 by Greg Gillson.

A rare sunny day this winter enticed me outside, camera in hand. At a nearby park I came across this feathered ray of sunshine.

Townsend's Warblers nest in mountains from SE Alaska, western and southern British Columbia, Vancouver Island, Olympic Peninsula, Cascades south to central Oregon, northeastern Oregon, northern Idaho, western Montana.

In winter, a coastal population is found from Vancouver, British Columbia (rarely), western Washington and western Oregon south along the coast to southern California, and into Baja California (a few). A large population winters in the Central Valley of California.

Surprisingly, there is an inland wintering population found from northern Mexico to Panama.

Though there are no named subspecies, the coastal wintering birds average shorter wings and larger bill and tarsus, and may breed mainly on the Queen Charlotte Islands to SE Alaska. A good reference on these birds is the Peterson Field Guides series book from 1997: Warblers by Jon Dunn and Kimball Garrett.

Is the bird in the photo above a female, as one might deduce from the field guides? Perhaps not.

There is an interesting note in the Sibley Guide about warblers. In the "Big Sibley," page 437, under the heading of "Warbler Plumages" he states that there is quite a bit of variation and overlap in plumage between males, females, immature, breeding, and non-breeding birds. He cautions: "field observers should not attempt to label individual birds without experience and reference to detailed literature on determining the age and sex of birds."

Never one to worry about blundering in over my head, I suggest that this bird is likely a first year male. I base this on the blackish (rather than greenish) facial mask, along with what appears to be worn outer primaries (brownish) on another photo I have of this bird. I could be wrong.

There is more to be said about the Townsend's Warbler, but I'll save that for the next post...

Friday Foto: Bushtit

2011-04-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

Bushtit, Hagg Lake, Oregon, 11 March 2011 by Greg Gillson.

This is the brown-headed California race, common west of the Cascades in the Pacific NW.

The pale eye indicates a female.

See a previous post on Bushtits.

Recent sightings with eBird

2011-04-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

Birders want to know: 'What birds have been seen in public locations near my home recently?'

eBird answers this with a Google Gadget.

Directions for creating your own Gadget on your web page (or desktop) are at Birding is Fun!.

My attempt is below.

This tool lists the most recent 7 days of bird reports for public eBird Hotspots in Washington County, Oregon. eBird data is updated periodically, thus the very most recent sightings may be delayed.

Not totally bug free, if Google Maps doesn't show Washington County correctly (Showing instead "Coffeeville Country Club, Kansas"), you may need to add the closing parenthesis [')'] to the navigation bar of Google Maps and hit enter.

Have fun with this!

At the pond... American Wigeon

2011-04-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

American Wigeon, drake front, hen rear, Beaverton, Oregon, 2 February 2011 by Greg Gillson.

This duck is second only to Mallard in population of migrant and winter ducks in the Pacific Northwest.

It also breeds in smaller numbers here, primarily east of the Cascades. Otherwise, it is a widespread breeder from Alaska, across Canada, and into the prairie states.

Unlike most other dabbling ducks, wigeon are grazers, feeding on tender grass shoots. Thus, you can find them grazing in city parks with ponds and lawns, as in the photo above.

Drake American Wigeon, Beaverton, Oregon, 2 February 2011 by Greg Gillson.

There is an iridescent greenish patch of feathers around and back from the eye. The amount of dark freckling on the face of drake American Wigeons varies greatly. Some birds have mostly white or cream-colored heads. Others have fairly dark faces with a cream crown.

The voice of drake American Wigeons is a distinctive 3-part wheezy-whistled call: zwe-ZWEEE-zew. Hens utter a quiet "quack."

Friday Foto: Downy Woodpecker

2011-04-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

Downy Woodpecker, Cooper Mountain Nature Park, Beaverton, Oregon, 19 March 2011 by Greg Gillson.

See a previous post on Downy Woodpeckers.

Not a Slate-colored Junco! The Cassiar Junco

2011-04-11T05:00:00.002-07:00

Adult male Dark-eyed (Cassiar) Junco, Beaverton, Oregon, 7 April 2011 by Greg Gillson.

The bird above showed up at my feeder this week. Many birders might call this form of Dark-eyed Junco a Slate-colored Junco and not give it another thought. Technically, though, this is not correct.

Male Slate-colored Juncos are evenly dark gray above, with no contrast between head and back. This bird has an obviously darker gray head contrasting sharply with a paler gray back that is washed with a touch of brown.

The junco above is a Cassiar Junco. This was described as a subspecies of Slate-colored Junco when Slate-colored Juncos were considered separate species from Oregon Juncos. But in the Great Lumping of 1983*, most of the juncos formerly considered separate species were lumped into "Dark-eyed Junco." Thus birders "lost" Oregon Juncos, Slate-colored Juncos, White-winged Juncos, and Gray-headed Juncos from their lists.

So if you saw a bird like this before 1983 it would have been considered a subspecies of Slate-colored Junco, and you could accurately call it such. However, since then, Oregon Juncos, Slate-colored Juncos and this Cassiar Junco are all subspecies of Dark-eyed Junco. So, technically, it is not a Slate-colored Junco. It is a Dark-eyed Junco or Cassiar Junco, but it is not a Slate-colored Junco.

I know, only 8 people in all of North America care. What? Not that many?

Looking at this level of detail will help you become a better birder--and you can do it in your own backyard.

Immature (probably female) Cassiar Junco, Beaverton, Oregon, 28 March 2011 by Greg Gillson.

The male Cassiar Junco joined a first winter female that had been hanging around for a couple of weeks. Female and first-year Cassiar Juncos are much more difficult to separate from Slate-colored Juncos, so I was glad to spot the adult male.

The scientific name of Cassiar Junco is Junco hyemalis henshawi (=cismontanus of AOU 1957).

Cassiar Juncos breed in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. In winter they regularly are found from southern British Columbia east to Michigan and from there southward from Arizona to Texas. Scattered individuals wander widely in winter outside this main area.

Both Slate-colored and Cassiar Juncos can be found in small numbers throughout the Pacific Northwest in winter. They aren't too unusual at backyard feeders--most feeders will host a couple during the winter. But next time you see a "Slate-colored Junco" I bet you'll be taking a second, closer, look!

- - - - - - -

* The Great Lumping of 1983: Besides the juncos, other species lumped in 1983 were Myrtle and Audubon's Warblers into Yellow-rumped Warbler; Red-shafted, Yellow-shafted, and Gilded Flicker into Common Flicker, but Gilded Flicker subsequently given back its status as a species and the other two called Northern Flicker; Baltimore and Bullock's Oriole lumped into Northern Oriole, but this decision was later reversed. Finally, Gray-crowned, Black, and Brown-capped Rosy Finches were all lumped into Rosy-Finch, but then this was reversed later, too, but with "Rosy Finch" altered to "Rosy-Finch." ...And I hear rumors of Yellow-rumped Warblers being re-split in the near future. -- We may get most of the pre-1983 species back, but the damage to birders' psyches from that period will never be repaired.

Friday Foto: Wood Duck

2011-04-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

Wood Duck, Portland, Oregon, 19 February 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Even the female can be surprisingly colorful!

See a previous post on Wood Ducks.

Casting the first stone

2011-04-04T05:00:00.003-07:00

I just know there's a Sora in there--give me a stone! Benson Pond, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon, 26 May 2007 by Greg Gillson.

"A sharp keek when a stone is thrown into the marsh."
A Field Guide to the Birds. 1960. Roger Tory Peterson.

When Peterson was a young man, the accepted way to watch birds was along the barrel of a shotgun. Being a good birder a hundred years ago meant being a good shot. One also had to be skillful skinning and preserving the study skins procured. Rather than binoculars and spotting scope, a good birder had to carry a sharp knife and 2 pounds of arsenic to prepare the specimens.

Of course, by 1960 when Peterson was publishing his twenty-seventh impression of his second revised and enlarged edition of his famous field guide, shooting was out, and watching was in.

Thus, the introductory quote above of the voice of Sora, the secretive marsh rail. How many marshes did I fill with stones in my youth--at the suggestion of the greatest bird watcher of all time--hoping to hear a Sora call out?

As we approached the end of the 20th century, however, more thought was being given to the well-being of birds over the perceived "right" to observe birds.

It was about this time that the American Birding Association started up. Its goal was the advancement of birding, which was strongly slanted toward listing and chasing and definitely doing what it took to "get" the bird.

Nevertheless, in recognition of the growing concern for the welfare of birds, they crafted a code of birding ethics:

"Everyone who enjoys birds and birding must always respect wildlife, its environment, and the rights of others. In any conflict of interest between birds and birders, the welfare of the birds and their environment comes first."

Thus, Peterson's field guide changed with the times:

"When hands are clapped, startled birds utter a sharp keek."
Western Birds. 1990. Roger Tory Peterson.

So there we go. In one generation birding went from blasting birds with a shotgun to applauding.

This emphasis on the welfare of birds was certainly good.

But, sadly, it didn't end there.

In recent years there has been a growing theme in the various birding listservs and blogs. If we truly care about birds, this sentiment reasons, we won't guzzle up fossil fuels to find one out-of-place feathered waif. We won't use tapes for audio playback of a bird's song to get a better view. We shouldn't even pish!

In fact, if taken to its logical conclusion, if we truly care about birds, we should stay home and not go out and disturb them by watching them at all!

I think this is very faulty reasoning--and not a lot of fun, either.

Bird watching, even if accompanied by occasional fossil-fuel wasting, tape playback and, God forbid, pishing, creates more people who care about and protect birds and the environment than people who ignore it!

If I gave up bird watching, could I really replace it with an activity that disturbs birds less, in the long run? What should I do instead of "disturbing" birds by watching them--cruise the streets or hang out at the mall?

I submit that my peculiar habit of watching birds, and occasionally pishing them in for others to view, has caused numerous "non-birders" I encounter to notice birds and the world around them in an appreciative and protective way.

Yes, bird watching may slightly "disturb" some birds. But cutting down the forests, filling wetlands, paving over meadows, and creating shopping malls for people who don't even know the birds are there, disturbs more birds more greatly than all the tape playback, pishing or, yes, even stone throwing, by all the bird watchers in the world.

Friday Foto: Hutton's Vireo

2011-04-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hutton's Vireo, Cooper Mountain Nature Park, Beaverton, Oregon, 26 January 2011 by Greg Gillson.

Look at those blue feet and legs!

Do you remember how to separate Hutton's Vireos and Ruby-crowned Kinglets?

Wings & Wine Festival: May 14, 2011

2011-03-29T13:14:00.000-07:00

Bird watchers, wine lovers, and nature enthusiasts are invited to the Sixth Annual Fern Ridge Wings and Wine Festival scheduled for Saturday, May 14, 2011 near Veneta, Oregon, west of Eugene. A wide array of activities will be held throughout the day at Domaine Meriwether’s new winery and nearby Fern Ridge Reservoir, one of Oregon’s best birding areas. The day’s schedule includes bird and nature walks, hands-on workshops, educational talks, children’s activities, wine tasting with local wineries and sailing, kayak and canoe tours. Many activities are free, but some require pre-registration and a fee.

More info

Best recent birding blog posts

2011-03-28T05:00:00.003-07:00

Wilson's Snipe, Hines, Oregon, 28 May 2010 by Greg Gillson.

There have been several blog posts by birders lately that I have found extremely interesting. If you haven't read them you should!

Are there really fewer snipe this year than last? Mike Patterson of North Coast Diaries discusses impression versus real data in Sniping about observer bias.

How can birders learn to identify bird songs and calls if they can't even Hear the motorcycle? Don Freiday posts this interesting discussion on the ABA Blog.

Bill Schmoker gives us The Low Down on photographing birds. What an excellent article published on the ABA blog.

A topic close to my heart, David Sibley discusses Identifying small songbirds by flight style.

In the Island Nature blog, Dave Ingram followed up the Progress of Caddisfly Creek, a salmon habitat greenway protected area on Vancouver Island. Yes, indeed, it is well-protected from any salmon!

Over at BirdFellow, Dave Irons writes about taking notes of rare birds on A lost art? Writing descriptions of rare birds.