Hyatt Lake - Jackson County - Oregon - USA

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

Habitat : Marshes
Food : Seeds
Nesting : Ground
Behavior : Ground Forager
Conservation : Low Concern

"The big, black-necked Canada Goose with its signature white chinstrap mark is a familiar and widespread bird of fields and parks. Thousands of “honkers” migrate north and south each year, filling the sky with long V-formations... At least 11 subspecies of Canada Goose have been recognized, although only a couple are distinctive. In general, the geese get smaller as you move northward, and darker as you go westward. The four smallest forms are now considered a different species: the Cackling Goose."
- Cornell University Lab of Ornithology

Tags:   1660 Canada Goose Branta canadensis Goose Bird Nature Wildlife Hyatt Lake Cascade Mountains Jackson County Oregon USA Mark Heatherington

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Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Hyatt Lake - Jackson County - Oregon - USA

"Whether poised at a river bend or cruising the coastline with slow, deep wingbeats, the Great Blue Heron is a majestic sight. This stately heron with its subtle blue-gray plumage often stands motionless as it scans for prey or wades belly deep with long, deliberate steps. They may move slowly, but Great Blue Herons can strike like lightning to grab a fish or snap up a gopher. In flight, look for this widespread heron’s tucked-in neck and long legs trailing out behind..... Great Blue Herons have specialized feathers on their chest that continually grow and fray. The herons comb this “powder down” with a fringed claw on their middle toes, using the down like a washcloth to remove fish slime and other oils from their feathers as they preen. Applying the powder to their underparts protects their feathers against the slime and oils of swamps."
- Cornell University Lab of Ornithology

Tags:   2048 Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias Heron Bird Nature Wildlife Hyatt Lake Jackson County Oregon USA Mark Heatherington Cascade Mountains

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Hyatt Lake - Cascade Mountains - Jackson County - Oregon - USA

Habitat : Shorelines
Food : Small Animals
Nesting : Ground
Behavior : Probing
Conservation : Low Concern

"The dapper Spotted Sandpiper makes a great ambassador for the notoriously difficult-to-identify shorebirds. They occur all across North America, they are distinctive in both looks and actions, and they're handsome. They also have intriguing social lives in which females take the lead and males raise the young. With their richly spotted breeding plumage, teetering gait, stuttering wingbeats, and showy courtship dances, this bird is among the most notable and memorable shorebirds in North America... Female Spotted Sandpipers sometimes practice an unusual breeding strategy called polyandry, where a female mates with up to four males, each of which then cares for a clutch of eggs. One female in Minnesota laid five clutches for three males in a month and a half. This odd arrangement does not happen everywhere and often they are monogamous, with the female pitching in to help a little."
- Cornell University Lab of Ornithology

Tags:   0770 Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius Shorebird Sandpiper Hyatt Lake Nature Wildlife Bird Cascade Mountains Jackson County Oregon USA Mark Heatherington

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Hyatt Lake - Cascade Mountains - Jackson County - Oregon - USA

Habitat : Towns
Food : Seeds
Nesting : Shrub
Behavior : Ground Forager
Conservation : Steep Decline

"A bird to be seen in the full sun, the male Brewer’s Blackbird is a glossy, almost liquid combination of black, midnight blue, and metallic green. Females are a staid brown, without the male’s bright eye or the female Red-winged Blackbird’s streaks. Common in towns and open habitats of much of the West, you’ll see these long-legged, ground-foraging birds on sidewalks and city parks as well as chuckling in flocks atop shrubs, trees, and reeds... Brewer’s Blackbirds are sometimes shot, trapped, or poisoned around agricultural fields in an attempt to protect crops. Although they do eat grains, this species’ appetite for insects makes it more of a farmer’s friend than a pest. Brewer’s Blackbirds are quick to notice new food sources and have been credited with helping to curb outbreaks of insect pests including weevils, cutworms, termites, grasshoppers, and tent caterpillars, among others."
-Cornell University Lab of Ornithology

Tags:   0866 Brewer's Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus Male Blackbird Bird Nature Wildlife Hyatt Lake Cascade Mountains Jackson County Oregon USA Mark Heatherington

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