Christmas Bird Counts

Our "home" count, the Upper Nestucca, was on Tues., Dec. 17, which happened to be a rain/snow/fog free day. Hooray!  This year two friends birded with us and, since they hear and see better than we do, we came out with more birds logged than usual. Hope they join us every year! I only took a few photos, one of a Gray Jay posing atop a tree...

And some of the birding crew trying to hide behind their binoculars...

On the way to the count down, we were treated to a long lasting and beautiful sunset.

...And then at the count down to a fabulous buffet dinner... wish I had taken photos of the spread of food! I was too busy stuffing it down.

Our second (and last) CBC of the year, the Yamhill Valley CBC, was on Dec. 27. Only Mary could go with us this time. We missed "Ears" Havel, but Mary stepped up to be our ears. Since she lives in our segment of the count circle, she knew some of the hot spots. Thanks to her we got the only Dipper of the count. She spotted it under a bridge as we drove by. Fortunately, Johnny, instead of Mary, was driving Mary's car at the time or we never would have seen it. (Mary earned the name "Leadfoot Lagow" on this trip.)

She also knew where a Kingfisher hangs out... and it was there! That was also the only Kingfisher of that count!

Mary contacted some of her neighbors inside the count and got permission from one to walk through. That long driveway was a treasure of birds, including Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, our only Brown Creeper, lots of both Chestnut-backed and Black-capped Chickadees, and a friendly Bewick's Wren.

 Seen just below her house was this handsome Red-tailed Hawk.

Again we had no rain or snow, but we did have fog, especially in the morning and late afternoon. We were too tired to drive into McMinnville for the round-up, so I scanned our info to the coordinator when Johnny and I got home. It was a long but fun day.

A New Christmas Tradition

For years we have been driving to Tillamook Christmas morning, after chores, to eat a Christmas meal at a restaurant in Tillamook with our good friends and birding buddies, John and Barbara Woodhouse. Then we would go birding by car, mostly, in their Tillamook haunts. It has been great fun over the years, since they and we have distant children who do not come for the holidays. However, Christmas 2018 turned out to be our last Christmas with the Woodhouses in Tillamook. Because of their declining health, their daughter moved them in with her in Minnesota.

So this Christmas it was time for a new tradition. I told the Woodhouses we would be driving and hiking to waterfalls near us, taking photos for them, and then birding along Agency Creek, looking for Dippers. I would send them photos from this jaunt. And that's what we did. Except I took so many photos that I'm putting them on this blog instead of clogging their email.

On the way to the falls, we saw birds and I tried to get photos. They were not too cooperative about posing. Only the Varied Thrush were moderately cooperative.

I took a photo of the quarry on the way up, too. Because the lava flows are cool looking.

And there were pretty little roadside falls like this one that I couldn't resist photographing...

The Yoncalla River (stream) is lovely.

Although we call this Yoncalla Falls, it is actually on a stream that flows into Yoncalla creek. The hike to it is short and easy. Or the trail used to be easy... before this big tree and lots of branches fell across it... You can just see the falls beyond... so near and yet so far...

The camera brings it in deceptively closer...

I don't usually take photos of us, but I thought the Woodhouses would like to see us on the hike. After Johnny clambered over the downfall, he didn't look very cheerful. So I told him to smile. He smiled but I was laughing and shook the camera, so he's blurry.

Johnny took a photo of me. I tried to smile but just managed to look dorky...

I like the waterfall pictures better...

 

There is a second falls that is actually on Yoncalla Creek/River itself, but it is not visible from anywhere except from the edge of a steep cliff in the middle of the forest... and only in the winter... when the leaves are off the trees... like now...

Then we drove back down to Agency Creek and looked for Dippers, our target birds. There were lots of pretty rapids where there should have been Dippers, but were not...

What we did find were raptors feeding on salmon carcasses. The Grand Ronde tribe gets spawned-out salmon from hatcheries and throws them in the creek to replenish the nutrients. Apparently, the "fish fling", as they call it, happened not long ago. We saw a Bald Eagle on one carcass and two Red-tailed Hawks in two different places feeding on others. Only one Red-tail consented to be photographed.

On the way home, we saw two dots on top of a dead tree. We presumed they were birds.

I zoomed the camera up little by little...

And, indeed, they were birds... Common Ravens.

We saw eleven species of birds: Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Steller's Jay, Common Raven, Brown Creeper, Pacific Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet (lots of them!) and Varied Thrush.

It was a fun day, even without Dippers, and I think a fine new Christmas Day tradition. I hope the Woodhouses enjoy it.

Christmas on the Farm

Somehow, I thought I wrote a post with photos of our Christmas decor. But it is nowhere to be found. December has been very busy, like November. Anyway, Happy Holidaze! Here are some photos...

And Christmas morning photos of blooming orchids and a poinsettia, all from our friends the Woodhouses when they had to move to Minnesota last January. The purple (deep pink?) one finally opened this Christmas morning

Happy Holidays!

Ups and Downs

Johnny has been having vehicle angst. His beloved van, the Roustmobile, is not driveable and may not be fixable. He has had it a very long time and it has been reliable and very handy. But fixing it might entail, near as I can figure, a new motor. 

So we have been using the pickup I inherited from my dad, which has a canopy and is great for hauling sacks of feed, but very awkward to maneuver.  And it guzzles gas. When neighbor Irv rides with me, he comments "You need twenty acres to turn this thing around." That's only a slight exaggeration. And now it seems to be leaking steering fluid. This is worrisome since we need it to carry four of us up into the Coast Range for the Upper Nestucca Christmas Bird Count on the 17th... and hopefully back out. Stay tuned for further developments.

On the good news front, I finished making and sending or delivering all the wreaths. Too bad they seem to fall apart this year even more than usual. But ours are hanging together... and we have four. I had made lots of grape vine "forms" so I could use all the left over greenery to make wreaths for us: one for the front of the house, one for the back door where everyone comes and goes, and one for each of the barn door areas. All made with greenery from our farm. I love wreaths.

 I love Christmas lights, too, but I only strung a few this year. Photos in a later blog. Hopefully.
 

Three December Bird Surveys

On December 3rd, we did our North Santiam raptor route. It was a gray, short daylight day. But the Lyons City Park/John Neal Park (I can't tell where one ends and the other begins) is always lovely with resident Gadwalls and reflecting ponds.

 The return phase of our trip is westward headed, chasing the setting sun.

Two days later we did the Grand Ronde raptor run, another gray day. A Rough-legged Hawk was back for the winter in the field behind the weigh station on our route. Rough-legs seem to love to find the skinniest twig possible to perch on.
 

The three White-tailed Kites we found in November were in the same area in December. I managed a very distant shot of two of them.

Also at a distance was this Red-shouldered Hawk, who just let me photo his back.

 We stop to buy our lunch at Slow Train coffee shop in Willamina, taking our sandwiches to Huddleston Pond to eat... and watch birds. This Great Egret, we were told, comes back every day to sit on this same perch. It looks from the whitewash that it has been doing that for some time!

A herd of probably a couple hundred elk were on one of our sites.

On Dec. 9, I managed to squeeze in my monthly Beached Bird Survey for COASST. Still foggy and cold at home, it was lovely warm sunshine on the beach... that day only.

But the bird surveys are not done for the month. We have two Christmas Bird Counts coming up!

Technology Woes and First Snow

Since my photos are essential to my blogs, my monthly humor column for a goat paper, and also to some of my bird surveys and other projects... when my computer refused to load them, I panicked. At the same time, my printer started refusing to print. When I checked the cartridges, one had disappeared. When I stuck my finger in where it had been, I found chunks of ink. Now I was really panicking. 

So I called our computer guru fixit person, Matt Huegli. (If anyone reading this lives in Oregon in Dallas, McMinnville, Grand Ronde or any points within that triangle, and probably outside of it, call Matt if you need computer help. Or email him: matt.huegli@comcast.net )

Not only does Matt fix computers, he calms hysterical technology-phobes like me. Matt fixed the computer photo loading issue, hooked up the new printer he told me I needed, and calmed me down. So here I am, back to blogging with photos, all thanks to Matt.

We woke up on December 1st to the first snowfall of the year. And, so far, the only one. I took lots of photos of tracks in the snow. Now I can finally post them.

Bounding deer tracks

Sedately walking deer tracks

Dog tracks and cat tracks. It always helps to have the animal making the tracks in view.

Our driveway

Large dog (Mister McCoy) tracks

Bird tracks... maybe Great Blue Heron?

lots of tracks

horses playing in the snow

Quail enjoying the seed I threw on top of the snow

The view from the horse field

 With the weather becoming iffy, we hurriedly did our two raptor runs... one on Dec. 3 and one on Dec. 5. Photos and story next blog post...