Bird Notes - Early Summer, 2002
by Jim Rogers

May 31 - My wife Carrie and I were visiting the Winter Springs Ranch (former Miller Ranch) up the North Bank Rogue near Lobster Creek. We were watching a cloud of recently hatched Rufous/Allen’s Hummingbirds emptying a feeder when we noticed one that was different. Unlike the R/A’s, it had no orange coloring on the sides. The upper side was totally green and the under side totally gray. Its tail pumped up and down while it fed. A study of Sibley’s Guide to Birds revealed it to be a female or juvenile Black-chinned Hummingbird. To my knowledge this species hadn’t been previously recorded in Curry County. They’re fairly common in several locations in far Eastern Oregon, and occasionally seen in the upper Rogue Valley with about a dozen coastal records.

Meanwhile, in southern Curry County, Sheila Chambers heard a strange trumpeting sound overhead and looked up to see a lone Sandhill Crane flying south over Oceanview Drive. This magnificent bird is rarely seen on the coast. They breed in a few locations in Eastern Oregon and there are a few records of individual pairs nesting west of the Cascades. Possibly this bird was spending the summer down in Lake Earl. Sheila also reported having a Harris Sparrow at her place over the winter, a Clay-colored Sparrow in early spring, and a Yellow-breasted Chat in mid-May. As far as I know, in Curry County Chats are found only south of the Chetco and in the Agness area. Possibly the rest of the county is a little too cool and damp for them. Please let me know if you’re aware of other locations.

June 3 - Dave Lauten spotted a Black & White Warbler in the willows at the outlet of Floras Lake. The only previous records I recall for Curry County have been in the fall, though most Oregon records for this eastern warbler are in the spring and east of the Cascades. One wintered in North Bend in 1977-78.

June 4 - Rick McKenzie spotted about a dozen White Pelicans flying south along the coast past the Coos/Curry County line. White Pelicans (as opposed to Brown) are rarely seen west of the Cascades. Last summer Tooz Wahl saw a flock of what she thought were White Pelicans flying over the ocean, but not having binoculars at the time, she wasn’t certain that they weren’t Snow Geese. A newspaper article from the early 1930’s reported a flock of White Pelicans at the mouth of Elk River. They breed in Klamath, Lake, and Harney Counties.

June 14 - Don Munson found an Eastern Kingbird where the North Fork of the Chetco runs into the main fork. These eastern birds aren’t all that uncommon in Eastern Oregon, but are rarely seen in Western Oregon. Most records for Western Oregon are from early summer.

When Buzz Stewart headed up the Chetco to see the kingbird he found a pair of Blue-winged Teal nearby in the Chetco.

Later that day Don Munson found two Ash-throated Flycatchers on the beach at the mouth of the Chetco. This flycatcher of the Southwest is regularly found in the upper Rogue River and occasionally seen in Curry County.

Don headed up the coast to Pistol River where he found 3 pair of Blue-winged Teal. These ducks are found mostly in the prairie marshes east of the Rockies and are rarely seen in Western Oregon. However this spring there have been many sightings in Western Oregon including 30-50 on Fern Ridge reservoir.

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