Apartment Biology

We've moved!

2010-01-31T20:53:00.000-08:00

One week ago, Sarah and I closed on our new house and moved out of our apartment. This weekend, we moved into our new house with a lot of help from family and friends.

This is therefore the last Apartment Biology post, but I will describe the plants and animals encountered in our new neighborhood in my new blog, Village Biophilia.

See you there!

Leaving soon

2010-01-17T18:01:00.000-08:00

The end of our four-year stay in our apartment is finally approaching.

Our lease expires Thursday, so all of our non-essentials have have been boxed or delivered to Goodwill. Thanks to a certain lending process, we do not know for sure where we are moving, but we hope to have a house in Portland by the end of the month. If not, we will be staying with family until things get sorted out. Once they do, I'll start a new blog inspired by our new home. More details to come!

Twelve Great Months

2009-12-29T08:33:00.000-08:00

As the end of 2009 approached, I took a look at photos from the year and realized we had some great outdoor travels in new and familiar places. Below is a picture from each month.

January Rock Creek floods, Hillsboro, OR.

February snowy beach at Manzanita, OR

Columbia River Bird Camp in March, Sauvie Island, OR

Sweetwater Wetlands in April, Tucson, AZ

Haystack Rock in May, Cannon Beach, OR

June fieldwork at Killin Wetlands, OR

Seattle waterfront in July

August morning in the Cliff-Gila Valley, NM

September islands and clouds in Discovery Passage, BC

October afternoon in Wallowa County, OR

Andie at Cape Kiawanda, OR in November

December deep freeze at Dawson Creek Park, OR

To all friends, family, and blog-readers: thanks for stopping by in 2009 and have a great 2010!

Foggy Holidays

2009-12-24T12:10:00.000-08:00

Western Oregon won't have the white Christmas it did last year, but recent days have had a nice winter feel thanks to the freezing fog.

Late last night, ice crystals were falling from the air and catching the glow of street lights on their way to ground. When I woke this morning, everything was dusted with fog powder.

I have added a few ornaments to our tree this year, including a Harlequin Duck

and a female black-chinned hummingbird. Our tree is now complete, featuring many representatives of the Oregon coast and desert Southwest.

Foggy Bay Birding

2009-12-22T07:58:00.000-08:00

Sarah and I spent a soggy Weekend Before Solstice at Pacific City. On Saturday, we conducted out monthly bird survey of Bob Straub State Park, then drove north to Netarts Bay.

We had hoped to find a Snowy Owl that has set up shop near the end of a spit.

Unfortunately, the bay was socked-in by fog. There was no owl to be seen, but we did find a Peregrine Falcon and many diving birds. Maybe next month.

Cold Snap Waterfowl

2009-12-09T17:18:00.000-08:00

Thanks to El Nino, the Portland area is seeing its lowest temperatures in ten years. The cold, clear weather makes for great sunrises and sunsets.

Most of the local ponds are iced over, so small areas of open water were popular places for waterfowl at Dawson Creek Park.

This hole in the ice was surrounded by at least 40 Green-winged Teal, the most we have ever seen at the park. A few Wood Ducks and Mallards were mixed in as well. A pair of Pied-billed Grebes, a fixture of this pond, were floating in the center.

Closer to the library, a huge flock of white-cheeked geese (Cackling and Canada Geese) occupied the grass, ice, and water.

They kept busy by commuting from the field to the pond and back again.

The white bird in the center is a juvenile Snow Goose, a new Dawson Creek species for us.

In addition to the waterfowl, a nutria strutted atop the ice. There is plenty of beaver sign at the park, but we only see their introduced cousins during the day.
We expect to return to normal temperatures and rain next week, so I will enjoy the Rockies-like weather while I can.

Distractions

2009-12-06T09:07:00.000-08:00

During the last few weeks, a few distractions have made it difficult to focus on work. The first is the Oregon Duck football team, which won the PAC 10 championship on Thursday night.

The Ducks beat their rivals Oregon State in one of the best football games I can recall. Like many other Duck or Beaver fans, I had been thinking about little more than this game since November 21, when it became clear that the winner would go on to the Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl is almost a month away, so hopefully I can regain some focus until then.

The other distraction began when Sarah and I started the process of buying a house. Nothing is official yet, but we have set our sights on a small home in a great neighborhood.

The property has a lot of garden space and plenty of exotic vegetation in need of serious management. I can’t wait to get out there to pull some English ivy, cut blackberry, and plant native shrubs.

I have managed to get some work done during the last month, including a paper on Black-chinned Hummingbirds, which was published in a major bird journal. I have another stack of papers I am trying to finish, but it has not been easy. Luckily, my out-of-state employer is not expecting any products until February.

Dawson Creek Field Trip

2009-11-30T09:57:00.000-08:00

My big birding weekend continued on Sunday as I led a field trip for the Audubon Society of Portland at Dawson Creek Corporate Park. At least eight participants met at the Hillsboro Library parking lot ready for a chilly but dry morning. During introductions, I announced that the bird I most hoped to find was a White-breasted Nuthatch because I regularly see or hear them among the large oaks, but I had never shown them to others on a field trip.

We walked along the ponds and found the usual crowd-pleasing species such as Acorn Woodpeckers, Wood Ducks, and Great Blue Herons. The day's best find was probably a Wilson's Snipe resting along the edge of a pond, spotted by a sharp-eyed participant.

As we neared the large oaks that mark the end of the loop, I heard the scream-like call of a White-breasted Nuthatch. After a little searching, we found a pair of nuthatches creeping up and down the trunks. This and other great sightings made for a successful field trip that probably will be my last at Dawson Creek, as Sarah and I plan to move to Portland at the end of the year. We have a few hurdles to clear before the move becomes a reality, but I may soon need to change this blog's title.

Here are the birds seen and heard during the field trip.

Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
Cackling Goose
Mallard
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Green-winged Teal
Wood Duck
Bufflehead
American Kestrel
Wilson's Snipe
Mourning Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Acorn Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Western Scrub Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
Bushtit
Bewick's Wren
Winter Wren
American Robin
White-breasted Nuthatch
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Brewer's Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird

Birding Washington

2009-11-29T13:33:00.000-08:00

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Sarah and I met with two birding friends and crossed the Columbia to visit two wildlife refuges in Washington.

Our first stop was Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge, which was recently opened to the public.

We took the Gibbons Creek Trail to a slough where we quickly found the best bird of the day.

It was an American Bittern, hunting frogs or other animals in the canary grass. We had seen and heard plenty of bitterns before, but this was the first time we had an unobstructed view of bittern behavior. As the bittern moved slowly and silently through the water, we saw its tail protract past the primary tips of its folded wings, then quickly retract and disappear. We had never seen this strange tail behavior before, perhaps it helps maintain bittern balance.

The bittern's legs were yellowish-green and nicely matched the lower blades of canary grass. The brown streaks on its neck matched the dried upper portions of grass.

We ended the day at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. As usual, we saw plenty of Tundra Swans and Red-tailed Hawks, a pair of Rough-legged Hawks, and a few Bald Eagles. As we approached the end of the auto loop, one of the eagles plucked a bird (a duck or coot) right out of the main pond and carried off to a tree. The view of the predation event was a great way to end an excellent birding trip.

Killin Wetlands in Fall

2009-11-19T11:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I visited my summer Willow Flycatcher study sites to record some GPS data and see the wetlands in their fall colors.

Recent rains have added plenty of water to the basin.

A stream was flowing through an area that is usually dry.

The invasive reed canary grass (foreground) does not grow well when flooded, so this extra water could help the native species compete.

This Geyer willow sapling still has a few yellow leaves attached.

Most of the other shrubs and trees have lost their leaves, revealing things I had not noticed during the summer such as the smooth, tan bark of these madrone trunks.

Beaked hazels still had green leaves and catkins. In a few months, the catkins will open up and add some bright yellow color to the wintry landscape. I will definitely return to the wetland to see what is going on then.

Beach Storms and Birds

2009-11-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

Sarah and I spent a long weekend at the beach, which was getting hammered by storms each day. On Friday the skies were mostly sunny, but heavy surf battered Cape Kiawanda and covered the beach with a thick foam that wiggled in the wind.

With all the foam, surf, and fog, it was hard to see the boundaries between the sand, water, and sky.

On Sunday, we left for home reluctantly as always. Along the way, we stopped at the Nehalem Treatment Plant to look for some birds. Upon arriving, Sarah spotted a Black Phoebe, a rare coastal flycatcher.

A well-known Portland birder was visiting the area as well. He pointed us to a Northern Mockingbird perched on the sprinkler above. The coast is frequently visited by birds, such as this mockingbird, that venture out of there normal range. I rarely see these rarities myself, however, so it was nice to have a little help.

We also found pairs of White-tailed Kites, Northern Harriers, and Bald Eagles. Once again, the Nehalem Plant did not disapoint.

Painting Again

2009-11-04T09:15:00.000-08:00

During the last few days, I worked on some painting projects.

On Halloween Day, I woke up and painted the University of Oregon logo on a small green pumpkin. I became a Duck fan through marriage, so I had spent much of the week looking forward to the Oregon-USC football game that night. Oregon won the game easily, so we will keep the pumpkin around as a good-luck charm.

Yesterday I finished my annual contribution to the Wild Arts Festival, a fundraiser for the Audubon Society of Portland. We have seen a lot of Black Oystercatchers during our beach trips this year, so I was inspired to put one on a 6 x 6 canvas.

This oystercatcher is contemplating a limpet, one of their favorite foods.
Soon it will be time to carve and paint holiday ornaments!

Rainy Days and Pumpkins

2009-10-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

After a particularly dry summer and early fall, western Oregon is finally getting the rain it needs.

The ornamental trees in the neighborhood are reaching their peak of brightness, as are the well-manicured lawns.

The dark, cool weather inspired me to carve a pumpkin in celebration of the season. This is the first home-grown Jack O' Lantern I've carved. I gave him acorn horns and a leafy beard to help him fit into the neighborhood. We have a smaller pumpkin in the apartment that we will bake into a pie next week.

Wallowa Lake

2009-10-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

Before driving home from Wallowa County on Sunday, Sarah and I took a quick drive around Wallowa Lake. It felt like winter was on its way, but we still found plenty of birds in the water including Mallards, Western Grebes, American Coots, and Common Loons.

The lake bed was carved by huge glaciers that left many large moraines like the one above. Some say this is the best example of a glacial moraine in the country.

We walked among some large ponderosa pines and other conifers. The pale green trees in the background are western larches that are transitioning from green to yellow before their needles drop for the winter.

Some larch branches had recently blown down. This branch had landed on top of another engraved by beetles.

We could have hiked around the lake all day, but we had to return to the real world. This part of Oregon is not as far from Portland as I had previously thought, so we will return soon.

Wallowa Country

2009-10-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Sarah and I traveled to the northeast corner of Oregon, a region of the state that we had not yet explored.

On Friday, we escaped the rain in Portland and arrived in drier Wallowa County.

Wallowa County borders Idaho and Washington, contains many cows, and has no traffic lights.

The Wallowa Mountains resemble the Rockies of Montana and contain the same plants and birds that are found in my home state.

We stayed in a nice bed and breakfast near the small town of Joesph, the bronze sculpture capital of Oregon.

On Saturday morning, we drove through ranchland and the Zumwalt Prairie Reserve in search of raptors. We had been looking forward to visiting Zumwalt Prairie and its famous density of hawks and eagles.

Unfortunately, the Belding's ground squirrels, a favorite meal of raptors, appeared to be hibernating, so we did not see the Golden Eagles or Ferruginous Hawks we hoped for.

We saw plenty of nice scenery, red-tailed hawks, and mountain bluebirds, however, so the drive was a success.

Squash Harvest

2009-10-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

Today, in what has become an annual tradition, I helped harvest winter squash at our local farm.

It was also the first day of the Oregon rainy season, though it did not fall hard enough to slow us down.

In three and a half hours, we moved three tons of squash from the field to the greenhouse, where they will be washed later. Eventually most will go to CSA families and local restaurants.

Of the thirteen varieties, the greatest mass belonged to the Rouge Vif dEtampes, above. These red beauties weighed in at 850 total pounds, up to 35 pounds each. I brought a small one home that will be our centerpiece until we make a dinner out of it.

Mushroom Hikes

2009-10-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

During the last two weekends, Sarah and I hiked some forests near the coast with our eyes focused on the ground. Sarah was preparing a presentation on mushrooms for her Audubon volunteers, so we were seeking fungi to help he prepare.

Our first hike was around Whalen Island State Park. We are in the middle of the Oregon mushroom season, so we had no trouble finding fungi, but since we did not have a permit to pick on State land, we did not bring any home to eat.

A week later, we walked through Oswald West State Park near Cannon Beach. In addition to mushrooms, we found many trees growing out of nurse logs.

The western hemlock above looks like it is trying to lift an old log off the ground.

Here are a few of the mushrooms we found and tried to identify:

A large gilled mushroom

Small gilled mushrooms growing out of an alder log

A false chantrel

A lobster mushroom, actually two species in one - a large white mushroom covered by a second, red fungus which lends it a distinctive flavor.

We also found non-gilled species such as this large bolete that has spongy tissue on the underside of the cap.

Polypore fungi were growing on nearly every snag.

We found numerous coral fungi on the forest floor as well.

Now that we know a little more about mushrooms than before, we are eager to return to the forest and harvest a meal.

Kelp on the Beach

2009-10-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Sarah and I packed our laptops and took our work to the beach. Around noon, we took a break and walked the stretch of beach in front of Pacific City.

We quickly noticed that stormy seas had washed piles of kelp onto the beach.

Bull kelp individuals grow from the size of a spore to dozens-of-feet-long in less than a year. Eventually, the waves carry the kelp ashore, where countless tiny beach creatures feed on the decaying masses. Larger creatures, such as Sanderlings and other shorebirds, feed on the invertebrate kelp-eaters during migration and winter.

Bull kelps are anchored to rocks on the seashore by their rubbery holdfasts. Many interesting anchor rocks, and other organisms attached to them were tugged onto the beach.

This rock had anchored at least 8 individual bull kelps.

Their stipes had coiled into a think, heavy rope.

We also found this interesting species of brown kelp, Egregia menziesii.

Up close, it resembles several brown leather belts decorated with fringes.
With our beach needs satisfied, we returned to the house to continue our work.

The Wait is Over

2009-09-30T11:17:00.000-07:00

Fall has finally arrived!

Several chilly rainstorms have come through, putting an end to our unseasonably warm weather, at least for now. Some of the trees are losing their leaves and wintering birds such as cackling geese and glaucous-winged gulls have arrived in the metro area, further indicating a change in seasons.

We humans have responded as well. I have been stocking up on winter squash and Sarah has been collecting yarn.

I need to put in an order for woolly gloves.

Our tomato crop is winding down, but our freezer is full of sauce. We are just about ready to eat well during the soggy winter months.

Canadian Clouds

2009-09-27T12:04:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, we had a great cloud show above Vancouver Island.

I find cloudy skies more interesting than blue ones, so I thoroughly enjoyed the break from our sunny weather.

It rained all morning on Wednesday, so we stayed inside to take in views of the straight from our cozy bed and breakfast room.

The white lighthouse and other buildings at the tip of the island were illuminated when the sun emerged in the afternoon.

The rain let up, but the peaks of Vancouver Island remained hidden.
A few storms are expected to hit the Portland area next week. Call me crazy, but I can hardly wait

Waiting for Fall

2009-09-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

When Sarah and I returned from our Canadian trip last week, we were greeted by unseasonably high temperatures and a sense that summer will never end, despite the official beginning of fall earlier this week. It has been an eventful summer with a lot of travel and good times, but I look forward to cooler temperatures and a return to a more relaxed routine.

Earlier this week my fishing buddy Bill came to visit from Minnesota. On Tuesday, we sought relief from the sunny weather by hiking in shady Forest Park.

The birds were quiet, but we found some interesting animals near the stream including this cyanide millipede and some salamanders hiding under rocks.

A day later, we crossed the Columbia River to fish the Wind River of southwestern Washington.

Bill spotted some steelhead, but they were uninterested in the flies we offered them.

Despite our lack of steelhead success, we had a great time fishing a beautiful stretch of river.

After a while, I switched gears and caught a few small rainbows on dry flies. I had not been fishing in over two years (sad!), so it was a great day.

Each morning feels cooler than the last, so fall weather may be approaching after all.

Vancouver Island Getaway

2009-09-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

Last week, with our respective busy seasons behind us, Sarah and I took our annual end-of-summer vacation. We spent seven days exploring the east side of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The Island's east side has much milder weather and calmer seas that the west side, which more closely resembles the Oregon coast. We were therefore able to explore territory different from what we are used to.

We began the trip on a large ferry from Port Angeles, Washington to Victoria, BC. As the ferry crossed the Straight of Georgia, we found four species of sea bird that were new to us: Sooty Shearwater, Pink-footed Shearwater, Parasitic Jager, and Pomarine Jager. A great start to the week!

We spent two nights in Victoria, above, then drove north to the fishing community of Campbell River.

Along one of the river's tributaries, the air smelled strongly of rotting salmon and the stream boiled with pink salmon waiting their turn to enter a hatchery.

The tall humps of the males stuck out of the water as they fought the current. Glaucous-winged gulls, Turkey Vultures, and Common Ravens waited above to clean up the fish whose life cycles were completed.

Our motel room in Campbell River looked over the Discovery Passage, a narrow body of water separating Vancouver Island from other islands and the BC mainland.

While watching the passage, we spotted mainy birds, including the migrating Bonaparte's Gulls above. We also saw a small group of orcas and plenty of fishing boats, yaughts, and cruise ships.

The tide pooling near our motel was great as well.

A few meters from our room, we had access to a cobly beach full of sea creatures at low tide.

In addition to crabs, we found many sunflower stars, which are multi-rayed, voracious predators of other aquatic invertebrates.

Though they look pretty much dead at low tide, sunflower stars move a lot faster than the more familiar five-rayed seastars.

The sunflower stars came in a variety of colors including purple, orange, and a combination of the two.

We spent our last two nights in Canada at a great bed and breakfast, also in proximity to a beach. We enjoyed a few picnic dinners while keeping an eye on the straight. We returned to Oregon Saturday afternoon, eager to get back to our usual routines.

Sand Lake Conclusion

2009-09-09T10:09:00.001-07:00

With numerous commitments piling up, Sarah and I decided to end our monthly surveys of dead birds at the beach north of Sand Lake. We will continue surveying the beach at Bob Straub, however, which will ensure us at least twelve trips to the coast per year.

The mouth of Sand Lake forms a nice broad beach that is lightly visited by humans for much of the year, perfect for excercising the dog.

We have found many interesting dead and live birds in this area, so we will return as often as possible.Now that our Sand Lake surveys are finished, I have organized data from the sites and found some interesting trends.

We conducted 40 surveys on the beach between May 2006 and August 2009.

Number of birds found per mile varied from zero to 18, with August and September being the busiest months.

We found 29 species of birds on the beach, but the birds we encountered most often were Common Murres and Northern Fulmars, two species that differ in their seasonal patterns.

We found most Common Murres, like the juvenile below, in late summer during the end of the breeding season.

Unlike murres, Northern Fulmars do not breed on the Oregon coast. Instead, they nest off of Alaska and Canada.

We found the most fulmars during fall, late winter, and spring.

We encountered several interesting species such as a Pacific Slope Flycatcher, a Short-eared Owl, and the Black Oystercatcher above. Though would rather see live than dead birds, we appreciate the opportunity to closely examine species that we would not otherwise see.

New Mexico Creatures

2009-09-02T19:39:00.001-07:00

As always, I found many interesting animals during last week's trip to New Mexico. Here are some that I was able to photograph.

A Rocky Mountain bee plant was attracting several species of hummingbirds and, of course, bees like the one above and the large, black one below

I found this large scarab beetle along the upper Gila River.

The industrious harvester ants below this mound had cleared a large area of all vegetation, with the exception of a low-growing forb.

I wonder if these plants resist the ants or if they provide a resource that encourages the ants to keep them around.

I think this is a young Woodhouse's toad.

Here are some large, out-of focus mule deer with antlers in velvet in the Gila uplands.

And, one of my favorite animal species, a female Black-chinned Hummingbird perched in my favorite tree species, Rio Grande cottonwood.

Along the Middle Rio Grande

2009-09-01T13:03:00.000-07:00

After spending two days in the Gila country of southwestern New Mexico, I returned to the Middle Rio Grande, south of Albuquerque, where I have been studying birds, trees, and arthropods for the last six years.

As usual, I stayed with my artist/herpetologist/river guide-friend Geoff at his eclectic residence known as "Herp Tech".

At night we played darts on his very interesting board.

On Thursday, I visited several sites, including this small fire that burned last year.

As I had expected, several cottonwood seedlings sprouted in an area of the burn that had flooded last summer. I hope to use this observation in a paper I have been working on dealing with post-fire cottonwood reproduction.

I also checked in on older burns, like the one above with snags still standing against the clouds.

This burn has been colonized by invasive saltcedar, which often replaces cottonwoods and other native species

I stopped at a wildfire refuge headquarters to photograph some Black-chinned Hummingbirds, probably the most abundant bird species along the Middle Rio Grande. I used the above photo to paint a watercolor I put in the sidebar.

On Friday, I woke early for some birding at sunrise, met with some friends in Albuquerque, then flew back to Oregon. It's nice to be home, but I look forward to my next trip to the Southwest, whenever that may be.

Back to New Mexico

2009-08-30T18:18:00.000-07:00

Last week I visited to New Mexico for a small amount of field work. I flew into Albuquerque Monday afternoon and picked up my rental vehicle, which was much larger than I had requested. From there I drove four hours to Silver City, the most isolated college town I have ever visited.

I spent the next two days visiting field sites in the beautiful Cliff-Gila Valley.

During the last year, I have been comparing data I collected along the Middle Rio Grande with data collected by colleagues along the much smaller Upper Gila River. Last week was the first time I had seen this stretch of the river, so I was quite interested in the composition of its riparian trees.

Like the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque, huge cottonwoods are found along the Gila.

Unlike the Rio Grande, the Gila also supports large sycamores like the ones above.

And boxelders, members of the maple family that grow in a variety of sizes and shapes. Boxelder forms a dense sub-canopy in the riparian forests, making the upper Gila area one of the most productive habitats for the endangered southwestern Willow Flycatcher.

I also hiked upstream of the valley in the Gila Wilderness Area. This area is so large and remote that wildfires are often allowed to burn unchecked, further diversifying the habitat.

Numerous monsoon thunderstorms moved through the area during my stay, possibly sparking new fires.

Evening on the Willamette

2009-08-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the week, Sarah and I were invited to join a Saturday evening Sternwheeler cruise along the Willamette River and serve as assistant naturalists (in other words, birdwatch and share our observations with others). I have not had the chance spent as much time on this river as I would like, so I was happy to accept the invitation.

Here are some scenes from the cruise:

Portland's downtown skyline and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry's submarine

Birding off the bow

Ross Island's lagoon, full of waterskiers having way too much fun

Bald Eagle on Ross Island

Osprey nest on tower near Oaks Bottom

Cozy house boats on the river

Canada Goose flock

Fancy waterfront condos

Toe Island

Ross Island Bridge at sunset

Beach House Visitors

2009-08-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I have spent five of the last six weekends at her parents' beach house. The house has been a great escape from our hectic summer schedules and frequently high temperatures in the Portland area.

Our apartment has been somewhat neglected in the process, so we are staying home this week for a long overdue cleaning and organizing session.

During the last few weeks, some mothers and their offspring have also been visiting the beach house property.

Blacktail does and their spotted fawns stop by daily to nibble small patches of grass and pluck evergreen huckleberries from the shrubs.

Two weeks ago we had quite a surprise. I had flushed small groups of quail in previous weekends. Without getting a good look, I assumed were relatively common California Quail.

One day, however, Sarah glanced out the window and saw a hen with some mid-sized chicks. We quickly realized they were Mountain Quail, which are much rarer and usually found at higher elevations.

Unlike California Quail, that have plumes curling forward, Mountain quail have plumes that stick straight up or sweep slightly backward. This female was protecting four active chicks that did not hold still long enough for a photo. Some Mountain Quail females lay two clutches of eggs, one to be incubated by the female and the by her mate.

Because this is a declining species, it was great to see that they are successfully breeding in Pacific City.

Sitka Weekend

2009-08-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

Last spring, I received tuition for a workshop at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology as a birthday present. I chose a landscape watercolor class, which was held this weekend. It was quite nice to leave my work at home for three days to paint the coastal scenery at Cascade Head.

On Friday morning I drove from Hillsboro to Sitka, which is a few miles south of Pacific City, for the first day of the workshop, lead by Molly Hashimoto.

Our first project involved painting a view of Cascade Head from the Sitka campus.

We began the paintings outside and touched them up in the studio. Under Molly's instruction, I painted the negative space to create alder trunks and darkened areas to separate individual alder canopies.

On Saturday, we began the day at the Salmon River Estuary.

I painted two panels capturing the conifer forest, spit, three offshore rocks, and the headland.

In the afternoon, we painted in the forest behind the Sitka studios.

I focused on pairs of Sitka spruces, red alders, and red elderberries.

On our final morning, we painted Proposal Rock at Neskowin Beach.

I hiked up the beach so I could capture the rock and the headland.

I then walked closer to the rock to do a quick painting of a keyhole on its east side.

At the end of the day, workshop participants shared aspects our favorite paintings and admired each others work. We all left the weekend with a new way of seeing the forests, beaches and rocks of the coast.

Pattypan

2009-08-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

This spring I planted my first ever summer squash, a white pattypan variety. I usually prefer more flavorful winter squash than summer squash, but I have been using create ways to "sneak" pattypan fruits into our meals.

Unlike winter squashes, which produce fruits off of trailing vines, the pattypan has been growing vertically in a shrub-like form.

The fruits begin growing facing up, then droop to the ground when they are ready to harvest.

This morning, bumblebees were slow to warm after a cool night.

This one must have covered herself in pattypan pollen before it became to cold to fly, forcing her to spend the night on the leaf.

This bumblebee camped out near the stamen of a male squash flower.

Female pattypan flowers are just as bright as the males.

The have a branched stigma that collects the pollen from the bees.

Before they open, females can be identified by the small fruit at the base of the petals. The squash shrub shows no sign of slowing down, so we will probably be eating its fruits for weeks.

Tomatoes are Ripening!

2009-08-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

For the first time in 10 days, the high in Portland will be less than 90 degrees. While many Portlanders suffered from the heatwave, it did good things for our garden vegetables.

Three Belle Star tomatoes ripened over the weekend and I will incorporate them into dinner tonight.

Another nightshade, this Czech Black pepper is producing beautiful purple flowers.

Hungarian wax peppers are almost ready to pick.

Our squashes are thriving as well. I picked my first Pattypan summer squash of the season, above.

We have to wait longer to eat our winter squashes. When I planted the vine above, I thought it was a butternut, but the shape and size of the fruit suggests it will grow into a Pink Banana variety.

This football-shaped Blue Hubbard fruit looks much larger each time I visit the garden.

The squash blossoms continue to feed dozens, if not hundreds of bees.

This flower is packed with honeybees.

Yellow-faced bumblebees have crowded into this one. It's good to see our garden benefiting our six-legged friends.

Escaping the Heat

2009-07-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

I took a few trips this week to escape the oppressive heat of Portland (107 degrees on Tuesday) and our apartment that will not cool down.

Over the weekend, it was at least twenty degrees cooler on the coast. Sarah, her grandfather Fred, Andie the Dog, and I surveyed dead seabirds on the beach north of Sand Lake.

We found the first Common Murre fledgling of the season. Although this chick did not live very long, his presence is a positive indication that seabirds are successfully nesting this summer.

On Tuesday, Fred, his son Rich, and I drove north to Seattle to catch a pair of Mariners baseball games.

Though it was a few degrees cooler than in Portland, Wednesday's game was the warmest in Mariners history.

Luckily, our seats remained shaded until the 8th inning.

Above, the Mariners take the field. The one in catcher's gear is Rob Johnson, a fellow Butte Central High graduate.

After Tuesday night's game, I found a ghostly Glaucous-winged gull perched on the stadium.

I could not have asked for two better games to watch. Tuesday's game was won on a walk-off RBI by Ichiro Suzuki and Ken Griffey Junior hit a game-winning RBI on Wednesday.

Also, I was lucky enough to grab a foul ball hit into our section by Marco Scutaro of the Blue Jays. Now that I have returned to the sauna that is our apartment, it is time to get back to work.

Squash Blossoms and Green Tomatoes

2009-07-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

After a full week of sun, the plants in our borrowed garden space are flourishing.

We have bright yellow blossoms on summer and winter squash vines. When I look into the flowers, I often see two three or types of bees loading up on pollen.

This squash flower has a tiny blue hubbard fruit attached.

We also have dozens of green tomatoes that are rapidly growing.

And sungolds that are starting to ripen. I can hardly wait for the cooler temperatures and red tomatoes of the fall.

Mid-summer Beaches and Bays

2009-07-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took a trip to Newport, on the central Oregon coast to check in on its birds, bays, and beaches.

Thousands of Common Murres were nesting on offshore rocks. I did not get any pictures of these raucous colonies, but I did photograph a murre floating among the fishing boats in Yaquina Bay.

The bay was also full of jellies. Silver dollar-sized penicillate jellies twitched alongside the docks.

Under the glare, we also saw many purple jellies, about the size of bowling balls.

To get a better view of the bay and it's birds, we climbed to the second floor of the Rogue Brewery and ordered a few beers.

On Sunday, we surveyed beached birds at Bob Straub. for the first time, we found dead cormorants in breeding plumage. The white patches on the rump of the bird above indicate that it is a Pelagic Cormorant.

The Brandt's Cormorant above was quite rotten, but could be identified by the white plumes on its cheek.

Summer Insects

2009-07-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

Each year, it seems that the later we get into summer, the more insects we find in the field and at the apartment. Here are a few examples.

A mayfly (Ephemeroptera) on the apartment exterior.

A damselfly (Odonata) on our window screen at sunset.

A geometrid moth clinging into the exterior.

A common whitetail (Odonata) at Killin Wetlands. Too cold to fly on a cloudy morning.

Another Beach Weekend

2009-06-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

After an exhausting week in Portland, Sarah and I enjoyed another relaxing weekend at Pacific City with no work, television, or computers involved.

Haystack rock has been whitewashed by the uric acid of thousands of seabirds.

While surveying Bob Straub State Park for beached seabirds, we observed an American Crow employed in a grisly foraging tactic.

It was pulling Pacific mole crabs from the sand and snapping off their tails, which are used to cover bright orange egg masses.

With the tails removed, the crows consumed the eggs, leaving the unfortunate female wiggling on her back. I guess a crow's gotta do what a crow's gotta do.

Salad Season

2009-06-26T17:13:00.000-07:00

During the winter, Sarah and I avoided making green salads until we could could grow or buy local greens.

Now we have all of lettuce, arugula, and other greens we can eat. To keep the salads interesting, I have been making different dressings each week, based on what is available.

Last week, we received our first bunch of fresh basil, so I collected some leaves and some green garlic tops.

I added olive oil, vinegar, and Dijon mustard,

then mixed it all together with an immersion blender.

I poured it into a bottle and was set for the week. I have also made strawberry, raspberry and green onion vinaigrettes. I look forward to making additional varieties as our produce options change.

Snake in the Ash

2009-06-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

While mapping a flycatcher territory at Killin Wetlands, I found myself face-to-face with a garter snake coiled several feet above the ground in a small ash tree. When I was finished with the flycatcher, I returned to the ash with my camera so I could take a picture.

As I approached, I noticed a bright red insect attached to the back of the snake's head. It was a blood-filled mosquito! I am usually not bothered by mosquitoes at the wetland, so they must have a preference for reptiles. This snake was about as thick as a pencil, so imagine what it must feel like to get bitten in the back of the head by an insect proportionate in size to humans as this one is to the snake. Yikes!

During the last few weeks, I could not have asked for better weather. It has been cloudy and cool in the mornings with some sun in the late afternoons. I am not a big fan of working outside in the heat, so I hope this pattern continues for a while.

Out of the Apartment

2009-06-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

I have been spending a lot of time away from the apartment lately, so I have not been posting as frequently as usual.

I have been gardening at the Turner House, where there is no shortage of greens to eat.

Along with tomatoes, I planted a row of squashes and melons. I had mixed results with squash last year, so it will be interesting to see this year's outcome.

The garden is surrounded by a large green fence that protects our plants from the hungry neighbors.

The Oregon strawberry season is finally underway. We picked 16 pounds of Shuksas in Helvatia last week. We froze three quarters of the batch and ate the rest fresh, which took several days.

Goldfinches are also in full bloom. American and lessers are making their way through many ounces of thistle seeds each week.

Spring Peaks

2009-06-10T09:10:00.000-07:00

The deck of our apartment faces the rooftop of another building. Lately, several species of birds have used the peak of this building for a singing perch or a lookout.

A male violet-green swallow watches for rivals or predators while his mate builds a nest in a dryer vent below.

A mourning dove takes a midday rest.

An American robin male uses the peak for his 4:00 am song perch and surveys his territory during the day. Other birds using the perch lately include red-winged blackbirds, dark-eyed juncos, and American kestrels.

Another sort of peak is occuring at Killin Wetlands, 17 miles west of the apartment. It is the peak of the avian breeding season and, with the help of several hardy volunteers, I have been documenting as much of it as possible.

Right now, waterfowl are incubating eggs in nests such as the cinnamon teal's above.

Year-long resident songbirds, such as the red-winged blackbirds above, are fledging from their nests and begging food from their busy parents.

Willow flycatchers, lazuli buntings, and other migrants have recently arrived and are pairing up, about to begin the nest construction process.

Local Produce Update

2009-06-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

Summer weather has arrived in western Oregon and the local food season has truly begun.

So far, our shares consist mainly of greens, so we have been eating plenty of salad.

Earlier this week, we planted our tomato starts in our borrowed garden space at the Turner's house. We now have 11 tomatoes and three tomatillos in the ground.

We still have tomato sauce left over from last fall, which we are using for pizza and pasta.

Our sauce reserves should last until it is time to cook up the new crop.

The fresh berry season is more rapidly approaching, and we are scrambling to use our frozen berries before the u-pick season starts.

We have been drinking smoothies as often as possible and we may need to throw a cobbler party.

We are down to our last two jars of pickled beans, which have been popular appetizers at family functions. Our pickled cucumbers, which were a bit too squishy and acidic, were not as well received, so we will stick to canning beans next fall.

It's funny how we preserve fruits and veggies for winter consumption, but end up eating most of them in the spring and early summer.

Haystack Rocks

2009-06-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

My favorite landmark of Pacific City, Oregon is Haystack Rock.

Wherever you are in town, this massive island peak is hard to miss when the weather is not too cloudy or foggy.

Sixty miles to the north in Cannon Beach, Oregon, lies another Haystack Rock, pictured below.

Both rocks are of volcanic origin and are protected as Wildlife Refuges.

Cannon Beach’s rock is smaller that Pacific City’s and is located closer to the shore. At low tide, you can walk to the base of the Cannon Beach Rock to look for tide pool creatures and a variety of shorebirds.

This rock is one of the most reliable places in the state to find tufted puffins and harlequin ducks.

Pacific City’s rock is about a mile away from the shore, so the birding is not as easy. Regardless, this rock is a great place to see large numbers of birds throughout the year. During the summer, the rock is an important nesting site for hundreds, if not thousands, of seabirds.

Western gulls appear to nest on the gently sloping southeastern face.

Large cormorants, either double-crested or Brandt’s, occupy the rocky areas near the top of the rock.

The smaller pelagic cormorant builds platform nests on ledges of vertical cliffs, closer to the water. Some years, I see common murres packed onto some ledges as well, where they are probably nesting too.

Pigeon guillemots likely find spaces to nest in small caves on the north face of the rock. There are some patches of grass there as well where tufted puffins, rhinoceros auklets, and storm-petrels may dig burrows for their nests. Since I am limited to viewing the rock by through a spotting scope, I’m not sure if all of these birds are currently nesting out on the rock, but I like to think they are.

During the winter, Pacific City’s rock is a popular roost for gulls, cormorants, and other seabirds.

In spring, summer, and fall, Brown Pelicans roost near the top of the rock and at its base. Every once in a while, I spot a California seal lion hauled out near the base at low tide.

It seems like there is always something going on at Pacific City’s Haystack Rock and we are lucky to have such a great view.

Beach Creatures and Dinner

2009-05-31T19:04:00.000-07:00

During the previous two weekends, we came across many interesting invertebrates along the beaches near Pacific City. Here are a few examples

These volcano-shaped barnacles have been stained by the iron deposits in the rocks at Cape Kiawanda.

Mole crabs are egg-shaped crustaceans that burrow into the sand at the water's edge. They have been molting all over the beach and pieces of their shells are everywhere in the wet sand. The crab on the left, about and inch and a half long, just emerged from its old shell on the right.

We found a large, dead dungenous crab in a pool near the mouth of sand lake. When I picked it up to inspect it, I found a tiny, translucent fish hiding in the seaweed that was growing on top of the shell.

In another pool, we found worm-like tracks in the sand. We followed one set of tracks and found their maker, an olive snail. The ornate little gastropod crawled around on my hand while I held it for a picture.

Before leaving Hillsboro on Friday, we packed our cooler with big bags of greens recently harvested from our garden and CSA farm. We made chard and black bean tacos with lettuce and mustard green salad on the side. We stocked up on hot sauce as well because condiment diversity is the key to a great meal.

Memorial Day Gull

2009-05-26T11:06:00.001-07:00

Sarah and I took a much-needed break from our respective Spring Busy Seasons this weekend at Pacific City. During the weekend, Sarah's parents hosted their first family get-together at their nearly completed beach house, which has served as the base of beach explorations for several months now. We had some big meals, took some beach walks, and caught up on some reading.

Yesterday, we stopped at Netarts Bay on the way home. We found a nice beach near the north end of the bay and walked towards its mouth. We were rewarded with a great view of a breeding plumage Bonaparte's gull picking food out of the wrack. We usually see Bonaparte's in their winter plumage, which lacks the striking black cap seen below, so it was nice to see this individual.

Whidbeyaudubon.org

I left our camera at the beach house, so this borrowed image will have to do. I guess I won't be able to post new photos until we return from our next beach trip.

Field and Farm Work

2009-05-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

During the last week, I was able to spend a lot of time in rural Washington County, which nowadays feels like the greenest place on Earth.

I spent two mornings at Killin Wetlands, prepping for bird surveys.

The place was alive with breeding birds and I found two marsh wren nests, including the one above which is the dark spot near the grass in the center. Both nests were large spheres with small entrances in the side and were still under construction.

On saturday, I joined a tomato planting party at Dos Sequoias Farm.

We planted tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants in a recently tilled and limed field. We then strung drip-irrigation tubes along each row.

We covered the peppers and eggplants, which are sensitive to nighttime temperatures, with white sheeting.

While we were planting, many interesting birds flew over, including an osprey and a pair of Bullock's orioles. We will pick up our first share of greens from the farm this week, but I can hardly wait for tomato harvest season.

Spring Gardening

2009-05-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

Now that is mid-spring, rhododendrons and other woody shrubs are in full bloom and it is time to get our gardens in order.

At one end of our raised bed, the winter lettuce is salad-ready and the snap peas are flowering.

We tilled the other end, pulled out the bolting arugula, and planted a few tomato starts. We are also trying to grow a few different veggies from seed this year such as beets, carrots, and dill.

To save room for other plants in the bed, we planted two more tomato starts in containers.

Festival of the Birds

2009-05-10T11:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Sarah and I helped out at the Festival of the Birds, which is organized by Portland Audubon and several other organizations. Bird enthusiasts of all ages visited Sellwood Park to learn about birds and enjoy the sunny weather. Here are some highlights:

A rehabilitated sharp-shinned hawk was released into the park as a baseball game was played.

During one of our walks, a red-tailed hawk plunged to the ground, but would not fly off with its prey while we watched.

As in previous years, a pair of osprey nested on top of this power pole. The nest is extremely flat and difficult to see without binoculars.

Sarah and I picked up a boxful of tiles donated by the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Using stencils and help from Audubon volunteers, visiting children created some nice works of art.

2009 Festival of the Birds List:

Vaux’s Swift
Turkey Vulture
American Crow
Steller’s Jay
Red-tailed Hawk
American Goldfinch
Bald Eagle
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Flicker (nest)
Cooper’s Hawk
Canada Goose
Mallard
Western Kingbird
Ring-necked Duck
Green-winged Teal
Osprey (nest)
Anna’s Hummingbird
Western Scrub Jay
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Bushtit (nest)
Black-capped Chickadee
Brown Creeper
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Wilson’s Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Western Wood-pewee
Pine Siskin
Violet-green Swallow
Great Blue Heron
American Robin
Western Tanager
Warbling Vireo
Lesser Goldfinch (nest)
House Finch
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Bewick’s Wren
Hutton’s Vireo
Wood Duck
Sharp-shinned Hawk (released!)

Friday in the Park

2009-05-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

After quick trip the vet, Andie and I took a quick walk around Noble Woods Park. Though the weather has not shown it, the plants and animals reminded us that summer is fast approaching.

Black-headed grosbeaks were singing from the tops of Oregon ashes like the one above, spotted towhees were all over the place, carrying food for hungry nestlings, and I saw my first western tanager pair of the year.

Alders are almost fully leafed out,

and big leaf maples now have flowers, seed pods and leaves growing from their branch tips.

The vine maples have leafed as well and are just starting to flower.

Rock creek was high and muddy from the recent rain. I look forward to a sunny weekend before the rain returns to keep us green a little while longer.

Birdathon '09

2009-05-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

Below is my report for last Saturday's Birdathon trip:

On Saturday, May 2nd, “The Murre the Merrier” Birdathon team spent thirteen hours seeking as many species of birds as possible while traveling from Hillsboro to the Coast and back. It rained during much of the day and the species total was smaller than that of the previous year, but the number of "exciting" species was high and everyone had a great time. We began the day at Dawson Creek Park, where we found reliable birds such as Acorn Woodpeckers and Ring-necked Ducks, in addition to Anna’s Hummingbird and Lesser Goldfinch, which had been missed on our previous Birdathons.
After loading into our vehicles, we entered the coast range and stopped at a rest area near the Nehalem River. As we walked along a forest trail, we listened to singing Varied Thrushes and Black-throated Gray Warblers. We “enticed” one of the warblers in for a closer view before moving on to the next stop. After a pause at Klootchy Creek, we arrived in Cannon Beach and marched straight for Haystack Rock.

We quickly spotted Tufted Puffins near their nesting burrows. A small flock of Brown Pelicans passed by and we moved to the other side of the rock in search of Harlequin Ducks.

Photo by Jill Neson-DeBord

We saw plenty of Common Murres and Pelagic Cormorants, but no Harlequins, so we prepared to move on to our other stops. As were about to leave, Sarah spotted six ducks at the base of the rock.

They turned out to be five male Harlequins chasing around a single hen! The males were in brilliant breeding plumage and made for the most memorable sighting of the day.
We moved on to the Cannon Beach Settling Ponds where we spent a few minutes spotting ducks and listening to singing Marsh Wrens and Golden-crowned Kinglets. Our next stop was the Nehalem treatment ponds which held flocks of Northern Shovelers and Red-necked Phalaropes swimming in circles to stir up food. As the sun emerged, a Bald Eagle chased a pair of Osprey and a Northern Harrier hunted a field east of the ponds. We ate lunch at Wheeler, then moved on to Tillamook Bay. We pulled off of the road at a cluster of rocks known as the Three Graces.

The rain had resumed, but we found several new birds including Purple Finches, Brandt’s Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots, Common Loons, and, most surprising of all, a Red-throated Loon in breeding plumage.
We found Black Turnstones and Western Tanagers at the Pacific Oyster Company dock, stopped for coffee in Tillamook, then birded Bayocean Spit. The tide was low and the birds were far from shore, but we were able to find a few Northern Pintails and a single Brant in the bay. We drove uphill to Cape Meares and were greeted by wind gusts that threatened to blow us back down to the bay. Cliff-nesting birds, such as pelagic cormorants hugged the rocks for protection from the wind.

Photo by Jill Neson-DeBord

After a quick walk to the lighthouse, we returned to the parking lot and drove down to Netarts Bay. We picked up Red-breasted Mergansers and an immature Barrow’s Goldeneye as we drove along the bay. At Whalen Island, we located a Brown-Headed Cowbird in its usual spot, but found few other birds, so we drove to Sarah’s parents’ beach house in Pacific City. After some searching, we found an Orange-crowned Warbler behind the house and a Red Crossbill perched on a spruce tree across the street.
As it neared 7:00 pm, we began the drive home. We stopped at the Tillamook River rest area where we found our 100th bird the year before. We added a Brown Creeper to our list and later spotted some Common Mergansers along the Wilson River. At our last stop, we topped off our species list at 86 with a flock of Cliff Swallows east of Banks. Those who finished the trip at Hillsboro said their goodbyes and we look forward to seeing each other again at the Birdathon banquet next month.

Birds seen or heard:

Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Brown Pelican
Brandt's Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
Brant
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Harlequin Duck
Bufflehead
Barrow's Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Black Oystercatcher
Western Sandpiper
Red-necked Phalarope
Black Turnstone
Western Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Caspian Tern
Common Murre
Pigeon Guillemot
Tufted Puffin
Rock Dove
Band-tailed Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Acorn Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Varied Thrush
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warblers
Wilson's Warbler
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Purple Finch
House Finch
Red Crossbill
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Obtaining Owls and Finding Flycatchers

2009-05-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

Today I found a great video on Science Friday's website showing the tedious nature of capturing cavity-nesting birds.

This video brings back a lot of memories from a project I worked on in a similar forest in Arizona where I saw my first and only, flammulated owl nesting in an aspen cavity.

Speaking of bird work, it looks like I will be conducting extended field work on birds this summer for the first time in four years.

Once the mountain of paperwork and logistics is cleared, I will have a grant from the state to investigate nesting habitat use of willow flycatchers in response to restoration of Geyer willow in Killin Wetlands, where I have been conducting volunteer bird counts for the last few summers.

This will be like a part-time job to supplement my Forest Service work, which does not get me outside very often. Full-time research biology work is nearly impossible to find in the Portland area, so I have had to piece together a position of my own design,which has worked out so far. A larger salary and job security would be nice, but these days I can't complain.

Back to the Beach

2009-04-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

We spent last weekend at Pacific City to scout the area for our upcoming Birdathon trip and survey beached birds along our routes.

We saw more bald eagles than during any previous beach weekend. Most were immatures, like the one above that was eating a fish in a tree near the beach house.

While surveying Bob Straub State Park, we found two birds that had reached our coast from the Pacific Islands.

A sooty shearwater, a surface feeding and diving bird that nests on islands near New Zealand,

and a massive, black-footed albatross, which breeds from Hawaii to Japan.

Neighborhood Nests

2009-04-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

A day after my hummingbird banding adventure, I found another Anna's hummingbird nest near our apartment.

It is in an oak that is a few meters west of the oak that held last year's nest.

Two large nestlings are packed into the tiny nest, almost ready to fledge. I snapped a few pictures from a safe distance until their mother buzzed me away.

Closer to our apartment, I found a pair of bushtits hard a work on a nest in another oak. Most of their nests are built in conifers such as Doug firs and redcedars and this is the first I have seen in an ornamental oak.

The birds are busy these days. I also found a white-crowned sparrow bringing material to these shrubs. I have never seen an actual white-crowned nest because they hide them well. To avoid disturbing the parents, I will not look for the nest, but revisit to watch for parents carrying food during the nestling period.

The nesting crows are flying around as a pair, so they must not be incubating yet. Any day the female will disappear as she tends to her eggs.

Hummingbird Heaven

2009-04-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

Hummingbirds were a central theme of my recent Tucson trip. Southestern Arizona is serious hummingbird country, where 18 species have been seen, more than in any other state except Texas.

I attended a day of hummingbird talks and workshops on Thursday, viewed numerous Anna's and black-chinned hummingbirds on Friday, and presented data from our New Mexico black-chinned hummingbird studies, including the climate change slide above, on Saturday.

On Sunday morning, I woke at 4:20 and drove from my friends' house in north Tucson to parking lot of Sabino Canyon in the Santa Catalina Mountains.

The desert morning was beautiful. The birdsong and sunlight on the cacti were well worth the sleep deprivation.

Another visiting hummingbird biologist and I joined volunteer bander Elissa Fazio, her intern, and two volunteer assistants for a morning of trapping.

The banding area was a perfect blend of riparian and desert scrub habitats, attracting numerous birds such as the Bell's vireos that were singing all around us.

We set up traps around two large feeders in a grove of large Gooding's willows along the Creek.

The traps consited of a circular curtain that could be raised and lowered over the trap. When a bird landed to feed, the curtain was dropped and we reached in to remove the birds, place them in a bag, and deliver them to Elissa for identification and banding.

The birds were identified, sexed, and banded. Before releasing the birds Elissa and her intern gave them a drink from the feeder. We snapped numerous photos as the little birds gained their bearings before buzzing away.

We captured a female Anna's hummingbird, a species currently found both in Portland and Tucson following a rapid range expansion.

Black-chinned hummingbirds nest in riparian woodlands throughout the western US. We captured several females and one male, above. Since this is one of my "study species" I was happy to see them up close once again.

My favorite species of the day was the broad-billed hummingbird. The Santa Cruz watershed, which surrounds Tucson, is the northern limit of their breeding range. Broad-bills nest in riparian woodlands and adjacent desert scrub.

Males and females have pink bills with black tips. You can see from this photo where they get their name.

We all oohed and awed at the brilliant males broad-bills. Even Elissa, who has banded hundreds of these little guys could not get over their good looks.

After a busy couple hours of banding, the birds slowed their activity as the morning began to warm. My flight departed at noon, so I left the operation early to drive to the airport. I could not ask for a better way to end my trip.

Back from the Desert

2009-04-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I returned from a five day trip to Tucson, Arizona where I attended the Cooper Ornithological Society meetings. I reconnected with many friends and colleagues, found some great birds, and gained a bit of speaking practice.

I flew into Tucson Wednesday afternoon, grabbed my rental car, and drove up to Molino Basin in the Santa Catalina Mountains.

I drove through saguaro cactus stands and found a nice riparian woodland full of migrating warblers and broad-billed hummingbirds.

While in Tucson, I stayed with my friends TJ and Karie. Their house is surrounded by some nice desert scrubland full of chollas, barrel cacti, and saguaros.

The next morning I woke early to attend the Western Hummingbird Project's symposium and workshop.

I learned a lot about hummingbird biology at the talks and we broke into groups to discuss research and management needs for this much-understudied family of birds.

On Friday, I woke even earlier and birded the Sweetwater Treatment Plant Wetlands.

With a great mix of wetland, riparian, and desert scrub habitat, I racked up dozens of bird species, including the resident Harris's hawk above.

The Santa Cruz River passes near the wetlands. Most of the stream bed is dry, but effluent from the plant is discharged in one location, creating some streamflow and riparian vegetation. The mesquite, willow, and cottonwood trees lining the effluent flow were full of migratory birds as well.

On Saturday I gave talks at two symposia, one focusing on climate change and another on wildfire. I have been working on these presentations for months and now that they are finished, I will take a day or two off from bird biology, then start on my next projects.

Yesterday I helped with some hummingbird monitoring at Sabino Canyon before flying back to Portland. More on that later.

Crow Nest

2009-04-13T18:15:00.000-07:00

For the first time since we moved here, American crows are building a nest in our apartment complex.

The nest is being constructed in the Doug fir farthest to the right.

As you can see in the background, it has been quite stormy here this week. Luckily, it has not slowed down the birds.

Dawson Creek Nests

2009-04-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

The nesting season is underway at Dawson Creek Park, which surrounds the Hillsboro Library. After dropping off an overdue book, Andie and I took a walk around a few ponds. I checked on the Canada goose island and noticed a small white pile of down. Looking through binoculars, I noticed one large egg.

The adults were swimming nearby, keeping the egg in sight.

I found my first American robin nest of the year near another pond. A female was bringing material to a birch tree in a grove where several nests were constructed last year. Now that the residents are hard at work, the migrants should be moving in and nesting any week now.

Pacific City Bliss

2009-04-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we celebrated Sarah's 3oth birthday at the beach and it turned out to be the best time we have had at the coast since our wedding. Sarah's family and many of our friends joined us to mark the occasion.

After several days of cold and rain, the sun emerged on Saturday in time for a bird hike I led for the Pacific City Birding and Blues Festival. I had a small turnout for my group, but we saw 27 species of birds and found many interesting items on the beach including a beached longnose lancet fish.

These slender beasts swim in deep seas and occasionally show up on beaches.

After the hike, my friend Jere and I dug for clams in the mud flats of Nestucca Bay.

We returned to the beach house in time for the Birthday Dinner. We ate a lot of pasta, and the non-vegetarians enjoyed the clams.

We drank some wine and a lot of singing and dancing followed, making for a memorable night for all of us, including the yarn crab. I could not ask for a better weekend to share with great folks.

Dueling Hummingbirds and Winning Blazers

2009-04-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

I spent Tuesday morning and afternoon at the Turner's house where I checked on our spring veggie garden.

The starts have not received much sun lately, but mild temperatures and plenty of rain are all they need to stay alive.

I tried to get some work done at the kitchen table, but I was distracted by the newly-arrived rufous hummingbirds. A female rufous remained perched on a branch near the feeder and chased away any Anna's hummingbirds that dared to come for a drink.

She occasionally came for a drink herself, but spent most of her time chasing others.

Last weekend, we put up a feeder at the beach, and a Rufous Battle Royale ensued. At least four males and females chased each other in every direction. Many of these aggressive little birds will move north to nest, then migrate south through the Rockies and southwestern mountains where they will harass the broad-tailed and black-chinned hummingbirds nesting there.

After we finished work, Sarah and I took the light rail to the Rose Garden in Portland and I watched my first Trailblazers game, a belated birthday present. The Blazers played their division rivals, the Utah Jazz.

Utah score the first basket of the game and did not lead again. The blazers scored a season-high 39 points in the first quarter and easily won 125-104. Two more wins and they are in the playoffs!

Stormy Weekend

2009-03-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

We spent last weekend at the beach and enjoyed some wild weather, much like the rest of the northern U.S.

Pacific City was socked in on Saturday. Sarah and I are used to rain, but we felt a bit claustrophobic because visibility was so limited. We could barely make out Haystack Rock in the distance, but the ocean was invisible from the house most of the day.

A few sunbreaks made our beach survey much more tolerable on Sunday. Towards the end, however, it began to hail.

If you look closely, you can see the hail streaking in front of the dog's back. She was eager to get back to the beach house and relax on the couch.

Spring Break Camp on the Island

2009-03-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I led an Audubon Spring Break Camp. With the help of a volunteer, I drove 12 second and third-graders to Sauvie Island to look for some birds.

The morning was quite rainy, but it started to clear when we reached the island.

We started by birding the Multnomah Channel.

A belted kingfisher and a group of common mergansers captured their attention.

We drove to Wapato Greenway, Oak Island, and several stops on the east side of the island. At a couple of covered areas, we made maps of the island and recorded the birds we saw at each site.

Though I was busy keeping the kids in sight and interested in the birds, I enjoyed one of the best days of birding I have had at the Island. Sandhill cranes were everywhere, ospreys and turkey vultures had returned from their winter country, and bald eagles were sitting on sedan-sized nests. The highlight for some of the boys was a "duck fight" between squabbling buffleheads. The boys embelished the story to include flying blood and death from an epic battle that lasted much longer than I recall, but I guess we create our own reality at that age.

Our final stop was the Columbia beach.

As I kept an eye on the kids playing in the sand, I spotted the best bird of the day.

It was a juvenile red-throated loon cruising up the River. The children whose attention had not yet waned were able to get good looks at it in the scope. This small loon usually winters along the coast, but a few stray up the Columbia to Hood River and beyond. It was a great sighting to cap a very productive day of birding for all ages.

Food Season Begins

2009-03-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, the 2009 Portland Farmer's Market season began on the Portland State campus.

I feel like we are spoiled in western Oregon because the period in which it is difficult to buy fresh, local produce is ridiculously short. I can't cross-country ski or snowshoe every day like folks in my hometown of Butte, Montana can, however, so I guess it's a trade-off.

We found some great carrot diversity,

earthy piles of mushrooms,

and starts ready for planting.

We bought some early season greens and mushrooms, long-keeping root vegetables, and produce stored since last season.

We brought the starts to our raised bed at Sarah's grandparent's house. We quickly weeded, tilled and composted one end of the bed, then planted.

We now hope that the weather goes easy on the snap pea, golden beet, and lettuce starts.

Hummingbird Update

2009-03-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

The Anna's hummingbird nest across the street remains active.

Yesterday, I saw two medium-sized nestling bills.

The nestlings are 13 to 18 days old and will be in the nest for another five to ten days.
The nestling period of hummingbirds is much longer than other small, open-nesting birds. Females care for young without help from males, so nestling growth rate is probably limited by the amount of food a tiny single parent can deliver.

The little nestlings here have already been hardened by cold and wet weather, so they should have no trouble making it out of the nest.

Almost Spring

2009-03-19T16:10:00.000-07:00

During the last week I have been hoping to spot some bushtits building their nests because this is usually the time of year they begin.

I have been unlucky so far, but I took a quick walk around Dawson Creek today to see if my luck would change.

At first, I did not see or hear any bushtits at their usual spots, but there were plenty of ducks to view. This time of year, I see mallards sitting on the grass instead of floating in the water. A flock of American wigeons chewed on the grass, as usual.

The local beavers have been busy working on the large willows.

A glaucos-winged gull has been frequenting this perch.

As I was about to leave, I heard the spishing calls of a bushtit pair in a grove of trees across the street from where they previously nested.

After a few minutes of watching, I saw them bring material to some droopy branches a few feet above the water. A pair of lesser goldfinches and a pair of black-capped chickadees joined the bushtits for some small-bird companionship. Maybe they will nest nearby.

Newport Birds and Beers

2009-03-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we drove to the central coast for a volunteer seabird monitor get-together at the Rogue Brewery in Newport. We spent Friday night in the wonderful little town of Yachats, south of Newport. Our plan was to spend Saturday tidepooling and birding before an early dinner at the Rogue.
The seas were stormy and the tides were high, but we found some nice pools on top of the rocks.

A group of black oystercatchers did some tidepooling of their own on a nearby boulder.

As we drove north , the rain picked up and it felt like real winter weather on the coast. By the time we reached Newport, we could not leave the car without being drenched.

We took a quick walk along the Bayfront and spotted a few common loons in newly molted breeding plumage.

Driving along the south jetty, we admired the Yaquina Bay Bridge and looked for more birds.

We found a group of gulls and watched them from the car. The group included herring gulls, western gulls, glaucous-winged gulls, and a Thayer's gull. As I scanned the gulls, I noticed an especially pale bird towards the back of the group.

Judging by the white primaries and pink-and-black bill, it was a juvenile glaucous gull, a life bird for both of us! For the last three years, I have been scanning groups of gulls looking for this species, so I was pretty psyched to finally see one.

We spotted some more birds in the bay, but the pounding rain and wind made it feel like we were birding in a car wash.

After some great food and drink, we took another walk along the bay and spotted a male harlequin duck, a great note on which to end the birding day. We drove north to Pacific City and enjoyed spending most of Sunday indoors.

Tuesday at the Park

2009-03-10T17:58:00.000-07:00

Today I took Andie on another walk at Dawson Creek Park

The bicolored bird on the island is a juvenile double-crested cormorant.

The bushtits are due to start nest building any day now. I checked out one of their usual haunts, but did not hear or see any of the tiny birds. Maybe the cold weather is slowing their motivation.

Despite the gloomy weather, the cherry trees were beginning to bloom.

Andie and I found a goose kill site in a field.

The bones and feathers were chewed, which makes me think a coyote was the culprit. Nicer weather is expected for the rest of the week, so I will be back to look for nests!

Snow in the Wetlands

2009-03-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

Today I went to Killin Wetlands west of Banks, OR to scout a research project I am planning with Metro.

Shortly after arriving, huge snowflakes began falling. It looked like winter was far from over.

After a while, however, the sun came out and I found a small group of violet green swallows.

Looks like spring is coming after all.

Last weekend, I converted our dinner table into a studio as I finished an acrylic painting. Sarah bought me a pair of canvasses for Christmas and requested I fill them. For the painting above, I tried to capture the various shades of green, brown, and gray that compose the winter landscape of Washington County.

Friday Sun

2009-03-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

After a cloudy week, Friday started out nice and bright.

A pair of kestrels took in the sun on the peak of a roof.

I took a walk at Dawson Creek Park to soak up some sun before the snow arrives tomorrow.

A pair of Canada geese swam near an island where they will probably be nesting soon.

A huge flock of cackling geese was lounging in another pond.

A cooper's hawk high in a snag watched over the park.

Apartment Climatologist

2009-03-05T16:04:00.000-08:00

I have not been out much lately, so I have not been able to post observations of plants and animals. Instead, I have been inside reading papers on climate patterns in the western U.S. I am working on a presentation about climate change and southwestern birds for the Cooper Ornithological Society Conference in April and for several weeks my mind has been occupied with drought, El Nino, monsoons, and floods.

I find this climate work very interesting because of the complex relationships between ocean temperatures, winds, and our weather. For example, we now appear to be in a La Nina stage of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

This means that cooler Pacific Ocean temperatures have resulted in a cool, somewhat wet northwestern winter and a warm, dry southwestern winter.

This is the second La Nina event in two years, which seems abnormal because the ENSO cycle is supposed to last five to ten years. Throw in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and its interaction with ENSO and your brain will really start to hurt.

Anyway, that's what I've been thinking about lately.

Updates

2009-03-02T12:41:00.000-08:00

The Great Bird Count of February has ended and I tallied 23 species seen and heard from the apartment. Not bad, considering I was gone for a week of vacation.

My favorite bird was also the last addition: a western gull, like the one above, spotted on a snowy morning.

The most frequently seen birds were probably the mourning doves that spend their days on our deck.

Now that the bird count is over, I will start a list of birds nesting in the neighborhood so I, and anyone else interested, can keep tabs on the Orenco-area nesting community.

Our local hummingbird nest remains active despite snow, freezing temperatures, and heavy rains.

Today I watched the female leave her nest and fly across the street and a busy construction site to reach a feeder on someone's porch. She may have nestlings by now, but they would be too small to observe for a while.

Saturday Morning Nests

2009-02-28T12:26:00.000-08:00

Our dog has made it clear that she no longer enjoys walking around our neighborhood due to the nonstop construction noise, so we took a walk at Dawson Creek Park. We checked on the great horned owl nest and were pleased to see an adult in place.

We walked east of the owl to check on a red-tailed hawk nest in a large oak.

The nest is still up there and the adults were flying around, but they did not go to the nest.

Back at the apartment, I found a "new" old nest in a Japanese maple.

Based on the size of the nest and the material, I think it was constructed by our resident scrub jays. These little maples collect a lot of nests from a variety of bird species, so they are nice to have around.

Return of Raptor Cam

2009-02-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

It is now the season for large birds to start nesting on man-made structures, and we can can all monitor many of these nests via webcams. The Audubon Society of Portland recently switched on their Raptorcam. This is the third year they have featured the red-tailed hawks nesting on a fire escape in downtown Portland.

The little blue arrow marks the building. This year, the camera is pointed at a side view of the nest and the viewer can watch the goings on at the nest and the streets below.

At this time the adults seem to be guarding their nest and bringing in new materials.

Last year, two of these three chicks fledged. The year before, one of two survived. It will be interesting to see the outcome this year.

Weekend Trips

2009-02-22T15:44:00.000-08:00

Today I led a birding field trip and Dawson Creek Park for the Audubon Society of Portland. About eight birders, a perfect sized group, came out and the rain stopped just in time for the walk. The highlights, as usual were the acorn woodpeckers, wood ducks, and the nesting great horned owl. Unfortunately, the hooded mergansers and red-breasted sapsuckers I saw last week did not show up. Maybe next time.

Dawson Creek Field Trip Birds:
Great blue heron
Canada goose
Cackling goose
Gadwall
Mallard
American wigeon
Green-winged teal
Lesser scaup
Ring-necked duck
Bufflehead
Wood duck
American coot
Mourning dove
Great horned owl
Anna's hummingbird
Acorn woodpecker
Northern flicker
Scrub jay
Black-capped chickadee
American robin
Yellow-rumped warbler
Spotted towhee
Dark-eyed junco
Song sparrow
Red-winged blackbird
Brewer's blackbird
House finch

Yesterday, we visited the confluence of the Willamette River and the Columbia at Kelly Point Park. Lately, I like to view the natural and human worlds coexisting on the lower Columbia and Willamette Rivers.

The Willamette is on the left side of the pilings and the Columbia is on the right.

Up the Columbia, Mount Hood could faintly be seen behind the noisy industrial area.

A tug boat cruised down the Willamette.

We saw three bald eagles, several double-crested cormorants, and a pair of mew gulls before our fraidy-cat dog demanded we return to the car because the noises were alarming her.

Dawson Creek Birds

2009-02-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

I took a break from work today to scout Dawson Creek Park. I am leading a birding trip there on Sunday and if the birds I saw today stick around, it will be a great day.

A pair of red-breasted sapsuckers followed me around and sipped from their wells in the park's many maples.

Above, one of the sapsuckers works on a trunk while a robin watches from a branch.

At one of the maples, honeybees were taking advantage of the sweet sap provided by the birds.

I checked on the snag that held a great horned owl nest last year. It was tough to tell with binoculars, but I'm pretty sure I saw an adult in the tree. This weekend, we will have scopes to check for certain.

Butte Beer

2009-02-18T14:12:00.001-08:00

While trying to decide on which beer to buy at New Seasons, I came across a familiar scene. I found a 6-pack of Bayern Killarney Red Lager with a painting of my hometown of Butte, Montana on the label. The Bayern Brewery is a few blocks from a house I once rented in Missoula.

I had to buy it for old-time's sake.

The painting features revelers leaving a bar with drinks in hand, still a common occurrence in Butte because police do not enforce open-container laws. In the background you can see the Continental Divide, smelter stacks, and the head frame of a copper mine. The smelters are now gone, but the bars and decommissioned head frames remain iconic symbols of a drinking town with a mining problem.

Cockle Drop Zone

2009-02-18T10:16:00.000-08:00

Sand lake is one of my favorite spots on the Oregon Coast. It is a unique body of water that in not really a lake, but a saltwater estuary. Unlike the many bays along the coast, there are no major streams draining into the lake, so most, if not all of its water comes from the sea.

At high tide the area is flooded and actually resembles a lake with Whalen Island (the forested area) in the middle, but at low tide, as seen above, it is more like a series of channels that wrap around the island.

Last weekend, we visited the west side of the island at low tide. This is a great time to catch some interesting gull behavior.

Like the human clammers, western gulls and glaucous-winged gulls flock to sandy flats at low tide to hunt bivalves such as this cockle.

After pulling a cockle from the sand, they carry their prize high in the air.

At a certain height, they drop it. When the cockles hit the wet sand, you hear a "crack" as the shell breaks. The gulls drop down to eat the contents before another gull swoops in to steal them.

The beach is littered with shell fragments from successful cockle drops. It might be wise to wear a hard hat when clamming in the area.

First Nest of 2009!

2009-02-16T12:01:00.000-08:00

The western Oregon nesting season has begun. While taking Andie for a walk, I noticed an Anna's hummingbird picking lichens from the trunk of an oak tree.

I froze and watched her fly above my head and land on her nest. She worked the material into the nest and stayed on.

She was still on the nest when I returned to take a quick picture (she's in the center of the photo), so she must be incubating her eggs.

Her nest is well concealed by remaining on the oak leaves. It amazes me that such a small bird nests in the winter, when most of the nesting birds are large bodies-species such as great horned bald eagles, and ravens. I hope the weather will be easy on her and her young.

We're Back!

2009-02-15T20:50:00.000-08:00

Sarah and I just returned from our winter vacation on the coast. This is the third year we have taken a week off before Sarah's work gets really busy. This year we decided to spend a few nights in Manzanita before moving on to Pacific City.

Manzanita, named for the shrub pictured above, is my new favorite beach town. I loved all of the restaurants and shops and I never got tired of looking at Neahkahnie Mountain, which looms large over the north end of town and projects into the ocean.

Neahkahnie looked great in the fog..

and in the snow.

Our motel was a few blocks from the beach and the rest of the town's highlights.

Last year, we had nothing but sun during our winter break, but this year the weather was a bit more appropriate.

Raptor Road Trip 09

2009-02-07T18:48:00.000-08:00

Today Sarah and I worked our third Raptor Road Trip at Sauvie Island. The event is sponsored by the Audubon Society of Portland, Metro, and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Road Trip consists of several stops on Sauvie Island where the public is invited to learn about raptors and other birds while enjoying coffee and donuts. The three birding spots are marked above with green tacks.

This was the first year that we did not get soaked by rain or snow. It was also the first year Sarah and I were stationed at Coon Point overlooking sturgeon lake.

The morning started off with loud flocks of sandhill cranes, one of my favorite species of birds. They are identified in flight by their calls, their outstretched necks, and long legs.

We had a great turnout of over 850 visitors. I think I explained the differences between cackling and dusky geese to all of them.

The sun came out by late morning and we enjoyed views of many birds, Mount Saint Helens, and the tip of Mount Rainier.

The highlight of the day occurred as the air heated and bald eagles began souring in a huge kettle, using the thermals to gain elevation above sturgeon lake. At one point, at least 14 eagles could be seen in the air at once. The crowd of birders looked up in silence and awe, enjoying a spectacle they did not expect to see.

Here is the list of birds I compiled from our station:

Double-crested cormorant
Great blue heron
Great egret
Tundra swan
Canada goose (dusky subspecies)
Cackling goose
Snow goose
Mallard
Northern pintail
American wigeon
Northern shoveler
Green-winged teal
Common merganser
Bald eagle
Cooper's hawk
Northern harrier
Red-tailed hawk
American kestrel
Sandhill crane
Glaucous-winged gull
Ring-billed gull
Belted kingfisher
Northern flicker (red and yellow-shafted)
Western scrub jay
American robin
Spotted towhee
Song sparrow
Red-winged blackbird
Western meadowlark

Bird Count Progress

2009-02-04T13:41:00.000-08:00

As you can see in the list to the right, my Great Bird Count of February is off to a slow start.

I have limited my list to birds seen or heard from the windows or deck of the apartment, so I am at a disadvantage to the other participants. I have had plenty of mourning doves and house finches at the feeder, but not much else. Today I added a glaucous-winged gull and a robin flock to the list and I am hoping for some raptor and waterfowl flyovers.

It is a nice sunny day and birds are probably singing, but their songs are being drowned out by leafblowers and carpet-cleaning vans. Ah, the perks of apartment life. Oh well, at least I have a job and I'm not being foreclosed upon.

Super Bowl Biogeography

2009-02-02T12:08:00.000-08:00

Another bird-sports connection:

Last night, I started watching the Super Bowl as a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, but by the end I was cheering for the the Arizona Cardinals because I was so impressed by the play of wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Steelers won a hard-fought battle by scoring a touchdown in the final minutes.

Arizona has a great mascot in the northern cardinal because the actual birds can be seen in much of the southern half of the state.

I distinctly remember my first encounter with a northern cardinal. It happened in the parking lot of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near the Mexican Border. My classmates and I had driven through the night from Montana for a field ecology course. We wearily exited our car and were greeted by a blazing red denizen of the desert.

I was excited to see the bird, though my friends from the east had seen plenty before and were not as impressed.

The Cardinals were one of the original NFL teams. They started up in Chicago and later moved to Saint Louis, both cities near the center of the northern cardinal's range. In 1988, the team moved to Arizona, keeping their mascot. I wonder if they would have changed mascots had they moved to California, as once planned, where northern cardinals rarely occur.

USGS.org

Recently, I looked at the range map of northern cardinals and noticed that they occur in Texas and southern Arizona, but skip over much of New Mexico. I gave this some thought and figured that their shunning of the Land of Enchantment must be a result of vegetation patterns, which determine the ranges of most landbirds.

In the east, Cardinals nest among tall deciduous shrubs and small trees near forest edges. Fragmentation of forests has therefore led to increases in cardinal populations throughout much of the country.

desertmuseum.org

In Arizona, cardinals are found in Sonoran desert scrub habitat that contains small deciduous trees such as palo verde and ironwood, pictured above.

These trees do not exist in much of New Mexico, which is dominated by grasslands and short shrubs at low elevations, large cottonwood trees along rivers, pinyon pines and junipers at mid-elevations, and tall conifers at higher elevations. These vegetation types are not preferred nesting habitat of cardinals.

During the last century, however, small deciduous trees such as saltcedar and Russian olive were introduced from Europe and Asia and have spread throughout much of New Mexico, changing the composition of nesting habitats.

The consequences of this habitat change are mixed, depending on the bird species examined. Generalist, shrub-nesting species often respond well to high densities of exotic shrubs and trees. If Northern cardinals find these exotic habitats favorable, they may soon occupy a larger range in New Mexico.

Great Bird Count of February

2009-02-02T09:02:00.000-08:00

I signed up for the Great Bird Count of February, so I am now listing all the birds I see or hear from the apartment on the sidebar to the right.

I do not expect to see as many birds as the other bloggers with their nicely landscaped yards, but it will be fun to document the birds that come by while I am hard at work.

Go Sooners!

2009-01-29T12:07:00.000-08:00

This may look like a sports post, but I promise there is a bird connection.

My employer, the University of Oklahoma is known to be football-crazed and their other sports teams regularly fly under the radar, so I am doing my part to give credit where it is due.

I recently noticed that the OU Men's and Women's basketball teams are off to great seasons.

(ESPN.com)

The Women's team, led by Courtney Paris (above) and her twin sister Ashely, is ranked #2 in the country and last night defeated #3 Baylor in Waco, Texas. The victory was especially sweet because former President "W" was in the crowd.

(ESPN.com)

The Men's team is 20-1 and ranked #4. Their forward Blake Griffin (shooting) is the projected #1 draft pick this summer. They have already beaten rivals Texas, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma State. If they hold of Kansas next month, they should get a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

(Oklahomabirds.net)

In addition to sports teams, Oklahoma also has a great State Bird, the scissor-tailed flycatcher. They are spectacular summer nesters that hang around until October when they accumulate in large staging flocks and depart for their wintering grounds. Six years ago, I saw my first scissor-tail from the parking lot of the Lloyd Noble Center, where the basketball teams play. There's your bird connection!

Wednesday Wanderings

2009-01-29T08:41:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday morning, I dropped Sarah off at Sauvie Island where she joined others scouting for Raptor Road Trip (8 days away!).

The trees, such as this asymmetrical oak, looked great in the fog and early sunlight.

I spent the rest of the day working at the grandparents-in-law house dreaming of planting this year's garden in the spring.

I picked a few scarlet runner bean pods that had dried out on the garden fence.
I kept some of the the pink and black seeds to dry and plant next year.

I turned over a log behind the house and found a tiny salamander. I think it is an Ensatina.

Cool Papers of the Week

2009-01-26T10:32:00.001-08:00

I recently read two papers that have given me much to think about, so I thought I'd share them.

The first was published several months ago in American Naturalist. Adam Tofilsky and others studied the nests of Brazilian ants (Forelius pusillus) and uncovered a darkly efficient home security strategy.

The ants build underground nests with a small opening to the outside world. As nighttime approaches, several workers bring bits of sand to close off the opening. when the opening is sealed, they kick sand over their work to hide the entrance. Cut-off from their colony, the workers wander off and die, some before the next morning when the entrance is opened from inside the nest.

The sacrifice of these workers seems like a plot from a Cormac Mccarthy novel or the Old Testament. I wonder if the oldest workers in the colony volunteer for the closing duties each night.

The second paper was recently published in Science and has been getting a lot of press lately. Phillip J. van Mantgem and others report rates of tree death in 76 undisturbed western forest stands.

An Audubon Camp field trip to one of the study sites

The alarming finding is that mortality rates increased in 87% of study plots and the percentage of trees dying in the Pacific Northwest doubled during a 17 year period. The authors speculate that hot and dry conditions resulting from climate change have led to the increased mortality of trees. Mortality rate increases were highest in the Pacific Northwest, in mid-elevations. A variery of species were examined, but pines and hemlocks had the greatest increases in mortality.

Whatever the causes of climate change, it seems likely that forests as we know them will not exist for long. As tree species are lost from a given area, they will be replaced by trees or other plants from lower elevations or latitudes that are better adapted to the new climatic conditions. The big question for me is how birds and other animals are affected by these changes. Animals that are confined to specific habitat types will likely respond in one of three ways to changes in forest structure and composition: (1.) they will evolve new behavioral or physical adaptations to their altered habitat, (2.)they will move to higher elevations or latitudes that are more hospitable, or (3.) they will go locally or globally extinct.

I am working on a presentation for an upcoming ornithology meeting in which I predict whether certain southwestern birds will need to respond in one of the three ways to predicted climate change scenarios. I hope that we can identify habitats that are most at risk from climate change to develop management plans that will lessen the impacts to wildlife populations.

Works Cited:

Tofliski, A. et al. 2008. Premptive defensive self-sacrifice by ant workers. American Naturalist 172(5):239-244.

van Mantgem, P.J. et al. 2009. Widespread increase of tree mortality rates in the western United States. Science 323: 521-524.

Mid-winter Veggies

2009-01-25T10:59:00.000-08:00

After several weeks away, I checked on the remaining plants in our borrowed garden bed.

The combination of snow, freezing, temperatures, and dry days finally did in the kale.

Surprisingly, the arugula is still alive. It must have been well-insulated beneath the snow.

I pulled the tomatillo plants several months ago, but many fruits, like the one above, were left behind.

The tomatillos decomposed on the ground and all that is left are the "skeletons" of the husks containing the seeds. I collected several of these convenient little packets and I will try to germinate the seeds this spring.

We still have loads of winter squash and I processed some of them yesterday.

I boiled some down for squash stock, baked some more and froze the puree, and cooked up a buttercup squash stew with chucks of fresh squash and a variety of vegetables we froze in the fall. So far, we have largely succeeded in our goal to refrain from out-of-state produce this winter.

Mussel Carnage

2009-01-21T10:21:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, we "tidepooled" at Cape Kiwanda. The tidepools here are actually sandstone rocks covered by beds of mussels, barnacles, and countless other organisms.

Life is tough in the inter-tidal zone, and for me, viewing mussel beds is similar to watching predators stalk and consume their prey on the Serengeti, but on a much smaller and slower scale.

A few feet of sand had been deposited on the beach since the last time we here, burying the lower layers of the mussel beds. The largest mussels are usually found high above the water at low tide, where they have grown old in the absence of predatory seastars that dry out if they climb too high. The newly deposited sand had lowered the large mussels' elevation, however, and a feast was on!

Several seastars were in the process of wrapping their arms around the mussels, opening the shells, and digesting the contents from the inside-out.

Sarah spotted someting strange sticking out from an opened mussel shell. As we looked close, the thing appeared segmented and worm-like. I tapped it on it's side and it withdrew its head from the shell.

It was a carnivorous mussel worm (Nereis vexillosa) that was probably cleaning out what had been left in the shell by a seastar. It had two fleshy "fangs" and a bony "lip" that can apparently deliver a painful bite. These worms are abundant in mussel beds throughout the Pacific coast, but I had not seen one before.

California Mussels are my favorite tidepool creatures because the create an ecosystem with their presence.

Their shells are attachment sites for sessile creatures such as acorn and goose-necked barnacles pictured above. Worms and other free-moving animals find protection from predators and waves in the gaps between mussel shells. Some crabs even live inside the shells of mussels without bothering their hosts. Mussels: another example of valuable oceanside real estate!

Weekend at the Beach

2009-01-20T08:15:00.000-08:00

We had a very relaxing weekend in the sun at Pacific City. I am too absorbed in the Inauguration to write much about it, so here are a few photos.

Sunset on out first night

Sunrise on our first morning

Mouth of Sand Lake, where we survey beached seabirds

A huge beached moon jelly

A smaller sea nettle

Winter surfing near Haystack Rock

Ziak Wildlife Refuge, full of ducks and coots

Blind Slough, where we saw a group of western grebes and an orange-crowned warbler, rarely seen wintering here.

Here's to a day of unbridled optimism!

Frost Shadows

2009-01-16T13:27:00.000-08:00

Today started with a beautiful, frosty morning as the reflected sunlight changed in color from pink to orange to yellow. As the sun started warming the apartment roofs, ice crystals found refuge in the shadows of chimneys.

In this time of long nights, waking at sunrise is never easy, but once out of bed and walking the dog, I become a morning person and wish I'd been up earlier.

Thursday Walk

2009-01-15T12:20:00.000-08:00

The sun has returned to western Oregon after what seems to have been a month-long absence.

I took the dog on a walk to the field south of us and we took in some views we had not seen in a while.

Last month's snow has melted down here but it still visible in the clearcuts of the the Coast Range to the west.

A large flock of cackling geese was grazing the field and an adult California gull had joined the group.

A few mallards and northern shovelers swam in the pond, but the usual buffleheads were absent.

Two large black cottonwoods stand guard over the southeast corner of the field.

These and a few other big trees, such as the broccoli-shaped white oak were lucky to survive the surrounding developments and I always look forward to seeing them on my walks.

This doug-fir is the largest tree in the neighborhood. It's bark is covered with lichens, moss, and old English Ivy vines that were girdled to save the tree.