New Town

We finally moved to Grants Pass. I've had a lot of health issues during the move. I've only been able to do a little birding which has been difficult. I started feeling better then the fires started. We were surrounded by smoke on a daily basis. We couldn't see the hills right by the house. It was difficult to breath while outside. It has finally cleared up a little.

I have to figure out how to go birding in this new area.  I need to find places that I feel safe in.  Going to look for groups that do birding together. That's the best way to feel safe.
 

Found a couple nice parks to bird in.  Had a couple good finds. Starting in a new County everything counts

              Green Heron

                Domestic Goose

                             Osprey

                      Mallards

New Visitors

I started making my own suet and started getting new birds at the house.
I also have a Cooper's Hawk that hits the yard every once in a while. He's gotten a couple
of my Mourning Doves.

Varied Thrush

I never had Townsend's Warblers before

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker has been the star of Commonwealth Lake Park. Birders have been coming from all over to see this little guy. One of my favorite birds in the last couple months.  Once you knew what tree he liked he was easy to find. Photos were hard to get because of  branches all over. I managed to get a couple shots.

Another visitor to Commonwealth was a Redhead Duck. I've seen them at Fernhill but never able to get a good photo. One of my first days out with my walker I went to get a shot of the Redhead. I got really tired but got a couple good shots for my album.

Kolls

Finally found the Black-crowned Night Heron out at Kolls. One of the few places I could bird from the car. I went by so many times but I was always with Non-birders. They didn't understand the idea of waiting. They think if the bird isn't there why sit around. I went by myself in Nov and got a few good shots of him. I saw one in California a couple years ago but didn't get any decent photos. This time this guy posed for me.

Dragonflies and Damselflies

I've been stuck inside a lot. Due to my health I haven't been able to do much birding. I did discover Dragonflies. They are really fascinating. I've been able to go to local parks and ponds for short walks. Some of my photos came out pretty good.

Amber Blue Dasher
   Aug. 9, 2017

Common Black Saddlebag
     July 24, 2017

Widow Skimmer
  Aug. 9, 2017

Amber Blue-eyed Darner ?

Eight Spotted Skimmer

Flame Skimmer

Whitetail Skimmer

Birds After Surgery

My time to go birding became very limited. My back kept getting worse. 
I jumped through all the hoops Medicare required of me. It included Physical Therapy, MRI, Steroid injections and pills. Finally decided to go with the surgery.  Recuperation was hard. It's been three weeks and the pain is still pretty bad. Evidently having diabetes can make recovery take longer.

Doctor told me to do short walks. Took one short walk half way around Commonwealth Lake. I knew there was a Say's Phoebe spotted there so I walked where I knew it had been spotted. And there it was.  Made my day. Just going outside was a blessing and the Say's was a bonus. After the day I was there it was gone.

Felt pretty good after the walk.  The pain down my leg was gone but I still had the pain in my back from the actual surgery.
I waited a few more days and Les took me for a short drive out to Fernhill Wetlands. A Clark's Grebe had been reported. I got about 1/4 of the way around (to the second bridge) From the bridge I could spot the Grebe. It was a long way off but we could both see it. Took some photos that were not the best but showed the grebe well enough. It was the first beautiful day we had in a long time. I wish I could have stayed out all day but I was hurting and had to go home and rest.

I'm sure it doesn't sound like much to most people but it was a big adventure for me.

Sora Finally

Last year I finally saw and heard a Sora. These guys are really fast going in and out of the reeds in the marshy areas. Didn't get a photo but put it on my life list.

 This last week I decided to see if I could do a little walk out at Fernhill. I only went part of the way. Not even half way around. Had to stop and rest my leg and back. I hit the new marsh area and saw him moving around and heard it. Stopped to talk to another birder (Steve Nord) While we were talking the little guy/gal came out. It was long enough for me to get a quick picture. I always feel better once I have a decent photo of my life birds.