The Quarterly Journal of Oregon Field Ornithology
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$4.95 The quarterly journal of Oregon field ornithology Volume 20, Number 4, Winter 1994 Oregon's First Verified Rustic Bunting 111 Paul Sherrell The Records of the Oregon Bird Records Committee, 1993-1994 113 Harry Nehls Oregon's Next First State Record Bird 115 Bill Tice What will be Oregon's next state record bird?.. 118 Bill Tice Third Specimen of Nuttall's Woodpecker {Picoides nuttallit) in Oregon from Jackson County and Comments on Earlier Records ..119 M. Ralph Browning Stephen P. Cross Identifying Long-billed Curlews Along the Oregon Coast: A Caution 121 Range D. Bayer Birders Add Dollars to Local Economy 122 Douglas Staller Where do chickadees get fur for their nests? 122 Dennis P. Vroman North American Migration Count 123 Pat French Some Thoughts on Acorn Woodpeckers in Oregon 124 George A. Jobanek NEWS AND NOTES OB 20(4) 128 FIELDNOTES. .131 Eastern Oregon, Spring 1994 131 Steve Summers Western Oregon, Spring 1994 137 Gerard Lillie Western Oregon, Winter 1993-94 143 Supplement to OB 20(3): 104, Fall 1994 Jim Johnson COVER PHOTO Clark's Nutcracker at Crater Lake, 17 April 1994. Photo/Skip Russell. CENTER OFO membership form OFO Bookcase Complete checklist of Oregon birds Oregon s Christmas Bird Counts Oregon Birds is looking for material in these categories: Oregon Birds News Briefs on things of temporal importance, such as meetings, birding trips, The quarterly journal of Oregon field ornithology announcements, news items, etc. Articles are longer contributions dealing with identification, distribution, ecology, is a quarterly publication of Oregon Field OREGON BIRDS management, conservation, taxonomy, Ornithologists, an Oregon not-for-profit corporation. Membership in Oregon Field Ornithologists includes a subscription to Oregon Birds. behavior, biology, and historical aspects of ISSN 0890-2313 ornithology and birding in Oregon. Articles cite references (if any) at the end of the text. Editor Owen Schmidt Names and addresses of authors typically appear at the beginning of the text. Assistant Editor Sharon K. Blair Associate Editor Jim Johnson Short Notes are shorter communications dealing with the same subjects as articles. Short Notes typicallycit e no references, or at most a few in parentheses in the text. Names OREGON FIELD ORNITHOLOGISTS and addresses of authors appear at the end of President George A. Jobanek, Eugene (1994-95) the text Secretary David R. Copeland, Keizer (1994-95) Treasurer Barbara Combs, Eugene (1994-95) Bird Finding Guides "where to find a Past President Tim Shelmerdine, Aurora in Oregon" (for some of the rarer Directors Cindy Lawes, Beaverton (1994-96) birds) and "where to find birds in the Gerard Lillie, Portland (1993-95) area" (for some of the better spots). Don MacDonald, Corvallis (1993-95) Reviews for published material on Oregon Paul T. Sullivan, Beaverton (1994-96) birds or of interest to Oregon birders. Photographs of birds, especially photos OREGON BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE taken recently in Oregon. Color slide duplicates are preferred. Please label all Secretary Harry Nehls, Portland (1994) photos with photographer's name and address, bird identification, date and place the Members Tom Crabtree, Bend (1992-94) photo was taken. Photos will be returned; Jeff Gilligan, Portland (1993-95) contact the Editor for more information. Hendrik Herlyn, Corvallis (1992-94) Jim Johnson, Portland (1993-95) Deadline for the next issue of Oregon Birds — Nick Lethaby, Santa Clara, CA (1994-96) OB 21(1), Spring 1995 — is 20 January 1995. Larry McQueen, Eugene (1994-96) The next issue should get to you by the first week Craig Roberts, Tillamook (1993-95) of March 1995- Material can be submitted any Owen Schmidt, Portland (1994-96) time, and the sooner the better. Please send Steve Summers, Klamath Falls (1992-94) materials directly to the Editor, 3007 N.E. 32nd Avenue. Portland. OR 97212, 503-282-9403. Alternates Colin Dillingham, Brookings (1994) Richard Hoyer, Corvallis (1994) Oregon Birds Board of Editors: Kamal Islam, Corvallis (1994) David A. Anderson. Range D. Bayer, Charlie Bruce. Alan Contreras. Tom Crabtree, Jeff Gilligan. Steven G. Herman. Mike Houck, George A. Jobanek. Jim Johnson, CD. Littlefield. Roy Lowe. David B. Marshall, Harry Oregon Birds B. Nehls. Mark Stern, Paul Sullivan, Clarice Watson. OREGON BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE ©1994 OREGON FIELD ORNITHOLOGISTS P.O. Box 10373 Eugene, OR 97440 Printed on Recycled Paper. Oregon Birds 20(4): 110 Oregon's first Verified Rustic Bunting Paul Sherrell, 3528 Regent Avenue, Eugene, OR 97401 I first noticed the bird on or before ing as pictured in the National Geo• up for the day. Just as I was prepar• 31 March 1994. For a week the bird graphic Guide. Viewed from behind, ing to walk out the back door, the first reappeared irregularly for 2-5 second the back of the neck was very light. carload of Portland birders arrived. intervals. Any movement caused the It appeared that the eye stripes were Jeff Gilligan, Sheran Jones, Jim bird to fly into the lilac bush or into continuous with this area.There were Johnson and Gerard Lillie had hastily the trees near my feeder. The feeder some dark inclusions within this area. departed Portland upon hearing of is located under a filbert tree.To the No eye ring was evident at any time. the bunting. A telephone call later I east the yard is well covered by an By this time I had ruled out most had rearranged my departure for 3:00 apple tree and an Atlas cedar. A 10- of the local sparrows and longspurs. pm. Don Schrouder, a local birder, foot evergreen hedge is 20 feet to the This bird hopped; it did not walk like agreed to come by and open the south of the feeder with the house a longspur. I strongly suspected it was house until 6:00 pm and to open it 20 feet to the west.The area directly a Rustic Bunting. When I saw the again Sunday morning. above and to the southeast of the sharply pointed yellow bill with a For the next few days I received feeder is open to the sky.The ground dark culmen and wide white outer numerous telephone calls from behind the feeder is covered with tail feathers, I was certain of my iden• around the state which by mid-week bark mulch and in front of the feeder tification. At that time I called Alison became calls from around the United is a small dormant garden area cov• and Tom Mickel to confirm my iden• States. I received calls from Texas, ered with dried leaves.The bird usu• tification, which was completed Sat• Louisiana, and Washington D.C., in ally flew to a low perch for a few sec• urday morning 9 April. We called the addition to many from California (es• onds and then to another several feet Oregon Rare Bird Phone Network and pecially from the Bay Area), Washing• higher and then would be gone for ton, and Oregon. John and Judy hours. At no time was an effort McCluny from Annapolis, Mary• made to "chase the bird" through land, flew out specifically to see the yard. the bunting They were waiting pa• Gradually I accumulated a list of if tiently for me to open the house characteristics and developed a list at 6:45 am Saturday morning 16 of specific details to search for at 0 April. Bruce and Brenda Barrett, each new sighting.The first char• Ursula Atkinson, and Steve and acteristics that I noted were the Pamela Goodbred all from north• peaked head or crested appear• ern California were also present ance and the broad, distinctive fa• Saturday morning. Lee Snyder of cial stripes. The bird appeared St. Petersburg, Florida, as I recall, bright for a sparrow and the head was already in Oregon when he always caught my eye first. Chest• learned of the bunting's presence. nut colored flank streaking was ap• Fortunately all of those who ar• parent. Further sightings estab• rived early that day saw the bird. lished the fact that there was no For those arriving after noon, a central crown stripe and that the sighting could not be guaranteed. crown appeared "speckled" or The third weekend produced "variegated." There was no solid fewer and fewer sightings and to color field. A collar across the my knowledge the bird was not back of the neck appeared gray to seen after Sunday 17 April. brown depending upon the light .This During the time that the bunting collar was wide and had very distinct Rustic Bunting, 9 April 1994, Eugene, lane Co. was present, the color pattern of the Photo/Ship Russell. anterior and posterior borders. The head changed considerably, darken• collar strongly contrasted with both the word was out. Local birders ing in general.The bright, light head the head and the back. Careful obser• showed up within 10 minutes and that had originally caught my atten• vation showed a thin chestnut-col• soon I had 17 birders in my living tion now appeared rather dark. Spe• ored line bordering the anterior edge room staring out the window in per• cifically, the crown above the imme• of the collar. Additional observations fect synchrony. diate forehead darkened considerably as did the ear patch. The thin chest• showed reddish-pink legs and sup• As luck would have it, my week• nut border to the neck collar also ported my belief that the chestnut end was to be quite complicated. Due appeared to widen slightly. color of the flanks extended over the to a previous commitment I needed rump. The color, however, was not to leave Eugene by noon that day. By Behavioral characteristics of note solid but was broken up by irregular that time most of the local birders include the skittishness of the bird lighter lines much as shown in the who had arrived early had seen the especially in the vicinity of my feeder.