Re: red tail hawks in Woodland Park

[ANNE SMITH]

Last week I was with Don Boucher In Avery Park. The group heard a red tail hawk right after seeing a stellar jay.  Don told us stellar jays are quite good at mimicking Hawks, especially red tail hawks.

Anne Smith

 

Steller's Jays are excellent mimics that imitate various sounds to their advantage, including the calls of other birds like hawks, the vocalizations of mammals such as squirrels and dogs, and even mechanical noises like those from water sprinklers or car alarms. They use these mimicry skills primarily to scare away competitors and claim food sources or to defend their territory. 
 

What Steller's Jays Mimic

• Bird Calls:

  They are particularly adept at imitating calls of other birds, notably Red-tailed Hawks, which effectively scatters other birds from a food source. 

 

On 09/01/2025 2:19 PM PDT mid-vall...@googlegroups.com wrote:

 

 

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• Pair of Red-shouldered Hawks - 1 Update
• Early Sooty Fox Sparrow north of Corvallis - 1 Update
• Early hours of September - 1 Update
• California sister - 1 Update

Pair of Red-shouldered Hawks

D Mellinger <dmell3...@gmail.com>: Sep 01 12:11PM -0700 This morning I heard a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks calling from trees near Woodland Meadows Park (the Corl House park) in Corvallis. It's relatively uncommon to hear them here - typically it happens once or twice a year- but I almost never hear pairs. But there they were, making quite a racket calling together.   I was surprised there was a pair at this time of year. Do pairs stick together through the non-breeding season? Given that I haven't heard them much this year, I don't think they have a nest nearby (and I'd guess our nesting Red-tails would have driven them off), so I'm puzzled why there would be a pair here now.   Dave

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Early Sooty Fox Sparrow north of Corvallis

Joel Geier <clear...@peak.org>: Sep 01 01:43PM -0400 This morning I was surprised to see a Sooty Fox Sparrow sitting up in a large willow shrub in our back yard. It was one of the very dark ones, so it might be a short-distance migrant from coastal British Columbia, later to be leapfrogged by some of the more northerly subspecies in this complex.   Overall it was a good morning for sparrows, with a dozen or so Chipping Sparrows, at least 10 Vesper Sparrows, and one Savannah Sparrow still at a nearby monitoring site, along with the usual white-crowns, juncos, and towhees.   I saw a female-plumaged (maybe immature) Lazuli Bunting there on August 30th but didn't see one today.   I've been hearing shotguns at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area, so it must be September. Good idea to wear orange if you go out there, from now through the end of February.   -- Joel Geier Tampico Ridge north of Corvallis

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Early hours of September

howard bruner <hbru...@hotmail.com>: Sep 01 04:52PM On my roof, snuggled into the quiet blanket of pre-dawn, I am hosting a rowdy party. Revelers from places far away call across the sky, flying fast to beat the light that will bring them down to roost, to rest up, before the sunset resets the urge to move on. The velvet dome is what pulled me out of bed - a sparkling necklace in the east, Jupiter on high, Venus kissing the bank of yard trees and somewhere lower and perched in those trees, Mercury. The necklace climbs and a fine lace of noctilucent clouds brushes the sky. A bat flitflaps in, only seen because the night is leaving, sneaking away with the party in full swing, as usual.   Shapes and the faint hint of color appear and slowly grow. I notice that Sirius (the dog star) has disappeared and Venus is dimming too fast. As the swing of earth moves these jewels, releases Mercury from the trees, a cloud bank crashes the party. The east velvet is getting swallowed by the bank and beyond it cold light claws up. I never see the elusive speedster. As the last planet light is subsumed, the migrants switch to their bedtime call, fall out of the sky, and neighborhood trees briefly provide a perfect soundtrack to such remarkable beauty.   H

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California sister

Carma Sue Henry <csh...@bywordofmind.com>: Aug 31 04:03PM -0700 We seldom get many butterflies other than the occasional Swallowtail ot Cabbage, so it was quite a treat when this lovely California sister (Adelpha californica ) showed up and lingered for several minutes.Here's a link to some additional info:https://www.butterfliesoforegon.com/adelpha-californicaCarma Henry

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