White-throated Sparrow

White-throated Sparrows have been reported all over OBOL land (Oregon Birders On Line) and I was excited to have one show up here last fall. Then it disappeared. Then another reappeared, but the new one was a white-striped color morph while the first one had been a tan-stripe. Then the white-stripe disappeared and a tan one reappeared. Now a white-stripe is back. Or maybe has been here but they don't come out to eat on the same day? Or maybe these White-throated Sparrows move from place to place and the ones we see one day are not the ones we see the next day. Who knows. Here is the current version on our farm.

Ferruginous Hawk

Paul Sullivan and Carol Karlen have been seeing a Ferruginous Hawk in a field close to Hwy 18 southwest of McMinnville for months. I have seen it several times on my travels to and from McMinnville but it is too far for a good photo. Here is the best I've taken so far, taken from the Erratic Rock parking lot on Oldsville Rd. across the highway from the hawk field (that also has Rough-legs and Red-tails and often a cruising Peregrine). Look for the light-headed hawk with the white breast and light belly. The Rough-legs have dark bellies.

Here's a photo taken on Jan. 15, when it was closer. Still blurry in my camera, though.