Towheeblog

The dog and I agreed that a trip to Howard Prairie and its reservoir made sense. She wanted a swim and I wanted to see migrating shorebirds. Off we went. She got her swim, of course. There were shorebirds, but none that I couldn’t see at Emigrant Lake, much closer to town. But as dog and I hiked across the sere, sun-parched grassland to the lake shore we found a family of Kestrel hunting the abundant grasshoppers. TO CLARIFY, THESE TWO PICS ARE OF A KESTREL PERCHED, AND TAKING OFF. NOT THE GOSHAWK WHICH WAS TOO HIGH FOR PHOTOS.

Then a Red-tailed Hawk soared high up on the morning thermals, mirrored by a Goshawk circling slightly lower down. Both flew high over the evergreens though the Red-tail would only attack prey in the grassy open areas. The Goshawk is a constantly present, rarely seen alpha predator of these Cascade Mountain forests. Emigrant Lake is at about 4500′ elevation. The Goshawk is the largest of our North American accipiters and is an aggressive, fearless predator that requires a large hunting territory. That keeps the bird’s population density very low.
This is one of a trio of Vesper Sparrows posing along the fence line next to Dead Indian Mem Road. They will migrate southward before cold weather arrives. Another bird, perhaps a youngster, stood in the middle of the highway and didn’t even change lanes when another car passed at full speed.

Dead Indian Mem. Road, Jackson, US-OR. Sep 2, 2012 9:30 AM. 13 species.
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 4
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 3
Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) 1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) 1
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) 2
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 1
Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana) 2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 1
Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) 4
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 6
Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) 15.
Howard Prairie Lake, Jackson, US-OR. Sep 2, 2012 10:15 AM. 25 species.
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 35
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 120
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 60
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) 3
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 12
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 5
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 2
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 3
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 1
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 3
American Coot (Fulica americana) 8
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 4
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 1. Spotted Sandpiper 4.
Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) 12
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 75 at northern, shallow end of the lake
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 10
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) 4. This rock shows evidence of frequent use by perched, hunting Kestrels. The rock stands amidst dozens of acres of flat, dry gassy meadow where grasshoppers abound in the late summer. Yum.

Common Raven (Corvus corax) 1
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) 125, migrating flock over dry grassland at north end of lake.
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 40
Vesper Sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus) 4
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 2.
Here is the late-blooming, hardy Downingia, the only color to be found on the drab, dried former marsh that surrounds Howard Prairie Lake. As the summer sun and irrigation use drops the lake ever lower after rains end, the mud dries, cracks, curls up and most of the plants live a short span between flood and drought. The Downingia manages to last through weeks of wind, heat and dry.

NOT BIRDS
Adult western fence lizard.
Golden-mantled ground squirrel at Grizzly Campground, looking stumped. There was a three-foot garter snake near the lake but he got into the willows before I got to my camera.