Towheeblog

This first sequence of pics are from eastern Oregon, taken by my good friend, Kirk Gooding, on a trip with his wife Shannon Rio.  She’s president of the Klamath Bird Observatory Board of Directors. Empid to puzzle over. Harrier:Duo discusses the menu: Duncan Evered of the Malheur Field Station with his mindful birding class.   Buena Vista overlook at Malheur, truly a buena vista. I suspect this fellow of being a Pacific-slope. Peregrine. Greater Sage Grouse in eastern Oregon where there are fortunately no buried fossil fuels so corporate greed cannot impinge on the range there.  Fire, western juniper and cattle ranching are the major threats to the species there. Shorebirds along the shore: avocet and yellowlegs: Stilt tilt: Summer Lake in summer:

BACKYARD BIRDING 

These next three images are from Tom Kuhn, a backyard birder who keeps a small water feature running in his small garden in San Francisco.  This Pygmy Nuthatch is a neighbor as SF is one of the few places where this species is found at sea level.  Here in Oregon the bird is generally found only on the eastern slope of the Cascades.  The Yellow Warbler appears in transit every spring and again in late summer.