Towheeblog

I spent much of the weekend in Summit, Oregon.  I was busy, in and out of  buildings all day, but Saturday was fine weather and warblers were moving through the trees.  The dominant local resident was a busy flock of Band-tailed Pigeons.  Our location was just below a thousand feet elevation.   Regenerated forest mostly Doug fir but plenty of broadleaf trees along streams and roadsides.  I saw my first Townsend’s Warbler of the season.  The Swainson’s Thrushes were still in place in thickets.A brief drive through part of Baskett Slough turned up very few birds.   It did reveal smoldering piles where brushy thickets once stood.  More blackberry hatred unloosed.

In Corvallis I encountered the urbanized Store Sparrow, at Market of Choice.  These are sparrows with upscale taste, it seems:In parts of Europe this species has learned to time doors, so they fly in and out of cafes and bistros.  I’ve shared a table, but not my wine, with a House Sparrow at Deux Magots in Paris.  They also do well in airports and the tower that houses CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, back in McMinnville, this guy let me take his picture as he worked one of our oak trees:

Summit, Benton, Oregon, US
Sep 7, 2019
11 species

Band-tailed Pigeon  30
Steller’s Jay  4
Chestnut-backed Chickadee  2
Violet-green Swallow  X
Swainson’s Thrush  1
Cedar Waxwing  25
Song Sparrow  2
Spotted Towhee  3
Orange-crowned Warbler  3
Black-throated Gray Warbler  2
Townsend’s Warbler  1