2 more for 2018

Hi All,

I probably should have waited until 2018 was over before posting the photos for the 2nd half of the year.  Rosie and I went south to Corvallis for a walk and lunch and along the way I spied the leucitic hawk which I think I sent pic of earlier this year.  I had not seen him since April or so, figuring he was helping with nesting duties, until 2 days ago, and he was there again today, so took about 30 pics.  But as he was just too far off to get better detail, these will have to do.  When I Corvallis we walked at Willamette Park, which is along the Willamette River and I finally got some decent pics of a Belted Kingfisher.  While they are often photogenic, they spook easy and so you have to be lucky to get near enough for good shots. 

The Best of 2018 Continued

Here is a continuation of my better shots, starting on the 1st of May.  Some of these shots were in various blogs, so are repeats.

Black-billed Magpies

Steins Pillar

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Cassin's Finch

Western Tanager

Gray Flycatcher

Prairie Falcon

Red-tailed Hawk

Bank Swallow

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel, in the cheese

White-breasted Nuthatch

Black-backed Woodpecker

White-headed Woodpecker

Western Kingbird at the Philomath Sewage Ponds

Dusky Flycatcher, a rare transient to the Willamette Valley,
and my first one just to the south in Benton County

Black-necked Stilt at Baskett Slough NWR.  There were 17  today, the most I have seen here.

Female Evening Grosbeak

Male Evening Grosbeak.  About a dozen descended on our feeder today. 
They can clean you out in short order.

Marsh Wren

Tree Swallow with a white feather for the nest

Tree Swallow with a white feather for the nest

Wiley Coyote

Black-necked Stilt taking a short break from nesting

Blue-winged Teal pair

Bushtit nest, complete with a front door.  You can actually see the small, mouse-like bird's tail
end entering the doorway to the upper left.  An amazing structure for a pair of such small birds

Ruddy Duck.  Hunters call them "Bluebills."  A generic name also used is "Stiff-tail Ducks."

Red-winged Blackbird

Rocky Raccoon

American Goldfinch

Male Purple Finch

Cedar Waxwing

Male Lazuli Bunting.  Isn't he a beauty!

American Bittern

Wilson's Phalarope

Immature Barred Owl

Violet-green Swallow - Male, at nest box.

Bushtit

Bull Elk

Mountain Bluebird

California Quail

Bewick's Wren

Scrub Jay

Townsend's Solitare

Sandhill Cranes

Clark's Nutcracker

Hairy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Pinion Jay - isn't he a beauty!

Wrentit

White-fronted Goose

Snow Bunting, in winter plumage.  These are rare where I live. 

A rare Tufted Duck and nice addition to anyones Hood River County list

Western Fox Squirrel

Dickcissel:  A very rare bird to stay for a few days at the Philomath Sewage Ponds,
or PPP (Philomath Poo Ponds)

Female Black Scoter in Yamhill County, rare anywhere inland

Savannah Sparrow at the PPP

Bald Eagle in the middle of the Alsea River, likely looking for salmon

Lincoln's Sparrow at the PPP

Golden Crowned Sparrow at PPP

Spotted Towhee at PPP

White-crowned Sparrow at PPP

Male American Kestrel at PPP

Male Swamp Sparrow in Wasco County, a first county record there

Bald Eagle with lunch

Eastern Bluebird.  Not a great pic of Oregon's first record of this species.

Female Northern Flicker in my backyard

Female Northern Flicker in my backyard

SnowyPlover:  This species is making a huge comeback breeding on the
Oregon Coast due to efforts from the Fish and Wildlife Dept

Burrowing Owl, a rare winter visitant to the Willamette Valley

Anna's Hummingbird

Ring-necked Ducks

Red-naped Sapsucker, a rare winter visitant to the Willamette Valley.  This one is a male and was found near Portland where he appears to be wintering, having been in the same place for over a month.  Notice the holes he has drilled?  These fill up with sap which attracts insects which he returns to often to eat and drink.  

Winter plumaged Yellow-rumped Warbler

Adult Rough Legged Hawk