I Used to Hate Birds

This morning I headed down to Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge with the mutts.  It was cool and cloudy but I still didn't want to leave them in the car for too long, so I just stationed myself at a couple of the overlooks to check things out.


Pintail Marsh had a good spread of shorebirds going, including Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers, dowitchers, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpipers, and a few Wilson's Phalaropes.

Wilson's Phalarope


Spotted Sandpiper

At Eagle Marsh I didn't see any shorebirds but the Cliff Swallows nesting in the gazebo were entertaining.  I watched this one deliver food to the youngins and do some housecleaning...

Yum!  Mouthful of baby poop!

Right along the border of the refuge is the intersection of Buena Vista Rd and Ankeny Hill Rd.  I read awhile back that there's an Acorn Woodpecker granary near here so I decided to look for it.  I found the granary and one lone woodpecker.


The view through the trees was kind of lovely...


The dogs were super bored …

Friday afternoon my friend and I headed to the coast for a one-night camping trip that felt more like a week long vacation.  We crammed a ton of little adventures into our trip and had a blast.  It began with the hunt for the perfect campsite in the Suislaw National Forest.  After driving around random forest roads and checking out spots we found what we were looking for...


A quarter mile hike into the woods led to this small clearing near a cliff, offering a lovely view of the forest.  Swainson's Thrushes and Steller's Jays discussed our plans while Cedar Waxwings snatched up berries nearby.   We cooked some dinner and drank some beers and heard no owls.


In the morning we took our time, cooking some breakfast and drinking coffee.  I chased around some birds and hoped I would not get distracted and fall off the cliff.

Wilson's Warbler

 House Wren

Eventually we packed up and said goodbye to this awesome little spot and began the drive down towards Lincoln City.  My friend poi…

My Osprey neighbors are still doing well!  The two kids are growing up and looking healthy while the parents are working hard, taking good care of them.  I stopped by the nest yesterday morning...


Good times.

Yesterday morning I walked the dogs along the Frenchman's Bar Trail and around the park. 


Shorebirds were abundant, but unfortunately they were not the regular kind.

American Goldfinches


 Swainson's Thrush


 White-crowned Sparrow & Crow

Also along the river, this Osprey nest was looking full...


It wasn't just full of Osprey either- some other birds were flying in and out as well:


I can't quite tell what kind of bird that is flying in under the nest- House Sparrow maybe?  We walked along the trail through the woods and found a couple Bullock's Oriole families.  This young one was chasing its pop around and occasionally trying to find its own food.


Also getting chased around was a chickadee by an obnoxious House Wren...

Creeptastic

Near the beginning of the trail is a small field and across that field was this guy:


He or she was not pleased to be spotted.  We moved on down the trail to another spot that opened up to the river.  A stream of gulls was flying by...


When they…