Towheeblog

We were given a bird banding demo by Duncan and Lila Evered who are co-directors of the Malheur Filed Station.  Here’s Duncan showing us the wing feathers on a Yellow-rumped Warbler which he finds to be a favorite bird.  He admitted to being especially fond of the bird’s spectacles and its brilliant yellow patches partnered with contrasting black.

We birded the southern end of the Malheur NWR today and we took a drive up onto the tableland west of the valley.  We did not see Sage Grouse as we hoped, but did run across one small herd of wild horses and three thrush species feeding in the sage: Robin, Western and Mountain Bluebirds.

We lunched at Page Springs Picnic Ground on the Blitzen River where we shared our mid-day with a an unexpected, busy flock of Cedar Waxwings.  Also we found two Robin nests where young were already being fed.  The trees there were alder, willow and western juniper.  The deciduous trees are still leafless though the Waxwings were eating alder buds.

We now stand at 102 species seen on the trip with over 300miles of roadside birding ahead of us as we head west toward home tomorrow.

Location:     Malheur NWR
Observation date:     4/15/10
Number of species:     61

Canada Goose     150
Trumpeter Swan     1
Gadwall     75
Mallard     240
Cinnamon Teal     60
Northern Shoveler     120
Northern Pintail     2
Canvasback     40
Redhead     15
Ring-necked Duck     1
Lesser Scaup     35
Bufflehead     25
Common Goldeneye     2
Ruddy Duck     24
Ring-necked Pheasant     3
California Quail     8
Pied-billed Grebe     3
Eared Grebe     1
Double-crested Cormorant     1
Great Blue Heron     4
Turkey Vulture     12
Northern Goshawk     1
Red-tailed Hawk     2
Ferruginous Hawk     1
Golden Eagle     2
American Kestrel     6
American Coot     250
Sandhill Crane     30
Long-billed Curlew     22
Franklin’s Gull     1
Ring-billed Gull     8
Western Screech-Owl     1
Great Horned Owl     3
Belted Kingfisher     1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)     8
Say’s Phoebe     2
Black-billed Magpie     8
American Crow     3
Common Raven     15
Tree Swallow     25
Violet-green Swallow     1
Cliff Swallow     8
Marsh Wren     10
Ruby-crowned Kinglet     1
Western Bluebird     6
Mountain Bluebird     2
American Robin     15
Sage Thrasher     1
European Starling     50
Cedar Waxwing     45
Yellow-rumped Warbler     20
Song Sparrow     24
Lincoln’s Sparrow     1
White-crowned Sparrow     35
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)     4
Red-winged Blackbird     65
Western Meadowlark     10
Yellow-headed Blackbird     10
Brewer’s Blackbird     15
American Goldfinch     6
House Sparrow     14