Fern Ridge Reservoir.

I headed down to Fern Ridge Reservoir this morning hoping for decent weather but ready for anything... Overall the day was surprisingly pleasant.  Rain showers passed through occasionally but always left quickly, taking their clouds with them.  The drive down to Eugene was also surprisingly pleasant- sunshine and sheep babies most of the way!  (Fine, lambs, whatever).  I also saw my first Rough-legged Hawk of the year.  Um, yeah, I realize April is a bit late for that. 

My first stop was at Perkins Peninsula Park.  The dogs and I walked around for about an hour, catching about a minute's worth of hail, but otherwise in warm sunshine.  The first birds we came across were some sparrows working the ground near some blackberry bushes...

The White-crowned Sparrows were dominant...


And I was thrilled to find a Chipping Sparrow with them!  The last time I saw a Chipping Sparrow was in Yellowstone after stumbling into a herd of elk with my brother and nephew.  A new Oregon bird for me!


The scrub-jays would not be ignored.


In some bushes along the edge of the reservoir I caught a glimpse of something yellow...


An Orange-crowned Warbler!  A first for me!

My next stop was Zumwalt Park...  I heard tons of birds but didn't get many photos.. Of course the Song Sparrows were more than willing to get their portraits taken...


At Jean's Park I've never had much luck with birds.  This was true today also, but I did see a ladybug.


I love how the rock looks hairy.  It's not.   My next stop was the trail at Royal Avenue.  I could hear what seemed like hundreds of Marsh Wrens, but only saw a couple.  Mostly coots out on the water with Tree and Violet-green Swallows buzzing by my head. 


My last stop was at Kirk Pond.  I spent over an hour walking the dogs around and checking out the birds... I saw a Black Phoebe poised perfectly for me in a tree but my camera refused to focus on him.  By the time I switched to manual focus he was gone...


That's another new Oregon bird for me.  Back at the pond I saw my first Osprey of the year...


In the trees around the pond were tons of Yellow-rumped Warblers, both Myrtle and Audubon's. 


Had an awesome day...   Lucky for me dogs are allowed at just about all the parks at Fern Ridge so the dogs are tired too! 

Comments

  1. I cannot wait for the ospreys to return to our area- I love watching them fly between their nest and the Willamette. Love your new banner by the way.

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  2. Nice collections of birds and photos. I lvoe the scrub jay and cool sighting of the orange crowned warbler. Congrats!

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  3. WOW what an impressive sightings list for one outing!! I felt lucky to see a couple of black vultures on my outing Friday--just dont seem to see birds in numbers as in the past--and its been 2 years since I saw a BoB White Quail--we used to see mom's with a row of chicklets following-
    ANYWAYS your photos are awesome..the swallow is so hard to catch! I know what you mean on that Phoebie shot that happens to me constantly-
    I love the new header on your blog- such a great photo!!!

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  4. I love the new banner!! Awesome Hummingird shot. That Chipping Sparrow picture come out sooooooo clear.

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  5. Great photos Jen. Love when you post native species like the scrub jay as you know we don't have them. Someday I get out to Oregon again. Excellent series and your new homepage photo of the hummingbird is breathtaking.

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