[obol] May Lincoln Co. Bird Notes Received Through 6/3
Range Bayer
rbayer at orednet.org
Sat Jun 14 23:06:12 PDT 2008
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BIRD FIELD NOTES from the May 2008 Sandpiper 29(5)
for Observations Received Through 6/3 by Range Bayer
The Sandpiper is a publication of Yaquina Birders and Naturalists, a
Lincoln County (Oregon) natural history group.
Comments in this column about abundance or seasonality refer to
LINCOLN COUNTY only.
If you have any Lincoln County field notes, please share them with
Range (rbayer at orednet.org; P.O. Box 1467, Newport, OR 97365; 541-265-2965)
by the 20th of the month. Bird field notes columns in the Sandpiper since
1992 are at http://www.orednet.org/~rbayer/lincoln/bird.htm#recent (all
lower case letters).
Many Lincoln Co. sites are in the Oregon Coast Birding Trail Guide
(http://www.oregoncoastbirding.com/).
Some Lincoln Co. site locations: BEAVER CREEK: creek flowing through
Ona Beach State Park, BOILER BAY: State Wayside about 0.5 mi north of Depoe
Bay, ECKMAN LAKE: lake 2 mi east of Waldport along HWY 34, HMSC: OSU
Hatfield Marine Science Center, IDAHO FLATS: large embayment just east of
HMSC, LNG TANK: large green Liquefied Natural Gas tank on the north side of
Yaquina Bay about 1.5 miles east of Yaquina Bay Bridge, ONA BEACH: State
Park about 6.6 mi south of Yaquina Bay bridge along HWY 101 at Beaver
Creek, SALLY'S BEND: large Yaquina Bay embayment east of the LNG tank,
WANDEMERE: about 0.5 mi north of Ona Beach State Park near HWY 101, YBSJ:
Yaquina Bay South Jetty.
MAY 16 BIRD FALLOUT. May 16 was an extremely hot day, with temperatures in
the 90's along the coast and 101.5 F at J&KCi's home about 4 miles east of
Waldport. JCi wrote "Needless to say, the clean birdbath was heavily
used."
But the strong east winds the previous night may have affected
migrating birds more than temperature. Based on weather measurements at
HMSC Guin Library (see Archives at http://weather.hmsc.orst.edu/), wind
direction changed to coming from an easterly direction at about 11:45 PM
the night of May 15. Then peak winds were consistently 15-26 mph until
just after 12 PM (noon) on May 16. The peak temperature of 90.7 F was at
12:45 PM, and then winds changed from an easterly to from a westerly
direction.
The strong east winds may have pushed or disoriented migrating birds
during the night. Indeed, at 9:30 AM the morning of 5/16, RL noted that he
had:
"just returned from Yaquina Head where the wind is gusting to 35 mph and
higher, and it is very warm. It was amusing watching the seabirds trying
to deal with the east winds close to the cliffs, but what was really
spectacular is the fallout of warblers there. From the west parking lot
out to the deck, I saw no less than 50 Wilson's Warblers while I was there
for about an hour. ... The warblers were really struggling in the wind.
I saw some of the birds come in from the west and then just drop down into
the salal and berry bushes exhausted. I suspect there were many more birds
present than I saw as they were hunkered down under the short brush. Wish
I could have spent more time out there. No telling what might show up!"
At Cascade Head (Tillamook Co.) the morning of 5/16, PP observed at
least six rare species and wrote
"From 7:30 AM until the wind started to let up at about 9:00 small flocks
[of warblers] were almost continually in view flying off the ocean and east
along the lower half of the meadow. Some were stopping briefly in the
alder ravine and surrounding brush, but most were staying on the move to
the east."
While some weak migrants were flying in from off the ocean, others
blown offshore may not have made it back. For instance, DB found a dead
Hermit Warbler and 5 dead Wilson's Warblers in the high tide wrack line at
Baker Beach (Lane Co.) the evening of 5/16.
Flying ants were also affected by the weather. DL & KCa found a
wrackline in Coos Co. littered with millions of carcasses of flying insects
(ants ?) during the weekend of 5/17-18. On 5/18, D&SI
"walked about three miles of Lincoln County beach (Beverly Beach State Park
to at least Moolack Beach), and we also encountered a wrackline that was
comprised almost entirely of fairly large flying ants. Never seen anything
like it. Millions is by no means an exaggeration."
Hmmm, I wonder why gulls, shorebirds, or crows did not eat the ants?
Perhaps they don't like ants, there were too many, or the ants didn't look
like food?
MAY VAGRANTS. Many species that are uncommon or rare in May were located
this month. JL wondered if this represented an influx from the interior.
Good question! However, May is a time of spring migration when a few
individuals of normally interior species can become disoriented and
mistakenly fly west to the coast. Further, an increase in the number of
uncommon species or rarities may not be related to an influx of rarities,
but to other factors, since bird reports depend upon:
1) bird presence
2) good fortune (chance) in finding them (e.g., the chance of finding 1
inconspicuous bird is less than finding numerous conspicuous birds)
3) sufficient observation effort to find a species, which may sometimes
require special effort for an inconspicuous species or a rare species that
looks similar to a common species
4) reporting a species after it is found.
One could try to determine if there was an influx of rare or uncommon
species this year by comparing the number of these species this year
compared to the past 9 years. However, one problem in doing so is choosing
which species to include. In Table 1, for example, I list 16 species that
have been seen in May in 2 or more years since 1999 plus in the footnotes
on top of p. 4 I include an additional 13 species that were reported in
May of only 1 year. I did not include Manx Shearwater (May 2006 and 2008)
and Kittlitz's Murrelet (2005) that were seen from shore because they are
so challenging to identify. There are additional species that one could
debate about including (e.g., Clark's Grebe, Sora, golden-plover sp.,
Solitary Sandpiper, and Black Swift). These species as well as some in
Table 1 could easily be present every year but require special observation
effort to find. For instance, Franklin's Gull may be present each May, but
detecting them can require sorting through many Bonaparte's Gulls.
For the 29 species included in Table 1, 0-9 rare or uncommon species
occurred in May of 1999-2007. May 2008 had 14, the most.
However, this increase may represent an increase in observation
effort or reporting or good fortune rather than a real increase in
vagrancy. In a "Big Day," one or more birders try to find as many species
as possible during a 24-hour period. This year, NS & KF did a Big Day
within Lincoln Co. on 5/3 and found 141 species, one short of the record of
142 by PP, DI, & SH. Such Big Days do not occur every year, and such an
intense effort can be expected to find rare birds (e.g., NS & KF reported 2
of the 14 species). There were also 2 other teams doing Oregon Big Days
that included part of Lincoln Co., but they did not report any rare or
uncommon species in Lincoln Co. Except for NS & KF's Lincoln Co. Big Day,
it is my impression that observation effort and reporting are similar this
year to recent years.
Nevertheless, our observation effort this May, like in other years,
was spotty and biased towards reporting conspicuous or rare species that
are of more interest to birders. While we had many reports of rare
species, I saw no reports of Marsh Wren, Virginia Rail, or American
Bittern. Does this mean that these species were rarer than the American
Avocets and Red-eyed Vireo reported this month? I doubt it.
To a significant degree, what we see is what we look for.
It is possible that the May 16 "fallout" (see above) was a factor in
the increase of rare species this May, since PP saw six rare species at
Cascade Head (Tillamook Co.) the morning of the 5/16 "fallout." Indeed, 5
of the 14 rare or uncommon species noted in Lincoln Co. this May were
reported on 5/16 or later--without them the total would be the same as the
9 species total in 1999 (Table 1). However, this may also be coincidence,
as rare birds have also appeared in late May in other years. For example,
6 of the 9 rare species in 1999 were recorded on 5/16 or later.
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TABLE 1. Records of species rare or uncommon in May in Lincoln County that
were reported during May 1999-2008. See text for challenges in choosing
species to include. The number of records of rare or uncommon species
reported during at least 2 years in May is in the main part of the Table
for each year; species recorded during only 1 year are in the footnotes on
top of p. 4.
Record=report of at least one live bird seen or heard from shore at
one location (i.e., beached or pelagic reports are not included). Pelagic
reports are not included because there were not pelagic trips each May.
2008 First May 16-31=first record in May 2008 was during May 16-31.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rare or Uncommon 2008
Species During Number of May Records in Lincoln County__________
First
2+ Years 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 May
16-31
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Am. White Pelican 0 0 0 0 1* 0 0 0 0 1
no
White-faced Ibis 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3
yes
Semipalmated Sandpiper 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 -
Franklin's Gull 1 0 3 4 0 1 0 0 1 3
no
Horned Puffin 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1
no
Black-chin. Hummingbird 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Northern Mockingbird 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1* 2 0 -
Sage Thrasher 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 -
Yellow-breasted Chat 0 0 0 2* 0 0 0 0 1 0 -
Chipping Sparrow 1 0 0 1* 1 0 0 1 0 2
no
Clay-colored Sparrow 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
no
Lark Sparrow 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 -
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1
yes
Lazuli Bunting 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 -
Yellow-headed Blackbird 0 0 1 0 0 1* 0 0 0 2*
no
Cassin's Finch 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
yes
No. Species
during 2+ years 6 1 5 3 5 5 0 5 6 9
3-yes
for Only 1 year 3 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 5
2-yes**
Grand Total of Species 9 1 6 5 6 5 0 5 7 14
5-yes
*=presumably the same bird was reported during 2-4 days, so these reports
are considered as one record.
** 1999-2007: Redhead, Hudsonian Godwit, Thick-billed Murre, Eastern
Kingbird, Blackpoll Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Horned Lark, and Pine
Grosbeak.
2008: American Avocet (first on 5/6), Sabine's Gull (5/11), Black
Tern (5/23), Red-eyed Vireo (5/16), and Harris's Sparrow (5/8).
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WATERFOWL. GR. WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE migration continued through 5/7 (PP;
RL).
During spring migration, BRANT sometimes drop out along the coastline
and linger for a few days. This May between Seal Rocks and Ona Beach, KB
counted 3-6 during 7 days from 5/6-14 and 2 on 5/26. The latest flock was
20 in lower Yaquina Bay on 5/19 (JL). Our latest report was of 2 at Nye
Beach in Newport on 5/27 (PK). YB&N is a project partner of the
International Brant Monitoring Project (IBMP)
(http://www.padillabay.gov/brant/), and RB relayed on sightings of
significant numbers of Brant in Lincoln County to their Observation Log
(see link on the left side of their web page).
MC reported the first WESTERN CANADA GEESE migrating north in Lincoln
Co.; they passed over Seal Rocks on 5/16. RL notes that the USFWS began
documenting this late flight in 1994 and that this flight starts on about
5/11 and continues into early June. It appears to be a movement of
nonbreeding or failed breeding birds heading north to a molting area,
probably the lower Columbia River. Please report the date and time, your
location, direction of flight (some may fly south), and number of Canada
Geese to Roy_Lowe at fws.gov. RL adds that you don't really need to know
subspecies because all of the others are gone during this late May-early
June flight.
We had HARLEQUIN DUCK reports at Yaquina Head during 7 days in April
(BLM), 2 were at the YBSJ on 5/3 (NS & KF), and our high count and latest
was 5 at Seal Rocks on 5/6 (KB).
Latest dates for waterfowl include 1 LONG-TAILED DUCK at Boiler Bay
on 5/2 (PP), 1 TUNDRA SWAN at Siletz Bay during 5/2-4 (RL; WH; NS & KF),
1 EURASIAN WIGEON at Yaquina Bay on 5/3 (NS & KF), 1 BUFFLEHEAD at Yaquina
Bay on 5/22 (WH), 1 CINNAMON TEAL at Eckman Lake on 5/24 (RL), 2 pairs of
BLUE-WINGED TEAL at Eckman Lake on 5/25 (RL), and 13 SCAUP at Idaho Flats
on 6/3 (RB). A few scaup are often present into late June and even July
(SemiL).
GROUSE-IBIS. RUFFED GROUSE drummed at Logsden during 5/2-5 (BLl) and near
Lincoln City on 5/3 (NS & KF).
1-2 CLARK'S GREBES were at the YBSJ and near Sally's Bend on 5/3 (NS
& KF) and at Yachats on 5/19 (B&ALoc).
What is going on with NORTHERN FULMARS? Since January 1978, BLo and
his team have been doing approximately weekly beach walks along 4.6 miles
of beach north of Ona Beach. The January total of fulmars this year (12)
is the sixth highest for these 31 years, and February (17), March (103),
and now April (49) are the most ever for those months (B&SLo, L&VO). The
second and third highest April was 15 in 2001 and 6 in 2000, respectively.
During April, BLo and his team also found a beached FORK-TAILED
STORM-PETREL and a SOOTY SHEARWATER.
2 rare AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS visited King Slough, east of Idaho
Flats, the evening of 5/15 (fide BLo, RS fide JM). This is only our 6th
Lincoln Co. report (SemiL; FN).
BROWN PELICANS were recorded during 4 days in April at Yaquina Head
(BLM). In May, peak numbers were 60-100 at Boiler Bay during morning 5/4-7
seawatches (PP, WH) and 70 roosting at dusk on a nearshore rock near Seal
Rocks on 5/31 (KB).
6 GREAT EGRETS were at Yaquina Bay on 6/6 & 13 (JL; RB). We still
have no records of them nesting in Lincoln Co.
WHITE-FACED IBIS have been noted in 3 of the past 9 Mays (Table 1).
This May, 2 were at Idaho Flats on the hot 5/16 (RL) and, on 5/19, about
35-44 were along the Yachats coastline (B&ALoc) and at Yaquina Head (WH).
EAGLE-SORA. 2 BALD EAGLES graced the 5/24 YBNFT at Idaho Flats. Flying
WESTERN GULLS often "mob" or dive-bomb flying Bald Eagles, but are eagles a
real threat to a Western Gull? On 5/7 at the HMSC, RL
"looked out my window with binoculars to watch Whimbrels feeding along the
edge of the marsh. I then looked out over the bay, and there were no birds
around, until I saw an adult Bald Eagle barreling down on a Western Gull on
the wing. Just before the eagle reached the gull, the gull dove into the
water. The eagle made one short dive at it, then on the next short dive it
nailed the gull and flew with it across the bay to a stump to feed. The
entire event looked pretty effortless!"
The mystery grows! In last month's column, it was noted that BMc saw
a coyote chew and swallow 2 white eggs each from 2 nests south of the YBSJ
road on 4/30. I speculated that they might have been Northern Harrier
eggs. On 5/3, BMc inspected the area nest area and found 2 white golf
balls. Did the coyote swallow some golf balls?
On 5/4, RC was cycling up north Beaver Creek Road and at about Mile
2.5 flushed a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK perched near the road and at about Mile 3
heard and saw a probable NORTHERN GOSHAWK!
The BLM recorded PEREGRINE FALCONS at Yaquina Head during 4 days in
April. On 5/5 at the HMSC, RL observed
"some spectacular flying and aggression between two Peregrines outside my
office window over [Idaho Flats]. An adult male Peregrine drove a juvenile
female out of the area almost locking talons several times. After the
juvenile was driven out the adult male just glided around the bay on the
winds gaining altitude and circling the south end of the bay without
needing to flap his wings."
On 5/24, RL also saw a Peregrine in south Lincoln Co.
NS & KF found our only SORA at Beaver Creek during their 5/3 Big Day.
[Image Not Included: Kitty Brigham's May 6 photo of 5 Black Oystercatchers
on the sand near the water at Seal Rocks.]
[Image Not Included: Kitty Brigham's May 6 photo of several "rockpipers" in
breeding plumage on algae- and barnacle-covered rock at Seal Rocks. They
are Surfbird (left), 2 Black Turnstones (middle), and Ruddy Turnstone
(right).]
SHOREBIRDS. PP discovered our only GOLDEN-PLOVER sp. passing Boiler Bay on
5/8. SaL and BBa conducted their portion of the 2008 BLACK OYSTERCATCHER
Survey and found 3 north of the Yachats River on 5/25.
A flock of 3 AMERICAN AVOCETS in breeding plumage flew north past
Boiler Bay on 5/6 (PP). This is only our 6th record. We had spring
records previously for them in 1997 (May) and 2002 (April) (SemiL; FN).
On 5/3, 1-2 SOLITARY SANDPIPERS were at south Beaver Creek (WH) and
at Idaho Flats and near Toledo (NS & KF).
PR viewed our only WILLET on the ocean beach south of Agate Beach
Wayside in Newport on 5/18. Our only WANDERING TATTLERS were singletons at
the YBSJ on 5/3 (NS & KF) and Yachats on 5/19 (B&ALoc).
Many WHIMBRELS were noticed, with a peak count of 30 on the ocean
beach south of Agate Beach Wayside in Newport on 5/18 (PR). 1 LONG-BILLED
CURLEW visited Boiler Bay on 5/3 (WH, NS, & KF).
1-4 MARBLED GODWITS dropped out near Sally's Bend on 5/3 (NS & KF)
and at Boiler Bay on 5/5-7 (PP).
RUDDY TURNSTONES had a good showing with 8 reports of 1-7 during
5/3-9 at Boiler Bay, Seal Rocks, Yaquina Bay, and South Beach (PP; RP; DG;
KB; RB).
This was also a good May for RED KNOTS! 2-10 were at Idaho Flats on
5/1, 10 & 15 (EH; CP; JL), 1-5 were at Boiler Bay on 5/4, 5, 6, & 7 (PP;
WH), 1 was at South Beach on 5/16 (TS), and 1 visited Alsea Bay Spit on
5/16-17 (EC). In contrast, only 1-2 were noted during just 2 reports in
May 2007 (FN).
As in recent years, the timing of peak shorebird migration could be
estimated by average flight rates during seawatches at Boiler Bay. This
year, seawatches were conducted by PP (12), PP & WH (2), and WH (1) from
April 19 to May 11. They were in the morning and were 45-285 minutes long.
Based on Boiler Bay seawatches (see graph), the largest peak
migration of "peeps" was during 4/29-5/6 (PP; WH), like 2007. Note that
the graph is not smooth, which is to be expected of real data, and that
there are several peaks. In contrast, the peak during 2005 was during
4/19-4/23. In 2007, PP noted that the vast majority were WESTERN
SANDPIPERS. This May, Westerns again predominated but DUNLIN comprised up
to 36% of peeps.
During Boiler Bay seawatches, DOWITCHERS peaked at 2-4/minute on
5/5-6 (PP; WH).
During 2005-2006, few RED-NECKED PHALAROPES were seen in May, but
2007 was a good year with an average of 160/min on May 11 at Boiler Bay
(PP). This year many Rednecks were reported by many observers at Yaquina
Bay and along the coast. At Boiler Bay (see graph), there were peaks on at
least 4/30 and 5/7 (PP; WH). Because there were no seawatches after 5/11,
it is unknown if their migration continued as long as in 2007, when they
still had an average passage rate of 19/min on 5/26 at Boiler Bay (PP).
Estimated Number of "peeps" (small shorebirds except phalaropes)/Minute
Passing Boiler Bay during 15 Morning Seawatches Lasting 45-285 Minutes
90- X--89/min
B 80- XXX
i 70- X XXX
r 60- X XXX
d 50- X XXX
s 40- X XXXX
/ 30- X XXXXX
m 20- X XX X XXXXX
i 10- X X XX X XXXXXX X
n 1-4- XX X XX X XXXXXX X
0- XX X X X XX X XXXXXX X
|''''|''''|''''|''''|''''|''''|
15 20 25 30 5 10 15
April------------|---May--------
Estimated Number of Red-necked Phalaropes/Minute Passing Boiler Bay during
15 Morning Seawatches Lasting 45-285 Minutes
180- X--175/min
B 160- X
i 140- X
r 120- X
d 100- X
s 80- X
/ 60- X XX
m 40- X XX
i 20- X XXX
n 1-9- X XXX
0- XX X X X XX X XXXXXX X
|''''|''''|''''|''''|''''|''''|
15 20 25 30 5 10 15
April------------|---May--------
FRANKLIN'S GULL-BARRED OWL. 2-4 FRANKLIN'S GULLS were reported at Boiler
Bay on 5/6-7 (PP) and Idaho Flats on 5/19 (JL). They were noted in 6 of 10
recent Mays, so this May is not exceptional (Table 1).
On 5/11, 1-2 SABINE'S GULLS were recognized from shore at Boiler Bay
(PP) and offshore from the Coral Princess cruise ship (DI, JG, OS, and SW).
They were also noted during May pelagic trips in 2000, 2002, and 2003.
A BLACK TERN checked in at D River City Park in Lincoln City on 5/23
(PP)--this is only our third record since 1992, and 6th record overall.
JL saw a CASPIAN TERN with leg bands at Idaho Flats on 5/20. Please
help track movements of color-banded Caspians by reporting the color-band
combinations on their legs, as well as the time, date, location, and
activity to http://www.columbiabirdresearch.org/
Our only ANCIENT MURRELET flew north past Boiler Bay on 5/5 (PP).
A HORNED PUFFIN flew north with Common Murres during PP's 5/6 Boiler
Bay seawatch. We have records of them in May in 3 of the 5 years during
2004-2008 (Table 1).
1-7 TUFTED PUFFINS detected during PP's 5 morning seawatches at
Boiler Bay during 5/5-11 were our only reports.
30-60 BAND-TAILED PIGEONS chowed down at feeders in the Waldport area
in late May (RL; BH). Although they seem more abundant than in recent
years, RL recalled more coming to his feeders 10 years ago.
Sightings of EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE include 1 at D River on 5/25 (PP)
and another in Siletz on 5/26 (SN).
A BARRED OWL was in the Siletz area on 5/2-3 (PK; NS & KF), near Elk
City on 5/3 (NS & KF), and at north Beaver Creek on 5/29 (LO).
NIGHTHAWK-PIPIT. BLl reported our first COMMON NIGHTHAWK at Logsden on
6/1.
On 5/29 in Toledo, CP saw an adult male, bright-plumaged, green-
backed Selasphorus hummingbird that looked like an ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRD.
However, conclusively separating an Allen's from a green-backed Rufous
Hummingbird here does not seem possible by only a visual sighting.
In early May, MH saw a hummingbird strike a Newport window and be
carried off by a STELLER'S JAY before it could recover. See
http://www.flap.org/ and
http://www.audubon.org/bird/at_home/SafeWindows.html for tips on trying to
reduce bird-window collisions.
Our first VAUX'S SWIFT fluttered at Siletz Bay on 5/4 (WH) and a few
days later at Toledo (CP). 1-3 rare BLACK SWIFTS were near Siletz Bay on
5/4 (WH) and Thornton Creek between Toledo and Eddyville on 5/19 (DF).
RL had our only WESTERN KINGBIRD report--one near the HMSC Nature
Trail on 5/16.
A hypothetical record of RED-EYED VIREO in July 1981 was our sole
record (SemiL; FN) until this May. On 5/16, DF heard one singing in the
forest near his Thornton Creek home between Toledo and Eddyville.
BO reported our first SWAINSON'S THRUSH on 5/13 at his Newport home,
and WH found a very late HERMIT THRUSH at his South Beach home on 5/31. WH
noted that it was one of the larger, grayer forms different from those that
winter.
CEDAR WAXWINGS arrived at J&KCi's home 4 miles east of Waldport on
5/21. JCi wrote that 2
"had apple blossom flowers in their beaks and were touching and
snuggling up next to each other in a very large hemlock tree. Very sweet!"
NS & KF's 5/3 Lincoln Co. Big Day yielded 2 AMERICAN PIPITS at the
HMSC--our only report.
PALM WARBLER-BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. A late PALM WARBLER lingered along the
HMSC Nature Trail on 5/14 (JL). WESTERN TANAGERS put on a good show this
spring and graced the 5/24 YBNFT, with peak counts of 7 on 5/11 at Logsden
(BLl) and near Eckman Lake (RL).
A CHIPPING SPARROW was near Toledo on 5/3 (NS & KF) and at Yaquina
Head on 5/16 (RL). We have records of them in May in 5 of 10 years from
1999-2008 (Table 1).
The CLAY-COLORED SPARROW along the HMSC Nature Trail first reported
during the Jan. 5 Yaquina Bay Christmas Bird Count lingered until at least
5/3 (NS & KF). They were recorded in only one other May since 1999 (Table
1).
CL &BBe had a HARRIS'S SPARROW at their Newport home during 5/8 that
several birders also saw on 5/9. The previous one was reported in Nov.
2003 (FN).
A female LAPLAND LONGSPUR that appeared different than the female in
the pair reported last month lingered at the YBSJ until 5/2 (WH & CP).
A ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK dropped into the Depoe Bay area on 5/26
(fide DD). DD identified it as a male Rose-breasted from a photo.
Unfortunately, it was in an area not open to the public. Rose-breasteds
appear to have greatly increased in frequency in recent years. Prior to
1993, we only had records in 1977 (SemiL). While compiling Table 1, I
discovered that we had no additional records during 1993-1997, but we have
had records every year during 1998-2008, except for 1999 and 2006 (FN).
BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS seemed to be more numerous than usual this May
(e.g., BBa; DG; RC & WN; LO; BH; TS).
MEADOWLARK- EVENING GROSBEAK. A WESTERN MEADOWLARK at the HMSC on 5/27
(RL) was late.
We had two records of single male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS. One was
in the freshwater marsh near the southwest corner of Idaho Flats on 5/13
(DC, TW, & DA) and presumably the same bird was also there on 5/24 (EH).
Another male perched in a holly tree near BMi's home in Newport on 5/14.
They were found in 3 of 10 Mays (Table 1)--the same percentage of
occurrence as during 1973-1992 (6 of 20 Mays)(SemiL).
A first spring male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE visited CP's Toledo home on 5/16
(CP), and a female Bullock's visited his Red Hot Poker plants there on
5/28. The Red Hot Pokers had also attracted many Western Tanagers and
Black-headed Grosbeaks and a flock of Cedar Waxwings on 5/31 (CP).
There was also a lot of colorful birds elsewhere, too, as BLl, had 24
AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, 24 PURPLE FINCHES, and 4 male and 1 female Black-
headed Grosbeaks at his Logsden home on 5/10.
A yellow HOUSE FINCH showed near Seal Rock in mid-May (KB)--yellow
and orange plumage in House Finches can be caused by diet deficiencies. DG
reported the first young of the year House Finches at her HMSC feeder on
5/21 and the same day the partial albino House Finch that had been coming
to her feeder the past 2 years returned.
Lincoln County's first CASSIN'S FINCH report was of a pair at
Wandemere on 5/16/1999 (RC & WN). In 2008, our second record was a male
CASSIN'S FINCH at Wandemere on 5/26 (RC). They are tough to distinguish
from House and Purple Finches, but RC carefully studied it.
We had many reports of EVENING GROSBEAKS (e.g., BBa and others), with
at least 12 at PR's Newport home on 5/9.
OBSERVERS/SOURCES: Dan Avery, Betty Bahn (BBa), David Bailey, Range
Bayer, Bob Berman (BBe), Kitty Brigham, Bureau of Land Management staff at
Yaquina Head (BLM), Ellen Cantor, Kathy Castelein (KCa), Maxine Centala,
Rebecca Cheek, Jorrie & Ken Ciotti (J&KCi; http://www.birdsamore.com),
CoastWatch (a volunteer project monitoring one-mile segments of the Oregon
coast; http://oregoncoastwatch.org/), Doug Cottam, Dick Demarest, Karl
Fairchild, Darrel Faxon (some of DF's bird records are at
http://www.orednet.org/~rbayer/lincoln/bird.htm#thornton_creek), Jeff
Gilligan, Dawn Grafe, Steve Heinl, Wayne Hoffman, \Mary Holbert, Eric
Horvath, Bettye Hunt, David & Stuart Irons, Penelope Kaczmarek, Janet
Lamberson, Dave Lauten, Cindy Lippincott, Bob Llewellyn (BLl), Bob Lockett
& Adrienne Wolf-Lockett (B&ALoc), Sally Lockyear (SaL), Bob Loeffel (BLo) &
Shirley Loeffel (SLo), Roy Lowe, John MacKown, Barry McPherson (BMc), Bob
Miller (BMi), Walt Nelson, Field Notes (FN; Lincoln County records from the
Sandpiper since 1992 are searchable at
http://www.orednet.org/~rbayer/lincoln/bird.htm#recent [all lower case
letters]), Bob Olson, Oregon Birders On Line (OBOL; recent postings at
http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/OBOL.html), Laimons & Vicki Osis, Ram
Papish, Chuck Philo, Phil Pickering, Paul Reed, Owen Schmidt, Trent Seager,
SemiL (semimonthly Lincoln Co. bird records through 1992 for each species
at ScholarsArchive at OSU [http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8070]), Rose Shaw,
snellinj at peak.org (SN), Noah Strycker, Tami Wagner, Sheran Wright, Yaquina
Birders & Naturalists (YBNFT Field Trip led by BO).
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