[birding] E.E. Wilson sapsucker continues ...

[Joel Geier]

... to torment local birders.

I went on a walk this afternoon and came through the previously reported
area just south of E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area headquarters. I saw a
sapsucker swoop in at mid-height of the Douglas-fir straight west of the
employee residence, then down into the deciduous thicket just north of
the Douglas-fir.

I had a partly obstructed view of the bird (couldn't see much but again
got a sense of juvenal plumage on the belly & flanks) so I was moving
around to try to try for a better angle, when Cheryl Whelchel and Rich
Armstrong showed up, Cheryl with camera in hand. As they ducked around
the gate and walked in, I tried to circle around behind the bird but it
snuck off.

Cheryl was going to play tapes -- not sure if she did but the bird
responded from off to the south. Then it flew back over us, landed in a
low tree a bit to the north of me, then flew across Camp Adair Rd. where
it started to forage in the second tree west of the HQ entrance (a maple
I think), right along the main road. 

I had a full but too distant view of the bird as it worked its way up
one of the high limbs -- enough to be sure it had a strong head pattern
but not enough to say much else with my middling-quality binoculars &
the poor light. So mostly I just tried to keep an eye on it and give
directions to Rich & Cheryl, who were hustling over there as fast as
they could to try for photos. However before they got a good fix on the
bird's location, it swooped down into the swamp on the west side of HQ.

After a bit more searching & tries with the tape, Rich & Cheryl decided
to go off and look for a couple of Swamp Sparrows that Doug Robinson
apparently found in E.E. Wilson last week ("by the lake" -- not sure if
Rich meant Canal Pond or what). I hung around for a while and searched
more of the area but didn't relocate the sapsucker. I had a brief moment
of excitement when I saw a red-naped bird, but it was a Downy
Woodpecker.

Anyway, seems like even-numbered days are the days to look for the
sapsucker. It's been seen now on the 20th, 22nd, and 24th. It seems to
have a circuit that includes the area south and west of headquarters,
perhaps spending some of its time back in the swamp. 

Happy birding,
Joel

--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis