OBOL "Birding, Biking vs. Hunter thread."

I hate to use this blog, for this purpose, but I adamantly refuse to use OBOL to discuss, or further the "Birding, Biking vs. Hunter thread."


I am opposed first to the way some land donations seem to be handled around Oregon.  It frys me to no end to go to a publicly owned area and find signs limiting access, excepting certain groups.  To allow hunting but no sightseeing, birding etc.. is frustrating to me (but I see birders at Fern Ridge ignore the signs anyway.  I haven't heard of anyone being fined yet).  But I know why it's done, to keep people from getting shot, and over-zealous animal rights wackos from confronting hunters and causing problems. Also, I believe part of the reason so many areas are now closed to access by all is that there is too much fighting, lawsuits and bickering back and forth between the various interested groups.

It bothers me when groups or individuals purchase properties (for example the 500 acre parcel of farm land on Diamond Hill rd.) reclaim it so that it is then animal habitat, then block ANY public access.  On this particular parcel on Diamond Hill road, the no trespassing notice signs even give the incorrect name and phone number to contact for information.  It took me hours to find out that was really a farmer in the area looking for a tax write off!  This happens to far too many pieces of land for me to accept. 

The state of Oregonis another problem.  ODOT, is the worst about it.  I travel the state in the course of my employment, and I see parcel after parcel with "Property of ODOT, No Trespassing" signs.  The property at the corner of Roosevelt and Danebo is a perfect example.  It teems with wildlife, yet is surrounded by no trespassing signs.  These types of parcels in particular, being off-limits REALLY pisses me off.  Being blocked from access to undeveloped PUBLIC property of this type should be against the law. 

In my humble opinion, the areas can all be shared if EVERYONE, respects the rights of everyone else.  Bicyclists can quit looking down their noses at drivers and acting like they are better, or have more rights to the areas.  Drivers need to be more considerate to the bicyclists and quit acting like they don't belong there.  And for God's sake watch out for them.  And all need to recognize that hunters have rights, put a fair amount of money into the coffers of the animals through the various hunting groups and from license and tag fees.  For the most part, bird hunters especially are very respectful, courteous and environmentally aware.  They are more often than not, professional people.  Doctors, lawyers teachers and quite a few law enforcement personnel are bird hunters.

With regard to where the legislature puts the money they have, some of that general fund money probably went to fund more wildlife officers.  More were added this year along with many new state police officers.  If the people we elect are not doing what we wish with our taxes and fees, then they can be voted out.  But that opens a very ugly conversation, because this is a liberal state and liberals keep voting in the same liberals over and over.  So if you don't like what they are doing, quit re-electing them or allowing them to be re-elected. 

Ankeny/Baskett Slough 01/02/10

We took our first trip of the year to Ankeny NWR today, and after driving to all the normal hotspots it was apparent that a trip to Baskett slough NWR was in the cards for us as well.  The fields at Ankeny had several large flocks of Cacklers and Duskys. At Eagle marsh we found numerous Mallards, sparse numbers of Pintails, and a couple of Ruddy ducks.  Oh yes, we can't forget Nutria plenty of Nutria.

We were a bit disappointed at Ankeny, but were pleasantly surprised by the large number of birds (and large number of birders as well) at Baskett Slough!

There were plenty of Canada Geese, but nowhere near as many as we saw at Ankeny, what we did see was a huge number of Northern Pintails.  500 would be a conservative guess, I would be willing to bet it was more like 750 or even more.  Everyone I talked to was astounded at the large number of Pintails. 

 

One small island was absolutely covered with them.

 We also saw Mallards and even a few Northern Shovelers, but by far the day was all about the Pintails.

(my personal favorite duck) 

Our excitement for the day came when while watching some Tundra Swans from the upper observation area.

 

An adult Bald Eagle that had been eating and preening previously, took off for a hunt. while I was watching with some other birders, the Baldy flew around assessing the hunting grounds and snatched up a male Pintail!  The Eagle took it to the same area where it had been earlier, and landed with it's prize.  What a sight to see.  Nature and the circle of life.  It never fails to awe me when I watch God's creatures, seeing them do what they do to survive, whether it's Hummingbird at the feeder or an Eagle capturing another animal to eat.  It reminds me of just what is important in life, and what  is not.  A wonderful lady watching the Eagle near me said "That made my entire day", I could not agree more.  I will sleep with a happy heart tonight.

Just a few of my favorites.

Just for the heck of it, (while I am cleaning up the hard drive I re-discovered some lost shots), I thought I'd post a few of my favorite pictures from the past year.

Acorn Woodpecker eating a spider!

 

Western Kingbird

 

Rough Legged Hawk showing his britches!

 

Juvenile Ba;d Eagle "enjoying" a meal.. YUCK!

 

Even Coots can be beautiful birds!

 

Oh, this one is going to hurt!

 

Prepare to meet your maker fly!

 

Yellow Rumped Warbler 

 

Marsh Wren

 

Our little hummer after a fierce battle

 

Black Capped Chickodee

 

Red Crossbill during a plumage change!

Momma's bringing home the bacon, so to speak!

Yeah right, back off little lady!

Never underestimate the little guy!

Rough Legged Red Tail Hawk

Every week I drive I-5, between Eugene and Albany.  I have gotten to expect to see certain Hawks, in certain places.  As a child of habit, birding and rock hounding, I tend to notice that which is out the ordinary.  On a recent weekend raptor hunt, I came upon this fellow on Mt. Tom rd. near the intersection with Coleman road.  I usually see a smaller, less mature bird there.  One not so colorful, and actually kind of wimpy looking.  This one was larger than the usual bird and standing on the ground near the road, made him a terrific photo opp.  I snapped on a couple shots before he took to the air to get away from me.  As you can see in the images, the bird has a beautifully colored tail.  He is nicely colored overall and is a fairly good sized Red Tail.  When I got a good look at the pictures at home however, I saw the shot of it's fuzzy legs.  His feet appear smaller than normal and wow what a nice pair of britches he's got on!  I know it's a Red Tail, the fourth image shows the true story, I just got a kick out of the resemblance in image two of a Rough Legged Hawk.  the last shot in this group is the usual resident hawk, it is normally in the trees along the  frontage portion of Mt. Tom road.  The images are not the best I have ever shot as far as focus, but I liked them so here they are.

 

 

 

 

Defectives

In my business, the replacement parts business, we have a term for those parts for vehicles which come to us with slight imperfections.  We call these parts, "Defectives".  Now, if I were to call someone with some sort of physical flaw a "Defective", I would be a real heel, politically incorrect at the least.  But today, for humors sake, I am going to refer to some Gulls I found while eating lunch at Winchester Bay "Defectives".  These guy were amazing to watch, out of 32 Gulls I had swarming my van while I ate my sack lunch, six were graced with only one leg!

I believe these were all Western Gulls that were pestering me for a handout, and I am really curious about the reasons for their lack of the correct number of appendages.  At first I thought they were all victims of some traumatic event.  Then the more I looked, the closer I looked, I began to think it was a combination of accident and possibly birth defects.  Two of the gulls, had absolutely no right leg at all.  Not even a stub or break in the feathers to indicate a leg had ever been there!  Two had severely deformed right legs, and two had right legs that were missing all or most of the leg below the tibiotarsas.  The latter two, I believe are from injury, it's the prior four that I believe to be some sort of defective.

Here are several photos of these birds for you to judge for yourself.  And by the way, if you know a reason for this, like "Winchester Bay is a repository for screwed up birds" let me know.  I asked a couple of the "natives" and they know nothing of why they may be this way.  Oh and don't feel too sorry for these guys, they were they amazing

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the quality of  these photos.  These birds were very aggressive and tried to fly into my vehicle several times trying to get at my lunch.  As such, I shot through the windows, because, well, I saw "The Birds" and I ain't gonna go for the  Tippy Hedron  treatment!

David and Goliath

I just had to post these images of a meeting that King David would have been proud of!  While birding on Sunday, the 26th, 2009, we were treated to one hell of show.  One that not only a true raptorista could appreciate, but one that anyone who was ever bullied by the big guy at school would enjoy.  A brave little Kestral came to the defense of his homeland against a Red Tail, that had to be twenty times his size, not to mention the strength difference!  The images are not the clearest, definitely not portrait quality they are just for fun!  They do show this little guy busting the hump of a much bigger adversary.  The first image just shows how far I was away and how good Olympus lenses are!  I hope you enjoy these, I laugh every time I see them!

Baskett Slough 9/26/09

Tracey and I traveled o Monmouth to visit our daughter Saturday.  We enjoyed a great lunch with Niclole and her dorm mate Tiffany at the "Pink House Cafe" in Independence.  After blowing our wad on school books, we decided a trip to Baskett Slough NWR was in order.  Pretty slim pickens there, we got to see the Great Egret that always seems to be there, what a camera hog this one is!  He could care less if you are there.  Beside him, there was a mixed flock of approximately 40 Short and Long Nosed Dowtchers feeding and chattering in the shallows of the mud flats.  other than that, just the usual plethora of lesser gold finches and thirty or so crows feeding in the fields.