The morning light seemed brighter when looking out over the Multnomah Channel early this day. Right away a Double-crested Cormorant eyed me as I opened the hatch to my sailboat. Over in the large oak tree sat a beautiful Bald Eagle, proudly looking over it’s vast countryside. This was going to be a good birding day, because well, they are all good birding days.
Month: January 2015
In Search of Two Lifers
January 27, 2015 Bird List
After my San Francisco Rustic Bunting trip was scrubbed this morning, I decided to head out and find a couple of more local lifers. The weather was cloudy but pleasant, it stayed in the 40’s all day, rained some, some fog, some mist but no wind. I arrived at Marine Park in Vancouver just after 11:30 (with chestnut praline latte in hand). The first bird of interest was the rare and mysterious Tufted Duck. It is a common and friendly bird of the United Kingdom and surrounding countries, but not so common over here in Oregon! Below are photos of my findings. This duck was photographed at quite a distance, but I managed to capture him here. Continue reading
Birding in Scappoose
This morning while Joey was at the groomer, I walked down Crown-Zellarbach Trail for about ninety minutes. With coffee, camera, binoculars (and other essentials in my EDC), I headed out in the billowing fog.
I first discovered the ducks. They were the usual suspects of mallards, Green-winged Teal, Gadwall, and American Wigeon. I tried desperately to turn one into a Eurasian Wigeon but the color wasn’t there. They all seemed to be quite vocal this morning – and except for the mallards, I don’t even think any of them noticed me. Continue reading
Highflying Geese Save Energy By Swooping Like A Roller Coaster
The bar-headed goose is famous for its long, annual migration from the Indian subcontinent to central Asia, a flight that takes it over snowcapped Himalaya Mountains so high and dangerous that human climbers struggle just to stay alive.
Read more at NPR: http://www.npr.org/2015/01/15/377321027/highflying-geese-save-energy-by-swooping-like-a-roller-coaster
Richardspens.com On National Geographic
Birding Tillamook
“In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.”
― Robert Lynd
There are few things I enjoy more than birding, except perhaps, writing down the birds I’ve seen with a favorite fountain pen. I saw some amazing birds in the Tillamook area and I took over 200 photographs on January 12, 2015. There are just a few here because when I returned home, I realized a setting on my camera had been bumped and most of the photos were not useable. It happens to everyone eventually I guess. Lesson learned. Regardless, my list for the day topped out at 44 species, bringing my Big Year total to 69 species so far. I have a good start on the year, that’s for sure.
The stars of today included the Tundra Bean-goose (from Russia), a few Common Loon’s, a female Ruddy Duck, a couple of Lesser Scaups, Canvasbacks, a Cooper’s Hawk and a Western Grebe. I had amazing views of a Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, and of course the goose. Continue reading
January Birding
As most mornings do, this particular morning promised me an adventure. This day I was to explore the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant park that had a paved trail that wrapped around trees, ponds, and fields. The wintery Oregon weather was typical, clouds, mist, temperatures not cold but certainly not warm. I challenged my birding chances by heading out at the worst time of day to see any birding activity. I was going to squeeze as many birds as I could from this park – and squeeze I did. It took me about three hours to walk the three miles or so that I did to feel satisfied that I’ve done my very best. Yes, this year is about getting as many bird species as I can on my list, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy watching the birds any less than I typically do. Continue reading
In Search Of The Tundra Bean-Goose
“In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.”
― Robert Lynd
There are few things I enjoy more than birding, besides perhaps writing down my birds with my fountain pen. I saw some amazing birds in the Tillamook area and I took over 200 photographs. There are just a few here because when I returned home, I realized a setting on my camera had been bumped and most of the photos were not useable. It happens to everyone eventually I guess. Lesson learned. Regardless, my list for the day topped out at 44 species, bring my Big Year total to 69 species so far. I have a good start on the year, that’s for sure. Continue reading
Sony’s Digital Zoom Binoculars
I was very excited when I stumbled upon these, until I saw the price and the reviews from real people. I’m looking forward to some competition to get the price lower and some bugs worked out.
Birding This Week
I stepped out into the fog earlier this week with my camera – ready to capture what I could see in the misty soup. I saw the usual suspects, with the bird of the day being a Savannah Sparrow. Joey and I walked along the Multnomah Channel in the morning, about a mile from the marina where I reside. It was a quick trip, there and back on Tuesday.
This morning, Friday, we went over to what is commonly called Scappoose Bottoms – a paved road/trail by the airport here. I believe it to be one of the better birding hotspots in the state – and only a couple of miles from me. Here I saw 36 species of birds – which included new ones for the year: Rough-legged Hawk, Fox Sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and a very cute Chestnut-backed Chickadee. My camera battery died right after I arrived, but I did get some shots of the hawks and a few ducks. Here it is January 9, 2015, and I’m at 52 species for the year. It’s a good start.
Double-crested Cormorant
Common Merganser
Savannah Sparrow
Joey ~ he enjoys going birding too.
Rough-legged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Northern Harrier in front of Mt. Saint Helens
American Wigeon
Dark-eyed Junco
RPHancy 
