Some San Diego birds

(Sorry. I will repair this soon.)

I recently spent a few days in San Diego, California, and had a chance to do a little birding. In marshes and on beaches just a few hundred yards from the U.S./Mexico border I found some birds only occasionally seen in Oregon, such as the Marbled Godwits above. Others, such as the Terns and the Towhee, would occur in Oregon only as vagrants. The Great Blue Heron, of course, can be found almost anywhere there is open water.

Least Tern

Gull-billed Tern

California Towhee

Black Phoebe

Anna's Hummingbird

Yellow-breasted Chat

- You can see and hear him in action in the following video:



Red-shouldered Hawk

Great Blue Heron

Wood Duck family

Yesterday some friends took us to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens in Portland. Lots of beautiful rhodies and azaleas are blooming right now, and the constant movements and sounds of birds made it even more colorful and eye-catching. Of course, none of the others could really compete with the male Wood Duck in the "showy" category, but he was certainly not as cute as his offspring which his mate was watching over.


What the Song Sparrows did not provide in color, they more than made up for by providing a musical accompaniment to the show going on all around us. A recording of a typical Song Sparrow song can be heard at the following link from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Song_Sparrow/id.

White-crowned Sparrow nest

This White-crowned Sparrow nest is hidden on the ground in a clump of grass and young blackberry vines. The location is in the foothills of the Coast Range in western Yamhill Co., Oregon. The eggs are less than one inch long. The nest appears to be lined with deer hair.

Western Bluebirds nest-building

Today I saw confirmation that the Western Bluebirds are planning to nest in the box I placed at 700 ft. elevation in the foothills of the Coast Range in western Yamhill Co. The female carried in some nesting material, and the male went in to inspect her work.


There was also a single Golden-crowned Sparrow at this location all day. Probably stopped here to take a break on the way north to Canada for the nesting season.