Reaching 200 in Linn County

One of my goals this year was to reach 200 in Lane, Deschutes and Linn Counties.  I am/was close enough in these counties (180s) to put in the effort, and was able to do so in Lane in January and in Deschutes in April.  As I work in Linn County, I keep my eyes and ears open while driving through Albany to Lebanon and back each day, and earlier this week heard a Pheasant when I arrived at work, which brought my up my list to 190.  Having been in touch with Jeff Harding about where to go for specific species, and having a few days off, I headed to Linn County this morning (5/12/16) with a few target birds on the radar.

My first stop was the wetlands on the north side of Diamond Hill Road where I found a Yellow-headed Blackbird (191) within a few minutes of searching.  Next stop was just two miles away where Belts Road joins Gap Road.  S Schlick was here earlier this week and reported both Vesper and Grasshopper Sparrows.  At the junction I saw a Vesper Sparrow (192), but needed to go down Belts Road a few hundred yards to find the Grasshopper Sparrow (193), which was quite obliging, allowing me to take a few pics.  Also in the area Lazuli Buntings, Meadowlarks, Savannah Sparrows and Common Yellowthroats were the more vocal ones. 

Grasshopper Sparrow - Belts Road

Grasshopper Sparrow - Belts Road

Western Tanager - Gap Road

I next headed north on Gap Road, stopping here and there trying to get a response  to playback from a Cassin’s Vireo and Wrentit, both without success.  I was able to add House Wren (194), Turkey (195) and Western Tanager (196).  About a mile south of Brownsville are the rice ponds, and just south of them is a brushy hill.   Jeff Fleischer told me it was a good place to find a Wrentit, but I could only find a Yellow-breasted Chat (197). I stopped at the Brownsville Sewage Ponds where there were 3  Long-billed Dowitchers plus 4 goose families.  I had toyed with the idea of heading into the mountains next, but it was already heating up quite a bit, so decided to meander back home.

My next stop was at the Halsey Sewage Ponds.  To see these you either need to trespass or stand on the roof of your vehicle.  The canopy of my truck allowed me to not break the law, and there were some good birds here:  2 male Blue-winged Teal (198), a pair of Redhead and one Bonaparte’s Gull.  

Redheads  - Halsey Sewage Lagoon

Blue-winged Teal - Halsey Sewage Lagoon

From there I went south to Junction City, and then back north on Rt 99 to the Philomath Sewage Ponds to look for the Pectoral Sandpiper and Whimbrel which were reported from there yesterday, but they had gone on.  There were, however, 5 Redhead and 10 Greater White-fronted Geese and a few of the expected species.  There was also one Dunlin who was injured, and so did not fly off when I drove up to it.  A large bull frog watched all of my photography, not budging a bit.  Only 10 feet away I would expect he would not tolerate such a close approach. 

Bull Frog at the PPP

Dunlin at the PPP

On Friday 5-20-16 I had a free day, and enlisted the help of Jeff Harding, a local Linn County resident who many of you know.  There were still some easier holes in my Linn Co list, and local expertise should get me over the 200 hurdle.  Upon arrival at his place, we walked  through his back woods listening for Cassin’s Vireos (199), which we eventually found.  Next we went over to his in-laws barn where we got looks at a local Barn Owl (200) up in the rafters.  My camera would not allow me a shot in the poor lighting, so took a pic of a Barn Swallow instead.

Barn Swallow at Jeff's in laws

From here we headed NE for about 6-7 miles to some newly regenerating forest where I was able to add Wrentit (201), Mountain Quail (202) and Hutton’s Vireo (203).  It was fairly birdy there with Chats, Willow Flycatcher, Rufous Hummer, Common Yellowthroats, Scrub Jay and a few others I cannot remember.

Since we were successful so soon, we decided we had ample time to head to the mountains, so stopped back at Jeff’s house and made P&J sandwiches and headed east.  We stopped at Foster Reservoir only to find it completely void of waterfowl.  Our next stop was a Lava Lake.  On the way there we encountered a female Sooty Grouse on the side of the road, so turned around for pics, and she obliged us. 

Sooty Grouse along Hwy 20

I suppose the label Lava “Lake” may be a stretch as there is only a small creek that runs through a large meadow containing many small willow trees.  Nevertheless it is a beautiful place.  Our main target here was Sandhill Crane (204) which we found without too much trouble.  Since we only saw one, we suspect the mate was on a nest.  Jeff has been seeing a pair here for over 20 years.

Sandhill Crane at Lava Lake

Lava Lake

The sun came out while we were there and so did the birds.  Another target bird was Dusky Flycatcher (205) which we finally got good looks at after hearing it for some time.  Other birds there were Hermit, Wilson’s, Macgillivray’s and Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Warbling Vireo, Tree, VG and NRW Swallows, Vaux Swifts, Song Sparrow, Sora, Va Rail, Red-winged Blackbird, Hammond’s Flycatcher, and a few others I am sure I am forgetting.   

Next stop was Lost Lake where there were Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Canada Geese, Mallards, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Western Tanager.

Barrow's Goldeneye - Lost Lake

Next stop was the pass, and we went straight to the Hoo Doo Ski Resort hoping for Nutcrackers, but we dipped.  There were no Cassin’s Finches either.  At least a pair of Mountain Bluebirds felt sorry for us and gave us confiding views. We then went over to Big Lake hoping for a migrating scoter, but this lake was duckless, just like Foster Lake was.  There were a few Mt Chickadees, Juncos, and YR Warblers, and one Western Tanager though.   In case any readers are wondering about road conditions, there was no snow on the ground anywhere near the road.

Mountain Bluebird - HooDoo

The trip back was straight to Jeff’s place, and from our conversations I was able to gather some good info on finding a few more Linn Co birds, as well as some other good ideas for other counties.  

Next up - next week is the big week when I plan to finish the 100/county effort with a trip to Gilliam, Baker and Malhuer Counties, so expect a good report afterwards.