Tryon Creek Naturalist Notes

Hello All,

This morning, we had our final Friday Morning Bird Walk at Tryon Creek State Park, and boy was it quiet!  It is officially summer as far as the birds are concerned.  We were very excited to have two Pacific-slope Flycatchers, a Brown Creeper, and a few Pacific Wrens singing.  That’s right, Pacific Wren, a life bird for us all!  Thanks, AOU!  Recently, the American Ornithologists’ Union decided to split the Winter Wren into the eastern bird, which will keep its old name Winter Wren, and the western bird, the new and exciting Pacific Wren!  The split was based on a difference in song, overall coloration, and the fact that these two birds do not hybridize where their ranges overlap.

Perhaps our most exciting find of the morning was our family of Cooper’s Hawks on Old Main Trail near Red Fox Trail.  We had at least one adult and three juveniles.  I saw one of these birds a couple of weeks ago and swore it was a Sharp-shinned Hawk.  However, everything I am told about these two species suggests that Sharp-shinneds don’t typically breed in the lowlands, and that Cooper’s would be quite appropriate during this season.  Initially, I based my identification on size and tail shape, which is very haphazard.  When we saw the birds today, we got fairly satisfying looks at them in the canopy.  They called often (baby calls), chased a Douglas’ Squirrel (unsuccessfully), and perched in the open from time to time.  I again observed short, square tails and a smallish head.  I also felt that the birds were roughly the size of Band-tailed Pigeons.  Other members of our group felt that they were larger.  It’s also worth noting that we had an obvious adult Cooper’s Hawk near this location about two weeks ago.  Finally, as if we don’t have enough information already, in flight, the birds’ heads seemed to project well out in front of the leading edges of their wings.  This, along with the adult seen earlier and the likelihood of Cooper’s Hawk breeding in the park, sealed the deal for me.  Please grab your nearest field guide and reference these two species to enter our world of confusion.

We’ll hold our final Saturday Wapato Access Greenway walk tomorrow morning (7/31) at 7am.  Join us if you can!

Rhett W.

After my last post about the barred owls we saw on our first Wednesday evening walk of the summer (June 30), West Tryon Creek neighbor Rob Platt emailed me these lovely photos he took in his own backyard, just 20 feet from his deck!

It’s possible that these owls are the same ones we’ve been seeing in the west region of the park, near a nest site at the intersection of Cedar Trail and West Horse Loop. But they could also belong to a different family – it’s difficult to know for sure. At any rate, it’s exciting to these owls are thriving in our park and neighborhoods.

Many thanks to Rob for sharing these images with us!

In related news, on next week’s guided Wednesday evening walk (August 4th) we restart the theme cycle and begin again with owls! Join us from 7 to 8:30 p.m. as we learn all about our night-flying neighbors.

Happy hiking!
Amelia Jensen
Interpretive Ed. Intern
Friends of Tryon Creek State Park

ALERT! Morning Bird Walks at Tryon Creek State Park are being extended throughout August!  Walks will no longer take place on Fridays.  Instead, Tryon Creek walks will replace Wapato Access Greenway walks on Saturdays from 7-9am.  We will still conduct our final July walks at both Tryon and Wapato (7/30, 7/31).

Wapato Access Greenway 7/24:

Our group consisted of five this morning at Wapato Access Greenway. The weather was cool, the mosquitos were challenging, and the birds were great! We located 40 species of bird, one species of reptile, and three species of amphiban. Rough estimates of our findings are as follows.

- Pied-billed Grebe (2 adults, 2 juveniles)

- Great Blue Heron (5)

- Wood Duck (4 adults, 10 juveniles)

- Mallard (7 adults, 15 juveniles)

- Hooded Merganser (1 female)

- Turkey Vulture (1 – overhead)

- Red-tailed Hawk (1 adult, 2 juveniles)

- Sora (2 – one juvenile seen standing still in Virginia Lake)

- American Coot (1)

- Mourning Dove (1 – heard only)

- Eurasian Collared-Dove (3)

- Vaux’s Swift (5)

- Rufous Hummingbird (1 female)

- Northern Flicker (5)

- Downy Woopecker (1)

- Western Wood-Pewee (3 – heard only, still singing)

- Willow Flycatcher (2 – heard and seen, still singing)

- Pacific-slope Flycatcher (2 – heard and seen, still singing)

- Steller’s Jay (3)

- American Crow (2)

- Tree Swallow (1)

- Barn Swallow (3)

- Purple Martin (2 adult males, 1 female or juvenile)

- Black-capped Chickadee (6)

- Bushtit (4 – feeding young)

- White-breasted Nuthatch (2)

- Red-breasted Nuthatch (3)

- Brown Creeper (1 – still singing)

- Bewick’s Wren (1 – still singing)

- American Robin (10+ – feeding young)

- Swainson’s Thrush (6 – still singing)

- Cedar Waxwing (8+)

- European Starling (8+)

- Common Yellowthroat (8 – still singing)

- Spotted Towhee (7 – still singing)

- Song Sparrow (8 – one mimicking House Wren?)

- Red-winged Blackbird (2)

- Brown-headed Cowbird (2)

- Purple Finch (1 – heard only, still singing)

- American Goldfinch (2)

- Pacific Treefrog (7+)

- Red-legged Frog (1)

- Bullfrog (3)

- Garter Snake (4 – at least one Northwestern)

Great Blue Heron with Mallards by Adam Simpson

Cedar Waxwing by Adam Simpson

Northwestern Garter Snake by Adam Simpson

Rufous Hummingbird (female) by Adam Simpson

Western Scrub-Jay (juvenile) by Adam Simpson

Tryon Creek SNA 7/23:

Tryon Creek’s Morning Bird Walk was fairly productive. Our group consisted of three, and while the birding was on the slower side, we were able to thoroughly explore several songs and calls. Also, while one member of our group had heard Pacific-slope Flycatcher on several occasions, they were able to see it for the very first time. Rough estimates of our findings are as follows:

- Red-tailed Hawk (1 – Bike Path)

- Vaux’s Swift (1 – Bike Path)

- Anna’s Hummingbird (1 – Cedar Trail, very unusual in Tryon’s interior)

- Northern Flicker (3 – Bike Path)

- Hairy Woopecker (1 – Iron Mt. Trail)

- Pileated Woodpecker (2 – Iron Mt. Trail and Cedar Trail, heard only)

- Pacific-slope Flycatcher (7 – everywhere, still singing, 2 seen chasing each other)

- Steller’s Jay (3 – Bike Path and Cedar Trail)

- American Crow (1 – Bike Path)

- Violet-green Swallow (3 – Bike Path)

- Black-capped Chickadee (7 – everywhere)

- Chestnut-backed Chickadee (1 – Middle Creek Trail)

- Bushtit (4 – Bike Path)

- Red-breasted Nuthatch (2 – Main Parking and Cedar Trail)

- Brown Creeper (7 – everywhere, still singing)

- Bewick’s Wren (1 – Bike Path)

- Winter Wren (7 – everywhere, 2 still singing, all others calling)

- American Robin (5 – everywhere)

- Swainson’s Thrush (2 – Cedar Trial, “whit” note only)

- Cedar Waxwing (7 – Bike Path and Iron Mt. Trail)

- Western Tanager (1 – Bike Path)

- Spotted Towhee (3 – Bike Path)

- Song Sparrow (7 – everywhere, no singing, call only)

- Lesser Goldfinch (1 – Bike Path)

Can anyone name this mushroom?

How about this flower?

European Black Slug

This is an easy one.

Excellent birding, all! Join us again!

Rhett Wilkins

Naturalist – well…actually…Interpretive Intern

Well, our third Wapato Morning Bird Walk turned out to be fairly productive.  Our group consisted of 5, and while we located a good number of species, the highlight was absolutely an Opossum that played a convincing death.  That is, until we noticed its plump, little belly moving up and down.  We came upon it right along side the trail as it lay perfectly still, leading us to assume it was deceased.  Sadness filled the air for only a moment before closer inspection revealed its survival tactic.  The Opossum has an involuntary, chemical response to stress or fear, causing it to temporarily lay unconscious.  This reduces the chance of triggering a predator’s chase-reflex and hopes to lengthen the Opossum’s lifespan.  In any case, this individual’s chemistry was working just fine.  We watched it for a few minutes (some of us waited a bit longer) but it never awoke.

Opossum Playing Possum

still playing

Along our walk, we located 41 species of birds, an Opossum and a Brush Rabbit, several Pacific Treefrogs, a few Bullfrogs, a couple of Garter Snakes, a slug here and again, and a very impressive snail.

Pacific Treefrog

Pacific Treefrog by Dorothy B.K.

Bullfrog by Dorothy B.K.

Oregon Forestsnail

Here is a conservative estimate of our findings:

- Great Blue Heron (4)

- Wood Duck (7)

- Mallard (8+)

- Sora (2 – heard only)

- Band-tailed Pigeon (1)

- Mourning Dove (2)

- Belted Kingfisher (1)

- Rufous Hummingbird (2)

- Northern Flicker (3)

- Downy Woodpecker (2)

- Pileated Woodpecker (1 – heard only)

- Western Wood-Pewee (2)

- Pacific-slope Flycatcher (1 – heard only)

- Steller’s Jay (10+)

- Western Scrub-Jay (5+)

- American Crow (5)

- Tree Swallow (5+)

- Barn Swallow (5+)

- Bank Swallow (1)

- Black-capped Chickadee (7+)

- Chestnut-backed Chickadee (5)

- Bushtit (3)

- White-breasted Nuthatch (1 – heard only)

- Red-breasted Nuthatch (5)

- Bewick’s Wren (2 – heard only)

- Winter Wren (2 – heard only)

- American Robin (10+)

- Swainson’s Thrush (10+)

- Cedar Waxwing (10+)

- European Starling (5+)

- Black-throated Gray Warbler (2)

- Common Yellowthroat (5+)

- Western Tanager (2 – heard only)

- Lazuli Bunting (2)

- Black-headed Grosbeak (5)

- Spotted Towhee (7)

- Song Sparrow (6)

- Red-winged Blackbird (1 – heard only)

- Brown-headed Cowbird (3)

- Purple Finch (1 – heard only)

- American Goldfinch (3)

- Opossum (1)

- Brush Rabbit (1)

- Pacific Treefrog (countless)

- Bullfrog (several)

- Garter Snake (4 – Northwestern or Common)

- Oregon Forestnail (1)

- European Black Slug (2)

- Mosquito (5 billion)

Good birding!

Rhett W.

Hi All,

We had another Morning Bird Walk at Tryon Creek today.  All in all, it was fairly quiet.  This enabled the one species that was singing its head off to be heard really well – Pacific-slope Flycatcher.  We were even fortunate enough to see two of them chasing each other around the canopy for a while.  We combed the Cedar Trail and Old Main before resorting to the Bike Path in hopes of diversity.  It was on the Bike Path that our highlights were found.  First, we ran into a very large and healthy-looking Black-tailed Deer (female), which was a first for me at Tryon Creek.  We then heard and saw a pair of Western Tanagers followed by a perched-up Band-tailed Pigeon.  A rough estimate of the species found on our walk is as follows:

- Northern Flicker (2)

- Downy Woodpecker (1)

- Pileated Woodpecker (1 – heard just before walk)

- Pacific-slope Flycatcher (8)

- Warbling Vireo (1)

- Steller’s Jay (1)

- American Crow (2)

- Swallow (1 – Violet-green or Tree?)

- Black-capped Chickadee (8+)

- Bushtit (1)

- Red-breasted Nuthatch (1 – heard just before walk)

- Brown Creeper (5+)

- Winter Wren (10)

- American Robin (3)

- Swainson’s Thrush (4)

- Black-throated Gray Warbler (2)

- Western Tanager (2)

- Spotted Towhee (4)

- Song Sparrow (5)

It was very surprising not to locate Wilson’s Warbler this morning, and again, the park was unusually quiet.  Perhaps the season is turning.

Join us at Wapato tomorrow (Sat.) morning at 7am if you can!

Rhett W.