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tmatlack
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PostMon May 07, 2018 2:14 am 
Dude! The Common Mergansers are gonna rule the planet. N. Fork Stilly Canoe trip Swede Heaven to Hazel Hole on Saturday that is all we saw...dozens and dozens...big, little, ducklings, etc. Saw one lonely Harlequin. I am not a Merganser fan. Rumor is we planted upland lakes with trout fry and big aggressive diving ducks like CM's monopolized that food source. tom

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostMon May 21, 2018 1:55 pm 
Finally heard my first grouse of the year booming while hiking at Cow Heaven. I've been hearing varied thrushes regularly but so far no hermits this year. I know they are on both slopes of the Cascades but maybe I need to head east for a better chance of hearing them. Toward the end of last week saw a bunch of spotted (I still really want to call them rufus sided) towhees at Boeing Creek Park. They are usually shy but they were hanging out in the open. Saw a couple males having a bit of a tussle. I'm assuming all this carousing and being more visible than usual is due to mating season. There are at least 3 broods of mallards at the lake. One mama got a head start on the others, her babies are already past the fuzzy yellow stage and twice the size of the newer ducklings.

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DIYSteve
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PostMon May 21, 2018 6:27 pm 
I saw two Long-billed Curlews near Quincy today. Upon seeing the first one I thought, "What the hell? That's a Long-billed Curlew." I had to do a double take. 100% positive ID

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Bedivere
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PostMon May 21, 2018 10:05 pm 
I heard a Barred Owl in my neighbor's Cedar trees the other morning as I was going out to my car for work. First time I've heard one around here.

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Hiker Mama
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PostWed May 23, 2018 8:41 am 
As I've lived in the same house now for over 15 years, I am surprised that I am still learning more and more about our resident birds. We live next to a green belt, so we get more than the average yard. This year was the first that I have noticed tanagers flitting through. They don't stay very long, just feed for a few minutes then leave. This was also the first year I've seen yellow-rumped warblers in my yard. They weren't here for very long, either. Saw some passing golden-crowned sparrows once or twice. I guess the more you look, the more you learn, and the more you see. We are also thrilled that we are getting black-capped chickadees nesting in our nesting box again. This is the 4th year we've had them! So fun while it lasts.

My hiking w/ kids site: www.thehikermama.com
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pcg
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PostWed May 23, 2018 12:38 pm 
Bedivere wrote:
I heard a Barred Owl in my neighbor's Cedar trees the other morning as I was going out to my car for work. First time I've heard one around here.
I heard them on Bowen Island during the summer about 15 years ago so I know they've been up north, but didn't hear them here in northern Oregon until about three years ago. Now we have three in the neighborhood who were really noisy (caterwauling) outside my bedroom window for several weeks until about a week ago. Now all is quiet so I guess they've partnered up or whatever the noise was about. There used to be an occasional spotted owl around as well, which I would occasionally hear barking in the trees around the house, but I haven't heard that in about 15 years. Apparently the barred owls are expanding their territory and pushing other owls out. We used to hear horned owls all the time as well, but now it's mostly barred owls. Kind of sad that they're pushing other owls out. Their only redeeming quality is that I like their vocalization better. dizzy.gif

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pcg
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PostSat May 26, 2018 7:40 pm 
This year the local barred owls did their caterwauling in early spring for about three weeks. Then they revert to just the well-known "who cooks for you". Now they seem to have gone silent. I guess all this has something to do with territories and mating. I saw this guy this afternoon. He was more interested in looking around at various prospects for dinner than looking at me. I had to make a racket to get his attention for this photo.

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ale_capone
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PostSun May 27, 2018 8:01 am 
Been a birdy spring! We have had several barred owls in our neighborhood, but I haven't heard any this year. Funny, but the "who cooks for you" has been replaced by a very similar sounding mourning dove. Don't recall hearing them around here before. Male Rufous at the feeder the past few days. Blazing orange! Was still here at dusk last night. The resident Anna that was here all winter is not around. The crying cat crows are back. (I think they learned to meow for cat food). Got rid of the starlings in the attic by making my soffit vent holes smaller. Apparently, just big enough for swallows to fit through. So we have house guests..:/ at least they eat skeeters Spring had a trove of small birds in the yard. At any given time there could be a hundred birds of a dozen varieties. Pretty sure if it is a bird you see in this part of the pnw, it was here. Even had a random woodpecker. Only overhead flights from eagles and osprey. * we live on 1 acre, with very little lawn. Highly landscaped to feed things that fly(and walk). Some bee keeper is making a killing of our pollen. Is there a bee thread somewhere?

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pcg
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PostSun May 27, 2018 8:39 am 
ale_capone wrote:
the "who cooks for you" has been replaced by a very similar sounding mourning dove. Don't recall hearing them around here before.
That is likely a Eurasian collared dove, which is another "invading" species. They are now more abundant here than the mourning dove. I like hearing them, as well. The mourning dove call typically ends in three identical "coos", like "ca coo... coo coo coo". The Eurasian dove has several different call patterns and is a bit larger and lighter in color. They showed up here around three years ago, at the same time that the barred owls began appearing.
ale_capone wrote:
overhead flights from eagles
And so cool that the bald eagles are coming back so strong. Sightings on our property used to be rare, now they are almost a daily occurrence. We are several miles, as the eagle flies, from the nearest river. Times are a changin'...

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ale_capone
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PostTue May 29, 2018 7:02 am 
pcg wrote:
That is likely a Eurasian collared dove, which is another "invading" species. They are now more abundant here than the mourning dove. I like hearing them, as well. The mourning dove call typically ends in three identical "coos", like "ca coo... coo coo coo".
Thanks. I believe you are correct. Confirmed x2 20 plus years listeners of mourning doves. They where plentiful in the Detroit area, and a typical sound of a summer 'morning'. Followed by afternoon cicadas. It was pretty noisy, so I couldn't pin down their rhythm. My cousins in southern scotland had one of the eurasian doves nesting in their holly Bush at eye level. They called it a pigeon, and viewed them as a nuisance.

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DIYSteve
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PostTue May 29, 2018 4:58 pm 
I hit the 55th Wenas Audubon Campout last weekend (a consolation prize for missing out on our annual MD weekend ski touring trip due to a bad knee, soon to be replaced). It was a fun weekend w/est. 200 other birders, a mix of master birders, weekend birders, novices and 'tweeners. I was somewhere in the middle of the pack re birding chops. I ID'd 65+ species, including some oddities for me (e.g., Common Poorwill, Gray Flycatcher, Lark Sparrow). My bad knee prevented me from joining the more challenging field trips. I will consider hitting it another year.

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostSun Jun 03, 2018 2:57 pm 
FINALLY heard a hermit thrush on Tuesday, coming back down from Ingalls Pass. I was over in the Teanaway a couple days and that's the only one I heard. It got a late start too, it was late morning. Not a bird at all but definitely heard and I think I briefly saw my first pika of the year on the same trail.

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DIYSteve
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PostSun Jun 03, 2018 5:14 pm 
I heard 2 Hermit Thrushes 10 days ago up the NF Teanaway. This is the brief time of year the males will come out and be seen. Be on the lookout.

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Jake Neiffer
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PostSun Jun 17, 2018 3:46 pm 
Saw a Western Tanager in the yard this afternoon. At one point it landed 10 feet from my front door.

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostTue Sep 11, 2018 6:49 pm 
I'd heard from others that great blue herons visit the lake at Boeing Creek Park, but I'd never seen one despite numerous visits. Until today. Finally spotted a GBH. On the opposite shore from me, trying hard to look invisible. Was also a bit surprised to see about a half a dozen Canadian honkers. They aren't usually there. Heard but didn't see a kingfisher. As usual a whole bunch of mallards. As usual they come running (or swimming) as soon as they spot a person, always hopeful for handouts. None of this year's juvenile males are showing any green on their heads yet.

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