Notes, birds, nature, meanderings.

Musings about birds, nature, and our meanderings on the Central Oregon Coast

Sunday, May 26, 2013

2013 Dancing Grebe Trip - Day 2

Second day in Ashland, Oregon. After our bonanza day yesterday, we decided to stick around Ashland and revisit some places we birded last fall.  Ashland Ponds was our first stop.  Our first bird was a female LESSER GOLDFINCH gathering spider webs.

Two young girls were playing at the water's edge, and two adults were walking dogs (the dogs were in and out of the water).  
Wood Ducks




Still, we saw a female WOOD DUCK with good-sized ducklings, and a mama MALLARD with tiny ones.







Acorn Woodpecker



There were ACORN WOODPECKERS in the same place as last fall, but they were less willing to pose for photos. 










An unknown snake was sunning himself on a manhole cover in the alley that leads to the pond. 

Next stop was the North Mountain Nature Center, a large complex with a beautiful nature preserve as well as a sports complex and playground.  The preserve was full of bird activity...
Downy Woodpecker

Mallard youngster

Yellow Warbler
But we found plenty of wildlife in the sports complex...
Black Phoebe

Western Wood Pewee
Swainson's Thrush


Black-tailed Deer
We had a few new Ashland spots we wanted to try, so from there we headed to Oredson Todd Woods. We followed the instructions in the Birding Oregon guide - the asphalt road (Park Street) that you have to walk is a steep grade, one that we couldn't do. (If you go, we recommend that you follow Google Maps instead and park at the south end off Lupine Drive).We walked on a dirt trail next to the road, but discovered after we got to the top we had been on private property. 
View from the trail
We saw very few birds, but that may have been because we didn't venture far on the trail.  
Lazuli Bunting



The gorgeous views and a beautiful LAZULI BUNTING made the walk worthwhile.








Last stop of the day was Emigrant Lake - we took the scenic route, winding down Old Siskiyou Highway - a stop at a pullout yielded a PILEATED WOODPECKER. At Emigrant Lake, we drove around the lake, made a few stops, but the holiday weekend and beautiful weather had brought out lots of people!  Our best bird was actually a couple of baby  EUROPEAN STARLINGS poking their heads out of a tree. 
Baby Starlings
Stay tuned for Day 3, travelling to Klamath Basin...

2 comments:

  1. Sounds like a good day! I didn't know goldfinches collect spiderwebs- I assume it's for nest material? Or do they eat them?

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  2. I was assuming for nesting material but will have to look it up - we didn't stay to see what she did with them.

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