Event Archives

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Spring Bird Walk at J2E Tree Farm - May 21, 2022

J2E Bird Walk Report, by Mike Unger (May 21, 2022)

Tim and I along with Kendra and Dave led a bird walk at J2E Tree Farm located near Philomath Oregon. We were joined by 16 other birdwatchers including many people who were new to birding. We walked a total of 1.39 miles around the tree farm checking for birds and nature in forests, along creeks, ponds, and a few open spaces. The group was met with a nice morning that was mostly clear with some wind. The temperature was 49 degrees at the start and 59 degrees at the end of the bird walk. The bird activity was fair overall with a total of 30 species identified (seen and/or heard).

The highlights were as follows:

We saw a Western Kingbird near the upper portion of the walk. The kingbird was at the top of a tree. This was a first of the year bird for most of the group.
Other first of the year birds for many were a Western Wood-Pewee and several Swainson’s Thrush.
A Hutton’s Vireo was heard singing in a tree. We also heard several Warbling Vireos.
Near the house most of the group got to see a House Wren singing its beautiful song.
The only warblers observed were the Hermit Warbler (4), Black-throated Gray Warbler (4) and the Wilson’s Warbler (9). All the warblers were singing.
Near the ponds we saw four different swallow species including Tree, Violet-green, Cliff and Barn Swallows. We had a nice discussion on identifying the various swallows. There were also numerous Red-winged Blackbirds and a couple of Black Phoebes around the ponds.
While walking along the trails we had a lot of Evening Grosbeaks flying over us. Many times, we heard their whistling call. Quite a few Band-tailed Pigeons flew over us too.
We missed many species including finches, nuthatches, hummingbirds, and Black-capped Chickadee.

There will be some more LWC bird walks in the summer or early fall. In the meantime, Salem Audubon offers several bird walks each month. Just go to their website at salemaudubon.org and look under the “Events” tab.

Mike Unger
Keizer, OR

Luckiamute Watershed Council Checklist Summary for May 21, 2022

Identified Species: 30

Checklist (see link to checklist below):
J2E Tree Farm on May 21, 2022 @ 8:07 AM

8 Band-tailed Pigeon
1 Mourning Dove
1 Turkey Vulture
1 Western Wood-Pewee
3 Pacific-slope Flycatcher
2 Black Phoebe
1 Western Kingbird
1 Hutton's Vireo
5 Warbling Vireo
1 American Crow
1 Common Raven
1 Chestnut-backed Chickadee
7 Tree Swallow
4 Violet-green Swallow
2 Barn Swallow
22 Cliff Swallow
2 House Wren
1 Pacific Wren
1 Bewick's Wren
3 Swainson's Thrush
5 American Robin
12 Evening Grosbeak
1 Song Sparrow
2 Spotted Towhee
25 Red-winged Blackbird
4 Black-throated Gray Warbler
4 Hermit Warbler
9 Wilson's Warbler
1 Western Tanager
2 Black-headed Grosbeak

Checklist Link: https://ebird.org/checklist/S110872105

Fall Bird Walk at Soap Creek Valley - October 10, 2021

Soap Creek Properties Bird Walk Report, by Mike Unger (October 11, 2021)

Yesterday morning, we held the last Love Your Watershed: Fall Bird Walk sponsored by the Luckiamute Watershed Council. We had fourteen people participate in the walk including a few of the property owners. It turned out be a nice morning as the rain held off. The temperatures ranged from 49 to 59 degrees with partly cloudy skies. The wind was blowing between three to nine m.p.h., but it did not seem bad at all. We walked about 1.73 miles as we covered the many varied habitats of the properties including restored oak woodland and savanna, meadows, wetlands, and riparian forest. The bird activity was decent for this time of year as we observed (saw or heard) twenty-four species.

We are deeply appreciative for the property owner’s generous hospitality in welcoming us to their properties. The owners including Janet, Faye, and Kevin provided us with the history of the properties as well as sharing their enormous efforts to restore the properties to their natural state. Also, thanks to Kendra and Suzanne for organizing the walk and the Benton Soil and Water Conservation District and the Soap Creek Schoolhouse Foundation for their contributions to the walk.

The highlights were as follows:

A Great Horned Owl in a Douglas fir tree that was staring down at us. It was very nice that everyone in the group was able to see the owl. For at least one birder it was the first owl they had ever seen!
There was quite a bit of activity in the madrone trees but not as much activity as last Sunday. The Cedar Waxwings and American Robins were enjoying the berries.
The Steller’s Jays made their presence known again during this walk. As usual, the jays were very loud and produced continuous chatter.
We observed four of the six expected woodpecker species including Hairy Woodpecker, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Acorn Woodpecker and Northern Flicker. We got good looks at several Red-breasted Sapsuckers. The misses were the Downy and Pileated Woodpeckers. However, Janet one of the property owners had heard two Pileated Woodpeckers earlier in the morning before the walk.
We saw seven (7) Band-tailed Pigeons fly over the properties during the walk.
Other observations included a Cooper’s Hawk, a Pacific Wren (heard) and several juncos.

Mike Unger
Keizer, OR

Soap Creek Bird Walk Checklist Summary for October 10, 2021
Identified Species: 24
7 Band-tailed Pigeon
1 Cooper's Hawk
1 Great Horned Owl
5 Red-breasted Sapsucker
2 Acorn Woodpecker
1 Hairy Woodpecker
4 Northern Flicker
20 Steller's Jay
2 California Scrub-Jay
2 Common Raven
5 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Chestnut-backed Chickadee
4 Red-breasted Nuthatch
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Pacific Wren
2 Western Bluebird
1 Varied Thrush
12 American Robin
10 Cedar Waxwing
2 House Finch
2 American Goldfinch
5 Dark-eyed Junco
2 Song Sparrow
4 Spotted Towhee

Resources:

A few of the smartphone birding apps I mentioned during the walk include the following:

iBird PRO – $14.99
Sibley Birds V2 - $19.99
Audubon Birds - Free
eBird - Free
Merlin Bird ID (includes Sound ID) – Free
Raptor ID – Free I did not mention this one, but it is a great app for raptors.

A nice all-around nature app is iNaturalist which is free.

One of the best websites for birds is Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s AllAboutBirds.org

Last, you can get information on using the above apps from the webinars I have offered through Salem Audubon Society. Go to the YouTube website and put 'Salem Audubon Society' in the search box. Click on the “S” in the large orange circle then click on “VIDEOS” and you will see all twenty-five webinar videos.

Thanks to everyone who attended the bird walk. It was a wonderful group and a fun time. It was a pleasure meeting everyone.
~Mike

Fall Bird Walk at Soap Creek Valley - October 3, 2021

Soap Creek Properties Bird Walk Report, by Mike Unger (October 4, 2021)

Yesterday morning, we held the Love Your Watershed: Fall Bird Walk sponsored by the Luckiamute Watershed Council. We had 12 people participate in the walk including a few of the property owners. It was a very pleasant morning. The temperatures ranged from 42 to 62 degrees with mostly clear skies. The wind was calm during the entire walk. We walked about 1.7 miles as we covered the many varied habitats of the properties including restored oak savanna, meadows, wetlands, and riparian forest. The bird activity was decent for this time of year as we observed (saw or heard) 27 species.

We are indebted to the property owners who welcomed us to their properties. The owners including Faye, Kevin and Janet provided us with the history of the properties as well as sharing their enormous efforts to restore the properties to their natural state. Also, many thanks to the Benton Soil and Water Conservation District and the Soap Creek Schoolhouse Foundation for their contributions to the walk.

The highlights were as follows:

There were quite a few highlights of the day including seeing four Western Bluebirds. All four were together in a tree.
There was quite a bit of activity in the trees with berries on them. There were lots of Cedar Waxwings along with a few robins, and a Varied Thrush feasting on the madrone berries.
The Steller’s Jays made their presence known throughout the walk. The jays were very loud and boisterous. Many of the jays were seen with acorns in their bill.
We observed four of the six expected woodpecker species including Downy Woodpecker, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Acorn Woodpecker and Northern Flicker (heard). We got good looks at the Downy Woodpeckers and Red-breasted Sapsuckers. The misses were the Hairy and Pileated Woodpeckers.
We saw nine (9) Band-tailed Pigeons feeding on berries in a madrone tree.
Other observations included two Sharp-shinned Hawks, three Red Crossbills and several ravens.

Mike Unger
Keizer, OR

All bird photos below courtesy of Donna Hendricks

Soap Creek Properties Bird Walk Checklist Summary - 10/3/2021
Identified Species: 27
9 Band-tailed Pigeon
1 Anna's Hummingbird
2 Turkey Vulture
2 Sharp-shinned Hawk
3 Red-breasted Sapsucker
1 Acorn Woodpecker
2 Downy Woodpecker
3 Northern Flicker
25 Steller's Jay
5 California Scrub-Jay
3 Common Raven
7 Black-capped Chickadee
4 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
2 Red-breasted Nuthatch
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
4 Brown Creeper
1 Bewick's Wren
4 Western Bluebird
1 Varied Thrush
3 American Robin
11 Cedar Waxwing
3 Red Crossbill
1 American Goldfinch
9 Dark-eyed Junco
4 Song Sparrow
10 Spotted Towhee
4 passerine sp.