BOGS Green Island_
Swallow Box Tour; 5/25/23
Leader: Kit Larsen

TRIP SUMMARY and comments by ATTENDEES:
The GREEN ISLAND Swallow Box Tour was very much enjoyed. Seeing very young birds in their nests was a highlight, as were the remarkable Painted boxes themselves. Here are comments from some of those who sent me their photos from the trip:

Janet:
Where we walked at Green Island:
We walked to the main swallow/bluebird boxes loop (16 bird boxes), and to the gravel bar at the river near the loop. (There is also a second bird box area further away from parking, which we didn't get to.)

Several people made the effort to get their photos of the swallow boxes to me so I could use them in the slideshow (below). Thank you! Ginny R.; Dana R.; Sue A.; Kate W.

Ginny R.:
I think there are 17 or 18 boxes, some of them painted previously and a bunch of new ones. It was especially exciting to see that the majority of them are occupied including by a pair of Western Bluebirds. (We did get to see them!)

DANA R.:
It was so wonderful to see the little gaping baby bird mouths… made my day…🙂 ALSO Bluebird eggs & parents waiting patiently

Bird list; Non-birds & Discussion by JANET NAYLOR

Birds Seen Today:

Not Birds
Western tiger swallowtail butterfly (2)
Orange medium-sized butterfly, ? species. (1) (Seen in the distance).
Cinnabar moth (4) (all adults).
Pacific chorus frog (1) (at a creek).

Plants, some of them:
In flower: Larkspur, California poppy. Some Pacific ninebark shrubs.
On way back (on a loop) near the river (we went anti-clockwise):
1 Pacific ninebark (large shrub), with approx. 25 tiny native bees on it, plus maybe 1 honeybee.
Cow parsley - almost in flower. In cream-greenish bud.
Tansy ragwort: some still-small plants (5 inches tall) here and there. No Cinnabar moth caterpillars.

Insects:
Cinnabar moth adults - we saw 4, all on grass and not on the young tansy ragwort which is their caterpillar food source.
We saw Western tiger swallowtail butterflies.
Saw 1 orange medium-sized butterfly in distance.

OF INTEREST

• The McKenzie River Trust folks are keeping Green Island as a natural preserve. They are doing ongoing preservation and restoration of its ecosystem. The area is restricted except for small private guided tours such as ours today, and some open events that they put on.
• We saw 1 Red-winged blackbird chasing a Red-tailed hawk.
• Kit said: 2 boxes in the main loop plus the second loop have Western bluebirds; all the rest have Tree swallows. We just walked the main painted bird box loop, with 16 boxes. The paintings are wonderful, in various styles from traditional to abstract art.
• We just walked the main painted bird box loop, with 16 boxes. The paintings are wonderful, in various styles from traditional to abstract art.
• Kit brought a step stool, so people could see into the 3 nest boxes he opened (with variously eggs or chicks).
• He opened a Tree swallow box with 6 eggs, a Western bluebird box with 3 eggs, and a Tree swallow box with 6 tiny swallow babies. It didn't seem to bother the parents much, who just waited nearby until we moved on.
• Kit said no Violet-green swallows in this area now - they will be back in August.
• We heard 1 California quail. Call: Chi-cah-go!
• We heard 1 Western tanager. Call: Pid-dick!
• We saw an adult plus a young osprey at a nest in the north. Plus we saw an adult bald eagle at a nest, also in the north.
• At the river, we saw 1 pair of Common mergansers in the water, plus 3 Spotted sandpipers and a Killdeer.

BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN FAR ENOUGH BELOW THESE TEXT REGIONS TO FIND THE SLIDESHOW.