[birding] no Chestnut-collared Longspurs

[Joel Geier]

... and still none when the kids and I went down there to slide around
on the ice just before evening set in. 

There were still lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers feeding on the ice. I
think some of the birds are eating seeds off the weed stalks that stick
up through the ice, which is now more than 2 inches thick in most places
(I did find a couple of thinner spots). In places the ice also has a
thin film of greenish organic powder on top (algae?).

Also, if you're into the physics of fractures, the extremely clear ice
shows some great examples of échelon cracks and some other really wild
configurations of spiraling cracks that I might try to photograph
tomorrow, since I can't think of an explanation right now.

After all of the unsuccessful coverage today, I'm starting to think that
the longspurs are no longer in that particular field. I walked through
most of the likely patches of thinner grass at least once and I gather
that others did so several times. I could see them sitting tight in the
early morning when it was still cold, but not as warm as it got in the
afternoon today (35 F, almost felt like swimsuit weather after recent
days). Maybe with luck someone will turn them up again in the Airlie CBC
which is just 10 days away now.

On another note, Steve Dougill mentioned a peak count of about 20
WESTERN BLUEBIRDS on the ice before I came back in the afternoon. That's
the biggest flock I've ever heard of at E.E. Wilson. Guess we should
start scoping them for Mountain Bluebirds!

Happy birding,
Joel



--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis