Towheeblog

Here’s most of an email from my birding friend, Dr. Karl Schneck:

“This morning I was looking out my window to see how bad the smoke was and saw a bobcat about 25 yds. from the house eyeing our barn where deer with fawns have been hanging out. I grab my camera and head out and the bobcat had moved down the TID another 75 yds. and was still looking down the hill where some deer were… got a couple pics, put on shoes, and headed out with camera, binoculars, and a .45 in case the bobcat got upset with me… didn’t see the bobcat again but the deer were still agitated. While I’m walking down the TID I looked up into a tree and saw half dozen birds… my brain quickly clicked away and first thought was Purple Martin… then as I thought about it more, no, swallows or flycatchers… I couldn’t see much with them silhouetted against the rising sun so I circled around to the other side for a decent picture… yep, Purple Martins… should usually go with your first instinct. Anyway, a parent and 5 juveniles… Birds of Jackson County says ‘may breed’… well, they do.”

Karl lives just a couple miles north of Ashland in the grasslands at the western foot of the Cascades.  Elevation about 2000′.  There are narrow, dense riparian corridors along the canal and creeks in that area, however…and enough livestock to insure large insect populations for the martins to enjoy.