Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Wednesday Bird Walk

It's Wednesday - time for a walk.
Let's do something a bit different this week and take a bird / nature walk along Clearwater Park in Springfield, Oregon. 

We started out with a pair of male Brown-headed Cowbirds.
And we saw or heard:
California Quail, Turkey Vulture, and a Bald Eagle flew along the Willamette River.

Here's a Downy Woodpecker
We also saw or heard:
Eurasian Collared Dove,  Anna’s Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, and Steller’s Jays.

House Finch
And to go with that:
Tree Swallow,  Violet-green Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow. The Northern Rough-wings Swallow was a New Bird for me.  Pretty exciting to see and hear the bird as it flew along the water of the Old Millrace.

Red-breasted Sapsucker
As well as:
Black-capped Chickadee, Bushtits, Bewick’s Wren, and American Robins.

I also saw a couple of new wildflowers.
This is Twinberry Honeysuckle (Lonicera involucrata). It looks nothing like the vines I am used to. It's a deciduous shrub that has small tubular yellow flowers. Then these wonderful bracks and berries. 

Spotted Towhee posed on the path.
There were also:
European Starling, Cedar Waxwing,  Yellow-breasted Chat, Orange-crowned and Warbler. The Chat lived up to his name and chatted away, though I was unable to get a good look at him.

Mourning Dove
and Orange-crowned Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Black-headed Grosbeak, and a Lazuli Bunting.

This is a mallow of some sort - much later blooming than the two kinds I have and it likes moisture as it is growing on the banks of a stream. 

Here's the Old Millrace as it flows into the Willamette River.

It made for a peaceful channel for this Mallard.

Song Sparrow

Western Wood-Pewee
There were Western Wood-Pewees everywhere.  My mom had never seen this flycatcher before - she had plenty of opportunities to observe it on the walk. 

Unknown wildflower - enjoy!

Blackberry

A young Red-tailed Hawk. It called and cried loudly and often.

A Great Blue Heron lurked quietly in the grasses and reads.

Western Wood-Pewees do not have to obey parking signs!

Chamomile.

We ended with a California Scrub Jay.
Thirty-one species for the morning.

4 comments:

  1. 31 species...that's so amazing, Beth! I especially love the Pewee parked on the No Parking sign...apparently they don't :)
    We often see one blue heron along our morning path but it is not as grand as yours. You would love it here because where we walk is a working urban waterway wash that has been turned into a walking path and nature preserve along the side of it, where we see amazing birds...and lots of ducks ( even babies in the spring)
    Have a great day and thanks for such a lovely "walk" with you.

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  2. That's fantastic Beth! Zowie! I especially love the blue heron.

    My friend and I are going to British Columbia at the end of this month. I'm hoping to see some wonderful birds!

    Great "walk"! I always look forward to them.

    MaryO1230

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  3. Terrific walk!! Thank you much appreciated Beth...Beautiful surroundings

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  4. What a terrific walk you and you Mom enjoyed! As did I, via your blog! Such a lot of varied species... Yesterday I happened to hear a bird in the backyard, and looked out the window to see a male Eastern Towhee. That was good, but a minute or two later... the Female came hopping out and joined him as the went off into the brush again! Yay! I love the Red-breasted Sapsucker--wow! Thanks for sharing! Hugs!

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Thank you all. I appreciate that you've read my blog and are taking the time to comment.