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Santa Barbara Open Space a Hotspot for Birders

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Hooded-oriole_Dennis_Jarvis-300x199

BY DAVID N. LEE, ECOTRIPS UNLIMITED… Continue Reading PUBLISHER.
“Up there, in that sycamore,” our leader, Jack Sanford says in an excited voice. “Does everyone see it?”
A dozen binoculars point skyward. Way up in the tree is a bright orange and black bird, only visible to most when magnified. Closer inspection reveals his dramatic black markings – it’s a male hooded oriole for sure.
Thanks to Jack’s leadership and the Santa Barbara Audubon Society, a group of about 20 of us birders are in for a treat today as we roam the riparian edges of San José Creek at the University Circle Open Space in Goleta, just west of Santa Barbara, Ca. Although the open space is relatively small, the trails

Powell Butte Nature Park – a great birding adventure minutes from Portland

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A view of Mount Hood from Powell Butte. Photo by Chelsea Schuyler.

BY CHELSEA SCHUYLER
“Hummer!” our guide shouts and all eyes turn skyward just in time to witness an Anna’s Hummingbird hover for an instant in midair, then dive-bomb a male Lazuli Bunting from twelve feet up. Incredibly, a vibration of the male’s hummingbird’s tail feathers creates a single piercing “chirp!” just as he pulls up from the dive. The volume is remarkable for such a small creature.
The bunting doesn’t bat an eye; apparently he is used to this.
With his brilliant blue head, orange chest and white wing bars, the Lazuli Bunting is the “target” bird of today’s hike, and a large group of us are gathered here on Portland Oregon’s Powell Butte to see it. But before we… Continue Reading