EMIGRANT MIGRANTS CONTINUE

Posted by: atowhee | October 19, 2010

EMIGRANT MIGRANTS CONTINUE

There’s a White-throated Sparrow at Emigrant Lake. He was along the road, right inside the toll shed at the recreation area. A lone–and lonely?–female Canvasback was hanging out at the north end of the residual reservoir with the quartet of Western Grebes. They pretty much shunned her, rampant speciesism.

The four Long-billed Dowitchers were on the shorebird mudflats at the south and shallow end of the lake. That’s where the Great Egret was, as well.

The 2 Red-tails were harassing the Golden Eagle who soared on, unperturbed by their blustering and diving.

THUMBNAIL IMAGES; starting on upper left: Great Egret in flight over Blue Heron; Golden Eagle; part of the Common Merganser flock; Scrub Jay pole-sitting; two bad digiscopic images of dowitchers but you can at least see they have loooong beaks.

The male Red-tail who later attacked the passing eagle. Neither the WT Sparrow nor the Canvasback could co-operate with my weak attempts at photographic evidence. Last winter the W-T Sparrows at Ashland Pond often co-operated for picture-taking.

AROUND HOME

Yesterday a gaggle of Robins came in at dusk and ate in our garden. Today there are more Juncos than we’ve had since last winter. And the Siskin count has doubled, to six. A pair of W-B Nuthatches were disputing possession of a large pine trunk near our house today. Much horn-honking and flutter of stubby wings.

And then down the street, that old sweet refrain, ” Owl be seeing you, in all the old familiar places…” as little Screech continues to occupy his chosen tree on Granite Street.

Location: Emigrant Lake
Observation date: 10/19/10
Number of species: 22

Canada Goose 130
Canvasback 1
Common Merganser 13
Eared Grebe 1
Western Grebe 4
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Golden Eagle 1
American Coot 65
Killdeer 10
Long-billed Dowitcher 4
Ring-billed Gull 4
Western Scrub-Jay 9
American Crow 4
Common Raven 4
Western Bluebird 6
American Robin 1
European Starling 20
White-throated Sparrow 1
Brewer’s Blackbird 1
Lesser Goldfinch 7

Posted in ashland, birding, birds, ducks & geese, eagles, garden feeder, migratory birds, natural history, oregon, owl, raptor, shorebirds, sparrows, winter birds | Tags: Canvasback, dowitcher, Eared Grebe, Golden Eagle, nuthatch, Screech-owl, White-throated Sparrow

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