iusedtohatebirds.com
This is not a bird blog.: January 2015
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Saturday, January 31, 2015. Gilliam and Morrow Counties. On Thursday I drove east for my second installment of Gilliam County. Birding. My first stop was Willow Creek Wildlife Area, which requires a detour through Morrow County before emerging at a viewpoint of Willow Lake. Stellar windshield cellphone photo. The road twists down to a small parking area surrounded by sagebrush, and the dogs and I braved the narrow trail heading north along the eastern shore of the lake. I drove back north out of the fog ...
iusedtohatebirds.com
This is not a bird blog.: September 2014
http://www.iusedtohatebirds.com/2014_09_01_archive.html
Thursday, September 25, 2014. Birds and things closer to home. I haven't bored you all with my yard birds in awhile, so I'll start with those. Fall is here. My FOS Golden-crowned Sparrow showed up on the exact same date as one showed up last year. The next day the White-crowneds arrived. American Goldfinches have been accumulating, now outnumbering the Lesser Goldfinches who must have nested nearby. There has been one super annoying young LEGO lately whose screeches drive me nuts. I don't think I shared ...
iusedtohatebirds.com
This is not a bird blog.: May 2015
http://www.iusedtohatebirds.com/2015_05_01_archive.html
Saturday, May 23, 2015. As the appropriately lone member of the Lone Birders team for this year's Birdathon. I decided to hit up Ridgefield NWR to see how many species I could find. The first thing I found were Barn Swallows doing the deed in the middle of the road. Photos are terrible but I know you want to see anyway. I walked the Kiwa Trail for the first time this year which helped the morning's list quite a bit. And back on the auto tour. Trying to woo a sleeping teal. Tuesday, May 19, 2015. Window s...
iusedtohatebirds.com
This is not a bird blog.: November 2014
http://www.iusedtohatebirds.com/2014_11_01_archive.html
Sunday, November 30, 2014. On Thanksgiving morning my friend and I headed down to Coos Bay for a few days of exploring and getting completely soaking wet. Since the Lesser Black-backed Gulls seen recently near Creswell were directly on the way I decided to stop and check them out. You like bad photos right? View of Elk Creek from bridge near Elkton. With veggies and no utensils. Because we forgot utensils. It all washed down well with some Alaskan Winter Ale. Friday morning we got up and headed out to ex...
iusedtohatebirds.com
This is not a bird blog.: August 2015
http://www.iusedtohatebirds.com/2015_08_01_archive.html
Saturday, August 29, 2015. The coast and stuff. Yesterday I took a drive out to the north coast with Christian. To check out a few spots for terns and shorebirds, stopping at the Hammond Boat Basin first. The Elegant Terns have re-terned (shoot me now) and put on a decent show. Sometimes I think terns are my favorite birds. On the walk back to the car I noticed a fuzzy caterpillar on the grass, perhaps a Yellow Woolly Bear? If so, it's a Virginia Tiger Moth in the making. Broughton Beach has continued to...
iusedtohatebirds.com
This is not a bird blog.: October 2014
http://www.iusedtohatebirds.com/2014_10_01_archive.html
Thursday, October 30, 2014. They left in spring of 2013 and did not return until this morning. If only you could see the Lesser Goldfinch on the opposite side- finch fest! Haha you don't care. It's okay, I understand. As Seagull Steve wrote recently, "Bird bloggers talking about their lists is some of the most unreadable garbage imaginable. Anything more than a sentence about it is overkill.". After much discussion with a variety of birders it was decided the bird was actually a Clark's Grebe, and not th...
iusedtohatebirds.com
This is not a bird blog.: July 2014
http://www.iusedtohatebirds.com/2014_07_01_archive.html
Friday, July 25, 2014. Back to the woods! On Sunday afternoon we took the dogs on another hike, this time down a random forest road off of 1018. One of the first birds we found is one of my favorites:. I will never get sick of White-headed Woodpeckers. The day was turning out to be a lot cooler than the previous day, for which Jake was probably the most grateful. So damn cute. We hiked up to yet another view of North Sister. Yellow-rumped Warblers and Chipping Sparrows kept us company on the hike back.
iusedtohatebirds.com
This is not a bird blog.: February 2015
http://www.iusedtohatebirds.com/2015_02_01_archive.html
Saturday, February 28, 2015. Fort de Soto and Gulfport. Fort de Soto Park. This series of islands on the Gulf Coast is jam-backed with seriously rad birds. So many birds I visited three times while I was in Florida despite the $5 entrance fee. The first time was to meet up with my brother and his family when I first arrived, but since they were running late I had time to check out the beach for a little bit. Willets, Laughing Gulls, and Ring-billed Gulls dominated the scene initially. That far sand bar w...
iusedtohatebirds.com
This is not a bird blog.: March 2015
http://www.iusedtohatebirds.com/2015_03_01_archive.html
Monday, March 30, 2015. I have lived in Oregon for over 13 years and had never hiked the cape trail at Cape Lookout until yesterday. Shame on me. The only way I can make up for this oversight is to strongly encourage you to go out there now! Gray whales are migrating through and many hug the cape as they travel since it sticks out so far. Plus the trail is a delightfully muddy mess filled with blooming trilliums and violets. Varied Thrush collecting fees at the trailhead. The return trip was all about th...
