Towheeblog

Fairview firsts: blooms of camas lilies, Mallard ducklings with mom (9).

Above: Cacklers flapdoodle on the main pond at Fairview. Preening. Dunking (as in ducking). Flapping. Clean the feathers? Exercise those wing msucles that must propel them to Alaska soon?
Below: Fairview’s ring-necked pair:

Cacklers aloft:

Young waterfowl of 2024:

Nine Mallard ducklings, 13 goslings in two families.

Not on OBOL? Here’s Roy Lowe’s newest report on coastal Motus findings:
Bullard’s Bridge (Bandon) A dunlin flew from Llano Seco near Glenn, CA to Bullard’s Bridge in Bandon in 6 hrs 43 min.  It then flew from Bullard’s Bridge to Cape Meares 2 hrs 48 min.  From Cape Meares it passed the Cannon Beach tower but time was not reported.

HMSC (Newport)  A dunlin departed Llano Seco near Glenn, CA and was detected at the HMSC Newport 7 hrs 39 min later.  It then flew from Newport to Tokeland, WA in 2 hrs 43min.  It flew from Tokeland to Breckenridge Bluff (Grays Harbor) in 2 hrs 34 min (obviously it stopped at Willapa Bay or Grays Harbor). It flew from Grays Harbor to Victoria, BC in 1 hr 39 min then from Victoria to Boundary Bay BC in 2 hrs 32 min.

Cape Meares  A dunlin departed Llano Seco near Glenn CA and flew to Cape Meares 9 hrs 28 min.  The time from Cape Meares to Cannon Beach was not reported but then it flew past Cannon Beach and arrived in Wrangell, AK in 14 hrs 55 min.  The average speed for that last leg to the Stikine River delta was 55 mph but that speed is calculated in a straight line between two points which obviously birds don’t do so the speed was likely much greater.  That bird was really cooking but we had a frontal system passage yesterday that extended from southern Oregon to Alaska with strong south winds and it appears this bird took advantage of the tail wind.