8 replies to this topic
#1
David Case
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Posted 10 July 2012 - 04:57 AM
I shot both of these on July 8th at Fern Ridge Wildlife Area in Eugene, OR. In the first shot the yellow eyes got me wondering if this might be a female Brewer's Blackbird but in the second shot the yellow does not show up so I am thinking that it was some kind of spurious reflection off the iris of the bird. So my best guess now is a that it is a female Brown-headed Cowbird. Am I way off base here?
#2
fisherman1313
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Konk La Ree
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Posted 10 July 2012 - 05:12 AM
You've got two different birds. First is a Great-tailed Grackle, second is a Brewer's Blackbird.
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#3
TheBillyPilgrim
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Frank
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Posted 10 July 2012 - 11:57 AM
Agree with both of Fisherman's IDs. Great-Tailed Grackle is a pretty good bird for Oregon!
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#4
creeker
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creeker
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Posted 10 July 2012 - 01:02 PM
Agree with both of Fisherman's IDs. Great-Tailed Grackle is a pretty good bird for Oregon!
They've been expanding their range pretty rapidly out West.
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#5
PattyTuggle
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Posted 10 July 2012 - 01:05 PM
Beautiful shots!
#6
David Case
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Posted 10 July 2012 - 03:25 PM
You've got two different birds. First is a Great-tailed Grackle, second is a Brewer's Blackbird.
Darn, some of these guys look so much alike to me! In this case that should be gals, right? These look like the females for both of these species in my bird books.
Agree with both of Fisherman's IDs. Great-Tailed Grackle is a pretty good bird for Oregon!
I guess so, they don't show up on the checklist for the Wildlife Area or in my 'Birds of the Willamette Valley Region'.
They've been expanding their range pretty rapidly out West.
Apparently. Sibley only shows their range in Oregon as being the extreme southwest edge of the state and I am way over on the other side, 60 miles from the Pacific.
Beautiful shots!
Thanks! I wish I could have been closer though. I had to do some major cropping and quite a bit of post processing to bring out detail, especially on the second shot.
#7
TheBillyPilgrim
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Frank
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Posted 10 July 2012 - 03:34 PM
Oh sorry, both are definitely females. The males of these species are both much darker black.
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#8
larrcamp
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Posted 10 July 2012 - 06:48 PM
The Great-Tailed Grackle is rapidly moving up the west coast A few years ago they were unheard of in the SF Bay Area. I wouldn't say they are common now, but not incredibly unusual either.
#9
David Case
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Posted 11 July 2012 - 12:16 AM
The Great-Tailed Grackle is rapidly moving up the west coast A few years ago they were unheard of in the SF Bay Area. I wouldn't say they are common now, but not incredibly unusual either.
This may be happening in my area, too. I have a book by Alan Contreras, 'Birds of Lane County, Oregon' that states that there were 3 records of them in the area between 1992 and 2000. The book was published in 2006. The book classifies them as vagrant.
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