I’m no vulture

November 24, 2023

In case you didn’t read the final post of our last journal or glossed over it just looking at the photos or just forgot, I’ll remind you of what exceptional senses of sight or smell the vultures have, enabling them to detect their rotting prey while soaring on an updraft thousands of feet above the ground.

It’s startling to realize it’s pointless trying to quietly close in on these guys, like I did with this guy in The Dalles last summer. He probably smelled me a mile away.

My ex-stepson Michael used to call me an old buzzard but I’m no vulture, that’s for sure. My eyesight is still correctable to 20/20, but I know it’s not as sharp as that of many others or as it was when I was younger, much less as that of a griffon vulture. And I have no sense of smell at all, presumbly from a congenital birth defect. If I were a vulture I’d probably die of starvation. That, or of a broken neck from crashing into a cliff or tree because I needed to soar so near to the ground, eyes down searching for a meal.

For that matter my hearing isn’t so great either, with my now-chronic tinnitus and the loss of sensitivity at the higher frequencies. All of these deficiencies sum up to me being a pretty weak birder, unable to detect much less identify secretive birds far above in the canopy or hiding in thickets or camouflaged on tree trunks. I’ll never be one of those ornithological giants that can step into a woods and come out with a dizzyingly long species list to show for it, or see a thousand species in a big year.

Which is fine, and doesn't prevent me thoroughly enjoying the birding experience that’s in my range. Just as I’ll never be able to pull a double century or race up Mont Ventoux either, but I still love to ride.

We’ve only got four more days left here, but the weather looks to be cold but fair on all of them. Might as well keep making the rounds and hope to get lucky.

The plan today is to walk the trail through Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, which I noticed from the bike path was covered with waterfowl a few days ago. I’ve wanted to come back and see it from the backside, and today’s the perfect day for it because I’m thinking I should take another day off the bike anyway and I’ll be in the neighborhood with the car picking up Rachael’s bike from Sellwood Cycle.

First though, I drive Rachael over to a running shop where they carry a new device she’s very excited about: the Garmin Forerunner 55, a replacement for her workout watch that recently crapped out. It has a gazillion functions: connects to her GPS and phone, monitors her activity in any number of ways, uploads her tracks to RideWithGPS when she’s done her normal 13 miles for the day, generates safety alerts, even tells the time.

After that I drop her off at the waterfront just north of Willamette Park so she can try out a different walk I’ve mapped out for her: south along the river to and then across the Sellwood Bridge, north through Sellwood Park, along the same path through Oaks Bottom that I’m planning for myself, and then north to Tilikum Crossing for her normal route home from that direction. Its a route I’m enthusiastic about for her - she’s never seen the backside of the Oaks Bottom refuge, and I sure she’ll appreciate the well-spaced public restrooms in Willamette and Sellwood Parks as well.

Later, I’ll get an earful about her walk when we meet up - which, amazingly enough, is immediately when I open the door from the parking garage to the first floor of our building. Were both flabbergasted to find ourselves facing each other, as she had just entered the front door of the building seconds earlier.

Her walk though gets decidedly mixed reviews. As I predicted, she loved walking through the refuge admiring all of the waterfowl out today. She was quite unhappy to find the restroom in Sellwood Park locked up though, and was quite desperate by the time she made it back to downtown where she left the waterfront to find the nearest coffee shop she could stop in at. And she didn’t really care for the walk between Oaks Bottom and Tilikum Crossing either. If a walk like this has a repeat it would be much better to let her reverse it by dropping her off at the north end of the refuge and walk back up the west side.

Rachael ‘s walk.

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After dropping off Rachael I drove across the bridge and park the Raven near the south end of Sellwood Park. My plan is to take my walk first and pick up the bike afterwards so I won’t need to worry about its security in the back of the car. When I get out, a passing geezer interrupted me to beg a question: What does A RAVEN mean, he wants to know. It’s black, I quickly reply, not thinking to add that I like birds too. He sagely nods his head and walks on.

As I hoped, it’s much more interesting walking through the refuge now than it was in midsummer when it was hot, stark, and there were hardly any birds on the water at all. Today there are many about, including the greatest concentration of common mergansers I’ve ever seen - there must be nearly a hundred of them crowded into a small cove near the shore. A number of other species are on the water as well today: gadwalls, coots, shovelers, buffleheads, hooded mergansers, grebes; and closer in are a few herons and great egrets. I’m sure with a bigger lens I’d find teals, pintails and others out there too.

Nothing new though, which I didn’t really expect anyway. What I’m really hoping for is something new near the bird feeders in the woods beyond the north end of the lake. It’s often a good spot for birds too, and today I do see a number of chickadees; but I think most of the other species I’ve seen here - bushtits, downy woodpeckers, a warbler once - are being discouraged by the three grey squirrels that are dominating the space. And even though I’ve had my eyes and ears alert all along, I’ve yet to see a creeper or nuthatch up above.

Still, it’s a great time to be out. And the egrets today are especially wonderful. I had a hard time narrowing down to just three poses to include here.

I almost didn’t bother taking a shot of this California scrub jay, since I’d just posted one yesterday. I’m glad I did though. I like how the flecks of blue sky breaking through the thicket complement his colors.

They’re so common, its easy to overlook what beautiful birds mallards are.

At first I thought this could be a red-necked grebe, but he’s too small. It’s a pied-billed, with his neck extended to look larger. I hadn’t noticed before that some of the non-breeding birds have cinnamon coloring like this.

One of the steam engines from The Rail Heritage Center, on the holiday run between there and the amusement park. This is the Polson Logging Company No. 2, built in 1912

A small shoveler’s circle. I recognized these from far off by their characteristic behavior, stirring up a whirlpool to bring up a meal.

The largest merganser convention I can remember seeing. This is maybe a fourth of the gang.

There were a half dozen of these great egrets close in to shore, not much bothered by the folks lined up on the trail aiming their lenses their way.

Another look at the same guy. I’m picking on him because he’s exposed and in a good light.

On the way back to the car I stop gain at one of the best lookouts over the lake, hoping that that pretty hooded merganser will drift by again and give me a better look than the fleeting one I got before. While I’m there another man with his camera out sidles up and asks me about a couple of ducks drifting by. Gadwalls, I say with confidence, pleased to know the answer - I wouldn’t have been sure myself a year ago.

He then asks about my camera, in somewhat broken English - he’s Korean I think, or possibly Chinese (really, I’m better on birds than people). Then he pulls his out and shows me this fine picture of a hooded mergansers, much better than the average one I got myself a few hours earlier.

An almost good shot of a hooded merganser. I’d have been quite happy with it if he didn’t turn his head just as I snapped. After that he’s quickly gone, buried in the thicket.

A few minutes later I’m arrested by a small scrum on the trail, with everyone staring or aiming their optics up a tree behind me. So I turn and look too of course, doing my best to see the owl they claim is up there. I try with my bespectacled eyes first, and then try panning the tree with my zoomed-out camera. Nothing. One problem, as I’ll realize later, is that I’m looking for something like that barred owl I saw on Balch Creek last summer, perched atop a snag.

And then, here comes my Korean friend up the path. He stops by me, turns around, looks up, and very quickly announces there he is. He gets out his camera, takes his snap, and then lends an eye to help me locate him myself. That tree. Look up to the V, and follow the branch up. No, not that branch, the other one. There. You’ve got him. He’s standing a few feet behind my back, seeing what I’m seeing by looking through my camera over my shoulder. Now this guy, he’s got the eyes of a real birder.

And am I ever grateful and appreciative for his help! I’ve never seen a screech owl in the wild, and I’m sure I’d never have seen him on my own, a little guy safely buried inside of his little knothole. Without my camera zoomed on it, I can barely even make out the knothole itself. It makes my day seeing him and just knowing he’s out here. And now that I know what to look at, maybe I’ll spot another one someday.

From the climb back up the bluff there’s a nice view back across the amusement park to the south waterfront.

In the peaceful northern end of Sellwood Park, thankfully out of earshot of the pickleball court.

So another respectable day: 20 species, only one spoon-fed. Together with yesterday’s outing on Sauvie Island, that’s 30 species in two days. Not too bad for an old buzzard.
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Today’s take (20): Northern shoveler, American crow, black capped chickadee, spotted towhee, California scrub jay, bald eagle, hooded merganser, common merganser, mallard, great blue heron, dark eyed junco, gadwall, belted kingfisher, western screech owl, bald eagle, pied billed grebe, American coot, great egret, northern flicker, bufflehead.

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Wendy BeaudoinScott and Rachael,
I have been enjoying the lovely weather in Tucson for the month of November. I wondered if our paths might cross again as they did last year, but I see you won’t be arriving until mid-December. Perhaps next year. I will continue to follow and enjoy your travels as you head south.
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1 year ago

Kelly IniguezI think I saw a bobcat this morning. I got a good look at his head, broad, with wide, black tipped ears. I didn't see much of the body, as he disappeared right back into the wash as soon as he sighted me. I rode through the middle of some coyotes talking. If I'd stopped, I think I could have seen them on both sides of me. As it was, I saw one.

There's a big hawk (Coopers?) that hangs out right on the fence next to the path in front of Far Horizons RV Park on Broadway. He was in attendance today.

The phone said 20-30 minutes of light rain this morning. That was a lie! I got just far enough from the house to be committed, and it rained for five hours straight. I wasn't smart enough to come home. It took a half hour to clean the bike up, and I'm sure I missed spots.
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1 year ago

Bill ShaneyfeltI can well identify with your waning senses. My tinnitus has been a life long hereditary problem... I only know as far back as my great grandmother, but it deteriorated enough by the time I was 21 to keep me from being drafted... and from being a pilot, which I'd have wanted. Eyes were once far better than 20/20. Even with advancing cataracts, I am still near that level. Hearing though is shot. About 3 years ago, with my most recent hearing aids, they said I had 85% loss and they have nothing to help further loss, which I definitely notice. Birding by ear is completely out. If only I could find a way to make those thousands of cicadas and crickets shut up!

Good to see that you are not letting it stop you! I will keep on until unable to walk or ride, and maybe by then use a fancy mobility hotrod.

Nice owl shot, even if assisted.
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1 year ago

Rachael AndersonTo Wendy BeaudoinI’m sorry we will miss you! We really enjoyed getting together for lunch! I don’t know if I told you this, but I ended up getting some bike shoes similar to yours and they have been great!
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1 year ago

Wendy BeaudoinTo Rachael AndersonI smile thinking of you trying my shoes on that day! I’m glad you found some you like.
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1 year ago

Rachael AndersonTo Kelly IniguezSorry you got rained on, I impressed you kept going. I can’t wait to get to Tucson! We’ll arrive on December 17 and leave on January 28. I hope we can get together with both you and Jacinto! We owe you a nice dinner for rescuing us when we lost Scott’s wallet.
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1 year ago