Inland Pacific Northwest Raptor Migration 2021's Journal

Journal archives for July 2021

July 10, 2021

Belated Weekly Update

Last year, I made sure I wrote weekly updates and I'm two days late in posting this but no harm done. Anyway, toot toot we obtained 23 observations over the first week of this project which is not a lot, especially compared to the Coastal survey which already has more Osprey and Bald Eagles than this project in general. Oh well, we can only do so much.

As some of you might be familiar with, I also do a weekly spotlight for my favorite observation. This week goes to @cgates326 for his photo a male Northern Harrier near Powell Butte. Harriers, also called swamp hawks, are elegant fliers, most prominently found in marshy or wet areas. The males can be identified by their pale ghostly bodies and long tail. They are also the only raptor besides owls that exhibit a facial disk. I expect to see many more harrier sightings in throughout this project as they tend to be more a common species. While you wait for one to photograph, you can see the observation here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/85814862

This first week of July was really busy for me and I was only able to get 3 raptors during these first days. I'll try better so I can encourage you folks to photograph some more raptors. Also be sure to check out the umbrella project, encompassing observations from the inland and coastal surveys over the past couple of years. I will be posting some useful id tips on that group so be sure to join the group and receive those updates. Have a good week birding!

Posted on July 10, 2021 02:05 AM by birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 0 comments | Leave a comment

July 15, 2021

Week Two

Guess what, I'm writing the weekly post on schedule. In the past seven days, we've added 22 observations, making the total of 52. This is not what I'm personally hoping for but maybe something will change. I have done the math, and if we submit raptor observations at the same rate of these first two weeks, we'll end with only 600 observations, hardly two thirds of last year's survey. I'd recommend telling your friends about this project. The more participates, the more observations submitted.

This week's observation of the week goes to @andybridges for an osprey carrying what looks like to be a carp. This strict fish-eating raptor is doing his part in controlling invasive species and it's not often a lucky photographer sees an osprey with their prey. Or at least, that's my experience. You can see Andy's photo here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/86629964

I wish you fellas luck with the upcoming week. Work has got me on a tight schedule so I haven't been making any birding trips recently. But I'm planning on checking out some areas I know have Flammulated Owls and hope I strike gold. What plans do you have?

Posted on July 15, 2021 03:03 AM by birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 0 comments | Leave a comment

July 22, 2021

Smoke and Fire

As the third week of this project comes to a close, I'm proud to see we've added another 28 observations to project, bringing the total to 80. Still not a lot but I'll take whatever I can get. I've tried promoting this project to the "Birding Oregon" page on Facebook, we'll see if that effort worked. If you came to this project because of that promotion, thanks for your participation.

This week's spotlight observation is another osprey, this time photographed by @cgates326, how also had the spotlight two weeks ago. This species, often referred to as seahawks, is a strict fish-eating species, with 99% of their diet being fish. They also exhibit the exception ability to dive completely under and swim to grab its prey. If you wish to see one of these magnificent raptors, you need to do it soon, they'll be gone by late October. If you want to few the photo, see the following link:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/87368807

What are your plans for the following week? I will admit, hawk watching was a bit scary the past couple of days. On Sunday, I took a trip to Bend and on my drive back home, the smoke from Snake River Complex Fire in Idaho (burning 105,000 acres at that time) made the sun blood red and the landscape a deep reddish tone. Luckily, a rainstorm came through yesterday and not only cleared out the smoke but provided water we've desperately needed in this drought. The next couple days may prove to be good.

Posted on July 22, 2021 05:00 AM by birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 0 comments | Leave a comment

July 29, 2021

Smelling the Rain

The fourth week of this project has ended and also the last full week of June. Stay tune, though I write weekly reports, I also do a monthly summary, so expect another post come Sunday. Over the past seven days, 22 observations have been added, leaving the total being 133 for the project. A little under average but I think we can make up for it.

Because nearly all of this week's observations were photos taken by myself, I'm putting myself on the spotlight. Wallowa County was fantastic for raptors and I only got photos of about a fourth of what I saw. If I wasn't in such in a hurry to see the Lewiston Red Phalarope (which I did see... lifer!), I'd probably have more photos. Anyway, I've chosen my Swainson's Hawk as the observation of the week. These are incredibly fascinating birds and one of my favorite bird species overall. They migrate to our area from Argentina where they feast upon grasshoppers. However, recent evidence suggests these birds are quickly adapting to changing environments (due to pesticides on wintering grounds) and more and more are being spotted wintering in North America every year. But for the most part, they're gone by early October.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/89021785

As we are nearly the end of the month, let me ask of a challenge. I believe most folks have weekends off so this Saturday is great day to finish off the month and set ourselves a goal. I want to make it ambitious but let's set the goal at 170 observations by Saturday. Think we can do that? Good luck.

Posted on July 29, 2021 04:22 AM by birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 0 comments | Leave a comment