June-July 2006Our "Field Notes" documents significant bird sightings in Lane County for historical and educational purposes. Reports are welcome, and significant sightings will appear, space permitted.
To report a sighting, contact Tom and Allison Mickel, 485-7112 or tamickel (at) rio.com.
Splitting feathers: Good-bye Blue, hello Dusky;
Lane County prime real estate for mating
Our summer started out a little cooler and wetter than usual, but dried out and heated up very quickly. This breeding season brought some interesting reports and some questions about whether certain species such as Black-crowned Night-Heron and Bank Swallow are breeding locally. We'll be investigating these local breeding questions next season! It appeared that most alcid and Western Gull nests failed because of late upwellings and that the south bound shorebird migration is a little later than normal (fide B&ZS).
The AOU checklist committee has once again spilt a species that's found in Lane County: the Blue Grouse. The two new species are called Sooty and Dusky Grouse, with Sooty Grouse being the species that occurs within the county.
| WATERBIRDS to RAPTORS | |||
| Cackling Goose (3) | June 25 | Fern Ridge Reservoir | LMc |
| Pacific Loon (2) | July 23 | Bray Point | DF |
| Red-necked Grebe | July 23 | N. Fork, Suislaw R. | MC,PV |
| Great Egret (6) | July 2 | Fern Ridge Reservoir | AC |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron (juv) | June 25 | Fern Ridge Reservoir | DI |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | July 19 | Roosevelt & Beltline | DI |
| White-faced Ibis (30) | July 19 | Fern Ridge Reservoir | DF,FF |
| White-tailed Kite | June | FRR (Royal Ave) | m.ob. |
| White-tailed Kite | June 16 | Upper Marcola Valley | EC,LM |
| White-tailed Kite | June 28 | Veneta area | A&TM |
| Cooper's Hawk (5) | July 13-27 | Alton Baker Park | AM |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | July 31 | Willow Creek | RS |
| Golden Eagle | July 5 | 30th Ave., LCC | AC,MH |
| Peregrine Falcon | July 23 | Heceta Head | A&DH |
| Prairie Falcon | June 28 | Fern Ridge Reservoir | AP |
| SHOREBIRDS to ALCIDS | |||
| Pacific Golden-Plover | June 30 | Fern Ridge Reservoir | RR |
| Snowy Plover (8) | July 28 | Siltcoos River | B&ZS |
| Semipalmated Plover | July 23 | Crab Dock | DF |
| Black Oystercatcher | June 28 | Heceta Head | DP |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | June 29 | Fern Ridge Reservoir | DF |
| Wandering Tattler | July 11 | South Jetty | PS |
| Whimbrel | July 27 | North Jetty | B&ZS |
| Marbled Godwit | July 25 | South Jetty | B&ZS |
| Black Turnstone | July 28 | Siltcoos River | B&ZS |
| Sanderling | July 28 | Siltcoos River | B&ZS |
| Western Sandpiper | July 4 | North & South Jetties | B&ZS |
| Least Sandpiper | July 19 | Florence city docks | B&ZS |
| Short-billed Dowitcher | July 23 | Deflation Plain | A&DH |
| Wilson's Phalarope (8) | July 3 | Fern Ridge Reservoir | DF |
| Bonaparte's Gull | July1 | North Jetty | B&ZS |
| Glaucous-winged Gull (5) | July 23 | Florence area | AC |
| Caspian Tern | June 28 | Fern Ridge Reservoir | LMc |
| Tufted Puffin | June-July | Heceta Head | DP,B&ZS |
| OWLS to FINCHES | |||
| Long-eared Owl | July 29 | Fern Ridge Reservoir | MP |
| Common Nighthawk | early June | Eugene area | m.ob. |
| Common Nighthawk | early June | along the coast | DM,VP |
| Common Nighthawk | late June-July | Eugene area | m.ob. |
| Black Swift | June 29 | FRR (Fisher Butte) | DF |
| Black Swift (12) | July 6 | Salt Creek Falls | LMc |
| Black-chinned Hummingbird | June 12 | Alton Baker Park | GC |
| Calliope Hummingbird | July 30 | Bohemia Mt. | MP |
| American Three-toed Woodpecker | July 21 | Waldo Lake area | DS |
| Black-backed Woodpecker | July 21 | Waldo Lake area | DS |
| Olive-sided Flycatcher (2) | June 7 | Mt. Pisgah | DB |
| Olive-sided Flycatcher | July 7 | Spencer Butte | TM |
| Hammond's Flycatcher | June 20 | McBeth Road | AMc |
| Black Phoebe | June 16 | Fall Creek dam | DF |
| Black Phoebe | June 28 | Fern Ridge Reservoir | LMc |
| Black Pheobe | July 10 | FRR (E. Coyote) | DS |
| Black Pheobe | July 29 | FRR | DF |
| Ash-throated Flycatcher | June 26 | Fern Ridge Reservoir | MP |
| Red-eyed Vireo | June 8 | Elijah Bristow SP | DI |
| Red-eyed Vireo | June 15 | Alton Baker Park | DI |
| Red-eyed Vireo | July 8 | Veneta area | DF |
| Red-eyed Vireo | July 11 | Big Island | RR,KL,GG |
| Horned Lark | July 2 | Eugene Airport area | DJ |
| Bank Swallow | June 22 | Fern Ridge Reservoir | A&DH |
| Bank Swallow | July 11 | Big Island | RR,KL,GG |
| Bank Swallow | July 19 | FRR (W Coyote) | LMc |
| Northern Mockingbird | June13 | Delta Ponds area | B&KA |
| Northern Mockingbird | July 18 | Deflation Plain | B&ZS |
| Northern Waterthrush | June | Mule Prairie | m.ob. |
| Brewer's Sparrow | July 2 | Green Island | RR,KL |
| Vesper Sparrow | June 7 | Mt. Pisgah | DB,A&TM |
| Grasshopper Sparrow | June | Fern Ridge Reservoir | m.ob. |
| Grasshopper Sparrow | June 29 | Fern Ridge Reservoir | DF |
| Great-tailed Grackle | June 21 | Fern Ridge Reservoir | MS |
| Red Crossbill (25) | June 18 | Coast Range | TM |
Abbreviations:
Big Island an island in the McKenzie River near Springfield; Crab Dock crab dock at the South Jetty of the Siuslaw River; Deflation Plain deflation plain at the South Jetty of the Siuslaw River; FRR Fern Ridge Reservoir; Green Island an island near the confluence of the Willamette and McKenzie Rivers; m.ob. many observers; N. Fork North Fork of the Siuslaw River; North Jetty North Jetty of the Siuslaw River; Siltcoos River mouth of the Siltcoos River; South Jetty South Jetty of the Siuslaw River; SP State Park.
Thank you, Contributors!
B&KA Bill & Kathleen Allison, DB Dave Bontrager, GC Greg Calvert, AC Alan Contreras, EC Ed Cooley, MC Marcia Cutler, VD Vern DiPietro, DF Daniel Farrar, FF Fred Furguson, GG George Grier, A&DH Anne & Dan Heyerly, MH Matt Hunter, DI Dave Irons, DJ Dave Jones, KL Kit Larsen, AMc Arch McCallum, LMc Larry McQueen, DM Dave Mellinger, LM Linda Mello, A&TM Allison & Tom Mickel, MP Mike Patterson, DP Diane Pettey, AP Al Prigge, RR Roger Robb, PS Paul Sherrell, MS Margaret Sholaas, RS Randy Sinnott, DS David Smith, B&ZS Bill & Zanah Stotz, PV Paula Vanderheul.