[obol] A Big Day on the farm

[Darrel Faxon]

OBOLItes,
    Having tired of the hectic pace required for a countywide Big Day in Lincoln County -three estuaries with tides to consider and the need to be both in the forest and at Boiler Bay early make timing a nightmare-Laura and I elected to do a Big Day entirely within the confines of our farm in the interior Coast Range. Nothing spectacular, we saw basically routine species, but had a fun and relaxing day, tallied fifty one species (ties my property record) and had time to look at wildflowers and whatever else struck our fancy. We camped up on the back forty with expectations of covering forest and cutover land first
    Although the night was calm and relatively warm, my early morning efforts resulted in zero owls.  They simply were not vocalizing, and could not be coaxed to do so.  So our fist bird was a predawn calling Swainson's Thrush.  We did hear a Nothern Pgymy Owl calling shortly after daylight.  We soon picked up a number of expected species, including Mountain Quail which are abundant at this location.  We missed the snipe seen the previous evening at an upland marsh.      
    We then headed back for the house area in the canyon.  At the pond in the pasture we found Wood Duck and a snipe (!)  Next we walked through some younger forest and then coverered most of our upland pastures and found one Savannah Sparrow.  I had given up hope of finding the species this spring, although they used to be common migrants.  As it turned out, I need not have worried.  By mid-afternoon we had gone back to the upland pastures near where we started the day, and found numerous migrant groups numbering from six to a dozen birds.  About one-thirty we stumbled into a migrant group of birds in a brush patch next to a spring.  It held about a dozen each of Wilson's and Orange-crowned Warblers, a Warbling Vireo or two, at least two Yellow-rumps (one Myrtle, one Audubon's), and an empidonax flycatcher which I unfortunately was not able to see well enough to identify.  Everything about the habitat and mannerisms of the bird suggest Dusky, but it never showed itself long enough or well enough for me to make a positive id.
    Later in the afternoon we climbed a high ridge into some large timber and heard a Brown Creeper, which is hard to find here, especially in late spring and summer. We stopped at 5 p.m. because, realistically, there were not any more places to go or birds to expect.
    Perhaps the most important news is that we saw one Barn Swallow, no Rough-winged Swallows, and no Cliff Swallows.  I have not seen a Cliff Swallow here for two years.  This is the first year I have not by this time recorded Rough-wings, and the lone Barn Swallow is a remnant from about ten breeding pairs not too many years ago.  I do not know why these birds seem to be in such decline here.  We also missed Pacific Slope Flycatcher, but that is probably because I can't hear them unless I am standing almost on top of them.
    Complete list in chronological order below:

Swainson's Thrush, American Robin, White-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Bewick's Wren, Wilson's Warbler, Mountain Quail, Mallard, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Flicker, Black-headed Grosbeak, Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Raven, Wren-tit, Steller's Jay, Purple Finch, Spotted Towhee, American Crow, Northern Pygmy Owl, Rufous Hummingbird, Band-tailed Pigeon, Warbling Vireo, Downy Woodpecker, House Wren, Winter Wren, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Evenening Grosbeak, Violet-green Swallow, European Starling, Tree Swallow, Wood Duck, Wilson's Snipe, American Goldfinch, Western Tanager, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Hermit Warbler, Hutton's Vireo, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Hammond's Flycatcher, Ruffed Grouse, Pileated Woodpecker, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Savannah Sparrow, Golden-drowned Sparrow ( 1), Brown-headed Cowbird, Barn Swallow, Hairy Woodpecker, Turkey Vulture, empidonax sp, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Brown Creeper.
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