A bird eat bird world

by Barbara May

Gloomy February day after just one cup of coffee and a pastry didn't seem like a good idea. But, pressured by birder friends and intrigued by reports from past Bird Walks, this reluctant birder found herself on the LCAS 8:00 a.m. outing to the West Eugene Wetlands.

After a slow start and much talk about what people had seen previously, what we might see today and what we all hoped we'd see, interspersed with driving from one not too productive spot to another, things started to get exciting-even for this grumpy, reluctant birder.

First, we saw some sweet little wetlands birds: wigeons, geese, yellow legs, a clever snipe hiding out and looking very, very furtive there in the grasses. Some lovely buff-butted Green-winged Teals. Nice Ring-necked Ducks. Cute coots. A Bufflehead, a Northern Pintail, a Gadwall. Then we were back in the warm cars and off to another site out at the wetlands. This is where things got really, really exciting.

Raptors were everywhere--here a White-tailed Kite, there a Red-tailed Hawk, over there a Northern Harrier. Wait, what's that it's standing on in that marsh? A what? A belly-up Northern Shoveler! The scopes came out, the focus was sharp. Indeed, bird murder! The harrier, with talons pegged to the victim, was ripping and pulling through the feathers for the juicy stuff! After we pried ourselves away from this visual treat, we were off to another hot spot. Even this reluctant birder was losing her grump and getting into this LCAS Bird Walk.

What a thrill! A White-tailed Kite, and then a Rough-legged Hawk, hovering and displaying fabulous aerial agility. It looked just like the one in the bird book!

What next? Well, birding is always about what you didn't see but wanted to and what you did see but didn't expect. For me the bird walk's frosting on the bird walk cake was (after not seeing the Lewis's Woodpecker, darn) watching the little Acorn Woodpeckers snatching up acorns and stuffing them into their proper holes in the "granary" limb of an oak tree. What a great Bird Walk! And it didn't even rain!