[birding] FOR ARCHIVES: Airlie Trumpeter flock 16 Feb 2010

[Joel Geier]

-------- Forwarded Message --------
From: Joel Geier <joel.geier at peak.org>
Reply-to: joel.geier at peak.org
To: MidValley Birds <birding at midvalleybirding.org>
Subject: [birding] [Fwd: Airlie Trumpeter flock -- big numbers for
sure!!!]
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:17:21 -0800

Subject: Airlie Trumpeter flock -- big numbers for sure!!!
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:50:26 -0800

Hi folks,

This morning I looped past the Airlie Rd x Berry Creek Rd. area to check
the swan flock. Most of the swans were hanging out in the field of
sudangrass (or maybe a sudangrass-sorghum hybrid) that the Xmas tree
farm has planted as a cover crop on the field next to the annual
ryegrass field. So they were hard to see except while poking their necks
up to look around. There seems to be a wet patch back in the sudangrass
that they're rooting around in.

After looking long & hard with my scope, I concur with Jeff Hayes that
the flock appears to be a pure flock of TRUMPETER SWANS, based on head
profiles, length & proportional thinness of necks, plus other attributes
for the few that were out in the open, along with vocalizations. 

Numbers were very difficult to estimate but I tried scanning slowly over
the sudangrass to pick out white backs and the occasional neck & head
sticking up. A couple times they got nervous and there was quite a
forest of swan necks! But they didn't all keep their heads up for more
than a couple of seconds, so just long enough to get an impression of
*lots* of swans, all with long skinny necks. 

I think there are *at least* 65 to 70. The highest count I've ever come
up with for this flock in past years is 65, so this is very good news.

Jeff indicated that his estimate of 80, while the whole flock was out in
the more open grass area, was probably good within 5 or so. 75 to 80
certainly seems plausible based on what I saw this morning, since I
doubt I saw all of them.

The sudangrass is also crawling with WHITE-CROWNED, SONG, and LINCOLN'S
SPARROWS. If you stop near the bridge on Airlie Rd., you can see them
all over the place out there.

Pat Tilley mentioned seeing a WHITE-TAILED KITE at this same location
when she did her raptor run last week, perched on a fencepost on the
north edge of the green (ryegrass) field near the edge of the
sudangrass. There was one in the same place last February.

De Armond Rd. continues to have a few ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS along with
other raptors.

Happy birding,
Joel

P.S. Word is that OFO has now released the IP address that was hosting
www.oregonbirds.org so that it can be used for the MidValley list, so we
can finally get started on restoring regular operation. Might still take
a day or two, so I appreciate everyone's patience. Meanwhile I'm happy
to keep forwarding reports by this route.

--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis