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Central Oregon Birds: Mountain Specialties [1]

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Date: 2023-01-13

Male White-headed Woodpecker, a rare western mountain bird, at the suet feeder in our Central Oregon yard.

I love having bird feeders in the yard. No traipsing around hunting birds in the brush; I just wait until the birds come to the feeders and then enjoy watching and photographing them at my leisure.

My husband and I lived in the Cascade Mountains of Central Oregon, near the resort community of Sunriver, for six years. We had a one-acre ponderosa and lodgepole pine woodlot near the Deschutes National Forest, at an elevation of 4000 feet. Lots of forest birds came to our feeders, during both cold snowy winters and hot dry summers.

Sunflower seed and suet bird feeders in our pine woodlot, with three Mountain Chickadees inspecting the offerings.

Here are some western mountain specialties that I observed:

The White-headed Woodpecker is endemic to the Cascade and Sierra mountain ranges of the West Coast. Birders come from all over to check it off their life lists. I didn’t think I would ever see this rare species, which feeds on pine seeds and pine bark insects. But one day a male woodpecker showed up to check out the suet. And then, the suet apparently judged acceptable, his mate and hungry fledgling followed. Mom shut up her nagging offspring with beakfuls of suet.

Mom White-headed Woodpecker giving her fledgling some suet.

Chatty bands of Mountain Chickadees were ubiquitous year-round. These chickadees have distinctive white head stripes and are widespread in dry western forests.

Mountain Chickadee at the suet feeder.

The cutest feeder birds, by far, were Pygmy Nuthatches, found in mature pine forests of the western United States. A family group often swarmed the suet feeder together, providing endless entertainment. The family huddles together in tree cavities at night to keep their tiny bodies warm.

Pygmy Nuthatches feeding on suet.

And then there were surprises. One fall, before the winter snows began, our neighborhood was mobbed with a large flock of Clark’s Nutcrackers. This species in the crow family was noted in 1806 during the Lewis and Clark expedition; a specimen they collected was described and named for William Clark by the pioneering ornithologist Alexander Wilson. (Lewis also got a named bird: the Lewis’s Woodpecker.)

Clark’s Nutcracker, a type of crow.

From Cornell’s All about Birds: ‘High in the mountains of the West, gray-and-black Clark’s Nutcrackers swoop among wizened pine trees, flashing white in the tail and wing. They use their dagger-like bills to rip into pine cones and pull out large seeds, which they stash in a pouch under their tongue and then carry away to bury for the winter. Each bird buries tens of thousands of seeds each summer and remembers the locations of most of them. Seeds they don’t retrieve play a crucial role in growing new pine forests.’ https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Clarks_Nutcracker

The nutcrackers hung around our yard for over a week, apparently picking out ponderosa pine seeds from the forest litter. According to neighbors, having such a large flock of these birds in our area was unusual. Clark’s Nutcrackers are known to migrate down from higher mountain elevations in fall.

A part of the large flock of Clark’s Nutcrackers hunting pine seeds in our yard.

They were bold. One even hopped right up to my feet to stare at me as I was taking pictures!

The impertinent Clark’s Nutcracker staring at me.

If you liked this diary, I have photos to share of other birds at our Central Oregon feeders. I certainly enjoy Daily Bucket diaries featuring wildlife, especially our feathered friends.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/13/2147111/-Central-Oregon-Birds-Mountain-Specialties

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