Bird Notes - spring 2005
by Jim Rogers

The period from late-February through March is considered the most boring time of year for birders. Most of the winter birds have left while most of the spring nesting birds haven't yet arrived. But there are the thrills of seeing or hearing the first arrivals and a few late winter birds. The Pfand's had a Mountain Chickadee at their feeder in Port Orford on February 27.

The Turkey Vultures started showing up around the middle of February, returning from their winter haunts along the southern California coast and Mexico. Alice Pfand reported the first Rufous Hummingbird at her feeder in Port Orford on February 1. By late February the Rufous and Allen's Hummingbirds were drinking from the goblets of the red-flowering current, gooseberries, evergreen huckleberry, salmonberry and flowering quince bushes.

Time to thoroughly clean and sterilize a feeder (soak in a solution of 1 teaspoon bleach to I quart water), rinse with hot water, and fill with syrup (1 part sugar boiled in 4 parts water). The Rufous Hummingbird summers throughout the Pacific Northwest, clear up to southern Alaska and over to western Montana. The Allen's, on the other hand, are California coast residents. Until the past decade or so they were rarely seen north of the redwood zone but are now common throughout the lower elevations of Curry and Coos counties. The females of the two species are virtually impossible to tell apart but the males are usually quite discernible. This is the time of year to see them because they don't stick around once the girls lose interest in you-know-what. Don Munson reported seeing a bunch of Allen's gathering fluff from coyote brush; Lois Miller took a great picture of a Rufous/Allen's pulling fluff from a cattail. Don and a couple of other people have observed as I have that the hummingbirds this year are very sporadic and barely visiting feeders. Probably due to the heavy crop of wildflowers this year in the warm sunny weather we've been enjoying (and fretting over - drought).

The Band-tailed Pigeons and Mourning Doves showed up around the first of March, as did the Tree and Violet-green Swallows. The Cliff, Barn and Rough-winged Swallows start arriving around the middle of March.

Orange-crowned Warblers began showing up in Don Munson's neighborhood along the Chetco by mid-March, as did the Black-crowned Night-Herons.

Don also reported a Palm Warbler at the Port of BH around the middle of February.

Terry Wahl spotted a Say's Phoebe on the Elk River ranch in late February.

Lois Miller got a great photo of a "Yellow-shafted Flicker." Our western "Red-shafted Flicker" is considered to be the same species as the eastern "Yellow-shafted" -lumped as the Northern Flicker, but it's still fun to see a Yellow-shafted. The main noticeable difference is that the Red-shafted has a red moustache while the Yellow-shafted has a black moustache as well as a red patch on the back of his head. We occasionally see a "hybrid."

Lois also got a spectacular photo of a huge wave at the P.O. dock on March 10. The surf was big and the waves were washing over the jetty, but the parking lot was high and dry. She'd been parked there for half an hour photographing gulls when she heard a roar, looked up and saw a monster wave bearing down! Being a truly intrepid photographer she threw her truck into reverse and got a picture of the wave just as it crashed down on the parking lot. Stop by the True Value hardware in P.O. to see it.

Through the month of April the various flycatchers, vireos, thrushes, warblers, grosbeaks etc. will be returning. In order to be able to easily identify these birds it's necessary to learn their song. I find that putting the song to words helps me remember it. Most birders are familiar with the "Quick three beers" call of the Olive-sided Flycatcher, but most of the songs don't lend themselves to rendering in English and we end up with something like sooweep-dit-cheep! for the Pacific slope Flycatcher's call. It helps to read Peterson's or Sibley's description of a bird's call at the time you are seeing the bird singing to comnit the song to memory.

Please let me know of your unusual bird sightings at 541-332-2555.