Adventures in Sweden (Part 2)

While in Sweden, I had the opportunity to bird with a local birding group. I did not bring my camera, so no photos, but it was a blast. The entire trip was conducted in Swedish, but thankfully I had studied up on the Swedish names of several common birds, so I was mostly able to understand when the leader pointed out birds. It was just a lot of fun being around fellow birders, regardless of the language difference – we all share a love of birds!

A highlight from that day was learning the song of the Garden Warbler. I kid you not, the bird sounds almost exactly like R2-D2. My mom and I called it the R2-D2 bird until I was able to actually identify it.

The next great excursion was our day trip to Uppsala (and Sigtuna on the way back). First, we stopped in Gamla (Old) Uppsala, to see the old church and the Viking burial mounds. We also ended up eating lunch there, attended by jackdaws, which are the common crows of Sweden.

Adventures in Sweden (Part 1)

After Iceland, we went to Stockholm, Sweden to visit with cousins. My grandparents were also with us, as it is through my grandma’s side of the family that we have Swedish relatives. I met cousins who I hadn’t seen since I was 4 years old, and some who I’d never met at all. It was incredible.

I have to say, the birding was also pretty great. Sure, we did a lot of sightseeing and spending time with family, but I could usually bird along the way. It helps that my family is aware of my obsession, and I am so grateful for their patience whenever I lagged behind to look at birds.

Opportunistic Birding in Iceland

One of the reasons why birding is my favorite hobby is that it is literally the most portable hobby in the world. You don’t actually need anything to bird, and the few basics that vastly improve the experience are easy to carry. Plus, you can bird anywhere as long as you maximize your opportunities.

Hence, all trips are birding trips, regardless of whether or not that was the original intent of the whole thing.

Malheur NWR

For the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to go out to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge with a group of fellow birders from Salem Audubon. Now, as this was back in May (I’m a hopeless procrastinator), I’m afraid I can’t get too detailed. Therefore, this will mostly be a photo dump with some helpful comments inserted here and there.

I highly enjoyed this trip, and would recommend visiting to both birders and non-birders alike. There is just so much natural beauty here.

Minto Brown Birding and Backyard Update

Hello! My apologies for the lack of updates; I will try post more frequently from now on. That out of the way, let’s move on to the birds.

On Wednesday, I went birding with an Salem Audubon group, lead by Tim and Barbara. The weather was nice, for the most part; we only got rained on for a short part of the outing. It was an excellent day, for we saw over 40 species.

My personal favorites of the trip were: The Great Blue Heron that posed beautifully (though of course I didn’t bring a camera!), the Belted Kingfishers that we saw and heard multiple times, the young  Green Heron that was on the hunt, the pair of Wilson’s Warblers that shouldn’t have have been there, the Hutton’s Vireo, the mysterious flycatcher (more about that later), and the 25 zillion Brown Creepers.

Some of the group also saw a Black-throated Gray Warbler; I wasn’t fast enough to turn and see it as it flew past. They aren’t a common species in the area, so there was much excitement.

The mystery flycatcher mentioned above was definitely an Empidonax species, but it was very difficult to identify. Tim and Barbara eventually decided that it was a Gray Flycatcher, which would be an accidental in our side of Oregon (they are usually found east of the Cascades). Edit: After checking my email I discovered that they determined it to be a juvenile Pacific-slope Flycatcher. Still, this shows just what ID problems these flycatchers can present.

One of the things I love about going on these group outings is that since we are all passionate about the same thing, the excitement is infectious, and we all have a blast.

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Backyard Update: The juncos have returned, and at least one or two hummers are sticking around. The chickadees and nuthatches are going through seed at an alarming rate, which means I need to refill the feeder… Right now!

Canoeing/Birding in Washington

I know it’s not exactly the Willamette Valley, but I went canoeing on Lake Washington. It was amazing! We rented canoes from the University of Washington. We saw a Great Blue Heron that was about 15 feet away, give or take a few; sitting in the front of the canoe, I saw it actually snatch a fish out of the water and gulp it down. We also saw several juvenile Mallards with no fear of humans; a darkish mystery duck that turned out to be a juvenile Green-winged Teal; a couple of American Coots; and a Bald Eagle sitting on the ground at the edge of a small island that was about 50 feet away from us. Unfortunately, none of us had waterproof cameras, so I’m afraid I don’t have any photos to show.

Additionally, I saw a couple of gulls at Seattle Center that stumped me. I have come to the conclusion that they are either Glaucous-winged Gulls, or  Herring X Glaucous or Glaucous-winged hybrids.

Outside of birding, we made a fun purchase at Pike Place Market – dark chocolate linguine!

Greetings!

Hello, my name is Jenna. I am an avid birder who lives in the Willamette Valley, in Oregon. I have been birding since 2010.

I will post my recent backyard sightings, anything seen on trips, profiles on random birds, and occasionally bits of information that I find interesting. I also hope to photograph as many birds as possible (that is, as many as cooperate) to share with you. If you have any bird (or other animal) questions, feel free to ask, and I will do my best to answer.