I was on my way to Chico this morning. An early start got me to Ankeny NWR by 8AM. The surprising bird of the visit was a Common Yellowthroat… only because it was a female. She was picking bugs off the branch-ends of low-growing shrubs, until a male Song Sparrow stopped singing long enough to drive her off. Time for an #avianmetoo movement I think.
I saw a Sora creeping through the reeds…before he saw me. Then he froze, and finally decided I was a predator too close…and flew, giving me my best image as a reflection on the water, upside down.
Much later at Valley of the Rogue State Park a male Wrentit decided I was in his territory and came up to give me a severe looking over.
Beauteous birds, these Cinnamon Teal at Ankeny, one of several pairs:
The #1 beauty of the day, was, of course, old Mt. Shasta (is she jealous of her fellow volcano in Hawaii?)…today this shape-shifter was shy Shasta, hidden behind a mask of her own home-made clouds.
Ankeny NWR, Marion, Oregon, US
May 11, 2018. 31 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) X
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 4
Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera) 10
Gadwall (Mareca strepera) 2
American Wigeon (Mareca americana) 4
Mallard (Northern) (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos/conboschas) X
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) 6
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 2
California Quail (Callipepla californica) 3
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) X
Great Blue Heron (Blue form) (Ardea herodias [herodias Group]) 1
Sora (Porzana carolina) 1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) X
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) (Picoides pubescens gairdnerii/turati) 1
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) 1
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis) 1
California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) 3
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) X
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) X
Bewick’s Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) X
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) X
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) X
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) X
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) X
Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) X
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) X
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) X
Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) X
American Goldfinch 2
Valley of the Rogue SP, Jackson, Oregon, US
May 11, 2018. 11 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) X
California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) X
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) X
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) X–first of year for me
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) X
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) X
Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata) 1–singing and challenging my very being
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) X
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) X
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) X
Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) X
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