May to July, 2001
by Jim Rogers

Having been away during much of the period since our last report in mid-May, and heading out again today for an extended period, our Bird Notes column will have to be brief and imprecise.

Two Red-breasted Grosbeaks were reported visiting feeders in Curry County - one at the home of Diane Myrah up the Winchuck River, and one at the home of Lois Miller in Port Oford. There have been, sporadic reports of this Northeastern version of our Black-headed Grosbeak from Curry County every few years. Most reports in Oregon are from the last week in May through the first week in June.

Don Munson visited the Whetstone Butte area on the eastern Curry County border and added Rock Wren to his County list. These birds of the Eastern Oregon rimrock country find the Kalmiopsis Wilderness to their liking as well as some of the steep rocky clearcuts. I've seen them in clearcuts in Butler Creek and Bald Mountain Creek in the Elk River watershed, but these were two isolated anomalies. I think they're quite uncommon in the best of habitats in Curry County.

Don also hiked into the Vulcan Lake country with Terry Wahl and a couple of other guys to search for the elusive Canyon Wren heard a few miles north of Vulcan Lake, on the trail to Windy Camp, a few years ago by Mark Stevens. Their search was in vain, but they saw some interesting country. .1 know of only two other places where Canyon Wrens have been heard in Curry County. One is up the Rogue River near the Josephine County line - perhaps Winkle Bar? One could drive to Marial and hike up the Rogue River trail to Winkle Bar, camp there, and hike up or down the river in the early morning hours to listen for one, perhaps in late-May through early June. The other record for Canyon Wren was one singing in Wedderburn, on June 28, 1970. The latter was, no doubt, a vagrant, but the one way up the river could have been nesting. Good project for a term paper - the status of Canyon Wrens in Curry County,

Two rare birds visited Don Munson's habitat - a Clay-colored Sparrow and a Black & white Warbler. The warbler was first noticed in his yard on July 1 when he heard its weesee weesee weesee weesee weesee call.. The bird remained in the neighborhood for several days, but when Terry Wahl and I went down there to look for it, it couldn't be found. However, the latest report (July 8) is that it's still there.

On our trip to the South County Terry and I visited the Chetco estuary to see the amusing sight of skajillions of anchovies swimming past and jumping above the surface. This phenomenon occurs every 20 years or so, but the old-timers say this is, by far, the most they have ever seen. Hordes of California Gulls have been forgoing nesting in the lakes of Eastern California to feast on the bounty. The Brown Pelicans and Heermann's Gulls are all hanging out there rather than heading on north.

Please phone, fax or mail your bird observations to me at (541) 332-2555; 95187 Elk River Rd., Port Orford, OR 97465. Thanks.