Village Biophilia

Winter Washington Trip II

2012-02-07T21:32:00.000-08:00

Our big year of Washington exploration continued on Sunday when we drove to the central coast, site of a great Snowy Owl invasion.

On the way, we visited the Curt Cobain memorial along the Wishkah River in the very blue-collar town of Aberdeen.

Next, we arrived in the not-so-blue-collar town of Ocean Shores and checked into our hotel.

We then drove south to Damon Point in Gray's Harbor.

We hiked a mile down the grassy peninsula and found several birders clustering around some very cooperative owls.

We kept a respectful distance from the eight or nine snowies we encountered and settled for some distant photos.

After some quality time with the visitors from the north, we took one last photo and began walking back to the parking lot. We thought we had seen out last owl of the day when another landed square in our path on the beach.

Fine, we'll take your picture too.

Warm, sunny weather and snowy owls dropping from the sky. What more could you ask for during a Northwest winter?

How about a Yellow-billed Loon a day later?

After several years of scanning the surf, we finally hit pay dirt 90 miles south of Ocean Shores in the the boat basin of Ilwaco, Washington. The pale-plumaged Yellow-billed was swimming with a Common Loon, the dark bird facing right.

We toasted our birding success with a sampler of stouts at the Fort George Brewery in Astoria. Another successful outing north of the Border!

Our count of Washington bird species is now well over 100 and I hope we end the year with more species from Washington than Oregon, just to mix things up a bit.

Winter Washington Trip

2012-01-14T14:57:00.000-08:00

Sarah and I just returned from a big trip to Northwest Washington that featured amazing sights and near-perfect weather.

We hoped to learn more about the birds spending the winter in and near the network of saltwater bodies known as the Salish Sea.

We spent our first two nights in Port Townsend, one of my favorite places in Washington.

I love the town's Victorian buildings and the views of boats and snow-covered peaks in almost every direction.

The Olympic Mountains and North Cascades were illuminated during sunrise and sunset, respectively.

Around Port Townsend, we found loons, grebes, ducks, geese, murrelets, and gulls floating in Dungeness Bay, the Straight of Juan De Fuca, Admirality Inlet, Rich Passage, Rosario Straight, Deception Pass, Crockett Lake, and other pieces of water.

We spent the next two nights in the Skagit Valley town of La Conner, another great discovery.

La Conner is a small waterfront on the Swinomish Channel with great restaurants and quirky shops. And more boats.

Not far from La Conner, we found large flocks of Trumpeter Swans in farm fields,

Dozens of Bald Eagles,

and a Short-eared Owl hunting a tidal flat. The Short-ear had long been a nemesis bird for Sarah. She gave it thumbs up.

A stop in Stanwood, Washington produced three more Short-eared Owls (one above, flying to the right) along with two Snowy Owls which were far from us on the other side of a slough, but identifiable. Stanwood turned out to be quite the birding hotspot, as we also found Rough-legged Hawks, a Black-crowned Night Heron, a Black Phoebe, and many species of sparrows in the area.

We birded around Seattle and dined with friends during the final two days of our trip. Tired but satisfied after six long days of birding, we returned to Oregon with a greater understanding of Washington birds in winter and 100 species for the state. We are now reheating our house as we wait for a snow storm that may or may not strike Portland.

2011 Birding By County

2012-01-01T18:48:00.000-08:00

As Sarah and I traveled through Oregon this year, we compiled a list of the bird species we observed in each county.

We visited 20 of the 36 counties, most of which were in the western and central portions of the state.

Number of birds per county ranged from 147 in Tillamook, the coastal county we visit at least once per month, to three in Josephine, which we drove through on our way to Ashland. Our home county of Multnomah came in second and Washington County, our neighbor to the west, was third. Polk county squeaked into fourth thanks to our participation in the Dallas Christmas Bird Count.

We will continue to compile lists as we visit the remaining 16 counties and revisit the 20 we birded this year. Though I do not have a numerical goal of species per county, I do hope to generate a list of birds from every one. This will require a lot of travel on the dry side of the state.

A Christmas Bird Chase and a Christmas Bird Count

2011-12-27T20:46:00.000-08:00

Portland did not see a White Christmas this year, but Sarah and I compensated by finding a snow bunting on Christmas Day.

After brunching at her grandparents' house, we drove to the north side of the Portland Airport.

We pulled into a small parking area, rolled down our windows, and watched the Snow Bunting (possibly a Snow x McKay's Bunting hybrid) eat weed seeds for several minutes. Easiest bird chase ever! The bunting is in the lower right corner of the photo.

Two days later, we woke at 5:30 am and drove to the Willamette Valley town of Dallas, Oregon to assist their Christmas Bird Count.

With the help of a semi-local birder, Sarah and I drove our Subaru around our assigned sectors, which consisted of upland fields,

foggy hilltops,

and a few streams with nice bridges.

We found a friendly donkey and 53 species of birds. Of these species, two-thirds were songbirds.

Our songbird success pushed the overall count total above 100 species, a nice feat considering the stormy weather and relatively low number of participants.

Solstices 2011

2011-12-21T13:58:00.000-08:00

Lately, the solstices, especially the winter one, are my favorite times of the year. I now consider holidays such as Christmas and New Year's Eve to be components of a month-long solstice celebration. I guess this makes me some sort of a Judeo-Christo-Pagan. Whatever I am, I like to watch the sun rise and set during astronomical milestones.

On June's summer solstice, I watched the sun rise while I counted birds at Killin Wetlands.

Many hours later, I watched it set from our from yard.

I missed today's winter solstice sunrise (my body insists on hibernating through the mid-morning hours), but I would not have seen the sun anyway because of the thick morning fog.

In the afternoon, the sky cleared in time to see sunset colors over the Village.

We then went out for pizza and dark beer, the perfect combination to kick off the long night.

Though only Wednesday, it has been a long week of cabin fever down in our holler. We look forward to good times with friends and family this weekend, in houses warmer than our own.

Solstice Season Prep

2011-12-18T13:07:00.000-08:00

As the shortest day of the year approaches, we are almost ready for the celebrations that will follow.

During the last two weeks, I carved, sanded, and painted some new ornaments for our tree, inspired by creatures from Oregon and New Mexico:

a common kingsnake in the foreground and a sockeye salmon in the background

a glossy snake

a quillback rockfish

a tiger rockfish

a spawning chum salmon

This morning, I visited our local Farmers Market to pick up some contributions to holiday meals.

The winter offerings included this slice of orange-fleshed squash

and a fabulously fractal cauliflower.

Another day of gift-finding, a few more days of work, and I will be ready to cook, relax, and enjoy the season.

December skies

2011-12-01T20:04:00.000-08:00

After many days of heavy rain, we now have clear skies in western Oregon.

Down in our holler, it is still pretty dark. This morning, a black cottonwood (the orange tree in the background) east of our yard had the sunlight all to itself.

At sunset, the cottonwood was still illuminated.

To our west, the sky was a wintry shade of purple. Welcome to December!

Wild Arts Wood Duck

2011-11-19T22:26:00.000-08:00

The Wild Arts Festival, a fundraiser for the Audubon Society of Portland, has become one of my favorite events of the year. As in previous years, I submitted a painting for the festival's 6 x 6 project.

This year, I took inspiration from the Wood Duck hens I see paddling the irrigation ditches, such as the one above, each summer at Killin Wetlands.

I cut a Wood Duck silhouette out of cedar with my new scroll saw, then painted it to resemble a hen. I made a space for her in the 6 x 6 inch canvas donated by Art Media. I removed the cloth that was stretched over a nice wood frame, which I sanded and stained. Finally, I gave her a gold-painted plate with her genus and species names.

My hen was displayed with 199 other birds. On Saturday morning, we watched as a line of eager shoppers formed for the 11:00 start of the sale. I'm happy to report that someone quickly stepped forward to give her a new home.

Commonwealth Lake Birds

2011-11-18T19:36:00.000-08:00

On Friday, Sarah and I took a break from work at home to see who has settled into Commonwealth Lake Park for the winter. Here are a few of the species we saw:

This bright gull contrasted nicely with the colorful foliage and dark water.

The yellow legs, yellow bill, and yellow eyes indicate this is Ring-billed Gull.

A larger gull had perched at the other end of the pond.

This gull has the dark gray back and black wing tips of a Western Gull, but the fine-gray barring on the head suggest that one of its ancestors had hybridized with a Glaucous-winged Gull.

As expected, small flocks of American Wigeons have returned to dine on the grass like miniature geese.

Around here, every park seems to have at least one American Coot in winter. This is one of three that we found.
We look forward to the arrival of additional winter waterfowl in the coming weeks.

Banana slugs at the beach

2011-11-07T19:01:00.000-08:00

Western Oregon is a world full of slugs, but we found a few at the beach this week that are worth mention.

A few days ago, this banana slug was peeking into the garage from outside . It had squeezed its eye stalks into a gap between the wall and the garage door. I wonder was it was looking for.

Earlier today, Sarah and I found the two largest banana slugs we have ever seen on a trail near the beach at Bob Straub State Park.

It is surprising that these slugs thrive so close to a huge body of saltwater.

New Albatross on the Beach

2011-11-03T20:40:00.000-07:00

While walking Pacific City's beaches, Sarah and I keep an eye out for beached birds, even though we ceased our volunteer monitoring last year. Earlier today we found an unexpected species.

At first we did not recognize the narrow, white and black wings, so we dug a little deeper to reveal the head.

And found the unmistakable bill of an albatross! The white feathers on the head and wings indicate that this is the body of a Laysan Albatross, less common in these parts than the Black-footed albatross, a species whose carcasses we have found on the beach in previous years.

Bandon, Oregon: Home of the World's Greatest Sunset

2011-10-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night, Sarah and I finished dinner in Bandon's Old Town district, on the Coquille River estuary.

Our dog Andie needed some exercise, so we drove to the beach on the south side of town.

Our timing was perfect, because the sun had just begun to set behind the sea stacks jutting from the sand and ocean waves.

It also happened to be low tide, so we were able to view Postelsia kelp (which resemble tiny palm trees), ochre sea stars, and black chitons (leathery mullosks) on the lower rocks.

It was also roosting time for hundreds of Brown Pelicans, which are staging all over the coast for their migration to winter breeding grounds in southern California and Mexico.

Could this sunset get any better? How about a rainbow and its reflection in the wet sand? It was not even raining in Bandon, but there must have been some precipitation to the north.

The sunset light was also reflecting on the sand, giving the beach a celestially tie-dyed look.

We have watched many sunsets on the Oregon coast, but this was surely the most eventful of all.

Southern Oregon: Acorn Woodpecker Land and a Foodie's Paradise

2011-10-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

Early this week, Sarah and I left for a long-planned trip to Ashland, in southern Oregon. The primary purpose of our trip was to search for Acorn Woodpeckers and other oak-woodland birds for a project of ours.

We had no problem finding the woodpeckers, who left signs of their presence, such as the acorn granary above, at each of our stops.

We found another of our favorite species, the White-headed Woodpecker on Mount Ashland.

If you click on the photo above, you can see it clinging to a boulder.

In addition to birding, we sampled some of the best food and drink produced in Oregon.

On Wednesday, we visited the Dagoba factory store to stock up on bars of my favorite dark chocolate.

The next day we proceeded north to Central Point.

This small agricultural town is home to the best cheese in the world, according to the World Cheese Awards.

We have been fans of the Rogue Creamery's blue cheeses for several years, so we could not pass up the opportunity to visit their store and factory. We bought a slice of an earthy blue cheese, which we enjoyed during a quick car picnic.

We also visited a couple of wineries, including Abacela in the Umpqua River Valley. The valley's sunny summers allow growth of big red varietals that are most often produced in other states. We bought a bottle of syrah that we plan to enjoy on Thanksgiving, if we can wait that long.

We ended our day's travels in Bandon, a beautiful town on the southern coast.

The Bandon area is full of cranberry bogs and we made sure to stop in Old Town to buy the chocolate-covered cranberry sticks that I always associate with the south coast.

We have two more days of traveling ahead of us, but the trip has been a great success.

Greetings from Drosophiland

2011-09-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

After several months on the tree, our figs are ripening fast.

It is a challenge to pick the figs before they rot or are eaten by a variety of creatures. The culprits include European Starlings, Downy Woodpeckers, and Norway rats.

The numerically dominant fig eater is the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), on the bottom of the fig in the photo above. Nowadays, the northeast corner of our yard looks and smells like a fruit fly farm. At least they are swarming in the yard and not in our kitchen.

Sarah has been hard at work cooking down the figs and canning the product. We now have enough fig jam to see us through the winter and spring.

Tomato days

2011-08-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

The tomatoes we planted in late May and early June are ripening daily.

We have been picking the smaller Stupice, Sungold, and Sweet Million varieties for a few weeks now.

A few of the larger tomatoes, such as these Purple Cherokee, are now ready to eat.

With tomatoes and other garden foods now in season, we have been preparing simple meals, like bruschetta, cheese, and beans, for dinner. Lately, we eat dinner on our back deck, which is nicely shaded from the late-afternoon sun. A great way to celebrate the summer's harvest!

Fishing in Montana, then and now

2011-08-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

Last week I briefly visited my hometown of Butte, MT to fish for trout and family history. I hoped to claim some family photographs and genealogical information while helping my father prepare for a move.

We uncovered some great images of Butte in its industrial heyday (photo above circa 1905), as well as old family fishing photos from the Big Hole River.

Here is my dapper great-grandfather Ison with three rainbows. This photo was taken in the late-1920s or the early 1930s.

My great-grandmother Ellen (who I have fuzzy memories of) with a trout of her own.

Here is a view of Maidenrock, one of my favorite camping and fishing sites on the river.

On Saturday, my father and I fished the Big Hole near Thompson's corner.

I landed a grayling (pictured above), several small rainbow trout, and a rainbow-cutthroat hybrid. As always, I wished I had more time to fish, but it was good to keep the family traditions alive, if only for one day.

Birding north of the border

2011-07-29T09:03:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, Sarah and I visited south central Washington to learn about the area's bird life.

We made Yakima our base camp for two nights and took trips to Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge, Fort Simcoe State Park, the Wenas Valley, and the Columbia River.

We compiled a modest bird list, but we had some great individual-bird observations including fantastic views of flycatching Lewis's Woodpeckers (one of my favorite species) at Fort Simcoe.

While driving gravel roads in search of birds, we enjoyed great scenery, including amazing views of Mount Adams, the the ghost-like dome pictured above.

Many of the farms along the roads were growing hops, our favorite ingredient in beer.

When it was too hot to birds, we visited several of the area's many wineries and orchards. We brought home several bottles of reds, which are much "bigger" than the whites and pinot noir grown in the Willamette Valley, which gets less sun that the Columbia Basin.

Yakima area birds:
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cornorant
Great Blue Heron
American Bittern
Canada Goose
Mallard
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Osprey
Red-tailed Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
California Quail
Ring-necked Pheasant
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Mourning Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Lewis's Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Western Wood-Pewee
Eastern Kingbird
Western Kingbird
Willow Flycatcher
Say's Phoebe
Western Scrub Jay
Steller's Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-billed Magpie
Violet Green Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Bank Swallow
Loggerhead Shrike
Warbling Vireo
Black-capped Chickadee
House Wren
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Black-headed Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow
Brown-headed Cowbird
Western Meadowlark
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Bullock's Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Garden update

2011-07-09T09:28:00.001-07:00

After a seemingly late start, summer is now providing blue skies, warm weather, and growing plants.

This spring was colder than average, but not as rainy as last year's. We were therefore able to get outside and improve our gardens.

We added a new garden bed to our front yard, which we filled with six tomato plants.

We also added another blueberry shrub to our driveway berry patch.

We have the same beds in the backyard that we gardened last year.

The cedar bed has a variety of greens, beets, carrots, and a stupice tomato.

The fenced bed has lettuce, peas, and a few more tomatoes.

The brick bed has a hummingbird plant (mint family) ringed by bush beans.

We now have all lettuce greens we can eat, but we look forward to the late summer/early fall harvests of tomatoes and beans.

Independence Day weekend birding

2011-07-06T15:34:00.000-07:00

This year's Independence Day weekend involved a lot of birding - much more than Sarah and I had originally expected.

We drove to Pacific City on Friday for what we thought would be four nights and five days at the beach.

On Saturday we drove south to Newport to visit the seabird colony on the rocks near Yaquina Head lighthouse. Despite problematic levels of predation on nests by Bald Eagles, Western Gulls, Common Ravens, and Turkey Vultures, dozens of Common Murres are hanging in there and raising their newly-hatched chicks. We also observed nesting Brandt's Cormorants, Pelagic Cormorants, and Western Gulls.

In terms of their populations, predation of Common Murre adults by experienced Bald Eagles is not a big deal because there are much more murres than eagles. The recent problems, however, result from immature eagles perching on the nest rocks after an unsuccessful attack. Their presence forces the adult murres to abandon their nest sites, leaving eggs and chicks vulnerable to gulls, ravens, and vultures. It was encouraging to see that at least some nests are active in the face of this complex disturbance.

After a near-sleepless Saturday night in Pacific City (too many illegally loud fireworks) we decided to spend the rest of the weekend in a place with tighter restrictions on fireworks.

We settled on Camp Sherman, where firework bans are enforced due to the surrounding National Forest land. A place where we and our dog could finally sleep in peace. On Sunday, we drove from Pacific City, across the Coast and Cascade Ranges to the dry side of the state.

On Monday, we birded a burned area south of the town and were surprised to find several Lewis's Woodpeckers, one of my favorite bird species. In addition to Lewis's Woodpeckers, we found American Kestrels, Rufous Hummingbirds, Olive-sided Flycatchers, Western Bluebirds, Lazuli Buntings, Green-tailed Towhees, and Chipping Sparrows nesting and foraging in the site. Further proof that wildfires are not always the catastrophes many make them out to be.

We then visited one of our favorite birding sites in the state, Cold Springs Campground.

We followed the sound of begging birds to an aspen near the springs. After waiting a few minutes, we watched a female Red-naped Sapsucker feed the nestlings from outside their cavity. Several minutes later, we were quite surprised to see a male Red-breasted sapsucker arrive for the next feeding. Hybridization in progress!

On Tuesday, we birded a few more locations and returned to Portland, which was much warmer than when we left. If this weather holds, we can look forward to a great harvest of tomatoes and other vegetables.

Central Oregon volcanoes

2011-06-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

When in central Oregon, I never tire of viewing the volcanic peaks of the Cascade Range. Here are some photos from last week's trip.

Mount Jefferson (Oregon's second-highest peak) in the background and Black Butte in foreground, seen from the south. On a clear day, we can see the north face of Mount Jefferson from our neighborhood.

Three Fingered Jack. A very old and extinct volcano.

Mount Scott, seen from the east at Klamath Marsh. Crater Lake lies just to the west of the peak.

Baby birds in central Oregon.

2011-06-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Sarah and I took a long-awaited trip to Central Oregon.

I look forward to visiting this part of the state each June because we always find many nesting birds, more than we usually see on the west side of the Cascades.

For the first two nights, of the trip, we rented a house near Camp Sherman and the Metolius River. Its amenities included a Brewer's Blackbird nest in the carport. Five nestlings were present Friday evening. On Saturday morning, all but one had left the nest. The last one fledged by sundown that evening.

Along the Metolius, we found many birds, such as Western Wood-Pewees and Yellow-rumped Warblers nesting in the pines.

The highlight, though, was a Common Merganser hen toting ducklings on her back.

They fell off when she dove or hopped over a log, but they climbed back on as soon as she was swimming again.

Memorial Day animals

2011-06-18T11:38:00.001-07:00

Last month, Sarah and I spent the week leading up to Memorial Day in Pacific City.

While we worked at her parent's beach house, many animals stopped by for a visit.

One afternoon, I spotted a black tail doe walking into the street. I thought she was alone until a tiny fawn emerged from the vegetation. It's legs were pretty wobbly, suggesting it had been born that morning. The pair eventually crossed the street to a small patch of forest where the doe could find a hiding place for the fawn.

A pair of Bald Eagles has been frequenting a Sitka spruce a few doors down from the house. This female carried a Common Murre, which she had captured near Haystack Rock, to the tree. We heard tearing and ripping sounds as she consumed her catch.

As in previous Memorial Day Weekend, a pair of Evening Grosbeaks visited the feeders. It is always a treat to see these giant finches. With high levels of breeding and migratory bird activity, late May is one the best time of times of the year to bird the beach. We look forward to future Memorial Days in Pacific City.

Spring Gardening and Eating

2011-05-16T16:41:00.000-07:00

Since returning from Nebraska, I have spent a lot of time indoors, and I have therefore had few pictures to post. I dedicated the month of April to finishing a project's paperwork, giving me little time for garden work. Luckily, Sarah has been able to get out, prepare the soil, and plant some seeds.
Like everyone else in the Northwest and Northern Rockies, we have been waiting for consistently warm weather to return so we can plant tomatoes, squashes, and other summer crops.

Until then, we will settle for the leafy greens and root vegetables than can tolerate our cool, mostly cloudy weather.

Each day we get new reminders, such as these fig buds, that spring is, in fact, here.

A few weeks ago, Sarah bought me a hand-cranked pasta machine. Last Monday, I made my first fresh pasta dish, fettuccine with rainbow chard ragu. I enjoyed the process so much that I will try to take time to make pasta once a week and top it with whatever is in season.

Return to Nebraska

2011-03-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

One week ago, I returned home from a great trip to central Nebraska. I spent most of the time at a conference center in Kearney, but I had many hours to bird before my flights home on Sunday afternoon.

After checking out of my motel, I walked east for several miles parallel to Interstate 80, then crossed the highway to view hundreds of Sandhill Cranes landing, dancing, and foraging in a farmer's field.

Nine years ago, I trapped cranes for the US Geological Survey nearby along the Platte River. It was nice to watch them again, without the pressure to catch a daily quota.

After viewing the cranes, I turned north and walked along a road that was surrounded by a gigantic cornfield. I among the stubble, I saw Snow Geese, Canada Geese, Cackling Geese, and a few more cranes.
After my walk, a snowstorm blew in and delayed a couple of my flights. After seemingly endless hours of waiting, I finally returned to Portland at 11:00 pm.

Nebraska Bird List:

Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Red-tailed Hawk
Bald Eagle
Mute Swan
Snow Goose
White-fronted Goose
Canada Goose
Cackling Goose
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Wood Duck
Gadwall
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Ring-billed Gull
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Mourning Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove
Rock Pigeon
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
American Robin
Eastern Bluebird
European Starling
Brown Creeper
Northern Cardinal
Dark-eyed Junco
Song Sparrow
American Tree Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
House Sparrow

Birding Central Oregon

2011-02-15T16:25:00.000-08:00

Last week, I attended a wildlife conference in Bend, accompanied by Sarah and Andie the dog.

We stayed in a hotel along the Deschutes River and drank my favorite brand of beer at the Deschutes brewpub. After the conference, we drove northwest to the smaller town of Sisters, where we spent two more nights.

We birded the area for several days and found all of the species we had hoped for and more. Our first big find was a flock of at least 70 Pinyon Jays eating ponderosa pine seeds near Sisters High School.

They made an incredible variety of sounds as they moved through the area foraging on the ground and in the branches of large trees.
The next day we found a female White-headed Woodpecker at Black Butte Lodge, also eating ponderosa pine seeds. We usually see several when we visit the area, but she was our only one of the trip.
The species we hoped most to see was the Black-backed Woodpecker, which had been reported in the Black Butte II wildfire site that had burned in July of 2009.

This species, perhaps the most fire-dependent bird in North America, forages for beetles and other insects in trees killed or weakened by fire.

It took two visits, but we succeeded in finding a pair, the first Sarah had ever seen!

The last species we hoped to see is a favorite of mine, the Lewis's Woodpecker.

Named for Meriwether Lewis, this woodpecker acts like a flycatcher in the summer when it catches flying insects on the wing. Pairs breed in either cottonwood forests or post-wildfire areas, where preexisting cavities provide nest sites for this weak excavator. In the winter, populations occupy oak habitats where they can supplement their insect diets with acorns. I can think of few Oregon birds with such complex habitat needs.

On our way home from Sisters, we stopped in the tiny town of Tygh Valley, which is surrounded Oregon white oaks, large cottonwoods, and, we hoped, Lewis's Woodpeckers. It only took us five minutes to spot one perched in a cottonwood snag near a creek west of town. This was the first Lewis's either of us had seen in many years.
We found many other species, listed below, including some that we do not see west of the Cascades where we do most of our birding. This was definitely our best birding trip of the year to date.

Central Oregon Birds:

Great Blue Heron
Tundra Swan

Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Mallard

Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
American Wigeon
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser

Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Rough-legged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Prairie Falcon
Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon

Belted kingfisher
Black-backed Woodpecker
Lewis's Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Western Scrub Jay
Pinyon Jay
Black-billed Magpie
Clark's Nutcracker

Steller's Jay
American Crow
Common RavenNorthern Shrike
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Townsend's Solitaire
American Robin

Horned Lark
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Dark-eyed Junco

Western Meadowlark

Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
House Sparrow

Neighborhood birds: the first 12 months

2011-01-31T21:20:00.000-08:00

Now that January is over, we have officially spent 12 months in our house!

I have been keeping a list of the bird species we encounter in our yard, on walks with the dog, or during other outings in the neighborhood.

I added up the species from each month to reveal the following patterns:

We found 65 species during the year. Of these, 36 (55%) were year-round residents, 13 (20%) migrated here from higher latitudes or elevations to spend the winter, and 16 (25%) migrated from the south to nest in our area.

The Song Sparrow was the only species I recorded every month. I recorded another nine species (Western Scrub Jay, Steller's Jay, Spotted Towhee, Lesser Goldfinch, House finch, Bewick's Wren, Black-capped Chickadee, Anna's Hummingbird, and American Crow) at least 10 months out of the year.

We found the most species in May and the fewest in April. My guess is the the low numbers in April, June, and August resulted from less time looking for birds due to travel and work. It will be interesting to see if these patterns hold for the second year in our neighborhood.

A day of New Mexico birding

2011-01-15T14:24:00.000-08:00

Last week, I escaped our soggy weather with a quick trip to New Mexico. I spent most of the time in meetings, but I was able to get outside for a day of study site visits and birding in the Middle Rio Grande.

At sunrise, I arrived at Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. An army of camo-clad photographers was already there taking advantage of the morning light and hordes of waking Sandhill Cranes.

As I drove north through Socorro County, some clouds moved in, but the snow only fell at higher elevations. Finally, I arrived in Valencia County, ending the day at my friend's house in Bosque Farms.

I think that the most interesting livestock in America, such as these chickens and sheep, can be found in this and other villages on the Rio Grande.

Here is the day's bird list:

Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Snow Goose
Canada Goose
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Gadwall
Northern Shoveler
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
American Kestrel
Gambel's Quail
Ring-necked Pheasant
Sandhill Crane
American Coot
Ring-billed Gull
Mourning Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove
White-winged Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Say's Phoebe
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Bewick's Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Western Meadowlark
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Pine Siskin
House Sparrow

The Year in Birding, 2010

2011-01-01T20:53:00.000-08:00

For 2010, Sarah and I decided to tally the number of bird species we found in our travels this year. We did not go out of our way to maximize the number, as some do in a “big year,” but we wanted to determine the number found in each state during a typical year. Here are the results:

The first species of the year was Cackling Goose, observed in a flock over our old apartment on New Year’s Day. The last species we added to the list was White-throated Sparrow, seen at Sarah’s grandparents’ house on Christmas Day.

I found a total of 214 species in five states, while Sarah found 208 in three states.

Between the two of us, we found 190 species in Oregon.

There were 16 species, such as American White Pelican and Golden Eagle, which we saw only in Montana or Washington.

I found one species in Texas, a Great-tailed Grackle at the DFW Airport.

I added 11 species to my list, including Carolina Wren, while attending a conference in Pennsylvania.

Our life birds for the year were Trumpeter Swan, Ancient Murrelet and Cassin’s Auklet.

We saw the swans during a beautiful day of birding in Montana’s Mission Valley.

The murrelets and auklets were swimming in Boiler Bay on the Oregon Coast.

For this year’s project, we are compiling bird lists for each county that we visit in Oregon. This way, we will document which and how many species we find in different parts of the state. Stay tuned for results!

Pictures and Places of 2010

2010-12-24T17:28:00.000-08:00

One excuse for my recent lack of posting is our need of a fully functioning camera. We hope to have a new one soon. Until then, here are some photos from my favorite places in 2010. It was a great year to explore some new sites and revisit old stomping grounds.

Dog on a rock in Butte, Montana

Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge, western Montana

National Bison Range, western Montana

Metolius River, central Oregon

Cascade Mountains, central Oregon

Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Cape Arago, southern Oregon coast

Port Orford Heads State Park, southern Oregon coast

Andie enjoying the sun on her new back deck

From our Village to yours, Happy New Year !

Thanksgiving cold snap

2010-11-24T13:02:00.001-08:00

Last week we kicked off our holiday season with the coldest temperatures of the year in western Oregon. It was also the coldest time we have spent in our house, which we first found a year ago this week.

In preparation for the cold, I sealed up the crawl space vents, covered the lettuces in the garden, and filled the feeders for the birds.

We took several bird watching trips to keep the blood flowing during the long weekend, beginning with the Sandy River Delta on Thanksgiving Day.

The dog loved the off-leash trails at the Delta. She investigated many interesting finds such as this beaver chew.

On Sunday, I went with some in-laws on a fishing trip to Columbia River Gorge. I was hoping to catch my first steelhead, which I have been trying to get since moving to Oregon five years ago.

Success! I hooked two and landed one. This was a catch-and-release area, so I turned her loose to continue her travels.

With a new house in a wonderful neighborhood and beautiful places to visit, we have plenty to celebrate this year!

Tomato Season (sort of)

2010-10-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

We are usually inundated with ripe tomatoes during the month of October, but this year has been a bit slow in terms of warm-weather produce production.

Luckily, I still have a few tomatoes to work with.

I quartered some and stewed them for winter soup broths.

I also blended some into a paste and cooked it down with diced onions and dry herbs to make a pizza sauce. I will use our remaining tomatoes to make a broth for tortilla soup, which we will bring to a birthday party tonight.

South Coast beach finds

2010-09-19T13:14:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I recently returned from our fourth annual September vacation. We chose the south Oregon Coast this year, where Sarah lived for a while as an undergrad at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology.

We took in many great views such as the one above at Port Orford Heads State Park.

As usual, we found many intersting things in the sand during our daily beach walks.

There were some wild fish skulls near a seafood plant at the Port of Port Orford near our motel.

At Cape Blanco's beach, the westernmost in the Lower 48, we found a Red-necked Phalarope that, though dead, was in great shape. These little shorebirds winter in coastal bays swimming in search of food.

On a rockier beach, we found the champion of intertidal grazing mollusks, the gumboot chiton.

These creatures resemble large, eyeless slugs with a velvety dorsal side and a squishy belly.

Now that we have met our coastal time quota, we hope to return to work on our many home and garden projects.

Summer Projects

2010-08-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

As with previous summers, I have been busy during recent weeks. I have been preparing two projects that went on display last Friday.

The first was a painting of a Black Oystercatcher for a show at our community art center. It is now on display with other works from artists who live or work in Multnomah Village.

The other was a research poster I brought to the Ecological Society of America meetings in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Unlike the painting, which will be up until September, the poster was on display for only a couple of hours.

Until last week, I had never visited the northeast portion of the country, so I had been looking forward to this five-day trip all summer. Despite the heavy humidity, I enjoyed every day I spent in the city. There is a lot optimism here, due to a boom in academic spending and sustainable building, which have replaced many of the jobs lost during the industry shutdowns of the 1980s.

Thursday morning, I took a quick trip to Frick Park in the Squirrel Hill district. In the early morning fog, I found a luna moth and several "eastern" bird species I had not seen or heard in several years.

Later that afternoon, dozens of Pirates fans and I crossed the Allegheny river on the Roberto Clemente Bridge to catch a baseball game. The Pirates beat the Rockies 5-1.

Now that my poster and oystercatcher projects are complete, I can see the finish line of my summer busy season.

Recipe of the Week #7

2010-08-08T20:47:00.000-07:00

After returning from a trip to the east, I was eager to get into our garden to pull some weeds and pick veggies for cooking.

Many of my favorite dishes to prepare in late summer and early fall include a tasty combination of tomatoes, eggplants and summer squash. Last night I cooked my first dish of this sort of the year because I needed to use some summer squashes and an eggplant from our CSA. I also had some leftover pasta on hand, as well as one last container of last year's tomato sauce. I combined them all into the dish described below.

Eggplant and Summer Squash Pasta Bake

Ingredients
Several small summer squash and eggplants
Tomato sauce
Bread crumbs
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions
Brush bottom of a baking dish with olive oil and sprinkle a thin layer of bread crumbs over the bottom. Add a layer of pasta above the breadcrumbs. Dice eggplants and squash into approximately 1 inch cubes. Toss cubes with salt and olive oil, then place on a baking sheet. Put baking sheet in the oven and broil until they start to brown. Stir occasionally to ensure that multiple sides have browned. Keep an eye on the oven to make sure they don't burn. When browned, spoon the squash and eggplant on top of the pasta.

Sprinkle Parmesan and cover vegetables with tomato sauce. Add another layer of pasta, another layer of tomato sauce, then more breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Place into the oven and bake at 350 until breadcrumbs and cheese begin to brown on top. Serve immediately.

Produce update

2010-07-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

I have not posted a recipe for several weeks for a couple of reasons. First, due to wisdom teeth removal, I spent a week eating food that was not very exciting. Second, I have been busy wrapping up several projects that need finishing by the end of the month. More on those later.

Despite my lack posting, good food is being produced in our yard and at local farms. More recipes are on the way.

This week, we made our annual trip to West Union Farms to stock up on berries for the year. We hit the Blackberry Jackpot and now have a full freezer.

Our first backyard squash blossom arrived yesterday! I hope the flowers to attract plenty of bumblebees to our garden.

Recipe of the Week #6

2010-07-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

During the 4th of July weekend, Sarah and I enjoyed some down time tending to our house and garden.

Our cool-season crops such as beets, radishes, and greens had grown quite rapidly and were in need some thinning.

I pulled several small beets from a crowded row, but I did not want to waste their tiny bulbs and delicate greens, so I came up with an simple recipe to uses both parts.

Sauteed Micro Beets

Ingredients
Young beets
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Instructions
Remove all but the most tender stalks and leaves from each beet. Rinse the bulb thoroughly and snip off the root tips. To ensure beets are evenly cooked, slice the largest bulbs in half lengthwise. Cover frying pan with a thin layer of olive oil and bring to medium heat. Add beets and salt and pepper to taste. Saute for several minutes, until leaves are wilted and slightly browned. Finish cooking the beets by adding a small amount of water to the pan. Cover and let steam for ten minutes. When the largest bulb is easily pierced with a fork, remove all from heat and enjoy.

Recipe of the Week #5

2010-06-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

Multi-purpose Tahini Sauce

While in Pacific City last weekend, I crafted a quick tahini sauce as a topping for tempeh tacos, which were inspired by a dish at Cafe Mundo in Newport.

During the next few days, I used the remainder of the sauce for dipping vegetables, such as radishes, that are now growing like crazy in our garden.

Ingredients

Tahini (a spread of roasted sesame seeds)
Soy sauce
Lemon juice (can be substituted by other acids such as vinegar or orange juice)
Finely chopped scallions (green onions)

Instructions

Place several spoonfuls of tahini into a mixing bowl (I used about 5 tablespoons). Stir in juice of one lemon and the chopped scallions (I used three small scallions). Add soy sauce, stir, and taste, adding more until level of desired saltiness in achieved. Adjust to desired consistency by adding water or more tahini. Place in the refrigerator for several hours before serving to let the flavors blend.

Recipe of the Week #4

2010-06-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

Grilled Portabella and Scallion Fajitas

While planning our trip to central Oregon, we decided to cook dinner using the barbecue provided by our motel. We wanted to grill something local and veggie, so we packed some portabella mushrooms and scallions (green onions).

Ingredients:

Large Portabella Mushrooms
Olive oil
Cumin
Salt
Scallions
Flour Tortillas
Toppings such as lettuce, avocado, cheese, or salsa

Instructions

Light briquettes in barbecue. Remove stems and scrape dark brown gills of off undersides of mushrooms. Brush each mushroom with oil and sprinkle with salt and cumin. Place mushrooms stem-side down over coals and move from heat if they start to blacken. When mushrooms have collapsed a bit, flip them and cook until moisture has stopped bubbling up from center. Place scallions over coals and remove them when they are tender and just starting to blacken.
Warm tortillas over the grill for a few seconds on each side. Slice mushrooms into strips and place into warmed tortillas along with scallions and selected toppings. Eat immediately, preferably outside.

Central Oregon Birds

2010-06-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I decided to take a weekend trip to central Oregon to enjoy the sunny weather and see some birds that are unique to the east side of the Cascades.

We drove to Camp Sherman on Friday afternoon, stayed in a small motel near the Metolius River, and returned to Portland Sunday evening.

On Saturday, we spent a long day birding a variety of habitats such as pine forests, riparian areas, and wildfire sites.

It was great to see drycountry birds like Pinyon Jays and Green-tailed Towhees while taking in amazing views of the Cascade peaks. We can't wait to return next year!

Birds:

Canada Goose
Mallard
Common Merganser
Common Goldeneye
Bald Eagle
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Virginia Rail
Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon
Common Nighthawk
Calliope Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Red-naped Sapsucker
White-headed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood-pewee
Pacific Slope Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Warbling Vireo
Cassin's Vireo
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Violet Green Swallow
Barn Swallow
Mountain Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
House Wren
American Dipper
Western Bluebird
American Robin
Swainson's Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Macgilivary's Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Western Tanager
Black-headed Grosbeak
Spotted Towhee
Green-tailed Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Brown-headed Cowbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Cassin's Finch
Pine Siskin
Red Crossbill
House Sparrow

Recipe of the week #3

2010-06-08T11:26:00.001-07:00

We had a backlog of leeks from our CSA, so this weekend I made potato leek soup following instructions in The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook (highly recommended). Their soup recipes call for chicken broth and we only cook vegetarian, so I made a veggie broth using items from our refrigerator, freezer, and backyard. I adapted this recipe from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (our cooking bible).

Spring Veggie Broth

Ingredients:

Frozen winter squash
Green parts of leeks
Garlic cloves
Fresh parsley
Fresh thyme
Fresh oregano
Bay leaf
Olive oil
Nutritional yeast
Salt

Instructions

Heat olive oil (2 tablespoons) in a dutch oven. Chop leek parts (I used the tops of 5 small leeks) and rinse well to remove mud. Dice garlic ( 2 cloves) and add to oil with the leeks and squash pieces (I used four 3-inch strips). Add nutritional yeast (1 tablespoon) and salt to taste. When garlic has caramelized (about 5 minutes) add water (two quarts is enough for one large pot of soup), bay leaf, thyme (3 sprigs), parsley (3 sprigs), and oregano (3 sprigs). Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a slow boil and cook uncovered for 3o minutes. Pour through a mesh strainer into a large bowl and taste for seasoning. Add more salt if desired.

Gardening in the Sun

2010-06-07T16:50:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of break in our rainy weather to catch up on some gardening. We now have patches scattered around our front and back yards full of seeds and starts.

Along the side of our driveway, we covered our strawberries and blueberries with netting to keep the birds out.

A few feet away, I constructed a tomato frame and planted a few squash seeds.

In the back, our raised bed is now full of plants in various stages of development.

I finally weeded the old garden, whose peonies are now in bloom.

Finally, we added some soil to an open patch of clay. We planted sunflowers and squash in hopes of big yellow flowers this summer. Another 1.3 inches of rain fell on Sunday, but some sun is expected for the rest of the week. Between our gardens and CSA membership, we should have plenty of food to work with this summer. More recipes to come!

20 days of rain

2010-06-04T14:19:00.000-07:00

It has been one of the wettest springs on record in western Oregon. Rainfall totals in May were much higher than the usually wetter month of February. On Friday, we reached 20 straight days of at least some precipitation. I am used to soggy springs and I like interesting weather events, so I refuse to join the ceaseless complaining of the local tv anchorpersons.

We have had one rain-related casualty in our yard, however. One of our rose bushes has fallen. Hopefully it can be saved.

Our gardens have been soaked, but our cold-season plants such as radishes and greens have fared well despite heavy slug predation.

We now wait for a dry and sunny stretch to plant our warm-season seeds.

Recipe of the Week #2

2010-06-02T11:35:00.000-07:00

Beans and Greens Burritos

This quickly prepared recipe is always a good use of the greens we accumulate in the spring. As the summer progresses, we add fresh tomatoes and summer squash to the filling to change the character of the dish. The quantities in the parentheses below serve two of us with a little left over for the next day's lunch.

Ingredients
Beans, canned or pre-cooked dried
Rainbow chard, leaves chopped with wide ribs removed and diced
Chopped spinach or other tender green such as mispoona
Chopped kale
Diced onions or scallions
Diced garlic
Ground cumin

Cooking instructions
Bring one tablespoon of vegetable oil to medium heat in a large skillet. Add onions (two handfuls) and saute until translucent (about 10 minutes). add kale (one handful) and cook, stirring several minutes until wilted. Rinse beans (one can) and add to skillet, then cook, stirring occasionally until beans are softened and heated through, about 15 minutes. Add garlic (two cloves) and chard (one handful) and spinach (one handful) and cook mixture until leaves are thoroughly wilted. Season with salt and cumin to taste (two teaspoons each for us). Wrap mixture in flour or corn tortilla and top with cheese and your favorite salsa or hot sauce.

Recipe of the Week #1

2010-05-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

After two years of subscribing to a Community Supported Agriculture farm and growing our own food, Sarah and I have created many recipes using the fruits and vegetables we accumulate throughout the year. Last week we received the first of our summer shares and I thought it would be helpful to share these recipes in weekly installments. The recipes in these post will be vegetarian and of our creation. Since I tend to change the quantities of ingredients in cookbooks to meet our preferences, I will list the the items then add the amount we use in parentheses in the instructions.

Recipe #1: Spring Empanadas

I fell in love with empanadas while traveling in South America. These savory pies were reminiscent of the Cornish pasties I grew up eating in Montana, but were filled with a greater variety of ingredients. For this recipe, we chose rich, earthy ingredients that are available in the spring.

Ingredients:
Pizza Crust (we use New Seasons's pre-made variety - one package makes three large empanadas)
Shredded Jarlsberg cheese
Chopped kale, chard, spinach, or other greens
Chickpeas, squished with a potato masher
Diced shallots
Sliced shitake mushrooms
olive oil
thyme

Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. In a non-stick skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat (I used 1 tablespoon). Add sliced mushrooms (2 cups) and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add shallots (1 large bulb) and kale (3 large leaves) and cook another 10 minutes. Stir in chickpeas (1 can) and cook mixture until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with desired amounts of thyme, salt, and pepper and set mixture aside.
Divide dough into equal portions that are large enough to form into 6-inch circles. Dust with flour to prevent sticking to cutting board. Place enough filling mixture to cover one half of the circle with an inch-tall mound, leaving 1/2 inch of the edge exposed. Add desired amount of cheese and apply a small amount of water to the edge of the dough for sealing. Fold over dough and press the edges together with the bottom of a fork to make half-moon shapes. Pierce the top several times with a fork and place into oven. Decrease heat to 375 degrees and cook 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Flowers and Flyovers

2010-05-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

When we returned home from the beach on Sunday, we were greeted by dozens of new flowers. Most of the shrubs and perennial herbs were here before we bought the house last winter, so we did not know what colors to expect.

We are not sure what species these are above, but they popped up in the pre-existing garden and produced bright pink blooms.

We were surprised by the scarlet flowers on these peas we bought several weeks ago.

The long wait for rhododendron flowers is over.

They came in two shades of pink and are attracting bees like crazy.

We also have several rose bushes that appear to be quite old. This one is producing large, peach yogurt-colored flowers.

The time has also come for me to count birds at Killin Wetlands in Washington County. Today I had a hard time listening for birds because a pair of Red-tailed Hawks were unhappy about my proximity to their nest (under the arrow above). They flew overhead and screamed at me until I finished my work and drove home. I saw one chick in the nest that will probably fledge soon, so I should get some peace when I return next week.

Coastal Bivalve Consumption

2010-05-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to the beach to spend some time with friends and take advantage of the negative tides.

Fellow forager Jere and I dug razor clams at Clatsop Beach on the north coast.

We used Jere's clam guns to pull up plugs of sand beneath "shows"- quarter-sized dimples in the sand that indicate the presence of razor clams. Look closely and you can see one above.

Like the hundreds of fellow diggers out there, we quickly bagged our limit of 15 each.

We returned to Pacific city and spent the rest of the day processing our catch.

We breaded and fried the surprisingly large clams and enjoyed a great dinner. This is the second year in a row that we have had a spring clam fry at Pacific City and we hope for many more to come.

The next day, we tidepooled during the low tide.

Like us, ochre sea stars were busy consuming bivalves.

Despite this relentless predation, the California mussels at Cape Kiawanda are quite abundant and very large. It does not look like the sea stars will be going hungry any time soon.

Backyard garden work

2010-05-10T09:11:00.000-07:00

Though our winter was relatively mild, the unusually wet and cold April put many of our gardening plans on hold. On Saturday and Sunday, the sun returned, so Sarah and I got to work on reducing our backyard lawn cover while increasing our garden space.

We uprooted heavy piles of sod, constructed an 8 x 25 ft cedar frame, and filled it with a gardening mix from southeast Portland.

We still have a long way to go in our grass removal project. We hope to have the lawn replaced by rocks, shrubs, and vegetables in a couple of years

Birdathon 2010

2010-05-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Sarah and I led a Birdathon fundraising trip for the Audubon Society of Portland. It was our fourth year as trip leaders and the 3oth year of Birdathon.

We started the day at Cooper Mountain Nature Park, then drove to coastal town of Newport and back.
During the 13-hour trip, we found 92 species of birds, several of which we had never found on previous Birdathon trips.
As always, we had a great time birding with and getting to know our participants. We are already planning and looking forward to next year's expedition.

Bird species list:

1. Pacific Loon

2. Common Loon

3. Western Grebe

4. Red-necked Grebe

5. Brown Pelican

6. Brandt’s Cormorant

7. Pelagic Cormorant

8. Double-crested Cormorant

9. Great Blue Heron

10. Green Heron

11. Canada Goose

12. Brant

13. Greater White-fronted Goose

14. Mallard

15. Northern Pintail

16. Gadwall

17. Northern Shoveler

18. Green-winged Teal

19. Greater Scaup

20. Surf Scoter

21. Ring-necked Duck

22. Harlequin Duck

23. Bufflehead

24. Red-breasted Merganser

25. Bald Eagle

26. Turkey Vulture

27. Cooper’s Hawk

28. Red-tailed Hawk

29. American Kestrel

30. Sooty Grouse

31. American Coot

32. Killdeer

33. Black Oystercatcher

34. Greater Yellowlegs

35. Lesser Yellowlegs

36. Solitary Sandpiper

37. Western Sandpiper

38. Least Sandpiper

39. Dunlin

40. Western Gull

41. California Gull

42. Glaucous-winged Gull

43. Caspian Tern

44. Pigeon Guillemot

45. Common Murre

46. Rock Pigeon

47. Band-tailed Pigeon

48. Mourning Dove

49. Vaux’s Swift

50. Anna’s Hummingbird

51. Belted Kingfisher

52. Hairy Woodpecker

53. Downy Woodpecker

54. Northern Flicker

55. Pacific Slope Flycatcher

56. Steller’s Jay

57. Western Scrub Jay

58. American Crow

59. Common Raven

60. Violet Green Swallow

61. Tree Swallow

62. Cliff Swallow

63. Barn Swallow

64. Black-capped Chickadee

65. Chestnut-backed Chickadee

66. Bushtit

67. Red-breasted Nuthatch

68. Brown Creeper

69. Winter Wren

70. Bewick’s Wren

71. Golden-crowned Kinglet

72. Western Bluebird

73. American Robin

74. European Starling

75. Yellow-rumped Warbler

76. Orange-crowned Warbler

77. Wilson’s Warbler

78. Common Yellowthroat

79. Spotted Towhee

80. Chipping Sparrow

81. Savannah Sparrow

82. White-crowned Sparrow

83. Dark-eyed Junco

84. Song Sparrow

85. Brown-headed Cowbird

86. Red-winged Blackbird

87. Brewer’s Blackbird

88. Evening Grosbeak

89. House Finch

90. Lesser Goldfinch

91. American Goldfinch

92. House Sparrow

Montana Trip

2010-04-20T19:48:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I just returned from a five-day trip to Montana we took to attend my brother's wedding reception. We had not visited the state together for several years, so I was eager to show her some of my favorite places in my hometown of Butte and my college town of Missoula. Here are some highlights:

Mountains and mines northeast of Butte

My grandmother planted this blue spruce when I was born. Every time I visit Butte, I check on her old house to see how tall the tree has grown.

After leaving Butte, we drove to the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge in the Bitterroot Valley. As usual, Canada Geese were nesting in old Osprey nests.

I scooped up a green drake mayfly newly emerged from the Bitterroot River.

A day later, we toured the National Bison Range and the Mission Valley.

We saw adult bulls and cows...

and teenaged buffalo, but no recently born calves, which we had hoped for.

We did see antelope (on the ridgetop) and plenty of birds, however, so the trip was a big success.

I can't wait for the next trip to Montana when I can show Sarah some of the locations and animals we missed this week.

Goings on in the Yard

2010-04-12T16:59:00.000-07:00

Here in the Village, the weather has transitioned from the typically winter pattern of mostly rainy days to a spring-like mix of sun, wind, and rain each day. The change in seasons means that it is time to get serious about nesting and gardening.

Last week I found another Western Scrub Jay pair constructing a nest, this one in a pyrocanthus shrub in our own backyard. The female is now incubating. This woody plant is armed with sharp, brittle thorns that break under the skin and irritate for days, so the nest site should be a safe one.

The crows visible from our house are now incubating as well. On one nest, I can actually see the female with my bare eyes from our dining room. While indoors, we can also hear her calling out to others while sitting on her nest.

During the last two weeks, we transplanted three strawberry plants and two blueberry shrubs in hopes of several years' worth of cobblers. We also sent orders for vegetable seeds and native plants which we anticipate will increase the diversity of food in our kitchen and birds in our yard.

Corvid Country

2010-03-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

Corvids (crows and jays) seem to be the dominant birds in our new neighborhood.

Our house lies in the center of a Western Scrub Jay territory. The pair are regular visitors to our feeder and they frequently pass over the yard while carrying material to their nest site.

Their nest, under construction for several weeks now, is hidden somewhere under the arrow in this wall of shrubs and trees above. We see occasional Steller's Jays as well, but I have not noticed any nesting behavior yet.

We have plenty of American Crows in our neighborhood and two of their nests are visible from our yard.

One nest is under construction in a redcedar behind the house.

The other is being built on the branch of a large Douglas fir. It will be easy to monitor the activities of these nests since the trees are so tall. If they are interested, the crows can keep an eye on us as well.

Kelposting

2010-03-23T08:18:00.000-07:00

While reading a biography of John Adams several years ago, I was impressed by the fact that he used kelp as a an organic fertilizer on his Massachusetts farm. Our gardening books recommend composting with kelp because it accumulates many important elements that are washed out of our soil and into the Pacific Ocean.

For many months now, I have been looking forward to collecting kelp so I could return nutrients to our soil, Founding Father-style.

On Sunday, I found several strands of bull kelp on the beach at Pacific City.

I cut the strands into manageable chunks and filled a 5 gallon bucket.

I rinsed the sand and salt off the pieces and cut them in to smaller bits that will break down in the composter.

The kelp is a sort of "green matter" which also includes kitchen scraps and grass clippings. We try to balance green matter by adding twice as much "brown matter," such as dried, shredded leaves.

We do not have a large deciduous tree in our yard, so we get most of our leaves from a horse chestnut in a vacant lot on our block.

Its large leaf and flower buds are now breaking. Next year's brown matter crop is well on its way and we look forward to a productive, kelp-fed garden.

Welcoming Spring

2010-03-21T11:17:00.001-07:00

Sarah and I spent the last afternoon of winter birding the Tillamook area on the Oregon Coast. We rounded out our winter bird list with sightings of three migrant species: Turkey Vulture, Tree Swallow, and Violet-green Swallow.

We have now started our spring bird list with an Osprey being the first species unique to the season. It will be interesting to see which season produces the most birds in 2010.

Complete winter bird list:

1.Cackling Goose
2.Canada Goose
3.Pie-billed Grebe
4.Double-crested Cormorant
5.Great-blue Heron
6.Mallard
7.American Wigeon
8.Ring-necked Duck
9.Bufflehead
10.Wood Duck
11.Bald Eagle
12.American Coot
13.Glaucous-winged Gull
14.Mourning Dove
15.Anna's Hummingbird
16.Acorn Woodpecker
17.Western Scrub Jay
18.American Robin
19.American Goldfinch
20.Red-winged Blackbird
21.American Crow
22.Dark-eyed junco
23.Lesser Scaup
24.Black-capped Chickadee
25.Bushtit
26.Red-breasted Sapsucker
27.Green-winged Teal
28.Spotted Towhee
29.Brown Creeper
30.Golden-crowned Kinglet
31.Red-tailed Hawk
32.Song Sparrow
33.Varied Thrush
34.Chestnut-backed Chickadee
35.Rock Dove
36.Hairy Woodpecker
37.American Kestrel
38.Gadwall
39.Golden-crowned Sparrow
40.House Finch
41.Northern Flicker
42.Tundra Swan
43.Northern Shoveler
44.Hooded Merganser
45.Cooper's Hawk
46.Red-breasted Nuthatch
47.Bewick's Wren
48.Common Merganser
49.Peregrine Falcon
50.Northern Pintail
51.Killdeer
52.Wilson's Snipe
53.Steller's Jay
54.Brewer's Blackbird
55.Common Loon
56.Horned Grebe
57.Eared Grebe
58.Brown Pelican
59.Pelagic Cormorant
60.Great Egret
61.Greater Scaup
62.Surf Scoter
63.Common Goldeneye
64.Red-breasted Merganser
65.Mew Gull
66.California Gull
67.Thayer's Gull
68.Western Gull
69.Common Raven
70.Winter Wren
71.White-breasted Nuthatch
72.Snow Goose
73.Northern Harrier
74.Sandhill Crane
75.Canvasback
76.Belted Kingfisher
77.Downy Woodpecker
78.Surfbird
79.Black Turnstone
80.White-tailed Kite
81.Ruddy Duck
82.Western Grebe
83.Black Oystercatcher
84.Hermit Thrush
85.Pine Siskin
86.Lesser Goldfinch
87.Ring-billed Gull
88.Western Meadowlark
89.Eurasian Collared Dove
90.Fox Sparrow
91.Sanderling
92.Harlequin Duck
93.Red-throated Loon
94.Red-necked Grebe
95.Brant
96.Yellow-rumped Warbler
97.Marsh Wren
98.Dunlin
99.Townsend's Warbler
100. European Starling
101. House Sparrow
102. Clark's Grebe
103. American Dipper
104. Cedar Waxwing
105. Great-horned Owl
106. Rufous Hummingbird
107. White-crowned Sparrow
108. Turkey Vulture
109. Tree Swallow
110. Violet-green Swallow

Party Favors

2010-03-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we had a big housewarming party that left us with many bottles of wine and several potted plants. After cleaning the house on Sunday, we went to work putting the plants in the ground.

We planted this shade-loving bleeding heart in the front yard, which does not see much sun.

I hope this rosemary grows into a shrub as large as those in my neighbors' yards.

The house's previous occupants left us a nice terraced herb garden in the back yard. We added some thyme, sage, and parsley. We still have a few things to plant and plenty of wine to drink.

Activites in the Yard

2010-03-09T12:35:00.000-08:00

Last week, a Black-capped Chickadee started excavating a cavity in a broken branch of our flowering plum tree. I'm not sure if it is getting an early start on the nesting season or carving out a place to roost. I will keep an eye on the tree to see what develops.

On Sunday, we took a trip to the Hillsdale Farmer's market and picked up, along with some produce, a few hardy starts to plant in the garden. Of course, temperatures dropped as soon as the onions, peas, and kale were in the ground. For now, at least, they seem to be holding up well.

After tending the garden, we resumed our battle against the south side noxious weeds. We cut down the knotweed canes from last year and bagged as many as we could.
These persistent plants are now sending up this year's asparagus-looking shoots, which I have been lopping off on-sight.

We had hoped to plant some native species here and mechanically control the knotweed until it gives in, but some have suggested we call in the City for some herbicidal help. Whatever happens, we will be sure that the canes do not grow and produce seeds as they did last year.

Raptor Nests

2010-03-01T08:48:00.000-08:00

The bird of prey nesting season is now underway in western Oregon.

Last weekend, Sarah and I revisited Dawson Creek Park, near our old apartment. We checked on the snag, pictured above in 2008, which has housed a Great-horned Owl nest during the last two years. Sure enough, an adult was sitting in the nest while another was perched in a nearby tree.

Downtown Portland's Red-tailed Hawks have begun their breeding behavior as well. As usual, they can be seen on Audubon Society of Portland/KGW's Raptor Cam.

Anna's Hummingbirds are probably nesting now too, though I have not found any nests yet. Bushtits should begin building later in the month, followed by American Robins. I will keep my eyes on the neighborhood trees to see what develops.

Local Plants in February

2010-02-25T12:45:00.000-08:00

Thanks to milder-than-normal weather, it has felt more like mid-spring than late-winter this February. Many trees and shrubs are flowering now, brightening our neighborhood and forests.

We did not know that we had a plum tree in our backyard until it bloomed last week. It is currently attracting many honeybees.

This indian plum at the forest's edge has many white flowers but few leaves.

These plants in the interior, however, are much greener. I'm guessing that light availability determines whether these plants devote resources to flowers or leaves.

February Beach Weekend

2010-02-22T15:24:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, we took our monthly trip to the coast and our biannual trip to the town of Newport.

As usual, we birded several locations around town and sampled the local food and beer.

We found plenty of birds, but the only one I managed to photograph was carved into a bronze pillar by local artist Frank Boyden.

The weather could not have been nicer. As the sun set, we drove north to Pacific City.

The next day, we surveyed the beach of Bob Straub State Park for dead seabirds.

We did not find any dead birds, but we did encounter a gigantic black cottonwood

and some shiner surfperches that had washed ashore.

One Hundred Winter Birds

2010-02-20T18:44:00.000-08:00

As the new year started last month, Sarah and I decided to record each bird species we see in 2010. We are not trying too hard to maximize the size of the list, but record the number of species we would typically see during our travels.

As the list grew, we thought it would be cool if we encountered, between the two of us, 100 species in western Oregon during the 2010 winter months. While birding the coast this weekend, we reached that milestone.

Here is the list in the approximate order that each species was encountered:

1.Cackling Goose
2.Canada Goose
3.Pie-billed Grebe
4.Double-crested Cormorant
5.Great-blue Heron
6.Mallard
7.American Wigeon
8.Ring-necked Duck
9.Bufflehead
10.Wood Duck
11.Bald Eagle
12.American Coot
13.Glaucous-winged Gull
14.Mourning Dove
15.Anna's Hummingbird
16.Acorn Woodpecker
17.Western Scrub Jay
18.American Robin
19.American Goldfinch
20.Red-winged Blackbird
21.American Crow
22.Dark-eyed junco
23.Lesser Scaup
24.Black-capped Chickadee
25.Bushtit
26.Red-breasted Sapsucker
27.Green-winged Teal
28.Spotted Towhee
29.Brown Creeper
30.Golden-crowned Kinglet
31.Red-tailed Hawk
32.Song Sparrow
33.Varied Thrush
34.Chestnut-backed Chickadee
35.Rock Dove
36.Hairy Woodpecker
37.American Kestrel
38.Gadwall
39.Golden-crowned Sparrow
40.House Finch
41.Northern Flicker
42.Tundra Swan
43.Northern Shoveler
44.Hooded Merganser
45.Cooper's Hawk
46.Red-breasted Nuthatch
47.Bewick's Wren
48.Common Merganser
49.Peregrine Falcon
50.Northern Pintail
51.Killdeer
52.Wilson's Snipe
53.Steller's Jay
54.Brewer's Blackbird
55.Common Loon
56.Horned Grebe
57.Eared Grebe
58.Brown Pelican
59.Pelagic Cormorant
60.Great Egret
61.Greater Scaup
62.Surf Scoter
63.Common Goldeneye
64.Red-breasted Merganser
65.Mew Gull
66.California Gull
67.Thayer's Gull
68.Western Gull
69.Common Raven
70.Winter Wren
71.White-breasted Nuthatch
72.Snow Goose
73.Northern Harrier
74.Sandhill Crane
75.Canvasback
76.Belted Kingfisher
77.Downy Woodpecker
78.Surfbird
79.Black Turnstone
80.White-tailed Kite
81.Ruddy Duck
82.Western Grebe
83.Black Oystercatcher
84.Hermit Thrush
85.Pine Siskin
86.Lesser Goldfinch
87.Ring-billed Gull
88.Western Meadowlark
89.Eurasian Collared Dove
90.Fox Sparrow
91.Sanderling
92.Harlequin Duck
93.Red-throated Loon
94.Red-necked Grebe
95.Brant
96.Yellow-rumped Warbler
97.Marsh Wren
98.Dunlin
99.Townsend's Warbler
100. European Starling
101. House Sparrow
102. Clark's Grebe
103. American Dipper

It will be interesting to see how far the list has progressed by the end of the year.

Mid-month Birds

2010-02-16T12:27:00.000-08:00

We are halfway through our first full month in the new house and there have been plenty of birds to keep me entertained and distracted from work.

We have seen at least 20 species in or from our yard and at least 30 species in the neighborhood.

The previous occupants of the house left us a nice hanging platform feeder, which we hung from a weeping birch in the backyard. So far, the feeder has been visited by Scrub Jays, American Crows, Black-capped Chickadees, Spotted Towhees, Song Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, House Finches, House Sparrows, and an obese fox squirrel.

I also hung a hummingbird feeder, which the abundant Anna's Hummingbirds have so far ignored. I expect it will receive more attention when the Rufous Hummingbird migration begins next month.

Raptor Road Trip 2010

2010-02-07T09:11:00.000-08:00

On Saturday morning, we arrived at Sauvie Island at sunrise to help the Audubon Society of Portland, Metro, and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife prepare for the annual Raptor Road Trip event.

At 9 am, we set up shop at Coon Point, one of three birdwatching sites staffed by naturalists.

Good publicity and dry weather made for a great turnout from the public. At least 1600 people came to look at the birds while enjoying coffee and doughnuts.

After we packed up at 2 pm, a crowd remained to watch the eagles and herons perched in trees above large flocks of swans, geese, and cranes.

Coon Point Birds:

Western Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Tundra Swan
Canada Goose
Cackling Goose
Mallard
Northern Pintail
American Wigeon
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Common Merganser
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Glaucous-winged Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Eurasian Collared Dove
Rock Pigeon
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Western Scrub Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Brown Creeper
American Robin
Song Sparrow
Western Meadowlark
Red-winged Blackbird

Getting to know the watershed

2010-02-05T10:50:00.000-08:00

Though we have changed cities and counties, we remain in the Tualatin River Basin, but now live in the Fanno Creek Watershed.

A few blocks from our house, several drainages converge in a forested section of a city park, forming Vermont Creek.

Water from this stream eventually enters Fanno Creek, which flows southwest out of Multnomah County into Washington County, where it enters the Tualatin River. Eventually, the Tualatin flows into the Willamette River in Clackamas County near Oregon City.

The water from our neighborhood re-enters enters Multnomah County as the Willamette flows north and joins the Columbia River at Kelly Point Park, pictured above. From there, of course, our water travels to the Pacific Ocean, providing a medium for passage of anadromous fish and huge shipping containers along the way.

Welcome to the Neighborhood!

2010-01-31T17:13:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, Sarah, our dog Andie, and I spent our first full day in the new house. We have begun the processes of unpacking and getting to know our neighborhood.

Three crows, our first avian visitors, arrived this morning to pull large grubs from our backyard. They later spent the afternoon harassing a Red-tailed Hawk that was perched in a Doug fir.

Much of the day was sunny, so we, along with many neighbors, went outside to enjoy the weather. We noticed that the ratio of people walking dogs to people driving cars down our street was about 10 to 1, a great sign.

We still have a lot of work ahead of us, including a massive exotic species removal along the south fence. English Ivy, Himalayan blackberry, and a type of knotweed have formed a thicket that will keep me quite busy for a while.