Towheeblog

Most of the eastern portion of Oregon has been through another dry year.  Malheur Lake in Harney County has been shrinking for several years in a row.  The Narrows is a thin causeway surrounded by water some years.  NOw you can’t see any significant body of water in either direction.  The Narrows runs through pastures peopled with cows.

Once we reached the sagebrush steppes of eastern Oregon, in areas where juniper is thin on the ground, we found two flycatchers to be bold and present.  Say’s Phoebe and Western Kingbird.

Say’s Phoebe.  This first one was hunting inside a ruin in Christmas Valley.This big-mouthed quartet were in their nest under the eave at the west end of the restroom building at Sage Hen Rest Area along US 20, west of Burns. Later a parent appeared on the roof above, waiting for the big, loud mammals to remove themselves from below the nest.

WHO’S THE BRIGHTEST?

If we are considering “bright” as in color, there is one leading practitioner in eastern Oregon…the Mountain Bluebird.  At Sage Hen Rest Area a pair were feeding young in a nest box, here the female with only her tail tip showing:Earlier in the day we’d seen this fine male in Antelope Flat:

Klamath Marsh NWR, Klamath, Oregon, US
Jun 2, 2018. 12 species

Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera)  X
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)  X
Mallard (Northern) (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos/conboschas)  X
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)  X
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  X
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  X
Sora (Porzana carolina)  X
Common Raven (Corvus corax)  X
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)  X
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  X
Vesper Sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus)  X
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  X

Wokus Marsh pull-out, Klamath, Oregon, US
Jun 2, 2018. 3 species

Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus)  X
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  X
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  2

Antelope Flat, Lake, Oregon, US
Jun 2, 2018. 3 species

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  X
Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides)  2
Vesper Sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus)  X

Summer Lake, Lake, Oregon, US
Jun 2, 2018. 27 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  X
Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)  5
Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera)  X
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)  X
Gadwall (Mareca strepera)  X
American Wigeon (Mareca americana)  X
Mallard (Northern) (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos/conboschas)  X
Redhead (Aythya americana)  X
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  X
Clark’s Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii)  X
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  X
American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus)  5     most bitterns I;ve ever seen in a single day
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  X
White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi)  X
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  X
Sora (Porzana carolina)  X
American Coot (Fulica americana)  X
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)  X
American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana)  X
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  X
Wilson’s Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor)  X
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  X
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  X
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  X
Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri)  X
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)  3     adult and two young
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)  1

Summer Lake, Lake, Oregon, US
Jun 3, 2018. 22 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  X
Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)  X
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  X
Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera)  X
Gadwall (Mareca strepera)  X
Mallard (Northern) (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos/conboschas)  X
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  X
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  2
American Coot (Fulica americana)  X
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  X
Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri)  X
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)  X
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)  1
Say’s Phoebe (Sayornis saya)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  X
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  X
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)  X
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  X
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)  X
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  X
Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana)  X
Bullock’s Oriole (Icterus bullockii)  X

CHRISTMAS VALLEY, Lake, Oregon, US
Jun 3, 2018. 13 species

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  X
Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)  3
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  X
Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis)  2
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)  X
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)  X
Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus)  1
Common Raven (Corvus corax)  X
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  X
Sage Thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus)  X
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  X
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)  X
Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)  X

Sage Hen Rest Area, Harney, Oregon, US
Jun 3, 2018.  4 species

Say’s Phoebe (Sayornis saya)  6     nest with four nestlings under restroom building roof
Common Raven (Corvus corax)  X
Barn Swallow (American) (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster)  X
Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides)  2