Precious time is slipping away But you’re only king for a day It doesn’t matter to which God you pray Precious time is slipping away…                         –Van Morrison Wednesday night at sunset a Great Gray Owl called.  We were near a likely hunting meadow in the Cascades of Jackson County.  The vocalist never appeared on stage.  But my friend, Lee McEachern, and I had two good days in the mountains.  Thursday we were joined by Marty Karlin and Kevin  ..read more

Migration is on-going and now a bird will appear in our garden, and soon be gone. That very day, or the next. Today a Golden-crowned Sparrow, the first in over a week, yesterday a white-crown, not around today. Also, today, first warbler this week. Earlier this past week, a Lincoln’s briefly, then vanished. Often a repeat visitor during a single day, our resident Downy(s). This one a male: TIME TO SHAPE UP Ok, fellow birders, steel ytoiurself for some self-centered snark from this co,lor-blind birder. Shape can say it all. Here are two lousy bird photos during the ,light rain and crap light ..read more

Today I got to scout some of Sectiuon 1, west of I-5, south of Center Street. Best find was a small flock of Hooded Mergansers in one pond at Creekside Coirporate Center (near sweetly baked). Leucistic baby born in Florida, an alligator–click here. Turkey Vultures wintering along the East Coast. My friend, Mike Lund, took these shots. He sees the birds regulary in Virginia and North Carolina. On the Atlantic Coast they can be expected year-round south of New York City. Birders Night: The Challenges of Birding in Harney County with Harry Fuller Print Download Remind Date: Tue, Dec ..read more

Today Lexi and I checked out Turner Lake–nothing surprising. Coots dominate. Also, Mill Creek Wetlands–much of the land is now paved or covered by huge buildings. Saw only gulls going over. The marshy areas are still open space, zero birds seen. The roadside corpse of the adult beaver was just north of the lakeside housing, on the edge of Turner Road. SALEM CBC AREA #1, Marion, Oregon, US Dec 8, 2023 20 species Cackling Goose  200     overhead flocks Common Merganser  6 Ruddy Duck  40 Pied-billed Grebe  7 Eurasian Collared-Dove  X American Coot&n ..read more

Nature reminds us constantly. Here is another Great Gray Owl image–I’ve posted many lately, afteer trip to southern Cascades specifically to see and watch these great creatures. When I researched and wrote my book on GGOs nearly a decade ago, there were only two limited areas qest of I-5 where they had been confirmed to breed–Applegate valley’s surrounding hills and south of Roseburg. This adult owl was with two young on a trail, halfway up to a 7000′ peak in the Siskiyous in Jackson County, west of I-5. Photo taken in 2017: Some more my photos from Jackson County: Above ..read more

One bird to scare them all: Cooper’s Hawk, about twenty feet off the ground. Perched in a photinia tree. In the third image above you see a squirrel hanging below the perched Coop. That squirrel had actually climbed up to face the hawk and try to scare it. The hawk opened its wings and fanned its tail. It may also have signaled a willingness to throttle the squirrel with its talons. The squirrel retreated. After about 90 minutes on that perch the Coop moved across the garden and a squirrel–perhaps this one–immediately grabbed the exact perch for a half hour or more. From its next perc ..read more

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I was on Livermore Road morning–specifically to look for this species. They are there year round. But when they face away their back disappears into the grass or bare ground and they vaniush from our eyesight unless they are moving. This one flew onto the road in front of my car. I shot through the dirty windshield because I thought I would frighten the bird if I tried to step out of the car. The lark habitatr is about three miles north of Smithfield Road (and Baskett Slough Refuge’s northern border) on both sides of Livermore Road. Across the Morgan Lake trail I found this person, my finest ..read more

We had the big and the tiny this morning. Our fourteen turkey flock came for breakfast not long after sunrise. Simultaneously the Bushtit flock–more than 14–came into the back garden. Bushtits eat both sunflower chips and suet. The turkeys eat the chips and tender shoots of certain flavorful plants. They also swallow peanuts, shell and all. As they amble or flap about, the turkeys also spread fresh fertilizer as they go, and drop some quickly biodegradable feathers, too. That little gray bird perched face down on the duet block is myrtle warbler. The White-throated Sparrow appear ..read more

Maybe this guy, photographed on Komodo by Albert Ryckman. Eight feet long, maybe thirty years old. The biggest monitor Albert saw while there recently. REALLY BIG males can be almost ten feet long and weigh 200 pounds. Endangered, and the largest living lizard species. They hunt in groups. From insects up to large mammals, they are predators who will also eat carrion. Deer, pigs, goats are among their largest prey. An occasional hominid. Dou you know about BirdCast? Here is a soft-core explanation…it can be addictive–click lightly. Ok, if you want the hard stuff, the mind-bending psychotropic ..read more