[birding] E.E. Wilson sapsucker

[rich armstrong]

1. to follow joel's story, cheryl & i spent 90 minutes not finding a swamp 
sparrow and then another 15 minutes not refinding the elusive sapsucker. 
cheryl did play tape of voice, but no response.
2. i then drove out robison road and found the NORTHERN SHRIKE at corner of 
robison and rifle range that paula & marcia had on sunday, but did not find 
the prairie falcon.
Rich Armstrong
541-753-1978
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joel Geier" <joel.geier at peak.org>
To: "MidValley Birds" <list at midvalleybirding.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 24, 2009 3:12 PM
Subject: [birding] E.E. Wilson sapsucker continues ...


> ... 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
>
>
>
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