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Monday, January 14, 2008

Backyard Birds and Sauvie Island

Here's the Cooper's Hawk that dove in for an unsuccessful kill this afternoon. Saw it through the rain-splattered window and it took off quickly to the shrill chatter of many bushtits.


Here's the Bewick's Wren enjoying a cake of Insect Suet. The Townsend's Warbler and Ruby-crowned Kinglet also sampled this.


Today I joined a group of volunteers from Audubon Society of Portland on a trip around Sauvie Island. Weather was pretty good.....cloudy but not rainy til the end. We stopped at Coon Point, the northern wildlife viewing platform, Rentenaar Road and Oak Island Road. Great raptor day...we saw: Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, Merlin, Sharp-shinned Hawk and Peregrine Falcon. On Oak Island Road we had great, if brief, looks at a White-throated Sparrow in with a group of Towhees, Song Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrows,Juncos and one Fox Sparrow. One female Purple Finch was also hanging out, making interesting calls, and eating berries.
I tried a little digiscoping with Luanne's fab Swarowski scope but only got one marginal photo of Sandhill Cranes. I'm sure there's more to it than just cramming your lens against the scope eyepiece but I haven't looked into it enough to know yet.



If you're free February 2, consider coming out to the island for the Raptor Road Trip. It's a great time to tour the refuge and see many species of raptors while volunteer naturalists like me tell you what they are!

2 comments:

NW Nature Nut said...

Watch out, I'm back in town and I will be glued to my window looking for birds for the Great January Bird Count. I see your list isn't much bigger.... Richard saw a Sharp-ie the other day. I hope it returns! Wish I could have been birding with you at Sauvies. I have a couple of goodies from Atlanta for you.

Seth and Michelle said...

Awesome photos, Laura. We have pics of almost all of our yard birds except the Bewick's. Everytime I get the camera, there he goes. Rascal.