Bennington Lake today

It's warming up and the birds were very active.  We watched several young birds being fed by parents - downy woodpecker, flicker,and western wood peewee.  Unfortunately we also saw a young cowbird being fed by a yellow warbler.  Young chickadees and house wrens were busy scurrying around while their parents fussed at us.  Yellow breasted chats were very visible and noisy. Western wood peewees, Bullock's orioles, black-headed grosbeaks and yellow warblers added to the chorus.  One young great horned owl was on a snag in the canal and an adult was in a tree nearby.  We saw no waterfowl today.  In past years we have had goslings and ducklings but evidently they nested someplace else this year.

 

When the weather gets hot the birds are active early morning and evening, so if you plan to walk the lake in July I recommend you go early or late in the evening.    Ginger

Wildflower Field Trip

Priscilla Dauble and Laura Meier took us into the Blue Mountains around Tollgate and on Summit Road to look at wildflowers.  Wild onion, penstimens, camus, larkspur, golden pea, and lupine were plentiful.  We found big headed clover on Summit Road and elephant head figwort at Target Meadows.  We saw over 75 species of wildflowers and shrubs.  The end of the trip was highlighted by a walk in the woods at Jeff Fredson's place on Weston Mountain where he showed us mountain lady slippers, a phantom orchid and coral root.  Although this was a "plant" trip, we did take our binoculars along and saw some nice birds including western and mountain bluebirds, Townsend's warblers, olive-sided flycatchers, chipping sparrows and a turkey vulture.

 

It was a beautiful day in the mountains.  Gorgeous wildflowers, spectacular scenery, the fresh smell of the woods, and good company - what more could anyone ask for!        

Ginger

Some June sightings from members

Several people called or emailed with interesting birds the past month. 

*Dave Forsyth has a downy woodpecker nesting in his yard

*Melissa Webster found a hummingbird nest along the Mill Creek trail just west of Rooks Park

*Robson Newbold reported a lesser goldfinch at his feeder. 

  He also saw a Virginia rail at McNary NWR Headquarters in Burbank

*Pam Fisher sent a photo of a black-crowned night heron on Mill Creek near Rooks Park.

 

Let me know what you seeing and I will post it on the website this summer.

Ginger

Bennington Lake Evening Walk

Eleven people enjoyed a leisurely walk at Bennington Lake Thursday evening.  The great horned owl chicks were sitting in the open along the canal begging for food.  Gray catbirds were very vocal and easy to see, as well as a yellow-breasted chat, western wood peewees, willow flycatchers, Bullock's orioles, cedar waxwings and black-headed grosbeaks.  Yellow warblers and house wrens were abundant.  A pair of downy woodpeckers were feeding young and there were recently fledged tree swallows on a branch being fed by their parents.  Mike Denny led the group and pointed out various plants along the way, explaining their importance and sometimes their determent to the wildlife.  Poison hemlock is very high right now so the trail was a little hard to walk through in spots.  However, it has been cut back so the trail is at least visible.  On Tuesday it was a real jungle!

It was a good outing.  We will be doing another evening walk the third Thursday of July - this time to Coppei Creek.  Hopefully you can join us.     Ginger

Field Trip - Burbank Heights HMU and More

Mike and MerryLynn Denny took us over to a little known birding spot in Burbank Heights along the Snake River.  There is a large riparian area on the river that was loaded with Bullock's orioles, black-headed grosbeaks, lazuli buntings and red-winged blackbirds.  In the dense trees we found a long-eared owl, and flushed a barn owl.  Away from the river is a beautiful stand of big sage, native rye grass and a variety of desert native plants.  After lunch at Hood Park we drove to Tyson Ponds and watched the Wilson's phalaropes, black-necked stilts and avocets.  We also saw blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal, redhead and a variety of other waterfowl.  On Northshore Road at the millet pond we saw a willet, three Bonaparte's gulls and several black-crowned night herons.  Our last stop was on Hatch Grade where we saw a grasshopper sparrow.  Mike pointed out many of the native plants, butterflies and other insects along the way making it a very interesting and educational field trip.     Ginger

Jasper Mountain

On the way up Jasper Mt. this morning the first bluebird box has Mountain Bluebirds in it. There are at least 6 Western Bluebirds nesting in others with 2 families fledged. Two of the boxes have nesting Tree Swallows in them.

From the "T" to the left is a pair of Red-naped Sapsuckers nesting in a tall snag - the hole they nested in last year is hosting Western Bluebirds. There were Hermit and Swainson's Thrush singing, lots of Western Tanagers, Lazuli Buntings, Townsend's, Orange-crowned, MacGillivray's and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Flycatchers included Western Wood-Pewee, Dusky and Hammond's.

Calliope Hummingbirds are common. Woodpecker numbers are way down this year with only a pair of Flickers and one far-off Hairy heard. Chipping and Song Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos are feeding young.
MerryLynn

Young birds at Bennington Lake

The birds were all out singing at the lake on Tuesday morning after the weekend rains.  Some of the birds that live there all year were feeding young - black capped chickadees, downy woodpeckers, robins and flickers.  The two young great horned owls were sitting on a snag along the canal squawking for food.  We found young tree swallows - the first of the summer birds to bring off young.  A yellow-breasted chat was displaying and we found a western wood peewee on a nest.  It won't be long before there are young birds all around the lake. Some of the other birds we saw were Bullock's orioles, eastern kingbirds, gray catbirds, black-headed grosbeaks, yellow warblers and house wrens.   A Forster's tern was hunting over the lake and there were two ruddy ducks on the water.  Another good morning at Bennington Lake with 47 species recorded.  Ginger

Green Tailed Towhee on Lewis Peak

MerryLynn and I drove up Lewis Peak Road this morning in search of the green tailed towhee that was found there last June.  It was there in the same spot - singing and showing off for us.  What a treat!  There were birds singing everywhere we went, but some like ruby-crowned kinglets, orange-crowned warblers and Townsend's warblers were hard to see.  We heard both hermit and Swainson's thrushes, and had a Swainson's come out on a shrub about three feet from the car.  Hammond's and dusky flycatchers were plentiful and MacGillivray's warblers were surprisingly easy to see. There was a huge flock of red-crossbills that flew back and forth along the top while we were watching the towhee. Woodpeckers were scarce, but we did see one red-naped sapsucker, one hairy woodpecker and a couple flickers.  It was a beautiful morning and reminded me of how lucky we are to have the Blue Mountains in our backyard.   Ginger