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If there's anyone reading this posts, you might've noticed there was no post last Wednesday. Well, I was watching Pelagic Cormorants and Harbor Porpoises on the coast. But I'll give justice to the time lost and this week, I'll cover the past fourteen days and there will be "two" Observations of the Week.

During the week of Oct 15-21, we gained 27 observations from ten different species. That put us over my goal to acquire 500 observations, which is great and I hope we keep up the good work. The observation of the week will go to @gentilcore for an excellent capture of two adult Bald Eagles at Dog Lake, Lake Co, OR. I will go on a guess and see this is a breeding pair as eagles mate for life and they generally don't leave each other. When I was in Salem last week in Ankeny NWR, I saw a pair of adult eagles that were sitting by each other on their nest, though it being long after their chicks fledged. You can see the observation here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/63179965

On the week of Oct 22-today, we went right back into the gutter. Only nine observations added and that is yet again a record low for the project as a whole since it started last year. When this season ends in January, I would like to end this project with 1000 observations but teen or single digit additions per week is going to put us well short of that goal. This week's observation goes to @cgates326 for a Sharp-shinned Hawk that's really putting on the adorable face. In all truthfulness, sometimes I think these little hawks are comparable to Baby Yoda and it's perhaps the reason I enjoy this species so much. With more migrating into the area, expect more Sharp-shinned to be around.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/63530828

What can we expect for the next week. Well, October will end so I'll be writing the monthly post on Sunday. We, northeastern Oregon, got our first frost and snowfall two days ago but the forecast is suggesting warmer weather, which should be great for hawks. This Saturday, I will be owling (yes on Halloween night with a full moon) in the Elkhorn Mts in hopes of finding a Boreal Owl. It's an ambitious goal but I think it's dueable. If any of you want to try out your own luck for Boreal, just let me know and I can give your instructions to maximize your chances. Good luck birders!

Posted on October 28, 2020 05:22 PM by birdwhisperer birdwhisperer

Comments

Thanks for the shout-out, Sean. All together there were 3 adults and 1 juvenile eagle at the lake that day, but the main pair definitely seemed to be fond of staying together. They flew around for hours while we were cooking dinner. They seemed to really enjoy all the snags left by the 2012 Barry Point Fire.

Posted by gentilcore over 3 years ago

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