Happy New Year!!

 The New Year is starting out well...

... with a mended llama that had been decapitated by the windstorm in December...

And then... birds!

On New Year's Day, Johnny and I drove our Grand Ronde Raptor Survey for the East Cascades Audubon Society Raptor Project. It was a no-rain day and we found this beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk right in Grand Ronde, at a friend's house.

Near the end of our route, we saw a distant Peregrine Falcon, a raptor we don't often see in our area..

 

The next day, January 2nd, was the Yamhill Valley Christmas Bird Count. Our sector is the Upper Gopher Valley section, which our friend and fellow birder Mary lives inside of. She joined us for the first half of the day. At the very start of the count circle, high above the valley floor, we had a view of all the major Cascade peaks. I could not get the sweeping vista in my camera since there were trees in front of it. But I did get this mountain zoomed up close in the morning light...

 

In the afternoon, Johnny and I continued onward looking for birds off Gopher Valley Road. At a bridge over Deer Creek, we found an American Dipper.

The busy little bird paid no attention to us...

Near the end of our route we saw several mysterious hawks in a walnut orchard. What in the world were they?? We could only see them from the back...

 

 Until we finally snuck around to the front...

 

 

 Where it became plain that they were handsome, young Red-tailed Hawks.

 

Again, we had no rain in spite of the weather forecast. A lovely beginning to the new year.

                                                                 Happy New Year!!