Towheeblog

I birded this area in Yamhill County today with Alexander Meyer from Albany.  We had 54 species without house sparrow or rock dove, 52 native species!  Heavy fog in the mountains but near perfect weather.  We met several residents who were proud of their local birds, including one man who has nesting Wood Ducks in his nest box atop his small pond’s embankment.  But the Wood Ducks have to deal with threats and attacks from local Cooper’s Hawks.

The star of the day–and a lifer for Alex–was the single Ruffed Grouse, standing back in the underbrush in terrible light, under heavy fog, about one half mile from the upper end of High Heaven Road.  Elevation there is about 1200 feet above sea level, habitat mostly regenerating plantations of Doug fir.

Mammal count: 16 deer, 1 run-over coyote.

McMinnville CBC-NW quadrant, Yamhill, Oregon, US
Jan 4, 2019 7:35 AM – 3:35 PM
Comments:     Included Miller Woods, Grenfell Park and No Name Pond
54 species

Cackling Goose  360
Canada Goose  106
Northern Shoveler  7
American Wigeon  27
Mallard  20
Northern Pintail  3
Green-winged Teal (American)  24
Ring-necked Duck  50
Bufflehead  1
Hooded Merganser  5
California Quail  7–ironically on Pheasant Hill Road
Ruffed Grouse  1
Pied-billed Grebe  3
Eurasian Collared-Dove  11
Mourning Dove  14
Anna’s Hummingbird  8     mostly around feeders
American Coot  3
Great Blue Heron  2
Red-tailed Hawk  6
Great Horned Owl  1     Hidden Hills Lane–heard hooting in early afternoon
Red-breasted Sapsucker  1
Acorn Woodpecker  5
Downy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  14
American Kestrel  9
Merlin  1–Donnelly Road
Steller’s Jay  9
California Scrub-Jay  20
American Crow  10
Common Raven  3
Black-capped Chickadee  23
Chestnut-backed Chickadee  18
Red-breasted Nuthatch  7
Brown Creeper  1
Pacific Wren  1
Bewick’s Wren  1
Golden-crowned Kinglet  19
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  6
Western Bluebird  5
Varied Thrush  4
American Robin  207
European Starling  184
House Finch  7
Pine Siskin  50
American Goldfinch  2
Fox Sparrow  1
Dark-eyed Junco  118
White-crowned Sparrow  1
Golden-crowned Sparrow  51
Song Sparrow  13
Spotted Towhee  9
Red-winged Blackbird  11
Brewer’s Blackbird  91
Yellow-rumped Warbler  3