[birding] E.E. Wilson Solitary Sandpipers, Soras, W. Tanager, Pac-slope Flycatcher, lizards & snake

[Joel Geier]

Hi folks,

This morning I walked up to the Coffin Butte unit of E.E. Wilson
Wildlife Area, then meandered home via a few wetlands in the main part
of the wildlife area.

The big-leaf maples are in full bloom on Coffin Butte, and Oregon white
oaks are starting to put out leaves, so it's perfect time for warblers.
I estimated about 20+ YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS (about a 4:1 ratio of
Audubon's to Myrtle form) and about that many ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS
(some of the more gray-backed interior form as well as the bright yellow
lutescens kind), plus a few BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS. I didn't
manage to find a Nashville Warbler among them, too bad. 

A CASSIN'S VIREO was singing while patrolling through the trees behind
the guzzler on top of the butte. Farther up the trail I heard a PURPLE
FINCH doing his own version of a Cassin's Vireo song, and I think
another honest-to-goodness vireo.

A PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER was calling in a maple at the bottom of the
butte, in the upper quarried area, and a male WESTERN TANAGER was
perched silently atop a dead Doug-fir tree I didn't manage to find any
Chipping Sparrows in this area today, so perhaps the one reported on
Sunday was a migrant.

The WESTERN FENCE-LIZARDS were active on the butte today (heard as
rustling leaves). Near the bottom of the trail I nearly stepped on a 38-
inch-long GOPHER SNAKE that was stretched out and basking on the trail.
Heidi and I tiptoed around the snake after I used Heidi's leash to
measure how long it was.

Crossing back over to the main part of the wildlife area, I thought I
heard a Sora's whinny but it turned out to be a RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD.
That got me inspired to try imitating a Sora myself (if a blackbird can
do it, why not me?) and before long two SORAS were calling back & forth
to each other across the westernmost road in E.E. Wilson (these are the
marshes about 1/8 mile north of the transformer station).

>From there I traipsed past headquarters (still no Cliff Swallows!) and
checked one pond in the end that has been good for SOLITARY SANDPIPERS
in years past. Sure enough, there were two of them wading among emergent
young cottonwood trees in the shallows. I lay down prone to brace my
binoculars for a better look since I didn't have my scope along, and
started seeing more of them, here and there around the pond. I counted
five altogether (also one GREATER YELLOWLEGS out in the middle of the
pond). A few of them made short flights to move around the pond; I never
get tired of watching the delicate way that Solitary Sandpipers land
with their wings up.

It's a little hard to explain where this pond is. If you start from the
Frontage Rd. access point of E.E. Wilson (off Hwy 99W), then walk
straight down the hill (eastward), just before you come to the elongated
wetland that runs north-south along the axis of E.E. Wilson, turn left
(north) and go about 200 yards, to where a trail runs east along the top
of a dike (with some interesting beaver sculptures along the way). As
you get to the east edge of the trees, move cautiously and peek around
the edge of the trees to the pond on the north side of the dike. If
you're in the right spot, there should be a big grove of oak trees
straight east, up the slope.

Happy birding,
Joel

--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis