Prairie flowers, grasshopper & savannah sparrows, phalarope, juncos fledged in Corvallis natural areas

[Joel Geier]

The prairie restoration at Herbert Farm & Natural Area on the south edge of Corvallis is in peak bloom now.

A partial list of plants blooming today included Popcorn-flower, Rose Checkermallow, Camas, Oregon Sunshine (a.k.a. Woolly Sunflower), Elegant Tarweed (Madia elegans), Yellow Monkeyflower, Yarrow, and Short-spurred Plectritis.

A Grasshopper Sparrow was singing about 125 m SW of where the entrance road makes a sharp turn to the north (where there are some large boulders that one of the local Streaked Horned Lark males likes to use as a singing post). There are also plenty of Savannah Sparrows out there singing. I also heard two female Savannah Sparrows giving their soliciting calls, and saw one pair copulating.

A female Wilson's Phalarope was loitering near the south end of the swale which has been dammed to create a seasonal pond. From her behavior I'm guessing that she might have already completed laying eggs in a nearby nest, and is now standing guard while her mate incubates. Two male Mallards were also loitering on the same pond.

Later on at Witham Hill Natural Park in NW Corvallis, I checked back on an Oregon Junco nest that I happened across last week while doing surveys there. The nest -- on the ground among understory herbaceous plants about a foot from a big Sword Fern -- was empty but undisturbed. Apparently the young must have fledged successfully, leaving a bit of junco poop on the nest rim on their way out.

In the north part of the park, which has some big Douglas-firs, I heard a Hermit Warbler singing, and also saw a Common Raven fly in to perch in the mid-canopy, keeping a wary eye on me from about 50 m away. I wouldn't be surprised if a pair is nesting in that area.

Last week there was a sign near the trailhead warning of a Black Bear sighting in the area. Indeed, today I saw one bear track along the trail (apparently older than multiple sets of human & dog tracks on the same trail). On my way out, I saw a Hutton's Vireo that appeared to be foraging on the ground, rather than up in bushes where I usually see this species.

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Joel Geier

Tampico neighborhood north of Corvallis