Willamette Valley Backyard Birds: Red-Breasted Sapsucker, Eurasian Collared-Doves, Mourning Dove, American Robin, House Finch, Downy Woodpecker, Cassin's Vireo & Oregon Junco

Hello friends - Happy Spring! I'm very glad to be back on the blog and excited to share with you some images of the birds that we have had the pleasure of watching in our backyard here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.

I am still learning how to use my new (second hand) Lumix GH2 camera. With its 45-200mm telephoto lens it is by far the best camera I have ever had for photographing from a distance. For years I longed for a camera that could be used for bird photography and the GH2 came with not only the standard 14-42mm lens, but also the telephoto lens mentioned. It was within my budget and I am very happy to have it.

Already this new year has brought a surprising variety of birds to our small humble backyard garden. There have always been, and continues to be, the usual sparrows, blue jays and starlings. But so far, this year has been different. There have been a few new species. For instance, our latest visiter, this Red-Breasted Sapsucker, (a kind of Woodpecker) flew into our yard just this past weekend. It went straight to Jim's maple tree and set about vigorously eating insects and/or drinking sap. It only stayed a short while and then was gone. How lucky we were to see this!

Also surprising was this pair of Eurasian Collared-Doves. They started arriving in our garden in early March and soon were visiting 2-3 times every day. At first they were a bit shy and would only perch on our privacy fence for a short period and then leave. But over the course of a few weeks their visits became longer and they began to feed. It's so cute how they seem to enjoy each other's company. They stay in close proximity to one another and spend quite a bit of time pruning.

My bird book says their diet is almost exclusively from seeds on the ground. I suspect the reason they came to visit in the first place is because we always have seed strewn all around the yard. Also, there are lots of sparrows, juncos and towhees that come here to feed and the doves seemed comfortable joining in and eating alongside them.

It's hard to say if the two we saw were the same pair every time, but it was a very unusual (and welcomed) visit!

Then, just as I was feeling sad that the Eurasian Collared-Doves were already moving on, there was another astonishing bird watching moment. Another kind of dove arrived! This is the Mourning Dove.

The Mourning Dove is a bit smaller and more slender than the Eurasian Collared-Dove. It has a pointed tail and black spots on its wings, whereas the Collared-Dove has a blunt tail and a black collar on the nape. Like the Collared-Dove, they are also seed eaters.

Such a pretty blue color around its eye and on its beak, don't you agree?

We experienced some other new (to us) bird sightings in the later part of the winter also. For example, in the past we had sighted American Robins in the neighborhood but never had the pleasure of any of them visiting our backyard garden. But this year they did!

I think the Robins may have finally discovered our holly trees with their abundance of berries. They seemed to eat a lot of them. It was fun to watch them pick the berries off the stems and with one gulp - gone!

I discovered that Robins like to travel from place to place in a group, but while they are foraging and resting each keeps a bit of distance from the others.

Robins are also extremely adept hunters. They are remarkably good at standing perfectly still while they scout for worms and insects. And when they see one, they pounce!

Theirs was another short (maybe 2 weeks?) but oh so enjoyable visit.

Like the Red-Breasted Sapsucker, this House Finch came and went rather quickly. My bird book says they are regulars at sunflower feeders and this one is (hopefully) enjoying just that.

And lastly, here are a few images of our regular, year round visitors. First is the Downy Woodpecker. The Downy loves suet cake, although they also eat insects, fruits and seeds. It appears to forage alone, as we always have just one visiting at a time. 

This Cassin's Vireo, also called the Solitary Vireo is one of the smallest birds we've had visit our backyard. They are only about 5-1/2" in size. They also forage alone, although we often see the Vireo amongst the sparrows and juncos. Like the Downy Woodpecker, the Vireo comes for the suet cake.

And last is the Oregon Junco, another seed eater. I captured this one eating a millet seed. The Juncos arrive in the early autumn and stay through late spring. They are often seen with sparrows and towhees. 

Birdwatching has been a favorite hobby of mine for a number of years. It's a small daily pleasure to sit at our kitchen table, tea or coffee in hand, and look out onto the garden waiting for the birds to arrive, watch them eat and observe their habits. Do you have a small daily pleasure?

As always, thank you for reading.

World Collage Day

Hi Friends! Since Kolaj Magazine has declared today World Collage Day I thought it would be fun to share with you a few collage projects I'm currently working on.

Last month the local public library had its annual used book sale - tables and tables full of books for about $2.00 each. I happily filled one bag (the limit I imposed on myself!) with books about birds, flowers and art history. A couple of the books I purchased are shown above. 

Birds are some of the most fascinating creatures on earth and the collage pieces I'm sharing with you here today are my creative expression regarding the importance of birds.

National Geographic Magazine has declared 2018 the Year of the Bird in celebration of the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act passed by the United States Congress in 1918. The purpose of the act is 'to protect birds from wanton killing.' According to the Geographic, "Things with feathers can be found in every corner of every ocean and in land habitats so bleak that they're habitats for nothing else." Their diversity, social structure, ability to fly and migrate hundreds or even thousands of miles surely commands our respect. Not surprisingly, the Geographic posits that bird populations indicate the health of the ethical values of humans. From the recognition that birds are living dinosaurs, having witnessed life on earth for millions of years, to the fact that they connect us to the natural world, we must care for and about birds simply because humans have the unique ability to reason and reason inevitably leads one to a place of responsibility.

Because of these facts and more it only seems right to give owls a regal place in my imaginary owl world - a place that respects their ability to survive in spite of the pressures of human intervention.

Thanks for letting me share.

Camping At Newberry Caldera

Volcanoes are both scary and fascinating. The thought of being near an exploding volcano is frightening, but as I stood on the floor of Newberry Caldera last week and thought about how this very large caldera was produced as a result of a volcanic eruption 75,000 years ago, my mind was blown away!

Newberry Caldera, in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, is located on the eastern side of the Cascade Mountains in the Deschutes National Forest of Oregon and encompasses 54,822 acres. When Newberry Volcano exploded, the violent eruption produced two lakes - East Lake, pictured above, and Paulina Lake which is about one mile west of East Lake. Newberry Volcano is, to this day, an active volcano with both seismic and geothermal activity! 

Last week our family took great pleasure in escaping city life for a three day camping adventure in this captivating environment. For three days and two nights, we basked in warm sunshine and breathed clean dry air, surrounded by volcanic mountains, a variety of tall conifer trees, clear cool water and a fair amount of wildlife such as birds, mule deer, ground squirrels and chipmunks.

Our campsite was situated amongst many pine trees and located near the shore of East Lake, in the Cinder Hill Campground. There's about one hundred yards between the camp and the lake, with willow bushes, tall grasses and sandy soil between the two. Of particular interest are the red, white, and black 'cinder bombs', or volcanic pumice rocks, that litter the floor of the caldera:

The campsite had ample room for our three tents and included a large picnic table where we set up the campstove. (That's Jim tending the stove.) There was also a fire pit which we used during the evenings for light, warmth and cooking. 

There were also some very simple meals:

On our one full day in this beautiful wonderland, relaxing and exploring were on the agenda. Audrey relaxed in the sun with a favorite book on the shore of East Lake and took occasional cooling dips in the calm water. Takeo explored the variety of interesting rocks that lay within the waters edge.

A hike was also a priority and Takeo, Jim and I did just that. We headed straight up the hill from the lake and found an animal trail to follow. We saw ancient volcanic rock formations, skeletal-like dead pine trees, and many new pine trees bursting with cones.

It was a great pleasure to be able to sit quietly on the mountainside, soak up the magnificent view, and breathe in the fresh pine scent. To listen, watch, and observe. As I sat watching a flock of Clark's Nutcrackers flitting in and out of a snag (dead tree), communicating through call and response, I thought to myself: these are the moments to live for. 

As is characteristic of all of the National Parks we've visited here in the Western United States, one of Newberry Volcanic Monument's primary missions is its focus on recreation, and that is exactly why our family made the trip. Of course we all understand recreation to mean something we do for fun and is not work. But recreation also refers to a mental or spiritual consolation, or a source of comfort. On each of the two nights we camped, I lay in our tent, looking out its screened window at the silhouette of the trees against the sky at dusk, listening to the quiet stillness of the forest as the last of the evening light faded into darkness. That view and the tranquility of that moment came home with me and still resides in my mind's eye.

"Keep close to Nature's heart. Break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."

-John Muir

Owen Rose Garden

On a recent very overcast summer day, we spent some time at the Owen Rose Garden. This eight and a half acre park is located along a bike path which runs beside the Willamette River in Eugene.  The land was donated to the city by former city councilor George E. Owen in 1951, and at that time, the Eugene Rose Society donated the original 750 rose bushes. Today, the park boasts more than 4,500 roses of over 400 varieties.

Along with the brilliant red 'Fourth Of July' shown in the first photo above, here are a few other varieties of roses that I took note of:

Hot Cocoa:

Julia Child:

Cinco de Mayo:

Golden Holstein:

The park also takes pride in an Oregon Heritage Tree, a cherry which is about 150 years old. This tree is so large that its heavy gnarled branches are supported by several support beams, and there are signs posted advising against climbing the brittle old limbs.

There were some other roses along one border of the park that were not identified, however James became smitten with these pink beauties and took a few photos: 

And who can resist some fascinating friends from the insect world?  Here are a dragonfly taking a rest, a ladybug most likely looking for aphids, and a busy buzzing bee gathering pollen:

Thanks for coming along with me on this tour through a little gem of a park in my town.