$4.95 The quarterly journal of Oregon field ornithology Volume 21, Number 2, Summer 1995 Whooper Swan at Summer Lake Wildlife Area, Oregon, and California Wintering Areas 35 Martin J. St. Louis 1994 Oregon Listing Results 37 Jim Johnson Hotlines and Birding Talk by Computer 42 Jane Lufkin Davis The importance of collecting birds and preserving museum specimens 45 M. Ralph Browning Recording Natural Sounds 49 Eleanor A. Pugh More on the Oregon Atlas and Gazetteer 50 Matthew G. Hunter Same Lame Game 50 David R. Copeland Oregon Breeding Bird Atlas Project 51 PaulAdamus NEWS AND NOTES OB 21(1) 52 FIELDNOTES, Fall 1994 56 Eastern Oregon, Fall 1994 57 Paul T. Sullivan Western Oregon, Fall 1994 64 Jim Johnson COVER PHOTO Boreal Owl, TumaloMt, Deschutes Co., 14 September 1994. Photo/Tom Crabtree. CENTER OPO annual meeting and convention, La Grande • OFOfall birding weekend, Malheur • OPO membership form • OPO Bookcase • Checklist of Oregon birds • Oregon Rare Bird Phone Network Oregon Birds is looking for Oregon Birds material in these categories: News Briefs on things of temporal Tlie quarterlyjournal of'Oregonfield ornithology importance, such as meetings, birding trips, announcements, news items, etc. Articles are longer contributions dealing OREGON BIRDS is a quarterly publication of Oregon Field with identification, distribution, ecology, 2~ :-z :g,sts. an Oregon not-for-profit corporation. Membership in management, conservation, taxonomy, : - eld Ornithologists includes a subscription to Oregon Birds. behavior, biology, and historical aspects of SSN 0890-2313 ornithology and burjmg in Oregon. Articles cite references (i any); Editor Owen Schmidt Assistant Editor Sharon K. Blair appear at I Associate Editor Jim Johnson Short OREGON FIELD ORNITHOLOGISTS President George A. Jobanek, Eugene (1994-95) •^a Names Secretary David R. Copeland, Keizer (1994-95) y y.i end of Treasurer Barbara Combs, Eugene (1994-95) Past President Tim Shelmerdine, Aurora Bird Find: > 'where to find a Directors Cindy Lawes, Beaverton (1994-96) some of the rarer Gerard Lillie, Portland (1993-95) md birds in the Don MacDonald, Corvallis (1993-95) ofthebetterspots). Paul T. Sullivan, Beaverton (1994-96) Review » alerial on Oregon • birders. OREGON BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE Photographs especially photos taken recenth •L Color slide Secretary Harry Nehls, Portland (1994) iy .-• • Please label all ::::< : - tier's name and Members Tom Crabtree, Bend (1995-97) date and place the Colin Dillingham, Brookings (1995-97) will be returned; Jeff Gilligan, Portland (1993-95) Jim Johnson, Portland (1993-95) information. Nick Lethaby, Santa Clara, CA (1994-96) - f. ; i-sjt •: >i Birds — Larry McQueen, Eugene (1994-96) OB21(3)-Faf tm—«»July 1995. The next Craig Roberts, Tillamook (1993-95) issue sr..:o: 2?- 1 jm it first week of Skip Russell, Beaverton (1995-97 Ser-i~:e". ii- :.y :<i submitted any Owen Schmidt, Portland (1994-96) y : :v ,« •-- • • \.^r send materials dnerJK to ir Eifitor. }fXT S E 32nd Alternates Richard Hoyer, Corvallis (1995) Kamal Islam, Corvallis (1995) Avenue. Pordani OR Till 505-282-9403- Gerard Lillie, Portland (1995) Oregon Birds Board of Editors Ron Maertz, Glide (1995) David .A. Anderson Range D. Bayer, Charlie Kevin Spencer, Tulelake CA (1995) Bruce, Tom Crabtree. Stephen Dowlan. 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 ©1995 OREGON FIELD ORNITHOLOGISTS P.O. Box 10373 Eugene, OR 97440 Printed on Recycled Paper. Whooper Swan at Summer Lake Wfldlife Area, Oregon, and California Wintering Areas Martin J. St. Louis, 36981 Highway 31, Summer Lake, OR 97640 Oregon's first verified record of a Lake, I was able to watch the Whooper was occasionally observed Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) oc• Whooper for extended periods of alone, on numerous occasions it was curred at the Summer Lake Wildlife time. The bird seemed to be associ• in the company of this uniquely Area (SLWA) from 10 November ated with a Tundra Swan and ap• marked Tundra Swan. through 3 December 1994.The bird peared to form a loose pair bond with After remaining through several was first observed in the morning by this bird, sometimes exhibiting a tri• harsh weather events that froze Jacks R. Madigan at Jacks Lake while con• umph ceremony display of sorts af• Lake and all but a few small holes in ducting a weekly bird inventory on ter encounters with other swans the Gold Dike Impoundment during the Wildlife Area. Immediately after (both Tundras and Trumpeters). The late November, the Whooper was last the observation, the Oregon Rare Bird Tundra associated with the Whooper observed at SLWA on 3 December Phone Network was notified and dur• was somewhat unique in that the lore 1995. Searches of the entire SLWA on ing the following 3 weeks over 150 spot on the bill was very pale yellow 8 December and 20 December (Sum• observers came to view the bird, (appearing off-white) and a charac• mer Lake Christmas Bird Count) some from as far away as the East teristic almond shape. While the found 789 and 996 total swans re• Coast and Texas. spectively, but the Whooper was not Whooper Swan, Summer Lake Wildlife Management The swan usually remained on detected. Area, 21 November 1994. Photo/Harry Nehls. Jacks Lake and The Whooper was readily ob• Swan at SLWA served from the during the win• Wildlife Area ter of 1994 will headquarters. On become Ore• several occasions gon's first veri• though, over-anx• fied record of the ious observers species, al• disturbed the bird though this is not by attempting to the first observa• approach closer. tion of the spe• When flushed, cies at this loca• the Whooper — tion or else• usually in the where in the Pa• company of Tun• cific Flyway. dra (C. c. colum- In 1991, SLWA bianus) and became involved Trumpeter (C. with aTrumpeter buccinator} Swan range ex• Swans and other pansion project waterfowl — and intensive flew to the near• monitoring of by Gold Dike Im- swans from fall poundment through spring where it remain• now occurs year• ed secure from ly. Since July disturbance, but 1991, over 500 difficult to ob• trumpeter swans serve. Usually, were neck-col• within a day or 2, lared and translo• the swan re• cated to Summer turned to Jacks Lake from Mal• Lake and would heur National frequently remain Wildlife Refuge there through the (NWR) in Or• night. egon, Red Rock While at Jacks Lakes NWR in Oregon Birds 21(2): 35 Montana, and Harriman State Park in at the Lower Klamath NWR, Siskiyou day. Idaho. Monitoring neck-collared County, California from late Novem• During winter 1993,T.Albro, from swans demanded the search of all ber 1991 through February 1992. Sacramento NWR, California, re• swan flocks and has resulted in the On 9 March 1992 a Whooper Swan ported a Whooper Swan in a large observation many unmarked Trum• was reported at the Work Road Pond, flock ofTundra Swans at the junction peter and Bewick's (C. c. bewickii) SLWA, by S. Love. I could not locate of Richvale Rd. and Hwy 99, in Butte Swans, and 3 Whooper Swans. Usu• this bird on the following day for con• ally these sightings were of a single firmation. occurrence and could not be verified No observations were recorded by multiple observers or by photo• from fall 1992 through spring 1993, graph, or they occurred in refuge but on 24 November 19931 observed Head shot! Below, 3 views of the Whooper Swan on portions of the Wildlife Area where a Whooper Swan in a mixed flock of Jacks Lake, from Highway 31, captured through a public access is not permitted. Tundra and Trumpeter Swans at Questar telescope, on Hi-8 video, processed through As many may recall, a Whooper Schoolhouse Lake, SLWA. As in the Adobe Photoshop on a personal computer. It No• Swan was observed (many observers) past, this bird was only observed 1 vember 1994. Photos/Owen Schmidt Oregon Birds 21 (2): 36 County, California, on 9 and 10 De• cember. Eleven days later, on 21 De• 1994 Oregon listing Results cember a Whooper Swan was ob• served at the Howard Slough Wildlife Area, Butte County, near the earlier Jim Johnson, 3244 N.E. Brazee Street, OR 97212 sighting by the same observer. And finally, during a survey of wintering As most of you already know, Steve Summers moved to Utah last year. As swans in California, a Whooper compiler of the listing results since 1981, he maintained a level of dedication within a large flock of tundra swans and accuracy that was commendable. Steve left some big shoes to fill, but so was reported by R. Drewien and R. far they fit pretty well. Those of us who know Steve hope he doesn't stay Shea (Wildlife Research Institute, away too long. University of Idaho) 5 miles south of The anticipated publication of the seventh edition of the American Orni• 01ivehurst,Yuba County. thologists' Union Check-List did not occur in 1994, so we will look for it this year. It will more than likely contain some additional Oregon species result• On 17 January 19951 received a call ing from splits. Stay tuned. Many birders did add some new birds to their from T. Albro, reporting an observa• state lists, however, with the appearance of some ultra-vagrants including tion of Whooper Swan in Colusa Rustic Bunting, Eastern Wood-Pewee, and Whooper Swan. County, California, about 10 miles south of the winter 1993 observa• Congratulations are in order to Donna Lusthoff for reaching 400 on her tions. Unsolicited, he indicated that state list. She also achieved 100+ birds in every county as did Paul Sullivan.